The Return of the Centaur

Kuroi, Orihime, and Nelliel hear the kind of raspy voice and turn around. Kuroi walks over to the edge of the pillar and sees the Espada dragging his eight-shaped blade across the ground, creepily smiling at them.

"Who is he?" asked Orihime.

"Probably is an Espada and I don't think that he will just let us walk past. Stay here. I'll deal with him," said Kuroi.

Kuroi jumps down and lands in front of the Espada.

"Who are you?" asked Kuroi.

The Espada doesn't respond.

"Are you deaf or something? I'm asking who you are!" said Kuroi.

The Espada responds by jumping up and slamming his large blade onto Kuroi's blade.

"You're fast," said the Espada.

"Now, you want to talk," said Kuroi.

"What's your name, soul reaper?" asked the Espada.

"Kuroi Hono. What's yours?" said Kuroi.

"Nnoitra Gilga. Remember that because it's the name of the person who will kill you," said Nnoitra.

"You're just like Grimmjow and I just beat him, so you won't even be a challenge," said Kuroi.

Nnoitra picks his tongue out and reveals the number five on it.

"You're just number five. It shouldn't be that much of a power difference," said Kuroi.

"You're making a fatal mistake by underestimating me," said Nnoitra.

"I don't think I am," said Kuroi.

"Let's test out your theory," said Nnoitra.

Nnoitra uses his physical strength to push Kuroi back thirty feet. He speed blitzes the surprised soul reaper and punches him through a pillar. As the pillar crumbles, Orihime and Nelliel start to fall. Orihime grabs the Arrancar girl and holds her tight in her arms as they hit the ground hard.

"Nel, are you ok?" asked Orihime.

"Nel is fine. What about Kuroi?" said Nelliel.

Orihime stands up and starts to run towards her friend.

"Kuroi!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Stay back!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Tesla, grab her!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Tesla.

Nnoitra's right-hand man grabs Orihime and throws her to the ground. Kuroi quickly tries to get up and grab Orihime, but Nnoitra slashes him across the chest.

"What are you looking at?" asked Nnoitra.

"Let go of her now!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Why would I? She's interrupting our fight," said Nnoitra.

"If your goon doesn't release her this instant, I'll kill him," said Kuroi.

"Do you think I care about what you do to him? I don't like weak people," said Nnoitra.

Nnoitra points his finger at Kuroi like he's about to launch a cero and Kuroi instantly jumps up. Nnoitra tries to swipe at him while he's in the air, but Kuroi easily dodges the large blade.

"You move well! Have you fought a long-range opponent before?" said Nnoitra.

"Yeah and you're the easiest one," said Kuroi.

"Really?" asked Nnoitra.

Nnoitra quickly moves his blade and smacks Kuroi in the back. The surprise attack sends Kuroi flying.

"Stop this! Kuroi is injured!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Shut the hell up! Do you think that I care if he's injured! This is a battle, so of course there will be inequalities! Battle is, by nature, a monster born from inequality and intolerance! I can't stand them! I can beat them! I can't forgive them! We make enemies for all kinds of enemies! Once you make an enemy, you're at war with them until our final breath! To fight in a showy way at our headquarters and not expect anyone to show up and fight you is a bad joke, soul reaper! I saw all of your tricks when you fought Grimmjow! You won't beat me!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

"Where's the honor in that?" asked Kuroi.

"There's no honor in war, soul reaper. We are enemies and we have to fight no matter what," said Nnoitra.

"You're dumber than you look. You would probably beat up a guy in a wheelchair because he looked at you funny. All you had to do was look the other way, but you chose to fight me for no reason. All I want to do is save my friend. You don't care about Grimmjow. If you did, you would have picked him up and took him to safety. You're just obsessed with fighting and you use your trash philosophy to justify your actions. We're not enemies because I don't see you as my enemy, so go somewhere and go screw yourself," said Kuroi.

"I can't go screw myself until you're dead," said Nnoitra.

"I guess we're enemies now," said Kuroi.

Kuroi gets up and flash steps towards the Quinto Espada. Kuroi tries to stab Nnoitra, but he casually grabs his blade.

"Is it supposed to just look like it cuts?" asked Nnoitra.

"It does more than just cutting," said Kuroi.

Nnoitra's hand starts to turn into ashes. Nnoitra headbutts Kuroi to prevent his right hand from completely disappearing. He looks down and sees a large chunk of it missing.

"What was that?" asked Nnoitra.

"On my command, the black flame of my Bankai can set anything on fire and turn it to ash or liquid. Your hand will be missing forever unless you get Orihime to heal it, but I don't think that she'll help you," said Kuroi.

