//------------------------------//
// Arrancar: The First Incursion 
// Story: Bleach: Heart of a Hero 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Despite Ichigo's annoyance that Sombra had 'defeated' the Grand Fisher, and sentenced his soul to Hell for the rest of his days, Sombra found that his friend turned his attention to Kon the moment they got back to his room, where he simply stood on the roof while that argument happened. What he was doing at the moment was seeing if he could figure out where Shinji had gone, and he had a vague sense of where the Visored had wandered off to thanks to the reiatsu in the air, but this was the first time he hadn't been able to find someone, like one of the other Visored had a barrier that prevented their reiatsu being discovered or he let his gigai hide his reiatsu completely. Even if he couldn't find Shinji, and his fellow Visored, he knew that he and Ichigo would see him again tomorrow, when they went to the high school, and that was where they were going to confront him about what happened tonight and why he was so desperate to recruit Ichigo into the group that he was representing. He knew that it had to be because of the Hollow that had awoken inside his friend, who he had thoughts was different than what everyone else thought it was, but at the moment it appeared that Ichigo was going to ignore what he had said back in Soul Society... and he guessed that it was okay, because it might just end up giving Ichigo more power in the long run, somehow anyway, and they only had to wait and see what happened next.

Once he was done thinking about the Visored, and what their end goals were, he turned his mind towards the Arrancar that the Grand Fisher had become and wondered about the power that an Arrancar, created by the Hogyoku, could possess and what sort of skills that they developed. Of course the Grand Fisher wasn't very powerful in his Arrancar state, if a former Captain class Shinigami was able to kill him with a single attack, but there were other Hollows in Hueco Mundo that were even stronger than the Grand Fisher was and he knew that they had to be stronger than what happened last night. There was always the other option that the Grand Fisher had actually gained this power on his own, had pushed himself to the limits of his being, and then came here with absolutely no connection to Aizen, though the only reason they linked him to Aizen was because the former Captain had to be creating an Arrancar army. Regardless of whether the Grand Fisher had joined forces with Aizen or not, as that really didn't matter in the end, his mind was focused on the power that the other Arrancar could command and that some of them might come here to mess with Ichigo, just to see how powerful he was in his own right.

Eventually he sighed and moved away from the house, heading back to the shop so he could spend some time with Yoruichi and the others, though as he headed towards the shop he felt the reiatsu of Urahara and Yoruichi elsewhere in the town, meaning that they were doing something important at the moment. That told him that he was going to be in the room that he shared with Yoruichi alone tonight, something that he was familiar with based on all the nights that he had spent in that room while thinking that it was a spare room, only to discover who it actually belonged to. He honestly wasn't sure what the others were doing, and he knew that they would tell him if they felt it was necessary for him to know what was going on, to which he simply continued moving through the air as he headed towards the shop, all while finding that there weren't any additional Hollows or enemies in the town at the moment. A few moments later he reached the shop and discovered that Tessai was the only one left inside the shop, who was watching over the shop while the others were gone and both Jinta and Ururu were asleep upstairs, to which the two of them simply nodded their heads towards each other before Sombra headed upstairs and walked into the familiar room that he knew.

As he sat down in the chair that was near the bed he knew that he could have simply stayed near Ichigo's place and waited for morning to arrive, but after Ichigo talked his ears off with the fact that he had 'killed' the Grand Fisher, and had started tearing into Kon for what he had done, Sombra had decided that some time away from Ichigo, even if it was for a few minutes, would do them both some good. Of course, since Isshin was either outside the family house or checking the nearby area, he was sure that Kon and Ichigo were having a shouting match with each other, another reason for him to get out of the area before he got pulled back into it, as he didn't want to explain anything to Ichigo before the truth was revealed to him on it's own. He had hoped to find Urahara at the shop, despite the fact that his reiatsu was still away from the shop, so he guessed that the truth about the Visored could wait, since he was sure that his friend was preparing for the eventual war with Aizen and likely didn't want to be bothered by constant interruptions. There was also the thought that he could invade Hueco Mundo, either with his friends or without them, and try to stop Aizen now, before he got too much stronger, but he'd have to bring that up with Urahara and the others when he saw them next and see what they thought about his idea.

With that thought in mind he decided to close his eyes and let his mind drift off into a familiar dreamless sleep, where he could get some rest before he headed out in the morning, as he had the feeling that something was going to happen at some point after the sun rose.





When morning arrived Urahara insisted that he'd tell Sombra more about the Visored after he actually met them and interacted with them, as he didn't want what he knew to color his opinions on the mysterious group, but at the same time Sombra had the feeling that he'd make those opinions soon enough. Yoruichi, on the other hand, was still out and about, making sure that the town was safe from Hollows and whatnot for another hour or two, allowing Sombra some time to rest and relax before putting the tea cup away and heading outside the shop so he could see what Ichigo was up to. He was used to being able to get to Ichigo's place quickly, once more thanks to his speed, though when he arrived he sneaked a peak inside and found that Isshin had returned to the gigai that was his normal appearance, where he acted like a fool in front of his children, before landing on the roof as he waited for Ichigo to come outside. For a while he wondered if Ichigo wasn't going to come out of his room or have breakfast, the same boring single piece of toast that he had every single day since they first met, but even as he thought about that he heard a door open and watched what was going on... to which he watched as Ichigo, eating his toast, walked out of the building and headed towards the high school so he could see his friends and ignore his teacher.

