NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Retorta chapter 12
The reaction is immediate, everyone on a hair trigger after the events of the past two weeks, or a war, in the case of the two time travellers. The blue Arrancar very nearly gets exploded by a dozen very jumpy Visored and company.
Naturally, he ignores them entirely, leaping straight forward to land lightly in front of Ichigo. He draws himself to his full height, making use of the two inches he has on Ichigo to affect a menacing loom.
Unfortunately for him, Ichigo has the advantage of years of knowing Grimmjow, and the panther hollow of this timeline knows Ichigo not at all.
Also, Grimm can't stop grinning with excitement, which takes away from the intimidation factor a little bit.
Ichigo bares his teeth right back. He knows that this Grimmjow can't beat him, not when even the other version of him eventually fell short of Ichigo's ridiculous learning curve, but he doesn't care. He wants to fight his old friend, let their blades do the talking.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kisuke give an exasperated head shake and then start clearing the training area.
As soon as it's cleared enough that there's no one in the crossfire, Ichigo brings his reiatsu slamming down on his opponent, opening his power without hesitation for the first time since he's been back. He's not bearing down, not really, but he's not really lightening it, either.
This level of power sent an unprepared Yamamoto to his knees.
Grimmjow just howls his excitement and bloodlust and flares his own reiatsu higher, shielding himself from the worst of the onslaught. He staggers, sure, but he adapts in seconds, raising his head and meeting Ichigo's eyes in direct challenge.
See, the thing is, Grimmjow has never been the strongest of Ichigo's opponents, or the smartest, or the deadliest, or the most experienced.
But out of everyone Ichigo has ever fought, he's the only one who bears adaptivity to match Ichigo's own-- the only one with a learning curve even remotely similar.
Ichigo thinks that part of that can be attributed to the sheer drive to overcome that the two of them share.
They stand for a moment, watching each other, and then, unable to stand the tension for another second, Grimmjow pounces, all that lean muscle poured into speed that leaves him a blur Yoruichi would have difficulty tracking. Ichigo spins, Shiro materializing in a hand, and blocks as Grimm brings Pantera down on what would have been the back of his head. Ichigo holds him midair for a moment, grounding the entire force of the blow, and then uses Shiro to toss the Arrancar skyward. His other hand rises, curling his fingers, and he intones,
"Kido One Hundred and Twenty: Pierce."
From the outside, it looks startlingly like a very large, very overpowered Byakurai, streaking straight through the air towards its target.
From the inside, it is also startlingly like a very large, very overpowered Byakurai, except that when contact is made, it reverberates back and forth between the caster and the target, flickering as many as a thousand times a second.
In essence, it's Byakurai turned into true lightning, and Grimmjow loses a chunk of his bicep as he fails to dodge quite fast enough. The Arrancar roars, angered rather than hurt, and uses his dodge to spring forwards instead of sideways, blurring back towards Ichigo with his body low, Pantera tucked close to his body--a thrust at high speed, nearly impossible to dodge, and devilish to block.
It's also clearly a trap, but Ichigo humors him for a moment, brings his flat palm up and places it along the flat of the blade, redirecting the momentum past himself as he twists to the side. Grimmjow strikes, in that second, flattening his free hand into a clawed spear and driving it into Ichigo's flank--or would have, if Ichigo's skin had not deflected the hardened nails, sending them scraping harmlessly across his side.
Grimmjow catches himself as the momentum carries him through, twisting midair to face Ichigo in an awed kind of growing rage.
"What the fuck is your Hierro, you bastard!"
Ichigo snickers, despite himself, a fierce joy tearing through him, echoed and amplified by his spirits.
"Well, then, cat . What are you going to do about it? Or are you going to run away with your tail between your legs?"
That does it. Grimmjow screeches, a wildcat's feral scream, and levels Pantera out to the side.
" Grind, Pantera!"
Ichigo, not to be outdone, allows Shiro to dissolve and enters what counts as his own form of Resurreccion.
" Pierce the heavens, Zangetsu!"
The chant isn't really necessary, but Ichigo and Shiro think that it's appropriate anyway. Their separate consciousnesses meld, leaving Ichigo-and-Shiro grinning at Grimmjow from behind a familiar dragonbone mask, long hair sweeping over their shoulders, swirling red-black power at their fingertips.
Grimmjow doesn't bother to stand still long enough for Ichigo-and-Shiro to hit him with the Bala on his fingertip. The panther drops to all fours and vanishes to the naked eye, blurring even in their vision as he slips into Sonido.
Unfortunately for Grimmjow, what the Arrancar has put into speed is not matched by his strength. In the space of an instant, Ichigo-and-Shiro step into Sonido themselves, catching Grimm by the throat and flattening him to the floor. The Hollow freezes, instinct warring with shock warring with rationality. Ichigo-and-Shiro roar in triumph above him, tipping their head toward the ceiling and loosing a nigh-instantaneous Cero at the ceiling, causing the entire cavern to shake.
There's a long, silent moment where nothing but the slow fall of dust and rubble can be heard, and then Grimmjow sighs gustily, dropping out of Resurrection and tipping his head back to bare his throat.
"Fine, fine, ya crazy bastard, you win. This time. I'll damn well kick your ass the next time I see you, you got me?"
They rasp out a chuckle and release him, allowing Grimmjow to haul himself to his feet, his regeneration already healing most of the damage. As far as spars went, Ichigo-and-Shiro are pleasantly surprised at the challenge Grimm could already give them. At this rate, they might actually get a decent fight in the next century. They grin at him, tipping their head sideways in a half-gesture of friendly intent, and he startles, then gives them a feral smile right back. They reaffirm his promise with one of their own, a low, gravely,
"Next time."
They escort him to the exit and he slips soundlessly into a Garganta, no doubt heading back to report his findings to the rest of the waiting Arrancar. Which of them had Aizen already recruited? Was Ulquiorra there? Starrk? Harribel? Ichigo has the sudden and pressing urge to go find them, to ensure their safety, regardless of which side of the war they'd eventually fallen on. They'd all ended up dead by the end of it, anyway, fed to Aizen's endless hunger for things to feed to his Hogyouku.
No matter. He's sure they'll all be showing up at some point soon, at least a few of them, especially after sending Grimmjow back like that.
Ichigo lets Shiro melt away, back into his subconscious, where he can feel the spirit lazily poking fun at each of the other two, too battle-sated to be truly ornery.
He's so glad Muramasa and Ossan are satisfied to simply exist in harmony with him, usually. He loves Shiro wholeheartedly, he truly does, but there's no way he'd manage with three equally battle-mad spirits in his head.
He stretches, enjoying the satisfying series of pops down his spine, and turns back towards the Visored and co, all of whom are watching him in absolute, blank shock.
Oh.
Whoops.
He probably has some explaining to do.