"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see." Came her simple answer, and he growled in annoyance, as she led him down the halls that seperated one cabin from another.
"Are we there yet?"
"Patience is a virtue."
He rolled his eyes in anger.
"This is really annoying."
Stopping, she suddenly spun on one heel to face him, a wide smile on her face
"Want me to break your neck again?" The neko chirped in a overly sweet voice, giving the blond a vicious glare as she spoke, making it clear that she would do just that if he kept resisting her attempts to lead him to wherever they were going.
"No."
"Good." She replied, then doing an about face continued leading him through the ship/
Now unable to complain, he just settled for an annoyed grumble, and left totally unaware of her intentions, was quite surprised, when she suddenly yanked him into a room, locked it behind them, and slapped on the lights, revealing a small cabin, laid totally bare, aside from a simple cot on the floor.
Still accustomed to the dark, the jinchuuriki closed his eyes against the sudden glare.
"Damn lights...
As the pain in his head dimmed, he spied Ulquiorra standing at the far end of the room.
"When did you get here?"
Yoruichi answered for him.
"He's been here for quite some time know, but you were too busy training Nina, to take notice of his reaitsu."
"She seems to be doing well." Stated the 4th espada, looking at Naruto pointedly as he said this.
The blond snorted and looked away, now glaring at Yoruchi.
"You brought me here to make small talk with him?"
Yoruichi shook her head, then looked to Ulquiorra.
"Well, go ahead, show him.
The 4th ranked arrancar reached to his left eye.
"Very well then."
With a firm squeeze, it shattered, and a fine cloud blew about Naruto, who frowned for a moment, but then his jaw clenched, and he frowned, as he saw the images, eyes going wide seconds later, then narrowing dangerously, as his hands squeezed hard enough to draw blood.
'No...
'I didn't mean to...
Finally, it was all too much for him, and he closed his eyes alltogether, voice pained now, as he was unable to escape the pictures, even though he turned away, and shut his eyes, they were irrevocably burned into his mind.
And he knew he was to blame for them.
All of them.
"Enough...That's enough!"
"Is that all?"
Yoruichi nodded.
"Yeah...Let's leave him be for a bit...
The mist let him be seconds later, and reformed back into Ulquoirra's eye, who, with hands simply walked past the blond, and into the hall, followed by Yoruichi, seconds later.
But before she left, she shot Naruto a glare.
"Remember that. And YOU were the one that caused it."
Then the door slammed behind her, and the footsteps were heard fading away.
Naruto leaned against the wall with one arm, sucked in a ragged breath, a sorrowed look in his eyes, before he closed them, and let out a small groan, as he sank to the ground.
"Damn it. Who'dve thought I hurt her like that...
Yet his moment of weakness was only temporary, and seconds later, he picked himself up.
He knew what he had to do.
No more running from the truth.
--
She heard a sharp knocking on the door, and refused to answer.
"Hey, you in there?"
She tucked the blond hair away from her eyes, and just walked to the furthest corner of the room.
Now he was annoyed.
"OI! Open the hell up!"
Green eyes flashed dangerously in the darkness of the roo,, and through the door, he heard her hiss out:
"And who are you to command me?!"
A massive wave of spiritual pressure blasted him to the ground a second later, but he grunted, and stood back up, already boiling with rage.
How dare she!
"Why you-
His hand swept up, and black light began to gather in his palm.
He'd incinerate her for that!
Yes, that was what he'd do! He'd destroy all that-
Again, that image flashed through his mind, and while it still hurt him tremendously, he shook his head, and lowered his hand, extinguishing the cero.
No.
With great effort, he forced the hate down.
He was not here to kill.
"I'm not gonna do it. If you have a death wish, take it up with somebody else."
She stiffened, as his voice, softer, was heard through the wood.
Two words were heard, and they were laced with pain.
"Shut up."
Again her spirtual pressure weighed down on him, but he stood tall under it, and laughed.
"Trying to intimidate me with your reiatsu? Come on Halibel, that's not like you at all."
"And you know me?" She spat back, but this time, there was no reiatsu wave.
He was getting through to her.
He sighed, and with great effort, through the disdain and harsh lies, forced himself to speak his mind, his heart, the very essence of his true feelings.
"I'd... like to. Get to know you... that is."
She shook her head from side to side, her long blond hair whipping back and forth from the motion.
"I know enough of you already, Uzumaki. And I do not wish to learn any more." More words, firm, yet practically screaming her pain.
Ouch.
That stung, but he knew he deserved it.
A growl rose from his throat, and he began to pace.
Again she spoke.
"There you go again. You have the form of a man, yet in my eyes, you are a hollow, and a selfish one at that, who only thinks of himself, and resorts to violence when he does not get his way."
Silently, she hugged her arms to herself, and faced away from the door.
"And I do not wish to aquaint myself with you as such."
He resisted the urge to break something, and stopped his pacing, wracking his mind for a solution, yet finding none, gave an exasperated curse.
"I'm not very good at this, and you're not making this any easier." He grumbled out.
"And why would I want to make it easy for you to hurt me again?" The whisper escaped her, before she could bite down on it and keep quiet.
And thanks to his exceptional hearing, he easily picked up what she had said.
An audible gasp was heard from behind the door, and the handle shook, as he tried to force his entry.