"You bastard!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

Nnoitra appears behind Kuroi and kicks him in the side of the face. Kuroi is sent flying in Nel's direction. The child stares at her friend's beaten body rocketing past her. Instead of going after his enemy, Nnoitra stops and stares at the girl.

"Are you Nelliel?" asked Nnoitra.

Nel looks up at the Espada and Nnoitra smiles.

"I should have seen you from a mile away. That estigma should have been a beacon. You have become a shabby little thing, haven't you? Does your broken mask ache?" said Nnoitra.

"Get away from her! You talk to her like you know her!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"So, you brought her here? I was wondering how she ended up back in this place," said Nnoitra.

"What do you mean?" asked Kuroi.

"I can tell by your face that you don't know about her secret. This girl is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, former Espada," said Nnoitra.

"That's not possible. She's just a girl," said Kuroi.

"You guys are idiots. You believed that she was harmless because she was a girl? She tricked you all," said Nnoitra.

"That's a lie. Nel can't be a Spada," said Nelliel.

"What are you talking about? You have to be joking. Don't tell me that you've forgotten?" said Nnoitra.

"Nel hasn't forgotten anything. Nel isn't a Spada," said Nelliel.

Nnoitra lifts his foot.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, but you're still super annoying," said Nnoitra.

Nnoitra brings his foot down and tries to step on Nelliel, but Kuroi slaps his foot away.

"Kuroi, Nel wants you to believe her. Nel didns't tricks yous or nothing," said Nelliel.

"Don't worry, Nel. I don't care if you're an Espada or were one. All I know is that you're a girl that needs to be protected from this freak. I'll beat this guy and protect you no matter what. I-," said Kuroi.

Kuroi is kicked in the face before he can finish talking. Kuroi is sent flying to the side.

"It looks like you've lost your memory. It makes sense that you have amnesia after I cracked your skull," said Nnoitra.

"You cracked her skull? Why would you do such a heinous act to a little girl?" asked Kuroi.

Nnoitra picks up Nelliel by her face.

"Because I can!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

"Stop hurting her, you bastard!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi darts towards the Espada and slashes him on the chest. He then punches him in the stomach and headbutts him. Nnoitra flies back and drops the girl. Kuroi catches Nelliel and starts to flash step away.

"Kuroi," said Nelliel.

"I'm fine. I have to make sure he doesn't hurt you," said Kuroi.

"You can't run away from me, soul reaper!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

Kuroi looks behind him and sees the Espada behind him. Nnoitra launches the cero that he was charging and Kuroi takes the brunt of the attack. Kuroi drops Nelliel as he is sent flying forward.

"Kuroi!" exclaimed Nelliel.

Before Kuroi can fly forward anymore, Nnoitra grabs him and slams him on the ground. He then proceeds to punch the young soul reaper over and over.

"Why did I make you my enemy! You're so weak!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

Nnoitra continues to punch Kuroi as Nelliel is forced to watch helplessly. She starts to cry as her friend continues to be dominated and broken by the Quinto Espada.

"Kuroi. Kuroi. Kuroi!" said Nelliel.

As she angrily says Kuroi's name over and over and over, she finally snaps and her spiritual pressure explodes. As her power grows, she grows as well. The smoke clears and reveals that Nelliel has grown back to her original form.

"Nel," said Kuroi.

"So, you've finally returned to that form, Nelliel," said Nnoitra.

Instead of responding with words, Nelliel runs past Nnoitra and grabs Kuroi. Kuroi looks up at the grown-up Nelliel and blushes.

"Is that you, Nel?" asked Kuroi.

"Yes. Because of you, I was able to return to this form. You protected the little me, so please stay here a bit. Let me show my gratitude," said Nelliel.

"Are you going to fight that guy?" asked Kuroi.

"Yes," said Nelliel.

"He's pretty strong. Are you sure you can beat him?" said Kuroi.

A strong gust of wind conveniently appears and lifts the back of the woman's shirt, revealing a large number three tattooed on her back.

"Don't worry because this fight will be over quickly," said Nelliel.

Nelliel charges at Nnoitra and slashes his chest. Nnoitra grabs his large blade and tries to slash Nelliel, but she easily blocks his attack. Nelliel then jumps up and kicks the Quinto Espada in the face. Nnoitra is sent flying backward. Nnoitra lands twenty feet away and opens his mouth. He charges and launches a cero at Nelliel.

"Watch out, Nel! It's a cero!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Instead of dodging the attack, Nelliel sucks it up and spits it right back at him.

"Nnoitra!" exclaimed Tesla.

Nnoitra's right-hand man runs to his master's aid. Orihime takes advantage of this and runs over to Kuroi.

