Grimmjow narrowed his gaze at the soul reaper captain who stood in front of him with his Zanpakuto already in preparation for an attack. The Espada wasn't stupid, he knew who this captain was. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was the last soul reaper he had ever thought he would run into upon his arrival into the Soul Society.
The woman who had been fighting against his hold now lay limp in his arms as she tried to take control of her ragged breathing. Grimmjow pulled his arms away from the woman's waist and it seemed she no longer had the strength to stand on her own and before he could catch her she fell to her knees with a hard thud.
Mayuri kept his gaze on the Espada as he stepped closer to Ayumi. If the beast planned an attack he would be ready for him, with one slash or stab of his Shikai the wound would render the area useless, hence giving Mayuri an advantage.
"Stand up, Ayumi!" Mayuri demanded her as he stepped in front of her, not daring to move his gaze from the intruder.
Ayumi swallowed hard. Her body felt as if it had been pushed to its limit and now that she knew Mayuri was there it seemed like total exhaustion was taking her over. She pushed herself up on shaking arms and felt utterly pathetic when her muscles failed to comply and all she did was fall face first into the dirt.
Mayuri allowed himself to peek behind him and grew even more agitated with the situation when he realized Ayumi had ran herself useless-What the hell was the woman thinking? Why had she even left the safety of the barracks?
Grimmjow took a step back and raised his hands up in front of him. Mayuri's lips lifted in a sneer as he thought about the Espada's motives.
"It takes a lot of gumption for one of your kind to travel here, tell me, Espada, just what prompted this little visit?" Mayuri questioned.
Grimmjow glared back at the captain, but he knew if he made any false moves he would only end up having to fight and that would make his Queen unhappy.
"Tch. I'm here on business, came to see if any of you soul reapers are dropping like flies." Grimmjow countered.
Mayuri tilted his head at the Espada's comeback and had to admit the man had just peaked his interest.
"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?"
The Espada's eyes darted behind the captain of squad 12 and locked onto the man who had just spoken. Mayuri could see the malice behind Grimmjow's blue eyes and it made him grin. It would seem that Sosuke Aizen had enemies in more than just one dimension.
Sosuke stepped forward form the shadows wearing nothing more than an old tattered kimono, his body fully regenerated.
"Hah! Well look at that! How the mighty "Lord Aizen" has fallen…What? The soul reapers decided to let you out of "time out"." Grimmjow taunted his former leader.
Sosuke Aizen narrowed his eyes at the Espada as he stepped forward.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Kenpachi growled as he and Linake caught up to the group.
Mayuri and Aizen both turned and met the challenging gaze of the 11th division captain.
Linake paused with wide eyes as she took in the scene before her. She had no idea who the man with such wild blue eyes was, but it seemed that Sosuke knew him very well as the two traded glares-had the man just referred to Sosuke as "Lord Aizen"?
Mayuri moved his hand down the hilt of his Zanpakuto allowing his Shikai to withdraw before slipping it back into his sheath. It seemed to him that the Espada had information from his own world that might very well be beneficial to the current situation.
"What exactly did you mean before we were so rudely interrupted? I can only guess that you have come here seeking information?" Mayuri asked as his lips lifted into a smile.
Grimmjow turned his attention back to Mayuri and with a sneer on his lips he answered.
"Hollows are dying left and right, we can't figure out why. The Queen of Hueco Mundo sent me to check this place out, see if you've been having any problems." Grimmjow answered.
"I see, and how would Hollows dying be any concern of ours?" Mayuri countered.
Grimmjow glared back at the soul reaper-Cocky son of a bitch!
"You know as well as I do, if too many Hollows croak then it will cause a shift in the balance between all of our worlds. You telling me that's not your concern, soul reaper?" Grimmjow retorted.
Linake listened to the men's exchange for a couple minutes until her gaze dropped to the dirt covered ground. Her lips parted in shock seeing Ayumi lying face down-Had this newcomer hurt her?
Linake didn't hesitate to go to the woman's side. She pushed her way past her husband then sidestepped in front of Aizen. Once Linake reached Ayumi, she carefully squatted down and pushed Ayumi's long hair away from her face. Linake could see the stream of tears that clung to the woman's cheeks streaking the dirt as they fell.
"It'll be okay, Ayumi. You're safe now." Linake whispered to her as she reached her hands up under the woman's arms and tried to help her up.
