10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven
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Clank!
Tres Espada Tier Harribel deflected the former 9th Division Captain Kensei's Zanpakutō with ease. They had been fighting for the last fifteen minutes and the Visored hadn't gotten the upper hand yet. Kensei was understandably upset whereas Tier looked bored. Kensei wanted to use his mask but didn't want to risk it. His opponent hadn't shown even a glimpse of her power, so he didn't want to exhaust his stamina until he had gauged her ability.
The fight remained at a standstill. Fortunately, time was not a problem for him as his colleagues were doing a good job at eradicating the invading Adjuchas and Menos. Tier also thought the same. She didn't care much about killing her opponent. Aizen's order was to protect his artifact and kidnap Inoue Orihime. Killing was not their priority.
Tier's eyes briefly flickered to the distance. She saw Starrk guarding Aizen's artifact with a bored face. The Primera Espada looked like he wanted nothing more than to sleep. The only one keeping him from sleeping was his sole Fracción, Lilynette who bugged him ceaselessly. Tier wished she could exchange positions with the man. She would rather watch an artifact than fight the Shinigami. Plus, it would be safer for her three Fracción.
Tier glanced at her Fracción and found them faring well against the Visored. Unfortunately, she could see her Fracción quickly losing ground. It wouldn't be long until the Visored killed them. Tier didn't want that to happen. She pulled down her zipper, revealing her mask-covered mouth and barely-covered breasts.
"W- What are you doing?" Kensei stuttered with pink cheeks.
"Destroy, Tiburón!" was Tier's response.
Kensei immediately got serious when Tier's Reiatsu surged. A cocoon of water enveloped her, forcing Kensei to finally use his mask. He would die if he kept holding back. When the Reiatsu settled down, Tier slashed the cocoon open with her gigantic milky Zanpakutō. Kensei was a bit apprehensive when he saw Tier's mask missing. He had half expected her to lose the carapace covering her chest, but thankfully, she didn't.
Tier raised her hand which had fused with her Zanpakutō, gathering compressed yellow Reiryoku. Kensei's Hollow instinct screamed at him, prompting him to send a Cero at her.
"Trident!"
Tier brought her hand down.
Slash!
The Cero split in two. Kensei blocked the attack with his Zanpakutō, widening his eyes in shock as he felt the power. Unfortunately for Kensei, the attack was not a single slash but a series of three slashes. He blocked the first slash just fine, but the second and third one proved to be a problem. Kensei's hands were knocked upward by the second slash, allowing the third slash to carve a gash on his chest.
Kensei grunted in pain, pushing his Reiryoku into the wound, hoping his Hollow side to do some magic. Tier shot him an unimpressed look and fired a high-pressured water cannon at him. Kensei wisely dodged it. Much to his chagrin, however, Tier could shoot multiple high-pressured water cannons in rapid succession.
Kensei thanked his Hollow mask for allowing him to move agilely. He ignored his throbbing wound and Shunpō to Tier's side. His Zanpakutō collided with a water barrier as he drove it to Tier. The barrier shattered, but he was soon met with the tip of Tier's sword. Kensei deftly Shunpō backward, shooting air blasts in the process.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kensei's air blasts collided with Tier's water cannons. They managed to disperse the water cannons but not the water. It made Kensei queasy. Tier's ability so far pointed she had a certain degree of control over water. His carefulness rewarded him. By the time the water turned into huge shark teeth, Kensei was already out of the way.
The shark teeth destroyed the ground and a couple of empty buildings. It was a good thing Kensei managed to dodge it; he would have been immobilized had he let them hit him. Kensei once again Shunpō to Tier's side and engaged her in a melee combat. Tier had a hard time against him thanks to her bigger sword. His smaller Zanpakutō allowed him to overwhelm her with short-reached attacks which made blocking them with her big sword awkward.
Swish!
Unfortunately, Kensei's domination didn't last long. Water seeped out of the gills on Tier's sword and slashed at Kensei. Kensei's superior reflex allowed him to protect his head, but his forearm suffered from a deep cut. Kensei wisely retreated. Much to his chagrin, Tier sent another Trident at him and he couldn't block it in time.
"Gah!"
The attack severed his arm, causing his concentration to waver. His Hollow Mask shattered as he fell. His fellow Visored who were fighting Tier's Fracción looked at him in worry. Mashiro even ditched her fight in favor of securing Kensei. Thanks to that, she received her opponent, Emilou Apacci's Cero in the back.
