Angina/Symphony
Chapter 12
Mitosis
Why was I one of the chosen ones?
Until the fight I could not see
The magic and the strength
Of my power
It was beyond my wildest dreams.
-Dark Wings, Within Temptation
Grimmjow had known this was coming.
The Lord of Hueco Mundo wasn't a nice guy. No one ever got something for nothing from Aizen-sama, and this woman was no exception. If she abandoned her body, she would exist separately as a soul. She wouldn't be able to return to the human world. Well, she could, but none of the other humans would be able to see her, and she'd probably be devoured by some minor Hollow. Her reiatsu was stronger than that of an ordinary human - usually humans had no detectable reiatsu. There were only three exceptions Grimmjow knew of - Kurosaki Ichigo and those two human friends of his, the big guy and the red-headed girl. A Hollow would smell this woman's reiatsu and then it would be over for her.
The only way she would remain safe was if she stayed in Hueco Mundo under Aizen's protection, and Grimmjow knew how much chance there was of that happening. No one could really understand how Aizen's mind worked, but the Sexta Espada knew enough about his master and creator to know that if Amane Rei didn't turn out to have some sort of ability which would make her useful to Aizen, she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.
Aizen would lose interest in his 'guest', and the woman would be left to sink or swim on her own.
Grimmjow didn't particularly care. But he had seen it coming, and he had a fair idea of why Amane Rei hadn't.
Sure, he knew Aizen definitely wasn't a nice guy, as did everyone in Hueco Mundo. But Amane Rei didn't know that, and Aizen could play the part of a knight in shining armour when it suited him. Aizen had her hook, line and sinker. Grimmjow could tell that much just by looking at her.
'Leave my body?'
She was looking up at Aizen. Her face was expressionless, at least as far as Grimmjow could tell. 'Do you mean I have to die?'
'Of course not, Amane-chan.' Grimmjow couldn't see Aizen's face, but he knew exactly how his master's face looked right now - reassuring, and at the same time a little offended at the very idea that he would condone such a thing. 'I would never hurt you. The separation of body and soul is just that - a separation. Szayel would even keep your body in storage, in case you change your mind at some point and wish to return to the physical world.'
Szayel smiled at that, and Grimmjow felt disgusted. Sick fuck, he thought.
'As a soul, would I - ever get sick?' The woman's face had emotion in it now, an emotion Grimmjow struggled to place. He realised after a moment that it was hope, of all things. 'Would my soul's anatomy reflect that of my body?'
'Szayel, would you care to explain to Amane-chan?' Aizen's voice was back to politeness again.
'No, it would not. Outwardly, you would look the same. But any physical impairments or weaknesses that your body has would not apply to your soul. If that were the case, an intact soul after death would be extremely rare. The only difference between the two states of existence is that humans in the physical world would not be able to see or sense you.' Szayel pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, looking pleased with himself.
The woman's eyes were glittering now. She's crying, Grimmjow realised with a mixture of surprise and scorn. She's actually fucking crying. She must have finally realised that he'll throw her away as soon as she's a soul and he realises she can't do shit.
Strangely, she was smiling, a grin on her face even wider than Ichimaru's. 'I'll do it,' she said. 'Do it now. I mean - please separate me from my body, Aizen-sama.'
Grimmjow stared at her, dumbstruck. Is she fuckin' stupid, or what? He realised he'd said it aloud, albeit under his breath.
Despite his repeated use of the word dumbass when he'd been sent to retrieve her, Grimmjow had been able to pick up that this woman was anything but stupid. When she'd asked him questions, her eyes had been alive with curiosity, excitement even. She was naïve, that much was certain, but not stupid. Grimmjow would have expected that she'd be able to figure out that blindly trusting Aizen, a complete stranger, was a dumb thing to do.
At the very least it should have been obvious to her that her body wasn't going to stay quietly in storage once Mister Octava Espada over there got his hands on it.
'Szayel can carry out the separation now, if you wish, Amane-chan.' Aizen's voice was as courteous as ever, but Grimmjow thought he heard a hint of surprise in his master's words.
The woman nodded vigorously. 'Yes.'
The eighth Espada took his cue and moved towards Amane, pulling something out of his pocket as he did. Grimmjow saw the smirk on the pink-haired Arrancar's face and glared.
'Would you care to hold Amane-chan in place for me, Ulquiorra-san?' he asked. He was pulling the dark thing onto his hand. It looked like a glove. 'If she falls, she'll crack her head open. I don't want her body damaged.'
I bet you don't, Grimmjow thought to himself. Asshole.
Wordless as usual, Ulquiorra stepped forward, taking the woman by the shoulders. She looked surprised at that. 'Schiffer-san -' she started.
'Hold still,' Szayel instructed.
'Wait,' she said, and Grimmjow saw that she was looking up at Aizen. 'Will it hurt?'
'I said I would never hurt you, Amane-chan.' Aizen's voice was gently reproving. Grimmjow had to hold back the Yeah, right on his tongue. 'You won't feel anything. Trust me.'
The woman nodded at that, and closed her eyes. The look of hope, of happiness, on her face irritated Grimmjow. Hope and happiness were just synonyms for stupidity.
Szayel reached out the fingers of his gloved hand, pressing them to Amane's forehead and moving them down the bridge of her nose. The smirk disappeared, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
He began to walk backwards, and Grimmjow watched as a second Amane folded out of the first one's body. The shape in Ulquiorra's arms - because it was just that, a shape, flesh and bones and organs without any driving intelligence behind them - sagged limply. The eyelids lifted slightly, and even from Grimmjow's vantage point the whites of the eyes were visible.
