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Neither of them ever expected it to grow into this.
It had started with nothing more than a battle of wits, a game to see which was the better combatant, though not on the battlefield.
She didn't even remember when it had started. Maybe that day, at the beginning of her "imprisonment", when she had first set eyes on him. On his slightly hunched, angry form, permanent scowl in place, untidy blue hair sticking out in all directions as he glared at her with those shockingly bright eyes. Eyes filled with anger, resentment, and hatred. She felt an odd stirring in her chest when she looked into those eyes, and it took her a moment to realize why they were so familiar. She had seen a similar expression in the bathroom mirror many times.
For him, he didn't know exactly when it had begun. Maybe that first day, when he saw her, standing before Aizen, eyes narrowed in anger as the ex-shinigami smirked, waving his hand nonchalantly towards a completely still Tosen, who's Zanpaku-to was held mere centimeters from her lieutenant's throat. Maybe it had started for him when she had nodded her head in defeat, had turned and followed Uluqiorra out of the room, but paused at the doorway, had looked back, and smirked, even as the wall behind Aizen shattered, raining plaster and stone down on them.
Neither of them ever expected it to grow into something like this, a desperate struggle between the two, each trying their hardest to break the other, totally and completely.
For both of them, it had gone far beyond the bonds of hatred, transcended love, and left far behind any other emotion either of them could think of. It was something none could fathom, a feeling so powerful that it had not even a name.
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Kaida sat cross legged on the floor, in a pool of moonlight, eyes closed, hands resting on her knees, when she heard the door creak open. Footsteps approached her, familiar footsteps, steady, but with a certain swagger of arrogance to them that could belong to only one person.
Dark red eyes flashed in the moonlight as she turned her head ever so slightly, in acknowledgment of his presence. Indeed, he stood right behind her, hands stuffed into the pockets of his white hakama, scowling at her with his usual grumpy expression.
Smirking, she turned back around to face the window, closing her eyes again.
"So, which side of the bed did you wake up on today?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. She could almost feel his scowl spreading, but he kept his composure.
"I don't sleep." He said coolly, but his answer startled her, despite the apparent note of sarcasm inflected in his voice. So much so, in fact, that her eyes snapped open and she twisted her neck so that she could look at him fully. What really startled her was that he had answered her in the first place. Usually, they answered each other's scathing questions with scathing questions, not blatant, dull edged answers.
She blinked, then sighed, before pushing herself to her feet, finally facing him fully.
"Tired?" she asked.
"That time of the month?" Ah, that was more like it. She smiled.
"No, but then again, you've got nowhere to talk." Okay, if she was frank, that was a low blow, even for her, and it showed in his slightly twitching eyebrow. He tilted his head to the side, regarding her curiously as he stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets. His frown spread.
"I didn't know this had turned into a pissing match." She sighed.
"Quite frankly, I don't know what all this has turned into." She said under her breathe, not looking at him, but absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair. She sighed again, eyes closing, before tensing suddenly.
His spiritual pressure had moved, and, judging from his reiatsu, and the wall that had just materialized behind her, he was now a little too close for comfort. Opening her eyes, she was met with an empty room. In conformation of everything she already knew, the "wall" behind her took a breathe, and sighed. That, and it was a shockingly warm wall.
"You're too close, Grimmjow." Said Kaida, eyes downcast as she spoke, but voice strong and resolute. It wasn't her intention to drive him away fully, but as he became bolder the longer their game went on, the more familiar each of them was becoming with each other's personal space. That, and each of them was seeing just how far they could push that particular boundary.
He seemed, deep down, to crave the physical contact. It seemed to calm him somewhat, and, despite everything she told herself, it had a similar affect on Kaida, as well. It was also one of the few, rare moments when each allowed the other to see a deadly weakness, and trust the other completely to not use that against them. It had worked, so far.
He sighed again, but didn't move. Instead, she felt him lean his forehead on her shoulder, his hair tickling her neck. A soft brush of lips on her skin made her shiver. Almost.
Turning her head slightly, she could just make out his dark shape in the half-light, his taller frame hunched over so that he could lean against her. His hands were still resolutely stuffed into his pockets, though she could tell, by the straining muscles in his arms, that he was exerting a huge amount of self control to keep them there.
"Uluqiorra's been making some odd comments as of late." She said, not knowing how to break the strange silence. He only snorted, nose still buried against her skin.
