Chapter Text
It's all cold. From the multitude of metallic straps restraining him to the liquid he was partially submerged in, everything threatened to freeze him to death. Not to mention the furious wind which repeatedly smacked his skin and sent the liquid into a frenzy, hitting him like shots of frozen bullets. It was so uncontrolled that it had gotten to the point where it was spilling over the transparent walls of the container, splashing onto the marble floor. He had woken up to this, still dazed but had recognised that any struggles were futile, but it didn't stop him from trying. Confusion rocked his mind, ransacking it, allowing panic to take full reign over his senses. Everything was jumbled up and there was a complete absence of clarity, he almost missed it when that oh so familiar figure loomed over him. Despite the chaos his brain was currently undergoing, rage and fear still managed to bubble up as something within the depths of his being identified the figure.
Aizen Sousuke.
Time slowed, almost to a halt. His vision focused once his eyelids batted away the liquid. It was him, knuckles white, hands tightened over the edge of his victim's confines, donning a maleficent grin that revealed the malicious nature of his intentions. That was when the memories came flooding back to him.
-_-_-_-
The sands of Hueco Mundo whipped viciously by the group of misfits, the first sign of the oncoming storm and omen of what was about to take place. They were running at full speed, their mission's completion was of optimum importance. Ichigo and Renji were out in front, leading the team, weaving through low-level hollows and divining the quickest route. Not too far behind, Rukia and Chad guarded the left and right flank with Orihime situated between the two, at the centre of the formation. Finally, Uryuu was at the rear, keeping an eye out for any attacks from behind and providing any long range support if necessary, barring his Ginrei Kojaku for that sole purpose. All was going smoothly until a figure materialised seemingly out of nowhere on top of an elevated part of the land just ahead of them.
Bright blue contrasted greatly against the dull landscape of Hueco Mundo.
“ICHIGO KUROSAKI!” The figure bellowed, freezing the man he had addressed in his tracks, almost causing a domino collision to the rest of the squad.
“It's payback time!”
Espada number six, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
The group dropped into battle stances simultaneously upon recognition, surveying the scene in an attempt to devise a plan. The foe slid down from the hill he was on, causing the sand to cascade down with him until the hill was no more. It's quite suiting , Uryu mused from the back, with him being the Espada of destruction.
Now on level footing with those who opposed him, Grimmjow strolled over to them with his hands in his pockets. It furrily confused the crew, setting them on the very edge. Ichigo shifted his weight when he was within a few strides of the blue haired maniac, brandishing his sword as a warning. In response, Grimmjow halted and widened his grin, revelling in the awkward situation he had created by simply being. However, he was not allowed to bask in his glory for too long, the strained peace was disrupted as he flicked out his hand in the blink of an eye, catching a blue missile a mere hair breadths from his chest. The grin dropped, transforming into a grimace as Renji practically jumped onto him and Ichigo assumed his visored state. He batted Renji away with ease and quickly retreated to a safe distance as Ichigo unleashed a Getsuga Tenshou in his direction. Unfortunately for him, Grimmjow had no time to relax as Quincey arrows rained down on him and Renji released Zabimaru.
“Yerr fucked up Grimm” Nnoitra stated as he emerged from behind a broken pillar structure, soon followed by Ulquiorra.
“Fuck off!” Grimmjow shouted, dancing between arrows.
“If that weedy kid with the glasses weren't there I would've been fine!” He dodged another Getsuga. No more attacks followed.
“Wait... What?”
This time, Ichigo took up the rear as the group retreated, fighting the Espada was not their objective and three at once would just be counter productive. He allowed his mask to crumble and took a quick glance back, noting that the Espada were now trailing them. He considered the possibility of fully retreating.
“Ichigo, we should return to the soul society?” Uryu took the words straight out of his mouth.
“Go for it!” He called out the confirmation. The Quincey took out a device which was not too dissimilar to a flip phone and started barking instructions down it. Not long after, an opening which looked like a Garganta appeared in the distance. Although it wasn't a Garganta, Ichigo knew that. It was a mix of Urahara's and Kurotsuchi's expertise. While the two may despise each other, they made a brilliantly productive team.
Ichigo stole himself another look back and found that the Espada were incredibly close now. What he didn't quite understand was why they didn't just use one of their projectiles, they were most definitely in range. He dismissed the thought and focused his attention back to the escape route at hand, after all, he'd take escaping unscathed in place of a Cero to the chest again any day. The group was close now, in fact, Uryu was already on the other side of the “Inverse Gate” (Urahara's name for the gadget) or the “Noches Warp” (Kurotsuchi's name). A couple of leaps and bounds later and Chad joined Uryu, followed by Orihime, then Rukia, Renji and finally...
Ichigo screamed.
“Ichigo!” Orihime wailed desperately, hand outstretched towards the side of the gate she had just come from, attempting to wriggle out of Chad's grasp.
“I know” The man of few words whispered, a hint of distress could be picked up by attentive listeners.
