Chapter 10

I was being stalked.

One of the female hollows, a few inches- maybe a foot or so- taller than me, had been following me for the past few days. Since Halibel had cared to let me out of the room which she had locked me in, I had ventured throughout almost the entire 'Palace'.

I took in all the Reiatsu in the area, tasted it, felt it; I would be able to feel changes in what was going on much easier, and so it was only natural to know when someone was following me.

The hollow in question was smart. She stayed close enough so that she could still sense my reiatsu, but far enough away that I could hear her thoughts. Every now and then she'd take a step too far and I'd be able to hear bits of what she thought, but she would always correct herself and take a few steps back. I never did anything to enclose the space between us to hear her, she was of little significance to me.

Whatever she wanted, it would take her a few seconds to get to me; which was plenty of time to hear, see, what was coming from her own mind. Arrogant, perhaps so, but that didn't make it any less true.

Control of my power was hard to gain- I still struggled with it, and every now and then it would fail me, but most of the time everyone in Hueco mundo and Las Noches were open books to me. I loved it, but of course they hated it.

Grimmjow seemed to be avoiding me; whether he was sure I wanted to extract revenge on him, or because he was plotting something and didn't want me to know, I wasn't sure. Nnoitra didn't seem brave enough to let me out of his sights, and he had become second on my list of people to humiliate.

I had seen in his mind just what happened to Nel. I almost flew at him in rage, but I managed to control myself. Barely. His pink haired friend, Szyael, would get his cake shortly after his partner in crime.

He also avoided me.

Aizen, was also staying away from me. I kept tabs on his reishi, although he seemed to be trying to suppress it- I did wonder if that was so I couldn't feel him- and I could feel his movements. I often laid in my bed at night and concentrated on feeling him pace around. He was tense and anxious, but I could never get close enough to learn why.

Unlike my stalker, I did try and close the gap on him. I needed to be close enough to hear what he was planning so I could fix my own plans, but he was very careful- even to the point where he would go to the other end of Las Noches. Overcareful perhaps. He didn't even tell anyone else his plans- though, apparently, that was not a new revelation.

The last person who seemed to be avoiding me was Ichimaru Gin. The silver haired Shinigami had never been warm to me, nor had he been cold. We'd barely ever conversed, apart from his occasional greeting near to the beginning of my stay. I briefly caught parts of his thoughts, but they had been about Rangiku- it confused me.

Unfortunately I'd not been careful enough, and he'd caught me staring with the interest and confusion in my eyes and now he also stayed away. He did not want me knowing anything. I briefly thought about mentioning to him how we'd perhaps be able to make a good team- I wanted revenge on many of the hollows, and now that I was sure Aizen had never been telling me the whole truth (why else would he go out of his way to avoid me?), whatever he seemed to be planning might work well with what I also wanted.

But like Aizen, as soon as I got close to him, he moved. It was frustrating, but ultimately his loss. If he wanted to work alone, so would I and if he got caught up in my plans and messed them up, well, that was also his loss.

I wasn't overly sure of anything I could even do. My power was easily avoided on a day to day basis, and unless someone I was 'fighting' fought best at range then it was in my favour.

Shamefully, I was not a fighter.

I was able to push reishi into my muscles, joints and limbs to strengthen them and make them work better, faster and for longer. It did not make me strong, and it didn't make up for the fact, I knew not how to fight.

However, in the few fights I had been in with the younger hollows- who'd wanted to 'spar' and 'train', I had not lost a single battle. I was quick and agile. I could see their moves and plans before they acted them out, and I was quick enough to be able to react against that. That alone, of course, would not be enough to win me any fights. I could run fairly fast- none of their sonido seemed to be able to match up quite to the speed which I gained from filling my legs full of energy; though of course, this was also not something which would cause me to win.

I was able to pull bits of reishi from the area around me, from the people- hollows rather- and use that energy to strengthen myself. In a place like Hueco mundo where everything was made up from reishi... I had almost infinite energy.

So while I was not strong enough to really inflict any major wounds while they were still full of energy, when they were tired and running low, even gentle attacks were able to make them stumble. I learned how to throw a few punches and kicks, where to attack to cause most damage, and how much pressure to use on whether I wanted them knocked down, knocked out or...

Well I had not killed anyone, so I wasn't positive of how much it would take to kill someone, but with my abilities I could probably find enough.

Ulquiorra, who was not avoiding me (and actually seemed to have taken to observing me), tried to use 'my' ability himself. He was successful- to an extent. He'd only been able to make it work for a few moments before the energy rejected him. No one else noticed, since it had made no real change, but I watched from inside his mind- and he was very much aware of it.

