Aftermath
Hate. Anger. Sadness. Pain. Each feeling ran in the veins of the surviving shinigami. It been two weeks since the war has ended. It was a bitter sweet victory. The feeling of victory was over come by the sour taste of death.
The sickly sweet smell of rotting corpses and the taste of blood hung in the air like a red mist. Preparations to head back to Soul Society was under way. Shinigami were to collect the corpses of their fallen comrades and take them home so they may rest in peace in the very place they gave their lives to protect.
Healers were swamped with injured warriors. For every one person that left, it seemed another five had arrived. No one in the 4th division dared rest. They continued to save the lives even though the battle was over.
Orihime also worked with the 4th division. Sweat covered her face as she was currently trying to save her friend Chad who was losing a lot of blood from a wound that reopened. Ichigo watched over Chad's sleeping form. Once Orihime was done healing and Ichigo was sure Chad was healed to perfection, he left with out so much as a goodbye.
Ichigo made his way towards where the captains of the 13 squads. A lone hill with a tree was were they gathered. All vice captains were their as well. A few nodded solemnly toward Ichigo as he arrived. The head captain looked around making eye contact with a few captains before he spoke out in a strong yet weary voice.
"As you all know, The Arrancar have retreated. Their leader, Aizen, as well as Gin and Tousen, have been killed and their bodies has been burned personally by a captain here to confirm that they are indeed dead. When their leaders have fallen, the weaker Arrancar fled back to Hueco Mundo those who stayed here were destroyed.
Members of the espada were not confirmed dead nor were they seen fleeing. It is to believe that they could still be a threat but are not strong enough to take us down with out their tactful leader.
Since we know that they are no longer a threat to us at the moment, we must gather our remaing troops and head back to soul society. I want all shinigami back within the week."
No one spoke out. Yamamoto took a look at each face. "We will dedicate a day to mourn for those we lost tomorrow. I expect each of you all to rest tomorrow as well." With that he and his lieutenant left.
Everyone stood still, not wanting to move from their spots. They couldn't seem to say anything to each other. Ichigo made eye contact with Byakuya who gave him a glare and walked away.
Byakuya as well as Ichigo were the ones that killed the most in this war. Byakuya killed Gin and also help Ichigo give Aizen a thrashing. Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya was the one who ended Tousen's life. He was bitter that he didn't make it in time to help give Aizen a lesson. The other captains that took on the espada were not as dangerously hurt as the three.
Ichigo couldn't shake off this strange feeling he had. His senses were alert and he was ready to dodge any attack that could come his way. Ichigo started to criticize himself about how paranoid he was acting. As much as he wanted to feel like an idiot for acting this way he knew something was amiss.
He felt like eyes were on him. Ichigo looked up in the direction he felt the prickling stare was coming from, expecting to see one of the enemies but none was there. He swore that he could hear laughter. After a second it stopped and Ichigo just shrugged it off as if it never happened.
"Excellent." Aizen gave a slight nod. He was playing chess with a very skilled arrancar while listening to reports. His plan worked to perfection. Of course it would, he was Aizen. Nothing ever went wrong with his plans. Never.
The only tricky part was the way to trick the enemy into thinking he was really there and that he, as well as Gin and Tousen, died by their hands. It was quite easy for him to figure out a perfect way.
Aizen had picked three arrancar for the job. They were of course, the most loyal...and the most disposable. Aizen used his ability to make them an exact copy of him and his two followers. He also used the HÅgyoku to amplify their abilities making strong as a captain. The only down side was that they would burst with the energy they harnessed in their bodies after two weeks. It didn't matter anyways, he could always find replacements.
Now that the pitiful shinigami thought he was dead he could now start phase two with out any unnecessary worry. They will not bother even thinking about coming to Hueco Mundo for a long time. Perfect.
All that was left was to enjoy the celebration they will be having to night that he looked forward to. It was a good excuse to get his precious snow bird to mingle with all the arrancar and observe which of his loyal soldiers will fit the job that will soon come up. He already had some one in mind but it never hurt to make sure..
Aizen gave a smile sending a shiver down the spines of the arrancar in his presence. Aizen move another piece. "Check mate."
Rukia sat at her table. She was drawing yet again but this time it was not chappy. She faced the window then look down at her paper. She was drawing the landscape. Though usually her drawings were crude, this time her art looked realistic.
She frowned at her picture then looked at the window. Something was missing from the picture but she couldn't name what. The sandy land scape covered the bottom of the painting and the night sky commanded the top portion. The moon was also there so what was missing?
She stopped working and stood up. Maybe if she took a break she would figure it out. She walked up to the window and touched the cold glass. It reminded her of a certain pale arrancar. She immediately pushed it out of her mind.
Even though she came to terms that she loves him, it doesn't mean she accepts it. Hopefully this feeling will wither soon. Nothing good could come out of a love like this. It was sick and disgusting to love something as foul as a arrancar.
Speak of the devil, Rukia cursed. The door opened and there he was. Ulquiorra walked in the room followed by one of the servants who brought a tray of food. As usual the female arrancar would bring the tray to the table and leave while Ulquiorra would just stand near the door.
Rukia ignored the intrusion. Maybe if she ignored him he would get bored and leave. After realizing her feelings for him she would rather not be in the same building, let alone the same room, as him.
