Authors announcement:

Greetings everyone out there Blackout2010 here with an important announcement. In the following chapter and maybe spread throughout the rest of the fic, there may be gratuitous usage of Spanish concerning the Arrancars and this writing. Now the reason I point this out, is because as a person who's been around bilingual/culture, I understand that people talk their native language when either talking amongst themselves or wanting to keep others out of their conversations. So, as per my whole OCD on trying to bring it a bit closer to earth there will be Spanish. But first to make a point:

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL IMPORTANT INFORMATION BE WRITTEN IN SPANISH.

Reason being, that despite wanting to bring things closer, I don't want to be an ass. This is supposed to be English damn it, so it should be (well that and I can't read or write Spanish naturally, hence, why it took a long time, OCD on nailing accuracy.)

So yeah, that's about it. Unto the Prefic banter!


Pre fic:

Hichigo: Hollow Zangetsu here thanking you all for your patronage. I would also like to make an announcement to all those who don't read this story, your negligence in not reading, will ultimately prevent this story from going into anime/manga/DVD format. Which means that everyone will lose out on the chance to hear me being the voice over commentator who points out all the stupid things that characters do and why they would die if this was a slasher movie.

{Shows Shinjiro getting lost in Seireitei}

Hichigo: Like this dumbass, I'm surprised he gets to work on time. He's probably the first to go.

(Shows Ichigo talking to Aizen near the Sotaichō's office)

Hichigo: The only reason he survived this encounter is because he's the hero. If this had happened near the climax, I'm pretty sure we know how this would have gone down.

(Shows Omeada sleeping while Soifon slowly opens the office door.}

Hichigo: Okay I take it back. THIS guy would be the first to go. Blatant stupidity is far worse than being directionless. Now back to the commentary features: You'll get to hear my lovely voice snark at ridiculous bullshit: like Aizen's plan for godhood.

{Shows a distraught Aizen in the background}

Hichigo (waves off): Bitch please! Everyone knows I did that already. There IS a reason I'm called the Stallion. And last, but certainly not least my all around ability to just trolling everyone on screen who isn't me. So don't be a douche-bag, OR a bag of douche be a…non-douche-bag…yeah…

Hichigo: Just support the story now, damn it!


Chapter 28: Hueco Espada frente a Shinigami Zanpaktou (1)

Deep in the Hollow fortress known as Las Noche, the dull rhythmic sound of shoes tapping against the floor, echoed through the central corridor. From out of the darkness, a sharp-eyed muscular man with a head full of electric blue locks continued in his stride, hand resting on the sword at his hip, and a dark jagged smirk on his face. His intentions in stark contrast to the white Hakama he wore.

Coming to the end of the hallway, he stopped in front of the door and looked back the way he came. His eyes shifted back and forth quickly, piercing the darkness to see individuals who were skulking not far behind.

Normally, he wouldn't take too well to their attempts at incessantly following him around, especially when they tried to hide it from him, an act hampered by their palpable excitement, but just this once he couldn't blame them. Since he himself was just as worked up.

He needed to spill some blood.

Letting out a low pitched whistle, he turned away from the now visible eyes. Pushing past the first set of double doors, he came to stare into the large oaken door which would lead into a room, more specifically to a chair, which someday he might be able to claim as his own, as a king of carnage.

From his throne, the current ruler of Hueco Mundo, Sosuke Aizen, watched as the doors leading into his sacred hall got blasted open; courtesy of his panther Espada once again introducing it to his size eleven shoes. Striding in arrogantly the man came in a couple of steps before giving a shit-eating grin "You rang?"

"Ahh, Grimmjow. I am quite pleased to see that you could come on such short notice." The cool voice of Aizen resonated throughout the hallway. The man got up from his throne and walked down the steps "I have received a report from one of your fellow Espada that spoke of Shinigami appearing in the human realm."

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed, they both knew of whom the ruler of Hueco Mundo was speaking of, the super creepy, ever stoic, eye-crushing, pale freak known as Ulquiorra.

Letting his contempt for the emotionless Espada leave him, he remained silent as the other continued. "I know of your restlessness and need for action, so I felt it was time to reward that vice with a mission." The man smiled coolly as the Espada's smirk grew wider

"What do you want done exactly?" Grimmjow asked as he tried quite hard to control the feeling of excitement that was coursing through his body. 'Finally time for some action.'

Aizen's smile disappeared "From the report, the Shinigami seemed to be concentrated in several key areas of the city known as Karakura town. I have an idea as to what they are doing, but predictions only go so far. To formulate a solid strategy, so that we can efficiently wage war on them, I need eyes on the ground." He settled a firm look at the battle hungry man "I want you to go and personally find out what it is they are doing, as you gather information your fraccion will engage any Shinigami that might try to disturb you."

Grimmjow's face contorted into a scowl at what he was hearing so far, but before he could speak Aizen addressed it. "Fear not. I would not simply ask you to go and not enjoy yourself. I merely wish to ensure that the data we need to ensure our victory isn't left in the hands of foot soldiers. Once you have it feel free to engage the enemy. So long as you aren't dead, the mission will be considered a success."

Appeased with what he said, the Espada opted to ask a question "So why didn't you just have Ulquiorra check it out the first time around? He was there."

"Because I gave him strict orders to not engage the Shinigami. He was the only one with enough control over a...certain characteristic that would allow him to remain undetected to provide precious reliable information on the goings in that world," a cold, spiritually enforced, look caused the Espada to buckle just a bit, "precious information, Grimmjow, that I trust you looked over before your arrival." the pressure ebbed away granting reprieve. "Now that he has returned, I have a different set of orders to give him; so effectively, he will be unavailable for quite some time, making you the only united team available, since the other Espada are busy with other matters."

The brunette shrugged uncaringly, despite his words, "Besides, I had intended to send a small force to gauge the approximate strength of my Arrancars, a criteria he does not meet, and this just gave me an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone." The man turned around and began to walk back to his throne "You have your orders, Mr. Jaggerjack: Investigate into their activities and report the findings back to me. Dismissed."

Giving a curt nod, the blue haired Espada turned on his heels and exited through the door. Once Aizen was sure that Grimmjow was gone, he sat back down upon his throne and looked to his left, revealing a new arrival bowed submissively at the knee.

"My dearest Una, if you would be so kind as to send Ulquiorra to watch over them, I fear that Grimmjow will overextend himself and his team, which if left unchecked will cost me valuable resources...again."

The white burqa wearing figure nodded before getting up "It will take some time. Master Ulquiorra is holding up in his room right now. I sensed he was drained of a considerable amount of his spiritual energy, when I advised him to allow me or one of the remaining nurses to dress his condition; he assured me that it was nothing worthy of concern. He just needed a moment to 'collect himself'." The Espada explained

Sosuke's eyes narrowed at what the person beside him just said, 'I thought he seemed more fatigued than he was letting on when he was giving me his debriefing. It seems he still doesn't quite have Segundo estapa under his complete control, which must be true for young siete as well. Hmmm, at least he knows his limit unlike his fellow, so I'm sure he will recover quickly enough.' The man shifted in his chair, his hand covering his mouth as he thought. He sat there for a few seconds until he said, "That is acceptable. Once the assault team has departed, please wait a little bit to grant him the reprieve he asked, before informing him what I want done. Under-" the man paused suddenly, as his brown eyes gazed into the depths of his top Espada's blue ones, seeing the hint doubt behind the veil. The pit of Aizen's stomach clenched as he felt worried, he knew he was playing with fire whenever he made a gamble, calculated or not, but this one could potentially affect the outcome of his war.

"Is there something you wish to bring to my attention?"

The person nodded albeit much more slowly "Yes…it is about…that man."

The ruler of Las Noche let out a hum, understanding whom was being spoken of. "Would you kindly clarify?" the man furrowed his brow "Will I need to exchange words with him?"

The person's head shook to signal a negative. "No, nothing so drastic need occur. I would like to request that he keep his distance from me. First, he eyes me with suspicion upon initially meeting me after I gained my new form and clothing. Next, he gets within my personal space and lifted my veil, without my consent. Then he takes to staring at me in thinly veiled discomfort, and finally he's taken it upon himself to keep me in his line of sight…always, sometimes he even goes so far as to follow me back to my tower when I'm done with my duties. I appreciate camaraderie and concern of your fellows, and I would hate to have to destroy him over a misunderstanding, but these stalker-like actions are very disconcerting."