Of course Sombra followed after him and after some time they reached the building that Ichigo had been heading toward, though as Ichigo took his seat Sombra leaned against the back wall of the room and watched as the other students came in and went about their business... while at the same time ignoring the looks that Tatsuki was giving him, noticed that Orihime was saying goodbye to Sora as he went on his rounds to protect the school, Chad taking his seat, and spotted Uryu deep in thought once more.

What Sombra discovered was that the rest of the students took their time coming into the classroom, as each of them seemed to be doing something different before they reached the school, and he also noticed that Ichigo was focused too much on what happened last night, just like Uryu was, and it wasn't until Shinji decided to say 'good morning' that things started to go south. When Shinji hugged Orihime, however, several of the students got upset and a scene was starting before his eyes, as Keigo continued to point an accusing finger at Shinji, before stating that Orihime was uncomfortable with the situation that she was in. That, in turn, caused Chizuru to grab onto Keigo's shoulder and tell him that she would deal with Shinji messing with Orihime, freaking out some of the people around her in the process, but before she could actually do anything Ichigo sighed and got up from his seat, causing the other students to stare at him for a few seconds as they wondered what he was going to do. What happened was that Ichigo grabbed onto the area of Shinji's uniform, near the neck, and pulled him out of the room that they were in, to which Sombra sighed and followed after them... especially since they were heading down to the first floor of the building, where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone else and could have a private conversation.

When they arrived at the area that Ichigo wanted to talk in, however, he slammed Shinji against the railing that was in front of him and made sure to keep Shinji pinned there, all while Sombra kept himself in earshot in case something happened, as a Hollow might appear while they were busy... and he noticed that Tatsuki was standing off in the distance, not yet aware that they were there yet, and he hoped that it stayed that way.

"That hurts!" Shinji stated, staring at Ichigo for a moment, while at the same time noticing that Sombra was leaning against the wall, observing them while making sure that his friend didn't do anything drastic, "You don't have to get so mad at me. Orihime's not your girlfriend, right? There's no way that a hottie like that would be your girlfriend."

"Shinji, this isn't about Orihime." Sombra said, knowing that Ichigo had problems with the young man that was in front of them, who glanced at him for a few seconds, before he gestured toward Ichigo, "This is about what happened last night and what you told Ichigo... though I'd recommend apologizing to Orihime at some point, otherwise Chizuru won't leave you alone until she decides that you've had enough punishment."

"The reason you came to this school was to recruit me into your group, right?" Ichigo asked, as his mind had been focused on what Shinji had told him last night and the fact that his inner Hollow had awoken during the battle with Byakuya, something that he wouldn't be able to forget, "I told you that I'm a Substitute Shinigami and that I'm on Soul Society's side, so there's no reason for you to be here anymore, not when you have my answer on the matter."

"It's not as simple as you think... Visored cannot return to normal once the symptoms start to appear," Shinji replied, noticing the look of shock that appeared on Ichigo's face, along with the fact that Sombra raised his eyebrow as he listened to what he was saying, "No matter what you think, you're on our side now. You believe that all the people that you call your friends will be by your side forever, but the reality is that they are only temporary... if you continue to walk down the path of a Shinigami, like you keep telling me, you'll eventually lose your sanity and be swallowed by the Hollows that's inside you. And when that happens, it'll be all over, as your power will destroy everything."

"That's assuming I let it progress that far." Sombra commented, because while he was worried for Ichigo, since he was being plagued by something inside him, he knew that he could easily knock his friend out if the Hollow took over, giving Ichigo time to figure out how to get his power under control.

"I can show you how to keep your sanity, Ichigo." Shinji continued, not even acknowledging what Sombra had said, though as that happened Ichigo growled and released him, before heading back into the building, giving Shinji a chance to rub his shoulder before moving.

Sombra glanced out at the field that was behind where Shinji had been resting, thanks to Ichigo's actions, and spotted Tatsuki staring at him once more, but when she glanced away, because one of her classmates called out to her, Sombra used that moment to slip away from the area and followed Ichigo back to the room the rest of his friends and fellow students were in. From that point forward Ichigo and Shinji, despite sitting next to each other in the classroom, didn't talk to each other, allowing the day to end without anything happening at all, making Sombra think that today had been quite boring, though he resisted the urge to sigh as he noticed someone open the window, which he exited through when Ichigo started to head home. At the same time, however, he noticed that Shinji was heading off in a different direction, no doubt to where his base of operations was located, and that both Orihime and Chad were following him as Uryu went home as well, where he'd likely talk to his father or think about what happened last night. Sora, of course, followed after his sister and kept his eyes open for Hollows or anything that might come after her, to which Sombra sighed as he followed after Ichigo, doing the same thing that the other Arrancar was doing as they headed back to the clinic that Ichigo called home, all while keeping his father's secret to himself.

