The Demon and the Shark: Nnoitra Jiruga vs Tia Harribel

Deep within the dunes of Hueco Mundo, three figures dotted the sand, surrounded by dozens of Hollows. On the top of one of the dunes, sat a masked man, who watched silently. Several feet below him stood two Arrancar; a male and a female. In an instant they split up and cut down all of the Hollows, returning to their normal spots only seconds later. "You two are improving." the masked man said, in a deep voice. Starrk floated up to join him, "It's about time we did too." he said, flatly. The woman began walking up the dune soon after, "Perhaps...but I still don't feel strong enough yet." she confessed.

Normally, it would've been a desolate and deathly passive time in the dimension of Hueco Mundo. Despite the crack of day, and other than the three that stood together, it was nothing but dead silence. There were only the constant screams of Hollows, along with the battle cries of insane Arrancar that fought against one another. It was a civil war waging... and yet, there was no significance or importance to it. It was a battle that would never be won or lost, but would go on for eternity. Only these powerful beings were able to retain their sanity in such an environment, where no law existed, and criminal activity resided.

However, it was not too far away that similar powers were clashing.

A four-armed figure, as well another Espada-like individual, were using Sonido to constantly appear and re-appear and several points. During this time, their blades clashed ferociously, sometimes in brief bursts, and in other times all-out swinging. The Espada seemed to be having difficulty keeping up with the six-armed monster, scythe blades forcing him on the defensive. But his speed and skill allowed him to hold his own, even counter-attacking at some points. On the ground, there were two other figures, an Arrancar female and an Arrancar male observing, the former of the two having a rather cheery smile on her face. The other was watching silently.

It was not too long before both fighters finally descended to the ground. Senkaku fell to one knee, breathing heavily and wheezing slightly. There was a shallow gash in his side which he was clutching. It didn't heal, even as he came out of his Resurrecion. "Damn it..." He cursed breathlessly, sending a glare towards the other Arrancar. "You've gotten a lot better, Nnoitra..." That brought an arrogant smirk across Nnoitra's face, as he too faded out of his Resurrecion.

"What's the matter, water boy? Can't keep up anymore? I was only using four arms!" He gloated.

"I don't think that really matters, Jira-kun..." The girl commented, looking quite skeptical as she folded her arms across her chest. "If they can outmaneuver you, like Grimmjow had almost did--"

"They won't." Nnoitra interrupted, fixing her with a narrowed eye glare. "Even that pussycat's Resurrecion couldn't do shit to me. He was weak, and only got saved because that whore of his managed to take him away."

Senkaku grinned. "You mean, you got your ass kicked by a girl? Again?"

"Shut your mouth, water boy!!!"

By this time, Harribel, Starrk, and the masked man were lying in a triangle formation on their backs, staring at the dawning sun of Hueco Mundo. Suddenly, Starrk opened his eyes and slid them in the direction of a fading reiatsu. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but there had been two large energies not far away, and they had both just winked out and faded. After focusing on it a little more, he recognized it and let a smirk cross his face. This didn't go unnoticed by the masked man, "What is it?" he asked his comrade. Harribel didn't allow Starrk to answer. She had her eyes closed still, but spoke up immediately. "It's an old associate of ours. So it seems we weren't the only ones to survive, eh, Starrk?" she asked. "I suppose so." he responded, yawning.

"Wanna go pay a visit to him?" the masked man asked the both of them. Starrk sat up and looked over, lazily, at him, "Why ruin a perfectly good chance to nap?" he replied. Harribel, however, rose and got to her feet, shocking Starrk and prompting the masked man to rise to his own feet. "Harribel?" the masked man asked. "I would like to go over there." she replied. The masked man nodded, "As you wish." In that instant, the group vanished from their location.

Before Nnoitra and Senkaku could continue their fight unreleased, the silent man's eyes widened, and he jerked his head in a random direction. If they hadn't known him, they would've looked at him in bewilderment. But they knew that his senses were much sharper than his. The man held three fingers up; three other spiritual presences were heading their way at immense speeds. That gave the tip of the incoming strangers being other Arrancar.

"Guess that's it for training today..." Senkaku commented, turning towards his former opponent. "We'll have to-- Nnoitra?"

He was surprised upon seeing shocked eyes and a slight frown that was Nnoitra's expression. The former Espada had rarely shown a look like that outside of a surprise attack by his opponent, and they weren't even in battle yet. "Uh...Jiruga..." He attempted to get the man's attention again, and that was when he saw the Quinta's eyes narrow. He slung Santa Teresa over his shoulder, walking over to take a seat on one of the nearby boulders. There was no doubt about it - Nnoitra had acquaintences coming his way.