The person bowed their head, "And recently…I've found myself getting a headache from the experience, almost…almost like a part of me tries to return to the surface. It's vexing. Every time I get close to remembering, the pain flares up and stops me, perhaps I require a stronger stimuli to break through."

'Why now? I thought suppression was guaranteed? Perhaps it would be in my interest to grant the request immediately. I need no further problems.' Aizen thought with a frown.

It seemed once again the spirit king plagued with problem, though he could do little without instigating it, so he went back to his leader persona. "Perhaps…there was more damage sustained to your body during the battle then I initially believed and the latter transformation process had an unexpected side effect of creating a crippling pain when you try to recall your identity. How unfortunate, but it was certainly out of the scope of what projected." He stated, hoping that a weakness had not manifested itself in his very precious soldier 'Still…it could be worse, from the gamble I made between the trio, I got everything I wanted and more; though, the question now becomes, will it be enough?'

The white cloaked Espada looked up at the troubled ruler. "Do not worry; no matter what, my loyalty is still to you, the Hero of Hueco Mundo and Grand Commander of the Barragan unification army."

The Hollow stopped when the master of the new campaign began to chuckle, "hehehe. 'Hero of Hueco Mundo'? What a lofty title. Barragan would just call me Chico and be done with it. Besides, I am no hero."

The person bowed their head "I am sorry, if I offended you, Nanashi (2). I was merely recounting your exploits in the war and addressing you properly."

"No, that's quite alright." he responded calmly, rather amused in the sincerity behind the Espada's words. "From a nameless orphan, who the world never looked twice at, to the man I am today. I've certainly made many name for myself over the years, even now over three hundred years later, I still find myself unused to recognition. It certainly takes me back to the day I first killed a man."

"Sosuke."

"Yes, it marked my first step unto the path of power. From that day to the day that Barragan and I met, even to the days back in the Soul Society, I have simply followed through with what I originally set out to do. To live to my full potential and all that entails, no matter how I have to do it." the man chuckled softly in his chair, before lazily waving with his hand "But that is enough reminiscing, please continue your report."

"There is not much more to worry about; I am still 100 percent battle capable, and ready to follow your commands, a self-induced headache will not impede me in the slightest when I must fight."

That seemed to ease Aizen initial worries, "That's good to hear. I will need you at your best for when this world is besieged. For now go get some medication from Szayelaporro Granz. You have your objectives. You are dismissed, now go."

The white cloaked figure nodded and turned in the direction of the infirmary/science department but before the Espada could head off the would-be god spoke up "Oh, there's just one more thing."

The woman looked back signaling she was listening "It slipped my mind earlier, but would you be so kind and tell that berserker girl to stop killing the lesser Hollows. We have a need for allies and please-"

"Do it with a smile." The other person replied as the veil was briefly lifted showing a well-practiced smile at the man. The Primera Espada bowed towards the ruler of Las Noche gently "As you wish, Nanashi."

(Grimmjow)

With pep in his step, the panther king exploded down the hallway and to the nearest open air balcony. Without a second thought, he jumped out of it towards the wasteland of sand below. As he fell, he let out a hearty shout of 'vamos'.

In the blink of an eye, several figures fell from several of the windows around where the man leapt from, each streaking towards their Espada one by one. It was something that always reminded him that he was the one in control of things; that when he spoke people listened. Tearing his eyes away from the fast approaching figures, the man flipped his body over and slammed into the sand creating an enormous dust cloud.

It was only when the dust around him settled did he hear the sound of many more individuals land beside him. Not bothering to wait, he started walking to the central plaza area, the hub of which the majority of cross plane travel was allowed since anywhere else could be back traced and reveal their position in the Hollow world.

When the leader got about halfway across the 'courtyard', that Aizen owned his team caught up to him. "¿Por lo tanto, supongo que nos dieron el trabajo, jefe?" a large man with a half-Mohawk asked to his Espada

"¡Qué pregunta más estúpida!" the woman beside a smooth blond looking fellow barked. Her irritated expression loosened into a coy smirk as she draped an arm over Grimmjow's shoulder "Grim-chan no se habría molestado en llamarnos si no lo consiguiéramos, pendejo."

To the woman's displeasure Grimmjow shrugged her arm of his shoulder "¡Ya te dije que mantuviera las manos de encima, ramera!" he barked while she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Shawlong!" he bellowed. Less than a second later a thin man with a strange bony helmet appeared on the opposite side of the ill-tempered Espada "Nos dirigiremos a cabo inmediatamente. Te voy a dar todos los detalles de la asignación en el sitio."

Shawlong nodded courteously "Sí, señor. Voy a pasar la información a los demás, Grimmjow-sama." He said respectfully as he slowed down and turned to the white haired Di Roy.

Grimmjow tuned out the chatter of his followers as he kept himself psyched with the prospect of battle. He knew perfectly well that Sosuke Aizen didn't particularly care how they accomplished their mission so long as two rules were followed: one it was done efficiently and two their wasn't too much collateral damage for high profile locations. He cast a small glance back at his group, and didn't feel that they'd go too crazy; especially, since their enemy was probably some shit level Shinigami doing guard duty for the main force to arrive.

The man was brought from his thoughts when he saw an individual leaning arms crossed against the wall leading to the hub. The man he spied was wearing a similar outfit to him but instead of a short-sleeved shirt, he wore a jerkin with a black star on his right shoulder. The other person took notice of the approaching group and turned to them, his short black hair bobbing slightly "Grimmjow-san." He said politely

"Well, well, if it isn't our good buddy Boy Scout." The Espada replied sarcastically, getting some chuckles from his fraccion "I'd love to shoot the shit with ya, but it turns out that I'm on the clock, so get the hell out of my way."

'Boy Scout' didn't look intimidated in the slightest, even though there was a significant gap between their respective strengths; though, whether he believed it was because of crossing the boundary of power, and not because of the Espada's skill was left to speculation. "I understand Grimmjow-san. That is why I would like to request if you'd let me accompany you on your journey to the human world."

"How do you know about that?" the leader replied with genuine wonder as he doubted many knew about it so quickly.

"Comes with the benefits of being monitored by Espada." The young man replied grimly "and Nnoitra was complaining very loudly to Tessai about them being passed up."

"What a loud mouth." The female of the group voiced

Grimmjow shrugged uncaringly because while that was true, it had nothing to do with him. Only time he ever been around boy scout was when they were first introduced, both could tell the other was not on the same wave length and just silently agreed to stay the hell away from the other unless it could be helped. This brought Grimmjow to his next question 'why', "Got some business, Boy Scout? I don't like dick-less tagalongs." He pressed aggressively

"I don't plan on getting in your way." He admitted calmly "I just plan on seeing something other than sand and Hollows for a couple of minutes."

From beside Grimmjow, Shawlong interjected "I would advise against it sir. He's probably going to warn the Shinigami of our presence, making our job that much harder." The strategist's eyes narrowed on the Shinigami traitor "Isn't that correct?"

The man back stepped, honestly surprised by what the man was saying, "You…were going to be on a stealth based mission? Forgive me; I was under the impression that you were going to go on a stereotypical wholesale slaughter Hollow rampage, which would give me the opportunity to momentarily see the human world again…" The man bowed his head apologetically "I apologize for my assumptions on your personal integrity, clearly there is hope for you yet."

Despite the insult Grimmjow merely laughed, though they might not see eye-to-eye, at least they were both very straight forward in their thought processing, so with a humoring of his own he decided to play tit-for-tat.

"Well, you do got a point there punk. We are going to kick ass it's what we do." He boasted as he flexed his arm, a dark chuckle escaped his crew "As for your request, why the fuck should I stick my neck out for you? Aizen won't be happy to know that one of his little playthings went out without his permission."

"Fuck. Aizen. He can go straight to hell for all I care. The only reason I confer respect is because Bushido demands it, if I had the power and ability I'd kill him in his sleep." The man responded immediately, garnering some raised eyebrows from Grimmjow's companions, and a few whispers of heresy, because while they may have their own opinion about Aizen they would never say such a thing where others could report to the Shinigami.

This statement though had the opposite effect on Grimmjow, who was now roaring in laughter about this uptight individual. Apparently, there was callous rebel in him. Despite his seemingly orderly and polite persona, he was not a glorified ass-kisser.

