Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Negative Space ❯ No More than Human ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The last master I had served was a deceptive prick with a slanty-eyed snake boy and a half-breed fucktard as a his minions...

"Welcome back to Hueco Mundo, Lord Aizen," I said respectfully as I took to one knee before my long absent master. I subtly eyed the two Soul Reapers who stood behind him, recognizing the white cloaks they wore over their uniforms as items similar to Aizen, distinguishing them as Captains.

"Isabellia," he said in that smooth and relaxed tone that had always made my hair stand on end. "I take it you have seen to Las Noche's construction while I was away."

"Of course, sire," I answered as I stood and turned, giving them my back as I faced the white walls of Aizen's new domain. "Construction was finished a few months ago. We've furnished the living quarters as you specified, and developed the interior in a way that will better reflect the temperate climate that you will be more accustomed to with having come from the Soul Society."

"Is that all?" he asked in that stupidly calm tone. I didn't let my irritation show as I shook my head, but thankfully I didn't have to answer him as my comrade stepped forward.

"No, sire," Gantenbainne, my fellow Espada, answered with ease. "We tended to all of your other requests as well. We wanted to emphasize what you had made clear to be more of a priority over the others."

"Ah, thank you for that." The way Lord Aizen always spoke like he was better than someone drove me nuts, but I didn't have any room to complain. He had defeated me, utterly and completely. Serving him because of that was my purpose in life until those short-lived militants up in the Soul Society either defeated him or he moved on and left us in Hueco Mundo alone.

"Would you like us to tour you through the compound?" I offered as I turned back to them. I wasn't exactly uncomfortable giving them my back, but I could feel the itch of their gazes on me. I had given him my complete submission, so I wasn't even remotely concerned about their consideration of me.

"No," Aizen purred. "But, I would like to see what you have for me, Isabellia."

I hesitated for the first time in many years when I heard his request. I had what he wanted, and I would give it to him without a fight. I just… I just didn't want to give up the keys to my realm. I knew how he wanted to use them, and it was a horrible way to go. When I used my Negative Space, there was an end to the loss. With these demented little cubes, it was a never-ending punishment.

I let out an inaudible sigh and turned to him. I reached behind me and untied the pouch I had been keeping hidden underneath my uniform. Considering the weight of the pouch, I pulled it forward and rolled the cubes around inside. I was literally giving him the power to torment my kind, but I didn't have a choice. He had given me an order before he left, and I would execute that order to completion. Taking to one knee again, I offered him the pouch with both of my hands.

"Lorde Aizen, I present to you a piece of my Negative Space, the Caja Negaccion," I said smoothly, hiding my inner conflict. "Inside you will find twenty pieces, two for each Espada and each powerful enough to forever imprison any Hollow who is weaker than myself."

"Gantenbainne," Aizen said without acknowledging my offer.

"Lord Aizen," he answered promptly.

"Would you go and ensure that our rooms are prepared? I believe we would like to retire for the evening, and save admiring the effort you have all put into constructing Las Noches for tomorrow."

I could feel Ganten's hesitation in the air, but he quickly covered it as he responded with a prompt, "of course, my Lord. Shall I send someone to show you the way?"

"That won't be necessary. Isabellia, I'm sure, will be more than willing."

"Of course," Ganten replied before he vanished with his sonido, leaving me alone with these Soul Reaper rejects.

I swallowed hard once I Ganten passed beyond my senses. The last time I had been alone with Aizen he had almost killed me and forced me into submission. I hadn't had a choice but to fall under his service, and for some reason I felt like something bad was about to happen. I just knew it.

I felt Aizen's fingers brush across my own before the weight of the pouch was removed from my out stretched hands. I kept my eyes on his feet, waiting for any indication of trouble that I would sense rather than see. Something wasn't right, I just didn't know what.

"Tell me, Isabellia," he started to say as I heard the sound of the Caja Negaccion clinking together. "Are these completely separate from you like I asked for?"

"Yes, sir," I answered honestly. "As you requested, I completely severed my connection to them. Meaning, they will function independently from my own resurreccion."

"Good," he said. His feet turned and my body bristled, waiting for the need to react to him. "You see, I succeeded in retrieving the item I have been seeking for several years now. It's why we have returned."

We? As far as I was aware, these two Soul Reapers had never been here for before. But, my senses weren't the best. I could have been wrong.

