Chapter 22: Back In Hueco Mundo

AN: Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the story, I try my best to message back, but I may not always get to everyone so I apologize.

As always, thanks for your continued support!

Reading the story:

-Scene change: "888"

-Hello, how are you? (Someone in their own thoughts)-Hello how are you? (Zanpakuto Spirit speaking in a Shinigami's mind)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 22

Currently situated around a small wooden table sat Kishin and Urahara. Tessai was also there patiently serving tea to everyone. The white steam from the hot warm liquid filled the air with a gentle sweet aroma as Tessai poured a cup for everyone. A low calming purring noise could be heard from Yoruichi in her cat form as she slept peacefully in Urahara's arms. Tessai quietly handed Kishin a teacup to which he gladly accepted. The sound of everyone sipping their drink and quietly sitting around made for a somewhat peaceful, yet comical scene. Mostly because they each were so different from one another that it almost seemed like they were an estranged family. Urahara and his cat. Tessai and his large frame and mustache who didn't seem gentle at all handling the delicate tea set. And Kishin who's features were youthful, handsome, and roguish and didn't seem like he belonged in the setting with the two older gentlemen. In fact, if someone from the outside was to witness this scene right now without any context of what sort of relationship they all had, then they might have mistaken the scene as Urahara and Tessai being the parents having tea with their adopted son. Finally everyone set their cup down after basking in this short moment of peace.

Urahara glanced at Kishin and asked, "You're leaving today right?"

Kishin nodded. "The 2 months is up. I should be receiving a Hell Butterfly soon that'll guide me back to Soul Society."

As if on cue a black Hell Butterfly flew into the shop and landed on Kishin's shoulder. He took a moment to read the message before standing up. "Speak of the devil. Akon's always on time with these things."

Urahara raised his eyebrow with a hint of surprise at the mention of Akon's name. "Oh? That kid huh? I didn't know you two kept in contact. To think he'd go out of his way to do something as simple as send out a Hell Butterfly for you."

Kishin just shrugged and walked outside the shop preparing to leave. By now he was already dressed back in his shihakusho and was in his Shinigami form. Urahara and Tessai just stood in front of the shop watching.

"Well then, Chigetsu-kun. Have a safe trip back." Urahara chimed in.

Kishin just nodded. "I can safely say that the 2 months here were fruitful."

"Well that's good to hear. Do be careful. Chigetsu-kun. Who knows when Aizen might decide to make his move."

"I'm not the one you should be worried about. You're the one who has the Hogyoku."

Urahara awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Haha...right…"

Kishin smirked and unsheathed his Zanpakuto stabbing the air with an unlocking motion before re-sheathing his blade. A giant shoji style door opened up with a bright light shining from within. The Hell Butterfly flew off of his shoulder and into the door as Kishin followed suit. He gave one last glance at Tessai, Urahara, and Yoruichi who was still fast asleep in Urahara's arms and said, "Right, give Yoruichi my thanks for her guidance." It was then the doors closed vanishing along with him.

Kishin let out a sigh as the doors opened up once more. "Back to Soul Society after two long months..."

Just as he stepped outside of the door he immediately widened his eyes in shock. "This! …Why am I in the Dangai?"

He took a quick glance and gripped the Hell Butterfly floating in front of his face once more reading its contents, but he could only frown in seriousness. "This is unmistakably a Hell Butterfly that Akon-senpai sent me. Why the hell did it lead me to the Dangai…"

Rumble.

Kishin felt the dark purple tunnel shift and shake causing him to inwardly curse. "The Kototsu! Shit!"

He immediately began running into the distance as a bright yellow light began to shine brighter and brighter behind him. The Kototsu rushed at him with no rhyme or reason, only seeking to get rid of anything and everything that wasn't supposed to be there.

"How could Akon-senpai send me the wrong Hell Butterfly!"

Fwish!

He dashed even faster and faster as the Kototsu slowly began to close the distance. It was then that Kishin noticed a hole in the wall and cursed once more as realization struck him.

"Fuck. I'm being set up."

He grit his teeth having no other choice and dashed right into the hole in the wall successfully escaping the Kototsu and leaving the Dangai. Just as his feet touched the ground beneath him the portal he jumped out from closed up and disappeared. He just stood there in place staring at the spot where the portal was located not a second ago and kicked the sand beneath his feet into the air.

"Shit. I've been had."

He took a moment to come to terms with the unexpected situation he was placed in before taking in the surrounding landscape. He noted the familiar dark night sky. The moon shining up above. The crystalline soft white sand beneath his feet. Some sparse dead white trees.

He let out a long drawn out sigh. "Hueco Mundo?"

Don't tell me...Aizen? But why now of all times? He's the only one who'd have a reason to do this, but since when did he follow my trail? And what's the point in sending me to Hueco Mundo?

Kishin was brought out of his thoughts as he noticed smoke and fire burning just 1 kilometer away in the distance.

"Well, not gonna figure anything out standing in place. Mind as well go check it out."

888

Currently in a dark room sat Aizen, Gin, and Tosen as they watched on a monitor screen of Kishin walking through the sandy dunes of Hueco Mundo. Gin kept his indifferent facial expression as he commented, "Ohya? Guess it worked."

Tosen replied right after, "There is no way that Aizen-sama's plan wouldn't have worked."