Without a second glance, the Espada walked by the man, as he hurried to their waiting gargantuan "Do whatever you want, Boy Scout. Just stay out of my way." The smirking killer dismissed

"I intend to." He replied with a smile as he tagged along the ensemble of killers.

As the group passed through the gargantuan they felt their bodies elongating and shrinking at the same time as they crossed planes from Hueco Mundo to the realm of humans.

(Karakura town)

In the cool night air of Karakura, a large black crack appeared and ripped apart, as several individuals stepped out into the starry sky. The leader of the group took several steps before jumping towards a nearby building, within a matter of moments he was surrounded by his fraccion and his extra guest. With a quick order the group lowered the spiritual reading to as close to zero as possible while the blue haired man scanned the area with his Pesquisa.

The fraccion remained silent as their leader continued his scanning. Finally, after a few minutes the man turned back to them "Infiltration complete. No enemies alerted." He then took a few steps towards them and pointed to the east "Listen up, coños. Your objective is simple: find Shinigami and beat their asses, they might also be in that Gigai crap in which case kill them if you sense spiritual energy from them. As for me, I need to go do something real fast." He then raised his power just enough to press against his companions without alerting anyone "If any of you assholes get even close to that spiritual pressure over there, well let's just say, the Shinigami will be the least of your problems, comprende?"

A unanimous 'yes' was uttered by the fraccion who looked on awaiting further orders. "Good. If you get things done meet back here otherwise get lost." He shouted before turning away from the group "Long, Luppi. You're in charge."

"Understood, sir." Shawlong replied with a graceful bow as his master turned away from them

"Later sexy!" the curvy hipped woman catcalled, before sauntering off in her own direction, leaving whatever orders he might have to the thinker Shawlong.

Once again dumped with the responsibility, Shawlong reminded the others of standard procedure. Keep aware of your surroundings, and don't take on too many at once, because under the right circumstances even ants can kill dragons. As the other fraccion dispersed, the strategist noticed that their young guest had long since vanished. The man narrowed his eyes recalling his early warning about taking the tagalong but dismissed it.

It was irrelevant at this point; he had his orders and a job to do. He just had to make sure that their presence from here out struck terror and despair for future Shinigami.

(Grimmjow)

Rapidly jumping between the roofs towards the tower in the distance, he was quite pleased to see that his fraccion hadn't ignored his orders. 'Glad to see they still know I'm in charge.' He thought smugly.

As he neared closer, he slowed his speed, stopped a few blocks down, and examined the large tower. To him it just seemed like large white obelisk standing in the middle of the open park, more than likely invisible to the normal eyes of humans, but not his.

Stalking closer he checked the surrounding area. He knew the basics of hunting and survival. The element of surprise was key IF you were fighting a strong opponent and that when you need something protected you make sure that it has some kind of defense. So while Grimmjow's instincts were telling him that he was probably dealing with shit Shinigami as were his fraccion, he knew that this pillar probably wasn't as inconspicuous as it seemed.

Crossing the nearby gap to the next rooftop, he sat upon his hunches as he peered over the roof and spotted his prey. A group of Shinigami.

They all seemed to be blissfully unaware of their stalker and were just sitting around the area chatting with each other. Knowing that he'd lose the element of surprise the moment one of his subordinates engaged an enemy, the self-proclaimed king wasted little time in running to the end of the building and then sprinting off it, spring boarding himself into the unaware camp.

The force that Grimmjow slammed into the ground threw some of the Shinigami in the air while the rest were knocked completely off Balance. Not wasting a moment the man Sonidoed over to the closest Shinigami and jabbed his hand threw his chest killing him almost instantaneously. Quickly glancing back, he pointed his finger and fired off a Bala into a woman's head, blowing it apart and causing her blood to fly on some of her soon to be deceased allies.

One of the Shinigami quickly gathered himself, pulled out his Zanpaktou, and jumped into the air to slice the man. However, before he could cut him, the Espada quickly shuffled his body to the side and elbowed the man in the stomach. Not a second after jerking his elbow away did the Espada slam his foot into the person launching him into the steel railing of the park.

The man was about to turn away when he saw the piece of shit reach into shirt and pull out a small device more than likely to try and radio in for help. Grimmjow couldn't fight back the roaring urge to laugh; these people actually thought they might be able to stop him with reinforcements. Raising his finger back up he charged up a Cero, if they wanted to send a message that clearly said 'we need help' he knew just the way to send.

The poor fool didn't even get much of a chance to scream before being erased. Turning away from his handy work he saw that the other Shinigami had taken a defensive position while another one had that he hadn't noticed before got off a device similar to the one the guy he just obliterated tried to use. The man smirked to himself at least he was gonna have a small workout before he went to go after his real prey.

The Shinigami watched as their assailant calmly placed his hands in his pockets and casually strolled over to them like nobody's business. One of the leaders swallowed the lump in his throat.

Sure, they could sense the spiritual pressure of this guy, which meant he had to be with Aizen, but even he couldn't afford to be so confident! He'd just called in back up and there was several middleweight seated officers and two captains in the AO. He couldn't possibly take them all on and survive.

The man then found his eyes drifting to his arm and seeing it shake in fear. Looking back up, he noticed that behind his enemy was a black aura of death, as the man continued his slow proud gait towards them, smirk growing ever so slight as he could practically taste the fear on them. In the blink of an eye, the man in white was right in front of him with his arm sticking straight through his chest.

Then all at once the dying Shinigami thought that just maybe, maybe this guy didn't only think he'd survive, he damn well didn't care.

The panther Espada threw the corpse off to the side and let out a dark exhalation. He'd sensed that this guy was the strongest here, and had hoped at the very least get a decent warm up, but this just killed that notion when he slaughtered him just as easily as the last two. He was about to whip around and finish off the stragglers but the little voice of Aizen rang out in his head reminding him of his mission. So with a little flexing of his spiritual power he floored all the so-called death gods and walked over to the strange white tower in the middle of the park.

The murderer flicked his hand against the side of the building, the resulting thud reverberating in the air. While he was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't disintegrate on the spot, he was still ass out as to any idea what this tower was doing.

So he decided to consult the local experts.

Turning back around, he opened his mouth and said, "Buenos noches, Shinigami. I seem to be having trouble figuring out what you motherfuckers are doing in my world." He then pointed his thumb at the tower "and building shit without my permission." His eyes then flitted around the remaining Shinigami; scanning to see who'd be the closest to cracking, and when he saw her, his eyes let her know how fucked she was. "Tell me what you were doing here Señorita." He said as he walked over to her and picked her up by the collar "Tell me or else…"

To his left one of the Shinigami shouted, "Don't tell him any-"he was then promptly shut up by Grimmjow slamming his foot into the man's skull

"I wasn't talking to you pendejo!" he shouted as he jerked the woman up "I was talking to her, but…if that's the way you want to play it." he then threw the girl on the ground and brought his foot down on her stomach.

The poor woman coughed up blood from the sheer force and tried in vain to break-free from her captor "Now let make it real easy for you. If you tell me what that tower does and what you're doing here, I can go along my merry way."

"Do…do you promise to let us go." The woman wheezed out trying to get her team out alive. The man seemed to consider what she was saying before scowling

"Deal. This mission is keeping me from what I want to be doing anyway." He then bended over and stared directly at her "Frankly, it's pissing me off, so tell me and get lost."

"We've been assigned by Soul Society to guard this tower!"

"Mina!" one of the other Shinigami yelled, but was quickly silenced by a glare from the Espada. Grimmjow looked back at Mina and clenched his fist a little tighter "I figured that out already, so if you're not gonna tell me anything useful-"

"W-wait." She wheezed "This tower…it…it's meant to conceal this town from Aizen forces. I swear!"

'Conceal from us?' Grimmjow thought to himself. It was certainly odd since Aizen already knew where this place was; in fact, he seemed fixated on it. "What for exactly?"

"We…were gonna have Shinigami stationed here…ughh and if Aizen shows up we'll have first response!"

Now Grimmjow was both perplexed and pissed. The more this person gave him convoluted answers that made absolutely no sense meant the more time he'd have to spend in trying to get out something he could actually tell Aizen. So he decided to let his answer show through to the woman "Alright listen up. Give me a straight fucking answer that doesn't sound like horse-shit or I'm ending you all right now."

