"Aizen…"
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes. In a millennium of life he had weathered too many crises to count. One more traitor captain shouldn't have mattered. Yet incident upon incident piled up, and a quiet certainty coalesced in him: Aizen would not be so easily contained.
At the same time, Shinji finished relaying every detail the black Hell Butterfly had carried.
"Tatsuki Arisawa…" Rukia frowned. She remembered the name: Cole and Ichigo's classmate, a tough tomboyish girl.
"Since it happened in Karakura, didn't Cole intervene?" Rukia looked at Shinji. Others turned, puzzled as well. They all knew how terrifying Cole was. And the World of the Living had other heavy hitters—Unohana, Ichigo, and the remaining four Visored, the friends of Cole and Ichigo. Together, that force was nearly half a court's worth of captains.
What kind of Hollows could snatch someone away? Two Vasto Lorde-class? Even that shouldn't be enough.
Shinji gave a rueful smile. "They suppressed their reiatsu—and then used hostages to force Cole's hand."
Understanding dawned across the room.
Kenpachi clicked his tongue. "Using the weak as bargaining chips? Trash, the both of them."
Nods circled. A true strong one wouldn't stoop so low.
Shinji shook his head, face turning grave. "Don't underestimate them. Those two aren't weak—they're strong. Not far off from many of you here."
Faces hardened. Everyone in this hall had attained a zanpakuto's final liberation—bankai. Hollows stronger than them… Vasto Lorde?
Shinji laid out Yammy and Ulquiorra's powers: their Resurrección (Resurrection) forms, the sky-pressing reiatsu, the roaring behemoth like a dinosaur, and the black-winged demon's Segunda Etapa (Second Stage).
By the end, no one looked casual. This was not the usual rabble.
Finishing the briefing, Shinji's eyes slid—perhaps not entirely by accident—to Byakuya.
"Say what you mean," Byakuya said coolly.
Shinji coughed. "According to Ichigo, that Arrancar called Ulquiorra should be… stronger than you, Captain Kuchiki."
Byakuya's mouth twitched. He calmly resolved: next time he saw Ichigo, the boy would learn first-hand why Senbonzakura was classified as a direct-slaying blade.
Shinji hurried to add, "He wasn't singling you out. He also said Ulquiorra's about… five Kenseis."
Kensei: "…"
After that brief detour, the room returned to business. In the end they agreed: a Hueco Mundo expedition. There was no sense "guarding against thieves for a thousand days." If Aizen meant to keep hiding in Hueco Mundo, they wouldn't just stare at Karakura forever. Better to go drag the traitor out.
"Then we choose the expedition force," Shunsui said, folding his arms.
The air grew taut. This expedition differed from the old "great expeditions." Those had been for mowing grass—thinning Menos to ease the World of the Living's burden. This one was to cut out a traitor. The Hollows they met would be elites. Anyone under captain level would be walking to their death.
All eyes turned to Yamamoto.
Before he spoke, Kenpachi exploded, eyes alight. "Old man, I'm going. If there are monsters over there, it'll be fun to carve them up—"
"Then go," Yamamoto cut in, assigning him on the spot.
Good call, Commander, several thought privately. There were only two battlefields now: Hueco Mundo and Karakura. If Kenpachi stayed in Karakura, he'd flatten half the town with his fighting style.
"Ha ha ha ha—!" Kenpachi's laugh boomed, barely contained. The others shared a collective sweatdrop—but the meeting rolled on.
Yamamoto's gaze shifted to the Visored. "You four—"
"We're not going," Shinji said at once, eyes like ice. "Aizen will come to Karakura. The sin of forcing Hollowfication on us a hundred years ago—we'll avenge it ourselves."
His hand drifted to his cheek. He wore no mask now, yet he still felt tainted by Hollow power. To a Shinigami, nothing stung worse.
Seeing their resolve, Yamamoto pondered, then nodded at Byakuya. "Kuchiki Byakuya. You will go."
"Understood," Byakuya said.
"Count me in as well." Mayuri licked his lips, eyes fever-bright. "Arrancar capable of a second Resurrección… far too valuable. If I can unravel it, that would prove I'm much better than Kisuke…"
Kisuke sighed, long-suffering, at Mayuri's familiar mania. Yamamoto permitted Mayuri to join. Three captains now, four if Unohana from the World of the Living joined—nearly a third of the Court Guard's captain power.
…
Hueco Mundo. The void outside Las Noches.
A black fissure, dozens of meters tall and hundreds long, tore open. Reiatsu boiled from it like a tsunami.