"Don't worry, Kuroi. I'll take care of your wounds?" said Orihime.

"Nel is amazing," said Kuroi.

Nelliel stops looking at the smoke and turns to look at Kuroi. She charges towards Kuroi and wraps him in a big hug.

"I'm so happy that you're safe, Kuroi!" exclaimed Nelliel.

"Gyaaaaaah!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Wait, Nel! You're gonna kill him!" exclaimed Orihime.

"This feels so good, but it hurts so much. I'm about to-," groaned Kuroi.

A loud pop is heard and Kuroi passes out in Nelliel's arms. As blood comes out of his nose and drools down his face, he has finally fallen unconscious from the injuries he has sustained. Nelliel slowly lets go of the injured soul reaper.

"Oops. I guess I squeezed too hard. My bad," said Nelliel.

Before Orihime can start to heal Kuroi, Nnoitra's assistant flies right past them. Nelliel looks at the smoke and sees Nnoitra step out of it.

"Who told you to let go of the girl!" exclaimed Nnoitra.

"I'm sorry, sir," said Tesla.

"What's with that face? You're probably thinking that I should be dead because you sucked up my cero and threw it back at me. I certainly forgot about that Cero Doble ability of yours, but you're forgetting something. The Espada are way stronger than they were back then. I'm way stronger than way back then. I'll show you my improvements by killing you," said Nnoitra.

Nnoitra speed blitzes Nelliel and kicks her in the stomach. She is sent flying backward a large distance. Before she can touch the ground, Nnoitra appears behind her and slaps her to the side. Kuroi opens his eyes and sees Nelliel getting beat up and tries to get up.

"Kuroi, what are you doing? You're not at full health," said Orihime.

"Nel's getting beat up. I have to-," said Kuroi.

Before Kuroi can finish speaking, Tesla kicks Kuroi in the face and causes him to fly back a few feet.

"Kuroi," said Orihime.

Tesla grabs Orihime by the neck before she can move.

"I will not allow you to intervene with Nnoitra's fight. Nelliel is a stone. All stones that obstruct Nnoitra's blade must be destroyed by his hands," said Tesla.

Nelliel quickly gets up and charges at Nnoitra. Their blades clash in the center of the white desert.

"Remember when you called me a beast? You said that I wasn't on your level. Are you prepared to die by this beast's hands?" said Nnoitra.

"Not today," said Nelliel.

Nelliel jumps up and kicks Nnoitra's blade. She then jumps back and places her hand on her blade.

"I hate that I have to use this, but here it goes," said Nelliel.

"Damnit. She's about to use her Resurreccion. I have to stop her," said Nnoitra.

Nnoitra dashes towards the former Tercera Espada and tries to stop her from entering her Resurreccion, but he's too late.

"Proclaim, Gamuza," said Nelliel.

Nelliel's spiritual pressure explodes as she enters her Resurreccion. As the smoke clears, it's revealed that Nelliel has become a centaur-like creature. She holds a giant spear in her right arm and prepares to throw it.

"Lanzador Verde," said Nelliel.

Nelliel throws the giant spear at Nnoitra. He tries to block the spear with his blade, but it goes through it and stabs him in the chest. Nnoitra falls to his knees as Nelliel walks up to him.

"This is the end, Nnoitra. I won't kill you, but hopefully you've learned your lesson," said Nelliel.

"Shut it. I'm not done yet," said Nnoitra.

"I'm pretty sure you a-," said Nelliel.

Before Nelliel can finish talking, she returns to her child form and falls to the ground. Nnoitra starts to laugh loudly. He grabs Nelliel and kicks her away.

"Nel!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Tesla, I'm tagging out. Deal with them," said Nnoitra.

"Ok, sir. Crush, Verruga" said Tesla.

Tesla's spiritual pressure explodes and he transforms into a giant warthog-like beast. He stomps towards Kuroi and grabs him. Orihime tries to rush to her friend, but Nnoitra grabs her.

"Just watch how your friend gets destroyed by my Fraccion. He will learn to get stronger," said Nnoitra.

Tesla starts to squeeze the soul reaper. Blood pours out of the boy's mouth. Tesla then throws Kuroi to the ground and stomps on his back. Kuroi gets grabbed by the monster once again and gets his arm broken. Tesla then slams the soul reaper on the ground. He winds up one more punch to kill the young soul reaper. He winds up for a minute until he finally tries to punch Kuroi, but something stops him. He looks down and sees a tall man with weirdly styled hair blocking his giant fist with his Zanpakuto.

"Were you going to lose to this weakling? That's pathetic, Kuroi," said Kenpachi.

"Kenpachi," said Kuroi.