Ayumi looked up at her and Linake couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Soul. It hadn't been that long ago when Linake herself had once felt the sting of utter defeat.
Mayuri turned his head and witnessed the state of his subordinate and even though he felt the absurd urge to go and comfort Ayumi, he forced the thoughts away as he turned his attention to the more pressing matter.
"It would seem that we find ourselves in the most peculiar of situations. Are we to believe that you have simply come here for this reason alone?" Mayuri addressed the Espada.
"Tch. You can believe whatever the hell you want, you're going to anyway." Grimmjow countered, placing his hands in the pockets of his black pants.
"Ah, Yes. I figured your answer would be something in that regard. While I must say the temptation of picking your brain is quite appealing, I must insist that the conversation wait for another time. If it is help you seek, Espada, then follow us." Mayuri replied before turning away from Grimmjow completely.
The way he saw it, if the Espada had taken the chance to come alone into the soul society he was of no real threat to them, especially with the 11th division captain looking as if he were waiting for Grimmjow to make his move. Mayuri was sure the battle loving brute was just itching for a reason to fight.
Ayumi managed to make it back to her feet even though her knees kept shaking. She felt disgusted with herself, she hadn't been able to lift so much as a finger against the men from earlier and if it hadn't been for the Espada's interruption she could have been brutalized. She hated that she felt gratitude towards a being that was supposed to be labeled as her enemy.
Warm fresh tears fell from her cheeks as she lifted her gaze and looked Linake in the eye. The substitute seemed to be looking at her with knowing eyes, like she sensed how Ayumi was feeling and she could somehow relate to her situation. Ayumi didn't want the woman's sympathy, she didn't deserve it.
"Are you able to walk?" Ayumi heard Mayuri ask her.
She turned her gaze to him and even though she felt embarrassed by her emotional outburst she didn't hide it from him.
"I can try." She whispered softly.
Mayuri stepped into Ayumi's personal space as he wrapped his right arm around her small waist. Linake let go of Ayumi as confusion filled her, she didn't understand what would make Captain Kurotsuchi act in such a manner towards Ayumi. He would normally never go out of his way to show such compassion for someone.
Ayumi raised her left arm and hooked it around Mayuri's shoulders and in an instant Linake realized that the pair did not seem uncomfortable being in such close contact. Linake gasped at her realization and when Mayuri's intense gold eyes looked over at her with silent agitation, it only confirmed it. Mayuri Kurotsuchi did have feelings hidden deep down inside his analytical mind, and even though it seemed like he was trying desperately to hide them from everyone, Ayumi Otsuka was slowly managing to bring them to the surface.
Mayuri paused as he witnessed the way he was being stared at, not only by the smiling substitute, but also by the brute and immortal. He had never felt more uncomfortable then in this moment while under the three's scrutiny.
"What is it!? This woman is my subordinate, there for she is my responsibility, I don't see why the three of you are standing there gawking at me in such a way!" Mayuri snapped at them before taking steps forward in the direction of the Seireitei.
"Yeah…you keep tellin' yourself that, Kurotsuchi." Kenpachi taunted.
The 11th division captain watched the way Mayuri's shoulders tensed and Kenpachi chuckled lowly when he heard the man's frustrated sigh. Kenpachi knew what was going on, even if Kurotsuchi wanted to deny it. His pretty little subordinate had managed to grab him by the balls and Kenpachi knew all too well what would come next…when a woman grabbed you by the balls, it didn't take much for the heart to follow.
Mayuri walked past the blue haired Espada without any cares, now that he knew the beast wasn't an immediate threat he could concentrate on getting to the bottom of his subordinates behavior. She was on thin ice with him, had he not told the woman repeatedly to be aware of her surroundings, yet, here she was being chased down by one of their enemies in the dark. The memory of the Espada's arms being wrapped around her body made his blood boil-She belonged to him now and it was time the woman realized that!
Grimmjow sighed feeling like he had just walked into some kind of private joke. He could tell by the frustration on Mayuri Kurotsuchi's face that he didn't like being taunted for his apparent concern for the female. What Grimmjow didn't understand was if the female meant so much to the soul reaper, why had she been out in the dark all alone? What would have happened to the woman if he hadn't shown up when he did? Caring about what happened to some soul reaper normally wasn't Grimmjow's style, but, the woman had looked so scared he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her-Shit! I'm starting to get a little too soft.