Gin just let out a soft sigh. "I didn't mean it like that. After all, there's no way someone like Akon woulda been able t'tell the difference of which Hell Butterfly he sent under Kyoka Suigetsu's influence. I was just makin a general statement."

Aizen grinned from his seated position and also made a comment. "Chigetsu Kishin. How amusing."

Gin gave a sideways glance at Aizen and curiously asked, "What's brought on the sudden interest in the kid again?"

Aizen just smirked. "His rate of growth is much greater than I had originally anticipated."

"Eh? Is that so?"

"Indeed. I had originally thought that he would stagnate and plateau or need at least another century or two before he came to wield any true power, but it appears that isn't the case."

Gin turned back to the monitor screen that portrayed Kishin's image with a look of curiosity and wonderment. "Captain Aizen, when did you come to that conclusion?"

Aizen's lips curled up into a slight smile as he recalled a memory and replied, "The day I made a trip to the 12th division barracks in order to reinstall the virus that was wiped away, I had by chance encountered him once more. That's when I was able to see it clearly. His rate of growth did not stagnate or plateau."

"Ehhh? Then...are we back to observin the kid's growth?"

"Not quite. I think I'll meet him in a bit."

Gin was inwardly shocked while Tosen shifted in place just as shocked. Tosen then inquired, "Lord Aizen...are you truly going to meet with him? The plan has not yet come to fruition."

Aizen just kept his amused and unconcerned smile plastered on his face. "His rate of growth has exponentially increased. His reiatsu alone is already greater than many of the Captains in the Gotei 13 and it's still growing. He's the only one in all of Soul Society with a Lieutenant's level of power and above that has not yet been placed under my Kyoka Suigetsu. At first I had surmised it was due to chance, but now it seems that the more likely answer is that he knows the truth."

Gin and Tosen again, were shocked at this revelation.

"How is that possible?" Tosen asked concernedly.

Aizen just waved his hands relaxedly. "Do not worry. Kaname. It matters not that he knows. Rather, I must thank him."

Gin furrowed his brow slightly confused and asked, "Thank him? Did something happen?"

"Indeed. Ever since our re-encounter I've kept a close eye on him and especially watched his movements in the World of the Living." Aizen then grinned with a seemingly hint of joy in his eyes to which Gin didn't miss picking up on.

"You seem happy Captain Aizen. Did ya' witness the kid do somethin' interesting in the World of the Living?"

"Heh. You can say that. Thanks to him I now know where Hirako Shinji and the others are hiding."

Gin slightly frowned and inquired, "Those guys? They hid themselves pretty well, so how did the kid find them?"

A moment of pause hung in the air before Aizen answered, "Urahara Kisuke."

Gin put on a thoughtful look. "Ehhh? That man huh? But, that means that Kishin is not only aware of the existence of the the Hollowfied Captains, but Urahara as well. And if he's acquainted with them then...it makes sense that he'd know 'bout us too."

Aizen grinned in agreement. "That's right. Perhaps if he was only acquainted with Urahara Kisuke then there would still be a high likelihood that that man would not reveal our true nature to him, but the fact that he's now acquainted with my old Captain means that he sought them out for a reason."

Gin slightly frowned. "Are you suggesting that his soul was Hollowfied?"

Tosen also frowned as he questioned, "But he never showed any symptoms of being afflicted by Black."

Aizen continued to stare at the screen watching Kishin draw nearer and nearer to the destroyed Hollow Colony in Hueco Mundo and smirked. "Sometimes experiments do not go the way you expect. In fact sometimes they exceed our expectations. Our creation of Black was unstable. No, rather it was undoubtedly unstable, but in the end we had actually succeeded. We used a Shinigami's soul to act as the delivery method for the Hollow virus inside. After infecting Chigetsu Kishin, the Shinigami soul should have been accepted by his soul and entered his body. Then the capsule should have disintegrated releasing the Hollow virus inside, but we miscalculated. If my hypothesis is correct, the Shinigami capsule did not disintegrate right away. That allowed his soul to wrap another protective layer around both the capsule and the virus containing it within."

Gin furrowed his brow as he understood where Aizen was going with this line of thought. "Ohya...if that's the case then no wonder he never showed any signs or symptoms. The delivery method wasn't instantaneous which allowed his body enough time to build up the strength to suppress the foreign Hollowfied soul."

"Correct. Hence he was able to conceal the fact that he had been Hollowfied. The question is since when has he been in contact with Urahara Kisuke and Hirako Shinji and for how long has he known the truth about our goals."

"Well then...what are you going to do about Hirako-san and the others, Captain Aizen?"

An unconcerned look gleamed in Aizen's eyes as he replied, "Nothing."

"Eh? Nothing?"

"That's right. Nothing. They are but failed mock Arrancars. The strength that they have gained did not amount to much. Quite disappointing."

"Captain Aizen, why the need to send Kishin to Hueco Mundo?"

"He was able to hide his Hollowfication from us for quite some time. I'm curious to see exactly what he has mastered during his time with the my old Captain, so I sent him near Nnoitra."

"Eh? Nnoitra? I see. That guy was out lookin' for more Vasto Lorde Menos right? Oh, right he's probably near that Hollow Colony right now…"

Aizen noted that Gin had something more to say so he asked, "What is it, Gin? Do you have any misgivings?"