Reunion
Three swishing noises were made and the group touched down directly in front of Nnoitra's. Starrk scratched his head and sighed, not looking at the Quinta at all. Harribel, however, glared at the former fifth Espada. The masked man took a seat behind her with Starrk following suit. "Nnoitra..." Harribel stated, as if his name had just come back to her.

Senkaku couldn't help the look of amazement that had befallen on his face. As Nnoitra looked over the female as if trying to find the right way to greet her, he pondered. Nnoitra knew this woman? Had she been a former rival? With the way that she was glaring at him, it didn't appear as if the two appreciated each other's company. He looked thoughtful and solemn, folding his arms across his chest as he looked over the situation. However, he was immediately broken out of his thoughts by Melina's cheerful voice.

"Ooh, ooh!" Eagerly, she pointed at Harribel first. "Tercera!" Then she lifted her finger towards the meditative Starrk. "Primera!" Nnoitra hadn't even told her who they were yet, and she could already guess their former ranks accurately. This allowed a small smile to cross Senkaku's face; despite her bubbly complexion, Melina proved to be quite perceptive in such situations. However, Nnoitra was too busy letting memories swarm his mind. His past with the 3rd Espada had not been too great. Once again, a female had secured a position two ranks higher than him, the fact of a woman being more powerful than a man having irritated him to no end. Had Aizen not been keeping them in line, he would've gladly resorted to the tactics used against Nelliel. However, he hid his scorn well, masking it with a smirk in the former 3rd Espada's direction. "Well, I'll be damned...." He said lowly. "Both Tia and Coyote alive and kicking... tell me, who did you get killed by?"

"That..." Stark began, finally looking at his former comrade, "...is none of your business, Quinta." he replied. Harribel remained silent for a moment and then finally spoke once more, "Aizen turned on us, but we managed to escape the Fake Karakura." she explained. She then narrowed her gaze at him once more. The masked man looked at her with concern, "Are you alright, Harribel?" he asked. She did not respond to him, instead adressing Nnoitra again, "Why weren't you with us in Karakura?" she asked.

Undeterred by Starrk's stern statement, Nnoitra looked directly into Harribel's eyes. "Heh. I was off seeing how'd that substitute Shinigami would fare against an Espada in combat. He got the shit kicked out of him by Grimmjow, and it was a shame having to crush him at such a weak level." With Santa Teresa in one hand, he lightly shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing much to say about it. I crushed 'em both and fought your predecessor, until she reverted back to that weak kid form of hers... yeah, I was about to finish up and meet you there for some actual fightin'... but..."

He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and let out a maniacal chuckle. "That.... that was when I met my opponent. I'd never thought I'd duel with a Shinigami so brutal, so bloodlusting, and so ferocious in my entire life! It was even better than crushing those weakling Hollows, Arrancars, and what-not back then! My only regret now is that I won't be able to cross swords again with him, now that the whole fuckin' war's over and done with."

Harribel shut her eyes and nodded, "I see." she replied. She then reopens her eyes with a fierce glare that seemed to penetrate Nnoitra. "If I recall correctly; You once tried to provoke me into attacking you back in the old days, during one of our Espada meetings. Don't tell me," she began, placing her index finger into one of the slots on the guard of her zanpakutō, which was situated on her back, "...that you still hold a grudge towards me for being of a higher rank than you back then."

Starrk was now observing the situation with a very observant eye, "Wow. I've only seen Harribel get fired up once and that was when Aizen turned on us. Yet right now I can feel the anger burning off of her being...She really mustn't like this guy." he though, now crossing his own arms and glancing over at the masked man, who glanced back at him, seeming to return his concern. "Not that I really blame her. He cares nothing for comradely and his mouth is as foul as his reiatsu."

Immediately, Senkaku took a step back, a bit intimidated by her power. Now, as strong as he was, he knew better than to mess with a pissed-off female. What the hell had Nnoitra been doing in order to anger someone such as the 3rd Espada, anyway? This woman was two ranks above him, and yet the man still acted like he could look down on her. Well... he could, considering he was the tallest one out of all of them. Still... if this got out of hand, he may needed to rely on his team. The other two teammates were watching silently, Melina refraining herself from speaking, although she did look anticipated.

Nnoitra could feel the rage curdling within Harribel, and he practically fed off of it. His grin grew wider, and Santa Teresa's staff was behind him. It was the lazy form of the stance he was about to go into. "Damn right..." He hissed maliciously, returning her glare full-force. "Bitches like you shouldn't be even wielding swords... you belong in one place out of where the men belong... and that's on your knees!!" With a flick of her index finger, Harribel ripped Tiburón from it's sheath, spinning it around and catching it firmly in her right hand. As soon as she grabbed it, her golden spiritual energy erupted from her body, sending powerful gusts into the dunes which caused sand to blow everywhere. "Well then," she said in her usual calm voice, "It looks like you'll get your wish. But I warn you....I'm far above the level I was in my days with Aizen."

