Crows x Souls

"How underwhelming. So this is all a Captain amounts to." — Tier Harribel. 

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This was the most Itachi had ever been in danger since he woke up in the Soul Society. 

All the Espada and Números, the numbered Hollows that weren't at the Espada level, mostly Adjuchas Arrancars, were already aware of his location but the only thing holding them back was that Harribel was here. 

If they all were to attack, Itachi had zero chances of surviving. It was that simple. Even the possibility of escape was dwindling with every second he stood in front of Harribel, and now it was less than 10%.

Not counting Harribel, just the lurking presence of Baraggan and Ulquiorra made all his danger senses sing out like they were reciting a nursery rhyme. 

This was never the objective of the mission so why was he not putting much effort into remaining concealed? 

He was simply the bait. 

He was the perfect bait. 

What else would draw the attention of all these Captain-level Hollows if not a Shinigami Captain like him? 

Anything short would easily be seen through. Thinking that he could go through the entirety of Las Noches, through every important nook and cranny without being found or have his presence suspected was very unrealistic, more so with someone like Aizen at the helm. 

'Now, make your move.'

"Your eyes." She said as she slowly unsheathe the sword that was strapped to her back. "They do not hold me in your sights."

Oh, but on the contrary he did. Just because he didn't show it in his eyes didn't mean that he didn't take how dangerous she was to heart. 

Her Reiatsu surged and he braced himself. She was going to be a tough one, especially with the other Espada surrounding them. 

"That technique that you used, it was Sonido, wasn't it?" She asked. "How can you use a Hollow technique?" 

"You speak as if there's anything special about it." Itachi said. His red eyes bore into her aqua green as they both squared off, blade in hand. 

"Let me show you… just how special it is." He pointed a finger at her and saw as her calm eyes widened in shock. 

At the tip of his finger, a dark red orb of pure destructive energy formed. 

"Cero."

There were a lot of questions that flashed in her mind at that moment as Itachi's Cero rushed towards her… until she deflected it with her blade. 

"Tell me, what did you plan to accomplish by doing that? Prove your superiority, or was it something else?" The shadow of her bangs covered her eyes but the venom in her words were plain to the ears. 

"It is the folly of your arrogance to think that you are special just because you possess the power of a Shinigami. Don't be so conceited."

It was neither a step too close nor a step too quick. Both of them moved at a measured pace and met in the middle. The result was anything but measured. 

The resulting force from the collision of both their blades meeting turned the entire wing of the building to dust. 

Itachi let his eyes wander, letting all the Espada's presence be committed to memory. 

He was also on the lookout for Aizen. The last thing he wanted was to be sneaked on by Aizen when he least expected it. And with all the nearby audiences, the chances of it happening was almost a certainty. 

And yet he went along with it. Putting himself carelessly in the broiling mix of danger. 

"You are planning something, aren't you? Otherwise I see no strategic reason why you will let yourself be exposed like this." And she wasn't the only one thinking this. 

His presence here was already weird, and he was also alone. That smelled of an underlying plan somewhere along. 

Itachi remained silent and simply slashed at her, sending a wave of Reiatsu her way which was easily dodged.

Harribel's Reiatsu alone was threatening the entire structure of Las Noches and no one needed a reminder of what would happen if two Vasto Lorde-level entities fought. 

The abyss-like crater just outside of Las Noches was the answer. And that was also the reason why Itachi was bound to lose this fight. The others won't let the fight stretch on anymore than it should, not when the integrity of Las Noches was on the line.

Cracks were already spreading throughout the structure of the castle with them just clashing their swords with each other. 

'She's much stronger than Luppi and Nnoitra combined.' Itachi thought as he clashed swords with her one more time. 

The rest of the Espada had already formed a restricting circle around the both of them yet none of them seem to be stepping in, mostly because of who Itachi was fighting, he surmised. 

She was no doubt one of the strongest Espada, and from what he could sense only two other Hollows were on her level when it came to the intensity of her Reiatsu: Baraggan and Ulquiorra – and of the both of them, the former was the one Itachi was more wary of. 

"You're distracted." She appeared at his side, her Zanpakutō covered in yellow Reiryoku, and shot it point blank at Itachi. The force of the attack carried Itachi all the way to the underground level of Las Noches. 

Tier Harribel didn't let up and immediately followed after him, knowing that was not enough to seriously maim a Shinigami Captain. 

She stopped a considerable distance away from where Itachi crashed into as she saw him getting up and the black flames that served as a protective case against her attack started receding. 

'She's fast.' His eyes went grim dark as he stared at her. 'Not fast enough that my eye can keep track of, but fast enough that she can still attack me nonetheless.'

The last second protection with Amaterasu was proof of that. 

"Burn and Reveal, Truth-seeker." (Kogasu to Sarakeru, Honshin.) 

[A/N: Should I just use Honshin instead of Truth-seeker?] 

"If I'm not mistaken, that is your Shikai, isn't it?" She asked with a frown. She could feel that her Reiryoku was still higher than his by a significant margin but the intensity of his Reiatsu stated otherwise. 

"Still looking down on Hollows, Shinigami Captain?" She covered her blade once more with her Reiryoku while watching out for what he would do. 

According to Aizen, this very Captain's abilities, other than a higher level of precognition, was primarily illusions and black flames and she could see both in effect on the robes he wore. 

Even without him using the famed Bankai, she could feel the slight tingling of a threat coming from him and the thing that triggered that the most were his eyes. 

She was fighting not to look over at it all the time, except it was easier said than done. She had thought resisting his illusions were easy but with him using his Shikai, she wasn't so sure. 

Not wanting to waste time anymore, she used Sonido and closed the distance between the both of them in an instant and as she did she fired off the energy built up in her Zanpakutō. 

"Ola Azul."

The attack hit straight home… But she frowned. Others might have missed it but she saw the almost imperceptible fluctuation of Itachi's image a split second before her attack hit him. 

She retreated and held her sword behind her back to block Itachi's blade. Not a second later she raised her hand and blocked the kick from a copy of Itachi that flipped over the first one. 

"Cheap tricks." She muttered. She focused her Reiatsu on her eyes, an action which took tremendous control, but was needed to effectively block Itachi's illusion from taking over her in a split moment of battle. 

"Why are they not joining in?" Itachi asked, referring to the rest of the Espada and Números. 

"Because, just as I, they also have the belief that I alone am enough to stop you. And this will be a good showing to know how we stack up against the Shinigami Captains of the Gotei 13."

She zipped down her shirt, showing off the covered part of her mouth that was all masked in hard bones and then the eye-catching number '3' etched on the side of her chest. 

"My name is Tier Harribel, the Tres Espada. And where you stand shall be your last."

Itachi showed no reaction to her belated introduction, only giving a simple reply. "I believe you."

"So you say, but your eyes tell differently." She retorted with a scoff. 

Itachi, with no expression on his face, looked at her like a fool. "What kind of fool tells a lie to himself?"

The anger in her eyes rose but she didn't blindly attack. Instead she asked a question that she had a huge interest in. 

"Before you die, tell me, how do you know of Starrk, the Primera Espada?" 

Seeing as Itachi wasn't going to reply, she snorted and then took a step. Unknowingly, and willingly, taking a place as a pawn in a play of schemes. 

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