When they arrived at the clinic, however, Sombra heard something unusual, as Isshin attacked Ichigo, as was his custom to improve his reflexes, and this time around Ichigo, who was too focused on what Shinji said, was knocked to the ground and caused his father to worry that he might have done something wrong. Eventually Ichigo headed upstairs and told his family that he wanted to be left alone, while at the same time Kon started to annoy him and was smacked with the badge that he had been given, so he could have some piece and quiet while he laid on his bed and thought about what had happened earlier, including the battle with Byakuya. Sombra took his position outside Ichigo's room, standing beside the window, and could hear Ichigo beginning to converse with the Hollow that was inside him, since there weren't any replies to his words, but as that happened his senses started to shift as he felt something in the air change, causing him to jump up to the roof and look around as he focused his mind on what he was feeling. A few moments later, when Karin opened the door and started asking her brother what was wrong, his senses zeroed in on an area that the feeling was coming from, to which he left Ichigo alone, since he wanted some time with his sister, and flashed into the air as he headed off towards whatever he was feeling.

Off in the distance he watched as a ring of dust appeared in the air above a part of the nearby forest, expanding a few times in the process, before something raced down towards the ground and exploded, tearing a good amount of the trees around the area out of the ground in the process and punching a crater in the ground. As that happened Sombra felt the reiatsu of not one Arrancar, but two of them, one of which he could easily defeat on his own, without needing to activate his Bankai, while the other reiatsu was much stronger, one that he would definitely need his Bankai against if a battle broke out in the next few minutes. When he arrived in the air above the crater, which rested in the middle of a park, he noticed two humanoid shapes appear in the smoke, though when the smoke cleared he found that the Arrancar were wearing white colored jackets, black colored sashes, and what appeared to be the lower attire of a Shinigami's uniform, only where a Shinigami's was black the Arrancar had white and where the Shinigami had white the Arrancar had black. He also noticed that one of the Arrancar was taller than his companion, had a few ridges on the top of his head, had his jacket opened at the moment, while also having a good deal of muscles evenly distributed all over his body, and the part of his mask that remained was resting on his chin and resembled a jawbone, complete with eight teeth.

The other Arrancar, however, was the one that caught Sombra's attention, as he was the one that the power he was feeling was coming from, though while his body seemed to be slender from just a glance Sombra could tell that the Arrancar was fairly muscular as well, not to the extent of his companion anyway. The Arrancar had fairly short, messy black colored hair, pale white colored skin, a black upper lip, and green colored eyes that had small slit-shaped pupils, similar to a cat's, and teal colored lines that descended form the lower part of his eyes and reached the edges of his face. Part of the Arrancar's bangs happened to fall between his eyes, even though the left side of his skull was covered in a helmet, which also had a broken horn of some kind, and he had distinctively thick eyebrows, though by the time he was finished staring down at the two Arrancar he could already tell which one was dangerous and which one he could beat on his own, but that didn't stop him from hiding his own reiatsu and landing nearby so he could figure out what they were doing here... and stop them in case they came to do battle with whoever investigated the crater they had made.

"I came here many times when I was still masked, but man this place is as boring as ever." one of the Arrancar said, though at the same time Sombra had the feeling that it was the muscular one that had talked, because he felt that the other one would have said something completely different or said nothing at all, "There are so few spirit particles that it's hard to breath."

"Don't complain. I believe that I said I could handle this on my own." a second voice commented, one that Sombra was sure belonged to the slender Arrancar, though he also found that the voice was cold and dispassionate, meaning that he likely didn't care about his companion at all, "You're the one that wanted to come here, Yammy."

"My bad, my bad." the first voice, Yammy, replied, to which Sombra silently watched as the muscular Arrancar walked up the side of the crater they had made and stared at the Humans that were gathering around the edge of the crater, only he was sure that something bad was going to happen, "What's with these guys?! Don't come over here if you don't have any spirit power!"

In the following instant Yammy opened his mouth and started to suck in the air in front of him, though that was when Sombra noticed that he was also tearing the souls out of those that were in a specific area around him and pretty much ate them as they flew into his mouth... which was something that Sombra would not abide by, especially since he charged out of where he was hiding and spun around, allowing the side of his leg to knock Yammy in the side of his head and send him flying into the ground. While that might not have saved all the people that had been immediately killed, as there were a good number of bodies around the area now, it at least saved many of the other souls from being torn from where they happened to be resting and saved the lives of anyone else Yammy might have endangered.

"Ah, what the hell hit me?" Yammy demanded, though at the same time, as he picked himself up and looked around the area that they were in, his companion walked out of the crater and stared at Sombra as he touched the ground, before Yammy glared at him with anger in his eyes, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"That, Yammy, is the Vasto Lorde ranked Arrancar that Lord Aizen told us about," the slender Arrancar said, keeping his cool while he stared at Sombra, who knew that his opponent was sizing him up and determining just how strong he was without drawing his Zanpakuto, "We were under orders to stay low and do two things; the first being the observation of the Arrancar that calls himself 'Sombra', which must be you, considering that you have the hooves, horn, ears, and tail that we were told about. The second being that we were tasked with the death of Ichigo Kurosaki, or let him live after I've had a chance to observe him as well."

"Why are we telling him all this?" Yammy inquired, though at the same time he spotted a survivor lurking around the area that they were in, where Sombra noticed that it was Tatsuki that had survived the soul stealing ability that Yammy had used moments ago, "Oh, would you look at that, someone actually survived my Gonzui!"

