Spoiler Alert:

This story is based 20 years after the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc. If you haven't read the manga, a lot of the details in this story be spoilers. A lot of it, however, is me filling in the blanks in time. If you want to know what is real about the actual story and what isn't, check out the Bleach Wikia or read up on the rest of the story.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Bleach or any of the ideas present inside the manga or anime. The use of any materials that were not my own were intended for the purpose of entertainment and nothing more.

Note from the Author:

This story begins about the same time that Ria Yamamoto's tale began in Seer, leading up to the point in time where their stories collide in Herald.

Negative Space

Man's Best Friend

The World of the Living always made my skin crawl when I first emerged from my garganta. Hueco Mundo was all heat and parched lands, but stepping into the humidity that existed here was the oddest sensation. I didn't really like it, but after a time it was mildly bearable. Clearly that time hadn't been long enough though. Several hours into my search and I still felt grossly sweaty and almost sticky with the heavy air. I would give it another hour and I would head back, or I was afraid I would start to melt.

"Why am I not allowed to eat them again?" Raacharg, my companion, asked as we stopped on a rooftop above one of the Human shopping areas. He was an Adjuchas, which required him to consume a Gillian about every other day in order to not revert back to one himself. It made him always hungry. I glanced down at him and amused myself with the thought of scratching behind his boney ear. He would take my fingers off if I even tried, but the thought was at least entertaining. He resembled a dog in many ways. From his canine shape and medium sized body to the boney ears that protruded above his fanged mask.

"Did you forget what happened last time?" I asked, shooting him a pointed glare.

"That was almost a decade ago," he said flatly as his golden eyes stared up at me.

"And I still have a scar from that damn kid," I snapped as I lifted my arm from my side to expose the jagged scar that ran just above my hip bone. It wasn't the worst looking thing in the world after so many years, but the white line that remained served as more than enough of a reminder. I could heal most injuries in a matter of moments, but a Soul Reaper's blade always took far longer. "That orange haired demon of a boy still runs this town. I will let you get cleansed by his zanpakuto if you decide to go on a rampage again."

"It wasn't a rampage," he groaned as his paw lifted to cover his mask. "It was one Soul Reaper and a few souls, and they were damned tasty."

"And you're going to say my little scar was totally worth it," I said, rolling my eyes.

"It was worth it."

"For you maybe," I said with a sigh as I took a seat on the raised edge of the roof. Kicking my feet up, I turned so I could gaze down at the Humans below while resting back on my hands. Life was just so good. Or death. It really depended on how you wanted to look at things. It hadn't always been this way. It had once been cold and lonely in the darkness. I had wished I was able to die from starvation or something, but once we achieved the level of an Espada, eating became fuel rather than a necessity. When he returned with that damn Hogyoku it took him mere moments to decide that I was a useless tool and to lock me away. Out of sight, out of mind...

I didn't like thinking back to that time. It had been miserable, dark, confined, and long. Hell, it had been long. Twenty years had been such a long time to be trapped in the silent darkness. But, Raacharg had ended that torture. He found my personal dungeon and broke the barrier that kept me sealed away. He wouldn't fess up to it, but I think he had actually been trying to eat me when I noticed him. Either that, or as he liked to claim, he had been slobbering all over me in admiration while his teeth just happened to be massaging my skin. A likely story to a dog, I'm sure.

"I am so glad I didn't eat you," I mused idly as I laid back, catching my head in my hands to act as a pillow.

"What kind of a retort is that?" He asked as his claws tapped on the ground, signaling his movement toward me.

"An amused one," I replied as I turned my gaze back to the people below us. From the corner of my eye I saw Raacharg jump up onto the ledge beside my head, but I ignored him. He was an Adjuchas and I was a Privaron Espada. He served me now, just like the creature he appeared to be. I believed the term those fake Espada used was Fraccion, but I just liked to call him what the living did: Man's Best Friend, a faithful servant, a loyal dog. Mine.

