AUTHOR NOTE AHEAD!

Well… three and a half years passed a lot faster than I thought. And while most of guys are probably currently having a heart attack because of this update, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. I am not resurrecting this story, in fact, I am ending it. But as I still had some stuff for it written and unpublished, I figured I could at least give it to you as a farewell gift. Keep in mind, this is a fragment – there are parts missing that would connect this to the main story, and between the scene breaks other battles would have taken place had this been released properly. But as I didn't write those yet, this is all I can offer.

There are various reasons for giving this story up completely: lost interest in both the story and the fandoms to an extent, more pressing matters in real life and more appealing story ideas.

If any of you want to adopt this story, send me a message and we can talk things over.

That said, here's what I had prepared so far, I hope you can still enjoy it somewhat.

Sir Godot

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Bleach.

"Speech"
'Thought'
"Flashback"
"Zanpakuto Speech"
'Zanpakuto Thought'

Kimimaro's Story – Redemption

Las Noches, after Ichigo's defeat of Dordoni

It was silent when Nel and Kimimaro raced through the empty hallways of Las Noches along with Ichigo. The silence was partially because Kimimaro was slightly annoyed by the fact that Ichigo had insisted on fighting the Privaron Espada they had run into alone. Not that the white haired Arrancar didn't respect Ichigo's strength, he had seen the orange haired Shinigami in action after all, it was just that by fighting alone he had used up more spiritual power than necessary.

'But on the other hand, he hasn't seen me fight yet, he must think that I'm on the same level as Nel and the others. I can't blame him; I'm still not used to maintain my strength outside of battle...'

Kimimaro's thoughts came to an abrupt end when the trio reached another large hall, the opening provided by Ichigo charging through a wall still in Bankai mode. Only this time, the opponent waiting for them was so much stronger than the last one. To Kimimaro it was a completely new experience. His Hollow instincts started screaming in both fear and despair. Fear of the being so much stronger than him, so much stronger that he should just give in to despair and accept his inevitable death. Who was this Arrancar with a bored expression that installed such fear in Kimimaro?

When Kimimaro entered the hall with Nel securely behind him, he saw Ichigo staring at an Arrancar with a helmet like mask fragment over the left side of his head. Behind him stood a girl with orange hair and a rather scared expression on her face. Kimimaro saw no mask fragment and deducted that this was the human girl Ichigo and his friends had come looking for.

"Get away from Inoue." Ichigo said, his tone without any hesitation or fear.

The green eyed Hollow just continued to stare at Ichigo with his bored expression, only acknowledging Kimimaro's and Nel's existence by briefly staring at them before dismissing them as trash.

"Very well," he spoke. "It is my duty to protect Las Noches until Aizen-sama returns. I have not been ordered to kill this woman yet."

He turned his head slightly to look at the prisoner of Las Noches. "I will let her live until I am ordered to do otherwise."

Then his gaze returned to the Substitute Shinigami. "But you're a different story. Killing you and protecting Las Noches go hand in hand." Ulquiorra unsheated his sword with a fluid motion. "You will die by my blade."

The faintest traces of a smile could be seen on Ichigo's face when he saw this. "I'm surprised. I'd never thought you'd start the battle with your sword already drawn. Does this mean you've finally acknowledged me as an equal?"

The green eyed Arrancar stared passively at him. "At the very least I've decided that you're an entity that must be destroyed."

"Fair enough. Kimimaro, please protect Nel and Inoue. This battle will be on a completely different level than the one before."

Ichigo prepared to charge Ulquiorra, but he stopped his attack before it even began when Kimimaro suddenly stood by his side. Though his instinct told him to flee or surrender, the white haired Arrancar did not stand back.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san, but this time I cannot comply. This opponent is far stronger than the last one, and you're exhausted. But even if you were at full strength you'd be hard pressed to defeat him. So please, allow me to aid you in this battle."

Ichigo stared at Nel's companion with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Are you insane?! You said yourself that you still don't know how to access your powers completely, you'll be annihilated if you fight! Someone has to protect Inoue and Nel!"

