Title: The Emerald Curtain
Author: KobaltWolf
Rating: T
Warnings: Minor language and violence
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own One Piece or Naruto. They are the property of their respective owners. However, I do own any OCs that might appear
Summary: After his fight with Ichigo, Ulquiorra is dumped in the world of One Piece. Now he's been mistaken for a pirate by Marines, while Whitebeard's 2nd Division Commander seeks vengeance against him. Can Ulquiorra find a way home, or will he die trying?
Hello, peoples! So sorry I haven't been able to post lately. I've been on vacation, had a tooth infection, and my dog is having kidney failure :'(, so I haven't had much time. This is a new story I've been working on, a crossover between Bleach and One Piece, though it's almost completely set in the One Piece world. It focuses mostly around Ulquiorra, but there will be a lot of Portgas D. Ace later in the story as well.
I've been trying to write Gift of the Outcast, but I'm having little luck. I will finish it though! *determined face*
Anyways, hope you like it!
Ugh.
A fitting thought, seeing as Ulquiorra was lying on his back in an unknown jungle with some unknown lizard about to bite down on his head. His eyes widened a fraction. “Bala.”
“GRUAHHH!!!!” The monster, if he was fit to call it such a name, reeled back in surprise, clutching the newly appeared, rather clean hole through its chest.
Raising an eyebrow, the Espada rolled to his feet, side-stepping as the thing's tail crashed down beside him, sending debris flying into the air. Without hesitation, it wheeled towards him, beady black eyes narrowed with pain, and opened its mouth, revealing a set of teeth (I mean honestly, they were the size of carving knifes) that would make a Gillian (obviously not an Adjuchas) give a second thought (if it had any form of thought) about ceroing it (which it then would because it lacked any form of thought.) And then the thing would die. Like it was about to now.
BOOM!
Ulquiorra glanced down at the smoking crater he'd just created, the lizard's prone and burnt body flopped in the center. He cracked his knuckles. It wasn't even worth a cero.
The Espada turned on his heels, cat-like green eyes scanning the surrounding flora. Hm. This isn't Hueco Mundo. He could have face-palmed. That was his first thought? He was the Fourth Espada and that was his first thought?
His eye twitched.
Obviously, this was not Hueco Mundo. The Hollow's domain lacked any form of vegetation, other than those crystalline structures sprouting from its desert. Also, the sky wasn't glaring blue.
The Seretei?
Ulquiorra doubted whether the Shinigami would allow such creatures as the lizard thing to roam their forests.
So the World of the Living.
It was the only other possibility. The Shinigami trash had thrown him into some kami-forsaken jungle, most-likely in close proximity to the equator of the earth. Lovely. However, the solution was simple. The Espada raised a hand to the air. “Garganta.”
. . . .
“Garganta.”
. . . .
“Garganta.”
. . . .
. . . .crap.
So the orange-haired trash had somehow sealed his ability to open a Garganta? Impressive. For trash.
The Espada sighed. It would seem he would have to use the old fashioned way to get home: sonido. Yet, he would first have to find out where he was. He raised his foot, stepping onto an invisible platform of air. He brought the other foot off the ground.
BOMP!
“Kuso.”
Eye twitching, Ulquiorra slowly got to his feet. Something wasn't right. He lowered himself to the ground, crossing his legs in the classic lotus position, and closed his eyes. The Arrancar remained in this position for nearly a half-an-hour, never moving in the slightest. About twenty minutes into the meditation, a butterfly attempted to land on his shoulder. It was incinerated in a localized burst of reiatsu. Finally, his eyes snapped open.
His reiatsu had dropped 65%.
And not just exhausted, which would be reattainable, but just gone. A whole chunk of his reiatsu had disappeared into thin air.
He vaulted smoothly to his feet.
And that wasn't the only thing. The World of the Living had a fair amount of latent reiatsu, which both Arrancar and Shinigami alike compressed to form the reiatsu platforms they 'flew' on. This jungle had nearly no latent reiatsu at all, a very unusual phenomenon. But Ulquiorra had a theory.
He punched the nearest tree. It shattered on impact.
He just needed to find some people to confirm it.
The black-haired Arrancar glanced upward. And the quickest way to find people? Find the highest point in the near vicinity.
Focusing his reiatsu to his feet, he leaped upward, soaring several dozen yards into the air, before landing effortlessly among the fronds of a particularly tall palm tree. Yes, he couldn't fly, but he sure as heck could jump.
He blinked.
The first thing he noticed was that, to the east and west of his position, two huge, white-gray masses, resembling. . . . skulls?. . . .rose from the canopy. His eyes narrowed. Very curious. He knew of no living animal large enough to fit proportionately with the 'skull' like things. . . .