"I swear it's what they told me!" she screamed "It's supposed to make Aizen think nobodies here, so that when he shows up in the human world we'll have a Forward operating base, which is supposed to give us an advantage over him."

Finally, he heard something that sounded reasonably useful "You don't say?" He said with a cool smirk as he let the woman go and stood back up to his full height "Very interesting. So then, how many of these things do you have in the world? Couple dozen?"

The woman shivered at the only answer that she could give that would only piss him off "I…I don't know. It's above my rank…"

The man eyed her carefully before turning his eye to the tower, a thoughtful expression "I see. Yo comprendo" He then walked over towards her partner stroking his chin "What about you? Know anything?" he asked as the woman managed to keep fearing yet defiant stare at her captor. He then turned away dismissively, his smirk returning to his face "Nah. You look even lower rank than her." He then placed one hand in his pocket and let the other dangle by his side "Well mucho gracias, Señoritas. You've been an excellent help."

Mina could only watch in horror as the man's arm shot up and broke the neck of her friend, who fell limply to the floor. The woman tried to push her body away from the man, going inch by inch but it was all in vain as the man closed the distances with his uninjured footsteps. When he was about three feet, away he held his arm out and a red energy began to gather in it. An energy the woman recognized as a Cero "Y-you you said you'd let us go!" she whimpered out

The confident look the man had changed into slight confusion at her words. He eased his stance as he brought his Cero charged hand back down "You're right I did, didn't I?" his momentary pause was short lived as his sadistic smirk graced his lips again. This time he raised both hands each holding a Cero "Too bad for you, tragona, I'm a liar."

The ringing explosion of his Cero was a joyful sound to his ears as he turned away from the crater in front of him to the illusionary tower less than 20 feet from him. He eyed it carefully while he did believe that woman he also knew that it probably wasn't the whole story, several meeting with the smug bastard Aizen told him that much. Still he smiled to himself, not much reason to say he didn't know if he still destroyed it anyway.

With a powerful jump, the man flew over the tower and with a frontal flip axe kicked the center of the tower. The loud cracking of Grimmjow's impact sounded through the air yet the structure miraculously remained standing. "Hmph. Well at least those fuckers know how to build shit." He muttered before he flipped backward and kicked the side of the tower and then spun in the air and fired a high-powered Cero at point blank.

The resulting blast caused a massive explosion and slammed the Espada unto his back giving him a great front row seat to the tower going up in flames against the night sky. The man slowly got up and started to laugh to himself. Damn now, he felt invigorated after that little sight. "Get ready ass-hat." He said to his distant prey, "The hunt is on."

(Nakeem)

Landing upon the rooftop, the large Arrancar paused as he kept his eye on the busty woman who was busy talking over an ear piece. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since they arrived, and only now had he found someone. It seems the town being spiritually enriched wasn't an exaggeration, as it was affecting his Pesquisa.

Nakeem glanced beyond her and saw Shawlong engaging a smaller boy with a blue dragon. The fraccion scoffed distastefully. He followed Shawlong hoping to get a worthy kill but got a boy too young to shave and a woman who'd pass as a supermodel instead of a soldier.

"Tengo mala suerte." He cursed, as he prepared himself to kill the woman, so he could find someone better to fight.

"That's right. Requesting immediate back-up, one of the towers has come under attack and we've lost communication with the other teams." The woman paused as she felt another small tug on her spiritual body, her muscles tightening just a bit more than the first time, but she powered through it to continue the report "U-unknown number of casualties or hostile, requesting immediate assistance."

"Negative, Matsumoto-Fukutaichō. We are busy trying to stabilize and maintain the barrier. We cannot- what, request for military burial for Ikkakku Madarame? Belay that order! If we've got time to fill those requests, then we've got time to fix things! Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you were on the line Lieutenant, (ahem) sorry but we cannot grant immediate relief. We're trying our best on our side, please understand."

"Damn it." She cursed as she glanced over to her battling captain. "I copy. Tha-" she immediately felt something approaching and jumped away.

From where she had previously been standing a large man with a black hair and a skull like mask, had his fist buried into the graphite of the roof. As he stood up, he shook his fist, getting the broken materials off.

"You have a mask too." Rangiku stated to the towering man "I take it you're a comrade of that other one."

"Si. Shawlong es mi amigo, Shinigami." The large Arrancar answered as he placed his hand on his sword and smirked "If your friend is fighting him, he's as good as dead. Shawlong is the third strongest amongst our numbers." The man pulled out his sword "But fear not. You will join him soon."

The orange haired lieutenant put her hand on her hilt, while her enemy raised his sword over his head "Carnicero ella: arrasa minotauro (Butcher her: Rampaging Ox)."

A condensed layer of spiritual energy emanated around the man's body briefly, before his muscle started to spasm and grow in size. His height didn't seem to grow in proportion to the increase to his arms as his body started to lumber over, his knuckles supporting his weight, while his skull mask disappeared, replaced by a pair of bull horns and nose ring. The monster let out a loud piercing snort as the lieutenant backed up, taking in the disturbing sight of her adversary.

"So I'm fighting a cow? This sounds like a bad joke." Rangiku taunted as she eyed her enemy over.

"Gahaha! A cow? I suppose I should introduce myself if only to avoid such an accolade from mi amigos. Mi llamo Nakeem Grindina." A cruel smirk formed on his face, before he disappeared and slammed his shoulder into the woman's body, sending her into a nearby water tower with incredible force. "As for you, no presentarse, it will be over soon."

Rangiku let out a groan as she got back up to his feet, her hand combing the side of the metal. "That was pretty fast for a big guy. How did you do it?"

"Sonido, similar to your flash step. Aizen-sama was kind enough to teach us the basics."

"I see." She gritted as she pulled out her sword "Then you should know a Zanpaktou is the go to weapon for any Shinigami worth their salt. Growl, Haineko!"

Nakeem tensed himself expecting a dramatic change, but he was soon filled with a sense of disappointment when then woman's sword evaporated before his eyes. The Minotaur sniffed the air as he kept his eyes firmly on the woman who straightened her stance, when he felt nothing odd, he sniffed again before letting out a dark chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the soldier of ten asked

"I was informed that a Shinigami's Zanpaktou is a part of their soul." He stated, his teeth flashing hungrily "I smell the fear of death on your body, and after seeing that your sword abandon you, I knew you must be a coward at heart." The man lumbered forward to the helpless woman, who glared back at him "Don't be afraid, chica, será rápida."

"You shouldn't underestimate me." She replied, "Now Haineko!" she cried as she swung her sword

The confused Arrancar was just about to raise his guard, when he felt cuts across his cheek, arms and legs. He let out a loud painful cry as he doubled over in pain, his head just raised enough to look at the offending woman. "How did?"

"You're right about one thing. A Shinigami's Zanpaktou does reflect them. But you overlooked two things. One: under the right circumstances, a person can change. Two: I am not a coward, I'm clever." She then smiled "My Zanpaktou turns into ash that's hard to spot but reacts whenever I swing my swords hilt. By increasing the size of your body, you gave me a much bigger target to hit. Shame, you could have had me if you didn't underestimate Shinigami, hollow."

Nakeem's eyes widened at the implication, when she raised her sword above her head "No, n-no!"

"Just. Like. This." She then brought her arm down and in response the dust reacted and cut up the Arrancar, who started to dissolve into spiritual particles.

Taking a moment, she sheathed her sword and looked over in the direction of her captain who had stabbed his enemy in the back. The person was quickly encased in ice before shattering. 'The captain had to use his Bankai.' Matsumoto thought to herself, 'It seems these Arrancar aren't to be trifled with.'

She looked over in the direction where two powerful spiritual pressures were fighting. It took her a moment to realize that it was Ichigo, and that the enemy he was facing was far stronger than the one, she or her captain had fought. She was about to go to his aid, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Looking back she saw, a wounded but still fiercely determined, Hitsugaya. "No, stay." He commanded

"But captain. Ichigo is in trouble."

"I know but can't you feel it. The spiritual barrier is on the verge of collapsing." He commented "Soul Society is diverting energy from the strongest fighters the hardest to maintain the Balance. I myself felt my energy being sapped throughout the fight. I could barely end it at half strength."