Gin just shrugged his shoulders. "Like you said, Captain Aizen. I've met with Kishin a few times too in the past years. He's an interesting kid. Is Nnoitra gonna be able to cut it?"

Before Aizen could answer, Tosen was the one who chimed in. "Even though Nnoitra was enhanced with only the incompleted Hogyoku, he still ranks amongst the Espada and possesses strength and reiatsu equal to that of a Captain."

Gin just gave a thoughtful, yet still doubtful look.

Aizen still had an unconcerned look on his face and simply said, "That is why I need the other half of the Hogyoku. With both together they should fuse into one complete whole. The amount of power it could grant at that time will be exponentially greater."

It was then that the live camera feed showing them the image of Kishin in Hueco Mundo lost sight of him. A split second later and a sword was driven into the camera lens destroying the device. The screen went black causing Tosen to stare a bit dumbfoundedly at what just happened. Gin had a look of intriguement on his face whilst Aizen just grinned with amusement.

"Nan-ya, to think that he knew he was being watched. What a creepy kid." Gin commented.

Aizen just took a moment to collect his thoughts before standing up and walking away.

"Lord Aizen, is something the matter?" Tosen inquired.

Aizen paused in his step and replied without turning around, "Come. Kaname. Gin. Let's go and greet our very important guest."

888

Fwish!

Kishin slowly fell back to the ground and sheathed his sword as he destroyed the flying spy cam hidden in the dark sky. He frowned as he stared at the broken device on the desert sand.

"Aizen...I thought you might be watching. What're you thinking…"

His eyes and senses darted all around him on high alert for a few more minutes before he let out a relaxed breath. "Guess it was just the one."

Kishin tugged on the front of his shirt and stared down at his chest noting that the Gentei Reien was lifted upon his departure from the World of the Living and entry into Hueco Mundo.

"At least I'm back at full power. It would have been bad had the Gentei Reien remained in effect."

He kept walking for another 10 minutes until finally he arrived where the smoke and fire was coming from. He stood on the edge of a sand dune and looked down below at a decently sized cavity that stretched on for a few kilometers into the distance. It was currently filled with ruined rocks and destroyed broken dens. Kishin furrowed his brow and said to no one in particular, "This looks like...it belonged to a colony of Hollows. I remember reading about them in the 12th division's archives, but what happened here? It's all destroyed. Seems like it happened fairly recently too."

Kishin took a step down into the cavity and walked around a bit taking in the sight of the destroyed colony until he paused and turned to look in the direction of a plume of smoke located 30 meters to his right. A powerful reiatsu loomed in the air from that direction. No doubt it was on the Captain's level. No, calling it Captain's level wouldn't be the right terminology. The reiatsu Kishin felt was not that of a Shinigami, but rather a Hollows.

"A Vasto Lorde?" He said to himself with a hint of curiosity.

Just then a figure emerged from the smoke into Kishin's view. He took a moment to note the appearance of this new creature. They were male and humanoid looking and were also very tall, standing at an approximate height of 215cm. Their body build was a bit thin and lanky and they sported black silky hair that fell just to their chin level. Their left eye was covered in a white eyepatch and they wore a white jacket that was left mostly open in front of their chest which revealed most of their abdomen and midsection. The collar of the jacket was flared up and outwards. Three silver metal rings were strapped around each of its wrists and a white hakama was worn below its waist. They carried on their shoulder a giant long black axe-like weapon that had one giant crescent shaped blade protruding from the end.

Kishin cocked his head to the side as he stared at this newcomer with curiosity. "No mask? Not quite a Vasto Lorde either then right...then, if the 12th Division's database is correct, this is...an Arrancar?"

It was then that the Arrancar noticed Kishin's presence and grinned with excitement. "HUH?! ...Ha! Hahaha! What the hell is this? Oi! To think that I left one alive! Guess I get to have a little more fun then."

Kishin didn't overly concern himself with the fact that the Arrancar in front of him went a bit crazy and just continued to stare in wonderment. His unfazed and relaxed expression ticked off the Arrancar so they snarled and dashed forwards swinging their giant crescent-like axe right at him. Just as the axe was about to cut Kishin in half he took a step back and flashed away with Shunpo.

FWISH!

BAM!

The attack missed and crashed into the sandy ground kicking up a giant cloud of debris into the air. Kishin stood nearly 10 meters away with an eyebrow slightly raised semi-surprised at the amount of strength that the Arrancar in front of him was able to exert. After the debris cleared away he then asked, "You're an Arrancar right?"

The response he received was a disdainful snort. "Heh! Arrancar? Hahahaha! Don't compare me to something as lowly as a random Arrancar."

Kishin furrowed his brow in confusion. It was then he took note of a number 8 that was tattooed on the tongue of that creature. "If you aren't an Arrancar then what are you?"

"Heh!" That creature stuck out their tongue showing off their number and responded, "I'm the number 8 Espada Nnoitra! Gilga Nnoitra! Remember that! You lowly scum." It was then Nnoitra noticed something odd and asked, "Oi! You? Your reiatsu isn't that of a Hollows. You a Shinigami?"

Kishin just nodded in amusement. "I am. So you're the number 8 Espada huh? Does that mean something?"

