I actually updated this when I was supposed to! Yay!
I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed and provided critique thus far, and to remind everyone that this fic has an M rating.
word count: 3576
It was well past midnight when the elusive captain finally showed up to escort both Ulquiorra and Kuchiki Rukia home.
"I was delayed," he intoned softly at the woman's curious look. "Kusajishi fuk-taichou was…being particular on what kind of candy she wished to receive for a job well done."
The woman nodded solemnly, ignoring Ulquiorra as the former Espada fell into step behind the pair as they quietly left the 4th division.
"I presume that you handled her with the usual grace and dignity, Nii-sama?"
"You would presume correctly. However, there is an unforeseen consequence. She is going to appear at our next clan gathering, and she…wishes to play with our resident traitor Espada."
Ulquiorra frowned, hands in his pockets. "I do not 'play'. But, answer me this, Kuchiki-Taichou. What exactly was the mission she was sent out on? All she did was disturb myself and my comrade, and infuriate Kurosuchi-Taichou. I would be surprised if Grimmjow was not paying the price for it at this very moment."
The noble did not speak for a moment, waiting until they had all passed from beneath the welcome arch to the Relief Station.
"She was…to distract Kurosuchi-Taichou, and somehow make it possible to extract you from your confines."
Ulquiorra paused, and blinked at Kuchiki's retreating backside. "You mean to tell me that you planned for me to get beaten unconscious so you could pick me up from the 4th division without having to deal with Kurosuchi-Taichou?"
"I knew what outcome I wanted, the means I left up to Kusajishi fuk-taichou."
"Aizen was right to be wary of you," Ulquiorra sighed, following the two Kuchiki's once more. "That child though…he never really talked about her. A pity. She is strong, and from what you just told me, very devious."
"Indeed," Kuchiki-Taichou agreed dryly. "It was nearly decided at the last meeting between squads to send her to Hueco Mundo after consuming large amounts of sweets."
Ulquiorra took a moment to try to picture what would happen if such a thing happened.
He shuddered.
Ulquiorra frowned as they walked back to the Kuchiki Estate. "Why did you relieve me from Kurosuchi?"
Byakuya did not look back at him, but the woman gave him a measured glance.
"Your obedience deserved a reward," the noble answered coolly. "After protecting my sister, you chased off the intruder, and kept him from doing damage to Soul Society and its' inhabitants. The least I could do was to protect you from that…from Kurosuchi Taichou."
The former Espada cocked his head, but did not press further.
What strange creatures these Shinigami were.
Ulquiorra was surprised to find a small meal waiting for him, and politely thanked his host for his consideration before inhaling the rice balls and the bowl of soup.
What was that woman giggling about? Ulquiorra thought, feeling irritated. Women were such emotional, strange beings.
He was still wary of the Kuchiki Estate, and his part of the guest there, but even though Kuchiki Byakuya's voice, tone, and normal routine did not change, he seemed to be accepting Ulquiorra with fewer reservations.
Which was why Ulquiorra was found curled up in an armchair in the small library, devouring book upon book of various subjects, with a cup of hot tea on the table beside him.
Even though Kuchiki Byakuya had quietly refused him the privilege of reading the Kuchiki family histories, he had allowed the former Espada free reign over any other literary subject for his enjoyment.
Books on the history of the Living World held his fascination for the time being. He found it odd, intriguing, and at times, frustrating to read what some of the humans in the past had done, or attempted to do in the name of 'the greater good', 'greed', or the one thing that he really held in contempt, 'love'.
When he heard 'love', he would automatically think of that Woman.
He was halfway through the Ancient Rome section before he realized that, in all things human, he always thought of that Woman.
Ulquiorra found that he was somewhat amused at the antics of one Roman Emperor, and was reading the gruesome details of the man's eccentricities when he felt the tremor of reiatsu at the door of the library.
His green eyes glanced up calmly. "Kuchiki Rukia," he said, inclining his head in greeting.
"Nii-sama requests your presence when you have a moment," she said quietly, not looking up at him. She clutched a small black notebook in her hands, and the former Espada felt his curiosity pique.
"What is that?"
Kuchiki Rukia blinked, and then shuffled nervously. "It's…it's a sketchbook. I do sketches of what I see in the real world; they've become quite popular here, so I thought I'd draw you."
It was Ulquiorra's turn to blink. "Draw me?"
The woman nodded, and he saw a spark of delight and challenge in her eyes.
He had never had anyone draw him before, though he had been asked. He had flatly told Luppi 'no', and had kept walking. The Woman once asked him, but he had been called back to Aizen before he could answer.
"Do you need me to pose, or can I stay as I am?"
He ignored her beaming smile as she sat before him, opened to a blank page, and started drawing. "Just do what you feel like."
