Ichirin No Hana

“Fuckin’ A Kami!!!” Grimmjow yelled between bouts of laughter as he watched his subordinate take on the pale blonde human woman. He began to thoroughly enjoy himself, not thinking of any consequences that might come from this little episode. After all, the girl was putting on quite the show and so what if Aizen or anyone came to break it up? All he needed to do was to say that she was that she disobeyed a direct order and was being punished for it. With all the arrancar witnessing what was happening, no one would dare cross him and say otherwise or else they all knew he’d kill them.

“How dare you spit on Grimmjow-sama! You shall pay for your disrespect woman!!!”

“Fuck you and the horse you came in on, you prick! Now GET-OFF-ME!”

Kamisuke roared in Yuri’s face for her insult while she kicked and bucked beneath him to get him off but it was no use. He had her firmly pinned, with one hand around her throat and the other digging his claws into the flesh of her shoulder through her haori. She began cursing up a storm even more as she looked to the left and saw her new shihakusho slowly being stained a bright crimson with her own blood. Grimmjow could still be heard laughing his ass off at the sight of his subordinate doing his dirty work while Chiyo went unnoticed, creeping up on Kamisuke.

All at once Chiyo leaped upon his back and pulled on his sensitive, lion-like ears. The fracción’s eyes went wide in surprise and pain. He let out a mighty roar then began thrashing about while trying reach behind him and grab Chiyo to throw her from his back. Yuri took the opportunity to throw up her hands and cast a kidou.

“Hadou no ichi, Shou!!!”

Both Kami and Chiyo went flying backward and away from Yuri, smashing into the crowd of arrancar that were watching the fight. Yuri quickly scrambled to her feet while Chiyo clung to Kami like her life depended on it, which in a sense it did. She then took out a small, dagger-like zanpakutou and began stabbing Kami with it all around his chest and shoulder while holding on tight to his ear with her other hand. To the crowd, the scene was funny and many began to laugh or chuckle at the two for it looked as if a child were riding a bull-gone-wild and was now trying to kill it with a steak knife. Meanwhile, Grimmjow stopped laughing then eyed up Yuri as she was yelling to Chiyo, telling her to let go and run away. This woman was beginning to irk his nerves again. He took a step toward her when he felt her reiatsu flare again. It was interesting that she was controlling it so well when it was truly so intense.

Yuri seemed to be able to feel Grimmjow’s eyes on her. Though she worried for her little attendant, she had to protect herself from the coming threat and that meant that for the moment Chiyo was on her own. She turned toward Grimmjow and stared him down. The blue-haired espada merely grinned as he took a few more intimidating steps near her. He was going to chew her up and swallow her whole. He’d had enough of her meddling and he didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone had to say about it. He was going to ultimately be king someday so none of this would matter later. He narrowed his eyes at Yuri as she swayed a bit. Something was happening with her and he couldn’t quite put his finger onto what it was. He stopped and watched, preparing himself for whatever was coming.


oOoOoOoOo


“Ya know they’re both fucked.”

“What do you mean Nnoitra?”

“Aizen will boot both those stupid fucks into the gates of hell once he finds out they’re messing with his new toy.”

“I don’t understand, what new toy?”

“Why is it you never know fuckin’ anything?!”

“What are you talking about? I know everything I need to know that is of importance.”

“You’re goddamned idiot! Everyone else knows that that girl down there is Aizen’s new sex toy so why don’t you? Hmm? We’ve all known it was going to happen for quite some time and it was just confirmed last night! So tell me Mr. Super-Fuckin’-Genius, why don’t you know? Oh! Oh! Could it be that the genius is also a pruuuuuuuuuude?”