Watching the little Humans scuttle around on the street below was making me hungry. How long had it been since I gorged myself on Human souls? I had eaten so many Hollows lately that I had forgotten if they tasted any different. Would they taste like chicken or pork? Most Hollows tasted the same, like dark delicious liquid that burned its way down your throat. Would a Human taste the same? Maybe they would be lighter, like a whipped and fluffy delicious cream, or perhaps more savory?

It really didn't matter. I wasn't a coward, but I wasn't stupid either. I wasn't willing to face off against that orange haired Soul Reaper, half Hollow demon that had claimed this town, nor the half Hollows who resided just outside of it. If we did not cause any trouble, I wouldn't have to worry about them.

Many of my kind were all about blood lust and hunger. My time locked away had made me understand the difference between hunger and a craving. I liked violence just as much as the next person, but I needed a reason to get involved. My powers weren't exactly what you would call conducive to prolonged battles. It worked out great for me at first, but if I couldn't take down something within that first few moments of surprise, I was at a rather big disadvantage. I tended to avoid actual fights because of this. Slaughtering Hollows or even an Arrancar or two was fun, but I avoided the other, stronger people of my variety. It was silly to think like that though. I was pretty sure they didn't even know I existed after all this time.

I had been the first Privaron Espada, the first one to be discarded by Aizen when he began making Arrancar with his silly little toy. As the 10th Espada, it had only been natural. I had chosen to keep the traits that allowed me to survive rather than chasing power. Because of that, I had been the weakest of them, but despite that knowledge it had been the most humiliating experience in my life when he tossed me into the depths of Las Noche's dungeons to rot.

Locked away, I hadn't known what was happening so far above me until two decades later when I emerged to find the very beings who had replaced me ruling over Hueco Mundo. It hurt to see artificially created monsters ruling in my place, but I was weaker than them. There was no surpassing them. I avoided those fake but terrifyingly powerful beings as much as I possibly could. It had almost been ten years now since I had emerged, and thankfully they left me alone for most of that time. I was an outcast and that was fine with me. If it wasn't for the three digit number carved into the back of my shoulder, I wouldn't have been more than an Arrancar to them.

"Isa," Raacharg said, drawing my attention away from the Humans below.

"What is it?" I asked as I lolled my head back to look at him. Even upside down, I could see his gaze was averted off into the distance.

"There's fighting going on over there," he said as he gestured with his snout in the direction he had been looking. "Either we need to leave, or we need to squash it before it attracts more of them."

"No one knows we are here. If we are quiet, we will go unnoticed," I said dismissively.

"That Soul Reaper will notice," he said plainly.

I rolled my eyes. That was something he was right about. I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn't considered it. Damn that orange haired demon child. If we remained anywhere nearby he would probably come looking for us, expecting an answer.

"Fine," I sighed out as I rolled to my feet. This was probably really stupid... "Where was it again?"

"A few blocks east," he answered as he too took to his feet.

"Make sure you suppress yourself. If it's something that will take a lot of effort to deal with, we are just leaving," I instructed as I silenced my own presence.

"I am not a new born," Raacharg growled out as I felt his reiatsu vanish from my senses.

I didn't bother challenging his reply and instead jumped over the edge of the roof to land on the street below. My mask wasn't all that obvious as some of the others, so visually blending in with the living was easy. From the base of my shoulder blades, the spine of my resurreccion form was evident as it trailed up my back, slimming as it hit my neck and vanishing into my hairline before it continued over my ears where it covered the edges in an almost ornamental point. Slim beads of bone dotted my hairline, but they weren't so gaudy as to appear inhuman. With my long, butterscotch blonde hair down I could easily hide most of my mask from view, which was something I normally practiced.

My outfit wasn't reminiscent of those awful garments that Aizen had ordered us into so long ago. My garments had weakened during my imprisonment and fallen away, so I had been forced to fashion my clothing from the world around me at the time. Now I wore things I had taken from the world of the living, which was a vast improvement over wearing the skins of the hollows that had fallen victim to my blade. I wasn't exactly a thief, but more of collector of lost things. Most of the living couldn't see me, so taking a neglected item here and there left them none the wiser. I doubted that most people even noticed their unused things vanishing.