She then turned back to her team, "Forgive me." she said to them, "But I cannot allow someone like him, who treats his comrades lower than ants, and he who will not acknowledge the strength of a woman, to live." The mask man nodded his approval, "Very well." he said. Starrk put his hands behind his head and leaned back, "Fine by me. I need to rest after all that training." "Oh, really?" Grinning, Nnoitra settled into his stance, already feeling the adrenaline pump within him. "Well, I'll warn you too, Blondie. I'm a far cry from the 5th position. Pretty soon, even Wolf boy's gonna start kneeling before me!!" Finally, he had his chance to prove himself stronger than the top four Espada. This was a step to becoming the strongest Arrancar in Hueco Mundo - to build your way up and fight your enemies like a ladder.

First he would kill Tia. Then he would crush Starrk. Simple as that.

However, before he could finish that though, Harribel appeared behind him and swung her blade for the back of his head with deadly precision and speed.

CLASH!

It was no surprise that Harribel would utilize Sonido first. However, constant cases of being overwhelemed by Nelliel served as a harsh lesson to Nnoitra. Little-by-little, he had managed to get himself adjusted to such speed, and bit-by-bit, he had managed to climb to the 3rd Espada's level. With no limit to his training, his reception was even faster. Turning his side to her reflexively, he put Santa Teresas' two blades in the way of Harribel's impressive sword strike, effectively blocking it. "See that?" He gloated. "I can keep up with the likes of you, now..."

Gripping the hilt of his weapon with both of his hands, he used his brute strength to forcefully break the swordlock and parry Harribel's sword away. Then, without stopping, he raised the blade over his head and swung down with all of his tremendous might and strength behind the blow.

Harribel, still only using one hand, lifted Tiburón up into the air and blocked Santa Tresa with no visible signs of buckling under the strength of the blow. "Typical of a man to use his brute strength as a sign of power." she thought. She had to admit, though, that she was impressed at the Quinta's display of speed. She flicked her blade, freeing it of Santa Tresa and then filled Tiburón with her yellow spiritual energy, swinging for her foe's mid-section.

With both hands on his sword, and his Zanpakuto's blade in the air, he wouldn't be able to swing the crescents down in time to block the enhanced attack. With the butt end of Santa Teresa, he swung it into Harribel's wrist to stop the progress of her arm's movements, if not break the bones in her hand altogether. Then, with a rapid flick, he had the killing edge pointed at her neck, thrusting again with a vicious speed of his own. Harribel was stunned slightly by the attack on her wrist, but her Hierro held up, preventing her from breaking any bones. She then preformed Sonído to dodge the oncoming blade of Santa Tresa. From above, and with the yellow energy still within Tiburón's hollow portion, she thrust her blade forward at Nnoitra, "Ola Azul.." she declared, firing the energy blast directly for Nnoitra's head.

"Oh, please." In order to counter the attack, Nnoitra stuck his tongue out to reveal the number 5 tatto on it. But this wasn't meant to be a sign of taunt; a golden Cero, opposed to being fired from the finger or palm, was forming at the tip of his tongue. The attack wasn't actually meant to damage the Espada, but rather counter the Ola Azul she had sent his way. If the Cero overwhelmed the blast, all well and good. If they combusted upon collision, he would have to settle for a strike in its wake... that is, if Harribel didn't move immediately. He unleashed it, the golden beam of certain death illuminating its own pathway as it raced toward its target.

Realizing that her Ola Azul was no match for an Espada's Cero, Harribel moved quickly, swiping her blade and firing her own golden Cero, which rushed down and overtook Ola Azul, heading on a collision course with Nnoitra's Cero.

Abruptly, however, Nnoitra stopped the attack immediately, allowing Harribel's Cero to overwhelm his own. Despite facing immediate death, he sneered, snake-like eyes narrowing. He raised a hand off of Santa Teresa and held it out in a signal to stop. "I've been waitin' to use this..." He declared arrogantly. Sure, Nel may have been a bitch and all, but Nnoitra could safely admit her techniques had packed a punch. He carried this one for his own, as if it was his own personal trophy for supposedly surpassing her in power. He was confident Harribel would never see it coming.

Harribel's Cero slammed into his palm, but stopped short right there. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, sucking in the energy like a vacuum. Once it was all stored, Nnoitra tilted his head back, lunged forward, and unleashed the Cero right back at the woman while firing his own, resulting in a drastic augument of the attack. So far, only he and Nelliel had proved to utilize the technique successfully.

Cero Doble.