Nnoitra’s long tongue came from between his lips to lick them disgustingly while Ulquiorra merely stood before him in contemplation. His face betrayed nothing of his thoughts as it remained in its forever-frozen emo mode. He couldn’t answer the question because he didn’t know the answer. All he knew was that if it was important for him to know than Aizen would’ve informed him. Prude? No, he didn’t think himself a prude. He knew what sex was and that other beings had it. He just didn’t care about it because it was of no use to him personally. But now that he thought about it, his master did seem rather fond of the new girl. He surmised it was possible that what Nnoitra claimed was true. But still, Aizen hadn’t bothered to tell him anything about it so it wasn’t any of his concern what he did with his subjects. All he cared about was serving his master and keeping order within his realm.

Ulquiorra turned and looked down upon the fight currently going on with his large, emerald-green eyes. He ignored Nnoitra as he incessantly spoke again, trying to get him to answer his question. It was then that he shut up in mid-sentence and joined his comrade, looking over the railing of the high catwalk above the murmuring crowds. Something was going on with the girl and it made them both wonder if she was going to manifest a new ability. Ulquiorra remained calm and just watched while Nnoitra steadily began to get excited as he spoke once again.

“You think we should jump in there and do something?”

“Iie. We have no orders to either protect the woman or stop her from defending herself. We will watch and see what happens for now.”

“Well fuck me! I was hoping to get a lil piece of the action. He he he… I heard the girl was quite a handful when she gets started.”

“I have heard no such report. What I know is that since her arrival in Hueco Mundo she’s manifested a few shinigami abilities and that she is under the tutelage of both Ichimaru-sama and Tousen-sama. She is a below average fighter but exudes the potential to become an asset to Aizen-sama with the proper guide-”

“Will you shut that goddamned pie-hole of yers and look, it’s happening again!”

Ulqiorra watched then narrowed his eyes a bit. He put a finger up to his chin and contemplated again. His mind wound around the possibilities of what might be going on with the woman. His eyes then widened as he began to wonder on a particular possibility. He’d read reports about it but never seen it himself. If she was about to do what he was thinking then he just may have to stop Grimmjow from attacking her. Aizen was sure to be interested in what was going on.

“Nnoitra, go and fetch Aizen-sama. I think the girl is about to manifest a zanpakutou.”

“Fuck that! I wanna see-”

“I said go. Now!”

Nnoitra glowered at Ulquiorra but remained quiet as the higher-ranking espada stared at him with eyes that told him to obey his order or he’d get his ass beat despite Ulquiorra’s emo expression. He frowned then walked away, sulking, as he went to inform Aizen of the situation. Once he was satisfied that Nnoitra was going to do as he was told, he turned back to the battle at hand and watched as Yuri squinted her eyes and swayed in front of Grimmjow. He reiatsu was fluctuating and if it were going to happen, it would be any moment now.


oOoOoOoOo


Yuri didn’t know what was happening to herself. She was having trouble controlling her reiatsu and it began to fluctuate rapidly. It felt like a pulse, a heartbeat, to Yuri and the air around her began to move and swirl in little whirlwinds. Her sight was also fluctuating with the pulsations. It was clear one second and the next blurred. It made her head flighty and she began to sway and stagger before catching herself and standing straight again. If this continued, she would be in real trouble because she wouldn’t be able to fight at all. She found it strange that Grimmjow was just standing there before her doing nothing, though it wasn’t a bad thing considering her state. Her fluctuating/pulsating reiatsu was increasing in its rate. Soon everything was a blur and the only sounds she could hear was the combined murmur of many voices and wind. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to clear them and then she heard something. It wasn’t Grimmjow or Kamisuke or even her little Chiyo. It wasn’t anyone from the crowd surrounding her either. It was barely a whisper riding on the wind.

“Yuuuuuuurrrrrrriiiiiii…..”

She could barely make it out but she did hear it. It was calling her name. The winds began to pick up around her and she threw up an arm to shield her face against it. Then she heard it again. It called her name and she felt compelled to look for the source of the voice. Yuri lowered her arm just a bit to look out into the wind. Meanwhile, the gathered crowd of arrancar began to back away in all directions. There was excited chatter everywhere as many whispered to each other in hushed wonder.