Today's outfit wasn't much of a looker, but rather something that was easy to move in. My dark blue jogging shorts hung low on my hips, held up by the tight elastic band that clung almost desperately to my curves. Underneath that I had donned some white leggings to counter the cold nights in Hueco Mundo followed by my favorite pair of sneakers. My top was a bit better when it came to the tightness, but the white fabric only covered down to my midriff while the longer sleeves ran baggy to allow for my arms to bend. It wasn't much of a shirt, but it covered all the important parts, including the hole that was left by my missing heart.

I had taken to wearing some of the living's fashion accessories at times, especially what they called a bra. My breasts weren't so big as to get in the way while still being ample enough for a very flattering figure, but I found the sports bras to be rather advantageous when I expected to move a fair bit. After this wonderful discovery, I had no idea how some of the other female Arrancar were able to fight without at least something. It was just baffling that we hadn't come up with something like this ourselves. Leave it to the living to come up with such a wonderful contraption.

Moving through the late night crowds was easy and quick. There were just enough people that I didn't look out of place, while Raacharg could pass for a real dog at first glance. If someone did have the ability to see us, they wouldn't think twice. I looked like a young woman walking her dog. Sure, I didn't have a leash but we were staying close enough that someone probably wouldn't notice. We had managed to slip past that orange haired demon child like this, so we had kept with what worked and either stayed above the town or in the crowds when we moved.

I let Raacharg lead the way towards whatever fight he had spotted, but as we grew closer I started picking up on the colliding spiritual pressures. It felt almost like a Soul Reaper against a Hollow, but something was off. I had never felt a Soul Reaper like that before, so dark and ominous. He almost felt like an Arrancar himself. He didn't feel like he was something that would represent a challenge to myself, but for Raacharg maybe.

"I don't like the feeling I'm getting. Make sure you watch yourself," I said as I moved just a bit faster to put myself beside him instead of behind. I would put myself between them if we did engage. I had broken Raacharg of his pride as a great and mighty Adjuchas when I had decided he was mine. Now it was my responsibility to see to his safety, within reason. If he decided to do something stupid he was on his own, but when he was with me I would put myself between him and others that I knew were too much for him. It was how we worked as a team. He covered down on my weaknesses while I made sure someone of my level and below wouldn't target him, or if they did it became my problem.

He didn't verbally respond to me as we came up to a mostly unpopulated parking lot that lined the shopped area we had been in. I saw the source of the spiritual pressure I had been feeling and subtly passed in front of Raacharg as I continued walking straight, staying on the sidewalk just outside of the parking lot like a real pedestrian would.

"Hurry up already," the human looking man said as he crossed his arms with impatience. I knew just by the way his spiritual pressure that he was the Soul Reaper despite his appearance. He wasn't wearing the black shihakusho that was their uniform, but the zanpakuto in his hand and traditional clothing by way of a pale grey hakama and maroon haori were evidence enough of his origins. He was rather unremarkable as a person, but that spiritual pressure of his was too dark to be normal.

As I continued walking and watching him from the corner of my eye, through the parked cars I caught glimpses of what he was looking at. A Hollow not much larger than the cars between us was huddled in on itself and a low groaning sound reverberating from its body. The sound made me pause, but at Raacharg's nudge I kept moving, kept acting like I couldn't see them.

"Hidora, I don't have all night. Consume him already," the man said in irritation.

The Hollow jerked like it had been struck and it's body abruptly went slack. I couldn't help it, I turned my head fully so I could watch clearly as the Hollow rose, coming to it's feet in slow, labored movements. The growl it had been emanating earlier turned into a scream as it raised its head to the sky and let out the piercing sound. The tone of that horrendous scream seemed to echo off the buildings long after it had actually stopped emitting the sound, leaving me wishing I could cover my ears without giving myself away.

"There," the man purred as he reached out to the Hollow with his hand. I had expected his hand to disappear behind teeth as the Hollow lashed out, but it never happened. The man rested his palm on the center of its large white mask like the creature was his pet. "Was that easy, Hidora?"

