Crows x Souls

"I will not take your lives. With the measure of power that you possess, you are unlikely even to lose consciousness from those wounds. Stay there, helpless and defeated, and observe carefully as this battle reaches its conclusion." — Sōsuke Aizen. 

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[Las Noches, Starrk's Room] 

Moments before the fight… 

Starkk, like always, didn't just look bored but was bored as hell out of his mind. The walls of Las Noches were as dreary as the sands outside of it. 

'Where did she run off to again?' He idly thought. He could search her out but that spelt a whole lot of effort, solely on his part, and he would rather not do that if he could help it. 'She'll come back when she's bored.'

It didn't bother him much that she spent most of her time with Harribel's fracción, they were the most reasonable of this peculiar lot. 

'Oh the days I miss wandering.' He sighed to himself. 

For someone whose dream was to find others like himself and Lilynette, he couldn't say with full confidence that he as happy as he thought he would be with how it turned out. 

Dreams truly do betray many. 

After that meeting sometime ago, he couldn't help but think how it would be for a change of pace if he did visit the human world. Of course he wouldn't go anywhere near the frail humans, he wasn't that interested in them. He wanted to see the colorful sights of that world. 

Even with the instinctual control that came with being an Arrancar, even though he already was one(a natural one at that), humans would still suffocate in his presence just from the wafting Reiatsu around him. 

He would also have opted for the Soul Society but a warning from a friend stayed his thoughts. He doubts they would overlook a Vasto Lorde/Arrancar like him. And besides, most of the souls outside the Seireitei were no different from humans. 

"Ahh~" He groaned blissfully. "Stop thinking so much." He chided himself. Thinking was the same thing as moving about, only it all happens in his head. 

"Dear me, looks like I found you at a bad time." A voice said, causing him to groan louder. Just from identifying who the voice belonged to, he knew whatever rest he was trying to have had become an afterthought. 

"Aizen." He said, looking at the Shinigami in confusion. "Did I miss another meeting?"

Aizen shook his head. "No, you did not."

The two stared at each other, one reclined and the other staring down. Whatever brought Aizen here, they both knew it wasn't 'just' a social visit. 

"So?" Starrk asked, threatening to close his eyes to sleep if Aizen didn't get to the point why he was here. On his best days he was usually unmotivated to do anything, doubly so when one interrupted him on his nap time. 

"It's nothing so dreary, or complicated."

"So you say, but I get the feeling that you mean the complete opposite."

Again, Aizen wasn't just here for social reasons. 

"It's about a mutual friend of ours." Now that got Starrk's attention. The number of people he could call his friends could be counted on one hand with one or two fingers to spare. The number that could be considered mutual – that didn't exceed one. 

He could have sighed, he really wanted to, but something told him a sigh won't cut it, or be the end of it for that matter. 

He snorted. "You sure do have a way with words." He scratched his head and sat upright to look at Aizen, though the lazy and sleepy eyes were still on his face. 

"So? What's he got to do with anything?" his eyes were confused as he looked at Aizen. Sure he knew the guy, liked him even, and yes he was somewhat of a threat to Aizen's plans as well as the other Hollows, "And what's it got to do with me?"

If anything, it had more to do with Aizen and Tōsen, the blind guy, than it had anything to do with him. Aizen practically knew the guy for decades or however long he knew him for. 

"I have it in good faith that he's already here in Las Noches-" 

"So you want to know if I'll sit this one out or help him out?"

Aizen didn't answer, only staring at him in silence and letting him say whatever he wanted. 

Before he could answer, the entirety of Las Noches started shaking and that was when he also noticed something weird. Because of the battle that was now going on he could pick up on what was Harribel's Reiatsu clashing with Itachi's, except it was only now that he was picking up on it. 

"Seems you finally noticed."

"Was all this necessary?"

"For us? No. But I wanted to prevent any snooping around, at least until we finish our talk."

"Talk? Right." His lazy sarcasm went out as easily as he was unmotivated. And yet, that was the thing about Aizen. Trying to get a read on the man was an almost fruitless endeavor that he couldn't be bothered to try. 

However, even in his lazy haze he could tell Aizen wasn't just here to hear an answer. It didn't take a genius to know he was here to prevent him from moving. 'No, that's too easy to guess. He's after something simpler, something apparent, but just as more important.'

Aixen wasn't so inept that he had to personally be here to stop Starrk from moving. The barrier he'd put up was a good example. It would have kept Starrk blissfully unaware and the only reason he wasn't was because of Aizen's presence. 

'This is so confusing-'

"Lilynette-"

"She's fine."

Okay now nothing was making sense. If he wasn't using Lilynette to threaten Starrk or draw out Itachi, why else was Aizen here? Honestly, Starrk didn't really care, as long as Lilynette was fine. 

Would he help if Itachi was on his very edge? Yes. Itachi had helped save Lilynette from Baraggan's wrath, it was the least he could do. So until getting to that point, Starrk lost all interest in what Aizen was planning by being here. 

"This would be a lot better if you just got to the point, you know."

....

[POV: With Itachi and Harribel]

The rest of the Espada were treating this like a spectacle, each with their own thoughts and agenda as they watched Harribel battle the Shinigami Captain. 

Las Noches was too small a place for their battle so they quickly took to the skies, exchanging hundreds of strikes as they came close to each other. 

Harribel was quick to reevaluate the man she was fighting. She could tell that of the both of them she was the one exerting more effort, not because there was an overwhelming difference between them but because of the amount of caution she put into consideration as she fought him. 

She had to use her Reiryoku to protect her eyes and her other senses at all times to prevent falling into his illusions or quickly pulling herself out of one. His skills, though admirable, were not the biggest issues as she was no slouch, instead it was that blade of his. His eyes and his blades – they made for a terrifying combination. 

The fact that he could switch between Hollow techniques and Shinigami techniques were surprising but not something she couldn't get behind. If anything it just made it feel like she was fighting a fellow Espada.. No, that wasn't completely accurate. It felt like she was fighting him but only less dangerous. 

Her biggest issues were still his Zanpakutō. The black flames and how hard it was to judge its trajectory was making this fight more stressful than she thought it would be. 

She could turn the battle with her Resurrección but then so could he with his Bankai. 

It wasn't that she was in danger of losing the fight, far from it, if anything they were equal in their respective strengths, but she didn't want it to stretch on anymore than it was worth. She had to check on Apacci, Sung Sun, as well as Lilynette and Starrk. Especially Starrk. 

It was also weird that she couldn't feel his Reiatsu, as if he was purposely hiding it, but all that could wait until she defeated the opponent in front of her. 

They both slid back in the air, sparing each other a look even as she spared a glance at her Zanpakutō. If not for always coating it with her Reiryoku, she feared the worst for it. 

"You are strong."

"So you say." 

He never gave a straight answer and his eyes never betrayed anything. Looking at him, it was as if he was fighting just because he had to fight, but she knew that couldn't be further from the truth. He might look that way, everything about him might say that, but she had crossed swords with him. So she knew. If it had been up to him, and his strength allowed him to do so, he would kill every single Hollow in Las Noches. 

Those eyes, those dead eyes of his, red as it may be. The eyes might tell no lies, but his told no truths either. 

Slowly and steadily, she wrapped both her blades and herself in her Reiryoku as another salvo played out. 

She could do the same with her Reiatsu as it was easier, except that it wasn't as efficient as his flames ate through it without so much as an obstruction. 

As she stood, Zanpakutō clashed against his, in the middle of the air, she looked at how he was surrounded, cutting off any possible escape, and realized something she already had, but the possibility was becoming more alarming as they continued fighting. 

"You're stalling."

"… So it would seem."

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