Grimmjow kept his hands in his pockets as he turned and began to follow the head of research and development. He'd needed a guide to the Seireitei and it looked like he'd found one. Tier Halibel, his Queen, had instructed him to seek out the Head Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku. It seemed that he was the Soul Reaper who had taken over for the old man after the war with the Quincy. Grimmjow felt his former leader and the giant behemoth, who could only be Kenpachi Zaraki, walk up behind him.
Now he was surrounded by the Soul Reapers and the man who had once been known as a traitor. The fact that Aizen was out walking around like he was strolling through the park on a Sunday morning didn't sit well with Grimmjow. He got that almost seventeen years had passed since his betrayal and he had heard news that Juha Bach had been defeated with Aizen's help, but still, to let a man like Aizen out of his prison meant he would have had to go through some serious rehabilitation, or the Soul Reapers were once again under his hypnosis somehow-I'll have to keep my guard up, for now.
Ayumi regained her bearings about half way through the walk back to the Seireitei. She could see the white walls in the distance and she dreaded the conversation that would come once Mayuri got her back into the research and development building. She could feel the tension radiating off of his body as he kept his arm locked around her waist. She allowed her gaze to look up at his profile and the scowl on his face told her just how upset at her he really was-am I about to find out what happens when someone really makes him angry?
It didn't matter to Ayumi what he would do, she didn't fear him, and for some reason she just knew that he didn't have the urge to hurt her. He was just simply frustrated with her lack of common sense. Even she had to admit her impulsive actions had been more than stupid. What bothered her the most was now she feared he would take her off of the virus investigation completely-What would I really bring to the table that he couldn't accomplish on his own anyway?
As the buildings of the Seireitei came into closer view Ayumi prepared herself for whatever was to come. She wouldn't fight him and she would listen to whatever it was her captain wanted to say to her, she was as he had stated before, his subordinate, and she respected him more than any other man she had ever had the privilege of knowing. Ayumi would take whatever it was he chose to give her.
"I think I can walk on my own now." She whispered up to him.
Mayuri's scowl only deepened at her statement.
"Very well, head back to the Squad 12 barracks, I will deal with you later." He stated, removing his arm from around her waist.
"Yes, Sir." She replied, her head lowered again.
The shameful sadness Ayumi felt inside made her arms reach up and wrapped around her middle. It was the only way she knew to try and comfort herself. Mayuri turned and faced the blue eyed Espada as he walked up inside the main entrance to the Seireitei.
"I will take it upon myself to show you the way to our head captain, after that I must excuse myself, I have other things I need to attend to." Mayuri informed him.
"We'll be coming too." Kenpachi informed them as he and Sosuke came up from behind.
"Go ahead and head back to the barracks, Wife." Kenpachi ordered before dropping his head and pressing a chaste kiss to Linake's lips.
Grimmjow's brow rose as he witnessed the woman kiss the behemoth back. His instincts were slipping…how could he have just now realized that the woman was pregnant? Grimmjow sniffed the air around him, he wasn't picking up anything that smelled familiar. Each of the Hollows that had turned up dead had all died from the same thing, he was sure of it, whatever it was had a distinct smell, although there was nothing he could compare it to, if he smelled it again, he would know it.
"Let's get going then, I have no desire to stand out here wasting my time!" Mayuri snapped at the three men before stomping off in the direction of the squad 1 barracks.
Grimmjow's upper lip lifted in a sneer as he watched the squad 12 captain stomp away. He shook his head thinking it was pretty apparent what the guy's problem was. He was too uptight-Maybe if he took some time to enjoy the woman he seemed so fond of the bastard could learn to relax a little.
"Move!" Kenpachi growled from behind him.
Grimmjow rolled his eyes as he stepped forward following the trail of the 12th division captain's scent as the behemoth and the traitor continued to watch him closely from behind.
'Ayumi! Hold on!" Linake called out to her just as she was about to squeeze herself back threw the small gap in the concrete.
Ayumi paused and turned to look at Linake.
"Did something happen to you back there?" Linake asked, her brows drawn in concern.
Ayumi dropped her gaze to the ground feeling more shame wash over her.
"No…thankfully. It could have been much worse for me if Grimmjow had not shown up when he did." She admitted.
