Trick or Treat!

And yes, this greeting means an update! A pretty quick one, if you ask me ;)

But firstly,

CookieMonster666, Kimsa Ki-Lurria, Paper Bullet (Ami), Fire331, Tsunayoshi, emily, SweetestChick, yume girl 91, scarlet white cross, Lorraine C., Byakuya Sama, sadbird, VirgoStargirl, Red Princess, SoraXNamine, buloy, Sweet Scrifice, somewhere_elsewhere, Star Garden, kluxces, Anjiska, jngp, ColourPearl, Wait-For-Sleep, Kita of Nature, Auel, Yaruki, Kuchiki Shinigami, itachi-was-mine

Words can't describe how much I love you all! Some of you even wrote their own visions of Gin's disappearance or death which was just brilliant! Some made me laugh, some made me think deeper into few things. I really appreciate it! Thank you very much indeed!

Anyway… enjoy the tenth chapter! (Lovely number, isn't it?) ヽ(゜▽、゜)ノ

朝霧 -Asagiri-

The Frozen Whisper
by Asagiri

Chapter 10
In a Trap

Oh, shit.

And exactly what else could she say? After all, she just happened to encounter the man, whose aura made shivers of terror run down her spine, paralysing her completely. Even though he probably wasn't doing this on purpose, his reiatsu was overwhelming her, weakening her self-confidence and determination. Every single fibre in her body screamed to turn tail and just run for her life. Her senses were in chaos.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" asked Nnoitra, getting closer to her. His smile was disturbing, the glint in his eye made her fear not only for her life.

Rukia vehemently shook her head, being unable to utter a sound. She started to back away, at the same time facing him and trying not to lose sight of him, because she felt that the moment she looked somewhere else, it would trigger him to move instantly. She really wanted to put it off as long as possible, even though it wouldn't matter in the end.

She could tell his main element was fight – brutal, mindless and to the very death, where your fate was decided not only by experience, but by luck as well. Hardened by cruel rules of it, he came to love it to the point it became his passion. To kill and one day get killed was his way of life. It was truly frightening. Captain Zaraki Kempachi at least felt some scruples, but the man in front of her felt none whatsoever. He lacked that tiny little voice in his head which helped in telling right from wrong. To quench this feeling of emptiness, without hesitation he used the blood of beings he had slashed giving his own existence a blood-red meaning.

The 5th Espada watched his little prey with clear amusement. He liked her reaction when he appeared – a delightful mix of confusion, shock and horror. However she instantly cast them away and started looking for a way to copy with the situation she found herself in. She had a nicely developed battle instincts, he had to give her that. She masked unnecessary feelings from her face quite skilfully, yet he could still see the fear reflected in her eyes, even though they were narrowed in a glare.

He liked her look. It aroused him, making pleasurable shivers run down his spine.

She feared him, it was obvious, but she wasn't a coward. Oh, no. She was ready to face him here and now, ready to die by his hand, if there was no other way to escape him. And of course, there was none. However, Nnoitra wasn't interested in fighting her nor killing her (yet, at least). She was too weak for him to make a formidable opponent; he would kill her too quickly without being able to savour in the moment. He planned a different way of entertaining himself.

But she must looked beautiful in the heat of battle, he mused. Even now he found her pretty, though she was fidgeting in his overwhelming presence. But in a fight she most likely looked like a goddess – he could see her cold, determined look, blood-soaked clothes, blood-splattered face, hands sticky with it holding her sword… ready to embrace the fate whichever it might be.

A goddess of carnage, he chortled at his own vision of her. He would like to see her like that.

Anyway, Ulquiorra was lucky. And if what he was saying about having no interest in her was true, then he was a fucking idiot. Not to make fullest of such an outstanding opportunity was an inexcusable waste.

So he decided to take the bit in his own hands. No need to let it spoil, right?

Licking his lips suggestively, Nnoitra slowly made his way toward Rukia just as she moved backwards. Unfortunately for her, after another few steps her back touched the wall and she found herself in a trap. In panic she made a mistake and looked away from him. Using this chance, he instantly shifted before her, leaving not even two feet space between them.

