#diejagd

“ I don’t know what kind of fish that is! It’s a fish, damn it! ”

❝ what's wrong? i didn't hear your reply, grimmjow jaegerjacques. ❞

yeah no this is very much exactly what happened. as far as my headcanon and all go, aizen's behavior shift in hueco mundo ( when not in private with gin or kaname ) is very easily explained by the fact that he is in a land of predators. for all of their power - since gin is aizen's equal and kaname is not that much lesser than they are; though he does remain lesser - they are just but three shinigami in a realm of hollow and aizen is very much aware of this fact. in hueco mundo, he's not afraid to exert his power by any degree whatsoever. in fact, it's probably wiser and safer for him to do so.

is he scared of them? no. not in the least. hollows don't scare him. he's bigger than they are, in terms of power, but he does not believe in discarding the tools he's gathered lightly. i imagine that, barring hallibel and ulquiorra and starrk, every other espada went through this at one point or another with aizen, being forced to understand that they were not the ones in control at that point -- aizen is. it's very much a display on his behalf, so to speak, a sort of willingness to show that he's the most dangerous thing in the room.

which, well -- he is.

at that point in time, when aizen more or less reminded grimmjow of his place, it was very much a calculated and deliberate move on his behalf. we know for a fact that the espada that are there when ichigo and his friends invade hueco mundo are NOT the original ones. we see only three privaron espada ( which means we have seven unaccounted for ), szayel was not an espada when nnoitra tossed nelleil out of hueco mundo ( which aizen very nearly killed him for. he was furious with both nnoitra and szayel at that point in time. ) and we know that rank designations can change, proof of nnoitra.

aizen had, essentially, proven himself as leader of the pack by that point in time but every so often, a display of strength and power was necessitated. aizen told them to remain in their palaces, knowing full and well some would obey and that others would not. gin says it himself at one point that all of the espada had their personal motivations and yet they followed aizen anyways, due to his strength.

aizen had no interest in breaking grimmjow, but the other fact of the matter is that he was ready to use the espada as he deemed best. had he not other affairs to concern himself with the day of the invasion into the tenkai kechuu - and later into karakura town itself - you can bet that aizen would have dealt rather harshly with both grimmjow and nnoitra for being as reckless and impulsive as they were. it was one thing if the invaders found their way into the palaces such as renji and pesche with szayel -- but it was another for them to disobey.

i feel that grimmjow got a very harsh reminder of the fact that this was a man he had sworn to follow and that, for as much as aizen would allow the espada to squabble amongst themselves, he was being rude and disrespectful. it’s canon that aizen disdains disrespect and discourteous behavior; just look at how politely he treats everyone in the series ( barring kisuke. ) even after his defection. he even passes a sideways compliment to shunsui that day in the winter war. so for grimmjow to act in such a way was not something aizen tolerated very well, if at all. and it wasn’t, essentially. aizen very much chose to do that with grimmjow because of the fact that he felt a need to remind not just grimmjow, but the other espada, of the rule of law.

so long as aizen remained within hueco mundo, they would obey him.

          it is rare to find the man who commands the whole of hueco mundo without the shadow of silver nearby, but it does happen. he and gin are not forcibly attached at the hip, after all, and that sometimes meant being able to discover aizen on his own. here within the confines of his library was one of those places where it sometimes happened. he had been in need of a new source of material to indulge in at the later hours when he was relaxing, settling down for sleep, and as such this was no different than before. it had taken him years to accumulate the whole of this library and he’d spent years, too, taking it from the seireitei to fill the shelves here. others could enter it if they pleased -- he merely bade that they treat his library with respect.

          so it was with surprise he found grimmjow nearby, given he did not think the other would ever truly visit a place such as this one. so he paused in reaching for a book and his head swung about to leave his gaze focusing in upon the blue-haired sexta with a hum of soft and contemplative nature.

@diejagd - Battle time

How long has it been since she's tasted her own blood? She felt it ooze from her lips as she coughed, grasping her injured side as it seized in pain. Oh yes, she prided herself on knowing how to take a hit but damn this BEASTS punches was something else.

It made her blood burn. It stirred at the embers of her soul.

{ Is this.. how you wish to fall? }

She could hear the croon in her mind, the essence of the weapon she refused to draw as she gathered her reiatsu and balanced herself back to the balls of her feet. Heat began to crackle around her, simmering across her skin. The Arrancar that stood before her, kept his piercing blue eyes narrowed on her form. A flicker of interest coming and going when the tips of her hair deepened in color.

He vanished, and she sensed him just as he manifested again by her right, foot swinging at her arm as she raised it to block. The impact cracked at the ground and their surroundings, she flew yards and crashed past concrete and buildings.

{ .... Is this how the end will be?}

In truth, going out in battle suited her fine. It was better then the alternatives she'd thought of once in the past. She forced her leg up, kicking the chunk of a wall off her form as she stepped out of the rubble. Her arm was broken, she had felt her bone break with the impact of his leg. Damn that brute strength.

She stumbled, falling to her knee and slamming her blade to the ground to hold her upright. Shit--when had she drawn it?

“ Get up. you’re not done. ”

No... She wasn't done was she? More heat began to crackle from her skin, and her eyes flickered in shade. She slowly raised her head, blood spilling from her temple, down her jaw. Every nerve in her body felt as if it was on fire.

{ Call us... }

Her grip tightened on the hilt of her sword, flames sparking from its metal as she felt the final restraints in her soul tether away. The beads in her hair cracking, shattering as they fell to the ground.

“ Burn... ” Flames began to lick at her hands, “ Until...” Her eyes brimmed gold, and she felt invisible claws hover around her neck. “ ...Ash remains ”

A red light shimmered around her shoulders, bled into her hair as her own beast's dark chuckle echoed within her ears. “ Houou. ”