Harribel's eyes slightly widened, "That's...!" she thought as the immense Cero rushed towards her. She quickly sliced her finger with Tiburón, "Your attack has power...however.." she said, charging a large pinkish-purple Cero, "It's still no match for mine...Gran Rey Cero.." she declared in a stotic cold voice. The massive Cero erupted from her palm, rushing towards Nnoitra's Cero Doble.

It was unfortunate that Harribel did not speak empty words.

At first, when the Cero Doble and the Gran Rey Cero clashed, they seemed to struggle evenly against one another... but it only lasted for a few seconds, before the Gran Rey Cero overwhelmed Nnoitra's power. The arrogance in Nnoitra's face faded completely, and he could only afford to widen his snake eyes, pupils shrinking almost to non-existance. "Impossible!!!" He nearly screamed out, as the blast overwhelmed and consumed him completely in the resulting explosion. It was a blaze of fleeting, killing beauty, a purple-pink explosion rocking the landscape. Needless to say, his teammates were looking on with varying degrees of shock at what seemed like a crucial blow.

Things Get Heated! The Demon and the Shark
Harribel looked down with a cold and icy glare at the pink mass of flames that now danced on the dunes below her, "Rise up, Nnoitra. I know that wasn't enough to kill you." she said coldly. As she said this, her eyes darted around, looking in the smoke and the surrounding landscape for the counter attack she knew was coming. "I will say this though..." she said, speaking again. "I expected more of a former Espada."

From below, Starrk looked on with slight amusement, "Harribel sure let him have it." he said, chuckling. The masked man returned his chuckle with one of his own, "So it would appear." he replied. His eyes then narrowed beneath his mask, "Let's see the result of your training thus far...Harribel." he thought, returning his attention to his comrade.

"Did...did she do it?" Melina asked cautiously, fearing the worst.

She would soon get her answer, when she saw a figure teleport behind Harribel. Other than a ripped sleeve, as well as burn marks along his right arm (and a part of his spoon collar taken off in the blast), he showed no signs of major injury. In fact, he still stood mightily as he towered over Harribel, looking down on her physically smaller form. "I'll admit..." He said, almost whispering. "That was a nice attack... but you've seem to forgotten what my specialty was. Starrk had his guns, you had water, Ulquiorra had regeneration... and I? I have the strongest Hierro. There was only one person that managed to cut it, and that was the Shinigami I fought. Aside from that, there would be no one else." He sneered ferally, weapon lowered to the side of him. "Face it, Tia... to you, I might as well be invincible!!"

Abruptly, he swung Santa Teresa diagonally with one hand, attempting to catch the 3rd Espada off-guard.

Harribel sidestepped it with Sonído, reappearing a few feet away in the air. "Only one has cut it? I think you're vastly underestimating your opponents. Your skin is tough without doubt, but it isn't impenetrable. " she lectured. As she said this, her reiatsu began to feel different in the air and ferocity finally took hold in her emerald eyes. "Up until now, I haven't been taking you seriously at all. I still expected you to be the weak little puppy that you were back then...but it seems that dogs like you really do learn new tricks." she spat, leveling her sword. Then in a demonstration of her mastery of Sonído, she surrounded Nnoitra with twelve after images before violently attacking him with Tiburón; making slicing movements and slashes with deadly precision and lethal speed.

All bets were off.

Nnoitra clearly expressed shock, and even slight fear as Harribel unleashed the first attack against him. He could barely raise Santa Teresa to block it in time, the surprise overriding everything else. However, as he stared into furied eyes of his former superior, he felt his own expression began to shift, his grin exposing his growing excitement. He fixed his glare onto hers, allowing her to see every bit of bloodlust and anticipation that he would hold in commensing this fight.... for real. His spiritual pressure started exerting itself, illuminating his body with a golden glow. He didn't need to say any more words.

When she attacked, he fought back. Her Sonido was pitted against his, and at every point they clashed at, a shockwave could be felt as the powers clashed violently. In terms of swordsmanship, he not only utilized simple blocks with his blade, but also blocks with the pole itself. He kept twirling the weapon around to adjust himself with her attack pattern, his own counter-strikes fast, furious, and deadly. Sometimes, he even utilized grabs and parries with a free hand in order to temporarily throw off Tia for openings. He almost regretted telling her that she wasn't worth using a sword.

Almost.

On the sidelines, Senkaku himself watched the battle commense with clear amazement. He had never expected the seemingly stoic woman to fight so seriously, and he had never expected Nnoitra to hold his own against her fury. But it was all too clear; Nnoitra had definitely surpassed his expectations. Melina herself now found the voice to cheer him on occasionally. "Go, Spoon-chan!" She shouted, though it was possible he couldn't hear her.