Nnoitra was ticked off at Kishin's comment. "The hell? You don't know about the Espada? What rock have you been living under? Ha! Well it won't matter after I'm through with you."

Nnoitra didn't waste anymore time talking as he dashed out and slashed with his axe once more. Kishin let out a sigh and unsheathed his own Zanpakuto, raising it up just in time to stop Nnoitra's attack.

CLANG!

A loud ringing noise of metal against metal echoed into the vicinity. Nnoitra was momentarily shocked that his attack had been stopped, but Kishin didn't care how Nnoitra was feeling as he simply swung his sword to the right forcing Nnoitra's axe to move along with.

CLING!

The motion threw Nnoitra off balance leaving him completely vulnerable for an attack. Kishin didn't let the chance slip by and instantly stabbed his blade into Nnoitra's right chest.

Schlick!

"GAAAAH!" Nnoitra shouted in pain from being pierced through. He gripped his left hand tightly on his axe and swung horizontally trying to bisect Kishin, but Kishin merely retracted his blade and swung to the right intercepting the attack.

KLANG!

Orange sparks flew out from the contact point of the two sharp objects for several seconds as they both pushed against the other. With Nnoitra gaining no advantage he disengaged and dashed backwards covering the wound on his chest with his right hand. Blood seeped out running down his right pectoral and dripped onto the sand he was standing on. He stared at Kishin both warily and disbelievingly as he commented, "You...were able to pierce me…"

Kishin just gave Nnoitra a look of confusion as he replied, "Why do you look so surprised? You have an axe. I have a sword. Both weapons are made to inflict harm on others. It'd be a pretty crappy weapon if it couldn't even do that much."

Nnoitra grinned as a maniacal look showed on his face. "Hehehe! Hahaha! Well then, let's do this shall we? Since you can cut through my hierro then you must be pretty strong huh? But I'll show you that I'm even stronger!"

Kishin just stood in place completely unfazed by Nnoitra's boasting. He had already sensed the reiatsu coming off of Nnoitra's body and while it was indeed powerful, it didn't reach his level of power. While he still didn't let his guard down, he didn't really consider Nnoitra a threat at this point.

He'd be dangerous if he had some sort of unique ability, but...seems like he might just be a brute that throws his weight around.

Kishin swung his sword to the right, blocking one of Nnoitra's attacks. He then swung to the left, then up, and down, in front of him. The sound of their blades clashing against one another rang loud and clear within the ruins of the Hollow Colony. As Kishin continued to defend against Nnoitra's attacks he also began to converse with him.

"So…"

Cling!

"What happened here?"

Cling! Klang!

"Did you do this?"

Ting! Wham! Cling!

"Come on, answer me?"

Whoosh! Boom!

Zing! Klang!

Cling!

Kishin blocked several dozen more strikes as he simply continued with his line of questioning. "I'm really curious. At least say something will ya?"

A thick vein popped off on Nnoitra's head. He was getting angrier and angrier with each passing second. Here he was seriously trying to kill Kishin, yet Kishin just nonchalantly tried to have a conversation in the middle of their life and death match.

This fucker! He doesn't take me seriously is that it?! Is he looking down on me? How dare him! I am the strongest! How dare he mock me!

Nnoitra gripped the handle of his axe with both hands and swung downwards with as much strength and force as he could muster.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! DIIIEEEE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs in anger.

Kishin just grinned and stuck out his palm. "Hado #71: Sodai Sho!"

Instantly a powerful force of reiatsu was expelled from his hand and slammed right into Nnoitra's chest casting him off into the air for nearly a hundred meters before he fell back to the ground rolling and skidding stopping only after he crashed into a giant boulder.

BAM!

The boulder cracked and indented from Nnoitra slamming into it. Not even a second later Kishin flashed right in front of Nnoitra and said, "So, gonna answer my question yet?"

Nnoitra groaned and coughed up some blood from the force of the earlier impact. He just gave Kishin a hateful look and gripped the shaft of his axe attempting to stand back up.

"You...ugh...you bastard…" He managed to breathe out in pain.

Kishin just let out a sigh. "I seriously want some answers. That's the only reason you're alive right now. What is an Espada? What's the significance of being number 8? How many of you Espada are there? Why are you out here in a place like this?"

Nnoitra huffed and heavily panted as he leaned on his axe to stabilize his footing. "Like hell I'll tell you! You only need to know that I'm going to be the one to kill you!"

Kishin just gave a doubtful look. "You?"

SWISH!

"GAH!" Nnoitra involuntarily screamed out as Kishin swung his blade creating a large wounding gash across his chest.

"Your choice. Tell me what I want to know or I'll kill you right now."

Nnoitra scowled and just as he was about to swing his axe, Kishin pointed his finger at him and chanted, "Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro."

Swish!

Six yellow rods of light instantly bound Nnoitra's movements paralyzing him completely causing him to widen his eye in shock, but Kishin didn't stop there as Nnoitra's reiatsu was quite powerful so for extra measure he continued and said, "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku."

Cling!

Four yellow chains of Kido swirled around Nnoitra's body binding him tightly further restricting his movements.

"Look. Just answer this one question then. Where can I find the other so-called Espada?"