"We are honored by your return, sire," I responded automatically.

"I am so glad to hear that."

His voice was wrong… Very wrong. I lifted my head to look up at him, but before I could even meet his eye a blade shot at me from one of the other Soul Reapers he had brought with him. I was hit was such force in the center of my chest that I was taken back out of my kneeling position and knocked onto my ass. I blinked up at Aizen in bewilderment. My head started to go fuzzy as blood rank freely down my uniform, spilling dark red as my heart continued to pump my life's blood from my body.

"You see," he started to say as he pocketed the Caja Negaccion I had given him. He pulled something else from his pocket though, and unexpectedly flashed it toward me as if to show it off. It appeared to be a small gem inside of a glass cube, but even I could feel the power that emanated from that tiny device. "I intend to make my own army of Espada. Those of you who currently exist are not strong enough to do me any good in the fights to come."

Fuck me…

"That makes me the weakest link," I said, my voice shaking as I felt my body slowly growing cold.

"Yes, unfortunately."

The blade slowly retracted from my chest, drawing with it a fountain of blood that ran down my front. I didn't even bother trying to heal the wound, knowing that a would caused by a Soul Reaper's purifying blade was almost impossible for me to repair so quickly. I was as good as dead, and I hadn't even a chance to try and stop it. If this was all they did I would eventually heal, but I just knew this wouldn't be it.

My body fell to the side and I landed roughly on the sand. My vision was foggy at best as I watched the three Soul Reapers before me. If my head had worked well enough, I would have been thinking some serious curses at them.

"Gin." The blurry form that I knew belonged to Aizen turned to face his fellow Soul Reaper. "Did you kill our little punisher?"

"You said she heals," Mr. Slanty-eyes said slyly. I thought he shrugged, but it was hard to tell with my cruddy vision. "I thought a killing blow wouldn't be as killing for her as another."

"You are right," Aizen replied smoothly. "I suppose we should do something with her to keep her… underwraps."

"I think we should just remove her head and be done with her," the halfbreed commented.

"No, I think she may be of use later," Aizen murmured as he turned back to face me. "Let's find somewhere to keep her until the time comes when she is useful again."

That had been the end of my relationship with my last master. And now this cool eyed bozo wanted me? I didn't fuckin' think so.

As soon as my zanpakuto entered the ground power exploded through me. I had never quite gotten back to the level I had been at before Aizen stuck me in his shitty little dungeon, but with the Caja Negacion fueling me I felt like I had never been greater. My reiatsu washed over every surface of the room as my true form emerged from my skin like white rocks breaching water. My true form slid over the very human body that I normally maintained, transforming me into the god I had once been.

Bone armor formed over the tank top and leather pants I was wearing, taking the shape of a bodice before it flowed up to create a layered pauldron over my right shoulder. The bone was textured like layered feathers, but they were a barely noticed detail as the waist of the bodice tightened and shifted into a banded girdle. Bone greaves covered me from my knees down to my ankles, hiding the boots I wore like my clothing choice had intentionally been to ease the release of my resurreccion. The same feathered pattern covered the surface, excluding the leather like straps that secured the greaves to my legs. Similar armor took shape over my forearms, the back of each hand and my knuckles to protect my arms during the melee combat that always ensued inside of my Negative Space.

My hair broke free from the ponytail I had secured it in and fanned out around me in a cascade of golden blonde waves. The bone of my mask grew, shaping into a mantel of white that surrounded my face and pushed back the bangs of my hair. The mantel was vaguely crown like in its shape while the edges of it trailed down either side of my face to frame my features and accented my heart shaped face. The entirety of it was solid and slim like armor while still ornamental in the beaded details along its edges and feathered pattern that slightly indented the surface.

The bone that covered my ears had extended to become like wings adorned with feathers that looked like they were too delicate to be made of bone. They didn't function, but were more of a decoration like my mantel to show what sort of a hollow I had once been. Similar boney feathers had emerged from the bits of mask that ran along my skill, mingling with my hair. The spine of my mask had also grown, the small bits of it extending until it was present clear down my back where it transitioned into my tailbone.