Kimimaro's eyes didn't stop to stare at the enemy he was about to face. Something of Ulquiorra's expressionless face reminded him of someone else... But whom? The image of a red-haired boy with black rings around his eyes flashed through his mind for the briefest moment and vanished as fast as it had come. Kimimaro shook his head inwardly. He had to focus. He couldn't allow himself to get caught off guard for even an instant. Slowly he began to raise his spiritual power, surprising both Ichigo and Ulquiorra with the amount he produced. He was already at lieutenant level, and still rising quite quickly.

"How should I protect them when you are defeated? You are stronger than me, Kurosaki-san. Our raw strength might be almost the same when I go all-out, but your battle experience surpasses mine by far. So how could I hope to defend them from an opponent you could not beat? Besides..."

Suddenly Kimimaro's Reiatsu spiked even faster than before, sending a gush of wind in all directions. His clothes, little more than rags, fluttered with the unnatural wind his spiritual pressure created.

"I never said I could not access all my powers... The problem is, I can only call on them when in battle. The stronger my opponent's Reiatsu surges the more my own power tries to match the threat. For me to unlock all my powers means I have to fight an opponent whose strength matches my own... or even surpasses it."

Ichigo was surprised, just like Ulquiorra. Who would have thought that Kimimaro had such a strong spiritual pressure? It was a least low captain level, and he hadn't even used his Ressureción yet. But the way Kimimaro held his spear meant he was probably about to use it.

But to Ulquiorra there was something else besides surprise. Curiosity. Who was this strange Arrancar? The Fourth Espada did not know of him, which was strange since he had memorized all of them, even though most of them were categorized as 'trash'. But he had never seen or 'heard' of this Kimimaro before. True, he might have been an Arrancar before Ulquiorra, but why would such a powerful fighter leave Las Noches? And why would he be inexperienced in using his power? No, this Hollow did not become an Arrancar through the Orb of Distortion. Intriguing... Aizen-sama would be very interested in learning more of this Hollow.

With a Sonido he was behind Kimimaro, catching the still flabbergasted Ichigo off guard. Kimimaro was simply not used to such speeds. Thus he could only turn around and helplessly watch as a strange light engulfed him.

"Caja Negación."

The light swallowed Kimimaro and sent him into a pocket dimension only available to the Arrancar, each of them using his own personal one.

It was then that something in Ichigo snapped. Caja Negación... the technique that Arturo Plateado had used to capture Haku. The technique that had prevented them from escaping the Arrancar's clutches. The technique that had killed Haku.

Something in Ichigo snapped. And then he charged at Ulquiorra with unadulterated rage.

Flash Forward

Tesla never had a chance. One moment he was crushing Ichigo's body to a bloody pulp and then he saw his own arms flying away, cut off from his body. He never felt the pain for his head was severed only a moment later. Ichigo fell to the ground, fighting the urge to scream as his badly beaten body hit the sandy ground. But now that the feeling of being crushed was gone, he was able to take in his surroundings, and more importantly, his savior. Ichigo's eyes widened at what he saw.

It was Kimimaro in all his Hollow glory. His white lance was covered in Tesla's blood, but besides that he didn't look any different then when Ulquiorra had sealed him in his Caja Negación.

"Kimimaro..." The Substitute Shinigami muttered weakly.

"It appears I managed to escape just in time, Kurosaki-san. Please allow me to take care of the other Arrancar. I assure you, it won't take long."

The white haired Arrancar turned around and stared at Nnoitra, his face bare of any emotions. The Quinto Espada wasted no time and pushed Orihime aside, not caring that she rushed to Ichigo's side and started to heal him. His one eye tightened as he took a look at the newcomer. He could feel the power he possessed. He was an Arrancar, no doubt about that. The crown-like Hollow mask fragment and the spear type Zanpakuto were too obvious to be overlooked. But who was he?

"Oi, you, who are you? I've never seen an Arrancar like you around here... And you sure weren't one of Neliel's trashy Fracción. So... what is an Arrancar doing here, helping the enemies of Las Noches on top of that?"

Kimimaro didn't answer. He simply raised his weapon and pointed the spear head straight at Nnoitra before speaking.

"I have no reason to tell you who I am. The only thing you need to know is that I'm your opponent. We fight for our own reasons, and trying to understand or to change the reasons of a fellow warrior is an insult to his honor. But if you prove yourself to be a warrior worthy of acknowledgement, I'll tell you may name."