Just then Kishin felt another presence nearby that dashed right at him from above. Right before he was hit he flashed away about 5 meters in the distance and took in the appearance of this newcomer. They were male as well and were decently tall, standing at about 178cm in height. Their body build was somewhat slim and they had dark blonde hair with a turquoise colored mark on their right cheek. They donned a white lab jacket with rolled up sleeves and wore black gloves and boots. Remnants of a Hollow mask could be seen on the middle of their forehead.

Kishin just cocked his head to the side and asked, "Who're you?"

They frowned in seriousness as they stared back at Kishin and responded, "I am Tesra. Lindocruz Tesra. I won't let you hurt Nnoitra-sama!"

Kishin raised his eyebrow intrigued. "Then. Do you also bear a number like that guy?"

"I am not one of the esteemed Espada like Nnoitra-sama. Leave now. Shinigami. You are not welcomed here."

"Ehhh? I'm not welcomed here? Look, it wasn't my choice to come to this dump. But since I'm here I'd like some answers. Unknowingly there seems to be a lot of interesting things going on around here. Since that Nnoitra guy isn't going to spill the beans then maybe you'd like to tell me what I want to know."

Tesra immediately shook his head. "Forget it." He then turned to face Nnoitra and was about to attempt breaking Nnoitra free, however he became confused a split second later. His vision of the world suddenly began to spin. He started with looking at Nnoitra but somehow he ended up looking at the night sky of Hueco Mundo.

Plop.

His head hit the ground.

PSSSHHHHH!

Following that was the blood that sprayed into the surrounding air and sand from his neck where his head had been cut off from.

Shhht.

The sound of Kishin sheathing his Zanpakuto back into the scabbard echoed in the surrounding space as he commented, "If you aren't an Espada and won't answer my questions then there's no need for you to stick around."

Thud.

Tesra's headless body collapsed on the soft white sand in front of Nnoitra who just stared wide-eyed with disbelief. His face and body was now covered in the blood of his subordinate causing him to feel a sort of conflicting emotion inside. He never once paid any mind to his only Fraccione and didn't treat Tesra well either, but for some odd reason he fleetingly lamented Tesra's death. Even if it was just a tiny bit. Only two thoughts crossed Nnoitra's mind. That Tesra was a fool for butting in and that it was a bit of a pity that he died.

It was then that Kishin returned his attention to Nnoitra. "So, where were we...Oh, by the way, sorry about that. Did it hurt to watch your subordinate die in front of you while you were unable to do anything to stop it?"

Nnoitra felt a boiling rage inside of him as he heard the sarcastic and taunting undertone in Kishin's voice. Furthermore he couldn't even move or lift a finger because of Kishin's Kido spells. He felt humiliated. Humiliated that he was stuck in place without the ability to do anything. It was even more humiliating that he was at the complete mercy of his enemy. He never felt such humiliation and rage in his life before.

Kishin could see the burning hatred in Nnoitra's eyes and just smirked at him. "Alright. Seems like you really won't talk. Then you can just die."

Just as Kishin unsheathed his Zanpakuto once more, he widened his eyes in shock. He felt an incredibly powerful reiatsu rushing towards their direction and immediately Shunpo'd backwards 30 meters away just as something crashed down where he was standing previously.

WHAM!

A giant cloud of sand erupted into the surrounding area obscuring his vision. Kishin furrowed his brow in seriousness as he felt how heavy and dense the reiatsu of whatever being had dropped down from the sky was.

Sure are a lot of people dropping in from the sky today. Hueco Mundo's got a strange weather system.

It was then his fingers slightly twitched as he faintly recalled the familiarity of this reiatsu. A dark gloom. A void feeling of emptiness. A memory and thought surfaced in Kishin's mind of one particular encounter from long ago during his first trip to Hueco Mundo. The image of an average sized humanoid Vasto Lorde with no nose, mouth, or ears flashed in his head.

"Is it...that Hollow?"

Whoosh!

The debris had finally dissipated revealing a wounded but freed Nnoitra and a new figure standing nearby. They were roughly 170cm tall with a build both slender and muscular. They were male and had pale white skin. A broken mask was attached to the upper left side of their head in the shape of a broken horned helmet. Their hair was short and messy and black in color. A few strands fell between their distinctive green eyes. Teal green colored lines descended below their eyelids. They donned a long coattail high collar white jacket with a matching white hakama. A black sash was tied around their waist area. The distinctive hole that marked all Hollows was located right along their sternum and a teal green colored Zanpakuto was strapped on the left side of their waist.

For several long moments Kishin and that Arrancar just stared at one another in silence. Both contemplating something. Their silent stare off was interrupted by Nnoitra who struggled to steady his body while lifting his axe in a combat stance. He huffed and panted a bit, still haggard from his afflicted wounds, and growled out in displeasure, "Why are you here...Ulquiorra?"

Kishin cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "Ulquiorra? So that's your name huh? I'm also curious. Why ARE you here?"

Ulquiorra's facial expression simply remained indifferent, showing no semblance of having any emotions as he said, "Nnoitra. Return to Las Noches."

Nnoitra simply frowned. "You dare to give me a command?!" He then pointed his axe towards Kishin, "I ain't leavin til I have this fuckers head!"