Once upon a time, my true form had been far more encompassing and my zanpakuto had turned into a shield, but just like I had done to my zanpakuto's suppressed form I had changed it. At first, surviving my Negative Space had been all about protecting myself. Now that I had become completely one with my Human form, it was about defeating my enemy before they could learn to operate their own body without reiryoku. Every few years I had removed a plate of bone armor, reducing the weight that hindered my movement and allowing me more speed to work within my Negative Space where I lacked reiatsu to fuel my body's strength.

The same time I had forced my zanpakuto to be able to transform I had turned my shield's formation into a separate ability. Thinking about it made the bone shield begin to materialize on my left arm, but I quickly discarded the thought and stopped it. This shit biscuit wouldn't require a shield. He wasn't Aizen, and he sure as hell wasn't the Soul King. My spear would be more than enough once we were equals.

I pulled my zanpakuto from the concrete and flipped it around until it's blade was pointed to the sky and its butt on the ground. I shifted my attention to Grimmjow, giving him my best flat stare. He had stood between the time it took me to release my true form and now, but otherwise hadn't appeared to have done anything. His expression was neutral, his stance as well. I couldn't read anything about him to judge what he was thinking, so I didn't bother worrying about it.

"This is my one warning to you Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, 6th in power among the fake Espada. I am Isabellia Vaccio, oldest among the true gods of these parched lands and the 10th Espada among those of us who were untainted by Aizen's little toy." I lifted my zanpakuto from the ground and slowly stepped toward him. "I will not serve you, someone who has not earned the title of a god but been given it by a revolting Soul Reaper."

"You mean you won't serve me unless I make you," he responded as that same grin from earlier turned his mouth.

"You can't, not now," I said calmly as I continued toward him. "If you hadn't tried to use my own tool against me, then yes, you could have forced me in submission. But you did, and now we shall both be no more than Human."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked slowly.

I smiled a little at his question and didn't bother answering him. I lifted my zanpakuto up just a fraction before I slammed its butt into the ground, creating a metal ringing sound that echoed throughout the expansive room.

"Depress," I murmured, my voice barely heard over the ring of my zanpakuto. Darkness blinked into existence, consuming every surface of the room in a wash of my reiatsu. Like a switch, the power that fueled me drained away like a suddenly dimming light bulb. With so much of my energy to fuel it, I knew my Negative Space had probably consumed the entire tower and some of the area beyond it. It mattered little, because anyone who was within its boundaries would be equally as powerless as I.

As the ringing of my zanpakuto quieted, it left everything to bask in utter silence. Grimmjow stood unmoving, but his eyes weren't focused on me anymore. Instead, his attention seemed to be focused inward and I knew exactly why. He had no access to his power, the fire that made him so deadly to someone like me. This was how I wanted him. I wouldn't let this opportunity slip away.

I charged at him, my foot falls sounding overly loud as they slapped against the concrete floors in my fastest sprint. For a Human I was moving just as fast as an olympic sprinter, but compared to our previous battle it was like slow motion. He was clearly confused by how slowly I was moving, unaware that both he and I had no power to make our movements any faster. It was his mistake that when I lunged at him, my zanpakuto poised to strike, that he didn't try to move until the last second. He almost dodged, but my blade sliced through the sleeve of his jacket and blood coated my blade. I didn't give him even a moment to adjust to his lack of power and spun, lashing out with the butt of my zanpakuto. I caught him on the outside of his thigh and I knew I had struck gold when his leg gave out under his weight, taking him to one knee.

As I spun to strike him again, he drew his zanpakuto and blocked my downward strike. I heard him grunt with the force of blocking my attack and watched as his eyes widened, but I didn't let myself celebrate. I kept calm and level headed as I stepped back from him to allow myself space to twirl my zanpakuto in my hands before I lunged in again, my blade aimed for his center with the intent to end this fight before it even started. He rolled away from my strike and I took several steps to halt my momentum before I turned to face him. He had stood in the seconds it had taken me to stop, but he was clearly still having trouble using the leg I had hit by the way he placed his other foot forward in a defensive sort of stance.

"What is this place?" He spat out in an angry tone.

"My Negative Space," I answered. I didn't bother saying more as I charged at him again, this time aiming to take away his mobility instead of going for a killing blow. Unfortunately he was ready for me this time and blocked my quick jabs with his zanpakuto. I didn't let up, aiming all of my attacks at his upper body as I waited for him to overcommit to a motion and to leave himself open. It came a lot faster than I was expecting when my blade hit the blunt side of his and threw his arm askew. I lashed out with my heel and connected with the side of his knee, earning me a satisfying crunch and an enraged snarl from him as I darted back.

