Chapter 7: The Evil Hand Rises
The day went by very slow, as if time had frozen in place. All of Ashley's teachers were very nice and kind, yes, but there was one problem: each of them made her stand up infront the class and introduce herself in each class; well not all of them. Ashley's art teacher, Shuinsu-sensei, never told her to introduce herself, and told her that she'll be sitting at the table where Orihime and Ichigo were. Ashley was very relieved from that: not being able to stand infront of the class like an idiot, and being able to sit with Orihime and Ichigo, and also feeling so welcome in this new school of hers, which she wished that she will be attending to for a very, very long time.
During this class, all that was assigned was just to draw or sketch whatever the students wanted; which is what Ashley was doing. Well, she was trying to, that is. All that was in her mind was Uryu's magnificent face and those words that were etched so beautifully on the note: "Oh, and do you mind if you and I eat lunch together, just the two of us? I have something I need to tell you." Ashley was not thinking of what he wanted to tell her, no, but that just knowing that she'll be eating lunch with Uryu Ishida, alone, brung butterflies in her stomach. It was something she only thought could happen in her dreams.
But she had managed to control these hidden thoughts, and drew a quick sketch of a medium-sized hollow, devouring on it's food, blood splattered on it's mouth and the floor. Orihime, who was sitting beside Ashley, couldn't help but notice her swell sketch of the hollow. Orihime squealed, as she swiped the piece of paper away from Ashley, "Wow, Ashley-chan!! This is the greatest sketch I've ever seen in my life! It's so amazing!! Oh, I wish I could draw like you, Ashley-chan!!" Ashley smiled at Orihime's glittering stare at her sketch, as she said shyly, "I-It's nothing much, Orihime. Barely anything, actually; I just quickly sketched it out. I wasn't really paying any attention to it." Orihime looked at Ashley closely, then, "Oh, you shouldn't say such a thing about something this creative!! It looks as if it's coming right at me!!" Orihime then held up the paper infront of Ichigo's face, as he looked up at it, "Look what Ashley-chan did, Kurosaki--"
"Are you insane?!!" Ichigo hissed, mainly at Ashley, as he took the paper away from Orihime and slammed it down on the table surface, face down. "What if someone other than me and Orihime saw this?! You're gonna blow our cover!!" Ashley never thought it would be a big deal; even if someone other than Ichigo and Orihime saw, then they would never believe that such a monster existed. "Come on, Ichigo." Ashley sighed, as she took her sketch back and flattened away the wrinkles Ichigo made on it when he snatched it away. "If someone does see it, I'll just tell them I have a creative imagination. And besides, I doubt anyone would believe something like this could exist. Okay?" Orihime nodded in agreement with Ashley's statement, "Yeah, she's right, Kurosaki-kun. Tatsuki-chan never believes me when I tell her about it." Ashley and Ichigo were quiet then, as they stared blankly at Orihime's giggling face; both of them practically were thinking of the same thing, Since when does she tell normal people this?
Although, Ashley thought to herself, cupping her hand on her chin, Tatsuki can also see the hollows kind of, so she probably does believe what Orihime is saying. The bell suddenly rang throughout the classroom then, a sure sign that class was over and lunch was beginning. "Aw, it's over already?" Orihime whined in disappointment. Orihime looked over at Ashley then, as she stood up with her bag over her shoulders, "I was hoping to see you draw some more."
"Sorry, Orihime," Ashley said, trying to sound abit remorseful, "If you have anything in mind you want me to draw for you, I'll do it. Anything at all." Orihime smiled by Ashley's offer, as she giggled sweetly, "Thank you, Ashley-chan! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!" Ashley smiled sweetly by Orihime's enthusiasm, as she picked up her hollow sketch. She looked at it closely, wondering what she should do with it: hang it up in her room or stack it in with her other sketches? "I think you should give it to Ishida-kun." Orihime suggested, as if she could read Ashley's mind like a book. Ashley turned her way over to her, giving her a puzzled look, "Um, I'm not so sure about that.I don't think he's such a big fan of hollows." Orihime shook her head, as she said, "No, not that. But he'll like it because you made it."