Not even a second later Yammy charged at Tatsuki, with the purpose of hitting her, and Chad, backed by Orihime and Sora, stepped into the area as he blocked the incoming attack, only for him to instantly realize that he was outclassed and that they weren't going to be able to assist Sombra. Despite knowing that, and knowing that Sombra could easily battle these two of his own, Chad raised his armored right hand, which had blocked the attack Yammy almost delivered to Tatsuki, and tried to attack his opponent on his own, only for Yammy to essentially break his right arm in several places and knock him to the ground. Of course Orihime, wanting to protect her friend from harm, stepped up with a look of determination in her eyes, but at the same time Sombra flashed between them and shook his head, to which Orihime sighed and activated her Soten Kisshun, which enveloped Chad's arm and started to heal it, while at the same time Sora stood beside her to keep her safe. Sombra nodded his head and flashed into the air, to which he delivered another powerful kick to Yammy's head and knocked him back into the crater that he had climbed out of earlier, all while his companion stood there and observed what was going on, just in case the two of them ended up fighting at some point... though even as that happened Sombra noticed that Tatsuki fainted from the sheer strain of having her soul be near the Arrancar, allowing him to focus on them at the moment.

"The reason your companion is telling me about your missions is because I'd either figure it out on my own, or I'd piece together what you were doing by what you said," Sombra replied, to which he landed on the ground once more and turned towards the other Arrancar, as he was interested in why this one wasn't moving all that much, though he had the feeling that he'd learn the reason shortly, "Isn't that right?"

"Lord Aizen was right, you do catch on fast." the slender Arrancar said, though it was hard to tell if he was happy that Sombra was like that or if he was disappointed in such a thing, all because it appeared that his emotions weren't changing all that much since his face barely changed at all, "Allow me to properly introduce ourselves. My idiot companion, who you have kicked twice so far, is Yammy Llargo, and I am Ulquiorra Cifer. Lord Aizen said that your power was that of a Vasto Lorde, yet all I am feeling is the power that belongs..."

Sombra smiled as he released his power for a moment, causing Yammy, who was in the process of pulling himself out of the crater, to pause for a moment and caused Ulquiorra to pause in his sentence, with the smallest look of interest that Sombra had ever seen, before he reigned in his power and stood straight once more.

"...I was going to say 'to an Adjuchas', but it appears that such a thing is unnecessary." Ulquiorra finished, allowing Sombra the chance to hear what he would have said, if he hadn't interrupted him, but at the same time both of them glanced over at Yammy for a moment as he pulled himself out of the crater.

"You now, my Pesquisa is horrible, and I still felt that," Yammy commented, to which he cracked his knuckles for a moment as he stared at Sombra, indicating that he was ready for battle, despite the fact that he was clearly not a match for him, since Sombra could simply flash out of the way and bypass the attack before kicking him again, "but I don't care if you're an Adjuchas, a Gillian, or a Vasto Lorde! Anyone who does that to me is worth beating to a pulp."

"Pesquisa?" Sombra inquired, as that was a new term that he didn't know, though he had the feeling that it was one that belonged to the Arrancar, meaning that he might have known it at some point before his memories disappeared, or maybe it was something that the Arrancar that were created by Aizen understood.

"It means 'Inquiry', and it's how we measure and locate reiatsu," Ulquiorra stated, though while Yammy looked back at him for a moment, once more shocked that he was giving out information to the enemy, Sombra knew that the Arrancar was informing him because he had been sent to observe him and study him in some manner, and telling him about them might be a way to gain time to do just that, "As you no doubt know, all Gillians, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde are capable of firing their own individual Cero, but we also have a technique called Bala, which means 'Bullet' and can be fired twenty times faster than a Cero, even though it's not as power as a Cero. There's also a skill of ours called Hierro, or 'Iron', and it's our outer skin that's laced with high spiritual hardness, essentially serving as our armor, and Descorrer, or 'Loosen Void', that allows us to open a Garganta between this world and Hueco Mundo. Lastly, there's our movement skill, Sonido, that is basically the equivalent of the Shinigami's Shunpo."

Sombra was amazed by the number of abilities that an Arrancar had, or at least ones created by Aizen, and had to wonder how many of them he had, but he already knew that he could fire a Cero, he assumed that his ability to sense reiatsu was the Pesquisa at work, he knew that he had an understanding of the Hierro ability, and it was possible that he might have some skill in Sonido, even though he had been trained by Yoruichi in Shunpo. He had never tried to fire a Bala before, as he had no idea it existed, and, despite his training, he hadn't been able to regain the ability to open a Garganta to Hueco Mundo, so he knew that he the Descorrer skill was one he didn't have access to either, though he was happy with the skills that he did know and could use. Yammy, seeing that he was thinking about something, raised his fist and threw a punch right at Sombra, who flashed out of the way immediately, though at the same time Ichigo landed in the area that Sombra had been standing in seconds ago, where the tip of Zangetsu rested against Yammy's open palm, preventing the attack from being completed.

"And who the hell are you?" Yammy asked, as he was getting tired of being messed around with, by the Arrancar that they had come to study and having their search for the target they were supposed to kill being interrupted every time something happened.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Orihime." Ichigo said, taking a moment to glance over at Orihime, who was still tending to Chad and his ruined arm, before he turned his gaze over to Sombra, as it appeared that his friend might be in over his head, since neither of their opponents were wounded yet, "These guys giving you trouble, Sombra?"

