Ch 126: The scary Commander gets scarier.

Fubuki, aka Kitsune Ranger Blue, emerged from the underground maze with Yoruichi. They looked around, frowning.

They were now inside the walls, but were surprised to find most of the inner area… empty. It was just more desert, with a number of large, widely separated, white buildings and white towers, whose location didn't seem to make any sense.

"Where do you think is Kitsune Ranger Pink held captive, Yoruichi-san?"

"At a guess, I'd say the slightly bigger structure at the center. But since we separated into teams, we may as well go after any strong opponent we can locate. " Yoruichi smiled suddenly.

"Or are you perhaps in a hurry to get out of this costume?"

"I am." acknowledged Fubuki.

"I would be in your shoes, too, but it looks like the decision is taken away from us. A big one is coming."

Fubuki had also noticed and looked at the two Arrancars approaching.

"Is this the one called Nnoitra?" asked Fubuki.

"It looks like him."

Before this trip, Noah had briefed them on what he knew of the Arrancars. This Nnoitra apparently was a very arrogant musclehead wanting to fight anything that moved. He wasn't all that strong, but was quite hard to injure, being the most skilled Arrancar with their body reinforcement technique, and his Resurreccion was somewhat bothersome, granting him multiple pairs of arms and the weapons to go with them. It would be best not to let him use it.

Nnoitra wasn't alone, and his single Fraccion, a huge guy with a boar head, followed behind, but Fubuki barely gave him a glance. He only had an abnormal physical strength going for him. Against her and Yoruichi, this would be far from enough.

Nnoitra and his Fraccion Tesla slowed down and stopped fifteen meters from Fubuki and Yoruichi. Nnoitra had a tall and lanky body, and long black hair framing his face. A large eyepatch covered his left eye, and he seemed to have a permanent mocking smile.

His weapon was strangely shaped, with a long thin shaft affixed to two side semi-circles back-to-back, forming an incomplete figure 8. And the edges of his weapon were on the inside. A thick chain linked the end of the shaft to Nnoitra's waist. Overall, the weapon seemed extremely impractical, as if the blunt side of the blade was more useful than the edged one.

"You're out of luck, you bastards." called out Nnoitra with a smug expression. "You think you can just waltz in?"

"I'll go first." said Fubuki, and Yoruichi nodded. She didn't actually know who her Blue companion was. Noah had many girls in his entourage, and she didn't recognize her voice. But she had noted the absence of a sword hanging from Blue's belt.

Fubuki did a few kung-fu poses, gritting her teeth.

"I am Kitsune Ranger Blue. I will be your opponent."

"Eh. Nnoitra Gilga, Quinto Espada! You have a strong killing intent! You better not disappoint!" grinned Nnoitra, waving his huge weapon around.

Fubuki extended her right arm to the side, and her Sunset Spear appeared.

She lifted it above her head, and Nnoitra's expression suddenly changed.

"Tesla, dodge!" yelled Nnoitra, but the warning came too late.

Fubuki was already slashing downward while extending her spear, and the cross-shaped spearhead came crashing down on Tesla with a crack of broken sound barrier. Tesla only had time to flinch and lift his sword to try to block when the spear bisected him, from the top of his board mask to his crotch.

"You bast…" started to yell Nnoitra, but he had to hurriedly defend himself as Fubuki's spear was already headed his way.

With a flick of the wrists, Fubuki exploited a hole in Nnoitra's defense and found his left pectoral muscle. But the blade of the Sunset Spear only penetrated a few millimeters, barely drawing a little blood.

"Surprised?" said Nnoitra as he used his own weapon to force the spear away. "I'm the best Hierro (Iron) user among the Espada!"

He jumped toward Fubuki, trying to bring his own weapon down upon her, but she evaded without issue and countered immediately.

Yoruichi watched, impressed, as Nnoitra and Fubuki fought. It was obvious to her that Fubuki was slightly stronger, much faster, and so much more experienced. She handled her spear with a degree of mastery exceeding even the Shinigami captains, and added at least one or two scratches to Nnoitra every second they fought. But they were just that, scratches, and the Arrancar only seemed to grow both more excited at having a strong opponent, and more irritated at not having managed to land a single hit yet.

After a minute, Fubuki stopped her continuous attack and jumped back.

"This is bothersome. He is strong, but not in a satisfying way. Yoruichi-san, would you mind taking over for a minute?"

"Yes?"

Kitsune Ranger Blue suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone with the Arrancar.

"Where did she go? It was getting interesting! Don't tell me I scared her! I was just about to beat her into submission!" boasted Nnoitra. His clothes were torn, and his upper body and thighs full of scratches, but his fighting spirit was ignited.

"Duh, she basically praised you for being a sturdy sandbag." said Yoruichi, rolling her eyes.

"A sandbag? You dare call me a sandbag?" furiously asked Nnoitra, charging at Yoruichi with his weapon pointed forward like an oversized bident. Yoruichi simply jumped, using Nnoitra's weapon as a handhold, and struck his head with a roundhouse kick.

