Las Noches(2)

Nnoitra Gilga, the newest member of the Espada and ranked number eight, watched on with an anger bubbling within his gut as another Hollow was made introduced into the group. Now, it wasn't because of a Hollow being stronger than him that angered him. No. It was because the person being ranked much higher than him, taking the number three spot, was a woman.

He hated the very thought of it. It made him want to scream.

" I can't believe this. How is it she was placed higher than me?! Tell me, lord Aizen! I demand to know." Nnoitra shouted as he pointed at Nel. 

" There is nothing to tell you, Nnoitra. You are simply weaker than Nel." Aizen told the man bluntly. 

Aizen stared down at Nnoitra with a smile on his face.

" I refuse to believe that!" Nnoitra exclaimed.

Aizen's smile grew bigger. He leaned his face onto his right fist and looked down at Nel. " If it's such a big deal to you, Nnoitra, then prove me wrong by beating Nelliel and taking her place. You don't have a problem with that, do you Nel?" 

Nel shook her head and grabbed her sword. " Not at all Lord Aizen."

Not taking a moment to hesitate Nnoitra charged the woman with his giant crescent shaped sword, swinging it around recklessly as he closed in on the woman.

Nel, in response, turned and faced Nnoitra with her hand planted firmly on the hilt of her sword and the moment Nnoitra's blade approached her face, she grabbed it with her free hand, stopping his attack with no effort at all.

" Huh?!" Nnoitra was shocked at how easily she stopped his attack. But he didn't have long to question it, as the Nel drew her blade and slammed the hilt of it straight into Nnoitra's stomach, drilling him hard and sending him flying across the room.

Nnoitra landed with a hard thud on the ground, his body hurting but his pride hurt even more.

" Ah, a predictable outcome. Well done, Nelliel. " Aizen muttered.

" Thank you, lord Aizen." Nel turned and bowed to the man before sheathing her sword once more.

" Yes, now do you see the gap in your power, Nnoitra?" Aizen asked the man.

" I.... I haven't been beaten yet." Nnoitra muttered as he clawed his way back to his feet. " I can still fight."

" Tch, yeah right! You just got your ass kicked."

Nnoitra heard a voice from above and looked up.

Sitting on the ceiling above him was a hollow he hadn't seen before. No, even more strange was the fact he couldn't sense his spiritual pressure until just now. His very presence was a mystery.

' Where did he come from?' Nnoitra wondered. 

" Welcome home, Bikou. It's been sometime since I last saw you in Las Noches." Aizen muttered.

" I could say the same to you, Aizen. Not feeling like playing Soul Reaper today?" Bikou replied.

" Hmph, how quaint. No, in fact, today I am very busy preparing my next class plans for the academy. As such I mustn't be bothered at the moment."

" Ha! What a story. And they fuckin bought that?"

" Of course." Aizen smiled and pushed his glasses up on his face.

Bikou leaped down from the ceiling and crashed on the floor below Aizen's throne.

" So, what's up? You replacing people already? It's only been a few years." Bikou spoke.

" Yes. It would seem the last generation of Espada, were no longer able to evolve, as such I replaced them with stronger more suited soldiers. I hope you don't mind." Aizen stated.

" Nah. I told them day one, if they didn't take their jobs seriously and keep getting stronger, they'd be replaced. It's on them whether or not they get their spots back." Bikou told the man. " Speaking of." He then turned and faced the new Espada in the room. " I see a few familiar faces. Old man!" Bikou locked eyes with Barragan, who sat quietly in the back of the room, a scowl on his face.

" Brat. Mind your tongue."

" Oh, come on. Is that all you have to say? It's been a long time since we last met. How about a hug?"

" I'll tear your throat out."

" HA!" 

Bikou laughed at Barragan. 

The older Hollow merely scoffed and closed his eyes, choosing to not indulge his younger foe in any way.

Once he was done laughing, Bikou then turned towards Nel and smiled. " And you, Nel. It has been some time. You've changed quite a bit. You're even more beautiful than before. And that power of yours. Nelliel you are magnificent. " Bikou exclaimed.