Rukia and Renji looked on in horror, paralysed by shock from what they had just witnessed. They didn't even move a single muscle as the doors to the room they were in burst open allowing for various shinigami to spill in, including the inventors of the device that was in use. Uryu was the only one thinking straight. He grimaced as if in pain as he watched Ichigo slump to the ground, no longer conscious. He knew there was nothing they could do without endangering the entirety of the soul society. As if on cue, the extraordinarily tall Espada 'Nnoitra' reached into their side of the gate. With a grunt, Uryu snapped his eyes shut and pressed a button on the device's controller. He couldn't watch as he abandoned who he regarded as his closest friend. With great velocity, the opening between the two worlds shut, decapitating the Espada's limb in the process. The last they heard of Hueco Mundo was the blood-curdling howl of Nnoitra, cut short.
Urahara placed a gentle hand upon Uryu's shoulder with just enough force to subdue his quaking. With his other hand, he placed a small handkerchief in the Quincey's grasp. He stared, stunned by the action until he realised.
He was crying.
-_-_-_-
“Renji, speak up, we can't hear you”
They were in the Gotei 13 meeting room and not only were all captains present but so were their lieutenants. Yamamoto was stood up, holding his sealed Zanpakto with a tight grip, the usually calm and collected old man was somewhat visibly affected by what had transpired, even if only a little. The man did owe Ichigo a lot after all.
Meanwhile, Renji looked as though he was barely keeping it together. He was positioned at the opposite end of the hall from Yamamoto, eyes trained on the ground and shaking. For those who only knew Renji on a civil basis, it was quite the site to behold. Even for Byakuya, it was fairly surprising.
“They got him...” Renji's sentence devolved into incoherent mumbling.
“For the last time Renji, we need to know what happened” Yamamoto was losing his patience. Byakuya sighed at the state his lieutenant was in and stepped forward, making his way over to Renji and whispered something into his ear. As a result of whatever the captain has said, the red-head seemed to calm down a little. Enough to speak anyway. He took a gulp of fresh air and Byakuya returned to his former position.
“I-I'll start from where the Espada appeared”
At the mention of the variation of hollow, a few murmurings sounded. Some already knew of their involvement from Urahara, Kurotsuchi and other shinigami who had witnessed the conclusion of the events but for the most part, this was unheard news.
“We were on our way to deploy Kurotsuchi's bugs, me and Ichigo at the front” He had seemed to gain more control and confidence now, only slightly quivering. “Then the blue one... yah know that one that went to Karakura town a bit ago”
“Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez?” Toshiro offered.
“Yeah, Grimmjow. He just sorta came walking over, all casual and cool as though we were on good terms or something. We were really confused so we just sort of readied ourselves until he got a bit too close for comfort” Renji took a deep breath.
“And then what did you do?” Yamamoto urged him to continue.
“Well, Uryu shot an arrow and he caught it, then I launched myself forward. Now, I'm not weak, but in that moment, I felt powerless. He just batted me away like a bug, like I was nothing.” This statement caused a few people to gasp a little.
“I ran forward again, releasing my Zanpakto but I stopped. Ichigo was letting out Getsuga's and Uryu was shooting a tonne of arrows but then two other Espada appeared”
“Which two?” Asked Yamamoto.
“Sorry, I don't really know the names that well. I think it was the one with black hair, pale skin and green tear drop looking streaks on his face and I KNOW the other one was the really tall Espada”
“Ulquiorra and Nnoitra” Toshiro filled in, causing a few people go throw him questioning looks. “I like to know who I might end up facing in the future” He explained, a little irritated by the unnecessary attention.
“Continue Renji” Yamamoto ordered, not interested in why or how people knew this and that.
“Yeah, so, err yeah. Ah, we retreated” He found where he left off. “And then we came to the decision that we should just return to the soul society and used the inverse-”
“Noches Warp!” Kurotsuchi interrupted, earning himself a glare from Yamamoto.
Renji knew the deal by now and continued “So yeah, we all go into there and then...” Renji shivered.
This time, nobody said anything, allowing Renji the time he needed.
“Then... I heard him scream. We all did”
“Ichigo screamed?” Kenpachi repeated in disbelief.
“... Yeah... It was a horrible scream. I haven't heard one like it before... I turned around when I did and I saw him with something latching onto him... making his body convulse... I bet the scientist one made it... he is mad after all...” Renji trailed off, it was clear he didn't wish to speak anymore.
“I was there for the rest of it” Kurotsuchi announced, almost with pride. Regardless of his intentions, it gave Byakuya the time to guide his lieutenant out of the room and return alone.
“I ran in as the boy had stopped screaming, from what I could see of the gadget, I can almost guarantee it was derived from the mind of Szayel, Espada of madness. Their goal is quite unclear, whether they needed Ichigo or just took him because he was within range, we do not yet know. However! If we manage to get my bugs to infiltrate their palace, we could know that and much more, imagine everyth-”
“The account, Kurotsuchi” Yamamoto stated in a very stern tone.
“Ah yes, sorry” He laughed a little, sheepishly. “Uryu closed MY Noches Warp when Nnoitra reached into our side of the opening. Because MY invention is just so powerful, it sliced the Espada's limb cleanly off. And that is most truthful and accurate account you can get” He finished with confidence.
“Thank you, Kurotsuchi” Yamamoto said as he sat down.
_-_-_-_