Chapter 18: Vestige

Pantera and Kenpachi's Unnamed Zanpakutou clashed, the impact of the meeting caused the ground to shake and the atmosphere to tense and chill, the sinister looking captain let out an equally sinister chuckled

"What are you laughing at?" Grimmjow grunted

"Sorry…I was so happy, I couldn't help but chuckle" Kenpachi said with a gleaming smile, Grimmjow returned with a smile of his own

"I agree…you're already one of the best I've fought" The Arrancar laughed "Most Shinigami here didn't even put up a fight, but you…"

The two leapt back and stared down each other from a distance

"I'm starting to like you" Kenpachi smirked as he pointed his blade towards Grimmjow, His response was a twisted laugh from the blue haired arrancar

"I know the feeling!" Grimmjow laughed, starting to charge forward at the end of the sentence, Zaraki proceeded to charge forward too, causing the two blades to meet again, strike after strike came from both sides but every swing met the other's blade, Kenpachi swung down causing Grimmjow to jump back to avoid the blade, as soon as he regained his composure, a sinister laugh awoke from above him, The Quinta Espada looked up to witness the captain falling down towards him, another overhead strike prepared, The Arrancar quickly brought up Pantera to block the incoming strike, he did successfully but the ground below him cracked and fragments flew up into the air

"Overpower him Ken-Chan!" Yachiru cheered, another blade fest broke out between the Arrancar and Shinigami, blade swing after blade swing erupted from the battle. The two proceeded to jump back once the tired of that particular conflict

Grimmjow and Kenpachi smirked silently as small wounds appeared on the other, a small cut graced Grimmjow's left forearm, ripping his sleeve slightly, a cut placed on Kenpachi's right shoulder

"Not bad" Grimmjow smirked as he readied pantera again, The captain merely smiled in response

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Kenpachi laughed, Both of them broke out in laugher as Grimmjow charged forward

"SHINIGAMI!" Grimmjow roared with a laugh just before the two blades met again, however as a cracking sound met his ears, Grimmjow focused his attention on the blades, and his eyes widened at what he found

Pantera had begun to crack, Kenpachi's Zanpakutou starting to slice through it

He quickly leapt back before the blade could get cut in half, but not before Kenpachi swung his blade up to land a cut on his shoulder

"Shit!" Grimmjow cursed as regained composure from his leap

"Eh?" Kenpachi scoffed as he looked at his blade, the tip coated in the Nueva Espada's blood "I didn't even mean to cut you...tch, maybe I misjudged you, If I cut you this easily then you're pretty weak"

Those words graced Grimmjow's ears like the greatest insult to his pride

He called him weak

He was called weak by the man who had nearly killed Ichigo

Underestimated…

Looked down upon a man that had nearly beaten Ichigo

If Kenpachi considered Ichigo to be the greatest opponent he ever had…and him to be a weak fool

That meant that the gap between his and Ichigo's power was even greater than he thought

"Never! I'll never go down to someone like you!"

"Those eyes…I hate those Goddamn eyes!"

"KUROOOOSAAAAAKIIIIII!"

NO!

NOT THIS WAY! NOT LIKE THIS!"

He wasn't weak!

He was strong!

Strong enough to fight Kenpachi!

Strong enough to beat Kenpachi!

Beat the man that had nearly defeated Ichigo

He would beat him

to prove he was strong!

to prove that he was stronger than Ichigo!

to prove…

to prove that he was the king...

"You underestimating me, Shinigami?" he growled, his teeth grinding against each other "That's a big fucking mistake!"

With a mighty roar, Grimmjow charged forward, both hands wrapped around the hilt of pantera, the blade met Kenpachi's Zanpakutou once again, as Kenpachi brought his blade up to block, he saw the look in Grimmjow's eyes,

Nothing

But Pure. Basic. Psychotic. Rage

The look of a mad killer graced his eyes

Swing after swing met Kenpachi's blade

Grimmjow roared in rage as he attempted to slash the captains grinning face

And Kenpachi smiled with delight as it snagged his eye patch...

