CHAPTER 8

"It's my fault Head Captain!" I couldn't believe what was coming out of my mouth. Shit! Why did I say that? Mayuri had just tried to kill me! Was I going fucking insane? "Ms. Sato," Yamamoto chuckled, "I find it quite hard to believe that you cause all of this destruction." I fixed my teary eyes back to the floor. "I have heard enough! Until we can arrange a hearing, I have no other choice than to have both of you imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots!" "Wha-?" tears flooded my eyes and ran down my face. "Way of binding number 4!" cried out Soi Fon. A yellow rope of light came out of her hand and bound Mayuri and I together. "You are dismissed!" Captain Yamamoto stated harshly. Soi Fon led us out of the prescience of Yamamoto and we began our trip to the Nest of Maggots.

My eyes were blurred from my tears as we were being led to the Maggots Nest. I almost tripped, almost making Mayuri trip as well. He cursed under his breath. I only caught him saying "Damn girl.". Before I knew it Soi Fon came to a halt. We had stopped in front of a guarded door nestled into the side of a small mountain. "Captain Soi Fon." one of the guards stated as he bowed. Another guard bowed swiftly and opened the thick metal door. Soi Fon proceeded forward with Mayuri and I in tow. I was scared. I had heard horrible tales about the Maggots Nest. I swallowed hard and tried not to show any signs of fear.

I took in my surroundings. The room looked as if it had was hollowed out from the inside of the mountain. Many prisoners that were walking around suddenly stopped as if they were frozen. "As you were." Soi Fon shouted. The prisoners went back to doing whatever it was they were doing. Just ahead was a narrow, dark passage way. I hoped we weren't going down there. "Umm...Captain Soi Fon...where are we going?" I asked hesitantly. "You two are much to dangerous to be out in the open with the other prisoners, therefore you shall be confined to a special cell that negates spiritual pressure." she stated harshly. Yet again I could hear Mayuri curse under his breath.

Soi Fon led us down the dark, narrow passage way, down what seemed like hundreds of steps, and came to a halt in front of a small, barred cell. She lightly touched the lock on the cell and it instantly unlocked and opened. She shoved Mayuri and I into the cramped cell, slamming the bars back together swiftly. I looked down to find that Mayuri and I were no longer bound together. Soi Fon disappeared into the darkness. I walked towards the bars, placing my hands around them. Tears began to well up in my eyes and slide down my cheeks as a leaned my head against the cold, metal bars. I sobbed silently.

I stood there for, what seemed, hours before Mayuri broke the silence. "Quit your crying, girl. You're wasting your energy." he said keeping his gaze on the floor. I quietly wiped away my tears on my tattered sleeve and turned to face him. He was sitting on a small bench built into the wall. It wasn't very big, it was 4 feet long and 2 and a half feet wide at best. I walked over and sat next to him. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted his dark blue hair; he had taken his hat off. I could feel his eyes on me. I looked up briefly, my green eyes, red and puffy from crying, met his golden ones. I fixed my eyes back on the ground and so did he. "...You know, It's not so bad in here once you get use to it." He muttered. I remained silent. What the hell was he talking about? Leaned my head against the wall bringing up my legs in the process. I hugged my knees, not knowing what to say back. We sat there in silence as minutes melted into hours. It was cold in the cell. I could feel my hands and feet slowly going numb. I began to shiver and my teeth started to chatter. I suffered in silence, that is until Mayuri noticed my convulsions. He slowly stood up, examining me in the process. I could feel his eyes moving across my scantly clothed body. I hugged my knees tighter, trying to cover myself. He sighed, focusing his gaze back to the floor. He began taking off his captain's haori. What the hell was he doing? I stared at him, not knowing what to think. He removed his haori and handed it to me, while looking away. I hesitated for a moment, but soon gave in. I took the haori from him and wrapped myself in it. It was so warm against my icy skin and gods, it smelled so good. I didn't know how long we were going to be imprisoned in this cell, but a part of me is glad I was stuck in here with him...even though he had tried to kill me. "um...Captain Kurotsuchi, sir..." I spoke sheepishly, I felt a slight blush sweep across my face. Mayuri turned to face me. I stood up meeting his gaze. "What is it, girl?" he asked. Our eyes were locked. He inched closer to me, until our faces were almost touching. "...um...thank you..." and with that said I leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips. I pulled away quick, not knowing what his reaction would be. He quickly turned away mumbling under his breath. "...damned girl." I sat back down leaning against the wall hugging my knees. I was finally warming up. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.