Kamisuke, who was still struggling to get Chiyo off his back, had finally managed to grab a hold of her and pulled with all his might. As the tiny child-like arrancar was pulled violently from her perch, she managed to slash Kamisuke’s ear with her small zanpakutou’s blade, slicing a rather significant hole in it. He pulled the tiny body back with his arm then threw Chiyo with all his strength. She sped like a bullet until a nearby wall stopped her momentum with a loud smack. Chiyo dropped from the height she was thrown like a rock into a little heap onto the floor, where she lay unconscious. He then turned back to Yuri’s direction while swiping his injured ear with a hand and inspecting the blood trickling out of it. When he focused on Yuri again, he gasped lightly. The human was surrounded by a visible, green reiatsu burst and the air around her was swirling with small tornadoes only a few feet away from her. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing and didn’t know what was going on. He looked to Grimmjow then remained as still as he was. If his master wasn’t doing anything to the girl then it was more than likely a good idea for him not to try anything at the moment either.

Grimmjow stared almost slack-jawed at Yuri. What he was seeing amazed him. It appeared the blonde little tramp was manifesting a new power. A new power… He then began to grin at the thought with a mouth full of pearly-whites. Yes, it’d be better to fight someone stronger than she currently was. He did hate to trounce on weaklings and he did so love to beat the hell out of those with strength. Content with this thought, he watched and waited to see what the girl would come up with.

“Yuuuuuuuurrrrrrriiiiiiiii-chaaaaaannnnn… Myyyyyyyy name issssss…”


oOoOoOoOo

Yuri was having trouble hearing the voice as it whispered to her. She knew it was trying to tell her something but what? She heard it again and strained to listen. It was saying it had a name. What was it though? She couldn’t quite hear. She then felt that familiar compulsion again to look out into the wind that was now whipping feverantly around her. What she saw shocked her. As the wind whipped this way and that, she saw a tall, hooded figure fade in and out of view. When she could see it somewhat clearly, it looked to be beckoning to her. It was speaking but she couldn’t make out what it was saying with the roar of the wind driving against her eardrums. At first she thought it was just an illusion but something in her gut convinced her otherwise. Though no one around her seemed to be able to see the vision, it persisted in speaking to her and gesturing for her to come to it.

“Myyyyyy naaaaaaammmme isssss… Shiiiiiiiii… kazzzzzzzzeeeee… Cooooooomme and claaaaaaaiiiiim meeee… myyyyy misssstressss…”

“Shi… kaze?” Yuri thought to herself as she shielded her face from the wind once again. “What is that? Is that its name?” She looked back to the illusionary figure before her. It was still speaking but she couldn’t hear it again. Now it was doing something different. It was reaching out to her. Yuri slowly put an arm down and reached out. The wind was now a tempest around her and bodies were either backing away more quickly than before or outright fleeing. Yuri paid them no mind. Her focus was set on the figure before her and reaching to grasp the hand reaching out opposite to her. The wind then died down and she heard the voice clearly.

“Call out my name, Shikaze, and claim me my mistress!”

At that, Yuri’s eyes widened and she called out, “Shikaze!” As she spoke, she reached out and grasped the hooded figure’s hand. All at once the winds raged like a hurricane around her and her reiatsu flared then exploded outward. Both Grimmjow and Kamisuke threw up an arm to shield their eyes and strengthened their own reiatsu against the force of Yuri’s. Unfortunately, the weaker arrancar who remained behind to watch the event were obliterated where they stood. Ulquiorra remained still above and watched intensely as he gripped the railing of the catwalk tightly. His eyes glinted in the light given off from the reiatsu burst as it was truly a magnificent sight to be beheld, the birth of a zanpakutou.


oOoOoOoOo


Moments later, the wind completely died away and Yuri stood there in an almost empty room holding a zanpakutou in her right hand. She blinked at it a moment, inspecting it. It was a two-foot long wakizashi. She held it horizontal in front of her, admiring its beauty. Its blade was silver with black running along its dull side and the tsuba was round and gold with a green swirl design inlaid within. It glimmered in her hand despite the dull lighting of the hall while the blade glowed with a slight green from her reiatsu. She turned it vertically while looking at the grip. It was the same color black as the blade and ended with a gold ring, to which three wide, green silk ribbons were firmly attached. It was then that a loud, obnoxious voice stirred her from her reverie.