"So, are you lost?" he repeated his question, his smirk growing bigger, giving him even more predatory appearance.

"N-no," Rukia answered stammering. She desperately tried to move away from him, but the wall behind her was fixed and he effectively blocked all possible ways of escape.

"Oh really?" he asked, baring his teeth in a taunting sneer.

"Y-yes," she wanted to sound firmly, but failed miserably. Her heart was beating like mad just to freeze whenever the Espada made any move.

"Then where are you?" Nnoitra rested his right hand on the wall just next to her head and bend forward, so their faces were on even level.

In deep shit, Rukia thought, her eyes widening in alarm at this close proximity. She honestly didn't know where she was, but that didn't mean she was lost. She perfectly knew the way back to her room. But she was sure this logic wouldn't reach him because, let's face it, he didn't give a damn about it.

"Ah, you don't know," he drawled teasingly, when she didn't answer him. His hot breath wafted gently on her face, making her even more uneasy. She wanted to scream, run away, curl up on the floor embracing her knees, laugh, think positively, forget the world, draw and whatever else. In other words, she started panicking.

To her utter horror, he brought his left hand to her cheek, however before the tips of his fingers touched her, a voice from behind the 5th Espada intruded on his little fun time.

"Ara, what's goin' on 'ere?"

Rukia could see the rays of hope shining from afar. She was safe now! Whoever it was came to help her! She felt gratitude words couldn't express! She was-

Ara? 'Here?

-in an even deeper shit. All her hopes died instantly a brutal death. It was like they were stabbed, hanged, stomped on, run over, burned, frozen… and whatever was left of them was simply dumped into a trash can. Indeed a cruel way to lose them.

Nnoitra moved a little to face the man who interrupted his little business and before Rukia's eyes appeared none other than Ichimaru Gin.

"Oya, if it ain't Rukia-chan. What'rya doin' 'ere?" he grinned waving to her.

"We were just playin' a fuckingly interesting game, if you get my words," said the lanky Arrancar, a little bit irritated that someone interrupted him. "So, if you could just kindly fuck off…"

"I see," replied the fox-faced Shinigami, his smile didn't change in any way.

Using this little opening that appeared when the 5th Espada moved, Rukia did what her instinct screamed and kicked her about. Namely, she run for her life. Frenziedly.

It didn't really matter where she was going, as far as she managed to lose her maltreaters. She prayed wholeheartedly for them not to follow her. If just this small wish could be granted! It wasn't too much to ask for, was it? However her mad dash didn't last long as when she was turning the corner, she collided at full speed with something solid. The impact was hard enough to send her flying backwards and she landed on her butt quite heavily.

"What are you doing here?" a familiar, deep voice asked.

Gently rubbing her nose, which suffered during the collision and was now bleeding quite profusely, she raised her head up to see Ulquiorra looking at her quizzically.

Rukia felt like kissing him now. Maybe her fate hadn't been settled yet, maybe there was hope for her after all!

The stoic man was looking at her weirdly. But wouldn't you, if you saw a young woman trying to stop the blood flowing from her nose with the fabrics of her gloves and at the same time smiling brightly at you? At her enemy?

"I… a… am…" began the Shinigami seeing his questioning gaze, frantically searching her head for a plausible excuse. However she immediately closed her mouth at her incoherent start, hoping he would take it as a result of a shock. To intensify this impression she grinned at him stupidly.

"Yes?" he inquired once again, looking at her expectantly. He wondered what she was trying to pull off now.

Before replying, she wiped her nose, leaving a red smudge. "I wanted to… take a walk…" Well, that was kind of plausible…

Ulquiorra looked at her sceptically. "I think I've told you not to wander around the castle by yourself."

"I know, but-"

"Ah, 'ere ya are, Rukia-chan. Runnin' away like this…" singsonged Gin who at last caught up with her. Not that he particularly exerted himself to run, it was rather a leisure walk. "Oh, hullo, Ulquiorra," he said noticing the stoic Arrancar.