"No, I was just taking a moment to learn more about them," Sombra replied, where he noticed that Ulquiorra was staring at Ichigo, as he remembered that they had come with the purpose of killing Ichigo in battle, but at the same time he knew that they were also biding their time until something interesting happened, as in Ulquiorra was watching Yammy fight and was studying them, "Besides, after hearing you complain about the death of the Grand Fisher, I figured that you'd like to have someone to fight when you arrived, which was another reason why I wasn't taking Yammy seriously, even though he was the one that messed up Chad's arm."

"Yammy?" Ichigo inquired, to which he glanced at the large Arrancar that was in front of him, who smiled the moment the name was said, allowing him to piece together who Sombra was talking about, though that only made him angry when he stared at Chad's wounded form, causing him to rest his left hand on his right arm, "So you're the one that messed up Chad's arm, forced Tatsuki to faint, and killed a number of innocent people by stealing their souls. There's only one thing I have to say to you: Bankai!"

Sombra barely averted his eyes as the area was consumed by the pressure and smoke of Ichigo unleashing his Bankai, though a few seconds later he swung his right arm for a moment and cut the leftover smoke apart, returning the area to how it had been earlier, and he knew that Yammy was already screwed. Tensa Zangetsu was an interesting Bankai, despite the fact that he only knew about a few of them, and Sombra could tell that Ichigo's reiatsu was rough and fierce, no doubt because of his inner Hollow messing with him, but at the same time he didn't feel anything that would threaten to knock him out.

"Did you say Bankai?" Yammy asked, to which he raised his right hand and scratched one of the ridges that were on top of his head, as if he had to think about what was happening at the moment, before he turned his head back a little bit and glanced at his companion, "Hey, Ulquiorra, is this the guy we're looking for?"

"Yes. Who would have thought that your flailing around would have brought him out so easily." Ulquiorra said, as he was interested in the fact that all they had to do was enter the World of the Living, and let Yammy cause a little chaos, for both of their targets to arrive, even though he had the feeling that Sombra appeared long before Ichigo did, "Orange hair, with a black Bankai... there's no mistaking it, he's Ichigo Kurosaki. He's our target, Yammy."

"So he also saved us the trouble of looking for him!" Yammy stated, showing that he could at least follow along with what his companion was saying, especially since he was turning back towards Ichigo, before he raised his right fist and started to swing with all his might, "I'M LUCKY!"

Sombra stared at Yammy as Ichigo raised his blade, because the edge of Zangetsu stopped Yammy's punch before it could actually hit him, causing the ground around him to buckle and break as the force of the Arrancar's punch was transferred into the ground, while at the same time Yammy seemed shocked by what had just happened.

"Sombra said that you were the one that messed up Chad's right arm," Ichigo commented, though at the same time he had no reason to call Sombra a liar, rather he wanted to see what Yammy said before he enacted what he was thinking at the moment, as he knew that his friend was waiting to see what he did while he made sure Orihime stood a good distance away from the area they were in, "Is that true?"

"So what if it is?" Yammy inquired, as his shock turned to a smile as he spoke, because even if his first attack was stopped he would show his opponent that he wasn't to be underestimated, especially since he had broken the Human with the weird armored arm quite easily, and then he'd focus on Sombra once Ichigo was taken care of.

In the next few seconds ichigo leapt forward, flipped over Yammy's head as he followed him while moving his Zanpakuto at the same time, before landing on the ground behind the Arrancar that he was fighting, which was followed by Yammy's right arm, from the tip of his fingers to a little bit above his elbow, fell to the ground as a few drops of blood flew through the air, though he didn't seem to care about the deed all that much. Yammy, of course, started to get angry over the fact that Ichigo had cut off his arm, and even announced that fact a few times, while at the same time Sombra noticed that Ulquiorra didn't seem to care about it either, as if he felt that his companion was a fool for not evaluating Ichigo's strength before charging into battle like he did. Sombra wasn't too surprised to find that Ichigo could cut through Yammy's Hierro, meaning that he was either weaker than he thought or Yammy was terrible at improving his techniques, something that he had a feeling that Ulquiorra was thinking about at the moment. From that point Ichigo jumped around the area, forcing Yammy to attack him with his left hand, all while Sombra and Ulquiorra watched what was going on, each of them looking at something different, and Sora and Orihime watched to be sure that Ichigo didn't hurt himself to the point where someone needed to step in and help him.

What worried Sombra was that both Ulquiorra and Yammy weren't showing their true power, as they had yet to call upon the power of their Zanpakuto, which their true forms were sealed inside, but at the same time he found that Yammy was already getting tired and Ichigo landed nearby... and, if he was feeling things right, he could sense that the Hollow inside his friend was getting ready to make his move, meaning that he'd have to step in soon.

"Damn you, you brat." Yammy stated, to which he huffed for a few moments as he stared at his opponent, as he couldn't believe what was happening, though he was equally angry that Ulquiorra was simply watching him get beat up by an Arrancar and a Shinigami.

"You can still stand?" Ichigo inquired, because based on the huffing that his opponent was doing he had assumed that he'd fall at some point, where he'd stop attacking him and focus on the other one, Ulquiorra as Yammy called him, but it seemed like the battle between him and Yammy would go on for a few more moments, "You're as tough as you appear."

"It would seem that you are having trouble fighting him, Yammy." Ulquiorra commented, drawing both Ichigo and Sombra's attention to him, as they were curious as to what he was going to do next, all while Yammy did nothing but stand there and stare at Ichigo, "Do you want me to fight him for you?"

