Such Sweet Sorrow
I : Resonance
There was a stinging buzzing in her head, or rather, resonating through her very being. Everything was spinning, spiraling out of control before her very eyes. The somehow lifeless sky above them that stretched on forever seemed to be suspended in time; the eerie sun above providing no warmth with its muted rays. Her heart was beating faster and faster with each second. The blade sliced through the air carelessly as the sound of blood spattering echoed through her mind. Somewhere along the line, she had convinced herself it was all nothing more than a terrible nightmare she'd awaken from.
Then another body hit the ground.
"What did I tell you!? You're no match for me!"
"Ken…Kenpachi!"
The enormous captain of the eleventh division fell haphazardly upon the dusty ground in a motionless, bloody heap. In the distance, she could see someone else upon the ground stirring; his strawberry colored hair clearly visible from such a distance. How she wanted to run to him at that moment and heal him again, but with the horrifying snake-like being before her, it wasn't possible. Her gaze remained transfixed on him; unaware of the fact that their slithering foe had reverted back to normal.
"Orihime…Stay over there!"
"But Ichi–!"
Her words hung limply in the air while she watched in horror as the tall espada proceeded to thrust his foot into her would-be-savior's chest. An ungodly and terrifying gargling sound escaped his lips; blood spewing forth from his open mouth. Silence.
"Inchigo!" she screeched, running towards him as quickly as she could manage. The thunderous sounds of her footsteps were almost as loud as her heart pounding from within her chest. "Soten Kisshun, I rej-!"
Before she could finish her command, she was met by a harsh fist which sent her reeling backwards and careening towards the ground. Determined, she fought back the tears that threatened to spill and glared at her attacker from her spot. She couldn't let her friends die. Kenpachi, Nel…Ichigo. Through the pain, she managed to sit up.
"Oh, Pet-sama. You're even more beautiful when you're pissed off!"
Her grey eyes clouded over in a mixture of anger and fear at the sickly nickname that she had heard before. Who would protect her now that everything had fallen apart? Strawberry hair only swayed in the breeze.
"Looks like you're all mine, Pet-sama!" Her stomach twisted and coiled over itself again and again. She had not the will power to make herself run, but where would she run to? The other captains and her friends were close by, but what could she do? She, after all, was nothing more than a burden.
A split second later, cold thin digits wrapped themselves around her dainty neck as she was pulled roughly from the ground. She quickly found herself face to face with the sickening espada. She could feel his humidly warm breath on her face, causing her to fight back the urge to gag. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. She couldn't feel.
"You're an annoying bunch, you know that?" he hissed. "To think I had to use my released form is…intriguing." His lips curled up into a sadistic grin afterwards. She cringed inwardly and began to struggle harder when she felt his tongue make a slow, wet trail from her neck towards her ear. Everything was getting darker.
Then it happened. A figure from behind Nnoitora had wrapped their hand around the arm that bound her, causing an almost instant change in Nnoitora's sadistic demeanor. The reiatsu was rolling off the person in continuous, deadly waves; choking her even more with their sheer power. Was this her knight in shining armor?
'Ichigo!' she cried mentally. Almost joyously. Though, once she willed herself to open one eye, that thought was shattered into a million jagged shards.
"Release her, Nnoitora."
She was met by the daunting sight of hardened viridian orbs and a deep, threatening frown. The stoic espada didn't even seem to regard her with so much as a glance, but when Nnoitora's grip did not lessen, he didn't hesitate to punish him further. Ceasing his arm with even more force, he broke the skin and crushed the bones in his arm into pieces, causing Nnoitora to howl in pain. She was airborne for a matter of seconds before she hit the ground, leaving her gasping for air and coughing wildly.
"Ulquiorra, what are you doing!?"
His fuse was quite short at that moment after finally being released from his dark and dank prison within the caja negacion. He certainly had no patience for the likes of Nnoitora.
"Such inane questions with conspicuous answers need not be asked," Ulquiorra replied offhandedly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Get out of here Nnoitora." For the first time since his arrival, his mordant gaze shifted towards the battered and broken young woman at their feet.
"Before I kill you."
"Tch…I'll let you clean up my little mess then," Nnoitora sneered while gripping his arm and stammering away. "Until next time, Pet-sama…"
An eerie silence hung in the air between the two; neither moving an inch.
"Kenpachi, Nel…Ichigo," she thought helplessly; a loud whimper escaping her lips as she covered her face with her bloodied hands. If only she were stronger, were more determined, more resolved. If only...
"Get up, woman."
How she had come to loathe that robotic and cold voice with everything within her.
"We return to your cell now."
"I will not return there!" she cried out, flailing her thin arms upwards at him; only to have him grasp her wrist afterwards. The next few seconds were a blur.
With the blink of an eye, Orihime found herself back in the dreaded white cell of her nightmares, within the foreboding citadel that she saw from a lengthy distance only moments previously. The walls seemed to be closing in on her even more at that moment, and the buzzing in her head only grew louder. His grip on her arm quickly lessened as he moved briskly to the side and only stared blankly at her. She started to tremble gently before him, though, the reasoning for such actions were unclear to him at that moment. Humans were, after all, strange creatures.