"Ichimaru," greeted the 4th Espada. He found this picture a little bit suspicious. The woman had come here scurrying frenetically as if an atrocious demon from hell was on her heels. Was she running away from that man? She didn't like him, he knew that, but he didn't think that to this extent. He supposed, she could somehow make him leave her in peace without resorting to a mad skedaddle. Besides he didn't think Ichimaru would do anything in particular to provoke such a reaction, he wasn't this frightening. So he had a feeling there was something else to it.

"Ara? What's happ'nd to ya, Rukia-chan?" the fox-faced Shinigami asked, noticing she was sitting on the floor, spots of blood covering her clothes and face. Before she got a chance to answer, he turned to the Arrancar. "Didn't know ya were a woman beater, Ulquiorra. Shame on ya."

The stoic man gave him a look kindly asking about the mental health of his superior. "I didn't hit her," and after a pause he added, just to clear everything up, "And I'm not a woman beater."

"They all say so…" Gin drawled mockingly.

"Ulquiorra didn't hit me," Rukia said standing up and straightening herself, before any serious misunderstanding would appear. Although she did find it quite amusing, especially the Arrancar's face. But at the moment she would think like that about almost anything that could take her mind off the recent encounter with Nnoitra. "I've kinda run into him…"

"Okay," replied Gin after a pause, with a clear disappointment to his voice. "An' 'ere I was hopin' fer some good gossip material…"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Ichimaru," supplied the green-eyed Arrancar, but the traitorous captain only shrugged at this.

"I guess, Nnoitra molestin' Rukia-chan will 'ave to do," he said, but rather to himself than to them, or so it sounded.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly at those words. So that's how it was. He looked at Rukia, who at the mention of the name of the 5th Espada tensed up a little bit and a grimace made a way to her face, but she quickly masked it by indifference. She must have felt his stare on her, for she lowered her head, studying her blood-stained gloves.

"What about Nnoitra?" he asked his superior, but his gaze never left the female Shinigami.

"Hmm? Ah. Rukia-chan was just escapin' him," singsonged Gin, a peculiar smile crawled on his thin lips. "Guess he invaded 'er personal bubble a lil' bit too much. 'Tis all I saw."

"I see," nodded Ulquiorra in an understanding of the situation. His eyes didn't leave the woman's frame, however she wasn't returning his look, trying to appear as if she was really busy with stopping the bleeding from her nose. "Rukia, why did you even left your room, even after my warning?"

"I told you. I wanted to take a walk," she answered, but didn't dare to take a glance at him, just stared at the wall as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

None of the men bought it.

"You're lucky Ichimaru came right in time," Ulquiorra commented, inadvertently making Gin chuckle.

Rukia made a face. Now she was to be grateful to Ichimaru of all possible men? No, no, no. Never ever. Anyone but him. She had never asked him for any aid in the first place! She would have managed to escape by herself! Somehow…

"And what Nnoitra would do to me anyway?" she asked before thinking. She just wanted to belittle the traitorous captain's help, so she wouldn't have to feel she owned him any favour. Just the thought of it made her want to gag.

"…" the men looked at her, not being sure if she wanted to know. The female Shinigami rolled her eyes, trying to ignore their meaningful stares.

"Ya see…" began Gin, but stopped in mid-sentence, thinking better of it.

An uneasy silence fell. Rukia did everything not to look them in the eyes, she even turned her back to them. However she still could feel their expectant gazes burning a hole in the back of her head. Unable to stand this tension any more, she faced them indignantly, scowling at them. Ruffling her hair she sighed in defeat.

"Okay, I get the message," she said exasperatedly, knowing when was her loss. "I don't want to encounter him in my life. Ever."

"Exactly," agreed the fox-faced Shinigami clasping his hands together happily.