"It's an ability anyone could possibly use, if they have the right affinity and the practise for it," he'd said simply. He sounded sour that he didn't have full control over it, but he tried constantly to get it to work.

I also found in his mind, the small dregs of what he hid from Aizen. He'd firstly tried to hide those thoughts- and had done so quite well, but when he decided I was not going to bring the subject up with the 'king' of the domain, he no longer hid it.

I didn't tell him outright that I knew, and we never openly spoke about it, but there was a mutual understanding there.

I would have to make sure Ulquiorra did not get wrapped up in any of my plans, but he was loyal to his 'master', to some degree, and would probably fight if I failed in my first attempt.

I enjoyed his company too. He was curious about me, but never asked. He was mostly silent and most people seemed intimidated by him. I enjoyed the silence it brought, and his thoughts were mostly impassive and, almost peaceful.

Just because I could read peoples thoughts now, did not mean I enjoyed the constant tussle of noise. I couldn't find a way to turn it 'on' before, but now turning it off was the problem.

Halibel watched me for the first few days, then content that I wasn't going to go causing a fight, left me alone. She barely spoke to me, and I had no desire to speak to her. She was nothing more but Nel's replacement.

I had picked upon the former third Espada's reishi a few times, but it was very small and seemed to be quite far away. I was forbidden from leaving Las Noches without Aizen's permission, and as he was avoiding me I could not go and find her.

I was not yet intent on breaking the rules, he had tricked me into trusting him and now I would do the same.

Early morning, about two month's after I had arrived, a week or two- perhaps three- after I had woken up from my near 'death' experience, Ulquiorra had been given a task by Aizen. It was the first hint of his plans I'd heard in a long time, and it unsettled me to hear them.

At first I was paranoid, wondering if he was trying to fool me, but then logically explained to myself that Ulquiorra had no sense of ulterior motive and Aizen would not risk his 'most loyal' Espada. So I accepted Ulquiorra's 'offer' of going with him.

Only it was more of an order than anything. And it wasn't really going with him- there had been some scene a few days ago which led to Grimmjow's demotion, and he would be coming along too. Ulquiorra was supposed to be elsewhere, securing the acquisition of Inoue Orihime.

The rest of us were simply there to keep the Shinigami busy while this happened. Ulquiorra asked me to go, so he could assess how well my powers worked in the human world. There was far less reishi there, so I would possibly be restricted.

I did not much enjoy the company I was forced to keep- though seeing Grimmjow in an absolutely foul mood was completely enjoyable and somewhat euphoric. He was anxious under my gaze the whole time, and he shot off as soon as we arrived.

Toshirou was the first one there to 'greet' us. He exchanged banter with Grimmjow's replacement, Luppi and paid very little attention to the rest of us. I took the brief time to survey the world.

It was foreign to me now, a little overwhelming, but nice too. Ulquiorra had been right about there not being so much reishi here, and I felt quite parched for more. It was manageable though and I had confidence. It was like having one chocolate bar as your only source of 'food' for a whole month. It could last, if you used it sparingly and wisely.

So as long as I didn't use too much and for any foolish reasons, the reishi I could use would be able to last me long enough. I didn't quite have control of using other Hollows, or Shinigami's reishi in the same way, so I didn't factor that in.

The white haired captain's eyes fixed on me as he appraised the group. He barely noticed when his comrades joined him, and his mind was almost blank. He recognised me, and he was startled. My reishi and physical appearance, the fact I was there of my own free will and most surprisingly, the fact I was alive each surprised him more than the other.

So I had been right when I figured Aizen wasn't telling me the whole truth. I felt even more resolve to get revenge, and if anything I hated the man more than I hated Grimmjow. He'd led me to believe staying with the Shinigami was unsafe and would lead to my death, when the other had been true. Aizen was unsafe, he was the danger.

The shinigami would only have helped me to control my power, and the reishi which had been leaking from me and attracting hollows. I had never been in any danger with them.

The revelation left me almost gasping for air, but I showed no... relief or any of my sadness. There was a chance, I could still have been entirely human now, and not some sort of twisted... I gulped.

And there was no way I could even go back now.

Because of that, there was no reason to look back on anything. I had my plans resolved- if not fully perfected- and I would see them through. Aizen would suffer, there had to be some way to get at him and if only I knew what it was...! I somewhat wished, I could protect Inoue from becoming his tool but that would only give me away. I had to earn his trust, slowly, get close to him and then-

"Shiori-chan?"