Ulquiorra simply gave an uninterested look at Nnoitra and replied, "You? Take his head? If you used your pesquisa then you should be able to tell. With your strength you're lucky to still be breathing the same air as him."

Nnoitra was immediately incensed. "Be careful what you say to me you little prick or the first head that I'll chop off is yours."

Kishin just watched on in amusement hoping that they'd bicker and talk more so he could gain some more information, but alas it wasn't meant to be as Ulquiorra simply ignored Nnoitra and turned to address Kishin. "You seem familiar."

Kishin's ears perked up at his comment. "Oh? So you think so too? Your reiatsu is very familiar, but if I'm right and you're that Vasto Lorde that I encountered before, then I gotta say you sure changed appearances."

Ulquiorra replied with a similar line. "You are that Shinigami child that once wandered into Hueco Mundo correct? Your current appearance is also quite different."

Nnoitra was only getting angrier and angrier as both Kishin and Ulquiorra ignored him like he was some insignificant fly, so instead of waiting around for them to banter and talk he gripped his axe and dashed out, however the moment he took one step forward Ulquiorra chopped down with one hand right on Nnoitra's neck, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Plop.

His body fell to the ground in a deep slumber.

"Why'd you do that?" Kishin asked.

"Had I let him proceed you would have killed him." Ulquiorra replied matter-of-factly.

Kishin just grinned in agreement. "True. I didn't know you cared about his life that much. You two friends or something?"

"A foolish question. There is no such thing among the Espada."

"Ehh? Is that so? Then you're an Espada as well? That guy laying there is number 8 so what about you?"

"There's no need for you to know such a thing."

"Really? Even though I'm super curious? Since you were able to knock him out with a single hand then you've gotta be ranked higher than him right? If that's how your numbering system works that is."

Ulquiorra just ignored his question. "You are quite brave to venture into Hueco Mundo on your own."

Kishin just waved his hand in the air replying nonchalantly, "Well it wasn't by choice, but I digress. You wouldn't happen to have a way to send me back to Soul Society now would you?"

Once again Ulquiorra ignored Kishin's questions and continued on with his own line of comments. "You're quite calm about being stranded in Hueco Mundo."

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?"

"This is the land of Hollows. You could be eaten at any moment."

"Oh? That sounds gruesome. So? Who's going to be the one that eats me?" Kishin gave a taunting smirk before continuing, "Will it be that guy on the ground there? Or maybe...you?"

For the first time since their meeting Ulquiorra showed a facial expression that wasn't indifference, but rather curiosity. "You are not perturbed by my presence?"

"Should I be?"

"Your reaction this time is vastly different than when we first met decades earlier."

"Is it really all that surprising?"

"Your attitude suggests that you are confident enough in your skills to face me in combat."

"Can I take it that you mean to fight me then?"

Ulquiorra glanced down at Nnoitra and gripped him by the collar. "There is no reason to fight you. We will take our leave."

Kishin furrowed his brow at Ulquiorra's answer. "Leave? Why come all this way to save that guy in the first place if you aren't friends?"

"I am simply fulfilling my task. There is still much work to be done. Losing a member of the Espada right now would only be more trouble than it's worth."

"Oh? What kind of work is it exactly that you all are doing?"

Ulquiorra simply ignored Kishin and began dragging Nnoitra away. Kishin just had an amused expression on his face as he said, "It's not good to turn your back on your enemy you know."

Ulquiorra paused in his step and glanced over his shoulder as he responded, "Do you intend to fight me?"

Kishin shrugged his shoulders. "What do you think my chances are against you?"

A heavy silence hung in the air for a good ten seconds before Ulquiorra just began walking away again and replied while not directly answering the question. "I reckon that neither you or I would currently benefit from a fight against one another." Just before he took off he asked with curiosity, "What is your name, Shinigami?"

Kishin stared with an amused expression and answered, "Kishin."

A few seconds passed in silence as if Ulquiorra took some time to commit the name to memory. He closed his eyes for a split second before saying, "I shall remember your name. Farewell."

WHOOSH!

Kishin watched and inwardly praised the speed in which Ulquiorra dashed off with an unconscious Nnoitra.

"Ulquiorra huh? Somewhat interesting." He said as he sheathed his Zanpakuto. It was then he felt like lightning struck him as a thought crossed his mind.

Ulquiorra? Isn't that...if I recall, a very famous and powerful villain? Just like Grimmjow?

He just stared at the spot where the two Espada had disappeared from and let out an amused "Huh," before he started walking off again. He walked and walked and walked having no idea how much time had passed nor what he was searching for.

"How...the hell am I going to get out of Hueco Mundo without Akon-senpai?" He said to himself.

Then a thought crossed his mind. "I could...head in the direction of where Ulquiorra went and enter Las Noches. Supposedly that's the domain of the Hollow King named Barragan if I recall correctly. The files that the 12th division had on him state that he's an incredibly powerful and ancient Hollow and is possibly one of if not the first Vasto Lorde that ever came into existence. There's probably a way back if I go there."

His train of thought then paused as he thought about something else. "If...Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are famous villains then...they must work under Aizen right? If memory serves then Aizen came to Hueco Mundo after he defected. He must have at some point taken over Las Noches and defeated Barragan. Does that mean that Las Noches is currently under his control? Or did he take over Las Noches after he left?" He then clicked his tongue. "Either way he eventually takes over huh…if he didn't already."