Was he talking to the Hollow? Most Hollows that young didn't have the consciousness required to have a name. Then again, that Hollow should have been trying to eat him, not get pet like the dog I always teased Raacharg of being. No, he had to be talking to someone else. I couldn't see them, but it was someone or something beside that Hollow. I only felt the two of them, but surely it wasn't possible for that Hollow to have actually intelligence. Perhaps the third being was suppressing himself like we were?

"It's his zanpakuto," Raacharg said at my side.

"Don't talk you idiot. He can see us," I snapped at him with a whisper. He was probably right though. I forgot that their zanpakuto were like other people, an entity separate but still the same as the Soul Reaper.

"We're far enough away that he can't hear us anyway," Raacharg said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And if he sees your mask we are busted. Shut up," I ordered as I gave him a quick glare. "We aren't sticking around. I don't like the feel of that Soul Reaper. Just keep walking and once we are out of sight we can-"

"I don't think I've seen an Arrancar pretending to be part of the living before. You know they can't see you, right?"

I froze on the spot as I recognized the voice talking from just behind me. Orange haired demon boy… I hadn't felt him at all. Damn it.

"I am aware," I said softly as I turned to face him. With my movement I felt the spiritual pressure of that Soul Reaper and his strange Hollow vanish. I whipped my head around to see that they were gone.

Damn this kid. I didn't want to fight him. Without even trying I knew he was far stronger than myself, and his speed with melee combat was insane. I had tried to fight him before, only to get damn near cut in half by his blade. Well, that may have been exaggerating but it had felt like it. I needed to defuse this situation before it got out of hand.

I turned back to the orange haired menace and gave him my best flat stare as I asked, "do you need something, Kazui?"

He flashed me a debonair smile as he adjusted the bag he had hanging over one shoulder. "Just wondering if there was something I could help you with, since you're in my town."

Looking at the boy as he currently was didn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of anyone. He was dressed for whatever school he attended, most likely college by the more professional looking book bag he had over his shoulder and lack of uniform. His orange hair was spiked in a rather messy fashion to match the casual screen t-shirt he was wearing with his blue jeans. It gave definition to his body, showing off the slimness of his waist and defined upper body that resulted from wielding his zanpakuto. Dark orange irises revealed themselves as his eyes slowly opened, showing just how serious this boy was despite his deceiving smile.

"Actually," I said, coming up with a quick but true story. "Do you know where I can find an okiya?"

"What?" He asked, his expression falling with confusion. "An Okiya? You won't find one in Karakura Town."

"What about a really big garage sale? Or maybe an estate sale?" I continued asking as I subtly motioned for Raacharg to get behind me.

"You can't even interact with the living, so why the hell are you looking for a sale? It's not like you could buy anything," he said, clearly not understanding my motives. It was probably a good thing. He didn't need to know how I procured my clothing or he'd probably start a fight on principal.

"You're a guy. I doubt you would understand," I said, shrugging dismissively.

"I understand clothes, but what I don't understand is you," he said, his eyes narrowing. His hand slid into his pocket, retrieving a small tube with the head of a lion on it. The shape of the thing was reminiscent of a pez dispenser, and I knew he was preparing to transition into his Soul Reaper self. "What is an Arrancar doing exerting so much Spiritual Pressure that I could feel you several blocks away while making such a racket that anyone in the city could have heard you? Or, was that your Adjuchas friend there that I told you wasn't allowed back in my city after he ate my comrade?"

Shit…

"Woah, you have us all wrong," I said, putting my hands up defensively. "That attraction wasn't us. That was some Soul Reaper and a Hollow that were over there just a minute ago."

"If there was another Soul Reaper dispatched to my town, I would know about it. As it is, I'm it," he said, gesturing to himself with a thumb to his chest.

"We've been suppressed for some time now," I argued back.

"You just suppressed yourself," he said like it was obvious. "I felt it as soon as I said something."

"That wasn't us, I swear," I quickly said as I slowly let my spiritual pressure rise to let him feel me. I didn't know if he was keen enough to discern the difference between each other's spiritual pressure, but I was hoping he was. Hindsight being what it was, we should have just left the area instead of going to investigate. It was clearly too late now, but for once it would have been nice to have made the right decision to avoid fighting this guy.