Exhaling deeply, she looked at him. "Thank you, Ichimaru… -san," she reluctantly expressed her gratitude. It took all her will to make something resembling a smile appear on her face. For a better effect she scratched the back of her head, trying to look as if she was embarrassed by the situation. She had never thought she would ever say those words to that man. It sounded just wrong.

"Yer welcome, Rukia-chan," replied Gin, his grin widening. None of the other two could tell whether he believed in Rukia's insincere gratitude or not. Most probably he did not, but didn't care in the least. After all how often did someone thank him anyway?

"I have few things to do," Ulquiorra communicated, turning to his superior. "So can I ask you to take Rukia to her room, Ichimaru?"

Rukia looked at him as if he stabbed her in the back with a rusty knife. Don't you even dare to leave me alone with this creep! her glare screamed at him. It was so intense that there was no way he couldn't have noticed it, but did he cared? No. He showed nothing short of an absolute slight.

"No problem," Gin agreed immediately. A temperature in the corridor suddenly dropped ten degrees. He was supposed to refuse!

"I'm off then," said Ulquiorra and continued on his way. It was true that he was busy, but not that much, so he couldn't have spared few minutes to take the woman to her room. However he didn't like it when someone lied to him and that blatant lie of hers was a little bit too pretentious for his tastes. Did she really think he was as dense as to believe her? She could whistle for it then. Anyway, he would have to speak with Nnoitra…

"Let's go, Rukia-chan," singsonged Gin, when the figure of the 4th Espada passed out of sight.

"Yeah," she meekly nodded her head and started walking in the direction she came from. She made long strides in order to reach her room in no time, thus making the time spent with him as short as possible.

"So where were ya goin', hmm?" asked the traitorous captain casually as he quickly caught up with her.

"On a walk," answered the petite Shinigami, trying to hide her annoyance. After all she didn't want to get on his bad side, for there was no way she would get out of it in one piece. "How long can I sit in that room?"

Gin sniggered at her words, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh, please, Rukia-chan. Yer lyin' and both Ulquiorra and I know that."

"I am most certainly not," she crossed her hands in front of her chest. She briefly wondered whether she seemed as stupid as she thought she was for denying the obvious fact.

"Haven't ya notic'd, how upset Ulquiorra was?"

Rukia only laughed bitterly, refraining herself from any remarks out loud. Upset? Ulquiorra? Please… He does look so all the time, but he's just a heartless bastard. Or so she wanted to believe, as a Shinigami (besides, she was vexed that he left her alone with Ichimaru). But deep down inside she felt quite differently, that this statement was untrue, that in fact he wasn't heartless at all, just… lost. She looked away, so the man next to her wouldn't notice her expression – tentative and somewhat wistful.

When his question was left uncommented, Gin tried a different approach."Ya ain't too good at lyin'."

"No one is as good as you," she riposted right off the bat, as she regained her composure by now. And she was awfully upset with herself, for just a moment ago she showed signs of attention to the green-eyed Arrancar. And that was bad. Very bad.

"Touché," he laughed. When she wasn't cowering in fear in front of him, she could be quite witty. He liked that side of Kuchiki Rukia, it amused him greatly.

The petite Shinigami tensed up, not knowing what to make out of his reaction. It could mean nothing, just as much that she was in trouble. His presence was getting on her poor nerves and she just blurted out that comeback carelessly.

"Ya ain't gonna answer me, ar'ya?" Gin asked in a little bit more serious tone, referring to his first inquiry.

"No," was her curt reply. She wanted to keep her mouth shut, so she wouldn't say any unnecessary things. Besides, she was in no mood to have any conversation with him (and she would never be, for that matter). Couldn't he just leave her in peace? Not wanting to deal with his annoying questions any more, she increased her speed.

"Changin' the subject, then!" unlike Rukia, he was in very good spirits. "How ya like Ulquiorra?"

She looked at him weirdly. Such a pointless question… Wasn't her answer obvious? "Nohow," she deadpanned.

"Oh, really?" Gin pried a little more.

"Yes," she replied straight off, with a tone telling him to drop the subject.

However it had absolutely no effect on him, whatsoever. "Notic'd yer on the first-name basis already."