"Who are you?" Came the demanding voice of Rangiku Matsumoto

"Gintoki Sakata" the silver haired man declared

"Are you-" Izuru began

"An Arrancar?' he asked before he pulled the collar of his shirt down to display "Yep?"

All three Shinigami aimed their already released at the silver haired arrancar

Who drew out a simple wooden sword…

"You're going to fight us…with that?" Yumichika asked with a raised eyebrow

"Yup" was his simple reply

The three charged forward nevertheless

"If there's one thing I know..."

The silver haired arrancar jumped above the vicious ash of Haineko

"It's that a wooden sword is just better..."

He dodged an overhead strike from Wabisuke

"It'll never bend like steel, it will never slice like steel…it can't kill, but-"

He sonido'ed over the head of the Squad 3 lieutenant before delivering a swift kick to the back of his head

"It's durable…much more durable than a regular sword"

The pretty boy of the the Squad 11 appeared behind him and attempted to separate his head from his shoulders

Only for Gintoki to block with the wooden sword

"It can break…"

He grabbed Yumichika's wrist and hurdled him down to the ground, sending him crashing into the other two on the ground

"You can break the blade in my hand…"

Rangiku, Yumichika and Izuru all regained their composure, standing up

standing behind in each other like a line of domino's

Which is when Gintoki appeared to the side of them…

"But you can never break…"

And with one continous smack to the head, the all collapsed like Domino's…

"YOU CAN NEVER BREAK…THE BLADE IN MY SOUL!"

Gamma Akutabi stared agape at the scene in front of him

Gintoki Sakata…lazy, moronic, otaku Gintoki Sakata

had just defeated 3 high level shinigami with nothing more than a wooden sword…

Grimmjow was blown back by the sheer amount of Reiatsu that had suddenly erupted from the captain, His smile even more sinister and psychotic, His eyes burned bright yellow like the sun.

And His blade above his head

"NO!" Grimmjow shouted as he attempted to leap back

but he didn't manage it in time

A large slash graced his chest, ripping a good part of his uniform and causing the blood to flow out of his chest

"Tch, Moron" Kenpachi scoffed as he felt the place that his eyepatch had previously covered "You knocked off my eyepatch, Now I can't hold back anymore"

"You're full of surprises..aren't you?" Grimmjow asked, a hunt of laugh in his voice "Just…like…Kurosaki"

…

"Just like…Kurosaki…"

...

"Hehehehe.."

Kenpachi looked at the Arrancar with curiosity, the arrancar had began to chuckle before he threw his head back and gave into the laugh

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Arrancar roared with laughed before his stared down Kenpachi with a look of pure craziness in his eyes "It's those eyes! Those eyes say the can beat me! There's nothing but confidence in them! I hate those eyes!

I hate them!

Hate them!

Hate! Hate! Hate!

HATE!

HATE!

HAAAAATTTEEEE!"

A massive amount of reiatsu blasted up from the arrancar, matching and possibly even exceeding the amount emitting from the captain

"THERE'S NO WAY I'D LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"

With almighty roar, Grimmjow charged forth, blade in hand, psychopathy written his eyes

Killer instinct written on his face

And Kenpachi couldn't be happier

"Excellent!" Kenpachi laughed as he swung his blade to meet Grimmjow's "This is-!"

*Clang!*

Kenpachi's eyes widened as the Arrancar's blade blasted back his own, causing him to fly back with a massive wound on his chest

"YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME SHINIGAMI!" Grimmjow roared, veins in his eyes, bloodlust written all over his face

"Ken…chan" Yachiru said in awe as her father figure was blown back with a massive cut down his chest

"Kurosaki…beat you…I can beat you!" Grimmjow declared as the captain fell back first onto the ground

…

"Heheheh…"

Grimmjow's eyes widened as a chuckle came from the supposedly finished off captain

"Hahaha…AHAHAHA!"