"Orihime..." Ashley muttered under her breath, as she looked down at her sketch. Would Uryu really care that much for such a poorly drawn hollow? Ashley wondered. Ashley wanted to reject such a crazy idea, but something inside of her told her to suck it up and give it to him. "You're absolutely right, Orihime!" Ashley said, perkily. "I'll give it to him when I see him!!" Ashley heard the door to the classroom swing open, but she paid no heed to it. She was thinking over how she would give her sketch to Uryu and what she could possibly say. But Orihime heard the door open, as she looked over at the person whom walked in. Orihime giggled, as she squeaked, "Well, good luck! Bye-bye, Ashley-chan! Ishida-kun!!" Orihime said her good-byes, as she skipped merrily out of the classroom.
"U-Uryu!" Ashley gasped, as she saw Uryu lean his back against the edge of the wall; he smiled warmly at Ashley. Ashley walked her way, steadily, toward him, while hiding the sketch behind her back. "Um, h-hi." Uryu's beautiful, angelic blue eyes sparkled as they usually do, for Ashley, "Hey. So, was everything all right for you, here?" Ashley nodded her head once, as a blush started to form on her cheeks from gazing up at Uryu's hypnotizing blue eyes, "Y-Yes, everything was fine. Just fine." Uryu chuckled softly, under his breath, "I'm glad to hear that. So, what did you do? Anything worth mentioning?" Ashley bit her bottom lip, once again feeling nervous and shy. Why was it that she felt this way? And only infront of Uryu? "Um, actually, I...I..." Ashley stammered quietly and nervously, as Uryu looked down at her with bewilderment. Ashley could feel her palms sweat at a fast pace, as the paper under her palms started to get sticky. Slowly, she started to take the paper out from behind her, infront of Uryu's puzzled face, "I...um, m-made this for...y-you..."
Uryu, still dumbfounded, took the piece of paper from Ashley's shaking hand, as he studied the sketch that was on it. While he was looking at it, Ashley shut her eyes tight, thinking of negative thoughts, Oh man, he hates it, doesn't he? Of course he hates it!! It's such a bad drawing! Very, very bad! He'll probably go throw it in the trash! I know he will!! Uryu could not help but stare at the picture before his eyes in utter amazement, "Ashley, this is..." Yep, here it comes. He's gonna yell at me, I know it! Uryu looked away from the sketch then, down at Ashley, with a kind smile forming on his face, "This is magnificent, Ashley. Truly, truly a work of art."
"H-Huh...?" Ashley looked up at Uryu, who was still smiling assuringly, with brief bewilderment, "Really? Do you really...mean it? You like it?" It was practically obvious that Uryu loved the sketch for he never left his eyes away from it, only to look down at Ashley with amazement, "Of course I do, Ashley. This is so beautiful, absolutely breath-taking." Ashley always, being unbelieveably hopeless when it comes to this, thinks negative thoughts about her art, even if it was the best thing in the world. But now, from hearing Uryu's wonderful comments he gave Ashley in his angelic voice, it made Ashley think over about her sketches, her paintings, the art she creates. Shyly, she smiled up at Uryu, "Thank you, Uryu. That means alot to me, especially coming from you." Uryu responded by smiling graciously at Ashley, "It's no problem at all," Carefully and easily, Uryu slipped the sketch in his bag, which was draping over his shoulder, "So, are you ready for Lunch?"
And once more, unexpectedly to Uryu again, Ashley's enthusiasm came back like a wave, "Am I?! You bet I am! Let's go, I'm starving!!" Uryu wanted to hold back a laugh that was rumbling through his throat, but he suddenly let loose a small chuckle behind the back of his hand, "Alright, then. I have both our lunches here." Uryu held up two small-sized sandwiches wrapped in foil in his hand, while Ashley took one of them from him, "Oh, cool! It smells great! So, where are we going to eat at? The roof?" A sly smile soon found its way on Uryu's lips as he turned to her and said, "No, not exactly. I've got another place in mind I want to show you. It's a place that no one knows about except me."
