Happy New Year guys!
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"You are next. I will avenge my subordinates." — Tier Harribel.
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[POV: With Itachi, The Clone]
In all honesty there were a lot of ways he could have gone ahead with this, mainly a prolonged stealth, but the end goal for this particular mission said otherwise. At the end of the day, everything boiled down to Itachi using this to make a statement.
And what a statement it would be.
After securing a few pawns(because that was what they were as of the moment he got to them), he started moving deeper into the more personal spaces of the castle that were restricted to only the Espada and direct members of their fracción. He couldn't sense where his main body was but he was sure that their current destination was the same place.
Turning around a corner, he watched as two more Arrancars patrolled the area, looking more on guard than they had been in the beginning of his infiltration.
It unnerved him somewhat seeing how they were Arrancars in every part of the castle he turned to. Humanoid Hollows, mirror copies of the Shinigami, but not acquiring the strength that otherwise would have denoted their appearance.
Another thing that grated against his skin was how eerily they all possessed a great semblance of human emotion. One, two and a few, he was okay with that. But all of them?
Did the experiments with the Hōgyoku Aizen performed on them produce this effect? As a way of balancing the scales somewhat? To even the rationale between Hollow and Shinigami?
Whatever it was, it felt almost unnatural to Itachi, the clone.
He passed close by the Hollows but neither of them sensed his presence. One of the benefits of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Knowing he was now closer to Aizen than ever, he became even more cautious. He couldn't kill them nor could he put them in a genjutsu, well maybe he could do the latter but he opted not to.
His targets were the Espada more than anything. Only after getting through the Espada would they go for Aizen.
…..
[POV: With Itachi]
With the Espada now actively searching for him, his movements became even more restrained to the point that there was point in keeping in stealth.
He could feel the tingling sensation of their Reiatsu washing over the whole of Las Noches in an effort to wring out his location.
Unlike his time as a Shinobi, he had an easier time hiding from the more sensory types due to the ambient energy present everywhere as soul beings. Even the sands of Las Noches were just solid particles of this ambient energy.
Unless someone knew what to specifically search for, finding him among the natural camouflage that was this entire place was… difficult to say the least. Even Yoruichi, an expert in stealth, would have a hard time doing so.
'That woman is strong. How about we fight her?'
He ignored Amaterasu again for the fifth time much to her chagrin. She has been wanting him to fight any strong Hollow they come across.
'Baraggan is up ahead. Ulquiorra is down below. Two more Espada are on this floor.'
Getting his bearings from the location of their Reiatsu, he took the right cut, scaled across an unnecessary long hallway and came across an open path. He was about to continue but he caught a feeling of something that by all means shouldn't be here.
It was different now, but it still held that unique resonance he once knew.
In an instant, Itachi's expression turned rigid gloom as he disappeared from his position, no longer if anyone sensed the slight flaring of his Reiatsu and instantly appeared in the room he sensed Lilynette's Reiatsu.
His arrival surprised the other two Hollows in the room that weren't Lilynette.
Both women beside Lilynette sprang up the moment they identified who the intruder was and instantly fell into attacking motion while Lilynette just stood there frozen in shock.
Against the incoming attack from both Arrancars, Itachi didn't react, not even looking at them as they drew near him.
"Itachi wa-"
Lilynette shouted a moment too late as the part of their body they held up to attack him combusted into black flames.
Their screams snapped Lilynette out of her reverie and rushed her to their side in panic.
"Itachi stop, you'll kill them!" She shouted in alarm, careful not to touch the black flames even as she drew close to them.
Itachi spared the two writhing forms a glance and extinguished the flames, revealing half of their body almost completely disintegrated.
"They are still alive." He said, "but what are you doing here?"
Lilynette looked between her two comrades who were slowly breathing, painfully slow but still alive, before turning to Itachi with a myriad of expressions clouding her face as she looked at him.
He looked and felt different compared to the last time they saw each other.
Itachi could see that she was clearly worried about the two Hollows but he couldn't care about that now. He had to know what Lilynette was here. In Las Noches of all places. The very same place where Baraggan tried to get her killed.
"Where's Starrk?" There was just no way he could miss Starrk's Reiatsu if the man was in Las Noches. He wasn't an expert in controlling his Reiatsu and even if he was, it wasn't to the level where Itachi wouldn't be able to sense it. The bells in his head were already ringing a frantic jingle but he was more focused on Lilynette than any other thing.
She finally tore her eyes away from the burnt Hollows and looked at Itachi with eyes slowly radiating happiness as well as a tinge of worry.
"He's probably in his room." She answered but frowned as she remembered something. "Wait, why are you here?"
Itachi frowned. The variables of their presence here in Las Noches were disconcerting but he needed to speak with Starrk as soon as possible.
That was what he wanted to do but someone barred his path.
A golden haired woman. One of the stronger Espada at that.
He saw her looking at the form of the two Hollows on the ground and felt the rage inside her bubbling forth, held under a mask of calm.
She probably either sensed his Reiatsu when he rushed over or sensed the Reiatsu of the other two plummeting fast as they approached deathe doors, Itachi thought.
If she was aware, then Aizen was probably aware.
And that brought all his questions back to full circle. What couldn't he sense Starrk's presence? Was he behind a barrier? If so, why?
"I take it you are responsible for this, right?" The woman asked as she took a calm and poised step forward.
She then looked at Lilynette, confirming she was okay and turned to Itachi. She naturally knew who he was, having been briefed on two occasions about particular threats from the Soul Society.
"Step away from her." She said as she took another step, staring right into Itachi's red eyes. "Don't bother. Your pitiful illusions won't work on me."
"Don't be so conceited. You're strong, true, but not strong enough to judge the capabilities of my strengths."
"Arrogant man."
"Ignorant woman."
Cracks were already appearing all over the building and the one person that way affected by it all was Lilynette.
Itachi recognized the look in her eyes as she regarded both him and the woman in front of him. She cared equally about both of them.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a situation that could be easily solved by both of them being acquainted to the same friend.
"Lilynette, please take both of them away from here."
…..
[General POV]
Tier Harribel told Lilynette while she deeply analyzed the man standing between the both of them.
When she had arrived, she'd thought that like her two comrades, Lilynette was also in grave danger but when she had observed the smaller Hollow, she didn't find any signs of raised guard on her. And also, the man before her, Captain Uchiha, had been standing protectively in front of her when she arrived.
This was further confirmed when Lilynette looked at Itachi, clearly hesitating, only finally moving when he nodded at her and let her pass easily.
"Tell Starrk he owes me an explanation."
Her eyes narrowed when she heard Starrk's name from his mouth. What was going on?
Well, whatever it was would have to wait. He had hurt her friends. Her comrade and sisters. Whether he had history with Starrk or not, he had to pay for that.
"Your arrogance will be your undoing. Every Espada is already aware of your presence and location. You have no way of escaping Las Noches."
Itachi remained silent, watching her every move whole also readying himself. Even with the big snag that was Lilynette's presence in Las Noches, his end goal still remained the same.
The stealth part of the mission was still ongoing.
"Let me educate you." A silent reverberation of the air and she was standing behind Itachi and stabbing him with a sword… only to miss and hit nothing but air.
The soft displacement of air due to the use of Sonido blew against her ears as she sensed Itachi behind her, his words softly filtering into her ears.
"Like I said, my abilities are not for you to judge."