"So?" Rukia asked before thinking. She mentally kicked herself for giving him openings to continue this questioning.

The fox-faced Shinigami grinned meaningfully. "So I thought-"

"Don't think, then," she cut him off rudely trying to make up somehow for her previous mistake, but she immediately flinched at her own words. She shouldn't have said that! Ichimaru was unpredictable, who knew what consequences could have her rash behaviour…!

"Ouch," laughed Gin, bringing his hand to his chest, where was his heart. "Yer cold, Rukia-chan."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Okay, he seemed to be amused with her. Maybe it would be even better to play along…? She decided to take the risk. "And yer traitorous ojiyan," Rukia mocked his speaking style, at the same time trying to sound good-naturedly. She was well aware she was on dangerous ground there.

"I ain't old," he countered, his grin unwavering.

"…" she rolled her eyes.

"I'm younger than Byakuya," Gin pointed out, his smile widening.

"Damn, you got point there," admitted bemused Rukia. Sorry, Nii-sama! she apologized to her brother for her thoughtless words and for letting the ex-captain of the 3rd Division score in their verbal confrontation.

To her delight, they finally arrived at their destination. She was really glad to return to her room! At least it gave her a feeling of some security, thought she knew it was just an illusion. Despite this, simply touching the cold door handle eased her strained nerves, even if just a little bit.

"Next time ya'd like to wander 'round the castle, I can give ya a tour," offered Gin, leaning against the wall leisurely.

"I think I'll pass," she replied opening the door. How she wanted to get behind them already! "But thanks for the offer, anyway."

"Wouldn't ya like to know where's Ulquiorra's room?" he asked before she hid herself in her room.

"The hell would I want to know that?" she cried out perplexed.

Gin grinned ambiguously. "Who knows…?"

"Thanks, bye," impatient, she shut the door in his face. She was so fed up with his presence, she really didn't give a damn how rude she was for him any more. As long as she didn't have to deal with him any longer, she was desperate to do almost anything, even incur his disfavour.

A cheerful "Bye, bye, Rukia-chan!" could be heard from behind the door.

But why was he so persistently steering the conversation towards the green-eyed Arrancar? It was as if he tried to insinuate… Oh, no, no, no! Forget it! She would not dance to his tune! She always racked her brain too much about pointless things, it was her bad habit. And thinking too deep into Ichimaru's implications would do her no good. Definitely.

But Ulquiorra… Hold right there! She must stop thinking about things that should not matter!

Sighing heavily, Rukia plopped on her bed. She was tired, even though the day hadn't ended yet. She really didn't want to reflect upon it, as it was one big failure. So pushing aside unpleasant thoughts and memories, she decided on a short, relaxing drowse.

Ulquiorra came with the dinner around quarter past three. Sitting down in his usual seat, he peered at her. By now she had cleaned herself – gone were bloody smudges from her face, and she had changed the blood-stained clothes for the fresh ones. Nothing about her indicated she was after quite an eventful day.

"Are you going to tell me why have you ignored my warnings and left this room on your own?" he asked coldly, making her cringe.

"I was bored," Rukia explained after a pause, sounding annoyed. "I can't spend the rest of my life confined in this room!"

"So you want to shorten it?" Ulquiorra continued, trying to maintain the eye contact. "Quite drastically, may I add." She really was lucky that Ichimaru had come that time. If he hadn't interrupted, the 5th Espada would have it his way.

She averted her gaze and mumbled under her breath. "No."

During his meeting with her and the fox-faced Shinigami, the stoic Arrancar felt quite troubled that it had been so close to having Rukia get hurt. He was responsible for her, but if she wanted to be stupid, there wasn't much he could do about it. And it irked him. However why, he had no slightest idea. And that annoyed the hell out of him. He was supposed to be indifferent, to not care in the least about her.

But when he heard she had gotten out of the encounter with the deviant unscathed, he actually felt relieved. And that brought up another thing he didn't understand. For he felt so, not because his duty was on the safe side for now, but because she was unharmed. She. Rukia. He no longer considered her as an anonymous hostage, she had a clearly defined shape and a name.