"Cero!" He shouted as his hand flew up, palm pointed toward me. He blinked when nothing happened and quickly shifted drawing his zanpakuto up so he held it out from his body. He raised his other hand and ran his nails down the blade as he called out, "Grind, Pantera."

Nothing happened.

I wanted to laugh… and I did. I know, it was petty, but I let out a short snorting laugh before I blurted out, "How do you not get it yet?"

The deathly glare that came at me said everything that didn't come from his mouth.

"We are nothing here. Nothing!" I shouted gleefully as I gestured to the darkness that surrounded us. "This is my aspect. Loss, helpless, hopeless, emptiness, powerless, depression. Whatever the fuck you want to call it. Here, we have nothing and we are nothing. We are less than we ever were and no more than Human. You won't be able to call on your true form because you have nothing to ignite the transformation."

"How is it that someone weaker than me could completely strip me of my reiatsu?" He asked.

I had been asked a question like this before, and previously I hadn't bothered telling why. For some unexplainable reason, I actually wanted to tell his fake how he didn't understand the world. How a weaker opponent could possibly do this to him. "I didn't strip you of anything. Spirit energy is negated in this world of mine. My Negation Boxes, the Caja Negacion, work the same way but my Negative Space is the only place that nothing will work. Even the Soul King himself was powerless within its boundaries."

I didn't bother adding how the Soul King had completely and utterly kicked my ass despite my Negative Space however many thousand years ago that was. It was true that even his spirit energy had been nullified within my boundaries, but just like Aizen and he had won despite that. It was a good thing I hadn't been trying to stop him from ruling Hueco Mundo all those years ago, but merely testing him or he probably would have destroyed my body so thoroughly that I never would have been able to heal. As it was, I had been scarred for hundreds of a years until time finally removed the marks of my defeat.

"This is why you were the 10th Espada," he said slowly.

I nodded. "The 10th Espada is the weakest one in their suppressed form and the absolute strongest once they have released their true power."

He let out a short chuckle. "And I thought Yami was just a fucking ape."

I didn't comment on his words, knowing that the name he was referencing was another piece of information that I didn't know about. Instead, I went after him again. Running in my blade met his and metal grinded, sending sparks that fell like stars in the darkness. Our bodies were lit like the natural light from Hueco Mundo's moon was still shining down on us, making our movements completely clear to one another. It made it easy to see him move as if he were going to stab me again with his hand, and I turned so he would hit my shoulder pauldron. Where his hiero would have normally allowed him to pierce through my bone armor like it was nothing, now his fingers crumpled against my armor like carrots snapping on impact.

His face warped with the pain that his clearly broken fingers had brought him and he lurched back. It made me smile as I spun, amplifying my momentum before I lashed out and caught him on the side of the head with the butt of my zanpakuto.

He went down, landing on his knees so hard the ground shook before he fell further forward to catch himself on his hands. I had probably cracked his skull with my hit, which had most likely given him stars across his vision and a splitting headache. The living were always so sensitive to head wounds. Hopefully I had hit him hard enough to keep him disoriented until I dropped my Negative Space.

I rested my zanpakuto's butt on the ground and knelt beside him. My gaze wandered up from his mangled fingers to the blood that was running freely down the side of his head and face to disappear into the darkness as it hit the floor. He was probably still trying to figure out how I had done so much damage to him so quickly. The concept of my Negative Space had most people running mental circles. I had heard, 'How could everything I had known and worked for just be gone in a matter of seconds?' so many times in my many eons of life. It always made me smile to hear it, because once I left them alone they wouldn't come after me. Being powerless – helpless – always made people fear what I could do.

Unfortunately, I didn't think that would be the case with this bozo. Either he'd get angry and come after me once I released him, or he'd just want my power even more. He knew now that I was weak in my normal form, and if he was smart he would realize that even my Negative Space affected me. I only assured my victory with the surprise of what my Negative Space did to my opponents while I was prepared and ready to strike. If he had actually been prepared, this fight would have lasted far longer. Gauging someone's skill with their zanpakuto and no power to wield it was difficult, but if I had to guess he would have been very hard to beat had he known what my Negative Space was going to do to him.

