Ulquiorra Part 1

[A/N: Fuck Renji. Let's move on]

While walking calmly through the silent halls of the white-stone palace, Ichigo's footsteps echoed softly beneath the pale light bleeding through the high arched windows. The oppressive stillness of Las Noches had settled like a fog over everything. Nel clung to his shoulder, fast asleep, her breathing gentle, the only sound beside the crunch of his boots against the smooth floor.

Suddenly, Ichigo froze mid-step. His instincts screamed. The air changed — grew heavier, colder, suffocating. A spiritual pressure, smooth but suffocating, laced with a detached stillness that felt utterly alien, pressed down like a vice.

Nel stirred, her eyes fluttering open as she sensed it too. "Ichi…go?" she murmured, but her voice trailed off into a whimper as her small body began to tremble.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed sharply. He slowly turned his head toward the grand staircase to his left.

The heavy door at the top creaked open.

A figure emerged, his pale form bathed in shadows, but his presence unmistakable.

Ichigo's expression hardened. Without a word, he bent down gently and placed Nel on the floor behind him.

"Stand here," he said, his tone calm but firm.

Nel looked up at him with wide eyes full of fear and understanding. She didn't question it. She simply nodded and clutched the back of his hakama tightly, hiding behind his legs, her entire body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

She knew who it was.

There was no mistaking that cold, soul-piercing aura.

The figure descended the staircase with slow, deliberate steps, his expression unreadable, like a painting come to life. Green eyes stared down at them with eerie calm, a stark contrast to the pressure he radiated. His white jacket was buttoned up neatly, the black lines on his face like tears frozen in time.

It was Ulquiorra Cifer. Espada No. 4.

An Arrancar so powerful, even among Aizen's elite, his abilities inspired quiet dread. Though officially ranked fourth, many whispered he was far more dangerous than the number suggested. Some believed he might even be the strongest—if not for the enigmatic nature of his powers and the cold wall of detachment that kept others from truly understanding him.

Still, the silence that followed his arrival was louder than any announcement. Even the air itself refused to move in his presence.

Ichigo squared his shoulders, hand inching toward Zangetsu. He didn't speak—not yet. Because one thing was clear:

This wasn't just a casual encounter.

This was a message.

And Ulquiorra… was the messenger.

"It's been a while, huh?" Ichigo said, never blinking as he locked eyes with Ulquiorra's emotionless gaze.

The two stood in stillness, one alive with heat, the other like death in motion.

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied, his voice quiet—barely above a whisper—but sharp as honed steel. "But I can't allow you to disrupt Lord Aizen's plans. You've come far, Kurosaki Ichigo, but this is where your journey ends."

His pale fingers reached for the hilt at his side and, with a motion as fluid as shadow, he unsheathed his sword. The sound of steel scraping against metal echoed ominously through the halls, bouncing off the marble walls like a chilling omen.

Ichigo stepped forward, his grip tightening on Zangetsu. His voice was steady, tinged with grit. "Yeah, I figured… but looks like someone else is more desperate to fight me."

BOOM.

The wall to their right exploded in a violent eruption of stone and wind, debris launching in every direction. A geyser of dust and rubble spiraled outward, forcing Ichigo to instinctively step back.

Out of the smoldering wreckage walked a figure, shirt torn across the chest, hair wild, and eyes blazing with savage electricity.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

His spiritual pressure hit the room like a thunderclap—chaotic, turbulent, and alive. Like a storm with no center, it surged uncontrollably around him.

He strode forward, shoulders squared, jaw clenched with a mixture of fury and anticipation. His cyan eyes locked onto Ichigo with manic hunger.

"ICHIGO!" he roared, voice unhinged. "Let's go. You and me—outside. This time, I'll kill you for sure."

Ichigo blinked slowly, smirking as if he'd just been greeted by an old rival from school. "Been a while, Grimmy."

Ulquiorra's gaze flicked toward Grimmjow briefly. He said nothing—made no move to stop him. Whether out of apathy, disdain, or confidence that it didn't matter, he simply stepped aside with the ghost of a shrug.

Grimmjow didn't waste another second.

He turned, raised his arm, and blasted open another wall with a Cero so fast it was barely visible. The blast carved open the structure and the sky beyond, revealing the artificial horizon of Las Noches.

Without waiting, he leapt through the breach, landing with a boom on one of the colossal stone pillars that jutted from the sands like broken teeth. His silhouette stood against the false sun—arms loose at his sides, every inch of him bristling with anticipation.

Ichigo scooped Nel into his arms and vanished in a blur of black, reappearing far from the palace near a jagged ridge of bleached stone. He crouched low and placed her gently behind it.

"Stay here. I'll be back right after I'm done with these two," he said, flashing a small grin that made her lip quiver.

Nel nodded rapidly, her small hands clutched together like she was praying, her eyes wide and glistening with worry.

Then he was gone again, reappearing on a nearby spire directly across from Grimmjow. The wind—or perhaps the illusion of it—rippled across his haori.

Grimmjow stood higher, like a lion overlooking prey. But there was madness dancing behind his eyes.

"Yes. That's how it's supposed to be," Grimmjow hissed, voice crackling like broken glass. "You beneath me. Not just you—everyone! I'm gonna be king of Hueco Mundo. No one else! Just me!!" His laughter was loud, wild, filled with desperation like a man clinging to a dream as it slipped through his fingers.

Ichigo tilted his head, brow slightly raised. His tone was deadpan. "You okay in the head, Grimmjow?"

No response. Just the glint of madness in his smirk.

Ichigo raised Zangetsu and pointed the blade directly at him.

"You'd better release. I was going to use Bankai… but we both remember how that ended last time."

A flicker of memory flashed through Grimmjow's eyes—Ichigo's blade, black and burning, tearing through him with celestial speed. His muscles tensed involuntarily.

But he shoved the memory away with a growl.

He drew his blade in a single, defiant motion, holding it low like a predator baring its fangs.

"No," he growled. "I'll end this fight without releasing. I don't need Pantera to beat you this time."

Ichigo's gaze flattened. He lowered Zangetsu, letting it hang loosely in his hand.

"Suit yourself. When you change your mind, let me know… I'll still be here."

The air around him shimmered slightly as his spiritual pressure recoiled inward—Bankai energy fading before it could ignite. The black heat dispersed into the wind like a dying ember.

Now they stood—two monsters, blades drawn, balanced on stone spires under a painted sky. Time itself seemed to slow.

The clouds above Las Noches did not move. The sun never set. But in that moment, the tension made it feel like a storm was coming.

Ichigo stood with the stillness of a killer who didn't need to prove himself. Zangetsu dangled from his grip, more like a scepter than a sword.

Across from him, Grimmjow paced in place, like a caged animal ready to pounce.

"Look at you," Grimmjow spat, voice raw. "Same confident stare. I'll wipe that stupid look off your face when I plunge my claws into your throat."

Ichigo couldn't help but smirk, just a little.

"We'll see about that."

And in that final pause—silence reigned.

Then they vanished.

The stone beneath their feet cracked from the sheer force of their launch—two blurs colliding mid-air, blade to blade.

The battle had begun.

TO BE CONTINUED