"Where were you aiming to go to?" he asked once again, expecting the truth this time, however she disappointed him.

"Nowhere in particular," she replied without even sparing a glance at him. She pretended to be too preoccupied with eating her rice.

Ulquiorra knew that this way he wouldn't get any answers out of her, she was too stubborn to reveal it without a proper 'encouragement', however he wasn't the type to use force in this kind of trivial cases. Instead, he decided to let it go.

Rukia ate her dinner nervously, or rather played with it, unable to swallow anything. At first, she noted with satisfaction that he gave up and stopped questioning her, but now that suffocating silence was killing her! Sipping her green tea, she was eyeing him cautiously. Gathering her courage, she cleared her throat.

"By the way," she began hesitantly. She couldn't believe she was going to ask this question. Oh, the irony. "Maybe you'd give me a tour? Around the castle?"

"No," the Espada refused promptly. A tour? What was going on her mind?

"Why?" she asked a little bit irritated, for he didn't even look at her. He had his eyes closed, like always when she was eating her meal.

"I have no time for that," he answered wearily. It was a lie, yes, but giving a tour around the Las Noches? Too troublesome. Besides, was there anything worth seeing? He could recall absolutely nothing of sorts, so why bother?

"Oh come on, you'll find some!" she said, trying to sound encouragingly. Why does he have to be so difficult? She started this topic just to break the uncomfortable silence, but now she kind of wanted him to show her the castle. Come to think about it, it might be interesting.

"No," came his curt reply.

"Don't be like that!" she shouted in annoyance, directing her chopsticks at him.

Ulquiorra opened his eyes and raised one eyebrow at her. "Like what?"

"S…" exy. Rukia stopped herself right in time. The hell was she thinking? "Stuck-up!" She officially hated him. He was making her stammer with just a slight facial expression combined with those amazingly green eyes! Damn you! She really hoped she didn't blush.

"…" he continued to stare at her, however now he had both his eyebrows arched in a quizzical look.

The Shinigami looked away, considering the eye contact dangerous at the moment. Since when did she consider him handsome, anyway? And why did it even affect her like this? His appearance should not matter at all, regardless of how he indeed looked. He was an enemy! After few breaths she pulled herself together and was ready to look at him again. "I don't want to rot in here, you know."

"There's nothing interesting in the Las Noches," stated Ulquiorra. He noticed her acting a little bit weird there, but now she had her composure back. But the question remained – what made her behave out of ordinary?

"There has to be something!" Rukia tried to sound enthusiastic. She even adorned her speech with a smile. "And I bet you know everything about it!"

However her words didn't have the intended effect. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" she asked incredulously. Why can't you go with it?

"Your little masquerade," the stoic Arrancar put his right hand on the armchair's arm and rested his head on it. "It doesn't work on me, anyway."

"I'm just trying to be nice, that's all," she defended herself, trying very hard not to notice anything about him that would cause her to stammer or think improper thoughts.

"Why do you want to see the Las Noches so much?" he asked. "It won't help you in any way."

"I know," Rukia admitted. "Just… It's just that I'm bored. Besides how would I answer if my friends asked 'how was Las Noches?', 'what interesting do they have there?' or 'is it true that it's monochromatic?', for example."

"You're not going to meet them," the Espada deadpanned cruelly. Where did she get this idea from, anyway?

"I will," she said it with a strong conviction. She really believed it, deep in her heart.

He looked her directly in the eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just know," the Shinigami maintained the eye contact, never faltering to return his gaze. She couldn't explain it, but she had this feeling, precognition even, that she would reunite with her friends and Nii-sama. That's why she was able to act as if this imprisonment didn't affect her in the least.

"Then you're a fool," Ulquiorra commented. She was foolish to trust so strongly in things that had a little chance of happening. He knew she was quite intelligent, but why did she keep on believing so persistently? What was so important that she couldn't let it go?

