Yay! Next chapter! Actually, I've had this written for a while (and I have the next couple chapters written too), but I like to post a little at a time (probably about a week), and have about three chapters written ahead of time, so that if, for some reason, I can't write for a while, you guys won't have to wait weeks and weeks. :) So, anyways, hope you enjoy it. Please bash it (a.k.a. review). :DD
Review Replies:
Freshman19: Yes, I know I killed Orihime in the very first chapter, but that's what the stories about. :)
Jumper Prime: Yes, we will get to see Orihime's new strength, but not for a little while yet. By the way, I am a firm believer in the fact that Orihime is NOT useless. If it weren't for her, basically every main character in Bleach would be dead (please don't give the argument that "nobody dies in Bleach" lol). Even though in this fic her powers are stronger, really, quite honestly I don't care how strong she is. She's an awesome character either way. :)
By the way (yes, long intro; I know; I'm sorry), I haven't read the manga yet (well, I have, but not past the anime because I like watching the anime first), so for those who also haven't read the manga, there are no manga spoilers. It's just based on what has happened in the anime. For those who have read the manga, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE no spoilers in the reviews!!!!! Thank you. :)
And finally, I don't own Bleach.
Wait, one more thing! It doesn't matter how tiny it is, if you spot a grammar mistake, please let me know. :)
Take It All Away
Chapter 2: Nightmares and Resolutions
Mirrors. Hundreds of mirrors surrounding her on all sides. Faces. Not her own reflected in the facets. Unfamiliar faces. A sword. A sword shattering the mirrors into millions of pieces. Blood. Blood everywhere. Her own? She couldn't tell. Darkness. Nothing but darkness…
Hanako jolted upright with a cry…and promptly tumbled onto the floor beside her bed. It was a good thing that each fraccion had their own section of Las Noches, and, due to the sheer immenseness of the place a "section" was quite large. Add this on to the fact that there were only two people in this particular fraccion, and that the only one who could have heard anything probably didn't care in the least, and it was pretty safe to say that no one else had been disturbed. Hopefully not anyway. She didn't want to bother all of Las Noches just because she had been scared by a dream, terrifying as it always was. It had started to occur more and more frequently as the weeks went by until it appeared almost every night consuming her with fear. She shuddered. It was all so vivid…well, except for the faces. Every night she tried to remember how they looked like, and every night, all she recalled were blurred images, although she knew that they had been clear. Oh well, it didn't matter anymore. She was awake, safe in the comfort of her room. AND, judging by the fact that the moon hadn't risen yet, she still had plenty of sleeping time left. "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness!" she said to herself, as she pushed the nightmare to the back of her mind and picked herself up off the floor. She was just in the process of jumping back into bed when she heard a soft knock on the door. That was strange. Why would anyone come here in the middle of the night?
"Come in," she called out. The door slowly opened. Framed in the dim light of the hallway behind him was Ulquiorra Schiffer. That was really strange. "What's wrong, Ulquiorra-sa-…Ulquiorra?" she asked.
"I heard you scream and came to see if you were dead, and seeing as you are not, I am going back to bed." It wasn't the absolutely most positive way to put things, but Hanako appreciated the gesture itself. Coming from Ulquiorra, it meant a great deal.
"Bye," his voice cut into her thoughts as the espada turned to leave.
"Wait, Ulquiorra-sama." He stopped. "I mean…Ulquiorra…sorry."
"Don't apologize."
"Right. Sor- I mean…yeah. Anyways, I was wondering…" Should she ask? It had been bothering her for a while now since the dream kept on coming back.
"What?"
"Can arrancar remember anything from before they were hollows?" Ulquiorra turned around.
"No. Not normally." One theory ruled out.
"Well, what about from when they were adjuchas?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"It depends on the circumstances."
"What circumstances?" It was hard to keep up a conversation with Ulquiorra when he gave such straight forward, vague answers.
"Intelligence mainly, or if they merely do not have any memories which stand out which is probably the case for you since you evolved so quickly." Yes! He was improving.
"Do you remember anything from your past?"
"No, not particularly."
"Oh." Ulquiorra turned to leave again.
"Wait, one more thing. My memories begin from when I became an arrancar, but I was in Las Noches at the time which means I must have been living here as a hollow. Did you know me then?" She was just asking out of curiosity. It would be interesting to know. Ulquiorra didn't answer for a while. Finally, he turned around to face her again, and replied softly, "Yes."
"Really?" she asked excitedly. "What was I like?" He paused again.
"You don't need to know," he answered as he turned away and walked out. She was slightly disappointed by that last answer, but at least she had gotten some information. She sighed. The two were so vastly different, that she wondered how they tolerated each other, much less got along quite nicely. Her thoughts turned to two months ago, where her memories began, seeing him for the first time. There was something about him that had grabbed her attention. His raven black hair that contrasted the paleness of his skin, his deep green eyes, his cold attitude that demanded respect. He was relatively young too, apparently not very many years older than herself, although she still didn't fully understand the whole "age" concept. "It's a human thing that we kind of borrowed a little," Szayel had replied when she asked him one time.
"Human? What's that?" Szayel looked a little uneasy as if he had said something he shouldn't have.
"I- uh- nothing important," he stuttered. He then proceeded to change the subject back to the project they were working on. Some sort of lunar panel energy converter, or something like that. She liked helping him out, and he said that she had the perfect creative mind for it. Ulquiorra didn't care except he had forbidden her to enter any of the biology labs. "You don't need to know," was the answer she received on asking why. Something about even worse nightmares than the ones she already had.
'You don't need to know.' He had said this phrase a number of times since their first encounter. It was a simple phrase, but she wondered if it contained a whole different meaning behind it. As if he were always trying to protect her from something, not merely because it wasn't a necessity that she need to know. That's the way Ulquiorra was to Hanako, and that's what intrigued her the most about him. She always thought that maybe he was hiding something behind his cold, emotionless exterior. The very first impression he had given her was of sadness. He had looked so gloomy and depressed that she immediately took it upon herself to try to cheer him up. However, she now realized that it wasn't sadness; just complete apathy. Or was it? It didn't matter. If it took a lifetime, she would get through to his cold nature, take away whatever was blocking its warmth, and make him smile; she had resolved to do it, and do it she would.