"Halibel, either you let me in now, or I'm busting this door down-
He felt her reiatsu build, then focus.
Under the door, bright yellow light shone out, and he paled.
She had a cero waiting for him on the other end.
Carefully, he wound his chakra about his upper torso, in a makeshift shield.
"Do it. Do it, and see what happens." She ground out fiercely.
"That won't kill me-
His eyes widened, as he heard the rasp of her sword in the air.
She was going to release her zanpaktou? Here of all places?!
"Halibel! If you do that here, you'll tear the ship apart!"
A bitter laugh. 'Like you tore apart my heart? Seems quite fitting.'
"We'll just see about that."
"You're crazy!"
'More like crazy for falling in love with you...
"Rise-
--
His eyes narrowed, and he reached a hand to his face, which was soon covered in dark energy, and a mask began to form, of pure black energy(Ichigo's mask, but black instead of white)
"You forced my hand!"
--
CRRRRRRAAAAACK!
The door suddenly fell inwards as his booted foot connected against its frame, with explosive results.
A blur of movement, his blade, still in its sealed state, lashed out, knocking aside her zanpaktou, embedding it in the ceiling.
That being done, he dropped his giant zanbato, then seized her wrists before she could blast him with the cero, now slamming her up against the wall, and holding her there.
She was still in the same attire when they had eaten spaghtetti, but her eyes were visibly red from crying, and she looked pained just as he was touching her.
"Idiot." He ground out, before his mask dissapeared, willed away, leaving him to hold her with his own strength, an easy feat, as she was took stricken with grief to resist him.
Tears, held back during the exchange, began to pool in her eyes, then roll down her lovely face.
"Let me go." She sobbed silently, looking away from his piercing glare, but he shook his head, and held her fast.
"No way. I'm never letting you outta my sight."
She stiffened. "What?"
He released one wrist, to suddenly lift her chin up, eyes sparking with something that was not anger.
"You heard me damnit. Don't make me say it again."
Her eyes flickered down to his lips, and his to hers.
"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."
"That's putting it lightly." She spat at him, venom in her voice.
"Hey!" He protested. "Did you really expect me to fall for someone, only a few months after the hellish relationship I had?!"
She looked him square in the eye. "No, but neither did I expect you to be that fierce with me last night."
He looked away. "Rrrrrgh...And for that I apologize."
And looked right back again.
"But...I've been thinking...
"Oh! That's a first!" She hissed, with furious sarcasm, and in her eyes, he could see just how deeply he had hurt her.
And it was deep.
"Maybe, its time I gave it a second try."
He moved his face close to hers.
"With someone special."
"And who is to say I want to be that person?!" She suddenly shrieked, breaking away from him, to smack him hard on the face, a hit he took freely, his head snapping back with the impact.
"Okay, maybe I deserved that...
Seconds later, a bone breaking punch smashed him through the wall, and out into the hall, yet he also made no effort to dodge it, despite the fact that he know felt like he had cracked a rib or two.
"Probably had that coming too...
It was only when she came at him again, cero in hand, that he moved, incredibly fast, and ended it with one blow.
He caught both her wrists again, and forced her back into the room, his Samehada, now reconditioned to eat spirtual pressure as well as chakra, ate the reiatsu from her hand before she could use it against him.
She expected some sort of violence, but he just let go of her and let her fall down on the bed in a heap.
He made no move on her, yet just stood there, feeling wretched
"I've hurt you Halibel, I can see that now-
Her lower lip, it trembled slightly, as he moved away from her.
-more so than I'll probably ever know."
He reached for his second sword, and strapped it to his back, before facing her again.
"You'll probably never forgive me, and if you never want to speak with me, then that's...
He gave a sad smile, and a shrug.
"Then that's fine too."
He picked up the door, and with a few quick jerks on the hinges, had it reattached in a jiffy.
He turned to face her one last time.
"But I just wanted to say this, and if you hate me, well-
He shrugged lightly. "Then maybe that's for the best."
He stood tall, and looked her square in the eye.
"I am sorry Halibel. I realize that only now, and its probably too late to make a difference, but just remember, I took no pleasure in hurting you."
He spun round, and walked away.
"Goodbye."
He got as far as the door.
Then a pair of arms seized him, knocked his weapons to the floor.
Seconds later, hot tears stained the back of his shirt, a small sniffle being heard.
"Don't. I want you to stay."
He twisted in her arms, and they embraced fiercely, her head resting against his chest, whilst he ran a hand through her long spiky hair, before she moved in his arms, bringing her face close, then closer to his own.
"Forgive me?"
"Only if you stay. Stay here, with me." Came her wavery reply, and right now, he could truly see, how fragile she was on the inside, despite her often cold and quiet demeanor.
A smile, for the first time, tears, fell from his face, tears of hapiness.
"Only if you stay here with me."
A tender, chaste kiss, touches his lips, exploratory, fearful almost, as if she is afraid he'll shove her away again, and her words are music to his ears, as she pulls away.
"I swear it. You and only you, are the one for me."
He laughs, his second one in many a month.
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
She laughs a bit, and it is the most beautiful sound he has ever heard.
"Then it's a promise."
Their lips meet...
And this time, there was no pulling away.
Her hands worked under his shirt, and pull it away, his arms rum under her light jacket, and it falls to the floor, atop his shirt, as she falls atop him on the bed...