"Excuse me?" she scowled at the insult.

"You won't meet them, Rukia," he told her emotionlessly. "At least not for long enough to have the time to answer those questions of yours. This war is our win."

"Do not underestimate us!" she yelled, anger filling her up.

"I'm not," her replied stoically. "However comparing the sheer power, we have the upper hand."

"So what? Power is not enough," she stated vehemently.

"Oh really? Then what else could be more vital during a battle?" asked Ulquiorra.

"Resolve and heart," she said it resolutely, standing up from her chair. She brought her clenched fist to her chest and tapped it lightly. "Something your side is lacking."

"Heart? It's useless. Just a figure of speech, nothing else," he ridiculed. "And you're wrong, it's exactly the other way – that heart will be your downfall."

"No, it's you who's wrong, Ulquiorra," she said sharply. She took her plates and forcibly put them away on the food cart. "Now, thank you for the meal," she hissed through her gritted teeth venomously. Sitting down on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed, she waited for him to leave.

He stood up unhurriedly, her angry glare never leaving him. The Espada knew his words hurt her, even though she masked this pain with ire. After all he had just derided her beliefs. He didn't want this, but at the same time he thought it would be better for her not to delude herself or it would be her, who would end up suffering the most. It was quite admirable, her firm devotion to her ideals, but it would get her nowhere.

Leaving, Ulquiorra for the first time paused to look back at her before closing the door after himself.

He would come back here today with supper and tomorrow with another three meals and so on, as long as it was required. By now he got accustomed to those visits and didn't mind them at all. Weirdly enough, it was the only place where he felt comfortable and relaxed, aside from his own room.

That was another thing he didn't understand.

The next morning's breakfast went in a complete silence, just like the supper from the yesterday's evening. Rukia refused to utter any sound in the presence of Ulquiorra, not to mention talking. She didn't even spare him a single glance. In other words, she was sulking.

The stoic Arrancar didn't know what to do about this situation, so he acted as if nothing happened. He would just have to wait for her mood to improve. But for now if she wasn't going to speak, he too would keep his mouth shut. Besides, he didn't have anything to tell her. However he would appreciate if his room wasn't this chilly.

When the Espada left, Rukia lied down on her bed and mulled over the yesterday events.

Now if you think that little failure discouraged her, then you're mistaken. It actually made her determination even stronger. Of course it provoked her to change her plans slightly, but they were still in order. She was the type to learn from her mistakes as to not repeat them. And she didn't consider the whole escapade a complete fiasco, only some of its elements (namely encounter with Nnoitra). This time she would be more careful and everything would definitely turn out successfully.

So, today exactly at ten o'clock just like yesterday, she left her room. But this time she used kidō to put a barrier around herself that would hide her reiatsu. She excelled in the destructive and binding spells, however the defensive ones, especially barriers were a completely different story. She sometimes had problems with controlling them. But to minimize the risk of encountering anyone, she was eager to try it out.

This time she chose a different route, hoping she would finally find the bloody staircase. After that, everything should be a piece of cake. So, focusing on maintaining the protective barrier, she hastily made her way.

In a short time, she was pleased to discover the stairway not even a two hundred yards from her room. Climbing it down, she found herself on the lower level and just as she thought, her zampakutō was somewhere here. Following it's comforting aura, she continued on her escapade and soon she arrived at the door behind which was her Sode-no Shirayuki.

Looking around and seeing nobody, she pressed the door handle. Surprisingly, the door wasn't locked. Happy with such a lucky outcome, she opened it and let herself in.

There you go! Hope you liked your Treat! ;D

Ojiyan (おじやん) is ojisan (おじさん) in Ōsaka-ben (in which Gin speaks) and means as much as "uncle; middle aged man". 大阪弁最高！

As it's Halloween (I don't really care 'bout it, though, hahaha), I'm going to traumatise/disgust myself for the whole night with 4 parts of Saw xD

See you next time! (If I survive the movies…)

Thank you for reading!

朝霧 -Asagiri-