A sharp clang of metal echoed as Nnoitra Gilga's massive scythe, Santa Teresa, deflected the glowing arrow meant for Yammy Llargo's heart. The projectile shattered into motes of fading reishi, saving the Number 10 Espada from a potentially critical blow.
"Nnoitra…!" Yammy panted, his massive chest heaving. He knew he'd been saved, but the act only stoked the furnace of his rage. Being protected was an insult to his pride.
"You idiot," Nnoitra drawled, not even glancing at his fellow Espada, his four eyes locked on their shared enemy. "Don't let his arrows touch your Zanpakutō again. If you do, you'll never be able to achieve your Resurrección." His voice was laced with a bored, mocking tone, as if explaining something simple to a child.
The revelation hit Yammy like a physical blow. His eyes widened, then narrowed into furious slits. So that was the Shinigami's game! That constant, pesky sniping at his sheathed sword wasn't just harassment; it was a seal! He turned his brutish gaze back to Amamiya Miyako, his expression twisting into a mask of excited ferocity. "Is that so…! That's great news!" he roared, a grin splitting his face. Now that he knew the trick, he could crush this insect properly.
Miyako, however, kept his focus on Nnoitra. His brow furrowed in mild surprise. Since when did the Espada show such… camaraderie? From his intelligence and brief encounters, they were a pack of rabid dogs held together only by Aizen's leash, each one eager to tear out the others' throats. A flash of understanding crossed his mind.
'I see. He's not helping. He's making Yammy waste my energy, and when I'm drained, he'll swoop in for the killing blow. What a predictable, low-level tactic.'
With that thought, Miyako made a decision. He needed to remind the interloper of his place. In a fluid motion, he pivoted, the immense spiritual bow of his Bankai humming as he drew the string. A single, brilliant arrow of light materialized, aimed not at Yammy, but straight at Nnoitra's chest.
Nnoitra saw the attack coming. A contemptuous smirk played on his lips. Instead of bringing his scythe up to block, he simply raised his open palm, a dark green aura of concentrated reishi enveloping his hand.
"Think you can pierce my skin, Shinigami?" Nnoitra scoffed. "My Hierro is the hardest among all the Espada. It's not some brittle trash like Yammy's. Your little light show ends here."
The arrow met his palm. For a split second, it seemed he might be right. But then, a sickening shink sound cut through the air. The arrow didn't shatter or deflect; it punched straight through his Hierro-encased flesh, erupting from the back of his hand in a spray of dark blood.
Nnoitra's eyes shot wide open in shock and pain. He jerked his body to the side, barely avoiding the arrow as it continued its path to embed itself in the white sand behind him, sizzling with residual energy. He stared at the clean, bleeding hole in his palm, his disbelief quickly curdling into pure, unadulterated rage. His four eyes snapped up to Miyako, burning with murderous intent.
"Consider that a punishment for interrupting another man's fight," Miyako stated, his voice calm and even, a stark contrast to the storm of anger he had just provoked.
"You brat!!" Nnoitra snarled, his spiritual pressure flaring violently. He lunged forward, Santa Teresa held high, ready to cleave Miyako in two. But before he could take two steps, Yammy's colossal body shifted, deliberately blocking his path.
"Hey! Nnoitra!" Yammy barked, his own hostility now directed at his would-be savior. "This guy is mine! I didn't ask for your help! Back off!" The idea of Nnoitra stealing his prey, his vengeance, was unacceptable.
"Yammy… you ungrateful bastard!" Nnoitra spat, his scythe still poised.
For a moment, it seemed the two Arrancars were on the verge of turning on each other. Miyako, however, held no such illusions. Their fragile alliance wouldn't break so easily, not with a common enemy standing before them. He wouldn't waste this opportunity watching a potential squabble.
Instead, he feinted. His bow lifted again, another arrow forming. He made it look exactly like his previous attempts—a swift, precise shot aimed at the Zanpakutō hilt at Yammy's waist. Yammy, now hyper-aware of the sealing threat, reacted exactly as Miyako predicted. With a grunt, he twisted his torso, presenting his meaty shoulder to intercept the arrow, shielding his sword.
It was the wrong move.
This arrow wasn't a sealing type. It was pure, destructive force. It struck Yammy's shoulder and tore straight through, exploding out the other side in a grisly shower of blood and fragmented Hierro. Yet another hole was punched through the giant's body.
