Talos began to walk through the area, the hooded figure he saw the other day had unnerved him. Who exactly was he? And why was he so concerned about his future? Another issue came with Ichigo, who still hadn't retained whatever memories he had despite fighting so many battles. The teenager looked up to see a large poster for a tournament that was being held today, the so called ' Crossfire Tournament ', he didn't hear a word about the thing previously, which made him question its relevance.

" Odd..." Talos muttered, checking his phone as he looked up the tournament online.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw many people having the same predicament, however, instead of shock many people were excited for the tournament, with the mysterious tournament even getting news coverage of all things. " This could be the key to regaining your memories, Ichigo..." Talos stated, looking towards his card as he smiled, nodding.

The teenager began to walk further into the area, hearing clamor amongst many duelists as they screamed and shouted. At the center of it all was a tall blonde, the nationally renowned Nibiru Alandra. The prodigy crossed his arms as he laughed immensely, looking at his newly defeated opponent. " Does anyone else wish to face me? I'm still not satisfied with any of you lot! " He exclaimed, to which his entourage of fans laughed.

Talos gulped as his eyes widened, he wanted to approach the duelist but an aura of pure fear struck him as he looked onwards towards him. He then proceeded to take a deep breath and regain his composure, he needed to keep his cool even in the worst of situations. He walked past the crowd of duelists and looked towards Nibiru. " I'll take you on! " He exclaimed, raising a hand.

Nibiru simply laughed as he looked at Talos, he had never heard or seen him in his entire life, so this should be entertaining. The duelist dressed like a prince to emulate the authority of his position as one of the strongest. He began to walk backwards in order to create some space between the two. " Let's duel! " He exclaimed, the crowd of people roaring and cheering.

Talos grit his teeth, there was a literal human wall behind him now. " I trust you, partner...we can accomplish anything together..." Ichigo stated softly, appearing as a small hologram from his card.

The teenager simply nodded and watched as his opponent threw down a Gate Card. He extended his hand as a desert formed in the area, with the group being whisked away into a palace. Nibiru simply smirked as he watched Talos throw Ichigo to the ground, in which he followed up with the same maneuver. " Espada Palace is my Gate Card, it grants all Espada characters a boost of 100 ATK " He stated, crossing his arms.

A humanlike figure dressed in white clothing appeared in front of Ichigo, wielding a Trident in his hands, or rather, a Zanpakuto. " He doesn't look anything like the Arrancar..." Talos muttered, pointing towards Nibiru.

" Looks can be deceiving...my Espada is no different..." Nibiru simply replied, chuckling as he watched him appear.

Arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie: 700 ATK, increased to 800 ATK by Las Noches

Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki: 600 ATK

" I activate an ability! Spiritual Pressure! It doubles the base power of Ichigo and reduces your ATK by 200..." Talos muttered, sweating as he didn't have as much experience as somebody like Nibiru did.

Arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie decreases to 500 ATK

Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki increases to 1400 ATK

More experience meant a stronger bond, and a stronger bond meant more abilities, something Ichigo greatly lacked. " Do you know what I desire, Talos? It is a simple thing...but it is hard to obtain..." Nibiru began, grasping an ability card as he watched Ichigo rush towards the Arrancar.

" I activate an ability, Neijibana! " Nibiru exclaimed, Aaroniero's Zanpakuto glowing as his spiritual pressure increased.

Arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie increased to 800 ATK

" ' That's still not enough to defeat Ichigo ' Is that what you would say? " The duelist asked, watching as Aaroniero began to struggle against the Soul Reaper.

Talos only felt more and more uneasy by the words of his opponent as he spoke. Aaroniero simply grinned as he pushed harder against Ichigo, the struggle persisting between the two of them. " When me and Aaroniero first met, he too lacked his memories...however, as our bond grew...he regained his memories...and gained more power. What I desire is insurance...and I'm not talking about financial insurance...I'm talking about the insurance of strength..knowing that in every battle nobody can defeat me! " Nibiru shouted as he held out an ability card in his hands.

Ichigo grunted as he continued to apply more force to Aaroniero, who simply let out a grin of confidence in his partner. " Ability Activate! Surge! Water and Heaven! This ability allows me to negate your most recent ability and decreases your ATK by 400! " The duelist exclaimed, as suddenly a large wave of water was sent towards Ichigo, causing him to be flung into a wall brutally.

Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki decreased to 700 ATK via Ability Negation, decreased to 400 by ATK deficit

" There's something familiar about this place..that must be why my opponent is keeping quiet..." Ichigo thought to himself, trying to get himself back up as blurry memories of a similar place entered his mind.

Nibiru grinned as his face turned into a furious excitement. " Your time is over! I activate an ability! Sonido! This allows me to double the damage to your life points that you would normally take! " He exclaimed, as Aaroniero suddenly dashed towards the fallen Ichigo.

Talos grunted as he held out a card in his hand. " I activate an ability! Protective Charm! This card allows me to negate an attack and bring your fighter back to their base power..." He stated, as a surge of Ichigo's spiritual pressure suddenly blew Aaroniero away.

Arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie decreased to 700 ATK

Talos watched as a card materialized in his hands, most likely from Ichigo's memories. He was about to open his mouth when Nibiru laughed and interrupted. " It seems your bond has increased, but to what extent? You're probably going to say something like: This is the key to my victory? Aren't you? Aaroniero and I have reached the pinnacle of our power...you have only scratched the surface of yours..." Nibiru monologued, watching as Talos held out his card?.

" I activate an ability! Zangetsu! This increases Ichigo's ATK by 400! " The duelist exclaimed, Ichigo looking towards his blade as it glowed, his power increasing.

Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki increased to 800 ATK

" Pathetic...I activate an ability...Spiritual Pressure! " Nibiru replied, holding out his ability card as it glowed.

Talos froze as he looked towards Aaroniero and Ichigo. " Y-You have that ability as well? " He asked, beginning to back away in fear.

The duelist simply chuckled. " It is a common ability utilized by the strong...I simply wanted to give you a glimmer of hope before you perished! " Nibiru exclaimed, a surge of light shooting out in the area.

Arrancar Aaroniero Arruruerie increased to 1600 ATK

Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki decreased to 600 ATK

Aaroniero then shoved his Neijibana through Ichigo's chest, sending him back to Talos in card form. Talos looked down before him as a life gauge appeared in front of him.

Talos decreased to 1000 LP

Aaroniero also returned to card form as well, back to Nibiru. " Ready for the next round, I'll be sure to take you less seriously..." He stated with a chuckle.

Talos began to walk away, outside of the arena grounds which forced the area around him to fade away and dissipate. " Ichigo is my only character and he's exhausted...I forfeit this match..." He stated, crossing his arms as he walked away.

Aaroniero came forth as a hologram and looked towards Nibiru. " Keep a close eye on him, Ichigo is a fighter with great potential...he had the gall to invade Hueco Mundo with only a small team beside him..." He explained, to which the duelist nodded, walking back towards a limousine.

" Driver, transfer half of my victories to that boy I just defeated....I want tabs kept on him as well for insurance " He commanded, to which the driver simply nodded as the elongated car began to drive away.