He turned and spat out some blood from his mouth, "If you want to help here's what I want you to do. Lower your spiritual energy output to a minimum, these monsters obviously sabotaged the barrier and with less stress it can hold for a bit longer before fully collapsing. In meantime I'm going over there, you radio in to make sure the rest of the towers are safe."

The woman nodded her head, as the man sealed his Bankai back up. "Good luck." She muttered as the boy started running in the direction of the massive conflict.

(Luppi)

The female Arrancar skipped merrily through the air taking in the view of the human world. While she knew, she was on the clock it wouldn't hurt to take in the sights while she was here. Placing her hands behind her head she spotted what seemed to be two figures in black moving towards the direction of the river. "Fortune favors the wicked. I get to take the scenic route and blow off some steam by the river." Her face fell into a small pout, as her sleeved hand waved back and forth beside her hip, "Too bad we couldn't get deployed to a beach on a bright sunny day. I would have loved to see Grim-chan slaughtering los Shinigami in a speedo, while we built a sand castle worthy of his kingship, but I suppose once the new world created it could happen." A bored sigh escaped her lips, as she remembered they had a long way to go. "Que sera sera."

(Riverside)

"Been a long time since I've been back ta a city. Reminds me of Sydney (3)." The Shinigami with a brown safari hat reminisced, pulling the toothpick out of his mouth. "(Sigh) Damn I miss me home town, ma would bake me her famous choccy after a hard days job." The sun-tanned man looked at his darker near shirtless companion "What about yoos Turok (4)? Ever get home sick?

The man was kindly greeted with a stiff glare "My name is Etzli Zolin, white man. Not Turok." The stoic man uttered, crossing his arms over his cultural war breastplate.

"Geez, learn ta take a joke mate…" 'White man' replied in a bored tone, dryly blowing a piece of his brown hair.

"A warrior must remain on guard at all times, white man." He answered sagely

"Ah, fer fuck sake, the name's Canna Lachlan! Not white dude or whatever…" the man shot back hotly only to receive the cold shrug of indifference from his ally. "Ah forget it. I'm not gonna argue with a guy who can't even wear a shirt proper." He said rudely hand drifting in Etzli direction "I mean seriously cap'n Kuchiki busts me chops if I have me tooth pick in me laughin' gear during assembly, and somehow yoos get away with missin' half ya damn uniform. It's malarkey!"

"Captain Komamura is very respectful of other people's cultures." The Mestizo answered back; feeling protective of his chieftain's honor; something that the vagabond obviously knew nothing about "I suggest you learn from his actions."

"Whatever…" the Australian dropped the subject as he searched his pockets for a cigarette and his lighter. He could not have been sent out on a more inane side-mission, with a more stoic individual, even if he tried, "Shit! Left me light back at camp." He cursed before turning to the Indian "Hey mate got a spare fire?"

"No." he answered as he turned around feeling a disturbance "But it does appear we have company."

Peeling the brim of his hat back, the Aussie looked behind him as well, and saw the figure in white slowly descending. From what Canna could make out the person seemed to be a woman if the long eyelashes and pink tattoo were any indication. The girl's pure white clothing that showed off her hip was the real stunner for him, since apparently everyone got away with everything except him. "What company you belong to lass?" he asked, less than pleased "Same as Geronimo?"

The woman looked over at 'Geronimo' "Nah." She pouted childishly "If I was I'd be on my hands and knee begging mi jefe to stay as sharply undressed as sus amigo."

"So, who are you then?" he asked as his hand went down to his blade "Friend or Foe?" The sly look that he received told him more than enough as he pulled out his sword alongside his compatriot. "I doubt it would do any good, but me ma and pa would stomp me guts out if I didn't ask…would you kindly surrender miss and avoid the unpleasantness?"

Luppi smirked confidently "Nope, but points para sus intención."

As she touched the ground, the girl flared her spiritual pressure a bit, forcibly flinching the two Shinigami "Oh, still standing? Muy bien! I was desperate to have some fun." She commented as she rolled up a sleeve and adjusted her sword on her side "Me llama Luppi Antenor de la Arrancar, Señor Shinigami." The girl said as she gave a curtsey.

"Of the Arrancar?" Zolin repeated with confusion 'Aizen's forces aren't limited to Hollows?'

The girl smiled darkly before reappearing between the two of them and striking them in the side. Canna slid across the ground before he rolled to his feet, while his partner was launched down a nearby alleyway. "Crickey! Little girl packs a wallop!" he wheezed out as he nursed his side "Better get serious then." The man quickly got up, raised his blade to shoulder height, and grasped the blade's edge with his free hand "Dig yer fangs in, Savage Jackal!"

The man's blade shinned with a bright light before transforming into a brown M1 carbine with a round clear scope, running down the end of a barrel was a serrated knife acting as a bayonet. On the side of the stock, there was a picture of a growling jackal.

"Time to hunt, darlin'!" the man yelled as he quickly brought the weapon around and fired.

Unsure of what his weapon did, the Arrancar quickly side stepped just as the bullet left the barrel. Immediately the bullet expanded into a conical drill. The bullet whizzed past her head and smashed through a brick into a nearby building, drilling into it before disappearing.

"Ah, come on! Yer not supposed to dodge Sheila." The sharpshooter griped as he readjusted his sight.

"I prefer not to be filled with holes, señor." The woman taunted

"Then how about this!" a voice from above her called "Soar, Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent)!"

Turning around she saw the other Shinigami descending on her his blade turning into a sharp tomahawk while a spiked wooden shield formed on his other arm. Cartwheeling to the side, she narrowly dodged the strike as the ax let out a fiery blaze on impact. She was about to attack, but was forced to dodge, as the other Shinigami's weapon rang out some more shots.

After three more volleys, she heard the beautiful sound of an empty clip. "Ahaha! Que sin Balas, vaquero?" she mocked while the panicked man raised his weapon to activate it's reload feature.

Not waiting, Luppi quickly dashed over to his position and slammed her leg into the man's chest. The man flew over the hillside and landed into the river way below.

Now that one was done, she went back to facing the other warrior, who steeled himself as he raised his shield up. The woman back flipped high into the sky and when she started to come back down a small teal light was radiating off her finger "Aqui van: Bala." She said as the orb flew towards the defender.

The man couldn't even move before it shattered his shield, burning his side. He barely raised his arm up by the time the girl landed, her shoe planting into his face, flinging him into crushing a nearby street lamp.

From the river, she heard the other Shinigami let out a gasp as he broke the water's surface. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the man grab his soaked hat before sloshing towards shore. The woman narrowed her eyes testily, before Sonidoing over to the down Shinigami and grabbing his leg.

Turning her body, she threw over the ax man into the water beside the other one and launched a quickly charged Cero. The energy ball collided against the waters surface, shooting up a huge geyser into the air.

Once the explosion died down, she saw that there was no one left in the water. Luppi smirked "Too easy." She muttered

The girl turned away and was about to walk on, when she found she couldn't move her feet. Looking down she saw ice encasing her up to her ankles. 'When did…?' she thought to herself, perplexed since they weren't anywhere near her.

"I think you need to be taught a lesson." A woman's voice said. Looking to her right she saw a diminutive woman with dark hair and a white sword in hand.

Rukia saw the enemy growl at her and raise her hand up, but with a quickly flip of her wrist, she froze the woman solid. She waited a second before walking around the statue towards the grassy knoll.

When she reached it, she saw two Shinigami by the shore. One half dressed, a small hatchet in his hand, bent over and offering a hand to the other Shinigami, who was still in the water wringing his hat out.

Walking down, the two Shinigami took notice of their ally. "Are you two okay?" she asked

The Aussie raised his hand placatingly "Never better governor."

"We will…mmhm…endure." His partner confirmed as he fished out Canna.

"That's good to hear." Rukia replied as she checked the area to make sure it was clear "I sensed you two were in trouble, do you know who that was?"

"Aye. Loopy or something of Arrancar." The man from down under answered, "Tough bird, that one. She get whacked?"

Rukia shook her head "No. I incapacitated her. I'll unfreeze her face so we can get some answers." She jutted her head towards the hill "Come on."

The trio marched up the hill and when they came to the street, all they saw was a pile of broken ice, its occupant long gone.

"Ah, fuck me sideways." The sharpshooter groaned as he pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes.

Rukia raised her sword "On your guard, she might still be around."

"No, 'might' about it, Señorita." The voice of Luppi called from above them. "I 'am' right here."