"Like a...secret place?" Ashley wondered out loud, her chocolate brown eyes filled with bewilderment. A place that he wants her to see? A place that no one but Uryu knows about? What, and where, is this unknown place that Ashley is about to see? Uryu nodded to Ashley, as he started to walk out of the classroom; Ashley steadily followed behind him, "Yes. It's...well, I guess you can say it's my own secret place." Ashley quickened her pace a bit, so that she was right beside Uryu, "But, why do you want to show it to me if it's a secret?" Uryu softly chuckled from Ashley's question, as he said, "Actually, I'm wondering the same thing."
"Uryu, we're getting pretty far from the school," Ashley inquired, as she carefully jumped over a tree log covered in moss. "Is this "place" really this far?" Uryu was a few inches away from where Ashley was, as he tore away some extra twigs and leaves that were baricading his path. Uryu stopped as he did this, throwing the leaves clutched in his fists behind him, turning toward Ashley. He smiled reassuringly at her, "Oh, don't worry. I can assure you that we're almost there." Ashley didn't answer him from that statement, for she was thinking what this secret place of Uryu's was like, and why was it so far off in the woods? Maybe he was just like her and he had one open space of the forest to do what he wanted to alone? She wondered. But Ashley quickly snapped back to reality as Uryu stopped infront of lines of green vines that were blocking their way. "Well, we're here," Uryu said, as he stared down at Ashley with a sweet smile planted on his face. Slowly, he started to pull away the vines. "You go in first. Go on."
Ashley hesitated at first, but she soon found enough leg strength to move forward, under the vines; Uryu followed in behind her. To Ashley's eyes, to what she was staring at like an idiot, it all seemed like a beautiful dream. It was perfect. Too perfect. All it needed was lollipops growing on trees and cotton candy-made clouds to be a dream come true. Flowers were bloomed in absolute perfection, all around just in one small spot, which was surrounded by one stone, circular bench around it. The sky was in the right place; it was a too clear blue, clouds floating and the sun shining down on this beautiful place, Ashley, and Uryu. The grass was a healthy green color; not one dead spot could be found. Nothing dead could be found, as a matter of fact; everything was too full of life and energy.
"This is amazing," Was all Ashley could think of to describe such beauty that was all around herself and Uryu. Uryu smiled half-heartedly by her reaction, for he foresaw her jumping up in and joy and amazement when she saw such a place. "It really is, isn't it?" Uryu declared, as he went over the circular stone bench and sat at the end of it. "Oh!!" Ashley sighed in excitement, as she rushed her way toward the multitude of trees that were circulating around the area. "Wow, these trees don't even have not one etch of mold or moss, or any kind of gross thing on it! I'd call that healthy!" Uryu smiled by Ashley's over enthusiam that he had once predicted, as he took a quick munch out of his sandwich. Then, suddenly, it all came down. Uryu suddenly felt a huge wave of spiritual pressure weighing on him and Ashley; it was so heavy and dense that Uryu, himself, nearly fell over. But Ashley, having her unknown power unawakened, fell to her knees from such a pressure. It felt so heavy to her, she feared that it might crush her down. As of now, she was lying on the grassy ground, while the heavy pressure pulverized her. "Ashley!!!" Uryu cried, as he rushed his way toward her, but then...
It all happened so quickly. Uryu knew he was running toward to help Ashley, but now, suddenly he found himself lying on his back with pain pulsing through his arm. "Wh...at...?" Uryu stammered, as he stood up, quite shakily, while holding his pained arm. What had happened to him just now? Uryu wondered, along with more unanswered questions. He then remembered the heavy spiritual pressure, and Ashley falling down from it. "Ashley!!! Are you okay?!!" Uryu shouted to the point his lungs stung, since there was smoke and debris covering almost the whole place. Again, he shouted, "Ash--"
"Uryu, stay aw--" That was Ashley, Uryu knew. Uryu heard a muffling sound, clearly from Ashley, as if she was being restrained by someone. The wind started to pick up wildly, Uryu's bangs swaying furiously with the wind, as the dust started to clear quickly. And what he saw, what he was witnessing as of now, made his heart stop.
