8- Captured

My muscles trembled as my spiritual pressure surged, coalescing within my body and siphoning in every last speck of spiritual particles around me.

My body began to shrink until I was around two meters tall. My armor grew more robust, and my hidden spikes became larger in proportion to my body. As the transformation continued, my mask began to change as well. What was once a full mask now only covered my mouth, but its teeth were as big as ever.

With a fierce roar, I flung my arms wide, unleashing a torrent of blue-tinted spiritual energy that surged out from me like a tidal wave. Its sheer force caused the air around me to quiver and quake in response, a testament to my newfound strength.

For a moment, Gin Ichimaru stood there, his eyes wide open. but he never lost his unnerving smile.

I took advantage of his momentary lapse and fired dozens of balas from my arm's spikes. I had thought they were meant to skewer my enemies, but it turned out they were actually meant to condense my spiritual power, making it easier to fire cero and bala.

Ichimaru managed to dodge to the right, but my attack still managed to hit his left shoulder.

"Are you perhaps angry?" He tried to appear calm, but I could see his shoulder through a hole in his clothes. A big bruise was starting to form there. "He was such an eyesore"

"Shut up," I snapped back, preparing my next move.

"Bankai: Kamishini No Yari" I had no time, he had gotten serious.

His blade grew so long that I couldn't see its end, and it shone with a white light so intense that Hueco Mundo seemed to have a sun.

I barely managed to see his arms going upward. I lifted my arms a bit, covering myself. The force of the impact sending a shockwave through my body. A searing pain shot through my arms, accompanied by the sickening cracking sound.

I had managed to block the blow, but my arms now hung limp at my sides, and an intense burning sensation coursed through my body every time I tried to move them.

"Damn it!" I growled through, my anger fueling my determination to take him down.

Immediately, I gathered all my spiritual power into my mouth, my jaw crunching from the pressure, and fired towards the sky.

The massive cero exploded with a deafening roar, a powerful shockwave rippled outwards, sending a rain of attacks around us.

If I couldn't defeat him with speed, then I would overwhelm him with so many attacks that he would be unable to move, leaving him vulnerable to my next move..

A cloud of smoke filled our surroundings, masking our figures, making it impossible to tell if I had succeeded.

As the sand cleared, I saw Ichimaru standing before me, his clothes riddled with holes. Despite my assault, he was unharmed and that infuriating smile remained plastered on his face.

"That was not fun, little snake," he mocked. "Now, I need to punish you."

Before I could react, he closed the distance between us in a fraction of a second, my tail sending a searing current as he stomped down on it.

"Die," I snarled, throwing a punch. The pain in my arms was unbearable, but I pushed through it. However, my attack was futile as his sealed sword pierced my left chest. I gasped in shock as a burning pain spread through my body, blood dripping from the wound.

The agony was too much to bear, and I let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Stop!" said a commanding voice that echoed through the desert. "Lord Aizen wants him. Vasto Lordes are really rare."

"You are so boring, Tousen." Ichimaru retracted his sword, causing the pain in my chest to multiply. I fell to my knees, my body was numb, my breath heavy. I could barely understand what was happening around me.

"Let's go," Ichimaru said, and for a moment, all the weight left my body. But before I could take a breath, something hit me hard in the stomach. I screamed out in pain, collapsing onto his shoulder.

"We're already late because of you," a voice said, and through my half-closed eyes, I saw a dark-skinned man with glasses around his eyes. My mind was hazy, and it was hard to focus.

I could feel the rough texture of clothes against my skin. "We have what we came for." The silver haired man said, and I realized with a jolt that I was being carried away.

As we disappeared into the darkness of Hueco Mundo, I struggled to keep my eyes open. "I am being carried by Ichimaru," I realized, and then my world became dark.

As I regained consciousness, a sudden sensation of cold water hitting my face jolted me awake. I shivered, feeling the dampness of my hair and the chill spreading across my cheeks. My eyelids felt heavy as I groggily tried to open them, struggling against what felt like a pair of nails clipping them shut.

After a few moments, my eyes finally fluttered open.

After a few moments, my eyes finally fluttered open. Blinking away the blurriness, I saw a woman standing over me. I couldn't help but stare in awe after looking at her ample bosom.

"You are awake." The gravity defying woman said, her voice calm and measured.

