Background info

Mei is a 15 year old orphan who possesses high reiatsu. Her parents had been killed by a pack of vile hollows many years ago. The hollows had been chasing Mei so like every parent should, they died while protecting her from them. The hollows had been attracted to her high reiatsu, which is why she's always on the run from them. However she does not know that she possesses it yet.

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques is a former espada and servant of Aizen. He foolishly gave into his bad temper and dreadful hated towards Tosen by attacking him. This resulted in him being stripped of his rank and purpose to survive under Aizen. He had no other choice but to leave Hueco Mundo and go to the world of the living. There he plans to create his own army and strike back.

This can only happen when he discovers his apprentice, who happens to be Mei.

Disclaimer- I don't own Bleach.

Surviving fugitive

Chapter One

Written by 10ShizukaYuukiMistress10

She sat calmly on the edge of a cliff which overlooked a particular village. It looked like any other common town, possibly slightly poorer in certain areas. Squinting she saw young girls wearing oversized flocks, carrying heavy baskets of bread and little boys jumping around and pulling at the hem of their mother's dresses, making a fuss. Mei didn't have a family so by watching how normal people lived it educated her.

Her legs dangled dangerously over the cliff's peak. She valued life very little but that would be expected considering since a young age, she'd been fighting for survival.

Flashback

Why was this happening again? Mei wasn't sure if this was a coincidence or not. It had happened so many times now it couldn't simply be a coincidence. White masked beasts were chasing her through the village fields. Looking back she could make out an army of monsters through her teary eyes. The majority of them looked like oversized creatures with antennas and sharp claws. Some could fly and were circling above her in a taunting manner, ready to swoop down and deliver the killing blow. She had already received what she considered minor flesh wounds because the gnashes on her body weren't necessarily life threatening and she'd suffered much worse wounds before.

Mei had been running her little legs for so long, but ignored the fact that her body was at its limit.

She wouldn't stop running until her legs gave way. She wouldn't stop breathing until her lungs burst and she wouldn't give up on living until absolute necessary.

However the little hope that Mei was clinging onto quickly faded. She couldn't request to survive with the legs of a seven year old. Even with the advantage of a head start the monsters continued to gain in on her, it was pointless and a miracle she was still alive.

The hollow flying above her swooped down like a hawk. It grabbed her around her waist and began to open its mouth which revealed uneven rows of fangs exuding in drool.

Mei closed her eyes ad readied herself for death. However it never came. For some reason while closing her eyes, she saw a small sliver of light in her mind. Maybe she was imagining it, but it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger until it was unbearable to look at.

Her very life was flashing before her eyes but she wasn't ready and didn't want to die. That was when she heard voices. They sounded so faint that Mei wasn't sure whether or not it was just the wind or growls of anticipation and hunger coming from the hollows.

The voices were getting louder and she felt as though there was another soul living inside her body. Before she could listen on to the voices, a sudden change to her physical state brought her back to reality.

When Mei opened her eyes she found herself lying on the ground in an awkward position. Most importantly, the army of hollows were nowhere to be seen.

Her dark bangs shifted slightly as she turned her head in all directions to make sure they weren't hiding.

She didn't know that the hidden spirit of her zanpakuto had sensed her distress and released some of its own reiatsu which intensified the spiritual pressure she was already unconsciously releasing. The hollows couldn't withstand the pressure and withered away in its wake, reduced to nothing more than reishi.

"What h-hap- " She fainted and fell head first into the ground, knowing that as soon as she awoke, she needed to be prepared to run away from those masked monsters all over again.

End of flashback

Looking up, Mei saw a clear ocean blue sky where a few baby birds gracefully flew by. They reminded her of freedom. Birds had a free pass to go anywhere they wished. Those birds could be right on their way to a completely different land and wouldn't need to have a care in the world.

She'd often drift off into another world upon seeing something which could trigger her imagination and lead her into deep thought.

It had been eight years since that incident had occurred and she still couldn't work out what had made those hollows disappear. It was still a mystery through her point of view.

No matter how far she travelled, every villager had claimed that she was cursed and Mei believed that their theory could be true. She didn't know that there were others who had high reiatsu and could see spirits.

Right now she was merely catching her breath before resuming her run from those monsters. They were still on her rail after all those years. Sometimes bigger ones would appear, except they wore a long black cloak which had a sort of hood to cover the back of their heads. Like every other hollow they had a white mask but their faces bore a long pointed cone for a nose, which was above an open jaw revealing rows of sharp white teeth.

A blood thirsty roar sounded in the distance which was an alert for her to start running quicker.Mei's resolve was to simply run away and pray that one of those black kimono wearing spirit beings would turn up and kill them for her. On various occasions they had saved her from the masked beasts but she couldn't believe that they'd saved her of their own free will. They hadn't simply wanted to.

To be specific she'd seen a rather young looking one with silver hair in a particular village she'd passed through. The look in his eyes showed her that he was very reluctant if not gambling on whether he should have wasted his time cutting down that hollow for her sake. Instead it seemed like his duty or purpose had something to do with eliminating these hollows which saved her life that day.