"Hey," I said as I jabbed his side with the butt of my zanpakuto. Those intense azure eyes slid my way, but they couldn't seem to lock onto my form. Good. I wanted him crippled.

"If you have enough mind to understand me with that head wound, then listen up," I said as I poked him again just to be annoying. "I'm not going to kill you, but I do want you to leave me the fuck alone. That territory bullshit your Fraccion was babbling about doesn't include my rock. I don't care what the hell you do, so long my home, my Adjuchas and I are left out of it."

I saw his hand move as he released his zanpakuto, but I couldn't react quick enough to pull my zanpakuto from his reach before he caught it. He yanked at it and almost had me on my face before I caught myself and shifted my feet to keep me from tumbling forward. Just as I started to pull my zanpakuto back to me, his hand with all those broken fingers lashed out, taking him completely to the ground and my foot with it.

I tumbled on top of him, unable to recover from his sweeping arm and the force of him pulling at my zanpakuto. He kept my momentum going and threw me onto my black before he was on top of me with my zanpakuto between us. I felt him moving to press my own zanpakuto to my throat and I took hold of it like it was a barbell as his weight pressed down on me.

"You're awfully smug here in your dark little world," he sneered as his body lifted slightly off of mine, allowing him the leverage to put more weight on my zanpakuto. My arms started to shake as I held him off, but I could feel it slowly lowering. My body was conditioned just for this world, but he had to be a good two-hundred pounds of muscle that was weighing down on me.

"For good reason," I growled through gritted teeth. I ducked my head into his chest and forced my zanpakuto over my head before I let it slide out of my hands. His weight went with it and he crashed down on top of me. I was prepared for it though, and I grabbed his collar as I kicked my leg up and rolled him off of me. I followed him, rolling over until I was able to straddle his waist in the position of power. It only took one punch to the injured side of his head to disorient him again, and I took the moment that gave me to sit back on his abdomen and let out a sigh. He was a big guy, which was clear by the way my legs almost strained to straddle his big rib cage. I was lucky he had been injured when he took me to the floor or I probably wouldn't have been able to get him off of me.

I had been overconfident when I had come so close to him. I knew better than that. This man was just so different from anyone I had dealt with in my long history. I didn't know how to handle him nor how he would react. I had never been very good at reading people, but this was ridiculous. If I knew more about him it would have been easier to gauge his reactions, but as it was I had no idea. The one thing I did know was that he had an ego, just like all Arrancar. He was an Espada even if he was a fake, so I would uphold him to that status.

Leaning forward I rested a hand on his chest and took his chin in my other so I could turn his head to look at his face. He was indeed just as attractive from afar ad he was up close with that well defined face and those messy cerulean locks. It was a bad train of thought to have in our current circumstances, but it was hard not to think it. I felt his body stir under me and I shifted so my knees were actually on the ground instead of just pressed to his sides. Apparently I had knocked him clean out with my punch, but now his eyes fluttered for a moment before they actually opened and he finally seemed to be able to focus on me. Against the blood that had coated his skin, his azure eyes seemed to pop with more color than before. It made me almost hesitate when his eyes narrowed into a glare. Almost.

"I have won this battle," I said softly, knowing he would hear me with our close proximity.

"You shouldn't have," he conceded, his voice coming out sluggishly.

"You're right, but now you are at my mercy. I wasn't going to kill you, but your attitude has made me rethink my position. Give me your word as an Espada, as a god, that you will not come after me when I leave here, and I will leave you alive."

His expression didn't change much, but it was enough to tell me that he really didn't like the options I had presented him. He started to reach for me, as if he really wanted to keep fighting me, but I caught his hand with ease and moved to push it down. He was stronger than I was even in his injured state, forcing me to rise up and use my body weight to push his hand down to the ground beside his shoulder. Once I was confident that I could keep his hand down I called to my zanpakuto, willing it to me as I released his chin. I frowned after a second, realizing that even I had forgotten that my call wouldn't be heard inside of my Negative Space.

Stupid me.

With a huff I stretched out and snatched my zanpakuto from where it still rested above him. Drawing back to a balanced position above him, I pressed its blade against his neck. There was an amused look on his face when I met his eyes once more, but I ignored it.