Ashley was restrained, yes, just as Uryu knew. From seeing the look in Ashley's pleading brown eyes, he knew that she was scared: scared to die, scared to be kidnapped from her restrainer, and scared to be away from Uryu. Ulquiorra Schiffer held his pastey white hands tightly, to the point of crushing her: crushing her throat and her face. His hand was tightly pushing up to her mouth, to where he had a tight hold on her nose, too. His other hand was way too tight around Ashley's throat, right to the point where she couldn't breathe. He was crushing every part of her, that if he moved in any way, he would twist her nose and mouth, and even twist her head right off. "It's nice to meet you," Ulquiorra spoke so soft, and so calm, it was as if what he was doing to Ashley was nothing, like a walk in the park, "Quincy."
Uryu grounded his teeth down, while sweat trickled over his forehead, "You...Espada...Let her go! Let Ashley go now!!!" Ulquiorra ignored Uryu's demands to free Ashley, as he tightened his grip around Ashley's neck; terrifying crunching sounds from her neck could be heard. "A...Ah...h..." Ashley muttered underneath Ulquiorra's hand that restrained her from speaking. "Stop it! You bastard!" Uryu cried, forming his spiderweb-like bow and quickly making an arrow, aiming it perfectly toward Ulquiorra and not Ashley. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ulquiorra said monotonically, now placing both his hands around Ashley's now badly bruised neck. "Unless you want me to pull her head right off of her body."
"Uryu...h-help me...p-please..." Ashley trembled from Ulquiorra's cold touch on her that it burned like fire under her neck that was starting to turn purple. "Okay, Espada," Uryu began, as he diminished his bow and arrow from seeing Ashley's pleading face. "What do you want?" Ulquiorra started to loosen his grip on Ashley's throat as he said, "That soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, is a menace to my Lord Aizen. You tell that little brat to watch his back from here on. Tell him his efforts to defeat Lord Aizen are in vain; to here and to Hueco Mundo, as well." Uryu clenched his fists tightly beside him, wanting nothing but to set Ashley free from Ulquiorra and this very place; he regreted ever showing her this place, "Alright, I'll tell him. Now let Ashley go!!" Ulquiorra didn't release her at first, which clearly made Ashley fear for the absolute worse, "Fine. You can have this piece of trash back."
Ulquiorra finally released his hands around Ashley's throat; when he did, Ashley let out a huge breath while she sank to her knees. Ashley touched her throat with the tips of her fingers, and it stung as if thousands of needles were being injected into her. She inhaled and exhaled, and coughed out some air; she did what she could to breathe again. "Ashley!!" Ashley heard Uryu call out to her so frantically, as she looked up and saw him running speedily toward her. "Ur...y.." Was all Ashley could manage to choke out; she found it difficult for her to speak now. Before she could even blink, she found herself locked securely around Uryu's arms, his head laying silently on her shoulder, "Ashley...oh, Ashley, thank God you're okay. When I felt that great spiritual pressure, and when I saw him choking you to death, I feared for the ultimate worse. I didn't know...what to do. To tell you the truth, I wasn't going to shoot, not even if I had a million chances to do so. I feared that I might have missed and hit you instead, and if I missed by an inch, I was afraid he would have killed you there. You must know, Ashley, I will never ever put your life on the line for anything. Ashley, no matter what happens...I will always protect you."
Ashley's heart started to accelerate faster than its normal pace, as she felt Uryu's strong arms tighten around her. Is it really true that her life is worth protecting? But...did he really mean it? Ashley started to wonder. What if...he's just doing this until she finds a way to go back home? What will happen then? When she goes back home, if she goes back home, will Uryu start to forget her? Just the thought of leaving Uryu, made Ashley's heart ache. But, for now, she didn't bother with these problems. For she was in the place where she always dreamed of being: safe in Uryu's arms. "I'm...sorry, Uryu." Ashley whispered to herself, but Uryu heard her clearly.