And so Ulquiorra returned to his book.
He had just reached the section on the emperor Constantine when the woman let out a small whoop of triumph, and after gaining his attention, held up her master piece.
He considered the artwork before him with a slight frown, closing his book as he leaned closer to the paper.
It had a bear dressed in Ulquiorra's uniform, with the bone helmet and the tear marks sitting perched on a chair reading…what was that? He couldn't read the title of the book, but everything was…
Simplistic. Colorful. The proportions were off. He did not smile like that bear, and…
"It is beautiful," he murmured softly, reaching a hand out to gently run his fingers over the work. "May I have a copy of one of your works?"
He almost jerked when the woman let out a happy squeal, then abruptly calmed herself and said in a serious, grave tone "I would be happy to, Ulquiorra. Would you like to look at what else I have done?"
He nodded, and was soon bombarded by image after image of woodland creatures dressed as Shinigami, Hollow, and Human. He felt a wry sense of amusement at the Bunnies Kurosaki and Abarai, and a sense of cool consideration at Bunny Inoue. He complimented her on capturing the essence of Snake Ichimaru, and making Bear Aizen look positively conniving.
"I had better go see what your brother wanted," he muttered after a while, looking away from her glowing face. He didn't know why she was so happy to hear his praise. Any idiot or trash could see that they were wonderful and beautiful to behold.
They were similar in style (save for the animal theme) to that Woman's style of drawing.
He left Rukia cackling in the library, and found his host in the garden.
"I apologize if I kept you waiting," he said quietly, kneeling a respectful distance from the noble. The other man was kneeling in front of the koi pond, looking thoughtful.
"What kept you, Espada?"
"Your sister wished to draw me, and I let her."
The noble's head turned to look at him, and Ulquiorra saw a small spark of pride in the other man's eyes.
"She is gifted in the art," Kuchiki Byakuya said gravely.
"She is," Ulquiorra agreed truthfully. "The only fault I could find was that she had me smiling. Other than that, it was…sublime. The child like exuberance and innocence were charming and the colors that were chosen were very pleasing."
"Her drawings are featured in every issue of Seireitei Monthly," the other replied, drawing his form up slightly. "I feel it is a wonderful gift to the lower classes to be exposed to her talent."
"She seems to enjoy drawing Kurosaki, Abarai, and yourself the most."
The other man paused at this admission, then slowly turned back to consider the koi pond.
Ulquiorra glanced down into the pond as well, and then narrowed his eyes. "Your koi population seems to be decreasing rapidly."
"Indeed," the other replied dryly. "Espada. Why are you here?"
Ulquiorra considered the question for the moment, and then took it to mean what he thought.
"I am here to stop Aizen. He does not deserve god-hood."
"Why?"
Ulquiorra frowned, his hands clenching slightly at his uniform before he forced himself to relax. "He bled. Gods do not bleed."
"Is that all there is to it, then?"
"No," Ulquiorra whispered. "When he would send us to the Living World, I would see things that…confused me. I saw humans that had the same attitude that he did; they would have the world. Of course, they were not Aizen, so they never amounted to much, but right before I left his service, I could not help but wonder if a god was supposed to…feel and act like a human. The arrogance, the self-assuredness; he had these, and they were human traits."
"Why did you follow him then?"
Ulquiorra picked at the grass at his knees. "We followed him because he was…is…strong. As creatures of uncertainty, of fear, of hunger, we cannot help but follow those we feel are stronger than ourselves, or else fight them to become stronger. It is a never-ending cycle; to feed, to run, and to fight. If you are lucky enough, you do become stronger. But eventually, we all meet our power caps."
He glanced up at the watching noble. "Aizen does not seem to have met his power cap yet."
Kuchiki Byakuya gazed at him for a moment longer, a slight breeze picking up and bringing the scents of the garden to them.
"Inoue Orihime."
Ulquiorra glanced away. "What of her?" he asked coldly.
"You were her jailer for several months, were you not?"
"Yes," Ulquiorra quipped.
"Then you know what happened to her?"
Ulquiorra turned his eyes slowly back up to Kuchiki's, the green in them seeming to get darker.
"You were there," he said softly. "Did you not…?"
"I was distracted. But you-"
The noble halted what he was about to say when they both felt a weak brush of reiatsu that they both recognized. It was very weak; the normal flair of life and energy had been replaced with just a barely-there life beat.
"Abarai," Kuchiki murmured, looking startled. He was gone with a flicker, and Ulquiorra followed.
They found the red-haired lieutenant just inside the far garden wall, the Senkaimon gate closing behind him.
Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly as they took the man in.