"The trained dog can go fuck himself, for all I care. If he's so concerned, he would have done something by now." He sighed again, before straightening, looking down on her with a strange expression on his half-shadowed face. She turned, so that they were facing each other again. They stood there, unblinking, seeing who would balk first. It was their usual way of parting, a last ditch attempt by both parties to gain a slight upper hand over the other.
However, it was the door creaking open and Uluqiorra sticking his head in that ended the match, as both looked away at the same time.
She smiled slightly as they turned their backs on each other.
"Sorry, handsome, better luck next time."
His only reply was a deft snort, before he stormed from the room in his usual fashion.
As Kaida sat down to her dinner, Uluqiorra giving her a funny look, which she pointedly ignored, she couldn't help thinking that it was getting to the point where she could read him maybe a little too well.
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He had first entered her quarters, purely out of curiosity, maybe a week after she had gotten there, and he found her in a rather odd state. She was sitting on the floor, cross legged, staring out the window, humming to herself. At first, he had just stood at the doorway, completely struck dumb by the simplicity of it all. She was a freaking captain for crying out loud, wasn't she just a tad bit concerned that she was here, in Hueco Mundo, with Aizen and his Arancar, hopelessly outnumbered, without even her Zanpaku-to to protect herself with?
As he stared at her, illuminated by the moonlight, he had a strange sense of familiarity with the whole scene, and had found himself making his way to a chair, and sitting, and just listening to her sing softly to herself, eyes closed, swaying slightly from side to side, hands folded gently in her lap. It created a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach, and it took him a while to realize that it was a mixture of peace and calm.
And so it had gone on for several weeks, him coming in after her dinner had been served and Uluqiorra had wandered off to his own quarters for the night, when the halls were silent, all except for the soft sounds of her gentle singing.
Slowly, he had started coming more often, in "daylight" hours, and would just sit and watch her stare out that one window. Finally, one day, when he just couldn't take it any longer, he had asked her why she kept staring out the window.
She smiled, and asked him why he didn't.
He had, of course, scoffed at her, and said that he had better things to do than to stare out a window all day, at which point she had shrugged and made a snide comment asking how watching her sing after hours was his way of "better things to do".
He hadn't entered her quarters for a week after that.
He only returned after a midnight jaunt past her quarters yielded no signs of singing. Confused, he had opened the door to see her sitting on the couch, staring at the floor. She looked up when he entered, smiled, then made her way to her usual spot, and began to sing again.
It took him a while to realize that she had been waiting for him, but by that time, they had already begun their own personal war.
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She had been confused when she felt his spiritual pressure first enter her room. It had startled her to realize who exactly it belonged to, but she had paid no heed, instead continuing with her songs, afraid she would scare him off if she spoke directly to him.
She hadn't expected him to return, and it saddened her. She had liked his silent company, even knowing who and what he was. It was lonely in Las Noches, and without Hinamori, she was utterly alone. His companionship, if it could be called that, had been appreciated.
Suffice it to say that she was probably happier then she should have been when he returned the next night.
And so it continued, his silent vigil over her singing a nightly occurrence and a welcome diversion from her rather boring, monotonous life of imprisonment. His presence became so comforting to her that she found herself falling asleep with him still there, and waking up in her own bed, strangely content and far more rested than she had been her first week.
And then he had appeared in the daylight hours, startling her somewhat, but she paid no mind, instead continuing her vigil at the window, thought she refused to sing in the daytime.
He had asked her about that once, after they had begun speaking on a regular basis, and she had answered him frankly, startling him, saying that she preferred the night, as it offered the shadows of darkness to her on silver platter, hiding all the ugliness and lies of the life she had been leading as a human, also adding that she found the moons light to be strangely soothing to her, far more so than even the warmth of the sun could compare to.
He had just given her a strange look, one of confusion and dawning comprehension, before they had been interrupted by Uluqiorra and Kaida's dinner, at which point Grimmjow had gotten up from his seat on the edge of her bed and stormed from her room in his usual temper.
She had only smiled after him, because she knew that the look in his eyes had been one of understanding.
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First chapter…not sure what to think of it myself…character is an OC, I'm afraid, but she's not too bad for the part. Anyway, the story explaining why she's in Hueco Mundo, why Momo's there with her, what's up with Grimmy, everything else, etc. Is currently on Hiatus until I have the time, energy, and mental capacity to actually write it. For the moment, this is just a brain teaser to get my mind back on track.
Thank you for your patience!!
And please review!!
Arigato!
WPD