"Eat." He commanded after ten minutes passed. Rukia ignored him. Ulquiorra did not like being ignored. "I said eat." Authority rang out in each word.
"I am not hungry." She stated with out so much as a glance at him. "You may leave."
"I will not leave until you eat." He replied.
"I will not eat in your presence." How could she eat when it was hard to breath from being in the same room as him?
Foot steps were the only sound in the room. Rukia still refused to look in any direction but the window. A tug on her collar was felt and the next thing she knew was that she was being dragged across the room back to the table.
She was roughly shoved in the chair. She looked up into piercing green eyes that seemed to bore into her very core. Those eyes seemed to see past you as if you were nothing. She shivered.
"Eat or do I have to feed you?" He didn't remove his gaze from her.
"Fine." Bastard. Rukia scoped something that resembled porridge into her mouth. The plain looking food was actually quite good but she would never admit it.
Ulquiorra seemed to be looking at something that was on the table. Crap. Her picture was still out in the open on the table. Was he going to make fun of her artistic ability again?
"Its missing something."
"Huh?" That wasn't what she expect him to say.
He picked up three crayons and drew something on the sandy dunes of her picture. What was he doing? He is acting strange. He is should be criticizing her art not helping her. What is he drawing? He put down the crayons.
On the sandy ground were now little flowers. Where has she seen the flowers before? She then remembered. surrounding the tree she fell asleep under were these flowers. "Why did you draw them?" She asked.
"The Sangrado Luna use to bloom every where in this area. They soon started to wilt when this building was made. The only ones alive in this area are in the garden." He stated in a bored voice.
Sangrado Luna...What a beautiful name. The image of the flower stayed in her mind. She had the sudden urge to see them again.
"You can go to the gardens again tomorrow." He said as if he read her mind.
The door opened. Rukia turned to see a servant arrancar come in and lay down some clothing on the bed. With a bow to Ulquiorra who nodded to the servant, she left.
"What is that for?" She asked.
"You will be attending a party later. You will wear that."
"If I don't want to go?"
"You will go." His eyes narrowed on her, daring her to talk back.
Rukia stood up and investigated her new clothing. This time it was a black dress with a white corset. The dress was also short like the one she was wearing at the moment. Purple lace trimmed the top and bottom of the dress. A purple ribbon was tied in a bow at the front of the dress.
Whats with arrancars and short dresses? She mused to herself. Despite the length problem the dress did look nice. The purple on it matched her eyes perfectly. Strange...Who picked the dress? As soon as she thought it she took it back. She would rather not know who did.
"What time will the party start?" She asked while looking at the dress.
"This Evening." Thats so helpful. I can't tell morning to night. " In two hours." He concluded.
"Oh." Rukia put down the dress and looked out the window. This might be the longest two hours in her life.
It seemed that it was the shortest two hours of his existence. The whole time Ulquiorra was trying to figure out what exactly was this strange feeling he had. For some reason he felt as if something may happen. He shrugged it off. It came back twice as strong.
He sat in one of the chairs while the shinigami, Rukia, he corrected himself, just stood in front of the window. He wondered what was going through her head. A first time for such thinking. He started to think of strange things ever since he realized he had feelings for such filth.
Every time he thought about her, his chest seemed to hurt. It was so strange. Not only did his chest hurt. Now he seemed to be slightly over heating. His usual cold skin seemed to go up a degree when he was in the same room as her. There was no wound there nor was there anyway for her to have used any type of attack to cause this. Ulquiorra even went to the healers but they said he was perfectly okay. So strange.
Ulquiorra had to find out why. Ever since that dream everything seemed to be turned upside down and that girl was the cause of it. He was tempted to ask to be relieved of duty but then the pit of his stomach ached and his chest pained him even more.
A female arrancar, the same who brought the dress, came in. She had a box in her hand. With a bow to Ulquiorra she announced it was time to prepare for the celebration. "I will help Kuchiki-sama dress. Aizen-sama said you may go on without her. I shall be escorting her there." She held the door open with a polite smile, waiting for him to leave.
Ulquiorra got up. He gave Rukia a quick glance. He moved away from the window and was getting the dress. He walked out of the the room and heard a soft closing of the door. The bad feeling intensified.
"Rukia-sama you look wonderful." Praised the servant who introduced herself as Alegre Siervo. She was the same maid that brought her food and clothing everyday but today she seem very excited compared her usual silent self.
Rukia had her new dress on. It showed off her curves well and brought out the color of her eyes better. Rukia was still wearing the same socks but now with white high heels that Alegre brought with her.
Alegre put a small amount of make up on Rukia. She said it was the "final details in a master piece." Rukia did not enjoy being compared to art. A shade of red lipstick laid on her lips. Eye shadow and eye liner was soon added as well as mascara.
Rukia did not like the makeup. It felt like gunk was being added to her face. She wanted to wash her face but Alagre would not allow it. "You must look your best, Rukia-sama." Rukia would of taken on 20 hollows then Alagre.
Soon she was finished. Rukia was forced to look in the mirror. It was so strange. The person in the mirror looked like her and not her at the same time. The person in the mirror looked elegant and like a true Kuchiki. It took several minutes for Rukia to realize it was her.
"Please come Rukia-sama. Aizen is waiting."
I'm too tired to prof read. Hopefully I didn't make to many mistakes. When I go to sleep tonight hopefully tomorrow will never come. I have to get a shot. But on the bright side I get to go to a concert.