Grimmjow tried to maintain his composure as another pillar of reiatsu emerged from the captain, who had slowly made his way to his feet

As he looked into his eyes

He saw the look of confidence written in them

Grimmjow gritted his teeth in anger

and responded with two words

"Grind, Pantera"

Toshiro Hitsugaya couldn't breathe

He couldn't speak

He couldn't even move

All he could do was fall to the ground and Sode no Shirayuki was yanked out of his back

A mental "Damn" was all that he could muster

As he fell to the cold, hard ground of the Seireitei, he could do nothing to stop Ichigo Kurosaki's army's ongoing rampage

He felt weak

Was this all that he could do…

The orange haired Shinigami waltzed past him, leaving him to wollow in his own pity as he and Kuchiki…no, the other Kurosaki departed

All he could do, with all of his strength was drag himself over to Momo's side and gently caress her hand

All he could do now was prey…

And as he finished his prayer, Streams of reiatsu shot up into the air, dying the sky of the seireitei in blue and yellow, and the only sound that could be heard, was a distinct, childish yell of...

"Go Ken-chan!"

"'The Hell?" Ichigo noted as the seireitei was basked in blue reiatsu "Grimmjow…and Kenpachi?"

"It's Grimmjow…" Ulquiorra noted turning his head away from Ukitake "He's released his sword"

"Grimmjow…Don't you dare die" Harribel seethed

Kenpachi smirked as the pillar of Reiatsu surrounding him and the one surrounding the arrancar began to fade away

And what he saw made him curious

Grimmjow was no longer in a human-like form, If anything, it was the form of…a panther

His Released Form

"You happy now, Shinigami?" Grimmjow scoffed "You made me release my Zanpakutou"

"Yeah…I am"

A confused look graced the face of Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez as the Captain held up his blade to display it

"Your Reiatsu is making my blade sharper…Nnoitra did the exact same thing" Kenpachi explained "This must mean…you're just as strong as he was"

"Is that right?" Grimmjow asked through his clenched teeth "I'll show you…that Nnoitra was nothing…compared to me!"

The Arrancar charged forward, his clawed hand taking the place of his now gone blade, The captain blocked each of his strikes, with his trademark smile still in place, The two parried each others blows…until bend his arm over…and series of darts shot out of his elbow and into the captain, sending him flying back into one of the many stone structures surrounding them, which proceeded to crumble with the captain still inside it

"What's the matter!" Grimmjow roared as he charged towards the rubble "Are you scared now? Shinigami!"

"Heh…"

Grimmjow's eyes widened as a blade thrust out of the rubble, he barely managed to stop in time before it pierced him, he quickly leapt back but the captain followed him out and the two were soon locked in another clash

"Shit!" Grimmjow cursed

"What?" The Captain scoffed but with his smile still in place "Is that it?"

"Is that it?" The Panther arrancar scoffed "Don't underestimate me"

Kenpachi did not fail to notice the glowing aura that was beginning to form around the Arrancar's right hand nor did he mishear the words that followed it

"Desgarron"

Blood erupted from the slash in the captains chest, the azure claws ripped through him like a chainsaw through wet tissue paper, his wounds were like a burst dam leaking a flurry of red sultry liquid

But that didn't slow the captain one bit

"Hell Yeah!" He roared "This is what I'm talking about!"

Grimmjow's eyes widened as the captain roared with delight

This wasn't a battle between two factions to him

This was FUN

How could he could tell he was enjoying this? Why else would he laugh as he swung his Sword at Grimmjow? and even laugh when the Arrancar leapt back

As the Captain charged once again, the arrancar brought up his foot with such tremendous force, that it sent the captain high into the sky with a kick that would make the world's best quarterback green with envy

The captain righted himself and then immediately charged downwards, the arrancar leapt upwards to meet the insane captain, their clash causing another shockwave to rain throughout the seireitei,

"Desgarron!" Grimmjow roared once again as he leapt up even higher and the captain and launched three giant claw shaped projectiles

Kenpachi just smiled...