Every Arrancar in Las Noches felt both signatures spike.
Grimmjow looked over and scowled. "Yammy, Ulquiorra—what are those idiots doing? Trying to provoke us?"
Las Noches wasn't that big. Any release sent ripples through the whole fortress—let alone something this blatant. It was a gauntlet thrown.
In a shadowed chamber, Barragan sat upon a throne of bone. His voice was glacial. "They flaunt themselves now?"
His four Fracción knelt, stares cold. They knew they couldn't match Yammy and Ulquiorra—but if Barragan ordered it, they would spend their lives to punish such insolence.
Barragan rose and said, "Come. We'll see what they are about."
Out on the white sands, a tall figure in a white robe, black monocle, and crescent-scythe—Nnoitra—slung the massive blade onto his shoulder and glared toward the fortress. "Those two bastards, kicking up reiatsu like that—how am I supposed to hunt that filthy woman?"
He stamped the ground and blurred forward, a streak of white racing for the garganta.
Twenty minutes after he passed, three small mounds on the sands bulged and popped. Three Hollows emerged—one, a green-haired little Arrancar girl with a skull-mask; another, a white-and-violet lizardish Adjuchas; the last, big and garish, a human-faced brute.
The girl shook sand from her hair, thumped a tiny fist to her chest, and beamed. "Nell didn't get spotted! Nell wins!"
The other two, shaking with fear, grabbed her and ran. Nnoitra hated women with a special venom. Nell had become like this—small and weak—because he'd cut her down from behind.
"Nell, let's race," one panted. "Fastest wins."
"Nell will be number one!" she chirped, legs pumping as they fled.
…
Elsewhere, more Espada turned toward the disturbance: Primera—Coyote Starrk; Tercera—Tier Harribel; Séptima—Zommari Rureaux; Octava—Szayelaporro Granz; Novena—Aaroniero Arruruerie. Top-tier Arrancar all, they moved like lightning with sonido (Sound Step), converging on the open plaza outside Las Noches.
Aizen, Tōsen, and Gin were already waiting.
Grimmjow, arriving, curled a lip at the still-yawning fissure. "Yammy! Ulquiorra! What are you two playing at—want me to come drag you out!?"
No answer.
Starrk yawned. "Maybe they're limping back with heavy injuries."
Lilynette kicked his shin. "Don't be stupid. Those Shinigami weaklings? Like they could hurt Yammy and Ulquiorra."
"Yeah, yeah," Starrk said, as lazy as ever.
Harribel frowned. "Even so, they're too slow. As Espada, we don't dawdle."
Nnoitra snorted, eyeing the crescent blade he carried. "You're only Third. Who are you to lecture me?"
Harribel's gaze turned to ice. "Do you want to die?"
She knew his nature well—his rabid misogyny. The former Third, Neliel, had been maimed by his treachery.
Nnoitra held her stare, then huffed and looked away. Harribel was no Neliel of the past; this woman was a storm. Push her and she might well cut him down—and he couldn't beat her.
"Just a woman," he muttered, fingers whitening on his blade. The killing urge flashed and he quietly vowed to butcher her someday.
Time ticked by with the Espada bickering. As it stretched, a realization crept over them all: something had gone wrong. Otherwise, the two wouldn't be this late.
Aizen thought, so—it happened, after all? Even with his warning, they'd still been engaged as they withdrew?
But since the garganta stood open, they were at least alive.
Barragan's Fracción returned hauling a throne so their lord could sit in proper majesty. Eyes from the other Arrancar slid their way—none spoke. The former king of Hueco Mundo still inspired a certain wariness.
Tōsen's lip curled. A shabby dog clinging to old bones, striking a pose.
Barragan said, mild as frost, "Aizen. Reign in your dog—or I will."
His Fracción's eyes turned murderous on Tōsen.
Aizen chuckled. "Tōsen—show Mr. Barragan the respect he is due."
Tōsen inclined his head. "As you wish, Aizen-sama."
Their airy calm made Barragan's hate curdle hotter. His right hand creaked against the bone armrest. "Aizen…"
At last, when the Espada began to drift away, footsteps sounded in the fissure. Ulquiorra stepped out.
Grimmjow leaned in, scowling. "Ulquiorra, if you're not dead, don't keep us—"
His words died. His pupils shrank. He stared at the figure Ulquiorra supported.
"Yammy…"
Gasps rippled. The gathered Arrancar gaped at the ruined hulk that was Yammy.
"What… happened to you two!?"
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!]
[[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]