The Espada shook his head slightly.
This was not the time to debate the fauna of Earth!
Gritting his teeth, Ulquiorra scanned the rest of the landscape. The ground was covered almost entirely by jungle, punctured only by the rare meadow and the river that flowed from the southwest. To the north and south, volcanoes smoked, one having just erupted, presumably seconds before his arrival. And the most important point? It was an island. In the middle of the sea. Inhabited by dinosaurs.
Grand.
BOOM!
Ulquiorra eyes widened as the tree underneath him swayed dangerously.
Where did that shockwave come from?
He grappled with the fronds in order to stay upright. Sadly, the palm couldn't handle the stress. KREAAAK!!! The Arrancar twisted midair, pushing off the tumbling trunk with his toes. Shooting upward, he made a grab from the nearest standing tree, which happened to be yet another palm, a different variety of course. His clawed hands closed around a bushel of its fronds, and he pulled himself out of the way of a squadron of flying debris, only to have the tree crack under the unexpected weight. He growled.
The Espada flew into the air, twisting mid-leap in order to maximize distance—
BOOM!
The island shook as yet another tremor rocked the vicinity.
He grimaced as his trajectory lilted to the left. The problem you ask? He was going to shoot by the tree he was targeting in favor of the cold, hard ground. He made a grab for the trunk, fingernails digging into the bark for friction. The action slowed his speed enough that he was able to swing his legs around the trunk and flip onto the palm's top. Thankfully, this particular palm was made of better stuff than its brethren.
“DORRYYYY!”
“BROGYYYY!”
BOOM!
Ulquiorra gritted his teeth. There had been voices, he was certain of it, right in the smack-dab center of the figurative storm. And where there were voices, there were people, people who most likely knew the position of this kami-forsaken isle. The Arrancar cracked his knuckles. He just needed to get near them.
His emerald, slit eyes dilated as he blasted forward, shattering the poor palm's trunk in the process. Flying for several meters, he touched down on another tree before leaping once more, decimating that plant as well.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The shock-waves were increasing in frequency. Hopefully, whoever had been there would still be breathing.
CRASH!
The Espada annihilated yet another piece of vegetation.
BOOM!
“I WILL WIN, DORRY!”
“NOT A CHANCE!”
BOOM!
Raising an eyebrow, Ulquiorra snorted. Trash. Another tree fell to his foot.
BOOM!
The force was increasing at a steady rate now. The pale Arrancar's lips quirked slightly. He was getting closer. His foot touched down on a deciduous tree—
BOOM!
Gasping, he clutched his chest as the wave's sheer force crashed through his body, sending chills up his spine and banging his abnormally sharp teeth against each other. However, in his surprise, the moment to jump had passed. And so, Ulquiorra found himself about to collide with the ground. He hissed, reaching forward and bending his elbows, effectively dispersing the force throughout his body, a far more favorable outcome when compared to the possibility of a sprained wrist. With his reiatsu so significantly diminished, he had no desire to test his healing factor. After all, he was reduced to the level of a mere fraccion.
*Cue disgusted grimace.*
The impact was not as jolting as he had expected, seeing as he landed in a puddle of mud. Picking himself out of the revolting mush, the Espada growled. Whatever was making those freakin' shock-waves was going to pay. He glanced down at his previously pristinely white outfit (the battle marks had disappeared for some reason. . . .not that he was complaining.) Slimy brown streaked its entirety, punctured by little twigs and the rare beetle. However, those imperfections had nothing on the huge, brown sludge mark splattered across his chest.
Maldito.
His jaw ground together.
“Bala!”
He watched with satisfaction as a row of trees were annihilated. Yes, it was true that he was weaker than before, but he was far stronger than anything the Human World had to throw at him.
Ulquiorra marched forward, not bothering to leap into the trees. He was close enough that speed was not a particularly important issue. At each shock-wave, the Espada dug his feet firmly into the muddy ground, pausing till the next opportunity for movement showed itself.
The march was fairly uneventful, excusing the couple of falling trees and the frequent earthquakes. However, a “fairly uneventful march” did not cover the destination of the march. Rounding what he recalled to be a Durian tree, the Arrancar's mouth fell open in shock (well, not exactly “fell open”. . . .more like slightly parted. . . .barely parted. . . .not really parted at all. . . .)
Yammy had siblings!
Two enormous humanoids stood in the clearing, teeth gnashing violently, each struggling against the other as their weapons clashed together. Their skin was dark and tanned, stretched taut over their generous frames.