The Arrancar descended from the sky and landed where she had once been frozen; carefully examining the frozen water particles "You really caught me off guard. Mi casa es muy caliente, we hardly ever see ice." A coy smile graced her face "I can check that off my bucket list."

"Yoose a real pain in the arse! Can yoo just die already!?" the accented man yelled as he raised savage jackal up.

Before either party could act, a loud explosion roared through the city. The Shinigami looked around and saw the dissipating blast coming from the south side of the city, while the Arrancar had a look of glee when she sensed the energy of who was there.

Turning back to the woman, Etzli glared at her "Your doing, correct?"

"Mia?" the woman pointed at herself childishly "Nope. I've been here this whole time, idiota ciego." The woman then laughed as she rolled up her sleeves "Still that means I don't need to stay under the radar now that he's fighting."

The woman's spiritual pressure flared out, pressing itself against the three Shinigami telling them that she was much stronger than she was initially letting on. "Try not to die too quickly." She said before disappearing from sight.

The Shinigami were surprised by her speed as she appeared right in front of Rukia fist cocked back. The blow collided with the girl's head sending her tumbling down the hill, while the Arrancar jumped up and split kicked both the men in the side.

Following up Luppi dashed over to Canna who gripped his gun fiercely. Once she was within two steps, the man lunged forward with his bayonet to skewer her.

The woman shoved the weapon aside from the barrel, and brought her other arm around and clocked the man in the face, though she did have to dodge immediately, as the man fired off a few rounds as he was reeling backwards.

As he reoriented himself, Canna jumped back a step and fired off some more rounds, to which the damn witch flash stepped out of the way and drew closer. When he saw the woman, bringing her hand around he raised his weapon to shield himself, but then felt a searing pain around his stomach.

Looking down he saw the in the woman's other hand was her Zanpaktou, cloaked in his blood. He tried to move back but Luppi just smirked and thrusted her other hand into his chest.

Canna groaned and shook slightly "s...shit…" he muttered as he dropped his head down and closed his eyes for the last time.

"CANNA!"

The killer looked back to see the infuriated Shinigami Etzli. The man's fist were pulsing red from how he was gripping his tomahawk. "You'll pay." The man reared his arm back while his weapon burst into a flames "Botetsu hit!"

Luppi's eyebrows rose slightly when the man swung, a flying flaming battleax flew out of that little hatchet of his, towards her. Still, the energy coming off it was nowhere near enough to warrant actually dodging it. Although, she did want to remain presentable to Grimmjow later, and using the hand that was still buried in the body, brought the other Shinigami's body to take the hit for her.

The blast engulfed most of the body, but Luppi didn't feel a thing. Once the strike subsided, she then started to direct energy into her arm "Mi turno." She taunted and fired off a Bala that struck into the unsuspecting warrior, sprawling him across the road.

No longer seeing a purpose in keeping it, the woman pushed Canna's body off her arm and then casually stroll on over to her next victim. Her eyes danced with delight as she saw the man's body struggle, trying to get it to do what his body commanded, but it refused to listen.

By the time she got next to him, she almost felt a twinge of remorse. A large hole was blown through his pectoral muscle, and seemly disintegrated one of his lungs, yup; he was a goner in her books. "You poor bebé." She kneeled over and stroked his hair playfully. "Does it hurt?" she then stood back up "I'll end it for you."

She then raised her sandaled foot up and brought it down on the man's head, breaking his nose and knocking out a few teeth. But the malicious woman wasn't done as she pulled her foot back up and continued to stomp on him several more times until the man face became an unrecognizable mush.

The girl removed her blood stained foot from the goop and scraped it across the floor several times. She had only managed to get about half of it off when she heard a groan from behind her.

Turning around, she was very surprised to see that the woman was still alive, albeit bleeding from the head, and a little wobbly, but still very much alive. "Ay dios mio! You're still alive!? I thought I took your head off!" the woman nodded her head approvingly "Usted es una mujer muy afortunada!"

Rukia wheezed out a breath, she nearly died and this person still seemed to be holding back. She brought Shirayuki up to defend herself. She needed some kind of opening.

The Arrancar was about to move when she suddenly stopped and looked up into the air as if sensing something 'Now!' Rukia quickly flipped her weapon downward "Some no mai!" she then quickly dashed forward and swung "Tsukishiro!"

Luppi's eyes quickly returned to her enemy, silently cursing the others for distracting her. Utilizing her Sonido, she quickly backpedaled away from the slice and was shocked to see a huge pillar of ice where she would have been.

The ice quickly shattered, revealing Rukia panting having used a considerable amount of power behind the attack. "That wasn't nice. Attacking me when those other cabróns decided to die. Still you look-"

She suddenly stopped when she felt someone else struggling more vividly now that the others were gone. "Grimmjow." She muttered worriedly. 'Someone is beating him?'

Biting back her growl, she looked back to Rukia and weighed the options. A moment passed before she allowed a playful look to grace her face. "Que suerte! You escape death not once but twice! I've got to go, so consider this your lucky day." The woman then pushed her body off the ground and disappeared into the air.

Rukia wheezed trying to catch her breath before collapsing to her knees. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out a radio and hit the call button "Come in. This is Rukia Kuchiki, I'm hurt, and requesting immediate medical assistance. I have two others with me; we're near the river with a bridge not too far away from us. I repeat requesting immediate medical assistance, over."

The woman waited for a little bit before she got a 'copy that' from someone. A wave of relief washed over her as she gave a 'roger', before going to go check on the other two. At least she survived this night.

(Earlier: Senna's home)

"So…" the young land lady asked awkwardly "tell me again why you're cursing me about my bust size, something I have no control over?"

The pleasant evening the trio had been having so far had taken a turn for the strange when Senna mentioned that it would soon be getting chiller around town and expressed a hope that they brought clothing for the weather.

This news didn't sit all that well with Soifon, who muttered something about a need for more insulation in order to stay warm, which lead her to press her hands against her chest and curse Senna for her ample bust.

"Very well. I shall explain again." The captain said as she continued to eye the other woman's breast much to the other's chagrin. "I always seem to come down with either fever, cold or some other illness during the change between summer to fall and fall to winter. This year has been no different."

"Yeah, she was throwing up every now and again back in Soul Society. I made her easy to digest food and measured her temperature, but it said no fever." Ichigo informed before turning an annoyed glare toward the woman, "Still, despite my concern, little miss independent here refused to go get medical attention. She said she's power through it using willpower and Nyquil like always." Ichigo explained, as he tried his best to take care of her, despite her resistance.

Senna smiled "The unfriendly, cold-blooded, captain of squad two, who likes giving people the cold shoulder, can't stand the cold herself. Haha, talk about Irony."

"Shut up you." The woman barked, as she crossed her arms, cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment. "My methods have proven successful time and again. I choose to rely on what works." she argued

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Yeeeeah, but you seem to conveniently forget that you got worse before you improved." He pointed out while the woman looked skittish. "Anyway, Sis, she's conned herself into thinking that it must be because she lacks theee…ahh 'assets' that you and other ladies possess." He glanced back at the commander "Thankfully it's toned down a bit." His gaze hardened "…right…?"

The woman kept up her cool façade under his words "I appreciate you, and everything you've done for me during that trial," she sincerely complimented "but, I think that since you are a man, you should respectfully exclude yourself from this particular conversation, Wǒ de ài (5)." The captain shot back

"Àirén (6) that's-well Ahh…" The man turned his gaze towards the ground and sweat dropped, reminded how out of place he was in this conversation.

Seeing that Ichigo really didn't want to try and argue the matter further, Senna quickly decided to return to the original point of the conversation, to find a conclusion that will hopefully never allow this to be brought up again. "So could you please tell me how my breasts fall into all of this? It's really embarrassing to see you…scrutinizing them like they've done something to you."

"It's the only reasonable conclusion!" The Chinese captain argued fervently, "Think about it! Remember the pictures I showed you of Yoruichi, when she was the leader of Onimitsukido? She wore this exact same style of outfit as me and not once during her entire tenure did she ever so much as get a common cold! The only difference between us aside from height, lineage, and her absolutely magnificent perfect dreamy-"

"(Ahem)" Both red faced Kurosaki's coughed to get her out of her tangent

"Err…complexion." The woman coughed to regain her composure "I've always been a size B, therefore the only difference between us is about three sizes of…chest padding!"

