Junpei and Kaien, working in tandem with the other, made their way towards Lilynette unimpeded. No Hollow was brave enough to be this deep inside the Forest of Menos, especially when a couple of Vasto Lordes had taken its depth as their refuge.
It was both a boon and a source of extreme caution to them as without the danger of running into a random Hollow, they instead faced the chilling foreboding of running into an Espada.
Kaien in particular was even more thankful as the continued success of their stealth was widely attributed to Junpei. Despite the boy having lower amounts of Reiatsu than him, his control was impeccable. It was more seamless than what Kaien could do with his.
Under the blend of the chaotic Reiatsu that filled the Forest of Menos, they had an easier time hiding from the senses of the Espada, with Junpei surprising Kaien once more with how finely attuned his senses were.
Kaien could still remember the first time he fought alongside the young man and then the one they shared earlier, and saw plainly the stark growth in his skills. From an unbiased point of view, he couldn't confidently name a Third Seat on the same caliber as the young man he was currently trailing after.
'He's just as skilled as a Lieutenant.' He wasn't that surprised, having seen a couple of geniuses in his life, himself being touted as one (mostly by his Captain). It came as an idle thought, but he briefly wondered about the elusive Lieutenant of the 2nd.
"We're close." Thanks to the natural cavern system under the forest, traversing their path was a bit easier, just as it was predictable.
Lilynette wasn't the best at keeping her Reiatsu in control and the current scenario had her in a bit of distress which made it easier for him to pick it up after Itachi pointed him in her general direction.
He could feel it as they drew closer, it was just around his corner but his senses thrummed suspiciously and he instantly jumped out of the way.
"Hmm? What a surprise. I was quite sure I remained undetected, but whatever." Luppi Antenor smirked slyly as he met the familiar duo.
"You should have told me you were visiting. I would have welcomed you warmly!" Luppi did not dally before attacking them with his odachi.
"You worms! Lord Aizen became dissatisfied with me because of you! I will sculpt your skulls from your faces!" He attacked Kaien in a frenzy but kept himself aware enough for whenever Junpei decided to jump in.
"Gotcha, rat!" He pushed Kaien away, more interested in killing the pest that loved hiding, and appeared behind Junpei with Sonído and grabbed his neck before stabbing him at the base of his neck before his captured prey could complete his helpless flailing. He held the severed head with a victorious grin, only for it to freeze as he felt the fading Reiatsu suddenly change its nature.
Water tendrils wrapped Luppi in place as the severed head and headless both flickered in an instant into a ball of yellow lightning.
Hadō #63: Raikōhō.
An enraged shout escaped Luppi's mouth as he was once again forced to remember his humiliation that day when he failed to kill these specific roaches.
"I'll kill you all!" Unconcerned about the restricting terrain, Luppi raised his Zanpakutō and released his Resurrección. Since there were no longer any restrictions on the Espada's Resurreccións, there was no need playing around with them if they were going to continue being wretched pests.
"Strangle and rip every ounce of life from these gnats, Trepadora!"
The familiar tentacles that neither Kaien nor Junpei missed appeared once again, and the crazed smile on Luppi's face made it clear how much he would enjoy it as he pummeled them to an agonizing death.
Soon enough, the dastardly tentacles wiggled disgustingly towards Kaien and an exposed Junpei who couldn't leave Kaien to deal with them alone.
They parried the tentacles, cutting the ones wiggled any further, but it all seemed to be useless as Luppi just grew more to slowly suffocate them.
The cavern path they were on shook dangerously but Luppi gave no care as he was more interested in seeing their broken limbs or seeing them buried alive.
Testament to their strengths and Luppi's, they couldn't kill him so easily and he was having a slightly harder time with pounding them to death.
Currently, Junpei and Kaien each had eight tentacles always around them and constantly vying for their attention. Their inability to fairly give each of their admirers their full attention was seen as unfaithful, according to Luppi's mockery.
BOOOOOM!
Kaien and Junpei stood in shock as a focused explosion swallowed Luppi. An explosion so great that it caused a landslide that threatened to swallow them, while at the same time destroying a good chunk of the underground caves as well as the Forest of Menos and letting the pale moonlight shine on them.
"You don't have time to waste fighting these guys. Rescue the one you can and get out of Hueco Mundo. I'm starting to have a bad feeling the longer we stay here." Isshin said as he walked past them and gave Kaien's shoulder a strong pat.
"You have less than five minutes." He said in a serious tone and went upwards through the gulf he just created.
Junpei bolted towards Lilynette's Reiatsu which was getting farther away from them with Kaien in tow. Neither of them quite understood why they had to save a Hollow, one more than the other, but they carried their mission out dutifully.
The moment he caught up with the group of Hollows who held Lilynette as they ran, his form faded and before any of the Hollows could notice, he had already whisked Lilynette from their grips.
"Lilynette!"
"Lilynette!"
"You bastard!"
Three enraged shouts followed his sudden abduction and before his victim could shoot a Cero at his face, he quickly whispered to her.
"Itachi sent me." Her struggles died quickly though he could tell that she remained hesitant.
Seeing the other three Hollows angrily chasing after him, he threw them a diversion. "Your Espada is not dead yet. I doubt it will remain that way if another Captain finds her."
The instant their comprehension kicked in at his words sense-dulling smoke filled everywhere as Kaien and Junpei made their disappearing act with a conflicted Lilynette in tow.
...
[POV: With Itachi]
As much as he wanted to, Itachi didn't make his way towards Aizen despite knowing fully well where the man was. As much as he wanted to put an end to this charade, his course veered from Aizen's.
He had to rescue Miyako. Given that he gave Kaien and Junpei the order to prioritize rescuing Lilynette while giving his words to do the same for Miyako, it would be against him if he went after Aizen and something were to happen to her.
The former him, even the one of recent memories, would have definitely prioritized the mission, given what was at stake, instead of risking it just to save a woman completely unrelated to him.
This was all the fault of a healthy guilty conscience.
The flames that billowed over his coat flickered in irritation, the only tell of his mood, even as he remained stoic under the realization that he was willingly walking into a trap.
Knowing Aizen, he was absolutely certain of that fact. Otherwise why did he keep the Espada mostly to himself? When he could use this prime opportunity to kill one or two Captains and further weaken the Shinigami?
He came across the peculiar green-eyed Hollow that Starrk and Lilynette were worried about. According to them, he was one of the smarter bunch, but just as naïve when it came to certain things. Things most Hollows would never care to ask about.
"He said there was a high chance you might come here." Ulquiorra said as Itachi walked past him, the former not doing anything to stop his movements.
Ulquiorra continued calmly, appearing to not have cared for Itachi ignoring him. "He also said that there was a high chance you might walk in even if you knew there was a trap. Why?"
"A debt is to be repaid." Itachi surprisingly answered him as he walked into where Miyako was kept.
"I… I will see you again, Shinigami." Yes, that sounded a bit better.
The fated confrontation was not to happen at this time as Ulquiorra left the Shinigami to the knowledge of his own folly.
Itachi entered Miyako's cell, a hollow space between the walls that was covered with a simple spell which he easily burned away, surprising the awakened Miyako of his presence.
"Captain Uchiha?"
Itachi remained silent as he stared at her with the Sharingan and frowned as he saw traces of energy that hid in her Reiatsu.
"Show me your mask-" He hardly finished his sentence when Miyako screamed as her Reiatsu were forcefully pushed out of her, unintentionally forcing her to don her Hollow mask.
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