Kazui's eyes slowly eased from the narrowed glare he had been maintaining to a surprised curiosity. "It really wasn't you."

"No, it wasn't," I said softly. "I have no intention of getting into another conflict with you."

"After the last time you and your Adjuchas were here, I figured it was you. I should just kill you for what happened last time, but it's been years and you haven't done anything to disrupt the peace in my town," he said as he shifted his bag off his shoulder. He quietly slipped the dispenser back into his pocket and I had to fight to not release a sigh of relief. "Why would you risk being drawn into a fight with me?"

"Well, I was crossing my fingers and hoping that you wouldn't show, but I guess it was mostly curiosity," I said simply with a small shrug. "I have no interest in protecting your town for you, but I was wondering who would be stupid enough to cause trouble."

Kazui watched me carefully for a moment before he finally let his posture relax and a genuine smile overtook his face. "I don't know why, but I believe you for some reason."

Oh thank the mighty heavens above and whatever lucky charms I managed to wear this morning, we weren't going to fight! I wasn't going to get another scar! Today was an unexpectedly good day.

"With that said, we'll just be going now," I said as I turned, ushering Raacharg to go before me with a wave of my hand.

"Isa," Kazui said as I moved away.

"Yes?" I asked over my shoulder without stopping.

"If you're going to be in my town, make sure your Fracciones doesn't go after the people and souls here. I will send him on to his next life if he does."

"You got it," I said merrily as I saluted him. Crisis averted.

I didn't bother going to find a secluded place to open my garganta, instead choosing to open it in the middle of the street ahead of us. The teeth like edges parted and slowly grew until the mouth like entrance stood gaping wide before us.

"You do know that if any of the others saw what you just did, they're going to come looking for you, right?" Raacharg said under his breath.

"Nothing happened," I said dismissively. "Demon boy back there is a commodity with those fake Espada. If I had actually engaged with him, we'd be in more trouble than just running away."

"They'll think you're weak for not fighting," he continued.

"Let them come then. I'll kill them and serve you a free lunch," I said confidently as I turned, giving Raacharg my back. "Come on, let's go."

Raacharg didn't hesitate to jump up, his front claws clasping down on my shoulders just firm enough to hold him up as his back paws dug into my lower back, finding purchase on the curves of my hips. I folded my arms under his hind legs to secure him on my back much like a backpack before I stepped into the garganta and willed it to close behind me. I was far faster than Raacharg and had an easier time creating a path in the abyss that separated the world of the living from the world of Hollows.

Traveling to Hueco Mundo didn't take long if you knew where you were going. In some places you could be running for hours, while others it took only a few minutes. This was one of the shorter distances to travel, taking only five minutes or so to emerge on the desert like surface of Hueco Mundo. The heat of midday slammed into me, instantly warming my skin with the dry and almost unbearable heat.

I loved it.

This was where we belonged.

Speeding over the dunes of sand was almost like skiing at the speed of my sonido. I had grown so used to hauling Raacharg around like this that he barely even slowed me down. He only weighed fifty pounds or so, and the way he held on was much like a real backpack. A slobbering and happily panting backpack.

As I crested a particularly large dune, a formation of rocks became visible. The formation was probably the size of a stadium in the world of the living, but against the rolling dunes of the desert it looked small. This was our actual home. It had taken me almost two years to fully, er, mostly, recover from my time in Las Noche's depths. In that time I had found this place, a rock among the sand, and taken its surface as my refuge. It had served as a shelter for Raacharg and I, but once I was well enough I had set to making it a true refuge.

One of my specialized gifts was a very precise and concentrated cero. Where most others fired off a cero that would take out a third of a Human's body or more, mine was small and strong like a bullet or if I wished it, as continuous as a laser. It was one of the few perks that I possessed above the other Espada of my time. Using this ability was almost natural to me, and I had made use of it by carving out a path in the rock and hollowing out a place deep in the earth to reside. The entrance wasn't exactly hidden, but it wasn't obvious either. It was probably the reason that as I came closer to the massive rock that I spotted several forms standing on the surface of my rock.

