Chapter 13:Running up that Hill

Day 6

10 DAYS TO THE INVASION

Gamma reeled back from another hit of Arturo's beam sword, the impact had left a small chip in his Chainsword

"Damn" he cursed as he examined the damage to his blade

"It's just a chip" Arturo noted

"Yeah…well…just watch out will ya?" Gamma asked as he readied himself "I kinda need my Zanpakuto, unlike you, who doesn't even use yours, You just use that weird sword beam thing"

"I have a good reason" Arturo stated as he dispelled the energy blade around his hand "I do not wish to use it, that is all"

"That's weak, man" Gamma sighed as he holstered his blade over one of his shoulders "Everyones Zanpakuto's strength comes from their emotions, if you discriminate your Zanpakuto, they'll sense nothing but anger in the blade and kick your ass when it actually comes time for you to use the damn thing"

"You seem to know a lot" Arturo stated as he shoved his hands in his pockets "Tell me…I could sense anything from your zanpakutou since I wasn't using mine to combat it….so then, what emotions does your blade carry?"

Gamma looked at him for a few seconds before dipping his head slightly

"I had a sister once…"

Not what Arturo was expecting to hear

"But…she died because her stupid older brother couldn't protect her, we both died, we waited and waited for someone to take us to the Soul Society, someone did eventually show up…but they only managed to save her in time…and I became a Hollow…and then an Arrancar"

Arturo silently wondered where he was going with this

"I learned that day that I would probably never see her again…I even got word that she had become a Shinigami…a God of Death, while I was left in cesspits of Hueco Mundo to rot away…and that's when I realised something…" Gamma stated as he looked up at Arturo, a feral look in the Ashen haired Arrancars eyes "I needed power"

The Turquoise haired Nueva Espada's eyes widened a fraction after he said that

"Power so I could live on, I devoured Hollow after Hollow to become strong…so that I could live on…I was so weak and fragile…that I knew that in the state I was in, I couldn't last long…So I joined the Nueva Espada to achieve my goal…to achieve the one thing I want more than anything!" Gamma roared before he settled down and muttered one last word before he charged forward again "Immortality"

"That's what's in my Blade…What gives my Zanpakutou strength…My desire to get stronger…to become Immortal"

ELSEWHERE

Ulquiorra proceeded to dust off the sand from his uniform, he was half-tempted to scorn Kurosaki for his decision to have training sessions take place in the desert like areas of Las Noches as opposed to the perfectly good empty hangar-like rooms they had inside the palace

"You love Ulquiorra"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened at that sentence, he quickly located where it was coming from

"That was Harribel" he noted

"The hell I do"

"And that voice…Orihime" he noted

"It's true" Harribel stated "I believe the Humans call it Stockholm Syndrome"

"I believe I call it fuck off and mind your own business" Orihime growled, Harribel narrowed her eyes for a moment before turning in the opposite direction

"Deny it for as long as you want" Harribel stated calmly before she proceeded to leave

As she left, Orihime looked off into the distance, muttering to herself

"I don't love him…I don't"

As soon as Harribel and Orihime distanced themselves, Ulquiorra quickly sonido'ed in Harribel's path

"What was that about?" he asked

"Why do you care?" Harribel asked back

"My ears are sharp, Harribel, I heard everything" He stated as he narrowed his eyebrows a fraction

"Everything?" she asked

"I heard you accusing her with falling in love with me" Ulquiorra stated "What goes on in my personal life is none of your business, How do you even know if she had feelings for me?"

"I saw your quarrel last night" she stated, Ulquiorra's eyes widened a fraction "I had no idea you were capable of such things Ulquiorra"

"What…Things?"

"Crying for starters"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened

"And yelling is very unlike you" She finished

"Shut up" he growled

"You truly have become more like a human"

"Shut up!" he growled again

"Look at yourself" Harribel stated as she crossed her arms

"Shut up!" he roared

Everyone's attention turned to the Arrancar.

"Holy shit" Grimmjow whistled "Ulquiorra's pissed…"

"My, My" Szayel noted "How very unlike Ulquiorra to raise his voice…"

*BANG!*

Then Suddenly, all of Las Noches began to rumble

"The Hell?" Gamma noted as bits of the roof came crumbling down

ABOVE THE DOME

"Starrk…" Lilinette whispered in concern

"5 Minutes" Starrk panted as he dropped to his knees "That's my limit…"

"Starrk…D-Don't push yourself" Lilinette stated, concern still in her voice

"I'm fine" he muttered as he regained his footing

"No you're not!" she snapped

"If I didn't know any better…I'd say you were concerned about me" He scoffed "Don't be...Now then…Let's try this one more time"

DAY 7

9 DAYS TO THE INVASION

SOUL SOCIETY

"All in attendance for this meeting of the Captains and Liuetenants of the Gotei 13?"

"Yes" came multiple voices

"Very well then" Yamamoto noted "As we aware of at this point, Ichigo Kurosaki has inherited Las Noches and-"

"We don't know that!" Ukitake snapped

"Silence!" Yamamoto boomed "I will not tolerate the defence of traitors, they must be dealt with at once!"