Despite the arrogant attitude of the white haired Hollow Nnoitra couldn't help but to grin. Finally someone who understood that such things like feelings were completely useless on a battlefield. All that counted was the fight. Who cared that the carrot head was fighting to 'protect his friends'? For Nnoitra there was no reason in battle, he fought because he loved the carnage and destruction they brought, the thrill of utterly crushing an opponent and claiming his life.

"I see..." The Quinto Espada said with a wicked smile stretching over his face. "It doesn't matter what you're called anyway, you won't survive long enough to hear my name as well. Let me show you just how outmatched you are by an Espada, nameless one!"

With a battle cry the eye-patch wearing warrior burst towards his opponent and swung his gigantic scythe, aiming for Kimimaro's neck. The former shinobi simply shifted his spear and used it to block the incoming strike. Though slightly surprised by the force behind the attack, Kimimaro did not budge. Both Arrancar struggled for supremacy, trying to push their opponent away. With a final clash the two warriors separated by jumping back a few feet, only to charge again immediately afterwards. Nnoitra used his gigantic double scythe to stab Kimimaro this time, but the white haired Hollow simply jumped over it and delivered a vicious kick to Nnoitra's face. The Quinto Espada stumbled backwards a bit but apparently hadn't taken any damage from the attack. Shaking off the slight disorientation, Nnoitra's instincts kicked it and made him jump out of the path of Kimimaro's spear, leaving his scythe behind in the process. Said spear wielder wasted no time to continue his assault, yet wondering why his opponent had dropped his weapon, but when he saw the evil grin spread across Nnoitra's face, he noticed that the Espada was holding a chain in his right hand. With a mighty pull the scythe flew towards its wielder, and consequently threatened to chop Kimimaro's head off which was in a straight line between the weapon and its master. Kimimaro, who was still in the middle of a jump, had no time to use an air dash or avoid the incoming threat with his speed alone. But just when the weapon was about to reach him, the former shinobi used his spear as a pole and launched himself in the air, skillfully avoiding Nnoitra's scythe. The black haired Espada caught his weapon with one hand, like it had no weight whatsoever. Nnoitra sneered when he saw his opponent land a few feet away, obviously preparing a new tactic.

"You're good, I'll give you that. I have to admit, you surprised me. I thought you're just another one of those trashy Arrancar, like Neliel or Grimmjow... But you are a true warrior, cold and ruthless. You'd make a fine Fracción... interested?"

Kimimaro only stared at his opponent, nothing in his posture indicated that he had even heard Nnoitra's little speech.

"I decline your offer, Espada. But I think we have proven each other worthy enough to know the name of the man one of us will kill today."

Nnoitra snorted, suppressing his laughter. "You actually think you can defeat me? You fool, I am Nnoitra Jiruga, the Quinto Espada! A lowly Arrancar without rank like you won't even be able to cut me!" Nnoitra proudly presented his tongue to show the white-haired Arrancar his tattoo of the number '5'.

"I see, so you are the Quinto Espada... I am Kimimaro Kaguya, a trueborn Arrancar."

Inwardly, Nnoitra got interested. A trueborn Arrancar? And a perfect one as well? This would be fun... "Kimimaro, eh? I'll make sure to carve it on your gravestone when I'm done with you! Prepare to die!"

The battle resumed, and Orihime and Ichigo could only watch how equally matched those two were. True, Nnoitra had been hurt by Nel before the battle, but Kimimaro was still inexperienced (at least he said so, Ichigo was slowly beginning to doubt that statement), so they were on equal grounds. For a moment Ichigo tried to leave Orihime's protective shield, but he found himself getting burned from trying. It looked like Kimimaro was on his own.

The combatants continued to clash against each other, and every time their weapons collided a shockwave echoed through the white sands of the desert. Ichigo and Orihime couldn't help but to feel a little awed at the display of sheer skill. Both combatants wielded their weapons with a grace that betrayed their form. Ichigo was having more and more problems to believe that Kimimaro was weaker than him. If the white haired Arrancar was truly not yet accustomed to this form... Ichigo didn't want to know what he would be able to do once he was accustomed to it. Fortunately Kenpachi wasn't there, it would have been a bloodbath...