Linake stepped in closer her concerned brow switching to one of confusion.
"What do you mean by that? Was someone else following you?" Linake asked.
"Three men had been following me, I hadn't even realized it. Mayuri has been telling me to pay attention, to use my eyes now that he's healed them and I can't even seem to do that right." Ayumi spoke softly.
Linake reached her hand out placing it on the souls shoulder.
"Try not to be so hard on yourself, okay? It was kind of dumb to go out there by yourself, but, I am sure you had a reason, right?" Linake asked.
Ayumi met Linake's kind blue eyes.
"I felt Grimmjow coming, somehow. I thought that Mayuri might have been in some kind of trouble…" Ayumi laughed at herself.
"Not like I was really much of any help." She finished.
Linake snorted.
"We've all had our moments of temporary lapse in judgment. I still have the scar from mine." Linake half-laughed.
It was Ayumi's turn to look confused.
"Scar?" She asked.
Linake shook her head.
"It's a long story, don't worry about it. What did you mean by you could feel Grimmjow coming? Do you mean you could feel his energy?" Linake pressed.
Ayumi nodded.
"It scared me. It was like a restless jolt that kept running down my spine. I…I...knew that something was coming, I know that probably sounds crazy." Ayumi answered.
Linake laughed.
"I can use the elements on a whim and even set myself on fire, that's crazy…what you're talking about sounds like "deep listening" to me. You might want to look into it. For the lack of a better term, it's a form of open consciousness that allows people to sense things. Most can only achieve it when their mind is at ease, a meditative state, like when we try and communicate with our zanpakuto." Linake tried explaining.
"I think I understand. This "deep listening" will allow me to pick up on events, such as Grimmjow already being on his way here. If I allow myself to focus I will be able to pick up on events that are about to happen and I will be more prepared for them. Is that accurate?" Ayumi asked.
Linake nodded.
"It's a fairly decent explanation, although, allowing it to scare you to the point of acting impulsively could deter it from working the right way. I bet if you would have stayed calm on the way to Kusajishi those men wouldn't have been able to corner you the way they did." Linake answered.
Ayumi allowed herself to smile softly at the substitute. Linake was kind without needing a reason and that warmed Ayumi to her nurturing nature. The woman didn't have to stand here talking to her about her problems, or even care about what had happened to her, but she did anyway and that gave Ayumi a bit of peace in knowing that not everyone wanted to write her off.
"Thank you. I will look into this when I have some free time." Ayumi stated.
"No problem. I guess I should head back now, Takeo is probably driving our 3rd seat crazy by now." Linake laughed at the thought of Yumichika chasing her son around the squad 11 barracks. Takeo was only able to crawl around right now, but he was pretty quick.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Zaraki." Ayumi replied.
Linake smiled warmly at her.
"You can call me Linake…and goodnight, Ayumi." Linake stated before she turned and walked away.
Ayumi turned back towards the concrete crevice and wedged herself between the two walls as she sidestepped down the claustrophobic space. Leave it to her captain to create an entrance that was secret and a bit embarrassing to use. As her mind wondered back to Mayuri she felt a wave of dread in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to overreact, but by the way he had spoken to her last-I'll deal with you later…she had a sinking feeling she was about to be kicked out of her squad, kicked out just when she was finally starting to feel like she belonged somewhere.
She reached her hand up and pressed her palm into the scanner and once again the panels lock clicked and swung open for her. She pushed herself inside the building the rest of the way and allowed the panel to slide back closed on its own. She had bathed earlier in the day before dinner, but after tripping herself and falling face first in the dirt, she was in need of another. Her elbow stung from the small graze she had inflicted on herself when trying to escape her would be attackers.
Ayumi sighed heavily as she turned and headed to the right. She tried to remember the way back to the main lab, she figured she would take another bath after Mayuri was done scolding her for her stupidity and if she couldn't find the lab someone would find her eventually, wandering the hallways looking as lost as she felt.
Shunsui Kyoraku found himself standing in the middle of the Squad 1's great hall. He had to admit he felt a bit out of place standing across from an Espada. He had thought his run-ins with their kind would be a thing of the past-hoped was more like it.
"So you're telling me that a lot of the lower level Hollows have been dying unexpectedly, and you've been sent here by this "Tier Halibel" to see if we've been having similar occurrences?" Shunsui recapped Grimmjow's explanation.