Her reiatsu remained cloudy and indistinct. She's fucked, thought Grimmjow. Maybe she had seen it coming, that leaving her body would be sealing her own doom. Maybe getting fucked over by complete strangers was something she liked to do for fun.
In that case, Amane Rei was a crazy bitch, something Grimmjow could relate to in part.
The second Amane - the soul - rubbed its eyes, slowly opening them. It was then that her reiatsu flickered, sharpened and expanded.
Everyone knew that a strong enough reiatsu could injure or even kill anyone with a weaker reiatsu who happened to be standing nearby. Probably the most famous case of it, among the Espada at least, was their Primera. Coyote Starrk and Lilinette had killed thousands of lesser Hollows just by being in close proximity with them. There wasn't enough of a gap in strength between those two and the other Espada for their reiatsu to have that effect in Las Noches.
This, however, was sudden and unexpected and none of the Espada had braced themselves for it.
Reiatsu exploded. Szayel caught the brunt of the blast, but Grimmjow still had to shield his face with an arm. It wasn't anywhere near strong enough to do anything mortally wounding to him, but it stung like hell. Next to him Nnoitra was doing the same, looking pissed off and surprised in equal measure.
As soon as it had begun the explosion stopped, with Amane looking stunned. 'Did I…do that?' she asked.
The throne room was silent, almost as if no one dared say anything in case they triggered another flare of reiatsu.
'Of course you did, stupid bitch!'
The scream belonged to Szayel. When Grimmjow saw the Octava Espada's face, he burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself. Szayel's pink hair was in disarray, his glasses askew.
He glared at Grimmjow from under partially disintegrated eyebrows. Grimmjow didn't even bother trying to keep a straight face. 'How long do you think it'll take them to grow back, asshole?'
'Shut up!' the Octava shrieked, enraged.
'Please calm yourself, Szayel.'
Even Grimmjow fell silent at that.
Aizen was walking down the steps from his throne, steady and completely unfazed. Grimmjow caught a glimpse of his master's face. Not a hair out of place, he thought. Typical.
'Are you all right, Amane-chan?' he asked, his voice full of concern.
The woman nodded, still looking a little shaken. 'I'm fine, thank you, Aizen-sama.' She turned to Szayel. 'I'm very sorry, Szayel-san. I didn't know that was going to happen.'
Szayel pushed his glasses back onto his face, scowling and silent.
'I'm sure no apologies are necessary,' Aizen cut in, his voice as smooth as ever. 'Your reiatsu seems to be remaining more stable now.'
'My - reiatsu?'
'Your spiritual energy.' It did seem to be remaining fairly constant in strength. Strangely, it wasn't much stronger than it had been while she was in her body, although the cloudiness was gone.
What was with the explosion, then? Grimmjow wondered. It was Shinigami captain level, or higher. And now it's dropped back down.
'How do you feel?' Aizen had his hand on Amane's shoulder. He seemed to have taken over from Ulquiorra.
She blinked. 'A little dizzy. And…' Her pale face darkened in colour, just a little. 'I'm hungry.'
'Please don't be embarrassed. You lost a vast amount of spiritual energy. Even as a soul, you need to eat to replace it. If you would take her to her room, Ulquiorra, and bring her something to eat?'
Ulquiorra nodded, silent and obedient as always, and led the woman out of the room.
'I suppose I should dismiss these guys, then, Aizen-sama?' Ichimaru asked, his tone questioning.
'That will not be necessary yet, Ichimaru. I wish to discuss something with the Espada first.' Aizen returned to his throne, looking down at all of them. Grimmjow saw his features slip out of the Mister Nice Guy set. All of a sudden Aizen looked very much the cold-hearted puppetmaster who cared for nothing and no one except himself.
'As you are all aware, Miss Amane is my guest. She arrived here of her own free will. She is not a prisoner. She is to be treated with respect, the same respect you would show me.' He paused. 'If anyone thinks they will find that difficult, then I request that they stay away from Miss Amane.'
The room was filled with thick, heavy, almost tangible silence. 'I brought everyone into this room so that they could witness Miss Amane's abilities,' Aizen continued. 'She did not disappoint my expectations. What you just saw - and felt,' he said, looking at Szayel, 'was a fraction of what she is capable of, when raw and untrained. A fraction. If anyone treats Miss Amane with anything other than respect, or says or does anything to her that they wouldn't want to do in my presence, then they will experience the full weight of what I can do.' Aizen stopped, looking around at the Espada. 'Are there any questions?'
Grimmjow scowled. He knew exactly what Aizen's little canned speech was about, and it was more than just treating his 'guest' with 'respect.' If any of the Espada let on to Amane Rei that Aizen's intentions for her were anything except completely pure, that he was anything other than the nice guy he was currently pretending to be, then they would experience the wrath of the Lord of Hueco Mundo.
Grimmjow had never seen Aizen angry. It wasn't something that even he was keen to witness.
'No, Aizen-sama,' the Espada murmured in unison.
'Thank you all for your patience. You are dismissed.' Aizen waved his hand, and the Espada left the throne room, some of them using Sonido. Others, like Grimmjow, chose to walk.
That woman wouldn't last five minutes in Las Noches. She was too soft, too naïve, too innocent. Her cleverness and curiosity wouldn't be worth anything if she didn't learn to stop being so damn trusting.
Not that Grimmjow cared.
Crazy bitch, he thought to himself. Aizen's going to turn you inside out and bleed you dry.
One thing was for sure. Amane Rei would spend the rest of her life in Las Noches. She wasn't going to leave it alive.