Meanwhile, several miles away...

"Ne ne, hurry Ken-chan! It's that direction!"

"Che, you sure? It's nothing but goddamn sand everywhere!"

"Fine, then go left over there."

"What do you mean "Fine then"?!"

In retrospect Captain-Commander Yamamoto would come to the conclusion that sending Kenpachi and his little lieutenant anywhere without a person who actually knew where the enemy was, was about as helpful as giving someone chopsticks to eat soup - it was no help at all.

Back with Kimimaro...

Both fighters were getting more and more anxious. The battle had already gone for more than ten minutes, and none of the combatants had yet managed to land a solid hit. This was especially aggravating for Nnoitra, whose pride was taking a severe beating since the Quinto Espada was unable to hurt a lowlife Arrancar without any rank or history. Thus the long haired Espada decided to drop his caution, rushing at Kimimaro with the intent to kill.

'This lowly Hollow's got nothing on me! He won't even be able to pierce my Hierro with his shitty spear! I'll cleave him in two with a single blow!'

With a battle cry Nnoitra swung his weapon in a wide arc, giving his already heavy weapon even more force to kill its master's foe.

Kimimaro, who was surprised by his opponent's sudden charge, had not enough time to prepare a perfect counter. However, since he had no way to completely dodge the attack, Kimimaro chose attack over evasion, preparing to pierce Nnoitra's chest with his bone-like spear.

As the weapons came closer and closer to the combatants, Kimimaro could hear Ichigo's voice shouting his name in the distance. But he paid no mind to that. All that counted was the fight.

And the weapons struck their targets.

"Kimimaro!"

Ichigo could only watch with growing horror how the two so evenly matched warriors struck both at the same time. However, due to Nnoitra's swung scythe, Kimimaro's left side was not only hit by a very sharp blade, he was also hurled several yards away before he hit a large dune of sand. A cloud of dust blocked the view, but it was clear to all: Kimimaro could not have escaped this attack unharmed.

Still at the same spot as before, stood Nnoitra. A satisfying smirk had spread across his face, and the look on his face was one of pure arrogance.

"Che, trueborn Arrancar, so what? You are no match for me after all. My Hierro can't be pierced by the likes of you."

Nnoitra was so caught up in his mockery, that it took him a while to realize that this statement was wrong. A searing hot pain was spreading from a point directly under the left side of his ribcage. Nnoitra's eyes widened as his gaze travelled down his body to look at the origin of the sensation. The Quinto Espada could not comprehend it. There, right where the weakling of an Arrancar had hit him with his stupid spear was a deep hole. It was almost four inches wide, and when the eye-patch wearing warrior felt the blood trickling down on his back as well, he knew that the spear of the blasted albino had managed to pierce him!

Suddenly a voice rang throughout the desert. "It seems we're almost equal in every aspect, Espada."

Nnoitra's head snapped back up and looked for the source of the voice, just like Ichigo and Orihime did.

The sand cloud created by Kimimaro's impact was slowly subsiding and revealed the white haired warrior, who was slowly walking back to his opponent. When Kimimaro left the sand cloud completely, Orihime couldn't help but to hold her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. A huge wound could be seen on Kimimaro's left side. It looked like Nnoitra's weapon had managed to cut almost one quarter into Kimimaro's body. Blood was flowing freely from the wound, but the white haired Arrancar wasn't even flinching was he proceeded towards his opponent. And the closer Kimimaro came, the stronger Nnoitra's scowl got.

"If my defense had been any weaker, that attack would have cut me into two... But it seems you were unable to escape my attack as well."

The two Hollows now stood only a few yards apart, their weapons now painted with the other's blood. The first blood had been drawn, and curiously enough, it was a draw.

But then, the atmosphere suddenly changed. The air became heavy and oppressing, and even Ichigo and Inoue, who stood quite a bit away, could feel the danger that was approaching them.

"Shut up..."

The voice of the Quinto Espada was barely more than a whisper. But Nnoitra repeated the sentence over and over again, like it was some sort of mantra to him.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!"