I half jumped at Rangikus outburst, and she was smiling hugely and waving at me much like the first day we met. Toshirou scolded her for being so warm to her 'enemy', but she ignored him.

The fight between the two groups was already under way by the time I came back to my thoughts, or rather the thoughts of the others. Toshirou seemed mostly concentrating on Rangiku, and Rangiku on me. The others were absorbed in their own doings.

Abarai Renji, was the exception, and the one I had least expected to be consumed with me. He was trying to make sense of it- why I was here, why I was against them, my changes and every answer he came up with disturbed and unnerved him.

He grew more, and more distant from his own fight as his thoughts carried on. The hollow fighting him, my stalker it seemed, also concentrated on me- though she was nervous. She remained focused enough to realise his openings, and moved in to finish him off- even though killing them was pretty much against what Ulquiorra had wanted.

I grabbed her wrist as he came to his senses, and both went silent. Renji was curious- shocked that he'd been so close to his death and unsure why I'd stopped it; and my stalker was furious.

"Are you betraying us?"

I stared at her dully, releasing her wrist. "Ulquiorra told you, and them, not to kill anyone didn't he? Wouldn't you be the one betraying 'us' if I hadn't stopped you?"

She said nothing, but growled lightly.

I smirked in satisfaction. "Why don't you go stop Grimmjow before he goes and kills someone, huh? I'll take over here."

If I could pull Renji away somewhere quieter, focus on his thoughts, I could pull apart everything I needed to know that might help me. Rose- the stalker of mine- glared persistently at us both, before disappearing with her sonido.

Renji moved to go after her, but I grabbed the back of his shihakusho before he could get too far. "What? You want to fight?"

"Perhaps," I smiled softly at him. "I guess you'll have to find out."

I moved back a few steps to avoid his attack, then the next, and the next. It was easy enough to pull him from the others- and he grew increasingly frustrated about my avoiding him. They had no clue about my power.

But, I was also running out of reishi. It took more than I thought here to constantly keep up that speed, so when I was far enough away, I stopped and turned to him.

"You sure you don't want to go back to your friends? They're losing quite badly."

Renji growled. "They're stronger than you think."

"You're not sure of that," I mused, smiling more and folding my arms. He stared for a moment, then put Zabimaru back in his sheath.

Neither had the intention of attacking, but we both wanted answers. He would be the only one who needed to ask the questions though- and I watched his mind as he ran through everything. Aizen's defection, some girl named Hinamori, his relationship with Rukia. It was all rather pointless information, but Aizen's zanpakuto was the most useful bit of information I'd gotten recently.

The hollow's very rarely thought of Aizen, so it was hard to get information from them. Aizen's zanpakuto could be, most definitely was, quite dangerous. I couldn't be sure if I was under it's effects or not, or if it would even work on me. I don't recall him ever showing it to me- the only time he'd drawn it out in front of me had been the day of my 'transformation'. Maybe he'd done it then, but I couldn't be sure.

"What did Aizen say to you?"

I stared at him impassively, before stretching about. Renji was quite handsome- I saw in his thoughts how he looked with his hair down as he went over his battle with Ichigo, and it seemed to suit him more than having it up. I wondered if his tattoo's were supposed to intimidate others, but if anything they made him more mysterious. I barely came to his shoulders before, and now I only seemed to be a bit taller than them. His eyes were a deep brown, and I found myself having to tear away.

Physical attraction was something new to me, and I hadn't been attracted to him when I first met him. Maybe I hadn't taken him in before, or maybe my... personality adjustment had done something. Or maybe being close to him and seeing his mind, the way it worked.

I gulped, and shook my head. He was staring at me half confused, and he was also taking in my looks. He noted the differences, even the subtle ones.

"What he said isn't true."

I should lie to him.

"I never said it was," I mused, to myself more than anything.

"I don't... understand."

"You don't have to, it's not for you to understand."

I'd never really even spoken with him before, and never alone. It was peaceful and nice, and I shuddered. I did not like physical attraction, it made my thoughts incoherent, and my hormones made my body want to act in other ways.

Strange how a 'soul', a 'spirit' could have hormones really.

"You don't intend to fight..."

"Ah, the intention in coming wasn't even to fight in the first place, I think you're confused," I chuckled softly, laughing when his expression became confused. He didn't like the way I phrased things. "Maybe I'm supposed to distract you from aiding your friends; I'm sure you can feel they're losing?"

His thoughts flickered to them, then to Chad. He was training him, and he'd taken a small break to aid the others with their... 'Bankai'. So, zanpakuto releases had different stages, like Ulquiorra did. It wasn't like that with other hollows. They had their 'sealed' state, and then their release.