And with a single swing of his blade, shattered all three of them

A Large cloud of smoke erupted from the explosion of claws meeting blade, and through that cloud came the charging Kenpachi

Another exchange of strikes occurred between the two as the two battle in the air

"EVERY SINGLE TIME!" The Arrancar roared in his head "He keeps coming back no matter what I throw at him! He never slows down! He won't stop…until I kill him!"

"You've pissed me off enough!" The Arrancar roared and he brought his knee up to Kenpachi's chest, causing the captain to cough up blood before Grimmjow knocked him to the ground with an axe handle "I'm sick of this shit! I'll finish you off with this!"

Kenpachi managed to angle himself to land on his feet, as he peered up, the arrancar held out his hand with a black light beginning to ignite in his palm

"This…is the cero that we espada can only use in our released form, this strongest type of Cero!" Grimmjow roared as a black ball with a green outline formed in his palm

"CERO OSCURAS!"

"A Cero Oscuras…" Ulquiorra muttered as he saw the far away green light

"Who are you…?" Ukitake quietly demanded "Speak now…"

"I am the Primera Nueva Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer" he declared, the captains eyes (understandably) widened

"I see…" He declared as he readied his Zanpakuto "I am Jushiro Ukitake…and I must stop you"

…

"You can try…" The bat espada declared as he formed a lance in his hand

Blackness

That was all that could be seen in ball of he pre-fired Cero

Nothing but the black abyss

Yachiru quickly fled the battlefield as the black light fired from the Arrancar's hand

While Kenpachi stood his ground

*VOOOOOOSH!*

The sound was different from a regular cero, as was the power

The Cero Oscuras was deadly, at close range, forget it, you were dead

From long range, the damage was still immense

And that was clear

as the aura of the blase faded away, the battlefield was nothing more than a smoking pile of rubble

Grimmjow laughed

He laughed at the destruction

He laughed at the death

He laughed at his victory

...

"Shit.."

Grimmjow's eyes widened as a large pile of rubble began to rumble, indicating something was under it…

"No way…No fucking way" The Arrancar shook his head as he descended to the ground

"You're strong…I'll give you that"

The rubble was blown away as blast of yellow reiatsu erupted from inside it…revealing the bloody mess that was Kenpachi Zaraki

Blood flowed from his chest, his forehead, his arms, his legs, everywhere

Most of his uniform was blown away and his body badly burned

but that didn't slow him down on bit

"Guess I gotta use it…"

"U-Use what?" Grimmjow stuttered as he lowered himself to the ground "Why….Why don't you just fucking die already!"

"I can't die" Came the captains mocking response "Not until I fight Ichigo again…"

"That's funny…I have the exact same reason" Grimmjow growled "I can't die…until I defeat him"

"Well…looks like we have something in common, Grimmjow" The captain smiled

"Looks that way…Captain" The arrancar grinned

"It just sucks…that I havta kill ya!" The captain roared as he readied his sword

"We'll see about that!" Grimmjow roared as he charged

Kenpachi smiled as the arrancar charged forward

He smiled as he placed both of his hands on his blade

"Kendo" Came the captains mellow voice

Kenpachi lifted his blood above his head

And as the Arrancar came within striking distance

swung downwards

*SLASH!*

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Pain

That was the only feeling that ran through the Body of Quinta Nueva Espada as the Blade slashed through his entire body

Any strength he had left in his body was gone

Any chance of continuing to fight was gone

Any chance of winning this fight…was gone

He had lost…

He landed on his feet after the slash, his body didn't seem to be moving, he could hear the distinct cheers of the Captain's pink haired lieutenant

"Thanks for the fight…Grimmjow" he chuckled as the arrancar began to fall to his knee's "You were even more fun than Nnoitra"

His body couldn't go on…

His Resolve Broken…

But his soul…his will

Would not give up

As his was about to collapse to his knees…everything went dark

And a voice echoed through his head

"Grimmjow…"