Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the Bleach characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo: the genius behind the captivating manga that started it all. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

Alternate

Prompt: Different...

A/N: For "Kill_Your_OTP" on LJ.


It really was just too good to last.

That's just how the game panned out; how it had panned out incessantly, without so much as a moment's rest. But he was used to it by now. The only thing he wasn't used to was the stunned silence that was sent at him in waves. Although her indifference was starting to bleed through, but he'd turned a blind eye to it. Caring had nothing to do with it. He just didn't like to beg. And this, the only significant distraction in his life, was no exception. If she wanted to pursue this, he was all for it. If not, it meant nothing.

He wasn't going to grovel.

Unless it drastically affected him, Mayuri was always one to let things run their course. But this situation, this one out of thousands, was actually eating away at him. It was maddening, the solemn gaze she'd decided to wear. It was as if she'd thrown down a smokescreen so as to keep him from reading what was present in her demeanor. A strange change of pace, as he was usually the one hiding things. Now, there was nothing when she looked at him anymore. No quiet gleam of pleasure, let alone that gentle, irritating smile he'd grown used to. It was as if a part of her had just died and vanished, simply bypassing his morgue without so much as a second thought.

If, by some miraculous impossibility, he had been the kind of man to ask questions, perhaps he would have followed her just to make everything click. But pride had always stood in the way, and it wasn't about to relinquish it's long-lasting position in his nature.

It was clear she wanted him to say something, but what? There was only so much he could say to her, let alone feel about her, without completely going against the grain of who he was. If she wanted to miraculously instill some kind of humanity in him, she'd have to try harder. Cutting the ties would do little, and he highly doubted she had the nerve to go through with it. And, if she did, then he would silently admit that he'd underestimated her.

Retsu would deny it a hundred times over, but she was just as manipulative as he.