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Miyako asked, a thread of genuine disdain in his voice. "Did you think I'd use the same trick after you'd been told about it?"
Yammy's face contorted, a vein throbbing on his temple. The taunt, the injury—it was too much. He threw his head back, his massive jaws unhinging as a swirling vortex of crimson spiritual energy gathered in his mouth. "Cero!" he bellowed, firing the destructive beam point-blank.
"You really don't learn," Miyako sighed, as if dealing with a particularly stubborn child. He didn't even move from his spot. He simply nocked and released another arrow. It flew straight and true, directly into the mouth of the Cero. The two forces collided, and a deafening explosion erupted between them, the concussive force washing over the battlefield and kicking up a storm of white sand.
Miyako's original plan—to conserve reishi, slowly whittle Yammy down, and keep enough in reserve for Nnoitra—was now in tatters. With both Espada fully hostile and his tactics exposed, the battle had just escalated into a true one-versus-two death match. He tightened his grip on his spiritual bow. The real fight was beginning now.
*****
Meanwhile, deep within the labyrinthine corridors of Las Noches, Kurosaki Ichigo and his companions fought their way through a seemingly endless tide of lesser Arrancar.
"Damn it! As expected of the enemy's stronghold! They just keep coming!" Uryū Ishida snapped, his gloved hand a blur as he fired volley after volley of blue spiritual arrows, each one striking down a Hollow-masked soldier. The thwip-thwip-thwip of his Seele Schneider was a constant rhythm in the chaotic hall.
"Yeah, no kidding! Get out of our way!" Ichigo roared, his oversized Shikai blade, Zangetsu, cutting a wide swath through the enemy ranks. Each swing sent several Arrancar flying, but for every one he defeated, two more seemed to take its place.
Rukia Kuchiki, assessing the situation with a captain's tactical eye, knew this couldn't continue. They were being bogged down, their spiritual pressure being steadily drained by cannon fodder. She raised her own Zanpakutō, the beautiful Sode no Shirayuki, its blade gleaming like ice.
"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" she chanted. A wave of intense cold shot from her blade, not in a narrow line, but in a wide arc. The frigid air washed over the advancing Arrancar, encasing their legs and lower bodies in solid ice, rooting them to the spot instantly.
"Ichigo! Ishida! Now's your chance!" Rukia yelled, pointing her free hand towards a staircase leading to the second floor. "Get moving! Inoue and Tatsuki are on the third floor, right?! Before more powerful enemies arrive, we have to get to them, now!"
She could feel it—the titanic spiritual pressures clashing outside the dome. It was Miyako, holding the line against monsters. He was buying them this precious time with his life on the line. They couldn't waste a single second of it.
"You're a lifesaver, Rukia! Alright, Ishida, let's go!" Ichigo shouted, his resolve hardening. He kicked off the ground, a blur of black and orange shooting towards the staircase.
Uryū was right behind him, pausing only to give Rukia a curt nod. "We'll handle it from here. Don't push yourself too hard."
As the two boys vanished onto the upper level, Rukia turned back to the frozen horde, her expression grim. The ice was already beginning to crack. She hadn't used her Bankai; against a large group like this, its true power was less effective, and it would drain her reserves too quickly. But the sheer number of enemies was daunting. How long could she, a Soul Society Captain, truly hold this chokepoint alone?
On the second floor, the scene was no better. A new wall of Arrancar soldiers awaited them. Ichigo immediately went for Zangetsu, but Uryū's hand shot out, stopping him.
"Kurosaki, wait," Uryū said, his voice firm. He adjusted his glasses, the lenses glinting. "Leave this group to me. I'll clear a path. You need to save your strength. Remember who else is in here." His gaze flickered upwards, towards the oppressive, cold spiritual pressure they all recognized.
Ichigo gritted his teeth but nodded. He could feel him too. Ulquiorra. "...I understand. Then I'll leave it to you, Ishida."
"Don't get the wrong idea," Uryū retorted, though his actions betrayed his words. He pulled a small, silver tube from his Quincy uniform—a gift from Miyako to accelerate reishi gathering—and activated it. The energy around him coalesced at a visible, accelerated rate. "This is just the most efficient way to rescue Inoue and Arisawa. Now, go!"
He raised his bow, and a massive, complex Heilig Pfeil glyph spun into existence before him. "Sprenger!" A torrent of countless light arrows erupted from the glyph, screaming down the hallway like a divine punishment. They slammed into the ranks of Arrancar, creating a massive explosion that cleared a temporary, smoking path through the enemy forces.
