The sturdily built man had dark skin and no hair, with a row of stark white spikes growing from his scalp like a mohawk. Menacing skull earrings hung from his ears, and a necklace strung with fangs circled his neck.
A close-fitting white robe wrapped around his body. His hands were clasped behind his back, and without eyebrows, his golden eyes looked especially fierce.
Without either of them noticing, the enemy had already appeared behind them.
The instant Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai saw him clearly, they swung their blades at the same time.
Zabimaru and Zangetsu struck the man's body almost simultaneously, crossing through the air.
There was no sensation of cutting flesh. What they had hit was only the afterimage the enemy left behind.
After the strike missed, Ichigo Kurosaki copied Muten Natsu's way of attacking and spun with the momentum, his eyes searching for the enemy's position.
The instant he spotted the man, Ichigo Kurosaki swung Zangetsu hard. "Getsuga Tenshō!"
A deep blue Reishi crescent flew from the blade toward the man. His hands were still clasped behind his back as his figure suddenly blurred.
A sharp sound cut through the air. Renji Abarai swung his released Zabimaru, the blade splitting apart and rapidly extending along its linked chain. As Renji Abarai swept it sideways, it covered a wide area.
The man leaped up to avoid Renji Abarai's attack. The moment he rose into the air, light gathered in Ichigo Kurosaki's left hand, turned into a crescent, and flew out, striking the man in midair where he had nowhere to dodge.
Active Reishi scattered and danced wildly, but Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki did not relax at all. They kept a wary watch on their surroundings and on their own bodies.
If the enemy suddenly used that troublesome ability from before, they would be able to respond in time.
"Excellent coordination. Without a word exchanged, you clearly divided your roles and used your strengths to surround your enemy. You not only understand each other, you trust each other." A black hand parted the chaotic stream of Reishi. The man's robe was damaged, revealing the Hollow Hole in the right side of his chest. "I am the 7th Espada, Zommari Rureaux. Intruders, state your names."
Espada... Renji Abarai pulled the corner of his mouth into a grin. "Lieutenant of the 6th Division of the Gotei 13, Renji Abarai!"
He didn't even get hurt... Ichigo Kurosaki tightened his grip on Zangetsu. "Ichigo Kurosaki!"
"A Shinigami and a Quincy? Interesting." Zommari kept his hands behind his back, his golden eyes studying them. "Then... in this forbidden relationship, which of you is the dominant one?"
Renji Abarai stared blankly. "Huh?"
Ichigo Kurosaki froze. "What... are you talking about?"
"To maintain such an intimate relationship, there must be an active side and a passive side." Zommari patiently explained his question further. "That is difficult to determine by appearance alone, so I chose to ask directly. In this forbidden relationship, which one of you is the ruler who dominates it?"
"I... I don't have that kind of relationship with him!" Ichigo Kurosaki denied it in a panic. "It's not what you think. We just eat, sleep, and train together at Urahara's Shop..."
"Anyway, there's no forbidden relationship between us!" The more Ichigo Kurosaki spoke, the more he felt something sounded wrong. To prove his innocence, he even started exposing himself. "The type I like is more like an older big-sister type..."
"Ah, no wonder you sometimes sneak glances at Yoruichi-san. So you... wait!" Renji Abarai finally caught up. "Who has a forbidden relationship with him?!" He shouted at Zommari, "Do he and I look like we have that kind of relationship? Huh?!"
"A Shinigami from the side that wiped out the Quincy, and a Quincy from the side wiped out by the Shinigami..." Zommari asked in return. "You two fight side by side and cooperate seamlessly. Is that not a forbidden relationship?"
"Ah... well... damn." Renji Abarai thought about it and found he could not really argue. "That does sound kind of forbidden... No, wait. What do you mean by dominant ruler or whatever?"
"Everything in this world has a right of domination." Zommari spoke calmly and at length. "Subordinates are dominated by their superiors. The people submit to the domination of their king. Clouds are dominated by the wind. Moonlight submits to the sun. Even in a seemingly equal forbidden relationship such as yours, there must inevitably be an active dominator and a passive recipient."