"Shut up!" Yammy snapped, showing how angry he was at the moment, to which he moved his left hand and gripped the handle of his Zanpakuto, though at the same time, as Ichigo wondered what he was about to do, Sombra readied himself for what was going to happen next.

"I'm surprised that you want to use your Zanpakuto against a runt like this." Ulquiorra said, telling Sombra that all the Arrancar likely knew what the true forms of their companions looked like, as well as their powers, and that he might be a tad bit disappointed in what Yammy was doing.

Of course, as Sombra thought about that, Ichigo took in the appearance of his enemies and that was when his left hand moved to his face as Yammy started to draw his Zanpakuto, though partway through doing that Yammy noticed that Ichigo wasn't paying attention, slammed his blade back into it's sheath, and threw a kick at Ichigo, to which Sombra flashed through the air, blocked the incoming attack with his arm, and then forced Yammy backwards with another kick. As Yammy fell back into the crater he and Ulquiorra had formed, however, Sombra grabbed onto Ichigo and pulled him over to where Orihime and Sora were standing, because if he was going to break down every single time his inner Hollow came out to help him, even without the mask forming, Ichigo was never going to improve his skill. Instead of waiting for Ichigo to say anything, other than glare at him in annoyance, Sombra flashed back to where he had caught the incoming attack and then delivered his own, knowing that Yammy was powerful, but he was still weaker than he was and, as such, Sombra had nothing to fear from his attacks, as his arm didn't even hurt when he blocked the attack.

"Good, you stopped Yammy from wasting his Resurreccion," Ulquiorra commented, once more confirming that he believed that Ichigo was currently trash and that they didn't need to use that level of power to defeat someone like him, at least not at the moment anyway.

"That's when you release your true power, isn't it?" Sombra inquired, as he recalled what he had felt when Sora had battled Mayuri with Uryu, something that he was told about once everything had settled down, and had the feeling that he was right about what he was thinking, "And not only that, but you also release your true form at the same time."

"Indeed." Ulquiorra said, once more keeping silent over the fact that Lord Aizen had been right, that Sombra was quick to understand things that others, such as the Shinigami he fought beside, had to have explained to him several times before he understood what was going on, "Lord Aizen told me that you don't possess the blade of an Arrancar, yet you still have a Zanpakuto attached to your belt and you possess the power of a Vasto Lorde. I am interested in figuring out how such a thing is possible."

"That's because my Arrancar blade is lost somewhere in the vastness of Hueco Mundo," Sombra said, knowing that, even if he told Ulquiorra and Yammy what was different between them and him, in terms of weaponry, it wouldn't make that much of a difference, before he tapped his Zanpakuto, "This, right here, is Shokyo, my Shinigami Zanpakuto, and the power that Aizen likely told you about is the power that I gained when I used my Bankai for the first time. Not that it matters, since Yammy is done for regardless of what happens next, not when Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin are on their way to see what is going on... even though I'm more than capable of ending your companion's life all on my own, without having to use my Bankai on him."

"Oh yeah? Well then, take this!" Yammy stated, to which he emerged from the crater and opened his mouth, where he gathered his reiatsu for a few seconds and started to form the familiar form of a Cero, though at the same time Sombra heard Orihime, at Sora's insistence, use her Santen Kesshun to protect them, Ichigo, and Chad from what was coming next, all while leaving Sombra to deal with Yammy.

Sombra sighed as he raised his right hand and leveled his pointer finger with Yammy's head, where strands of his reiatsu pulled themselves together and formed a black sphere of energy, with a green outline that reminded him of the Getsuga Tensho that the Hollow in Ichigo had used against Byakuya, as that was black with a red outline, before focusing on his target. A few seconds later Yammy fired his Cero and Sombra did the same thing, to which the two of them connected in the area between them and exploded, carving a new hole in the ground while at the same time Yammy was knocked back by the sheer power that Sombra had called upon, and that was without charging the blast all the way. While that happened Ulquiorra stared at Sombra as the smoke cleared, finding that Lord Aizen's orders to simply study Sombra, instead of attack him like they had been ordered to attack Ichigo, made all the more sense now that he had seen the Arrancar in action, and that was without his Zanpakuto entering the equation. It was in the following moment that both Yoruichi and Urahara arrived at the scene of the battle, ready for action, but what they found was Ichigo struggling with himself, Orihime and Sora tending to Chad, and Sombra dominating the fight while not even looking like he needed assistance in defeating his current opponent.

While all that happened Yammy got back up and growled as he noticed that there were more enemies for them to fight, or just him since Ulquiorra seemed uninterested in helping him out, and he prepared himself to do battle once more, as now he was planning on releasing his Zanpakuto and crushing his foes... only for Ulquiorra to flash into the area between Yammy and the new crater that had been punched into the ground when the two Ceros had collided.

"Alright, let's waste this place Ulquiorra!" Yammy stated, because now that his companion had moved from where he had been standing he knew that the situation had changed, as now they could both focus on Sombra and kill him before he accessed any of his true power... only for Ulquiorra to barely glance back at him as he punched him in his chest, knocking him backwards and forcing him to one knee for a moment.