“Are you fucking done already? Can we get back to the fight?”

Yuri looked at Grimmjow with a stoic expression. She felt drained but she still felt like she could fight. He stood there grinning at her, pulling Pantera out from its sheath at his waist. Yuri then swung Shikaze in a series of acrobatic moves in her hand, ribbons fluttering beautifully in the air, before pointing down at the floor and taking an attack posture.

“Anytime you’re ready.”

The two stared each other down in a Mexican standoff until Grimmjow decided to break the moment and move in. He sonidoed forward and raised his zanpakutou, slashing at her diagonally, left to right, from her head toward the ground. Yuri remained still as Grimmjow closed in, with her eyes closed. She was so thankful for the training that both Gin and Tousen had provided her. As Grimmjow’s blade descended upon her head, she opened her eyes and grinned, instinctively placing her own blade up and diagonal to his; effectively blocking his move. She quickly parried, bringing her blade in an upward motion and knocking his zanpakutou down toward him. She continued in a circular motion, forcing Pantera to close in on its master as both blades headed for his gut.

Grimmjow’s eyes widened as he had mere seconds to react. He pushed hard on his blade against Yuri’s motion while jumping back from her to safer distance. Shikaze missed him by a fraction of an inch. Yuri remained still as she watched a crouching Grimmjow size her up. She smirked as it began to dawn on him that she had acquired skill in swordsmanship while training. Yuri wasn’t going to be so easy to defeat. Grimmjow stood slowly, never taking his eyes from his opponent. He grinned his toothy grin again at her then chuckled. This was beginning to get fun.


oOoOoOoOo


Yuri also watched and waited with an eerie calm. In the background, Kamisuke watched and gritted his teeth. That damned woman almost struck his beloved master! He watched further as Grimmjow advanced on Yuri again and was again so easily countered. He didn’t understand what was happening. Sure she just manifested a zanpakutou but it didn’t make sense that she could match Grimmjow’s strength when she was so weak compared to him. He wondered briefly if the fact that Grimmjow had only one arm had anything to do with the situation but quickly abandoned the thought. Fury rose and began to erupt from Kamisuke. He couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right what this woman, this human, was getting away with. Just who did she think she was coming here to Las Noches, flaunting her skinny ass around like she owned the place? As Kamisuke felt like he was going to burst with rage, he roared and pulled out his own zanpakutou, sonidoing in to strike Yuri with his own blade.

Consumed in her fight with Grimmjow, Yuri didn’t notice Kamisuke until the last moment. Fear marred her pretty face as she jumped away from Grimmjow only to be skewered by Kamisuke as he angled his blade to pierce her heart. Fortunately he missed his mark, but not by much. The zanpakutou burrowed deep within her chest, exiting out the other side. A flash of orange and white appeared before Yuri as Kamisuke’s blade was forced from her sternum and away from her. Yuri collapsed onto the floor and blacked out; unaware of what had just happened.

Tousen had arrived just in the nick of time to stop the fight. He frowned as he pulled away from the fracción and swung his zanpakutou, slashing at him. Kamisuke jumped back then attempted to defend himself but Tousen proved to be the superior in the duel. He made short work of Kamisuke with several carefully calculated sword strokes and finished him off with a lunge that pierced him through his right lung. Kamisuke began to fall forward, making Tousen’s blade inch deeper into his chest before he was yanked back off it and swept away. He attempted to lift his head to see what had happened but collapsed into darkness before he could find out why his body felt so light all of a sudden.

Tousen turned his blind eyes in Yuri’s direction. Her reiatsu had completely vanished from the air. The only remnants of it remained with her newly manifested zanpakutou, which lay on the ground beside her in a pool of her blood. Tousen seemed to look at it in awe before calling out in an urgent voice.


oOoOoOoOo


“Szayel! Szayel!!! Come down here quickly and help me!!!”