"I don't want to, but I will kill you," I threatened as I pressed down just hard enough to cause him pain but not draw blood.

"Why don't you want to kill me?" he asked.

This guy sure did like to ask questions that I didn't want to answer… "I'm giving you a chance to prove me wrong. As gods, we have a sense of honor. Our word is a promise that will not be broken. Absolute, if you will. I don't know how you fake Espada function and I don't particularly care so long as you can be held to the same standards."

"You don't think I have honor?"

"I don't know if you do or not," I answered him. "What I do know is I put the survival of myself and my people first. You're a threat to that in this moment. I want to have faith that you'll abide by your own word and leave me and mine alone."

He let out a rough laugh that had me instantly prickling with anger. "That's not your priority."

I frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a grin. "If your priority was survival you'd serve me, someone who is far greater in strength and would protect you as my Fraccion."

"I don't need protecting. What I need is to be left alone. Only you fakes are stronger than me here in Hueco Mundo, and that orange haired demon child," I replied quickly as I pressed my zanpakuto down harder, drawing blood. "And, calling me a would be Fraccion is a damn insult. I was an Espada before the Numeros even existed."

He held my gaze in silence for a long moment. I had time to wonder what was going through his head before his eyes closed and his arm relaxed under my hand. He let out a rough sigh that I felt graze across my skin before those azure eyes opened once more. "You have my word as the King, that I will not try to force you to serve me."

"Not good enough," I said as I let my blade cut deeper into him.

"I won't give up on having you that easily." The grin that had been tugging at the corner of his mouth became more evident as it turned into a lazy slant. "If what you're worried about is survival, then I swear that I nor my people with take any violent action against you or yours."

"You'll leave me and mine alone, for good," I said firmly.

"I will not intentionally cause you or your harm, and neither will my people."

I frowned down at him and leaned in just a bit closer, trying to make myself seem more threatening. When his grin seemed to only grow I frowned. "That's the best I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"

"Yes," he answered, that stupid grin of his growing.

I gave myself a moment to consider if what he offered was enough before I pulled my zanpakuto back and released his arm from my grip. "You think you can actually control your people when you treat them like such shit?"

"I know I can," he answered simply. I felt his body flex beneath me just before he abruptly forced himself to sit up and almost knocked me clean off of him. I moved to scramble away from him, but when he had sat up I had slid down his abdomen, placing me inconveniently in his lap with my legs still straddling him. It made getting away from him quickly almost impossible. When his good arm moved faster than my entire body could, he trapped me against him with my zanpakuto pinned against his side.

"I am the King," he purred smugly, his nose only inches from mine. "My word is law."

How the hell he was moving like he was in such an injured state was baffling, but I didn't let myself get hung up on it. He was stronger than me, there was no question about it. But he was injured. I wasn't.

So, I head-butted him.

My bone mantel connected with his forehead and I watched his eyes roll back before his body went completely slack and fell back. Before I could really think about what I was doing, I caught his jacket to stop him from hitting the ground too hard and slowly lowered him back until he was lying flat on the ground. I wasn't entirely sure why I had reached out like that, my hand had just done it on reflex. Pulling my hand back from him I blinked down at it a few times as I struggled to comprehend why. Why was this man was so motivated? He was chasing power, not my ability to take it away. Why did he still want me if I could make him powerless? Was there another reason? If his last movement had been any indication… no, I was just being silly. He was going to be a problem in the coming days. I needed separate myself from him.

I removed myself from my perch atop him and walked away, putting more than enough distance between us before I stopped and glanced back at him. Lying there in a clearly unconscious state, he seemed like he was just a man. I knew better, but I couldn't help myself as I considered him. Leaving him alive really was just asking for trouble, but I didn't want to kill him. Killing him might bring upon me the wrath of the other fakes, but that wasn't what I had been concerned about.

He had been right about my motivations. Survival wasn't exactly my priority. It was up there, but it wasn't my goal. What was my goal? I had one once, but now? What was my purpose for existing? I had always ruled something, someone. Amechania- my zanpakuto- was the goddess or spirit of helplessness depending on what culture you came from. That name had been gifted to me back when I had still been a Vasto Lorde so long ago, and had worn the mask and robes that were common dress at the time. Now that I wasn't a god, what was I supposed to do with myself?