"You do not understand the situation that you are in, Yammy." Ulquiorra said, this time turning to face Yammy and completely ignored those that were behind him, as he knew what they were going to do next and there was no stopping this from happening, "As you know all Arrancar are capable of firing a Cero Oscuras in their released state, or not depending on their preference between that, their sealed form Cero, and the forbidden Gran Rey Cero, and the power of such an attack depends on one's power and how long they charge it. Sombra, in his sealed form, was capable of firing a powerful Cero Oscuras to counter the that you were planning on using to wipe out him and his companions, and there is no telling how powerful it will be if he released his full power against you. At your current level, Yammy, you don't stand a chance against him, and the same should apply in your Resurreccion, but with both Yoruichi Shihoin and Urahara Kisuke present as well you would be doomed if you fought all three of them at the same time... something that would make Lord Aizen disappointed, if you were to die anyway."

"Oh... so we're heading home?" Yammy asked, showing that, despite his desire for battle and to crush whoever stood against him, he actually had a brain, even if most of it was put to use in trying to kill his enemies, while at the same time he glared at Sombra and his friends.

"Yes, we're leaving." Ulquiorra replied, to which he walked behind Yammy and tapped the air behind him, to which Sombra and the others watched as he opened a Garganta to Hueco Mundo, though as Yammy gathered his cut off arm, however, Ulquiorra turned back so he could stare at Sombra once more, "I am going to report everything that I have seen today to Lord Aizen. I'm sure that he'll find what I discovered today to be interesting."

Sombra watched as Ulquiorra and Yammy walked into the Garganta and disappeared as it closed behind them, with the area where the gateway had been located looking like nothing had happened, before he sighed and turned back towards Yoruichi and Urahara, as he needed to tell them what he had learned... and then wait and see if Soul Society did anything about the fact that more Arrancar were coming to harass Ichigo and see just how powerful he was.





It didn't take long for Ulquiorra and Yammy to return to Hueco Mundo, or more specifically Las Noches, the palace that Lord Aizen, Gin, and Tosen called home after they came to this world when they separated from Soul Society, only the three of them had created an actual palace, instead of the open area that it had been before their arrival. As they walked down the halls Ulquiorra found that his companion was oddly silent, though at the same time that gave him a few moments to feel the reiatsu that was near their master and knew that the other Arrancar he had created had been gathered for the report that he was going to give them. He was not worried about such a thing, as while Ichigo Kurosaki could be considered trash, despite his ever changing reiatsu that was either lower than his or even greater at times, the other Arrancar would be interested in hearing his thoughts about Sombra, as he had an interesting thought that he needed to share with them, especially their master, since it concerned him as well. There was something that only Hollows knew, when they ascended from the level of an ordinary Hollow and became either a Gillian, an Adjuchas, or even a Vasto Lorde, something that Shinigami had no idea about... and he knew that he'd have to explain himself once he gave his Lord the report that he had gathered, be it to Lord Aizen, his fellow Shinigami, or the other Arrancar.

Eventually Ulquiorra and Yammy entered the area that they had been heading to, the throne room as it were, and he noticed that his senses had been correct, the other Arrancar were gathered around the area that they had entered and were sitting in the same areas that they sat in when something like this happened... and, like he suspected, Lord Aizen was sitting on his throne while Gin and Tosen stood near him.

"We have returned, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra spoke up, though at the same time Yammy set his severed arm on the floor in front of him and knelt before their Lord, all while he remained standing, as he needed to explain what he had seen and what he had thought during his encounter with Sombra.

"Welcome back, Ulquiorra, Yammy," Aizen said, to which he stared down at the two Arrancar that had been sent to the World of the Living, even though he intended to send one and the other insisted on going, and immediately wondered what they had to share with him and the others that had gathered in this room, "Now, let me hear your report, here in front of your twenty brothers and sisters. Show us, Ulquiorra. Show us everything that you saw and sensed while you were in the World of the Living."

"As you wish, Lord Aizen." Ulquiorra replied, to which he raised his left hand and gripped his left eye, something that he carefully removed from the socket that it was in and then shifted his hand until it was stretched out towards the throne, before he crushed the eye and turned it into sparkling dust that scattered throughout the room they were in.

Despite having only one eye at the moment Ulquiorra noticed that all of the other Arrancar, including Lord Aizen and the former Shinigami that were standing behind him, all closed their eyes in some manner to witness what he was showing them, along with his thoughts on what he had discovered during the battle.

"I see. So that's why you decided that Ichigo Kurosaki wasn't worth killing." Aizen commented, though at the same time he was more interested in the other individual that Ulquiorra and Yammy had encountered, because Sombra was a wildcard that seemed to be growing ever stronger.

"That's correct." Ulquiorra said, though as he spoke Yammy noticed that Ulquiorra's left eye was closed, which made sense considering what he had done, but he said nothing as his companion continued, "Your orders, regarding Ichigo Kurosaki, were to kill him if I thought he might become a problem for us."

"That's stupid!" a new voice stated, to which Ulquiorra turned towards a muscular Arrancar that had spiky blue colored hair, light blue colored eyes, green colored lines near his eyes, and the remains of his mask rested on the right side of his face, as it was the jawbone and could actually open and close depending on what the Arrancar did, though Ulquiorra knew him as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, "I would have killed that sorry punk with my first attack, and then I would have wiped the floor with that Arrancar buddy of his. It doesn't matter what logic you use, if the word 'kill' appears in your orders, then it's obvious that you're supposed to go ahead and kill your target."