He had other questions in his mind, but he seemed hesitant to ask them. What happened to me? Why were we not supposed to kill them? How was I so fast? Was I actually going to fight him when his guard was down? What were my 'powers'? Was I a shinigami? Or maybe some sort of Hollow? Maybe a hybrid like Ichigo.

The last one caught my attention, and he thought about Chad and Inoue's powers. Humans', but with very obvious spiritual powers. And Ishida, a quincy. I'd never even heard that term before, and he didn't think much on that.

"The fighting has stopped."

I'd been so caught up reading him, I'd barely kept tabs on anything. Grimmjow's reishi was gone, and the others were disappearing.

"Indeed it has."

He watched curiously, wondering if I was going to go back. He planned to attack when my back was turned, if they kidnapped me- he didn't want to subject me to it- but take me back to soul society, for questioning, get anything they could out of me.

I did wonder if I was stranded here- I had no idea how to return back, and even if I did; I had so little Reiatsu left, and I was too exhausted to summon more or to steal his.

"Onna."

As usual, Ulquiorra's presence put me at instant ease. I found myself not wanting to leave, my body urged me to stay. I would have to find a way to disregard the physical attraction anyway and forced myself to the hollow's side when I felt his increasing annoyance at my lack of response.

"We're done."

He stared at the shinigami, who was frozen in his place. He had no intention of attacking, he was just trying to make sense of why I was going on my free will. It surprised me when he convinced himself that I was just scared of Ulquiorra's strength, and went so no one got hurt.

I felt almost sad.

Ulquiorra pulled me through, snapping me out of my daze and ordered me to follow after him. For once, I didn't care to pick through his mind about what had happened or what was going on now; he'd obviously succeeded in capturing Inoue Orihime but I was far too distracted.

Rangiku was possibly the only one in the group I could have considered my friend. She'd been very friendly and open, and very caring when I wanted her to be. Renji and I had barely even spoken, and it shocked me to hear him try and make excuses for my innocence, and it hurt that I knew his judgement was misplaced.

It was true I was here because I'd been tricked and lied to, but I stayed out of my own free will; there was no fear or 'control' behind it. I almost wanted to apologise to him, set him straight and make him hate me.

I wasn't sure if I could fight someone who thought of me as he did, so friendly and for no real reason. He barely knew me and yet... I sighed softly, trailing absently behind Ulquiorra. I would have to return to the human world sometime soon and track Renji down, get him to hate and despise me, show him that his trust and judgement was wrong. I was his enemy, he had to see that.

This whole thing got more complicated by the second, and for the first time since I'd resolved to gaining Aizen's trust and getting my revenge, I doubted the whole thing. Maybe there would be an easier way-

No.

I would return at some point, set Renji straight even if I had to find a way to beat him within an inch of his life. He was fond of Rukia, maybe I could do something to her- it would get the others to hate me too, then there would be nothing to make me doubt myself, second guess everything.

The sooner I set him straight, the less painful it would be to them later on to realise all their beliefs that I was being manipulated were false. I wasn't sure why exactly I wanted to spare their feelings, and I found myself becoming more uneasy.

Ulquiorra said nothing, and I soon found myself in the middle of the room I'd come to when I first arrived. Aizen's voice was strange to me after not hearing it so long, and I was surprised to be greeted by it when we stopped.

"Shiori-kun, glad to see you're still in one piece."

Inoue was stood a few spaces away, staring quite wide eyed. Her thoughts were silent, and so were Aizen's. I stared intently at the man, and he smirked hugely at me, obviously very proud of himself.

I smiled politely at him. "Aizen-sama."

I paid little attention to the discussion in the room, and Aizen paid little attention to me. He seemed pleased by my greeting of him and was no more concerned with me. I was going to have to find a way to get back to the human world; Aizen would not willingly send me there, Ulquiorra would perhaps but I wondered if his 'allowance' of me going would be enough? Gin or Tousens 'okay' would work but... Which one?

I stared up intently at the Shinigami. Tousen paid no attention to me and didn't even feel my glance on him, I hadn't ever really spoken to him and he seemed to be more of a tool to Aizen than a 'comrade'.

Gin, on the other hand, stared at me intently. He paused as my gaze turned to him, and I wanted to know what was going through his mind. It was true he and I had never been alone together, and aside from the passing greeting, he and I had never partaken in any conversation together. My lips twitched, and upturned into a smirk as our eye contact lingered.

Perhaps it was time to change that.