The Arrancar's brow puckered slightly. It was anatomically impossible for a human to reach such a colossal size, and, as far as he knew, no other life-forms existed on Earth that fit the description of the two in front of him. Neither of the beings gave off reiatsu, derailing the idea of a spiritual creature. Of course, they could be concealing their Reiatsu, but, even then, they would still emit latent energy.
He cracked his neck.
How puzzling.
“What are you?” It was not a question phrased to himself.
Ulquiorra waited impatiently for the answer.
“Ya' gained weight, Brogy!”
“Like you haven't?!?”
The Espada's eye twitched. There ignoring me.
“GEGYAGYAGYAGYA. . . . !”
“GEBABABABABABA. . . . !”
Trash.
He raised his left hand.
“Bala.”
BOOM!
“NANI!?”
The two monstrosities reeled backwards as the trees between them exploded in a flurry of splinters.
“Wha' the—DORRY!!!!”
One of the giants gripped the other by his cloak.
“Wha' d'you do!?!”
The one called 'Dorry' growled angrily, slapping the other's hands off him. “That wasn't me! I wouldn't eve' be so under-handed, ne, Brogy!?!”
'Brogy' hissed. “Well, i' sure a' hell wasn't me!”
“And I'm supposed t' believe ya'?”
“Hai! It's th' truth!”
“I asked, what are you.”
The two beings whirled around with eyes wide and teeth bared, ready to beat back the intruder. What they did not expect to see was a scrawny-looking teenage boy wearing half a helmet and a mud-stained uniform.
“N—Nani?”
Ulquiorra snorted derisively. To not even be able to process a simple question. . . .pathetic “What are you?”
The pair appeared momentarily taken back. “Giants, o' course!” Brogy replied, gesturing
abstractly. “Wha' else?”
The Arrancar could think of a number of “what else's” seeing as Giants didn't exist. “That is impossible.”
“Hm?” Dorry grunted. “How d'you figure, kid? Ya' blind?”
The “kid's” eyes narrowed. “Neither the Shinigami nor the Arrancar have discovered such a being in the World of the Living. Therefore, it does not exist.”
The pair crossed their arms as they stared down at the comparatively tiny intruder. “Huh? What'ya talkin' 'bout, kid?” Brogy inquired, eyebrows knitting together.
Sighing, Ulquiorra glanced back up at the giant attempting to ignore the huge gap in their heights. “You would not understand.”
“Well,” Dorry rumbled, “You're one t' talk, believin' in Death Gods and—what was th' other thing?—such. Those things don' exist, ya' know, yet ya' deny proof o' livin' Giants in front o' ya'? GEGYAGYAGYAGYA!”
The smaller being's knuckles cracked. “I have ascertained the identities of both the aforementioned races . Your race of Giants however, is of questionable origin, meaning that until your race has been proven, it does not exist.”
Brogy clapped his hands together, face towards the sky as he shook with laughter. “GEBABABABABA!!!” He clutched his stomach. “Ya'r new t' the Gran' Line, ain't ya', kid!”
The Espada cocked his head slightly. “Grand Line?”
Dorry nodded, slapping his hands on his knees. “Hai! Where else wou' we be?”
What is this Trash speaking of? “I am unaware of such a place.”
The pair's laughter cut off abruptly. “NANI?!”
“I said,” ominously, Ulquiorra's hand twitched towards his Zanpakutō, “I am un—”
“Ne, ne. Heard wha' ya' said, kid.” Dorry waved his hand dismissively, bringing the Arrancar's hand ever closer to his most trustworthy katana.
Brogy's brow knit together. “But how'd ya' get in the Gran' Line if ya' don't even know wha' it is?”
“I was—” Ulquiorra paused. It does not matter what they know, seeing as they will die soon. “—forced here during a battle with an enemy of mine.”
“Hm.” Dorry stroked his beard. “Must've been a pretty stron' enemy.”
Emerald eyes flashed. “He was trash.”
Dorry raised an eyebrow, cheer gone. “Sou ka. . . .but even so, have ya' been livin' under a rock? The Gran' Line's rathe' infamous.”
Brogy nodded in agreement. “It's th' most dangerous of th' Blue, afte' all.”
Blue? “I am unfamiliar with that term.”
“Nandato? Wha' term?”
“ 'Blue.' ”
Both Giants' muscles tensed, but Dorry was the first to reply. “Where d'ya say ya' were from?”
Ulquiorra thought quickly. It was unlikely that they would know of Karakura Town, whether they were familiar with the map or not. Certainly not Hueco Mundo or Los Noches. “Japan.”
“Neve' heard o' it.”
The Espada sighed. “It is a country approximately seven-hundred-and-fifty miles off the coast of the Asian continent.”
“. . . .what'cha talkin' 'bout, kid?”