"Who are they?" I asked Raacharg as I stopped at the cresting peak of one of the dunes. His eyesight was better than mine, part of his natural gifts.

"Just some run of the mill Adjuchas if I had to guess," he responded without pause. He must have been watching where we were going to have already adopted an opinion of them.

It wasn't uncommon that Hollows would try to take refuge on my rock, but to see a group of ten or so perched down there was a bit out of the norm. I hadn't marked it as mine on the surface, and it was a nice reprieve from walking on sand all day. There were only so many formations like this one in the area as well, so I couldn't blame them. Ten Adjuchas wouldn't be a problem for me, but I didn't like that it was such a large group. They didn't normally travel in packs like that. Two, three, I'd even give them five at most, but ten? That was odd.

"Hungry?" I asked almost merrily, hiding my concern.

"Always," he growled, a violent edge trimming the sound.

I took off with my sonido again, this time putting a kick of extra speed into my step. I didn't bother suppressing myself, my speedy appearance would be more than enough surprise to put them on edge.

Touching down on the rock I released my hold on Raacharg just before I came to a stop, allowing our initial appearance to be separate. The Adjuchas turned almost as one, their various colored eyes swapping between Raacharg and I. I gave them only a moment to realize what deep shit they were in before raised my hand to point at the closest one.

"Bala," I purred as a ball of deep blue light emerged from my finger tip. I didn't have to hold it long to gain power, firing it off only a few seconds after I had called it. Balas were notoriously weaker than a cero, but it was more than enough to completely remove the arm from its body. A pained scream erupted from it and it fell to its knees, clasping at the spot its arm had been.

"Numeros!" One of them shouted as my appearance finally registered. I rolled my eyes. I was wearing mostly white, it was true, but my outfit looked nothing like the crap I used to wear. This was cute, that uniform was drab.

"I'm not a Numeros," I said grumpily as I fired off another bala, taking out half of his face. These guys were weak. The bala I was making shouldn't have done more than burn them if they were going to actually be a challenge. It was a good indicator that even with their numbers defeating them wouldn't be a problem.

"Get off my rock," I barked to the remaining Adjuchas. After the words left my mouth I realized how pathetic that sounded. My rock. It sounded like I was playing King of the Hill or some crap. Mentally sighing at myself I turned my pointed finger on the remaining nine and prepared my next bala.

"W-We didn't know!" One of them protested. Despite the apologetic tone of its voice another one came at me, its size almost double my own. The power yell that ripped from its throat was joined by a blazing red cero that was forming in its palm that he thrust at me like he meant to grab my face in his hand. He was so slow. I spun out of his way, allowing his cero to shoot past me and into the dunes beyond. I kept my momentum and continued spinning until I kicked my leg out, connecting my heel with the side of his head. Bone crunched under my blow and I knew without watching his body sail away that he wouldn't be getting back up.

Another one started to move towards me and I turned on him, closing the distance between us before he could do more than start his lunge. I caught the edge of the hole in his chest with my hand and dug my fingers into his flesh. With one thrust I ripped away the flesh from half of his body. He screamed, but it fell on deaf ears as I looked at the chuck of flesh in my hand and promptly dropped it. It landed on the ground with a wet slap making me smile. I liked killing things, especially when it was easy.

A sharp pain slid down my back, catching my shoulder and ripping down to my mid back before I could pull away. I snarled as I whipped around to see one of the Adjuchas standing just behind me, his arm outstretched and ending in a sharp, blade like point. My feet caught traction on the rock before I launched at him, catching his middle with my force of movement and taking him down to the ground. He made the motions to stab me again, but I redirected his thrust with a slap from the back of my hand before I slammed my palm down into his mask. It cracked with the force, but it was only enough to stun him. Snarling again, the heel of my hand connected with his mask again and again as I yelled at him. "This was my favorite shirt you stupid sack of bones!"