"Lady Halibel, he doesn't seem like much." Another female voice chimed in.

"Appearances can be deceiving." She replied coolly. "After all, he's a Vasto Lorde. Don't underestimate him." The blonde beauty replied, her expression obscured by a high collar, but her eyes were cold and calculating.

"Hmm, I'll believe it when I see it," the other woman replied sceptically.

I recognized the woman immediately as Tier Hallibel, the third-ranked arrancar and future ruler of Hueco Mundo.

I tried to turn my head to see who the other woman was, but my movement was restricted by a pair of heavy, cold metal restraints around my wrists while my neck was wrapped in a metallic shock collar. All of them held in place by immense chains, anchoring me firmly to the ground.

"Are..." My voice came out in a dry, raspy croak. I trailed off, not wanting to appear any more foolish than I already did. Despite this, I cleared my throat and shifted my gaze towards the woman.

"Are you single?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how ridiculous they sounded.

My question seemed to throw them out of their loop.

Immediately I felt the spiritual power of the second woman, trying to intimidate me, but to no avail.

Mila Rose's snarl deepened and her chest heaved with anger. "How dare you show such disrespect! Someone like you deserves to die! To think you would have such designs for Master Harribel," she spat out.

"Calm down, Mila Rose" She put her right arm between her and me, stopping her. "Not all powerful Hollows are intelligent. This one appears to be particularly suicidal."

"Lady Harribel" Rose tried to protest, only to stop as Harribel shot her a sharp look.

"So that's a yes." Harribel and Rose took a few steps back, their eyes wide as I flashed them a smile. My charm seemed to work just right, like always. The grotesque teeth definitely helped.

"Wa…. wait" I stuttered, trying to backtrack. "I was just...uh, trying to lighten the mood, you know?" I was not, but they didn't know it.

Harribel raised a delicate eyebrow, her expression unreadable behind her high collar. "Lighten the mood?" she repeated, her voice cold.

I nodded, feeling like a complete fool. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just...I don't know what to do in this situation."

The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Harribel spoke. "You are indeed a strange one," she said, her tone thoughtful. "I can see why Gin Ichimaru took an interest in you."

As the name of that man escaped her lips, a jolt ran through me. Memories of what had transpired flooded my mind like a sandstorm, causing my breathing to become erratic. "I'm going to kill him." I bellowed out.

My spiritual pressure surged outwards in an azure wave, filling the room with its intensity.

"Dammit." Mila Rose appeared visibly scared as Harribel responded by releasing her own immense spiritual pressure, dwarfing mine and shielding her subordinate at the same time.

"Release me. I need to wipe his ugly smirk off his face," I demanded, the chains restraining me beginning to make a clicking sound as they started to break. "Get out of my way."

Harribel remained steadfast, standing in front of me and studying me calmly. "I can release you from these chains," Harribel said, her tone even. "But you must swear loyalty to Lord Aizen. It is the only way you will be free."

Her words brought a small measure of clarity to my mind.

"I mean...I was going to tell him that I wanted to evolve into a Vasto Lorde. But Gin...he didn't let me finish. He just captured me." I stumbled over my words, my explanation coming out awkwardly as I held in my fury.

Harribel studied me for a moment before turning around and walking away. "Come. You will have the opportunity to explain your situation in your audience with Lord Aizen."

Mila Rose snarled, "Hmm. You're lucky," as she followed Lady Harribel, never taking her eyes off me.

Slowly, I tried to stand up. My knees made a cracking noise with the movement. "It's numb" They had me kneeling all this time. I hadn't even noticed that I had my legs back after my evolution. Too much had happened in a short time for me to assimilate.

Using my tail as support, I managed to stand up and took slow, uncertain steps to follow Harribel and her subordinate.

The clicking sound of my cell's door closing and the crunching of metal filled Last Noches as I broke my restraints and walked towards the only light in the long passageway that led to the strongest being in Hueco Mundo.

As I walked, thoughts of revenge against Gin Ichimaru and a burning desire to destroy him with my own hands consumed me.

I could feel the anticipation building inside me as I approached the doors to Aizen's throne room. Mila Rose pushed them open and we stepped inside, finding ourselves face to face with the powerful Sosuke Aizen.

"Welcome, my dear hollow," Aizen said with a smile. "I have been waiting for you."