The normally vibrant red-head was barely standing, using his released zanpakuto to keep him upright. His uniform was torn, ripped, and burned off in several places. Ulquiorra noted that some patches of visible skin were shiny or bubbled up- a sign of serious burns. The normally bound hair now streamed down Abarai's neck and face, blending almost perfectly with the running blood. The arm that had the zanpakuto tucked under it seemed to bend in an odd way- it was broken, more than likely.
What really drew Ulquiorra's morbid interest was that Abarai's other arm was detached from its' normal location, and currently being held in the wheezing man's mouth. The other wound that drew him was the large gaping hole in Abarai's chest- it looked too rough to be from a cero, but more like the man had been gored.
"Renji!"
Kuchiki Rukia had come running at the familiar brush of reiatsu, and she now darted past both Ulquiorra and her brother to catch the red-head before he could fall.
"Nii-sama, he's-"
"Take him inside, I'll retrieve Unohana."
With a flicker, the captain was gone.
"Ulquiorra, help me get him inside."
Ulquiorra gently pushed the woman from beneath Abarai's arm, taking her place and easily accepting the wounded man's weight. Abarai groaned something around his arm, and slumped against the Espada's frame.
"Come, Abarai," he murmured, leading the taller man inside.
Between the two of them, Ulquiorra and Kuchiki Rukia managed to get Abarai to lie down, and hold still as they tended his wounds. Ulquiorra removed the arm from Abarai's mouth, setting it aside for Unohana to take care of when she got there.
Kuchiki Rukia was skilled enough at kido to force the blood to stop spurting from Abarai's chest wound, and was focusing on trying to close the wound.
Abarai seemed to be trying to tell them something important, but he kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Ulquiorra decided it was probably for the best; Kuchiki Rukia had paled when the former Espada had forcibly set Abarai's broken arm amidst the sound of bones cracking together.
Odd. He would have thought that as a Shinigami, she would have been used to such sounds. He did give her some credit for not stopping the healing kido despite her obvious discomfort.
The pain from the resetting had awoken the man for a brief moment, long enough for him to curse loudly, and then try to tell them something.
"Rukia…Ulquiorra…he…"
Unohana Taichou chose that moment to flicker in, face drawn into a serene mask. "Abarai-kun," she said lightly, in an almost teasing voice. "Why do I only see you when you're in a state such as this? I've seen you more like this than I have when you've visited Yamada to teach him some basic combat skills."
Ulquiorra supposed the red-head wasn't too bad off if the man could chuckle. Then he started gasping, and coughing.
"Get him on his side; he has blood to cough up."
Ulquiorra waited until they had rolled the man onto his side, and then struck.
His palm slammed into Abarai's back, and a gob of blood flew out of the man's mouth. He wheezed, and breathed easier. "Thanks," he gasped.
"It was my pleasure."
"Abarai fuk-taichou," Kuchiki Byakuya intoned softly. "Report on what happened, if you can do so. You were not due back for another week."
"Yes…Taichou," Abarai breathed. He turned more fully towards his captain when Unohana placed his disembodied arm next to his body, and started to try to use kido to reattach it. Kuchiki Rukia had finished her healing kido on Abarai's chest; it was no longer bleeding, and the hole was smaller.
"I helped Kurosaki with Hollows," he said, eyes closing for a moment before opening them again and refocusing on his captain. "Was all good until tonight…"
"Did you come across a particularly powerful Hollow or Arrancar?"
The red-head tilted his head back, and laughed.
It was a bitter sound, Ulquiorra realized idly. It sounded hollow, and broken.
Just like the rest of the man that now lay before him.
"Ha, no, Taichou. I wish it was that simple, that easy. No, we fought…and went back to Kurosaki's place. Ya know how we're friends Taichou. And friends talk…" He gasped, and coughed, quickly turning his head to the side and hacking up the blood.
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed at this statement. Friends did indeed talk, and if he knew the red-head enough, he might hazard a guess at what had happened.
"What did you tell Kurosaki Ichigo?" Kuchiki's voice, while still soft, had taken a cold edge.
"He went insane," Abarai murmured, voice becoming rougher, and more slurred. "He…lost it. That thing inside 'im took over, an' went to leave an' go to Soul Society. I tried…I tried so hard, Taichou…"
"You did a good job, Renji," Kuchiki intoned gently. "He is not here."
"Not yet he ain't," the other whispered, eyes closing. "Left him buried under a buildin'…but he'll be here soon Taichou, I promise ya that."
"Rest, Abarai fuk-taichou. You did your duty admirably, and now you need to focus on healing."
"Sorry…Taichou. Rukia…"
Ulquiorra sat there next to the red-headed man, watching as he fell back into unconsciousness.
Kurosaki Ichigo had attacked a friend and comrade after Abarai Renji had told him of the newest addition to Soul Society.
"Will he recover?"