This was a stupid train of thought to be going down. I was happy with Raacharg. We did what we wanted, minded our own business, and stayed out of everyone's way. It was what it was and it had been more than satisfactory for the last ten years. Questioning it was just stupid, and this stupid fake Espada who made me start thinking that way was a demented bobo doll.

I shook my head and lifted my zanpakuto before slamming its butt to the ground. The metal rang like a bell and I felt my reiatsu call out from the walls of my Negative Space. It made me shiver with delight as I murmured, "Invigorate."

Just like my reiatsu had turned into my Negative Space, now it reversed it's progress. The darkness withdrew from the world and wrapped around me, seeping into my skin and returning my power to my body. If I had been in the heat of battle when I had called my Negative Space back I wouldn't have let the pleasure that the power brought me. Since I was alone with an unconscious man I didn't bother suppressing the feeling and let my head fall back as a soft sigh escaped my lips. It always felt so good, like the softest fur caressing every part of my body all at once. Oh my…

Once the delicious flow of power finally ceased my body shuddered and I drew my head back down. That always ended too quickly. Just like most men…

With my power restored and my zanpakuto securely in hand, I left Las Noche's behind. I had taken the same way out as I had come in, making a quick pitstop by the room I had first entered so I could plunder that magical mattress on my way out. Maybe it was a bad idea, but he had given me his word. Either he was going to turn out to be liar and come after me, or he'd actually turn out to be… Well, I didn't want to call him a god, but maybe what he had called himself could actually be more accurate. The King.

Only time would tell.

"You're back!" Raacharg said, relief clear in his voice as I came down the stairs leading into my rock.

"Yes," I answered him, my voice unintentionally coming out in an unfriendly tone. His next words seemed to get caught in his throat when he saw me and he backed up, moving quickly to get out of my way as I hauled the mattress on my shoulder into the room. I lugged it over to where my bed rested against the far wall and threw it down on the floor.

"Are you still -ah, Isa?" Raacharg asked hesitantly as I stared down at the mattress.

"No, but I will be in a minute," I answered as I spun away from the mattress and spotted one of the slots in the wall I had carved out when I created this place. I looked down at myself, taking in the way my bone armor rested over my bloodied clothes. Grimmjow really had made a mess of me before he had unintentionally restored my reiryoku. I...

"I am going to turn our home into a prison for those who would trespass," I said as I reached behind me and found the bone spine that trailed down my back. I grasped several vertebrae and in one powerful motion I broke them from my body. The rest of my bone armor screamed out all at once as if I had really ripped off my spine, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. I had done this before, but it had been decades- no- more like centuries, since the last time. Back then the Espada had just been forming, and the competition to be the top ten had been taking place. I had been like a spider, setting my traps for people to fall in when they came for me…

"What are you doing?" he asked me in an uncertain tone.

"I am bringing my Negative Space partially into this world," I explained as I held the still connected vertebrae up where I could see them. They were a clean and pure white, like the sun had bleached all color from them. Unfortunately, I needed them red with my blood. I didn't bother trying to be shy when I ran my wrist down my zanpakuto's blade to make my blood flow freely down my skin. Breaking off one of the vertebrae I took care to cover every inch of it in blood before I slipped it into the hole in the wall that was shaped perfectly for it.

"Oh, so that's what those spots are for," Raacharg commented. I nodded, but otherwise ignored him as I continued on and repeated the same action for each of the six slots that were carved in the walls. Once I was done I nodded and flushed power through my body, healing the wound I had made.

"I'm sorry Raacharg," I said as I turned to him. "For the next while, this place shall be one of weakness. If anyone comes here, I need you to hide while I deal with them. You won't be able to defend yourself here while my bones are embedded in the stone."

My zanpakuto abruptly shrank into its dagger form and my resurreccion vanished like the armor had never been there. It all happened in a single instant, and like the flash of a camera I was back to my mostly Human appearance. I slipped my zanpakuto into its sheath and turned, flashing my companion an apologetic smile.

"Isa?" He asked as he took a hesitant step forward.

It hurt my heart to know he was scared of me in that moment. He had never really dealt with me when I was acting as my former self, like the god I had once been. I couldn't blame him. I could only blame myself for how I acted. So, I decided to intentionally over do my usual Isa persona.

"Mr. Fluffy Butt," I replied, turning my smile into a cocky grin.