Heavy spiritual energy was swirling around the Espada like a menacing whirlwind. In Nnoitra's one visible eye burned pure hate and bloodlust.

"How dare you! I am Nnoitra Jiruga, the Quinto Espada! My defense is the strongest of all Arrancar throughout Hueco Mundo! And you dared to wound me! You will pay for this insolence!"

The black haired Espada was screaming furiously by now. He raised his heavy weapon high into the air, and the Reiatsu output reached its peak. His next words were the prelude to Kimimaro's hardest battle yet.

"Pray! Santa Teresa!"

The gathered energy fiercely exploded outwards and threw up the sands of Hueco Mundo. A cloud of dust blocked the view on Nnoitra, but the enormous Reiatsu that had gathered behind the sand screen made clear that whatever awaited Kimimaro would be hard to defeat. As the sand slowly receded, a few things became visible. Nnoitra's eye patch had come off, revealing his jaw like Hollow hole around his left eye. On top of his head was another mask fragment shaped like a crescent moon. But the most notable change was that the Quinto Espada now wielded four scythes - with his now four arms.

"He's got more arms? Is something like that even possible...?"

Ichigo muttered incredulously. Sure, he had seen some strange transformations by now, but the sight of these four human arms still unsettled him.

"Kimimaro - !" Ichigo couldn't help but to call out to his comrade. Would the young Arrancar really be able to win against such an opponent? But the white haired Arrancar remained calm. There was no hesitation or fear in his voice when he grabbed his spear in his right hand and answered Ichigo.

"I said it before, Kurosaki-san. In order to gain access to all my powers, I must fight an opponent whose strength either matches mine or surpasses it. I do not know who will win this fight, but even if I lose here, I know that you'll have recovered enough to finish this fight."

Nnoitra, who hadn't moved since his release, was getting annoyed. Even after seeing his full Resurección, the stoic albino had not even blinked. Was he really that cocky or was he just stupid?

"What do you say, you pitiful lowlife? What is it like to see the Resurreción of one of the elite Arrancar like this?"

The mantis like Arrancar's gaze hardened when Kimimaro continued to look at him with these expressionless eyes.

"Say something, Lowlife!"

But Kimimaro simply raised his spear and spun it around, the head now facing the ground.

"I have to admit, the increase in your power is rather stunning. I have no chance of beating you as I am now, thus I have only one choice if I want to defeat you."

With a powerful downward thrust Kimimaro stabbed his spear into the ground with both his hands. He stabbed the spear so deep into the ground that he even landed on one knee while doing so. Spiritual energy began to gather around Kimimaro like it had done before Nnoitra had released his Zanpakuto.

"Serve..." Kimimaro's voice was neither loud nor forceful. But it rang across the desert like it was the only sound in the world.

"Lealtad" (Spanish for "Loyalty"; Kanji read as "Great Bone Tyrant")

The condensed Reiryoku erupted like a wildfire and covered Kimimaro in a cocoon of pure, white glowing spiritual power. Slowly, the wall of white receded and revealed Kimimaro's true form to the eyes of the world.

He now stood at 5"10' and was only slightly taller than his previous state. His formerly pale skin color had vanished and turned into a dark brown. But the brown skin could hardly be seen, for the majority of Kimimaro's body was covered by a white armor completely made of bone. The mask fragment that had looked like a forehead protector with horns had grown and reformed into a mask that covered Kimimaro's face completely and only left two slits for his yellow glowing eyes. The horns had grown and were now easily both one feet long and curved, making them look like the horns of the devil.

Kimimaro's white hair had slightly grown and now reached his shoulders, which were also covered with the white bone substance. Several spikes adorned the armor and gave the Arrancar a menacing look. The armor continued all over his body, leaving only the joints at his arms and legs uncovered. The hands and feet ended in vicious looking claws that looked sharp enough to tear the walls of Las Noches to shreds.

The most notable change however was the four feet long tail that emerged from Kimimaro's back. Unlike the body it was not covered with armor, revealing the brown skin the Arrancar possessed now. But even though the tail was not covered with bone plates, the four sharp looking spikes showed that it was definitely more than a useless addition.

"I'm still not used to this form..."

Kimimaro's voice was slightly muffled because of the bone mask that covered his face. Nevertheless it was still Kimimaro's voice, even though it was a little more... feral.