"Sorry." Ichigo Kurosaki raised Zangetsu. "Our relationship isn't twisted like that."
A smile appeared on Renji Abarai's face. "After all, I'm not a mature older big sister."
Ichigo Kurosaki's face turned red. "Why are you bringing that up?!"
"You're the one who said it."
"That doesn't mean you're allowed to say it again!"
"See? Just as I said. Renji Abarai, you are agreeing with him. That means you are being dominated by him." Zommari stated calmly, "And the thing that makes you willing to be dominated by him... is [love]."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Renji Abarai shuddered. "The type I like is the lazy little-sister type!"
"Ah!" Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly understood. "No wonder you... Huh? The only lazy person around is Muten! You actually..."
"Do you not understand what little sister means?" Renji Abarai bristled. "Can you not even tell gender apart?"
"No, he's throwing us off." Ichigo Kurosaki pulled his thoughts back. "Relationships between people aren't as simple as dominating and being dominated. He's only saying this to turn us against each other."
"Turn you against each other? No... Letting you understand the truth of this world before you die is a form of mercy." Zommari's golden eyes widened slightly. "Only by understanding love and domination can you understand everything that happens next."
Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly swung Zangetsu at Renji Abarai beside him.
"Ichigo!" Renji Abarai had already been on guard for this. He raised Zabimaru and blocked Ichigo Kurosaki's attack. "Your arm!"
On Ichigo Kurosaki's arm, a black sun-shaped pattern could be seen clearly. It was exactly the same as the one that had appeared earlier on the sleeve of Renji Abarai's Shihakushō.
"Damn it!" Ichigo Kurosaki's arm attacked Renji Abarai uncontrollably. "When did..."
"Right..." Zommari spoke, "now."
A black sun-shaped pattern appeared on the wrist of Renji Abarai's sword hand. The blade that had been blocking Zangetsu swung uncontrollably toward Ichigo Kurosaki.
At the critical moment, the two looked at each other and leaped backward in perfect sync.
Once the distance opened, the blades in their hands naturally cut through empty air.
Before they had even landed, Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai moved almost like mirror images, using their still-functional left hands to seize the blades from their uncontrollable right hands.
They thought it would take considerable force, but unexpectedly, their right hands let go on their own.
The sudden lack of resistance made both of them sway, and their freed right hands seized the opportunity to clamp around their own throats.
Zommari's hands remained clasped behind his back, holding the Zanpakutō that had yet to be drawn.
And the battle was already about to end.
With both of their deaths.
Blood sprayed.
"Hm?" Zommari looked at the man who had suddenly appeared. "May I ask who you are?"
Black hair fluttering, Byakuya Kuchiki expressionlessly shook the blood from his Zanpakutō.
Behind him, Ichigo Kurosaki's and Renji Abarai's injured right hands hung limply.
Byakuya Kuchiki's solution was simple. If the right hand could not be controlled, then make it unusable.
A hand that could not move was no threat, even if it was being controlled.
"That haori..." Zommari noticed the Captain's haori on Byakuya Kuchiki. "It seems you are of Captain rank. What is your name?"
"My name..." Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze was cold. "There is absolutely no need to tell you. I have only one identity, and that is your enemy."
"Captain Kuchiki!" Renji Abarai ignored the pain in his arm. "He's the 7th Espada..."
Byakuya Kuchiki did not even look at him. "Stand down."
"If you want them to move away from the fight and avoid getting caught in it..." Zommari appeared behind Renji Abarai. The hand that had been behind his back had already drawn his Zanpakutō. "Then you are thinking too much."
"To launch a sneak attack in front of me," Byakuya Kuchiki appeared behind Zommari, "you need to think harder."
"That is precisely..." The Zommari in front of Byakuya Kuchiki had not yet disappeared when Zommari had already raised his blade behind him. "The action I chose after thinking it through."
Byakuya Kuchiki cut through the Zommari behind him, but felt a gust of wind approaching from the front.
The Zommari in front of him, who had been fading away, became clear again and swung his blade down.
Byakuya Kuchiki flashed aside and watched the two Zommari warily.