She wasn't much slower than her Blue companion, and Nnoitra couldn't hope to compete with her in agility.

Still, she lacked the means to injure the Arrancar, unless she decided to reveal her trump card and use Shunko. But she didn't want to expose that before she got the chance to use it against Aizen.

She fended off or evaded each of Nnoitra's furious blows while trying to find another way to deal with her opponent, when Kitsune Ranger Blue reappeared, accompanied with Kitsune Ranger Red.

"Thank you, Yoruichi-san. Red can deal with him." nodded Blue.

"You! You Blue… Aaaargh!" Nnoitra didn't have time to finish as Red instantly appeared in front of him in a Iai stance, slashing upward and diagonally. Her orange-tinted blade actually severed Nnoitra's left wrist and bit deeply into his chest, drawing a long red line several centimeters deep.

Red rotated her right wrist for the return strike, slashing horizontally at neck level before Nnoitra could get over his shock, and managed to sever his neck. She jumped away to avoid any blood splatter as Nnoitra's head fell, followed by his body.

"Hum, he was quite sturdy." nodded Ren with satisfaction, closely examining her new sword, named Twilight, second of the Eclipse series, for any sign of chipping or crack.

"That was… what is this sword made off? Is it a Zanpakuto?" wondered Yoruichi, her eyes wide.

"No. Black made it for me. Before, I was forced to fight bare-handed, because even the best steel katana would quickly shatter in my hands. But if it is this one..." fondly said Ren, running her fingers along the flat of her blade.

"I'm returning to that kid Uryuu." said Ren, sheathing her sword and turning to Blue and Yoruichi.

"Yes, thank you for the help. It would have taken me a long time to deal with him." said Blue.

"Let's get this quickly over with." nodded Red before disappearing.

"Do we go to the nearest structure?" asked Blue.

"Fine by me." smiled Yoruichi.

As she followed her masked companion, she reflected on what she had just seen. For as long as she was aware, the Shinigami had believed themselves to be the strongest supernatural faction, with only pantheons of deities being able to come close.

But between Noah collecting and enhancing strong humans and devils, and his warning about Yhwach and his subordinates, Yoruichi wondered how much longer that would hold true.

…

"Should we separate?" asked Ichigo to his companions.

They had entered the underground maze again via the entrance Pesshe indicated, and after defeating a few more Arrancars, found themselves at a crossroad. Five passages stood in front of them, and Pesshe didn't remember this part of the maze.

"If we were in a horror movie, that would be a sure death flag." grinned Noah. "Still, it's a waste of our strength to stay in a single group."

"Yes. We have trained hard for this. Do we form several groups?" asked Rukia.

Renji and Noah nodded.

"Before that, I'd like to try something. Nell, would you mind if I try healing your head injury?"

"Ah?" said Nell in confusion. "It's already healed."

"It didn't heal completely, though. How about I fix that crack and the missing teeth on your mask, among other things? I'm confident I can at least do that, and my healing method is both fast and painless."

"Alright then?"

"Noah smiled as he gently patted Nell's head and used Greater Healing on her. Almost instantly, a cloud of gray smoke burst from her body, obscuring her from view, and Noah felt her size growing quickly, until his hand was almost at his face's level.

The smoke dissipated, and everyone gasped as they saw Nell's appearance.

The toddler sized Nell was now a young woman with glamorous proportions and long hair, her hollow mask now repaired. Now only were the missing teeth replaced and the crack gone, but two curved goat-like horns framed her head. More importantly, her eyes shone with intelligence and wisdom. And her own weapon materialized, its sheath somehow fixed to the base of her spine.

She looked down at herself in disbelief, her rags barely covering her large breasts and hips. She patted herself, her expression turning into wonder, and looked back at Noah.

"I truly am healed!" she shouted.

"Nell-sama is back!" shouted both Pesshe and Donchakka, hugging each other as they started crying from joy.

She jumped at him, hugging him fiercely.

"Thank you, Kitsune Ranger Black! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." grinned Noah.

"Are you, really, Nell?" asked Ichigo, suffering from the curse inflicted on many Japanese protagonists, making them a bit slow in the head.

"Yes!" grinned Nell as she released Noah's body, but still hugged his right arm. Not that Noah minded one bit.

"I am Nelliel To Odelschwanck, previously a member of the Espada. I'm so glad to be complete once more."

"I'm happy, too, Nell. But you really should wear something a bit more fitting. How about this?"

Noah took a maid uniform from his inventory, with a set of cotton underwear and leather boots.

"Yes, thanks." Nell blushed a bit as she was reminded of her current attire, quickly grabbed the clothes and boots and disappeared behind a corner.

"A maid outfit, really?" asked Renji, looking at Noah like he was garbage.

"Really. And if you give me crap about it, I'll force you to wear one as well, take pictures, and spread them all over Soul Society." promised Noah.

"Please do." laughed Ichigo, and Rukia fought to contain a grin at the idea.

"I'll be quiet!" replied Renji, kicking Ichigo's butt in frustration.