"Now that we're both serious... Let's end this battle, Quinto Espada."

Nnoitra, who had been staring at Kimimaro the entire time, snapped out of his stupor. He scowled darkly. How could this lowlife dare to startle him?! Where had this incredible power come from? Was a trueborn Arrancar that much stronger than a normal one? After all, Starrk was one, and he was the Primera...

"Stop looking so smug, you damn lowlife! Do you honestly think your puny spear can keep up with my four scythes? Let's test that little theory of yours!"

The Quinto Espada rushed forward, his four bladed weapons tearing through the desert sands as he closed in on the Bone Tyrant. When the one-eyed Arrancar was close enough, he swung his scythes around and threw sand at Kimimaro to blind him. It worked since Kimimaro was unable to immediately locate Nnoitra afterwards, failing o sense the approaching blades from the dead angle on his left side. A maniacal grin spread across Nnoitra's face. He'd cleave that stupid tag-along of Nel completely in two!

However, things did not go as planned. In the last moment Kimimaro heard the sound of the scythes slicing through air and managed to bring his left arm up into a guard position. While any normal person would have lost said arm now, Kimimaro did not. To the great shock of the Quinto Espada and the surprise of Ichigo and Orihime, the strike hit Kimimaro's arm and simply stopped - the blade didn't even penetrate the armor in the slightest.

"Tch!" Nnoitra was seriously pissed. If one scythe was not enough he would simply use two or more! But just as he raised his arms to strike the bone warrior, he received a painful slam to his guts courtesy of Kimimaro's spiky tail. While the Arrancar's Hierro managed to deflect most kinds of damages, it didn't stop damage once it surpassed the strength of the steel skin. In other words, if an attack was strong enough it could pierce an Arrancar's defense and deal the full damage, a feat Kimimaro's tail had almost accomplished.

It was then that Nnoitra realized that he had to be careful. Kimimaro was the same as the Quinto Espada: a warrior who specilized in defense. With their almost impenetrable armor they could take any attack head on and counter easily. But with both Arrancar using the same style, the battle could easily turn into a slug match, and Nnoitra didn't know if he could take out Kimimaro and have enough power left to deal with the kid who defeated Grimmjow. The Quinto Espada's suddenly snapped up when he felt a slight change in his opponent's reiatsu. What was that guy planning...?

"It seems I'm at a disadvantage without a weapon... So I'll have to negate this advantage of yours."

Kimimaro raised his right hand, and spikes of bone started to emerge from it, growing together and covering his entire right arm below the elbow. The bone construct was now a roughly four feet long lance and had several wicked looking spikes everywhere.

"Danza de la Clemátide: Flor." The bones settled completely and assumed the shape of something that not even death had taken from Kimimaro's memories. The instinct to use his abilities.

"Lanza del Tirano!" (Spear of the Tyrant)

Among the dunes of the endless sands that made up Hueco Mundo, a black portal opened, unnoticed by everyone but one lone Adjuchas class Hollow. The Hollow in question had been going without sustenance for years by now and was already close to losing itself again. So when a strong spiritual pressure appeared where the gate had opened, the Hollow's partly regressed senses told it to devour the source of this pressure immediately instead of judging whether or not it was actually a danger.

The sleek and cat like body of the Adjuchas tensed. It focused on the cloaked form of the newcomer, did a mighty leap, extended its claws –

- and fell down far behind the cloaked person, sliced in two from top to bottom. The cloak wearer swung their sword to clean it off the blood still clinging to it before returning the blade to the sheath. The figure then clenched and unclenched their left hand, which was covered by bandages, likely to check its flexibility despite the restraining bindings.

From beneath the cloak dark-brown eyes scanned the landscape and found the castle of Las Noches rising in the distance. An expression of determination settled on their face as the figure started dashing towards the imposing structure.

"Hang in there, Ichigo." Haku said to himself. "This time we'll return to Soul Society together!"

And that's everything I have. Again, I apologize for getting the hopes of some people up, but better to finish something for sure than let it drag on in uncertainty. If someone thinks they could pick the pen up, don't be shy and contact me. I still have some notes left that might be useful.

Sir Godot