"How…"
Her weakened and languid voice echoed off the walls as she trailed off; seemingly trying to gather her words carefully. Or to gather the strength to speak them.
"How could you?" she whispered in a caustic tone, only causing the melancholy espada to regard her with his usual sullen glower. Certainly the answer to her simple question was entirely discernable with even the slightest bit of thought. "Why…?" she whimpered, her body shuddering violently while she attempted to stop choking on her own words, as well as the tears that were perambulating down her perfect face. Her titian tresses piled over her quivering shoulders in waves just as her emotions finally broke loose.
"Why have you done this!?" she screeched distraughtly, clenching her fists at her side all the while. Still, his usual expression remained unchanged, and he, motionless. He knew precisely what specific event she spoke of. Even when her warm hand met the flesh of his cold porcelain-like face once again. Even when she threw her fists into his chest in a fit of uncontrollable angst. He remained there, completely robotic in his static demeanor. He could crush her very being while barely lifting a finger, but yet, he stood there and did nothing. He took it all. "I'd rather be dead than to be stuck in this prison with you! You're the one who hurt Ichigo earlier…You're completely heartless!" Only when her open palm came in contact with his chest once again, did his expression finally change. His gaze shifted to the smear of something crimson upon his hakama.
Blood.
He looked down at her hands as she continued to spew more words at him; words that he honestly paid no heed. 'She has clenched her fists so tight, that the nails broke the skin,' he thought passively. With her hand raised at him once again, he reached up and grabbed her wrist firmly. His stern teal eyes bored into her very soul as he glared at her.
"Enough."
Her body had finally given out as she collapsed upon herself; though the tremors did not cease. When it finally seemed there would be no more lashing out from her, he let go of her wrist, it falling limply into her lap there after. Why was she so upset? Had she truly expected him to not take her back to Los Noches? Pathetic.
"Why couldn't you just let me die?" she murmured with her head bowed. Her long locks blocked her face from view, but his gaze remained transfixed on the wall directly before him. Her needless crying wasn't of concern to him, thought it was starting to wear on his already thinned nerves.
"You know the answer to the question you just spoke," he deadpanned, closing his eyes as though he were losing patience. "Aizen needs your power."
"I do not care what Aizen wants."
Ulquiorra signed indignantly and planted his hands into his pockets; a typical mannerism of his. He didn't have the time for this needless banter. There were more pressing matters at hand.
"Woman," he said darkly. "Get up and compose yourself." It was only then that Ulquiorra noticed the state of her former room. The door had been blown open, there was blood upon the floor and everything was in disarray. He sighed again. Grimmjow.
"Such impudence."
Orihime looked when she suddenly heard footsteps making their way towards the open doorway. She observed as he called forth two servants, though, she couldn't make out what he said. Not that she cared.
"They will take you to a new room," he spoke monotonously. "I'll be back to check on you later."
She felt her heart drop through her stomach to see him disappear again, for she knew he was probably on his way back to the battlefield. She screamed in mental agony; it's virulent sound reverberating off the walls through Los Noches. Ulquiorra only continued in his steadfast march through the halls of the citadel, but, the sound of her screams were not easily blocked. Even from a distance.
"Well, that's pathetic!"
"Apache, don't be so loud…"
"Oh, shut up, Sun-Sun."
"Ul-Ulquiorra!"
Breathing in lightly after his sudden arrival, his hardened orbs scanned the undulating dunes before him. Something was very different, but all his questions were answered swiftly.
"It would seem they have retreated rather hastily," said a robust blonde-haired espada. Her mouth remained covered by her uniform, but her narrowed green eyes remained trained on Ulquiorra. Two other scantily clad arrancar, as well as one more reservedly dressed, remained motionless behind her.
"Is that so?"
She nodded and crossed her arms over her large chest with a sigh. She motioned towards her fraccion to follow with the flick of a finger a moment later. "We'll get Grimmjow and Tesla back to Los Noches," she noted dully as though it were an effort in and of itself for her to speak. Ulquiorra didn't respond as the four figures grew smaller into the distance. His hands remained stiffly in his pockets as the white sands of Hueco Mundo danced across the barren landscape. His silken black hair brushed up against the side of his ashen face in the wind's fluctuating wake. His frown deepened once more before he turned back towards Los Noches. He was gone moments later.
A/N: When I mentioned a "snake-like being" in the beginning, I'm referring to Nnoitora's released form. I know it hasn't been shown yet, but I thought it the only (semi) plausible way for him to defeat Kenpachi and Ichigo. I get sick of Ichigo and co. always winning anyhow. As for the whole retreating thing at the end, I'll more than likely get into explaining that more in the next chapter, as well as the reasoning for it. As well as what happened with Kenpachi and Ichigo vs. Nnoitora.
Please read and review. All comments welcome. And also, I don't own Bleach. That goes for the rest of the story.