"So, we were discussing making groups. I think Pesshe and Donchakka will want to escort Nell, and from her aura, she should be able to deal with most Espada. How about I go with Rukia, and Ichigo and Renji go together?"

"I don't mind, but is there a reason for that arrangement?" asked Renji.

"Yes." nodded Noah. He pointed to the middle passage.

"I've been using a far sight ability the whole time. This one leads to a fight with the Noveno Espada. Rukia should be the one to fight him. And I'm the most suited to support her."

Ichigo didn't have a clue about what Kitsune Ranger Black was talking about, but Renji and Rukia sobered immediately at the mention of the Noveno Espada, their faces growing solemn. Her grip tightened around the hilt of her Zanpakuto.

When Noah had visited Soul Society, he had given the Captains and Lieutenants detailed information on each of the Espada. And this one, Aaroniero Arruruerie, had a history with Rukia. He was the Hollow who previously had killed Kaien Shiba, Kuukaku Shiba's brother and Rukia's mentor, the former Lieutenant of her division. Worse, that Hollow originally acted like some kind of parasite, and had taken over Kaien's body during a patrol in the mortal world, before returning to Soul Society.

His rampage in Soul Society had ended with Kaien somehow wrestling back control of his body just in time to impale himself on Rukia's Zanpakuto, killing the Hollow. Or so he believed, because Aaroniero had still somehow survived, absorbing Kaien's abilities and memories in the process. And later meeting Aizen and becoming an Arrancar.

Rukia had gotten a severe trauma from the ordeal, seeing the person she admired, and even possibly loved, die on her blade. And that Hollow scum would be sure to exploit that.

"What about the other passages?" asked Ichigo, wanting to change the subject from the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

"Number one actually loop with number five. You'd only return to this crossroad. Number two leads to the outside, and you will likely quickly meet with Grimmjow. That's the one you should take, Ichigo. Number four also leads outside, but there are traps, and if you get caught, you'll face Octava Espada, the perverted scientist."

"We'll fight him." said Donchakka, nodding.

"Yes." added Pesshe. "He has a lot of Fraccion, and we can deal with them. Nell-sama will deal with the madman.

Nell came back, dressed in the maid outfit and black leather boots.

"It suits you well." smiled Noah.

"Yes. These are comfortable to wear." nodded Nell.

Noah brought her up to speed, and after they all shared a fist bump, they each got on their way to fight the Espada.

…

Nell, Pesshe and Donchakka were walking along the tunnel, wary of the traps Kitsune Ranger Black warned them about.

After a while, Pesshe looked back at Nell.

"Nell-sama, why are we helping them? I mean, they are good people, and I don't approve of Aizen-sama kidnapping a human girl, but we are risking our lives. Some of the Espada are stronger than us."

"Yes. I understand what you mean, Pesshe." replied Nell, a gentle smile on her face. "But I owe him a debt, for restoring me to how I was. And… I'm not certain how to put it into words, but I feel like with him, the impossible becomes easy. He is just as confident as Aizen-sama, but where I once followed that man because of his absolute power… Ranger Black feels... warm. He gives me a feeling of safety."

"I see…"

The three of them resumed their walk in silence for a minute.

"I am sorry, Pesshe, Donchakka, for involving you. If you wish to withdraw and wait outside with Bawabawa, it's not too late." said Nell.

"What are you saying, Nell-sama? We are your Fraccion! We will never abandon youuuuuuuuuu!"

Donchakka was still walking as he turned to talk with Nell, forgetting to be wary of traps, and the ground suddenly opened beneath his feet. He was already falling as he noticed.

"Donchakka!" yelled Pesshe and Nell in sync, hurrying closer to the edge. The bottom of the hole was hidden in darkness. They looked at each other, nodded, and jumped down to save their friend.

Some distance down, the hole turned into a slope, and with their Hollow bodies, they suffered no damage. They skid into a stop along with Donchakka, inside a huge, brightly lit tunnel, easily fifty meters wide and thirty meters in height.

"I set out quite a few different traps, but to think that someone would be caught in the simplest one…"

Said a tall man with pink hairs and glasses. He suddenly smiled.

"Oops, my apologies. Maybe I should have introduced myself first. Octava Espada, Szayelaporro Granz… Oh? Is that you, Nelliel To Odelschwanck?"

Nell had gotten to her feet and placed herself in front of Pesshe and Donchakka.

"Long time no see, Szayel. It's been a while." nodded Nell.

"Indeed. But the timing of your return is suspicious. Are you coming back to compete for your former place as the Tres Espada, or are you helping the invaders? Or, considering your choice of attire, maybe you wish to serve Aizen-sama as a maid?"

"I am helping them. I have no wish to fight you, Szayel. I only wish to rescue that girl and leave. Please step aside."

Szayel laughed, holding his forehead with a hand, then stopped abruptly, his head tilted upward, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"There is a limit to bad jokes, Nelliel." he said, his voice heavy with threat. "Orihime Inoue and her power belong to Aizen-sama. Turn away now, and I'll pretend we haven't crossed path. That is the only mercy I'll give you as a former colleague."

Nell sighed, and she drew her sword.