"That's right! So, what about it? Any of you soul reapers croaking for no reason?" Grimmjow asked.
Shunsui sighed at the man.
"So far the only deaths we've had have been three souls, no soul reapers have died, but we do have some students that are currently sick." Shunsui admitted, feeling a sudden rush of restlessness.
"Sick? So that means it could be the same thing, right?" Grimmjow pressed.
"That would all depend on the process of which these Hollows you are speaking of have perished. Have you just been finding the corpses, or have any of you witnessed the behavior leading up to their demise?" Mayuri interrupted.
Grimmjow turned his head to the left and met the man's golden gaze.
"We've just been finding them, it almost seemed like they were trying to get to Hueco Mundo for help but didn't make it." Grimmjow answered.
Mayuri tilted his head as he studied the Espada.
"How do you know then that it was an illness? Could these have not been the cause of something natural to your world?" Mayuri countered.
Grimmjow scowled at the soul reaper.
"I think we know the difference between what's natural and what's not. They can't keep any fluids down, I can tell that by the trail they left behind." Grimmjow sneered.
"Ah, I see. It would have been helpful to have that information beforehand. What exactly have you and your "queen" been doing with the bodies? In order for me to figure out if this is in fact connected, I would need a sample." Mayuri continued.
"They've all been buried outside of Hueco Mundo." Grimmjow answered.
"How long ago did these mysterious deaths start to take place? I mean are we talking months? Weeks? Days?" Mayuri pressed.
Grimmjow growled from low in his throat.
"I guess the first one would have been about two weeks ago, now we've had to dig holes for over twenty. Whatever this shit is, it's killing them from the inside out." Grimmjow replied.
"From the inside out you say? Would it be safe to assume that their spiritual pressure had failed to regenerate?" Mayuri asked.
"I think it would be safe, considering they're dead." Grimmjow retorted.
Mayuri narrowed his eyes at the Espada-the beast was being quite the smart ass.
"It would seem you do not comprehend the question. It is not a secret that Hollows feed on both humans and souls, stealing the spiritual pressure from their meal, it would in fact make them stronger than the average soul in most cases. What I am asking, Espada, is did it look as if their spiritual pressure had no effect in helping them fight it off?" Mayuri pressed.
Grimmjow snorted.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn't there watching them, like I told you, they'd already bit-the-dust by the time I got there." Grimmjow countered.
"What about the spiritual pressure, Captain Kurotsuchi? Why would that be something important?" Shunsui asked.
Mayuri sighed.
"It would seem that in the current cases of the students infected that the virus in question is able to get past lower levels of spiritual pressure, in fact, I had it brought to my attention that it could very well be feeding off of their Reiatsu itself." Mayuri revealed.
Shunsui turned his head away from the 12th division captain.
"That's unfortunate. How the hell are we supposed to counter something like that?" Shunsui stated.
"I am currently trying to figure out how, but it seems with every bit of information I am able to find out, more and more distractions keep presenting themselves." Mayuri countered as he turned his gaze back to the Espada.
"I'm sorry to say this Captain Kurotsuchi, but, this is a problem. If this virus is one in the same, we can't afford to let it wipe out every hollow in Hueco Mundo. I don't have to tell you how much of a headache that would be for all of the worlds, not just the soul society." Shunsui replied.
"And just what exactly are you suggesting I do, Head Captain? Go gallivanting around the deserts of Hueco Mundo until I find a specimen?" Mayuri snapped.
Shunsui chuckled.
"I don't care if you go gallivanting, but you will be going to Hueco Mundo, Captain Kurotsuchi." Shunsui countered.
Mayuri's lips thinned into an angry frown as he heard the man-the whole situation was becoming much more of a hassle than it was worth!
"I take it you can show Captain Kurotsuchi where these bodies are so he can use one of them as a sample?" Shunsui addressed his question to the Espada.
"Tch. I didn't think this would turn into a field trip, but I guess." Grimmjow answered.
"That settles it then, I'll give you the rest of tonight to prepare, Captain Kurotsuchi." Shunsui stated.
Mayuri huffed as he turned away from the group of men. The back of his captain's haori swung as he made his way for the exit not even bothering to wait for the head captain to dismiss him from the meeting-he had had enough of the conversation!