Ichigo didn't need to be told twice. He poured on his speed, a Getsuga Tensho-enhanced burst carrying him through the opening and up towards the next level.
On the highest floor of Las Noches, in a throne room of impossible grandeur, Sōsuke Aizen observed the intruders' progress with detached amusement. Beside him, Gin Ichimaru watched with his perpetual fox-like smile, while Kaname Tōsen stood in silent contemplation.
"They are quite persistent, aren't they?" Gin commented lightly.
Aizen didn't respond directly. He watched as the spiritual signature of Kurosaki Ichigo finally broke through to the third floor, homing in on the room where the two girls were kept. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. It was all proceeding as anticipated.
"Ulquiorra," Aizen said, his voice calm and resonant, cutting through the silence. "Would you be so kind as to bring Orihime to me?"
The Cuatro Espada, who had been standing motionless in the shadows, stepped forward. "As you wish, Aizen-sama," he replied, his voice an emotionless monotone. He then turned and vanished, using Sonído to flash through the halls.
Ichigo burst into the room Miyako had described, his heart pounding. He saw them—Orihime and Tatsuki, looking frightened but unharmed. But standing guard were two female Arrancar, their expressions twisted with malice.
"Loly Aivirrne, Menoly Mallia… Move!" Ichigo commanded, not wanting to waste a second.
"You think you can just barge in here, you filthy Shinigami?!" Loly shrieked.
There was no time for a prolonged fight. Ichigo raised Zangetsu, black and red energy swirling around the blade. "Getsuga Tenshō!" A crescent of pure destructive power roared from his sword. The two Arrancar, though numbered, were utterly outclassed by Ichigo's raw power. The attack slammed into them, sending them crashing through the far wall with cries of pain, severely injured but not yet defeated.
Ichigo didn't wait to see them fall. He sliced through the main door with a single swing of Zangetsu. "Inoue! Tatsuki! I'm here to save you!" he said, a relieved grin breaking through his determined expression.
"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cried out, her eyes filling with tears of relief.
"Ichigo!" Tatsuki exclaimed, her own fierce spirit rekindling.
"Alright, we're getting out of here! Hey, Tatsuki, catch!" Ichigo said, rummaging in his shihakushō and pulling out a small, glowing charm. He tossed it to her. "It's a reishi regulator. It's still way too dangerous for a normal human in a place like this. This should help you keep up."
But the moment the charm left his fingertips, a familiar, chilling, and utterly vacant spiritual pressure materialized at the doorway behind him. The air grew cold and heavy.
Ichigo froze, his blood running cold. He slowly turned.
There, standing as impassively as ever, was Ulquiorra Cifer. His green eyes held no emotion, no anger, no curiosity. They were simply… empty.
"It's you…!" Ichigo snarled, instantly falling into a combat stance. But then he stopped, his eyes darting back to Tatsuki, who was completely vulnerable. He couldn't fight freely with her here.
Ulquiorra's gaze swept over Ichigo, past him, and landed on Orihime. "If you will not act… then I will take this woman," he stated flatly. In the blink of an eye, he was gone from the doorway and standing beside a terrified Orihime. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No! Let her go!" Ichigo roared, lunging forward.
But he was too slow. With another silent burst of Sonído, Ulquiorra and Orihime vanished, leaving nothing but a fading spiritual residue.
Ichigo stared at the empty spot, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. "WAIT!" he screamed into the emptiness, his voice echoing in the suddenly quiet room.
Tatsuki, clutching the charm to her chest, stared in horror at where her best friend had just been. "Orihime…!"
Before Ichigo could process his next move, a furious, bloodied Loly Aivirrne staggered back into the room, her face a mask of rage and pain. Menoly was slumped unconscious in the hall behind her.
"Think you can just leave after that?!" Loly shrieked, her spiritual pressure flaring wildly. "It's not that easy!"
"Damn it…" Ichigo gritted his teeth, his mind racing. He was trapped between the need to pursue Ulquiorra and the duty to protect the friend right in front of him.
Tatsuki, however, made the choice for him. Her expression hardened, all traces of fear replaced by a fierce determination. She held up the glowing charm. "Ichigo, don't worry about me! If this thing lets me move, I'll be fine! Go! Go save Orihime, now!"
The path was clear, but the cost was rising. The rescue mission had just taken a dire turn.