Chapter 25

 

I watched in silence as Renji and Toshiro sparred with each other. When I’d expressed my concern over the Espada, Ichigo insisted I watch Toshiro fight. I’d known Renji was strong from all my time training with him, and Toshiro was skilled, if not powerful, before his transformation. Now, I didn’t know how strong he was, or how long he could last in a fight. Ichigo sat beside me on the high-ground as we watched the battle below. To be perfectly honest, I was awestruck by what I saw. Toshiro’s skill with his sword was incredible. He cut through the air, narrowly missing the older Soul Reaper a few times. His zanpakuto didn’t change in shape, unlike Renji’s, which became almost as big as Ichigo’s when not separated. There had been a few times in the beginning of the sparring session that Ichigo had to hold me back when Zabimaru went down on Toshiro. I still didn’t know how much of my brother could be seen in the young captain, but I was sure he was there.

 

“Ichigo,” I murmured as I kept my eyes trained on the fight below. “Do you really think we can win?”

 

“We have to,” he answered.

 

“That doesn’t help. The odds are probably stacked against us.”

 

“It doesn’t matter. When I became a Substitute Soul Reaper, Rukia broke some laws of the Soul Society. They sent her older brother and Renji to get her, against her will. I went to the Soul Society with Orihime, Chad and Uryuu. The odds were against us then, to the point where we probably would’ve died. I told myself I had to save Rukia and that I wouldn’t accept any other option. We won.” I turned my head to look at him, a small smile on my face.

 

“So, you believe we’ll defeat Aizen?”

 

“We have to,” he answered again. I turned my attention back to the sparring match below. Waves of ice surrounded Renji and Toshiro, no doubt from the younger one attacking. As I watched them, I though of their condition the morning before, when they’d nearly given me a heart attack.

 

“Just how strong are the Espada?” I asked after a moment, surprising Ichigo.

 

“They’re pretty strong. I don’t know about the new ones, but the Espada ten years ago were bad.”

 

“How bad?”

 

“The second weakest nearly killed Uryuu and beat the crap out of Renji, without even touching them. That’s what they told me.” My eyes widened and my hands began shaking. “He had this weird voodoo doll power that he used to shatter Uryuu’s stomach and snap most of Renji’s tendons. A Soul Reaper healed them after one of the captains saved them.”

 

“He was one of the weakest Espada? They got worse?”

 

“Grimmjow was really hard to beat. And Ulquiorra killed me a couple times, but Orihime managed to heal me in time. I don’t know about some of the others. There’s only one of the original Espada left and he was the strongest.”

 

“That’s crazy. Why didn’t anyone explain this before?!”

 

“Because we don’t know what they’re like now. The Arrancar that attacked the day I met you wasn’t an Espada. His number was eighty-five.”

 

“So low?”

 

“That’s just what order he was created. He’s not powerful enough to get a ranking. That’s just the Espada.”

 

“Are there anymore types of Hollow I should know about? There are regular Hollows, Menos Grande, Adjuchas, Vasto Lordes, Arrancar, Espada… am I missing something?”

 

“There is one, but you don’t need to worry about them. They’re on our side, more or less,” Ichigo answered.

 

“What does that mean?” I asked.

 

“They don’t like most Soul Reapers, or the system, but they hate Aizen more. They’ll help us, I think.”

 

“Who does that not sound reassuring?”

 

“Don’t worry about it. They won’t turn on us, if that’s what you’re thinking. Not all Hollows are evil, you know.”

 

“Like Nel,” I murmured. “I can’t thank her enough for bringing Toshiro back to us.”

 

“That’s now Nel is.”

 

“That’s a bit more comforting, I guess.” As I focused back on Renji and Toshiro, I realized they had stopped fighting just moments before.

 

“That good enough for you?” Renji asked, poking fun at my worries for Toshiro. I smirked and stood.

 

“It’ll do, I suppose,” I answered with a chuckle. Both Renji and Toshiro appeared before me in a second and I took a half a step back. Even with all the time I’d spent with Soul Reapers, I still wasn’t entirely used to the flash step.

 

“Told you he could hold his own,” Ichigo said as he stood as well.

 

“I never said Toshiro couldn’t. I just worry.” At that, a loud, obnoxious beeping went off and Renji pulled a small, black cell phone from his shihakusho. I knew very well that it was not a phone, but a radar to track Hollow activity.

 

“How many?” Ichigo asked.

 

“Dozens,” Renji answered, his eyes wide. Hollows never came this quickly under normal circumstances.

 

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go,” I said, stepping forward.