His eyes widened slightly. “Approximately seven-hundred-and-fifty miles off the coast of Asia. Part of the Eurasian Continent—“
“Whoa, kid.” Brogy plopped down on the ground, Dorry following seconds later. Apparently, Ulquiorra wasn't a threat. “What's this 'Ajea' thing? Some island in one of the Cardinal Blues?”
The Espada cocked his head. “Cardinal Blues?”
“Hai. Hai.” Dorry dipped his head. “Ya' know! North, South, East, West?”
“I am unfamiliar with those terms.”
“Th' Four Blue! The major seas of th' world, excludin' th' Gran' Line!”
Shrugging slightly, Ulquiorra's brow creased. “The four oceans of the world are the Indian, Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. It is true that there is a proposed fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, but that is still specula—”
“Kid!”
The Arrancar started from his musings. How dare he interrupt me! “My name is Ulquiorra.”
“Hai, Uhl-qwi-orra. I'm Brogy an' he—”
“I know.”
“Hn? Ah—okay then. But those seas, and the continen' thing, ya' just mentioned. They don' exist.”
A growl escaped the pale man's lips. “Of course they exist. You can find it on any map.”
“Not las' time I checked, but tha' was almos' a hundred years 'go. O' course, I don' think the world could gain a continen' in that period o' time.”
“What do you mean?” This isn't good.
“Wha' he means is tha' there's only one continen' and that's th' Red Line. Some place called 'Ajea' ain't gonna pop up magically,” Dorry cut in.
“And the hundred years? No human can naturally survive that long. Therefore, you must be lying.” Mentally, Ulquiorra cursed himself. Emotion was weakness, and he was letting himself get flustered by a pair of Trash. Pathetic.
“GEBABABABABABA! We tol' ya'. We're Giants!”
“GYEGYAGYAGYAGYA!”
Trash.
Ulquiorra slowly, and ominously, removed his left hand from his pocket, raising it to point at the the so-called 'Giants.' Souls such as they have no right here. “Ce—”
BOOM!
“GAH!” Emerald eyes widened exponentially as the Espada registered the elbow headed directly for his stomach. Instantly, he Sonido-ed to the left. However, the other Giant's right hook was recognized a second too late. Ulquiorra gasped as it grazed the edge of his stomach, tearing away the fabric. In surprise, he glanced down at his new injury, where a ring of purple was already beginning to form. “Keh!” he spat venomously. So weak.
“Kid!”
The Arrancar's furious gaze shot up to meet the Giant's.
Dorry and Brogy were standing side-to-side, their weapons unsheathed and eyes hard. Dorry spoke first. “I don't care if ya'r confused or irritated or whateve', but you do not try to attack us like that, or we'll put you down in a second.”
Ulquiorra snorted. If I'd been more prepared, the results would be different, trash.
“Now,” Brogy continued. “We won't kill ya' at this moment. Not many've landed her' lately an' we could use th' company. Understand? Go ge' yourself togethe', kid.”
Teeth grinding together, the Espada contemplated his options. He was obviously far weaker than normal and not adjusted to his new conditions yet. That reality was made worse by the fact that he was in the home territory of his two enemies. However, if he were to enter his Resurrectión form, the battle would be his, no question. No mortal, the size of a mountain or not, could withstand his sheer reiatsu for very long.
But could he even use Resurrectión? It was questionable, seeing as his energy reserves were so depleted.
He made a decision.
Eyes narrowing, the Arrancar Sonido-ed away.
~/~/~/~
“I don't care if ya'r confused or irritated or whateve', but you do not try to attack us like that, or we'll put you down in a second.”
A growl escaped Ulquiorra's lips as he reclined against the trunk of a Cocos Nucifera, otherwise known as a Coconut Palm.
The trash thought they were powerful enough to contain him? Ridiculous!
However—
He tapped his fingers on the ground.
—the source of information they presented was too great to pass up. It is obvious that this is not the World of the Living I know of, meaning that either time has shifted somehow, or this is a new dimension altogether, the latter being the more probable. The map of the world seems to have changed entirely, an impossibility unless through millennia of continental shift. Yet, the beings I came in contact with had no advanced technology in the slightest. If anything, they were even more primitive than Kurosaki Ichigo.
Even in his thoughts, the Espada spat the name with venom.
Leaving the alternate dimension.
Ulquiorra sighed testily, watching the leaves above him wave in the breeze.
And without my Garganta—
Slit, green eyes flashed
—I am basically stranded.
~/~/~/~
Okay, I'm too tired to post an entire dictionary of the terms in this story, so, if you are unfamiliar with a term, just visit Google Translator. All the language in this chapter is either English, Spanish, or Japanese. Hope you liked it!
Peace out peoplz!
KobaltWolf