Szayel Aporro Granz, the scientist of the group and eighth ranking espada, was the closest thing to a doctor that Hueco Mundo had. He lingered a moment on the catwalk next to Ulquiorra, speaking to him. He sighed then said, “Looks like I’m being summoned. Bah! I don’t see why he doesn’t let that… human just die. It’s worthless in my opinion and will never amount to anything of use in Aizen-sama’s grand designs.”

“It’s better not to question Tousen-sama’s motives. He takes orders directly from Aizen-sama and you know it. If it is his choice to save the life of the woman then do what you must to ensure she survives. Otherwise I’m sure you will regret it…”

“Hmph! Whatever.”

Ulquiorra watched as Szayel jumped effortlessly from the height of the catwalk down to the floor of the main hall. He walked over to Yuri and Tousen, who had managed to stop her bleeding for the moment, and knelt down beside them. He looked Yuri over critically before noticing the zanpakutou in the pool of blood.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?”

He went to reach down and pick it up when Tousen grabbed his wrist, preventing him from touching it, with blinding speed. Szayel looked at Tousen with a surprised expression before allowing his arm to go limp in his grip. Apparently he wasn’t going to be afforded the opportunity to examine the spiritual blade… yet.

“Leave it alone and attend to Yuri-chan. I need her patched up until either Gin or Aizen-sama return.”

Exasperated, Szayel sighed heavily as he pulled his arm out of Tousen’s hold. “Very well,” he said as he began to examine her wounds. “I don’t see this a being a problem but when I’ve finished with the woman, may I see her zanpakutou? It’s really a fascinating phenomenon that I wish to investigate.”

“For now you will not even lay your eyes on it. If it is Aizen-sama’s wish, you may do what you please with it later. But until he says you can touch it, it will be off-limits.”

Szayel smiled and nodded to Tousen, even though he knew the shinigami couldn’t see his gesture. He was fully confident that Aizen would allow him to study Yuri’s zanpakutou so now he just needed to bide his time until he returned to give him permission to begin. “As you wish,” he said as he began to gather the unconscious Yuri in his arms. He lifted her easily and stood then began walking away with her. Tousen, too, rose and began to follow, picking up Shikaze and safely tucking it away in his obi next to his own zanpakutou.

“I will accompany you.”

Szayel ignored Tousen and continued to walk, carrying Yuri. He looked down at her as he went and noticed something of interest to him. Smiling more broadly, he quickened his pace and headed toward his lab. Tousen followed warily. He didn’t like how Szayel was acting and began to fret as he thought of how he was going to explain to Aizen what happened to his charge. He was not going to be pleased once he found out his little pet had been injured.

___________________________________________________________________________________

~Author's Notes~

1. Shihakusho - (Lit. 'Garment of the dead') This is what the uniforms of shinigami are normally called but since I found no words to describe arrancar uniforms, I used this one to describe them.

2. Kidou - ('demon way', or 'spirit way' sometimes translated as 'demon arts') This is what shingami call it when they focus their spiritual energy into magic spells.

3. Hadou no ichi, Shou - (Lit. 'Hadou #1, Thrust!') This is a shinigami spell. Though I have no translation for hadou, it should be noted that it is probably derived from the hindi 'hadou', which is a superstition in which one absorbs 'ki' from the life of their surroundings and can thus heal, attack or use the force for many other techniques.

4. Zanpakutou - (Lit. 'soul cutter') This is a shingami/arrancar sword.

5. Wakizashi - This is a type of short sword used in the Edo period of Japanese warfare. Its blade can be between 12 and 24 inches in length.

6. Tsuba - This is a part of a Japanese sword which is like a hand guard between the grip and blade. Its shape can vary somewhat and is usually decorative, though many are plain and square.

7. Sonido - This is an arrancar technique (equivalent of the shinigami technique called 'shunpo' or 'flash-step') which allows them to travel short distances at blinding speeds. Usually when one is in sonido, as with shunpo, one cannot be seen until they come out of it.