More words of profanity slipped from my mouth as my assault continued. If he had been more humanesque I would have been covered in his blood by the time I was satisfied with the pile of mush his face had become. As it was, there was nothing on my body to show for the damage I had done other than my reddened palms. His body fizzled away under my weight and I cursed again. That was one less meal for Raacharg, but my revenge was satisfied.

"P-please spare us," the same one from before called out, drawing my attention to him. He was smaller than the rest of the Adjuchas that remained alive. His skin was a sickly shade of blue topped with a standard skull shaped mask. Average, at best, was how I would have described him.

"Why should I?" I asked as I drew myself up to stand. "You've intruded on my territory."

"We were forced to leave our territory, and this was unmarked. We are sorry to have crowded your space," he said quickly as she bowed slightly, as if showing respect.

He did have a point. I hadn't marked my rock, and for good reason. I didn't want those fakes to know that I was here.

"Who forced you out?" I asked as I cocked a hip out to the side and rested my hand on it.

"The Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and his Fracciones."

I narrowed my eyes at him and he flinched back like I had made to strike out. Jumpy, weren't we?

"Where?" I asked.

"F-from that direction," he quickly supplied as he drew out an arm and pointed east. He probably wasn't smart enough to know what direction was what. Goodie.

"Isa," Raacharg said, drawing my ear.

"Yeah, I know," I said as I let out a rough sigh. This news wasn't good news. No, it was as far from good as anything possibly could be. We had moved out here because it was so far away from Las Noche, the place that the fake Espada and their cronies has taken over as their home. Why the hell they were looking all the way out here for territory was beyond me, but it was bad news. We needed to lay low until we could figure out a plan of action. Going on a killing spree would just heat up their attention to this place.

"I'll give you five seconds to get the hell out of here," I said as I turned away from the group. "If I turn around and you're still here, I don't care how much I ruin this outfit. I'll kill every single one of you."

Okay, that was a lie. I did care about my clothes, but they didn't need to know that.

There were several startled voices and hurried steps as I started walking back towards Raacharg. I noticed one of them moving my direction, but he wasn't exactly coming at me. He was going for the body that was half gone from the blows of my cero. I quickly said, "Leave the defeated. They are my spoils-"

My words were cut off when I felt a presence just before another body slammed down into the rock behind me. I spun, but was left wide eyed when the figure registered as being far more human in shape than the Adjuchas.

Hot tater tits, it was a Numeros.

They rose from the crouch that had softened their impact, revealing the lean and very male frame. He was dressed in what I knew was the standard uniform for Aizen's army, though unlike most people he had made very little alterations to the base uniform. His skin was a sun kissed tan that probably was darker than it looked against the backdrop of the sandy dunes. His hair varied in color from a crisp orange to a burnt red and was long enough for the ends to disappear behind his shoulders. They had to have been suppressing themselves in order for me to have not noticed sooner. His mask was pretty average for any Arrancar, the white bone starting at his right cheekbone and slicking up to his hairline in a smooth arc leaving only a narrow slit for his crimson eye to gaze out of.

The man's eyes met mine for only an instant before he turned on the Adjuchas that were behind him. Flames licked off his uniform in waves, covering the ground in a burning wave that spread over the Adjuchas like wild fire. I turned my gaze away, finding very little interest in watching screaming bodies burn, and caught sight of Raacharg beside me. I motioned for him to get behind me so I could block any attack from the Numeros with my body before it got to him. He complied wordlessly and I reached for my zanpakuto, finding its sheath fastened securely to the back of my sports bra. My hand closed around the hilt, but I didn't draw it. I needed to be ready if he turned on me, but starting the violence wasn't in my best interest.

Once the last screaming Adjuchas fell silent the area was basked in the muted roar of dancing flames. The heat of those flames beat against my skin, drawing sweat to slick down my body. The Numeros turned to me, a pleasant smile turning his lips.

"Thank you for slowing down those miscreants. I had been tracking them for an entire day before now," he said lightly.

Hmm, to pretend to be friendly back, or to tell him to go away? He was a Numeros. Ideally that status alone would put him below me, but it had been ages since I had encountered one of them. Would that same truth still hold true?

"They were on my rock. I did little more than defend my territory," I said stiffly. So much for diplomacy.