"I feel the same way." one of the Arrancar behind Grimmjow said, though it made sense that he would side with Grimmjow, since they had been in the same pack of Hollows before Lord Aizen came along and transformed them into the Arrancar that they were now, "He's our enemy either way. Perhaps there's no reason to kill him, but there's no reason to let him live, either."

"By the way, Yammy," Grimmjow added, turning to the kneeling Arrancar that was behind Ulquiorra, who mostly ignored everyone and only glanced at him when he said his name, though he could tell that Yammy was angry, "you got your ass beat, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but not by Ichigo Kurosaki," Yammy stated, even though he had to glance down at his severed arm for a few seconds, to remember that he was angry with the person they had been sent to kill, before returning his gaze towards the one that had spoken to him, "Most of my beatings came from the Arrancar that was with him."

"Grimmjow, I'm not interested or worried about Ichigo, rather I'm seeing what his potential is like," Aizen said, though he knew that Ulquiorra was the only one that thought he might be worried about the Substitute Shinigami, when in reality none of them actually worried him and he was only interested in observing them until the time was right, "Ulquiorra feels that if we were to leave Ichigo alone he will either self destruct and kill himself, or he might come searching for a way to stabilize himself and fall in line with us to do just that. Ulquiorra, if he gets strong enough to take you or the others on, without this happening, will you do the honors and eliminate him?"

"If it comes to it, and he no longer freezes in battle while fighting us on equal ground, then I shall kill him." Ulquiorra replied, as he had planned on such a thing happening the moment he and Yammy came back from the World of the Living, though he felt that Ichigo would never reach that state, not with how dangerous his reiatsu was.

"Now then, onto the other matter." Aizen said, as he had been looking forward to this, because in reality he had been hoping to get some more information on Sombra and Ulquiorra had given him exactly what he wanted, along with a question that remained unanswered, "While Yammy was doing battle with Sombra your thoughts seemed to be focused on something else, something that wasn't the fight, and you felt that I needed to know about it. Tell me, Ulquiorra, what else is special about Sombra, and why do I need to know about it now?"

"You, along with Commanders Gin and Tosen, are no doubt aware of the four classifications that Hollows possess; those that are just called 'Hollows', the Gillians, the Adjuchas, and the Vasto Lorde," Ulquiorra stated, though at the same time, as his eye regenerated after having fulfilled it's purpose, he noticed that all of the Arrancar grew quiet, as they knew what he was going to say next, "There is, in reality, a fifth classification that a Hollow can achieve, one that is much harder to reach than the Vasto Lorde rank, and all Hollows, regardless of rank, learn this inherent knowledge after a few years of wandering Hueco Mundo. It is said that a Hollow of this level will be created every one thousand years, a level that they have to earn like everyone else, and that the power they command is far above that of a Vasto Lorde, so much so that all Hollows bow to it and obey their orders without question."

"It sounds like you're suggesting that something will happen to our army if we don't get such a creature on our side," Gin commented, though even as he spoke he knew that Aizen would be able to persuade whatever Ulquiorra was talking about to their side, even if he had to use his Zanpakuto to do so.

"All Hollows instinctively know to follow this creature, even if it means going to war with Soul Society," Ulquiorra said, revealing what happened a thousand years ago, when the last Hollow of this level had been created, a story that all Hollows knew, even if they didn't sit around and record their history like Humans and Shinigami did.

"And what is this Hollow called?" Aizen asked, because this was interesting and worthy of his time, as it not only revealed a threat to the army that he had created, but also who might have the power to do what Ulquiorra was saying, even though he knew who the Arrancar was talking about.

"We refer to the creature as Dios Hueco, or Hollow God," Ulquiorra replied, to which he spotted several of the other Arrancar glance at each other, as they knew the stories and knew what he was talking about, before he focused on Lord Aizen once more, "At his current level, Sombra is strong enough to deal with everyone below Grimmjow's level, and that's if he stayed in his base form and didn't use his Bankai in battle. Should he use his Bankai he'll be able to beat anyone up to my level, at which point it would be up to me and those above me to take him out. Of course my thoughts will only hold up if he remains at his current level and doesn't find his Arrancar blade, otherwise he might ascend to a level that none of us will be able to beat, no matter how hard we try."

"Then it's a good thing we found it when we first arrived," Tosen said, where he turned towards the small pillar that rested on a table near the throne, one large enough to conceal a Zanpakuto, and tapped it, where it split apart and revealed a sheathed blade that reminded Ulquiorra of the one that Sombra had been carrying on his belt.

Grimmjow growled as the meeting continued, straying away from the talk of Ichigo Kurosaki, Sombra, and the Dios Hueco, the one Hollow that stood above all other Hollows, before he glanced at the unsealed pillar, before a plan started to form in his mind. Ulquiorra seemed worried that, should Sombra ascend to the final level that a Hollow could achieve, if he was the chosen Hollow anyway, that they would all soon join his side and turn against Lord Aizen, but his simple plan was to steal the blade, deliver it to it's owner, and then smash him the moment he used his Resurreccion, proving that the story didn't matter and that he was strong enough to beat anyone that came across him. All he had to do was convince the five Arrancar that followed his orders, head out into the World of the Living, and prove to their master that he had nothing to worry about... and maybe bring him back some heads while he was at it.