Mei was jumping from tree branch to tree branch for a couple of hours. The harsh winter weather made it an effort to keep her eyes open. Most winters she'd hide at an inn for a few hours before resuming her run.

Her legs felt ten times heavier and breathing properly became a challenge. She hadn't slept properly in a week and hadn't eaten for days. Was this all hinting something? Through experience she knew better than to fight the hollows because all it would gain her is one foot in the grave.

Mei was falling. Finally her legs had given way, even after all those years of running and getting stronger, it still hadn't paid off. Had it all been for nothing?

Well she wasn't ready to allow her efforts to be wasted. Mei reached out for something she could hold onto but there was nothing. She was falling over the cliff.

Death didn't seem so bad though. All her loved ones were dead so she wouldn't have to regret leaving anyone precious. She would merely be forgotten. If not then her death would be celebrated by those who had spent countless years trying to assassinate her. Although they could never keep up to her speed or pin point her always changing location, she knew that they were trying to avenge those who had fallen victim to the hollows she had attracted near their villages.

Finally she could rest from the burden of regret weighing down on her. Wouldn't her death bring joy into others' lives instead of sadness? Couldn't she finally be at peace knowing that she could finally do something right?

Mei liked the feel of the wind parting around her– parting like they were gates giving way for her to pass through and meet what fate had planned since the beginning of her existance.

She liked the feel of the force of gravity, pushing her closer to what is to be and found herself smiling. She was relived to be leaving this world to enter another in exchange.

Her dark hair had grown longer over the years and her pale skin had tanned from the various lands and deserts she'd had the privilege to pass through. The tips of her bangs waved towards the sky like a flame. A flame reaching out for help like a human rising to the surface of a pool in need for air.

It felt nice just falling for falling was much simpler than having to spend a lifetime playing survival.

Mei braced herself. In a few seconds it would all finally be over. But that did not happen. A strong hand caught her wrist.

She didn't bother opening her eyes until a couple of seconds later. And when Mei did, she saw styled sky blue hair and matching blue eyes. He wasn't even looking at the neutral expression she was giving him but instead gazing at something beyond her.

He licked his lips in a blood thirsty manner and shot mad looks towards a few hollows which had closed in on them. They instantly disappeared in thin air like water evaporating. Did he do something? Was he the cause of it?

After a few minutes she decided that he must be an assassin sent to ensure she gets killed in the most painful way. But it did cross her mind that he'd simply intended to save her; not that she considered it to be his purpose; that was on the bottom of her list of assumptions.

Mei decided to be reluctant towards his actions and began pulling her wrist away. Immediately he shot her a glare and tightened his grip, painfully digging his nails into her flesh, "Don't move." He barked, irritation evident in the tone he'd used.

She chose to ignore him and carried on, which was a big mistake. His hand let go of her wrist. She was about to try and examine its condition when his other hand wrapped around her petite neck and her back was slammed against what felt like rough tree bark.

"I WILL KILL YOU, YOU INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN!" Mei's sensitive ears were visibly ringing and she squirmed slightly when his saliva splattered across her face. How indecent could men get?

"T-then why did you save me?" She managed to whisper although after each word she needed to take in a sharp breath.

"Argh.." She found herself unable to breathe because whoever this assassin was had a really strong grip and a bad temper.

Unknown strength surged into her arms and she found herself fighting back until he eventually let go of her throat. She fell to her knees and made the type of noise a normal human would make after they'd been holding their breath underwater for too long and had reached the surface midway in the process of devouring oxygen.

After a few minutes she regained her normal pattern of breathing and got into a sitting position. "You didn't answer me." Mei wanted to know why he'd saved her because no one had ever done so much as to help her, adding to the fact that he was a stranger.

He didn't respond. Mei reached for a small rock which was lying beside her foot and threw it at his head.

The blue haired stranger didn't turn but caught it in his hand without looking. He wrapped his hand around the rock and as each second passed, his grip tightened more and more until the rock crumbled at the pressure and was nothing more than soil slipping through the gaps between his fingers and onto the ground.

Mei started to stand up because he'd turned around with an unreadable expression over his face. Was he pissed with her?

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" She said while taking a step back.

Still no reply. She cowered away until her back hit the surface of a tree and the blue haired stranger was merely but a metre away from her.

He carried on advancing towards her with a swagger in his stride until he could sense her shivering in the atmosphere. He moved his head forward and turned his face towards her ear.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and that's no way to speak to someone who saved your life. I suppose I was attracted to your high reiatsu which also explains why you've not collapsed and died in the wake of my own high reiatsu," he smirked mischievously, "…you saw what happened to those hollows." He added.

What does he mean? What reiatsu? Hollows? Are they those monsters and were they attracted to my-my unheard of reiatsu like Grimmjow was?

"Grimmjow –" Mei had so many questions to ask but was cut off. "…You're annoying."

He dug his fist into her stomach and she fell to the ground. He didn't have time answer any of her petty requests.