"So... so fast..." Ichigo Kurosaki stared, dumbfounded. Zommari and Byakuya Kuchiki were both astonishingly fast, exchanging offense and defense several times in a short span, too quick to follow.
Renji Abarai stared at the two Zommari in shock. "Is that... a clone?"
"To you, does this look like a clone?" The two Zommari spoke at once, their voices overlapping. "My Sonído is the fastest among the Espada. By adding two more steps on that foundation, I create an afterimage like this, Gemelos Sonído."
The two Zommari attacked Byakuya Kuchiki at the same time. Byakuya Kuchiki swung his blade and cut down one, then turned and split the second.
But a third Zommari appeared. "Gemelos Sonído... does not mean there are only two."
"Hadō #4..." Byakuya Kuchiki lifted his fingertip. "Byakurai."
A burst of lightning pierced Zommari's body.
But a fourth and fifth Zommari appeared.
"The number of Gemelos Sonído," Zommari said, closing in with his blade, "can reach up to five."
"Fewer than I expected." Byakuya Kuchiki appeared behind one of them, his Zanpakutō already having completed the motion of an attack.
Senka was a special step that added rotation to ordinary Shunpo, allowing the user to move behind the enemy at high speed and transfer part of Shunpo's speed into the attack, piercing the opponent's Saketsu and Soul Sleep in an instant.
With Senka, Byakuya Kuchiki could cross a distance in a flash and launch two rapid attacks.
He used the first attack to pierce the fourth Zommari, then used the second to strike at the fifth.
Because he had changed targets midway, the second blade was a fraction slower, and Zommari raised his sword to block it.
Pfft!
A long blade pierced Byakuya Kuchiki's chest.
"There are five Gemelos Sonído. Including myself, that makes six." The sixth Zommari raised his head behind Byakuya Kuchiki. "Farewell, nameless Captain Kuchiki. The reason for your defeat... was your arrogance in refusing even to give your name."
Zommari's Zanpakutō shifted, and the Byakuya Kuchiki before him vanished, leaving only a Captain's haori behind.
"Secret Footwork, Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō—Utsusemi.. Though I truly dislike using a technique she taught me..." Byakuya Kuchiki's mind flashed with Yoruichi Shihōin's broad, carefree smile. "You are the arrogant one, Espada. But do not worry. Your defeat will not be because of arrogance. It is simply because... the scale of our worlds is too different."
"I am arrogant? I do not understand. Why would you think that?" Zommari shook his head. "We may be enemies, but I have never felt superior to you. Whether it is you, your Lieutenant, or that Quincy, I treat all of you equally. I see you as beings on the same level as myself. There is not the slightest arrogance in my heart."
"For an Arrancar, considering yourself on the same level as me in itself..." Byakuya Kuchiki stated calmly, "is already quite arrogant."
"...I see." Zommari held his Zanpakutō horizontally before him. "It seems defiance is in your nature. Very well... I will erase your arrogance completely, from the inside out."
"Suppress..." The Zanpakutō floated in front of him. Zommari pressed his hands together, twisting his head and neck until his entire head lay sideways atop his shoulders. "Brujería!"
The Zanpakutō trembled and bent into a spiral, then suddenly sprayed out pink foam that completely enveloped Zommari.
An eerie Reiatsu rose as the twisted figure gradually became clear.
Zommari's upper body was covered in white, with only his hands and face remaining black.
Golden eyes dotted his upper body, on his throat, chest, arms, shoulders... The oversized eyeballs were enough to make one's skin crawl.
His lower body had become a peach-colored, pumpkin-like sphere that carried Zommari as he floated in the air. White, one-eyed faces were embedded across it, their expressions vacant, their single eyes golden.
Zommari extended a hand, and the tiny black pupil within the golden eye in his palm abruptly expanded.
Byakuya Kuchiki sensed the movement and flashed away.
"Quick reflexes, but unfortunately..." Zommari looked down at him. "You will not be able to keep being fast."
Byakuya Kuchiki noticed the black sun-shaped pattern on his ankle.
"Your left foot..." Zommari said clearly, "is mine now."