"I'll take care of Ichigo"

…

"Renji?" Byakuya asked

"He took Rukia from me…So I'll kill Ichigo myself…" Renji stated coldly

…

"You will not" came the Head Captains booming voice

"What?" The Lieutenant gasped

"I will not allow your foolish feelings of love to stand in our way"

"But-"

"There is no room for your feelings" Sajin added "Rukia Kuchiki is also a traitor"

"That's a lie!" Renji snapped "Ichigo must have her under some kind of Illusion, you said he had Kyoka Suigetsu! That means-"

"He didn't gain Kyoka Suigetsu until he reached the Fake Karakura Town" Unohana interrupted "Roughly an Hour after the incident in Las Noches"

"But-"

*clasp*

"Let it go" Hisagi said as he planted his hand on Renji's shoulder

Renji sheathed for a few moments before storming out of the meeting room

"Damn…Damn, Damn, Damn!" Renji roared as he walked across the bridge connecting the Squad 1 Barracks to the meeting room "It's not fair damn it! She can't have gone with him of her own free will, she couldn't of! She's-

"Renji…"

Renji halted

His breath stopped

And he whipped his head around to meet Ichigo in his Full Hollow Form

"K-K-K-Kurosaki!" he gasped as he began to scuttle back, he tripped on his feet and began to crawl back while Ichigo slowly began to approach "W-W-W-What the hell are doing here!"

"You….Must Die"

"W-What?" Renji stuttered

"Kill you…I will kill you" It grunted, before a massive pillar of reiatsu blasted into the sky above, dying the skies a dark red "Must Kill…Must Kill!"

The Pillar faded away, and in it's place was Ichigo leaning forward with a cero charging in-between his two horns

"You Die First, You Die First!"

"W-Wait!" Renji cried

But it was too late

The red beam of light was already coming towards him

He closed his eyes and awaited the impact and his death

…

But it never came

He opened his eyes with a gasp to observe what had just happened

It was a Hallucination

"H-Have I really gotten this paranoid?" he asked himself

"But no matter what…I'll never forget that thing" he panted as he flashed back to the horrific thing ripping his arm off "But I know one thing…When I see Ichigo again, it doesn't matter if he turns into that thing again…I'll kill him for sure…and take Rukia back"

HUECO MUNDO

"So what were you doing up there yesterday?" Szayel asked as he sparred with Starrk "I've never felt Las Noches rumble like that before"

"None of your business" Starrk grumbled as his and Szayel's swords clashed

"Well, how very cold" Szayel smirked as he backed away

"What it is, is none of your concern, Sexta" Starrk growled

"Oh my, my, you think just because you're a higher rank that you're better than me? You think I'll hold back on you because we're in the dome of Las Noches?" Szayel Scoffed "I can kill you if I wanted too, I can kill you here just as easily anywhere, You should fear me, I've killed hundreds of Shinigami"

"Fear me" Starrk glared "I've killed thousands of them"

"That's enough" Ichigo declared as he overlooked the two arrancar.

"You two are acting like a bunch of children" Harribel scoffed

"He is, perhaps" Szayel shrugged

"Enough, I saw what you were doing, threatening a fellow Nueva Espada is out of line" Ichigo declared "Cease it at once"

"Yes Kurosaki-sama" Szayel bowed before the leader took off "You seem very willing to follow him, Harrivel"

"So what?" The blond haired arrancar asked

"You were hesitant to follow him at first" Starrk noted

"That was before I realised he had actual strength and wasn't all talk" Harribel noted "And he can help me…"

"Help you what?" Szayel asked

"Avenge my fallen comrades" she stated

…

"Apache…Sun-Sun…Mila Rose?" Starrk asked "All of them were defeated by that old captain"

"Which is why I'm behind this invasion all the way" she said with narrowed eyebrows "So I can finally take my revenge…"

"Hated dulls the blade, Harribel" Szayel noted

"Then it's a good thing I can fire a cero" was her response before she walked away

"ALL NUEVA ESPADA TO THE MEETING ROOM" Came Ichigo's loud booming voice, amplified by a Kido spell probably cast by his wife

"What does he want now?" Starrk grumbled as he sheathed his sword

MEETING ROOM

"And the point of this meeting is…?" Grimmjow asked

"Simple" Ichigo said as he crossed his arms "I want to inform you of who you're going up against, there's only 10 days left to the invasion"

"I'll kill whoever gets in my way" Grimmjow shrugged

"As will I" Ulquiorra noted

"That Captain in the pink Haori…" Starrk muttered "He's mine"

"The old man-" Harribel began

"Is mine" Ichigo cut her off

"But-!" Harribel snapped

"I desire just as much vengeance on him as you do Harribel-san" Ichigo said coldly "And I'm the leader and I choose who I face, and I choose Yamamoto"

…

"Damn you" Harribel growled "Then I get that red haired Shinigami you hold a vendetta against"

Ichigo narrowed his eyebrows slightly before letting out a sigh

"Very well then" he muttered, annoyed that he would not get the satisfaction of killing Renji "What about you, Rukia?"

"Oh…Um…I'll think I'll accompany you" Rukia said to her husband

"That's fine" He nodded

"What about me?"

Everyone was put on alert as an unfamiliar voice arose

They turned their attention to the doors only for them to boom open

And an unfamiliar face to enter the meeting room

"Sorry 'bout that" he shrugged "There was no one at the front door so I just walked around and this door was so big that I had to try it, anyway, is this the Espada sign up place? I'd like to join."