"Well…I guess…but it's not like Yoruichi is entirely normal! I mean neither of us can change into an animal, you know. Maybe she's got some kind of special cat immunity."

"Senna does have a point, Lin." said the carrot top "You did say it wasn't until you took over Onimitsukido, and changed out of the full-bodied operative clothing into what you have on now, that you started to get sick regularly."

"Perhaps, but I had Senna wear this outfit when she was in Soul Society; she didn't seem the least bit affected by the weather!" she proclaimed

Said girl scratched her hair in thought as she recalled the time. "That's true." She admitted. "But it was summer, there were no elements to be exposed to except for heat! And besides I'm a C borderline D, it's not that much of a difference between us, so there goes your theory."

"Well what about Matsumoto-san? Or Kotetsu-Fukutaichō! Even Unohana-Taichō!" the woman wildly accused, uncomfortably pointing an accusing finger in the direction of Senna's boobs, who covered them as she shirked to the side. "They all have even bigger breasts than you, Senna, and I have never once seen them suffer as much as I have! Are you going to tell me they have special immunity too!? Or will you just admit that your, your," she was so angry she just couldn't bring to say the word "Mammarys are the cause of all this!"

"I…" Senna sweat dropped "Shaolin, I say this lovingly, but I think your problem is more finesse related then say…ummm substance related?" she tried to say with a warm smile.

Ichigo glanced back at Senna before thinking over how he could resolve the problem. The man snapped his fingers when an idea hit him "Well, why don't you just layer up?" He asked, "I don't think the Sotaichō would mind all that much."

"I would if I could!" Shaolin shouted despondently wishing there was a readymade solution. "Unfortunately, he wants us to maintain our" she stopped and dropped her voice a bit "'Dignified Taichō appearance at all times'," she mocked before returning her voice to normal and continued "so I can't just change out clothing, and besides even after perfecting my Shunko into Fūjin, I would blow away any clothing on the areas I try to cover up. I don't want my cold problem to become a nudity scandal." She sweat dropped "Rrrgh, damn it. If I had those orbs of excess fat, I could just grab them and huddle close to myself and keep warm. Grr…I never thought I'd say this, but perhaps I should have listened to my mother and eaten more meat as a child…if only to overcome this…gap!"

Ichigo let out a nervous chuckle, as he scratched the base of his neck, amused at the fact that the petite girl would complain about such a thing, yet trying not to draw attention to himself since it would probably end very badly.

Before the festive nature could continue, a loud blare from the radio Ichigo was carrying echoed throughout the room grabbing everyone's attention. Quickly pulling the device out and hitting the talk, Ichigo and the girls were met with a loud horrifying shriek pain and an intense laughter.

Then the line went dead.

Not wasting a moment, he changed into Shinigami state as he pulled off his marital ring; Soifon seeing what he did mimicked his actions and placed her ring on the table beside him. The two of them shared a small glance at each other, silent worry evident in their eyes, before turning back around to see the Shinigamified Senna, who exhaled, awaiting their orders.

"Follow me." He commanded, as they followed him out the door. As the trio reached the roof top they were shocked to see a large smoke cloud coming from the distance, what Senna didn't know was that in that direction was one of the towers that would protect Karakura town should the fighting spill over into the human world.

"What's going on?" Senna asked as she looked across the rooftops hoping to spot someone, anyone who might know why there was an explosion.

Behind her Ichigo was flipping through radio channels trying to hale anyone down, finally after a minute it clicked in "(static)…he…llo. Hitsugaya-taichō, reporting in! Is anyone out there!?"

"Toshiro, its Ichigo. I read you. What's going on!?" he relayed back

"Ichigo! Are you and Captain Soifon near Senna? Is Senna safe!?" The tenth captain asked over the radio, the voice of his lieutenant echoing on the background who was probably contacting another team.

"Affirmative. What's going on in sector four!?" he demanded

"Contact with the area has been lost. We are assuming a hostile force has attacked. Unknown number of combatants!" Toshiro yelled over the radio quickly "As leading officer for the defense team I'm ordering you and captain Soifon to remain near Senna and make sure nothing happens to her. We'll move to intercept as soon as we can but don't let your guard down."

With a sense of uneasy, the lieutenant muttered an 'alright' before hanging up the line. As he put the communicator back into his coat he brought Zangetsu around to his side, while Shaolin released her Zanpaktou and bid Senna to get behind her, who complied but released her Zanpaktou just in case.

The team waited in anticipation of the foe ahead, unsure if it was just some lucky wandering Hollow, or if it was Aizen himself, spearheading a bold attack against Soul Society. They didn't know and for Ichigo, this was the first time since the hospital incident, he felt more like the hunted instead of the hunter.

As the minutes ticked away, he finally saw it: A white figure sprinting across the sky towards them. "We've got one." Ichigo hollered as the two girls brought their attention to the forefront now spotting the approaching enemy.

The team couldn't make out anything distinctive about the enemy, except it wasn't some large abomination, it was humanoid in appearance, and if not for the white garb, the individual could have passed for a human…or a Shinigami.

A chill ran down the young man's spine as he realized that perhaps Aizen had made a move already, and was well on his way to creating his army.

The being stopped roughly fifty feet away from them standing in the black sky almost in hesitation. One of its arms raised itself and passed through its hair before coming down to its hips followed by it shaking its head in a final attempt to steel itself, then without warning the creature disappeared from its skyward box and appeared on the opposite end of the rooftop guardrail.

With Zangetsu, Mirokumaru and Suzumebachi pressed against his throat.

The only sound that was heard was the gasp of shock from Senna, who recognized the individual. The girl against her battle-honed instincts took her eyes off her 'enemy' and saw that Ichigo's and Soifon's expression were marred with feigned indifference, subtle shock and intense desire to keep themselves from making a costly move.

The standoff held for several seconds as the enemy's sorrowful gaze fell to each individual threatening him. The man in white let out a tired sigh as if expecting this reaction yet still holding unto the hope that things could be better if he convinced himself. Slowly he placed his hands against the back ends of Zangetsu and Suzumebachi and slowly pulled them away from his throat, before taking a step back to pull away from Mirokumaru. "Well…that was a close shave. It would have been really ironic to have died by your hands you three, especially since I've wronged you."

"Funny you should say that," Ichigo's eyes hardened by the second as he looked at the guarded expression of the other man "Shinjiro."

The samurai let out a despondent sigh at the animosity behind the man's words though he knew in his heart of hearts that Ichigo was simply being honest with the situation from his perspective. "It's good to know that you're still alive Ichigo. I'm glad things worked out."

"Really now? Could have fooled me."

"Ichigo." The man's fiancé chided before giving an even look to the samurai that betrayed them "What are you doing here alone?"

Rocking his head back and forth as if trying to find a way to navigate things he uttered, "Well, I'm not alone." He answered truthfully

"I see." The woman accepted before gazing around her surroundings "So Subaru is here as well? Hiding in the shadows?" she walked away and yelled out over the building "IF YOU'RE LISTENING SUBARU COME OUT AND MEET ME FACE TO FACE! NO MORE HIDING IN THE DARK!"

Her challenging declaration rang throughout the rooftops and reverberated over the distance, but still no other sound aside from the breathing of her compatriots answered her. The woman placed her hands unto the railing and gripped harder and harder in anticipation for when the spy would come out.

Surprisingly, the one who broke the silence was Senna "I don't sense her, Soifon, I don't think she's here." The girl reported quietly

The woman kept her gaze firmly over the city skyline unconvinced until Shinjiro spoke up, "You don't sense her because she's not here. She's back at Aizen's base of operations in Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo watched as Soifon body slowly rose and fell with each breath until finally she turned her attention away from the empty sky back to their guest. "So if she's not here and you aren't alone then am I to assume that you're with the hostile group?"

"I only traveled with them to see the human world again. I'm not assisting them in their mission nor do I know what their true objective is, I didn't even know they would be coming here to Karakura." Shinjiro testified, "I can only assume that they're here because you guys are here." He added

Ichigo looked from Soifon back to Shinjiro and after judging his worried expression decided to believe he was telling the truth, "So what are we facing exactly? A couple of Aizen throw away soldiers?"

"Worse than that. A couple of his 'throwaway' soldiers could probably defeat a number of low ranking seated officers. What you're dealing with is a legitimate threat."

