Disclaimer - the only Bleach I own is the stuff you put down the toilet.
Written by me, with Spell check by "TheMasqueradeMoth" (My Otaku 13 Taicho)
Please Read and Review, even if it's to flame... kiddy Ishida puppy dog eyes
An Untouchable Enemy.
Ishida stared at the ceiling, and the ceiling stared back. He was still recovering from his ordeal in, and escape from, Las Noches, and his stomach screamed in protest every time he moved.
When all was said and done, the trip to Henco Munco had been successful. If you forget the fact it was a phenomenal disaster. They had rescued Orihime, but Chad and Rukia had to be carried out, barely alive, while Kurosaki was very almost killed by Nnoitra, if Nell hadn't thrown herself in front of the Cero at that last moment…
As for Ishida and Renji; Renji was still unconscious, but stable, and Ishida had managed to get back to his flat. Unlike the others, their wounds weren't as clear cut – Ishida would be living off of pre-blended food for weeks to come, all thanks to Szayel's freaky voodoo plushie…
Ishida shuddered at the memory of Szayel. Those mocking orange-red eyes seemed to be staring at the back of his head, even when they were in different dimensions. Ishida had never been as freaked out as he was when Szayel had stroked that doll… His skin had crawled as his face had by stroked by an invisible hand…
There was no way they could have fought those kinds of powers alone. So Ishida's worst nightmare had appeared from nowhere to save them.
Just before Ishida had fallen unconscious on top of the prone figure of Renji, he'd seen him on the brow of the pile of rubble that used to be Szayel's labs. The winds of Henco Munco had caused the Quincy cloak stream behind the figure as a single arrow pieced Szayel's back – and he screamed in pain. The last thing Uryuu had seen was his fathers face – expressionless. It held no disappointment, nor any pride. 'He expected me to make a mess of things.' Uryuu had thought. Then the world went black. Ryuuken looked at his unconscious son, and simply shook his head, picked up Uryuu and gestured to Urahara to deal with the Shinigami.
Urahara already carried Chad, with surprising ease, while Yuroichi held Rukia's prone form, while the forth member of the rescue squad was busy with Ichigo.
Isshin Kurosaki was saving his son from Nnotria. If Ishida was surprised to see Ryuuken there, it was nothing to what Ichigo would have felt if he had been conscious to see Isshin Kurosaki, officially the world's most annoying father, standing over him, the moonlit desert winds blowing through his shinigami robes, and captain coat flaring out behind him.
But Ishida didn't know this. No one did. By the time Isshin got there, Orihime had just passed out from blocking Nnoitra's relentless Ceros from destroying Nell and Ichigo.
So, with everyone accounted for, they had fled Henco Munco, Isshin hurrying to get Ichigo home before he woke up. Renji and Rukia had been picked up by an expressionless Byakuya, while Orihime and Chad had stayed with Urahara.
Ryuuken had taken Uryuu home and left him there. The only thing he said when Uryuu had woken up had been "The girl Inoue healed your wounds, but stay off solids for a few days." Then he was gone. It was strange of him to stay until Uryuu woke up, though…
So that left Ishida alone, staring at the ceiling, except…
It didn't feel as if he was alone. Ishida knew that he was the only one in the flat, but he couldn't shake the feeling of someone very close to him. He simply shook his head of the ridiculous idea, and let his exhausted body rest. There was school tomorrow, after all.
The next day dawned, and Ishida blessed Orihime's powers – he felt completely normal, except for a dull pain in his stomach. He managed to force down some soggy cereal for breakfast and set off for school.
He got to the top of his road before he turned back.
Scowling, he tried the handle of his front door. Strange… He remembered locking it, but for some reason he felt like he hadn't… And he knew he had to check, or he'd worry about it all day. He'd never worried about it before, he didn't even bother to check, he just heard the click and walk off. But today he'd had to walk all the way back down his street to check…
Ever since he'd got back, something just felt – wrong. Last night he felt as if someone had been watching him, and today he felt like he'd forgotten… Something….
Meanwhile, in Las Noches, Szayel Aporra Grantz's main Faccion was terrified out of its wits.
"A…A…Ai…Aizen-Sama!" It stammered, before throwing itself at the feet of the lord of Henco Munco, who kept his eyes on the closed door in front of him.
"Where is Szayel Aporra?" He asked, not looking down.
"S…Szayel Aporra-Sama is –" the Faccion swallowed, please say Aizen wasn't the type to shoot the messenger… "…currently unavailable." It gulped, screwing up his eyes and preparing for the death blow.
"Ah, so the experiment was successful." It wasn't a question, and it wasn't a death blow either – which confused the arranacar.
"Yes, Aizen-Sama. H…he requested I k…keep everyone from the room." The Faccion wrung its hands when Aizen didn't leave and an awkward silence descended, almost crushing it.
"I expect I can see him." With that Aizen pushed open the door. The Faccion didn't try to stop him. Szayel may kill him for letting someone in, but Aizen would definitely kill him for trying to stop him.
Aizen beheld the sight within the doorway.
The room was large, and dimly lit. The candles placed near the door and on the dais at the far end of the cavernous hall simply created spheres of half light, lost in the gloom. The candles on the dais illuminated a sleeping figure. The flickering flames made shadow dance in candle floss pink hair, and glinted in the rims of white glasses. The soft light caused the white arrancar robes to seemingly glow, making the figure look slightly ethereal.
It looked like a funeral bed for the Octava Espada, but Szayel Aporra Grantz was very much alive. The only motions he made were the steady rhythm of his breathing and the soft motion of his thumb as he ran it just above, but not touching, the side of a small dolls face, which looked remarkably like a certain bespectacled Quincy…
The thumb caught a section of hair, and, in one of Karakura High School's classrooms, Ishida jumped as his hair fell in front of his face, even though there were no drafts…
Thanks for reading :) Please review to tell me how I can improve...
Chap two is coming ASAP