[love, save the empty]
Frantic.
Gone to the woman's room as usual, but had decided to hurry because you sensed a disruption. And when you had gotten there –
and Loly
and Menoly
and a hole in the wall
and GRIMMJOW TOOK HER.
And that was it, now, it was you rushing to Grimmjow, to where he was with the woman and
to
Kurosaki
[and here you are.]
And the orange dome around Kurosaki
And Grimmjow's wide eyes staring at Kurosaki
And the green-haired child crying over Kurosaki
and
Orihime
"Ulquiorra…"
What are you doing, Grimmjow?
and his face – [daring] his eyes – [uncertain]
What's wrong? I'm talking to you.
and silence
except for his breathing.
the breathing of the boy who not one hour ago had been very [dead].
What are you trying to pull – healing the wounds of an enemy that I already defeated?
And a slight twitch of a lip, a slight sneer [the idiot.] Challenging eyes.
No response?
Emerald eyes settle on the woman's [brown] ones, the woman's [wet] ones, the woman's [sad] ones, the woman's [scared] ones.
(She is afraid of me)
and she looks away.
Very well then. In any case, Aizen-sama has entrusted that girl to me. Hand her over.
"Fuck you."
…What did you say?
"What's the matter?"
and his voice sounds like the silence before a storm.
"You've got a lot to say today. Don't you, Ulquiorra?!"
and his hand
Reaching
Suddenly
A crack as his hand slams into yours, as the bones splinter and shatter beneath your skin, but the pain is nothing. Force from Grimmjow dies away and you can feel the bones reassembling.
[emerald] locked on [azure] locked on [emerald]
"I can see it in you, Ulquiorra."
"You are afraid of fighting me."
"Scared of ripping us both to shreds."
"!"
and he blows into you again, an explosion large enough to make you need to avoid it.
"Hah!"
"So you diverted it!"
"As expected, one attack isn't g-"
but he stops
[your finger is an inch from his head]
and he brings his hand up in time, both firing the Cero at the same time.
And it explodes
you're in the air, smoke and debris blocking your view as you search (where is he) when suddenly you feel an arm on your shoulder and you look down in time to see
shit.
From your hollow hole expands a box that builds rapidly around you and then snaps into oblivion and Grimmjow is gone.
[not be, but be]
(back at the bottom of the pit. there is no light.)
the bodies of your pure black comrades lie decimated around you, just like how they were on that day. You lift your hands – they are scarlet.
Why am I here? Back in this form? Back on this day?
wearily climbing from the pit, [wings] flapping – aiding your ascent. and when you reach the top of the dune, just like you remember.
There is the tree.
The bush.
The jungle.
The branches.
spiking up from the ground, glowing and sharp. like metallic blades caught in the sun.
[gravity] you want to sink yourself into that void.
(It would be so…)
Easy.
[happiness.]
"wah! you scared me!"
yes, her voice. voicing her fear of him.
Woman, are you afraid?
Are you afraid of me?
Woman, I asked you if you were afraid.
"some people need to be saved."
he watched her mouth move in his mind's eye.
Like yourself, you mean.
"No. Well, I may need to be physically saved. But there are others who need to be saved…in a different way,
Ulquiorra."
Are you insinuating something?
"Love saves people."
("Ulquiorra. You need to be saved from your emptiness. I am not afraid…because I will save you.")
And he looked at the tree, at the void. With his shoulders [heaving] and his hands [bloody] and his wings [drooping] and his body longing to fall into that void.
[happiness.]
I am not afraid…because I will save you.
the whisper carried into the void, echoing into his [deaf] ears, bouncing against his [numb] skin, infiltrating his [clogged] nostrils, spilling from his [mute] tongue. Her voice, whispering against him.
{Ulquiorra…love saves the empty.}
does it now?
"Before that…"
A faceless head turns to the sky. [Aizen is calling.]
"I will leave Las Noches in your care…"
A bloody hand reaches forward, cracking the dimension with one long fingernail.
"Ulquiorra."
And you step through the gash in space, mask cracking and clothes forming over your body. He looks up.
At the other end of the throne room stands the woman.
Yes, sir.
and her face spins toward yours, and you see it in her eyes –
[fear.]
and you have to know.
s.t.e.p.p.i.n.g towards her.
Are you afraid?
And she looks up at you as you come closer.
You're useless to Aizen now. There's no one left to protect you. It's over. You will die, alone here, where no one can touch you.
So close. [chest] to [chest]. Your breath fans over her face.
I asked you…if you are afraid.
barely a whisper. Your eyes are locked together.
"I am not afraid."
and your eyes widen.
"Everyone came to save me…my heart
is already with them."
[and you understand]
("Ulquiorra…love saves the empty.")
you see it in her eyes as she looks into yours, [emerald] locked on [chocolate] locked on [emerald].
and her thoughts.
[Love, save the empty…]
(save me.)