"Stop. It's not your fault this happened--it's mine." Uryu declared, as he raised his head up away from Ashley's shoulder. Ashley let out a soft gasp, as she looked up at Uryu's grivious face closely; his dark blue eyes shimmered with regret. "Uryu...no, you're wrong." Ashley said, tears at the edges of her eyes, as she placed her shaking hands gently on his chest; she layed her head carefully on Uryu's shoulder when tears started to spill out. "You're...wrong." Uryu gave Ashley a gentle squeeze, knowing how fragile she must be now. "No, Ashley," Uryu said, placing one hand on the back of her head, and the other rubbing her back gently. "It is my fault. I'm the one who should apologize, Ashley--not you. I'm sorry I ever took you to this place. You'd be safe, if I didn't. I can understand if you don't ever want to come back here. It's all right."
"Thanks for the heads up, Uryu, but," Ashley began, lifting her head up, smiling gleefully up at Uryu. "This is a very beautiful place you showed me--and I'm so glad you showed it to me. I promise you, I won't be visiting this place more than once." Seeing Ashley smile as she did, and knowing that she will be coming back here, made him feel at ease again. But, thinking again about Ashley leaving him and his world, brought more sadness and disappointment to him. Truth be told, he did not want Ashley ever to leave. He wanted Ashley to stay here, with him, for as long as she wished to. But Uryu soon ignored those recurring thoughts, as he took a quick glimpse at Ashley's throat; it wasn't too hard to miss. At first Uryu didn't notice, but from being so close to her, he could easily see Ashley's throat turn into a blackened color. "Ashley, be still for a moment, please." Ashley was bewildered from this at first, but she shrugged it off and did what Uryu told her to do.
Carefully, and easily as he could, he very tenderly placed the tip of his fingers on the bottom of Ashley's throat, sliding his fingers up to the darkest part of the bruising. He hated to look at such a horrible wound, but it was his fault that all this even happened. Uryu only wished he knew a hint of this ahead of time. Uryu then saw Ashley flinch from his touch, as he asked, "Does it hurt?" Ashley smiled smally up at Uryu, wondering if he thought she was in pain when he saw her shiver. But, it wasn't pain like Uryu thought. It was actually Uryu's soothing touch that made her shiver. But when she saw Uryu pull his hand back, Ashley took his hand with hers, and pulled it back on her neck. "No, Uryu, it's okay," Ashley said, as she rubbed her fingers over Uryu's arm, up and down, up and down. Uryu's skin underneath her's felt so warm and soft that Ashley felt goosebumps on her arms. "My neck's fine, Uryu. So, please, don't worry about me." Uryu nodded to Ashley, understanding that she didn't want him to worry over her anymore. Ashley then started to stand up slowly, Uryu holding Ashley's arms for support, as both of them stood up from where they once sat. Ashley looked around the area, just now noticing that Ulquiorra was gone. Ashley then looked up at Uryu, who was supporting her, as she said, "I think we should head back to the school."
But Ashley already knew the answer before it came out of Uryu's lips, "I'm sorry, Ashley, but I think we should go home now. That wound," Uryu looked down at Ashley's neck once again, but soon flinched his eyes away. "It's very bad. We need to go home so I can care for it." Ashley was about to argue further on this subject, but when she saw how Uryu's blue eyes were so filled up with remorse, regret, it made Ashley want to cry where she was. Holding the tears that were about to come out, Ashley said very softly, "Okay, Uryu. We can go home, if you want; anything you want."
And in a quick flash, Uryu's eyes turned from remorse, to relief; relief that Ashley did not go any further on this. Ashley and Uryu then started their way to back home, not even looking back at the school, or at anything for that matter; they just kept looking ahead of them. Without Ashley noticing, Uryu gazed at her from the corner of his eye as he thought, Thank you, Ashley. Thank you. It's thanks to you...that I finally found what I truely want to protect.