Another several hours passed as Kishin continued to wander around. This time he was moving in the direction of Las Noches. Just as he let out a yawn he felt the reiatsu of several beings rushing in his direction so he paused and turned to look. A little dust cloud rose in the distance and started to become larger and clearer with every passing second. Soon whatever was rushing towards him was close enough in the distance where he could make out their form, however he was a bit surprised at what he was witnessing.

"Eh? Is it Hollow hunting season or something?" He said to himself amusedly as he took in the sight.

What he saw was a little girl with big wide eyes and a cracked cartoon-like white skull of a Hollow mask on top of her head of green short hair. A large scar ran down from the top of her forehead to between her eyes and over her nose. A red lined tattoo ran horizontally across her face right below her eyes. Her clothes were that of a simple green gown and a large hood that covered the entirety of her small baby-like body. She was currently running, screaming, and shouting with her hands in the air. Tears flung off of her face into the wind behind her. If that didn't peak Kishin's curiosity enough then he found the three Hollows dashing alongside her, also screaming out in fear, quite strange.

One was large and pastel yellow colored with black spots. They had a dark pink colored tiki masked face.

The second looked humanoid with an insectoid head. That one had an eyepatch over their right eye and a thin purple loincloth around their waist.

And the last was a giant eel-like Hollow that was dark purple in color that had a giant white plate with horns on its head for a mask.

The four made for a comedic scene as they didn't slow down their speed when running towards him as chasing them were several tens of Adjuchas. It didn't take long before they were just 15 meters away.

10 meters away.

7 meters.

5 meters.

3 meters.

2.

1.

"AAAHHHHH! HELP!" The little girl Hollow cried out.

FWIP!

She immediately jumped by Kishin's feet and gripped his ankles to hide behind him. Soon after the three other Hollows that were running alongside her also dipped behind his back. What made Kishin feel a bit flabbergasted was that the giant eel-like Hollow which was definitely several tens of meters tall had also tried to hide behind his back. Just then the Adjuchas chasing them halted their steps and stared at the now five estranged beings, Kishin being included.

An eight meter sized purple bird-like Hollow stepped forward and scoffed at the scene. "Kekeke! What's this? A new face? Oi, brat! You with these four buffoons?"

Kishin raised his eyebrow curiously at them, and then he looked down at the small girl at his feet and asked, "So...who are you? And what's going on?"

The little girl sniffled and cried as she trembled in fear. "T-Those guys are trying to eat us! Pwease help us! Nel doesn't want to die! Waaaaah!"

Kishin was at a loss for words. He was pretty sure that hugging his ankle right now was a Hollow, but he couldn't quite make heads over tails on the situation. It was then the insectoid head Hollow hiding behind him also chimed in. "Those guys are bad! We only wanted to play a game of tag! How could they be so heartless as to try and eat us?!"

"Y-Yeah! All I did was poke one of their tails to start a game. Pesche, it's your fault! You told me it would be okay!" The large tiki headed one said.

"What?! How could you blame that on me? I wasn't the one who actually did it? It's your fault Dondochaka!" Peshce replied.

Kishin felt a growing headache slowly coming on. Before the strange conversation could go on any further the bird-like Adjucha interjected, "Hand over those four or we'll eat you along with them!"

Kishin just let out a sigh. He stared at the several tens of Adjuchas standing across from him before looking back down at the shivering girl below him and asked, "You called yourself Nel right?"

She quickly nodded. "Mhm. Pwease help Nel good sir! Pwease!"

"Haaah...alright, then you'll owe me a favor."

Nel immediately nodded her head. "Mn! Nel will help good sir if good sir helps Nel!"

Kishin nodded his head in approval after hearing Nel's verbal confirmation.

"Okay."

He then picked her up by the shirt and dropped her into the one named Pesche's arms. "Just stay put and don't move."

He took a few steps forward and turned his attention to the pack of hungry Adjuchas. "Look. A lot of strange events have happened to me today so I'm not in particularly the best of moods. Your first choice is to leave, no questions asked. The second is to die. I won't repeat myself."

All the Adjuchas just turned to look at one another for several long moments before they all burst out laughing.

"Bahahahaha! Oi, who does this guy think he is?"

"Hahaha! What a dumb Hollow!"

They continued to laugh and shout until finally, one of them noticed something off and came back to their senses. "Uh? Wait...how come his reiatsu doesn't feel like a Hollow's?"

Another one of them also realized this and became astonished. "I-It...a Shinigami?"

Whoosh!

At that moment they all lost sight of Kishin at the same time. It was then they heard his voice right in the center of all of them.

"I gave you all a choice, yet here you all still stand. You chose death." Before any of them could react, he swung out his Zanpakuto in a horizontal motion and said nonchalantly, "Hado #78: Zangerin."

FWOO-WHAM!

A giant circular ringing slash of Kido erupted from his blade and instantly bisected the several tens of Adjuchas from the waist killing them near instantly.

Shhht.