" Bikou. Still the same impressive monster as ever. It is good to see you are well." Nel's voice was soft and composed. Even though she did feel a little nervous. 

His spiritual pressure was as strong and suffocating as it was comforting.

A real monster on legs.

Bikou flickered next to Nel in the blink of an eye and placed an arm around the young woman's shoulder. 

" It's good to see you. Where are those two funny looking friends of yours?"

" Pesche and Dondachaka? They're waiting for me." Nel replied.

" Great! Haha!"

" Bikou, I'm glad to see you decided to join us today." Aizen spoke up. " I was just explaining to everyone their purpose and the hierarchy. Would you like to test the new group?"

Bikou sighed and ran a hand through his hair. " If I'm being honest? Not really." Bikou muttered. " I've already fought one of them. I don't particularly want to fight Nel. And the rest of them are just so blatantly boring they aren't worth the effort." Bikou stated bluntly.

Nnoitra smacked his teeth at Bikou and stood up. 

" What did you say?"

Bikou turned towards the Espada and smiled at him. " I said you're weak."

" That's pretty tough talk, from someone who isn't even an Espada." Nnoitra spat. He wore his bitterness on his sleeve.

Bikou cut his eyes at Nnoitra as the other man picked his giant blade up again.

He then took a deep breath and sighed out of sheer annoyance. 

" Anyway, Aizen, how long are you planning on sticking around this time, huh? There was something I wanted to talk with you about."

" Oh? This is strange. I don't recall you ever wanting to talk before." Aizen muttered. " What ever could it be?"

" Eh, just something I've had on my mind for a bit, is all."

While the two men were conversing, Nnoitra picked up his blade and rushed Bikou. 

He jumped into the air and as he got close to the man, he swung his weapon down aiming to split Bikou's skull open.

" I see. Very well. After we finish here, today, I'd be more than willing to spare a moment of time." Aizen said to Bikou.

However, the moment his blade would have touched Bikou, it snapped in half.

' What? I didn't even see...'

*Splash!

A diagonal slash appeared on Nnoitra's chest and blood exploded from the wound.

' He cut me? When?' Nnoitra was left questioning when Bikou managed to cut him. Having not even seen the attack, let alone see him actually move, Nnoitra was left completely stunned and helpless as his body collapsed to the floor.

" Glad to hear it, Aizen." Bikou had paid little attention to Nnoitra, despite nearly cleaving him in half with a single attack. 

" Hmph, by the way, would anyone else like to test themselves against Bikou? I'm sure they must be someone here who'd like the chance to prove themselves?" Aizen asked.

There was a deafening silence in the room. 

" It would seem not. Good. For those of you who are curious, allow me to introduce you to Bikou. He, unlike the rest of you, achieved this power all on his own. He is what you should strive to be. That means, do not let this position you have get in the way of your goals. Seek more power, because if you don't you too, will be replaced. Understand."

" Yes, Sir!"

" Good. Now, someone take Nnoitra to the healer." 

Aizen stood up from his seat and started walking away. He had given his word and cared very little for what else happened.

" Hmph." Bikou scoffed at Nnoitra as he stepped over his body and continued walking with Aizen until the two men had vanished well beyond the walls of Las Noches.

The Hollows that remained behind watched in mere awe, a feeling of dread pounding in their hearts as the being known as Bikou finally vanished. His display of power holding firm within their minds. 

" Is anyone going to grab him?" Someone eventually asked.

Nel sighed and reached down to grab Nnoitra. " I'll do it." She said.

She hoisted his long body over his shoulders and started walking with him.

Though annoyed, she didn't wish for the man to just die like a dog.

Nel carried Nnoitra all the way to the infirmary where the healers got to work repairing the damage done to his body. And all though the physical damage was able to be mended, nothing they could do could ever fix the emotional damage that would haunt Nnoitra for the rest of his days.

........................