Chapter 11
Despite the growing curiosity in my mind as to who the figure in the club was, I knew I had to get through one more day of work before I could make my way back there and begin my search.
Forcing my eyelids open at what felt like an unearthly time in the morning, I smacked the beeping alarm beside my bed and tumbled to the floor accompanied by my twisted duvet. For some reason I had forgot to close the blinds before falling asleep the night before, and the moonlight shone through into my ivory painted bedroom. Surely there is nothing worse than waking up when it feels like it's still the middle of the night. But that's just the way it is so deep into the winter-time; the sky seems to be bruised black no matter what time you look at it. Even mid-day the sky is flooded with thick grey clouds; practically blocking the sun out and making everything underneath it look miserable.
I'm out of the house in a flash, not bothering to check if Ulquiorra had woken up or if he was stuck in a dream somewhere in the depths of his bed… either way I'm sure he wouldn't have been happy to see me first thing in the morning holding a fresh cup of tea and a croissant for his breakfast. Besides, he's a grown man; he can make breakfast for himself.
The city-centre is usually bustling at this time in the morning, full of work people, schoolchildren and early-birds trying to get into the grocery store before the mad 11'oclock rush. But for some reason, I found myself one of few people stumbling around the streets being blown this way and that by the heavy wind, getting drenched in the early morning downpour and frozen by the crisp dawn air. I knew I should have worn something toastier than a skirt and blouse… even a thick scarf didn't particularly help. In fact, with the wind blowing at gale force, it was more of an obstruction than a help; it kept billowing back into my face as I tried to walk against the wind. Before I know it I'm sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by shards of glass and a cutting pain on my head.
"Is she dead!?"
"Fucking hell, call an ambulance for God's sake!"
"I'm gonna pass out… blood… urgh…"
Blood? Who's blood? Sitting up, I realise it's mine as it trickles onto my eyelashes and into my eyes. Doesn't hurt half as much as you'd think though. But that may just have been the shock of it.
"Don't worry guys, I'm f-fine. Seriously."
Some woman with unsuitably bleach blonde hair squatted beside me, wet-wipe in hand and dabbing the sticky red substance from my face.
"Don't be silly, girl. We've got to get you to a doctor as soon as- hey! Come back here! Hey!"
Hah, no way am I letting some doctor prod me with a stick and then realise that this is no ordinary human body… it's just a gigai after all. Of course, I don't know if Szayel Aporro has made it so you couldn't tell unless you were him, but I'm not taking any chances. Sure, running all the way to the offices while the blood was pouring freely down my face probably wasn't such a good idea, but it was the only way to escape.
Falling through the office doors, I made a beeline for the ladies bathroom and prayed that none of the women in there noticed that my face was smothered in crimson.
"I-if anyone a-a-asks, its l-lipstick." I stuttered to myself quietly, staggering nauseously into the toilets and collapsing forward into the sink. I made a point of taking three monstrously deep breaths before undertaking the task of actually looking at myself in the mirror; I'm not particularly squeamish but flicking my head up after losing the amount of blood I already had didn't seem like a good idea. Eventually plucking up the physical strength to stand upright, I cracked open a sticky lid only to gasp in disgust at the bloodied mess that stood staring back at me.
"B-better clean myself… myself… myself up." The words fell out of my mouth in an almost comprehensible manner, however even I was finding it difficult to understand myself. As I began mopping up the sticky blood from my face, I began to wonder… how can I not understand what I'm saying? It's in my head… isn't it? And with the realisation that I was actually wiping the space next to my head and not my face, I breathed in sharply and fell forwards, smacking my head on the basin as I went.
I'm really not sure what happened after that.
A/N: Sorry about dodgy paragraphing... don't know what happened there. Hope you enjoyed the wonderful pain I put Adoriana through; I'm surprised she doesn't come and kill me.