The sound of Kishin sheathing his Zanpakuto into the scabbard was the only sound that could be heard from the stunned silent atmosphere of everyone's reaction.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Soon after, the noise of one split Adjucha body hit the floor followed by another and another and another all looking like flies dropping dead on the ground until finally, the several tens of Adjuchas that were grouped together laid sprawled out on the soft sandy crystalline sand staining the ground crimson red in their pool of blood. The four Hollows that had asked Kishin for help could only stare in shock and fear at what they had just witnessed. They realized during Kishin's verbal exchange with the other Adjuchas that he was in fact, not a Hollow, but rather a Shinigami. Furthermore when Kishin utilized his Kido spell just now they had clearly felt the bloody aura of ominous death roll off of his body.

Kishin just let out a satisfied sigh before turning back to face the four strange Hollows. "Alright, it's been taken care of."

Nel couldn't help but gulp down her nervousness and snuggled deeper into Pesche's arms, but Pesche wasn't fairing much better as he hid behind Dondochakka's larger bodily frame. Dondochakka on the other hand shut his eyes and began quivering in absolute fear mumbling some prayers about becoming invisible.

Kishin couldn't help but sigh in awkwardness. He would have killed them too had he not actually needed some help and information. And from the looks of things they were more likely to talk than the other bunch. For several long moments the situation didn't change between them, but Kishin couldn't wait forever so he clapped his hands to grab their attention.

CLAP!

They all flinched in fear, but Kishin just shook his head. "Look. I'm not going to hurt you since we made a deal. You didn't forget about that right?"

Nel hesitantly scratched the side of her cheek not daring to look Kishin in the eye. "Ahhh...d-did Nel say that...haha...ummm...w-w-what can Nel do for you?"

Kishin just squatted down so they were a little more level with one another and said, "Are you scared of me?"

Nel immediately nodded her head. "Y-Yes. AH! I-I mean n-no, of course not. N-Nel wouldn't be s-scared of t-the evil S-Shinigami's."

"Evil Shinigami's?"

"Ah! I-I mean the b-bad Shinigami's."

"Bad Shinigami's?"

Nel slapped her hands over her eyes realizing that she wasn't making her situation any better. "I-I mean N-Nel is sowwy...N-Nel doesn't know what she is saying anymore. P-Pwease forgive Nel…"

Kishin seriously felt a huge headache. He thought that these Hollows would be more helpful but the situation exceeded his expectations. He wondered if it would just be faster to torture the information he needed out of them and skip the whole pretending to me nice thing.

"Look. Do you want me to kill you?"

Nel immediately trembled in fear and shook her head. "No! P-Pwease don't hurt Nel or her friends."

"Okay, I won't."

"What? Why are you going to Ki-" She paused mid sentence as she realized what Kishin just said. "Eh? You really won't kill us?"

Kishin just smirked. "That's right. I'm not."

"Eh? But why? You are Shinigami right?"

"I am."

"You are evil right?"

"Only if you want me to be."

"AH! Then n-no! Nel doesn't want that."

"Alright little Nel. Then I won't be."

"Really? It's that easy?"

Kishin just nodded, finding himself to be doing a ridiculous thing such as indulging the words of a baby. "That's right. It's that easy. Since you don't want me to kill you and your friends then I won't. Since you don't want me to be evil then I won't."

Nel's eyes instantly brightened. "Wow." She said in awe as she stared at Kishin.

Now that she had a chance to get a good look she couldn't help tilting her head to the side slowly walking over to him.

"Pretty."

Kishin raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Pretty what?"

She instantly pointed her little finger at him and said, "You pretty."

Now Kishin felt awkward being called pretty by a little baby. "Ahem. I think you mean handsome."

Nel just nodded. "Mn. Ah! Wait...you trick Nel?"

Kishin felt another headache coming on. "I'm not tricking you. I really need help."

"Eh? Help? What kind of help?"

Kishin inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief as he was finally getting somewhere. "I need help getting home."

"Oh! Home? Right. You Shinigami, you not supposed to be here. This is Hueco Mundo."

Kishin amiably nodded. "That's right. I got lost a-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as he felt something off. He immediately reacted by instinct and drew his sword swinging it to his right.

KLANG!

The sound of metal hitting metal resounded loudly in the air. Nel immediately screamed in shock and fear running back into the arms of Pesche.

ZING!

The sound of Kishin's sword sliding against his attacker's sword rang out as they disengaged from their interlocked position. Kishin frowned as he took in the appearance of the person standing in front of him. They were dark skinned, male, had dark purple braided hair, some goggles over their eyes, stood at about 176cm tall, and donned a unique black cloak over a standard shihakusho that hid their reiatsu from detection.

Kishin turned his body fully facing his attacker semi-unperturbed and smirked while asking somewhat cautiously, "Well this is a surprise...to what do I owe the honor of meeting you here? ...Captain Tosen."

MISC.

Well, I wonder what will happen between Kishin and Tosen? How exactly will Kishin return? Hmmm...Ahem...until next time.

Oh, and as you can tell Nnoitra is still the #8 Espada and he hasn't become the #5 Espada yet. And Nel has already been expelled from her position.

KIDO: (If the spell is underlined then that means it's an original Kido Spell I made that does not exist in canon)-Hado #71: Sodai Sho (Grand Thrust): Basically a much more powerful version of Hado #1.-Hado #78: Zangerin (Lotus Flower Ring)

-Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro (Six Rods of Light)-Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku (Ethereal Binding Chain)