Unohana Taichou glanced up at Ulquiorra's question, her face looking slightly drawn. "He is young, and though his wounds could be fatal, he found help quickly enough to minimize his chances of bleeding to death. Given time, and proper rest, yes, he will recover."
"Espada. Let us take a walk," Kuchiki Byakuya said, and with a graceful turn, walked back out into the garden.
Ulquiorra followed behind silently.
When they reached the koi pond once more, the noble turned to face the former Espada fully.
Mask met mask, and both men were silent as each appraised the other.
"You are upset that your subordinate was injured so grievously by an ally," Ulquiorra noted.
"You are also upset, though it is because that Kurosaki Ichigo attacked an ally, and not the enemy," Kuchiki countered.
"It…goes outside of what is normal for Kurosaki Ichigo," Ulquiorra explained, frowning deeper. "He believed in his friends, and he believed in honor. But to attack a friend, and to nearly kill him…"
"It is quite like a Hollow," Kuchiki finished quietly.
"Yes," Ulquiorra said. "Yes it is."
"We will- wait," Kuchiki said, head turning.
Ulquiorra felt it as well- the roar of uncontrolled reiatsu that had suddenly appeared at the same spot that Abarai had come.
"He is still in that form," Kuchiki noted, flash stepping away, with Ulquiorra right behind him.
When they found Kurosaki, Ulquiorra could only stare at the monstrosity that was housed in Kurosaki's soul.
Gone was the male child with short hair, determined brown eyes, and grim determination.
In his place was…
"Monster," Ulquiorra called out softly.
Long orange hair flew in the breeze, and slowly, ever so slowly, the fully masked thing turned to look at Ulquiorra.
The former Espada now saw what Grimmjow had meant about the horns. They jutted out from the grim mask that hid Kurosaki's face, and there was a black liquid coating one nearly to the hilt.
Abarai's blood.
"Kuchiki Taichou," Ulquiorra said, never breaking the staring contest with what was once Kurosaki Ichigo. "I would suggest you and your sister vacate the area."
He heard no reply, but the captain's reiatsu faded from beside him, and he was alone with the monster that was once Kurosaki Ichigo.
Ulquiorra slowly started walking towards him, hands resting in his pockets.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," he intoned, watching the mask carefully. He did not expect any reaction to the name.
He was not disappointed.
"You attacked an ally, a friend even, and nearly killed him in your rage." Ulquiorra paused, a few yards now from Kurosaki.
"I commend you," he said softly. "That is a very Hollow attitude, to kill those who anger us or who try to stand in our way. No mercy, and no regret. You have progressed."
A low rumbling growl sounded from Kurosaki, which prompted Ulquiorra to wait.
"Yyyyyyyou…"
"I did not do nearly as much damage as you have," Ulquiorra said severely. "You are Aizen's secret weapon. You not only do more damage than any Espada under his control, you can also demoralize Shinigami troops, and your own comrades. I feel pity for Abarai- you seem to have broken his spirit. He trusted you, and you nearly ripped him to pieces. I take that back; you DID rip some of him apart-"
"Hhhhhhhher…"
"If you mean the Woman, I'm surprised at you," Ulquiorra said sharply, eyes narrowing. "Hollows do not care for others. You would kill your friends but pine for her. You would protect her but massacre your friends. Even as a Hollow, you defy the greater logic of things, and continue to infuriate me." He stepped closer, his reiatsu flaring slightly.
"It must be in the instinct in you," he thought out loud, his stoic mask slipping back into place. "Instinct cannot be ignored. What is your instinct, I wonder? To kill the rivals that you perceive strong enough to take your woman from you? That's what you see her as? A mate? Something for you to claim and keep and protect from others?"
He ignored the growls that were becoming louder, and continued to walk towards Kurosaki, reiatsu now a beacon.
"Did you love her?" Ulquiorra snarled, losing his temper. The Hollow across from him started, but Ulquiorra kept on. "I suppose you did. Humans have a tendency, when in love, to destroy that which is closest to them. Love is an excuse to be foolish, and to do foolish things. While it will earn you accolades from others, in the end, you are still a destructive fool."
"Sssssshe…miiiiiiiiine…"
"I have some unfortunate news for you, Kurosaki," he hissed, eyes flashing. "That Woman did not love you, and she was never yours. She was *mine*, body and soul."
The roar that came from Kurosaki was enough to shake the foundations of the nearby buildings, and nearly sent Ulquiorra to his knees from the sheer power.
Such pain and rage echoing in that scream…
"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhher…you…"
Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly.
"Yyyyyyyou killed hhhhhher!"
Ulquiorra lowered his eyes, looking at his closed hand. He had once told that Woman that she and others carried their hearts in their hands. Where was his?
"Yes," he said softly. "I did."
Kurosaki let out another bellow, and charged.