"Mashiro!"
Lisa shouted in panic but knew better. She focused on her battle, intent on finishing her opponent, Mila Rose. Lisa incapacitated her opponent first before securing both Mashiro and Kensei. Hiyori joined them soon after, bloodied and panting. Thankfully, their opponents gave them a breather.
"I don't like that snake bitch," Hiyori grumbled, pointing at the softly giggling Cyan Sung-Sun. "If not for these fucking Hollows, I would have slain that whore!"
"Language, Hiyori," Lisa blandly scolded.
Hiyori scoffed before glancing at the unconscious Mashiro and the panting Kensei. Neither of the two was in any condition to fight. Lisa knew what the look meant and expressed her intention clearly.
"Kensei-san, it's time to switch with Love."
"Right. Sorry for not helping much."
Mundane talks were unnecessary given their predicament, so they kept quiet. Kensei was about to drag Mashiro into the warehouse with him when a green beam flashed past them.
Boom!
They staggered slightly because of the explosion behind them. Lisa looked at the sky and found Ulquiorra staring down at them with a bored gaze. A glance to the back told her Shinji had been rag-dolled by the Espada. Lisa's lips turned into a thin line as Shinji staggered to stand up. Hiyori flashed to his side to help him, causing his lips to curve wryly.
"It's bad, isn't it?" Shinji grunted.
"Inoue Orihime, surrender yourself if you wish to keep your friends out of harm. I promise we will return to Hueco Mundo if you leave with us," Ulquiorra flatly declared.
"That isn't going to work—"
"I will surrender myself, so please, stop!" came Orihime's sorrowful declaration.
"Ah, fuck me upside down!" Shinji groaned. "Love, why are you…"
One look at Love who was accompanying Orihime out of the warehouse told Shinji they had a plan. His smile became grim as he decided to trust their plan.
"I will leave with you after healing them."
"So what's the plan?" Shinji whispered to Love.
"Nothing. We are hoping they will encounter Ichigo in Hueco Mundo."
Shinji was too bewildered to say anything. He heard a confirmation from Ulquiorra and watched as Orihime moved to reattach Kensei's arm.
"We have no other way…sorry," Love said bitterly. "Let's hope Urahara-san will have finished destroying the barrier by then."
Seconds passed silently, making the last half an hour of battle feel like a dream. Both sides were jittery bar Ulquiorra, expecting betrayal from the other. Orihime was eventually done with her treatment. She was about to heal Mashiro when Tier grabbed her and brought her to their side.
"What?"
"This is not part of the deal!" Love exclaimed.
"The rest of you are not injured seriously. You will live regardless of her help," Tier calmly retorted. "It's time to leave."
"You broke the promise," Ulquiorra stated emptily as he looked at Tier.
Tier was expecting a discord and was glad when Ulquiorra didn't contest her. They were about to open the Garganta when a crushing Reiatsu washed the area.
Buzz!
Tier only heard a buzz before she realized Orihime disappeared from her arms. Her eyes widened when she found Orihime in the arms of an intimidating Arrancar not far away from her. The golden eyes beneath the Arrancar's mask stared at her neutrally but managed to put her on guard. The way he looked at her showed how much he thought of her—worthless.
"My, my, I just visited Hueco Mundo, so I didn't expect it to send an entourage to return my courtesy so soon. I am flattered," the Arrancar drawled.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," Ulquiorra greeted with a hint of an incomprehensible emotion.
"Later."
Ichigo pointed the longer Zangetsu at Ulquiorra and fired a whitish-black Cero at him. The area turned dark as his Reiryoku overwhelmed the air. Ichigo kept his gaze on Tier, disregarding Ulquiorra completely. He didn't even bother looking at the result of his attack when his Cero died down.
Looking down at Orihime, he asked, "Are you afraid of me, girl?"
Like a deer caught in the headlights, Orihime answered, "A little."
"Good girl. I like honest girls." Orihime blushed despite her anxiety. "Now, be a dear and heal the others, okay?"
Orihime nodded and Ichigo put her down. He cast an uninterested gaze at Ulquiorra who lost half of his upper torso. It was quickly healing, so it wasn't fatal for the Espada. Ichigo turned to Tier and her Fracción. An idea flashed in his mind. Aizen wanted to kidnap one of his comrades: why not return the courtesy?
"Say, do you want to be treated like princesses?"
"Huh? What is this bastard—"
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
The Fracción were trapped in a Bakudō before Apacci could finish her sentence.