"I don't understand. Are you telling me there's an enemy here who can match a captain in combat?" he asked the all-important question

"I've never crossed swords with him personally, but I wouldn't rule it out of the realm of probability." Shinjiro replied, "Aizen forces are set up in a hierarchal manner unlike the squad base of Soul Society. Your overall power, skill set, and innate ability give you a position in this hierarchy. The lower the number the better off you are." He explained as he crossed his arms and nudged his head over to the captain.

"For instance, Shaolin here is one of thirteen captains, if she was say the fourth strongest of the captains that would mean she would be ranked number four in the army, and could order anyone from the fifth position onward to do whatever she wanted."

"Oh, I get it. Might makes right; instead, of being equals in charge of different areas." Senna clarified

"So we're dealing with squad eleven idiots with Zaraki level power. Wonderful." Soifon huffed to herself, "Tell me, Shinjiro, what exactly is your angle?"

The man furrowed his brow "I beg your pardon? 'My angle'?"

The pained discomfort of Soifon clearly showed through when she spoke "Why do all this? Betray Soul Society, turn your back on me, almost kill Ichigo. You've done all these and many more horrible crimes and I'm left here standing in the dark!" Her gaze wandered to her shoes "Shinjiro…you and Subaru are high priority target…same as Aizen."

Before Senna could ask what exactly that entailed Ichigo turned to the woman with no shortage of shock "When was this decided!? You do know what that means right? I thought you wanted them to be taken ALIVE."

"I do, but I've been given orders, which I couldn't tell anyone about, especially you!" She insisted,

"Why did you keep this a secret from me!?" he yelled

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!" she shot back even louder, "If I didn't accept the mission then it would have been passed unto another, who'd be far less inclined to exercise flexibility of judgment."

Ichigo cursed the Sotaichō as he removed his heated glare from his wife. "So what did he order you to do?" he asked keeping his temper under control to get some answers.

"You know I can't tell you that Ichigo." She replied tiredly. When he didn't back down she let out a sigh, before continuing. "The only part of my orders I can get away with telling you would be the one based on public knowledge: I was instructed to assassinate any high priority targets should the opportunity arise."

The woman closed her eyes dejectedly, "In the interest of safety, for both you two and the Soul Society, I had to inform General Yamamoto about the extent of their Shikai and other known abilities. Aizen's forces presumably have extensive knowledge on how we Shinigami fight, as well as the abilities of the captains, including our Bankais." She explained before pointing offhandedly to the traitor

"I want both of you to consider for a moment. What if Shinjiro was an active participant in Aizen's scheme? His Masamune alone could cripple every non-direct, non-physical, form of fighting, making most Zanpaktou and their abilities, my and Yoruichi's Shunko technique, and every practitioner of Kido including the kido corps, useless. Yamamoto-Sotaichō doesn't want the enemy to have any more advantage then they already have." She paused momentarily, but when she continued speaking her sub-seated anger and disgust at her own powerlessness was become noticeable.

"The only reason that he didn't preclude me from such knowledge was because he didn't know that I helped you, when you came storming into Soul Society, Ichigo. He believed that I was loyal to him and that I put my personal feelings aside in the interests of justice. If he had even so much as a hint to what really happened between us, to what we are to each other, I wouldn't have even been allowed on this mission, deemed too close to make the 'right' choice!"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group at the truth in her words. Ichigo and the others had been lucky that she had chosen to believe in Ichigo and Masaki, giving precious aid when they desperately needed it most, even if they didn't know of her true allegiance at the time.

"Kill on sight, huh?" the samurai mused quietly to himself, trying not to seem too shaken at the proposition. "Well, I guess I can understand having to make a tough call, duress doesn't excuse some of our crimes, and it's not like we knew each other on a personal level." He shrugged "'Sides, when you've got a captain torn between her duty and her desire, it's a no brainer to not tell you these kinds of orders, unless you prove your loyalty."

Soifon turned away silently as Ichigo pressed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He then turned to meet Shinjiro's gaze "You didn't answer her question, Shinjiro. What are you really doing here? It's certainly not because Aizen is manipulating you; otherwise, you wouldn't be acting the way you are."

"I'm here…" the man started before looking away with an almost tearful expression. Quietly swallowing whatever was holding him back. "I was here in Karakura to get away from it all, for just a minute, but when I sensed your spiritual pressure, I had to make a decision of hiding away or confronting you. The reason why I'm in front of you now…it's because you're my friends." He chanced a glance at the trio, "I want you all to survive this at any cost."

"I don't get it, if that's what you're trying to do, then why go about it in such a round-a-bout way?" Senna asked just as confused the others from all the mixed messages.

The samurai let out an exasperated sigh, as he ran a hand threw his hair. Not sure if now would be a great time to explain, what with the Arrancar in the city. Before he could decline, he saw Shaolin looking at him with a pleading in her eyes "Shinjiro. I'm going to find out eventually." She stated quietly "I loved you two unconditionally. Don't I deserve to know the truth now from your lips, rather than someone else after the fact?" she asked with heartrending disappointment.

The man closed his mouth and looked up into the starry nighttime sky longingly, thinking back on himself and when days were better. Finally the man turned away and started to walk towards the railing on the building's edge "Yeah, you're right, you do deserve the truth." He said as he leaned back against the guardrail, arms crossed.

"But, before I go into my long explanation and re-telling of events, I'll tell you the conclusion, in case we get interrupted. That way you know what happened, instead of having to guess why." He nudged his head towards Ichigo, who was listening intently like the others. "Back at the Sokyoku hill top, I'm sure you remember when Subaru and I stabbed you in front of Aizen after he got the Hogyoku."

The Shinigami nodded "Yeah, we remember."

"The reason we attacked you was so that we could incapacitate you; that way Aizen, Ichimaru, or Tosen wouldn't actually kill you back on the hill top. Once Aizen had extracted the Hogyoku, you became a loose end to be tied up. Considering the venue and timing of things, I think Aizen planned for you to be up there after faking his death as a bit of extra assurance. In the off chance that Kuchiki-Taichō could kill you when he was fighting serious, one of us, including Aizen, would get the job done before leaving. Subaru and I made a bee line towards the stairwell, we arrived at the top of the execution grounds, before Gin and Kaname, but after Renji apparently snuck back up with Rukia, if he ever left. When we sensed the other traitors approaching we acted first, attacking you, causing them to strike Abarai-Fukutaichō, who was unfortunately at the wrong place, at the wrong time, giving us the chance for a clean get away."

"So then you knew about the plan to take over Soul Society the entire time? If that's the case then why did you attack me back in Rukongai before we invaded Soul Society?"

The samurai winced "That's complicated to answer, especially on its own. So I'll start from the beginning and work my way forward." He then closed his eyes and began to recollect, "It all started about a year after Yoruichi's betrayal…that's when things changed."


Blackout2010 (thinking):….

(Flash back: 6 years ago: High school)

Blackout2010: But teacher seriously, when the hell am I gonna use Spanish!? Outside of this class, I speak English 99 percent of the time. The only exception is when I go to taco bell or another Spanish restaurant.

Teacher: You say that now, but one day, you'll find yourself in a situation where you'll have to use it.

Blackout2010: (Pffft. Yeah right)

(Flash back end)

Blackout2010:….

Ichigo: Hey [whistles] you okay?

Blackout2010:…fuck!

Ichigo: ?

Blackout2010: {sigh} let's get this show on the road.

Ichigo: Okay…

Blackout2010: Esto es una mierda!

Ichigo: (What's his problem?)

Rukia: Thank-you come again!


Guidepost of the soul!

1. Spanish Translation: Hollow sword versus Shinigami Zanpaktou

2. Japanese Translation: Nameless. Kanji: 名無し

3. Canna Lachlan, speaks with an Australian accent because he's an aussie. I tried my best to create the best authentic speech and vocal translation. Again, no expert here. For Zolin, sorry Mexican-Indians descendants, never met one of ya, no choice but to go stereotypical stoic indian.

4. Turok the Dinosaur hunter reference.

5. Chinese Translation: Wo de ai: my love: Hanzi used: 我的爱

6. Chinese Translation: Àirén: beloved: Hanzi used: 爱人


From all of us (well...me) here at the Blackout2010 account and Ocasio industries, I want to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and amazing new years. Keep your heads up everyone and smile!