Ashido lazed about for a moment - considering what he had been through since the uproar of Ichigo and Rukia and their friends, he had not been disappointed. They probably assumed he was dead - he couldn't blame them, he would have thought the same thing, had he been in their shoes. Still, that Ichigo worried him - he could sense a dark power hidden within the Shinigami - one that reminded him of the reiatsu he had sensed from the more powerful Hollows, if you could call them that, outside of the Menos Forest. Still, it made no difference now. From what he could tell, all of the foreign Hollow powers had completely receded and he could only sense two large spiritual pressures remaining. He had decided that, since Sosuke Aizen had left Hueco Mundo, that he would destroy and remaining Hollows and whatever the other things were - Arrancars - Ichigo and Rukia had called them.

I have rested enough - my reiatsu is completely restored and I feel like I can fight again

Ashido decided that he would have to leave the Menos Forest, in order to seek out the slightly smaller power he had sensed. In doing so, he realised that he would probably have to destroy any Hollows that got in his way, unless he could get out of here before they tried to hinder him, that is.

He stood up, stretched and then shunpoed away from the area, utilizing his speed to avoid any conflict before it was necessary. Even so, he spied hundreds of Hollows still remaining in the forest. Finally, he reached the edge of the forest and left its premises, heading in the direction of the power. He flew over the deserts, noticing that he was heading towards the massive dome. He supposed that must be Las Noches, the place that Ichigo and Rukia had been talking about reaching. He wondered what the place was like. It seemed to take forever, even flying at his speed, he could tell that it wasn't really getting any closer, though the power certainly was.

After a while, even the dome seemed to have gotten somewhat larger and now the power of the Arrancar was not far away - close enough that he could feel its density and magnitude. He wondered what he had gotten himself into, but understood that he needed to fight and destroy the Arrancar, as he swore he would do when came to this place. Near the dome, he stopped and tried to figure out exactly where the power was coming from. Once he had ascertained this, he flew in that vector - wondering what would happen.

Strong reiatsu - I will have to release my Zanpakuto for this... I wonder if I can win... But, I have to - I made an oath to myself, in memory of my dead comrades... I WILL DO IT!

During this time, Ashido hadn't realised that the power had started to head towards him, and he narrowly escaped the fist of a blue-haired man, with a sadistic grin and wearing white robes.

'A Shinigami! Finally, I can have some fun!!!' The man spoke with exceptional glee.

'Just who are you? And why are you here? I though Ichigo and his friends destroyed you all... I guess it doesn't matter - I swore I would destroy every last Hollow and that is exactly what I'll do!' Ashido vowed fervently, his eyes focused solely on the blue-haired man.

'Ichigo?! That bastard! I should be asking you those questions! What is a Shinigami doing here in my home?! I am the King of Hueco Mundo now!!!

'I have always been here. I came here hundreds of years ago and haven't left. We couldn't return to the Soul Society - all of my comrades died, to Hollows. I will avenge those deaths by exterminating every last one of you!'

'Your comrades died, huh? They must have been weak trash then! I'll show you true power!!!'

'Trash?! You'll pay for that, you Hollow scum!' Ashido leapt at the Arrancar, drawing his Zanpakuto and striking a glancing blow at him. He didn't dodge and Ashido's Zanpakuto scraped past the man's arm, leaving a slight graze there.

'You fool. You'll never get past my Hierro with that weak attack. I won't even bother releasing my Zanpakuto... You are too weak for me to do it!'

-To Be Continued-