Bleach: Starting as a Vasto Lorde

Chapter 290: Into the Abyss

Soi Fon showed no satisfaction at her first successful offense against Ulquiorra. Her kick might have been like a meteor, but she couldn’t penetrate his defense. It reminded her of the times she hit Kazuya, his steel-like hardness was a mystery that she had to solve.

‘This must be the Hierro skill Kazuya told us about. A pain in the ass…’

Emerging from the ground, Ulquiorra dusted his clothes. “You use a tiny blade Zanpakutō like an assassin. Then you show the martial art skills of a master. Are you having an existential crisis—”

Soi Fon gave him no chance to finish his question. Using Shunpo, she appeared behind him and thrust her stinger blade in the back of his neck. Another timely opportunity to mark him with her Shikai.

Clang!

Ulquiorra intercepted her stinger wth his Zanpakutō with millimeters to spare. He leaped skyward, using gravity to add momentum to his counterattack. His blade came down but she flash-stepped out of his powerful attack and maneuvered her agility to strike his blind spot again.

“How many times will you—”

Another clang echoed as he blocked the attack aimed at his vulnerable spot with his Zanpakutō. Despite getting a perfect block, he felt a strange sensation in his Zanpakutō. The spiritual pressure behind the strike was... off. When he glanced back at her, he looked into eyes that lacked their previous ferocity and violence; they were empty. They were not the eyes of the opponent he had been fighting.

‘It’s fake.’

Gemelos Sonído — the technique of Zommari Rureaux — could produce five clones that acted all on their own. These "speed-clones" generated by his intense Sonído were so realistic that they could even bleed after getting attacked.

However, this realization came a bit too late. The blade attached to Soi Fon’s finger sliced through the air with a sharp "shnk!" aimed directly at his arm. Without his Resurrección form, Ulquiorra’s reflexes weren’t enough to prevent what came next.

A biting pain overwhelmed his shoulder, like someone had injected flames directly into his veins. Turning his head, he saw Soi Fon gripping his arm, her stinger-blade buried deep into his shoulder. A butterfly mark bloomed on his shoulder.

At the same time, the presence behind him melted away.

Soi Fon retreated before Ulquiorra retaliated with a counter-attack. Her chest heaved, her breath anything but steady in her adrenaline-fueled state. She glanced down at Kazuya, who seemed awfully proud of her successful offense.

‘I’ll show him.’

…

From his vantage point, Kazuya watched Soi Fon with barely contained admiration. The strategy she had pulled off was psychologically brilliant if not a masterpiece. Soi Fon had conditioned Ulquiorra into predicting that her repetitive backstab attacks were just that — a simple attempt at stabbing her enemy in the back. Then, she subverted his expectations, sending her clone to perform the backstab. At the same time, she concealed her Reiatsu as much as she could.

When Ulquiorra’s entire attention was on dodging her clone, she struck from the side he’d been conditioned to ignore. It allowed her to land a clean hit. It was the kind of strategy that only worked against high-level opponents who relied on reading and predicting their enemies.

With this, she had fulfilled the first condition of Shikai’s ability. She only needed to land another hit in the same spot to activate Nigeki Kessatsu, the special ability of her Shikai. The ability that would instantly obliterate her opponent.

Kazuya glanced up at Yoruichi. “Still confident about beating her?”

Yoruichi laughed. “I know she has advanced leaps and bounds, but the Flash Goddess has a few tricks up her sleeve. Have some faith in me, will you?”

“I have full faith in all of my lovers, you included.”

The teasing earned him a playful chokehold from Yoruichi’s tail. “Who do you think will win? I have my money on Fon Fon.”

As her former mentor and a Shinigami, it was natural for her to side with her disciple.

“You’re betting on the wrong horse.” Kazuya smiled faintly. “This battle… has just started.”

“We’ll see.”

Their moment was interrupted by a thunderous sound — Yammy landed beside them, the shadow of his massive frame covering them both. “You're letting your friend fight even though you know she'll lose. Do you hate her... or are you just estúpido son of a bitch?”

Kazuya gave the massive Arrancar a measuring look. “You're living proof that brain size doesn’t correlate with height.”

Rage flashed across Yammy’s face as he slammed his fist into his palm. “I’ll destroy you.”

Kazuya glared back at Yammy. “Be patient, big guy. I’ll gladly make a hundred holes in your chest, after that fight is over.”

Yammy snorted and flew over to another hill to observe the battle. He, too, wanted to see more of Ulquiorra in action.

…

Soi Fon, watching the pair from above, gritted her teeth. “Ulquiorra, you said I was trash. What does that make you now?”

She used tactical trash-talk to recover some energy and get into the enemy's head at the same time.

Ulquiorra, who had been observing the intricate patterns of Suzumebachi’s butterfly mark, turned his gaze to Soi Fon. His face still looked like it was carved out of marble, possessing no more emotions than an object. “Zommari used to be the fastest Arrancar on his Sonído alone. Your speed rivals his.”

Soi Fon’s lips curved slightly. “Isn’t that the guy Kazuya killed? Sucks for him to cross paths with the wrong guy.”

As much as she disliked Kazuya, he was someone she never wanted to face in a real battle. He was a beast. She couldn’t fathom how powerful he would be with his Shikai and how powerful he will become when he eventually achieves Bankai.

Ulquiorra glanced at Kazuya. “It must’ve been an entertaining battle to watch. Too unfortunate I was distracted by that foolish Harribel.”

There was an edge in his voice when he mentioned Harribel. Soi Fon couldn’t help but feel curious about Harribel for awakening some emotion in the always indifferent man.

“You can ask that guy for details. He’ll probably tell you about his victory.”

Ulquiorra shook his head. “Or I can recreate a similar battle, by crushing your speed with my power. Then I’ll torture your partner to know the reason behind Soul Society sending two of their best fighters to die in Hueco Mundo.”

He pointed his Zanpakutō at his Soi Fon. “Enclose, Murciélago.”

As the words fell from his lips, a torrent of black and green spiritual energy erupted around Ulquiorra, cascading like dark rain. His spiritual pressure, already tremendous, reached another level, and the very foundation of Hueco Mundo seemed to shudder in his presence. 

When the veil of Reiatsu cleared, Ulquiorra stood in his more primal state — massive black wings spread wide on his back, horns crowning his head, and his nails sharp and long like a beast.