Monsters We Became { Bleach Aizen Sousuke Fanfiction }

17 - Starved Confessions

Innumerable trunks of glass towered above the comparatively minuscule cluster of figures gathered around clearing in the stone-covered ground, below a beam of moonlight radiating down from an opening in the ceiling far above. Dry air carried dust from below and filled the air. Two figures within the circular arena demarcated by a crystalline border at the clearing's center. Each flickered in and out of visibility, moving far faster than any eye could track.

Bylosse leaned against the tree nearest to the arena with his arms crossed across his chest and red eyes focused on the dance before him. At the front of the group of entranced Hollows was Nallundra, bent so far over her torso was near perpendicular to the ground and her hands upon her hips. Her lop-like ears lifted as high as they could be, almost as attentive as her scrunched up expression. While the Arrancar was still and traced the action with only his pupils, Nallundra's movements rivaled those of the six Hollows as she swished from side to side following the movements of the two combatants.

The six Hollows themselves sprinted from one side of the arena's edge to the other in a futile attempt to keep sight of the action as it unfolded, even as the movements became too rapid for any of the Adjuchas to focus on. Sparks from seering reishi colliding with metal was the only way of tracking Aizen and Koukou as they sparred.

Each strike was matched, blow for blow, and each movement was met step for step. When Aizen swung his Zanpakuto, Koukou countered and when she would strike he would dodge. Neither showed any sign of tiring, even as they moved with such speed they appeared to teleport from one end of the arena to the other. As the fight went on, however, cracks showed in their apparent equal footing.

Three thin slivers of blood marked the shoulders of Koukou's white kimono. Though the fabric had repaired itself, the severity of each was revealed by the length of each sliver and amount of blood – the longest of which ran from the far edge of her shoulder to just below the collar bone on the same side. A half-dozen more marked her torso although none as obvious.
On the other hand, only evidence of a small cut remained on Aizen's shoulder, with no other mark upon his white kosode. As the two collided again at their breakneck pace their blades met with a resonating clash, pushing them both back and halting their momentum for a brief moment.

"Lady Koukou, you've got this!" Nallundra's voice was accompanied by cheers, followed by enthusiastic encouragement from the other Hollows – all except for Bylosse who stood still silent, a frown appearing upon his face. Such support earned a slight smile from their leader as she waited for the next strike in a defensive stance.
Aizen took the next offensive, approaching Koukou at the blinding speed enabled by a skilled Shunpo and struck his Zanpakuto towards her left side which she immediately moved to block with her reishi tsurugi. Predicting this, Aizen used the momentum from his swing to pass behind his adversary – a second slice across the shoulder unveiled its risk. Now at a distance he removed one hand from his Zanpakuto and pointed a finger at Koukou.

"Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō."

As the words left his lips, yellow energy formed at his fingertip, from which six flat planes of light emerged in the blink of an eye and spiraled towards Koukou surrounding her torso. She fell then unmoving, stopped halfway in an aggressive turn. Aizen used the resulting opening to gain the advantage and swiftly approached the immobilized Menos. For a second the animated crowd matched her frozen stillness. He reached her in an instant.

Victory would not be so easy. The kido shattered into powdered shards as blade approached flesh. Unbound, Koukou resumed her turn with such speed that the surrounding sands plumed in a vortex, and while the blade of energy she wielded had no hope of making contact, the black plumed tail that trailed behind threatened a decisive blow. Predicting this possibility, Aizen avoided the counter and responded in turn with an aerial strike. His Zanpakuto met her own raised blade, but not without drawing another slice of blood from her shoulder.