"Oh? I thought you were one of Halibel's Fracciones," he commented as a puzzled expression overtook his features.

"I am no one's Fracciones," I growled. What imputence, suggesting that I become one of those fake's slaves. This guy clearly had no idea who I was. That was normally a good thing, but now it just made me want to tear his throat out.

"Oh, how unfortunate," he said lightly. "If that is the case, I am here on behalf of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Because of your clear connection to our kind I will extend you the courtesy of informing you that you are required to vacate the area per order of an Espada, instead of just killing you."

"Oh, really now?" I asked as I silently pulled my zanpakuto from its sheath by an inch. Or, I had intended for it to be silent. Just as I heard the click of metal, I regretted what I had done. Too late now. Surely he had heard me draw my zanpakuto as well.

"Yes, really," he said as he upped the wattage of his smile. "I'm sure you understand how it is. Can we expect you to be gone by the day's end?"

"You can expect me to stay right where I am," I snapped. "This is my home, and I am damned well not being chased out by some jackass with an ego."

His smile dropped and a blatantly confused looked slid into its place. "I do not believe you know who you speak of."

"I don't give a rat's ass," I said as I drew my zanpakuto just a bit further free from its sheath. I was digging a hole and I knew it, but still the words spilled from my mouth. "Either you can be on your way of your own free will, or I will make you."

"Isa," Raacharg's nervous call of my name went ignored as I took a step forward, trying to threaten the Numeros into leaving. I did not want to fight him, but I had a feeling backing down would result in just that. I needed to make this guy leave so I could prepare.

"You aren't a normal Numeros, are you?" He asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"I never said I was one of you damned Numeros. This is your last chance. Leave, or I'll feed you to my companion here," I said, gesturing lightly to Raacharg. A brilliantly stupid thought struck me like lighting, and before I could stop myself I said, "actually, on that thought please do stick around. Eating a Numeros is sure to bump him up to a Vasto Lorde. I would love to see your power transferred to him."

The Numeros sneered at my words and his hand went for his zanpakuto at his waist. He paused after the initial motion like he had reconsidered his movement and let his hand fall away. "May I ask for a name to bring back to my Espada?"

A zing of fear ran clear down to my toes, but I didn't let it show. A name… No one would know who I was. All of the other Privaron Espada were dead. What was a name when no one knew it?

"Isabellia Vaccio," I stated flatly.

"And I am Luien Baras," he said, maintaining his polite words. "You will be hearing from my master and I soon, I'm sure."

He turned to leave and I did the same, giving him my back. I kept my senses open to him, waiting for him to do something besides leave. Raacharg didn't wait for me to shoo him away, instead darting ahead and over to where we both knew led towards the entrance I had made. I moved slower, pacing my steps as I waited for the Numeros to go away. I felt him pause, and I looked over my shoulder, my hand still wrapped around the hilt of my zanpakuto.

"Ah, that explains so much," he said lightly. "Your number is 100. I thought we only had one Privaron Espada still remaining. I suppose we have two after all."

My other hand went to my shoulder and I was quickly reminded of the Adjuchas who has slashed my back. He had cut through the fabric of my shirt across my shoulder, exposing the tattoo that was engraved there as a permanent reminder of my past. That tard biscuit. I should have left him alive so Raacharg could consume him one piece at a time.

"What do you mean two?" I asked as I turned to fully face him.

"Gantenbainne Mosqueda, Privaron Espada rank 107, resides in Las Noches. I'll be sure to give him word of your good fortune."

He vanished just like that, his spiritual pressure disappearing with him as he took off with his sonido. I blinked at the spot he had been, my thoughts grinding to a halt. I was screwed. There was really no other word for it. Well, fucked might have been better. Either I needed to chase him down and kill him, or I needed to make myself disappear. Disappearing was easy, but taking my home with me wouldn't be. Killing him would be hard… if I could even find him. With his spiritual pressure squashed down to nothing, finding him would be like working magic. No, that wasn't an option. This certainly was a can of worms that I didn't want to open. Too late now… goddamn it.