Hello again, everyone. I'm so, soooooo sorry for making you guys wait so long. We'd gotten hit pretty hard by a two winter storms, and during the second one I actually got really sick. I was totally held up from doing any and everything for quite a while, including working on my stories (failure T_T). But, I'm finally back with an update that I hope you will really enjoy! :D Here's Chapter thirteen!

A/N: I don't own Bleach…Tite Kubo's fight scenes are wayyyy better than mine…

Chapter Thirteen:

Your Smile

I can do this…

It was this simple phrase that replayed itself continuously in Takuya's head like a mantra, acting as a means by which she quelled the anxiety attempting to surface within her being. Her eyes were closed at the moment and her arms hung loosely at her sides, her fists clenching and unclenching with every breath she took. She mentally reviewed the short lesson she had received from Grimmjow in the hour they'd had prior to her "warm-up match," as he'd called it. In that short span of time, he'd taught her the essentials of hand-to-hand combat – a proper fighting stance that left the least amount of openings to vital areas, punches and kicks that could be modified for effectiveness during battle, effective blocking and dodging, as well as effective countering and pacing. She performed every move he'd taught her with a near flawless ease, as if she'd been doing them all her life. It'd startled her slightly, to say the least, and had mounted upon the Espada's already skyrocketing confidence in her victory over Rukia. She'd never seen him smile as much as he did during their short training period, and, despite knowing that that smile were rooted in his anticipation of seeing Rukia lose to a "beginner" (of sorts), she felt as though it was her duty to keep it from fading. A ghost of a smile passed over her own expression then as a new determination suddenly began welling up inside her, completely pushing away any nervousness that had been attempting to take root in her heart. She could do this…and she would win.

She opened her eyes then, and her gaze immediately fell upon Rukia, who stood about twenty-five feet away from her. Her arms were casually folded across her chest, and she wore a slightly smug expression.

"Are you ready now?" she asked.

The ebony-haired girl took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes…I am."

"Alright ladies," Urahara's semi-distant voice drew their attention to the shopkeeper, "feel free to start whenever you're ready to."

Both females nodded in understanding before their gazes fell upon each other once again.

"For your sake, I'll take it easy…and I won't even use my zanpakutou." Rukia stated pointedly as she dropped into her fighting stance, the slightest bit of arrogance in her voice.

"Please, do not feel that you have to limit yourself on my behalf." Takuya replied as she slid into her own fighting stance. "If I don't fight you at your best, then you would essentially be letting me win…and that would not be fair."

Rukia laughed bitterly at the girl's comment. "Having me as your very first opponent is not fair, because I can guarantee that there is no way in hell that I'd ever let a rookie beat me - UMPH!"

The words only barely had time to leave the shinigami's lips before a fist connected harshly with the left side of her face, causing her to stumble backwards and fall to one knee. Only a second later, a foot connected with her back, sending her face-first to the ground.

"You wish to fight and win in a battle against a rookie?" Takuya's voice echoed over her head as she pulled herself off of the ground. "Well then…I suggest you go and find a rookie to fight."

Rukia hurriedly rose to her feet, clearly frustrated about being one-upped so early in the match. Not wasting any time she retaliated, throwing a continuous barrage of punches and kicks at the girl as fast and as hard as she could. Her frustration quickly began to mount a few minutes in, however, when she realized that she had only been able to successfully land about four legitimate blows before every one of her attacks were either stopped by a block or avoided by a dodge.

Ugh…I'm getting absolutely nowhere. How is this possible? This girl is supposed to be a rookie!

Thinking fast, Rukia resorted to shunpo in hopes of catching Takuya completely off guard. She flashed behind the girl without any given warning and immediately began her assault again with a kick set to connect squarely with the girl's face. She grunted angrily when her initial attack failed as Takuya, apparently thinking just as fast as she was, caught the kick before it reached its destination and began to counter her every strike once again. After a minute or so the tables were completely turned, much to the shinigami's great surprise, as the ebony-haired girl had finally managed to outmaneuver her and go completely on the offensive, dealing rapid-fire blows that repeatedly found their way pass her defenses and hit their marks.

Rukia was suddenly finding it almost difficult to maintain her ground against Takuya. Her speed and fluidity seemed to be increasing with every advance she made, as was the power behind her punches and kicks. It frustrated the shinigami to no end.

This can't be happening! There's no way that I could actually be…losing…to this girl! I guess it's time to pull out all the stops!

Sacrificing her guard for a split second, she quickly reached down and unsheathed her zanpakutou, drawing it just in time to stop yet another punch headed straight for her gut. Seeing the drawn weapon, Takuya hopped back a couple steps, eying the blade. The sudden sound of an almost mocking laughter drew her attention back to the wielder.

"It was your desire that I not hold back for your benefit, was it not?" Rukia said, speaking louder than necessary. "Humph, well you'll soon wish that I was, once you've had a chance to properly meet my blade…"

Without a second's pause, the shinigami immediately proceeded to attack once again, her blade swinging almost wildly in an attempt to land a cutting blow on Takuya's flesh. The ebony-haired girl artfully dodged her swings, however, as they came at a noticeably slower speed than her previous attacks had. Her frustration at its peak, Rukia shunpo'ed again, appearing behind Takuya a second time. Then, with all the force she could muster, she brought her blade down with every intention of slicing through the girl's shoulder. Her attack was halted, however, when Takuya reached around and instinctively caught the blade of the zanpakutou in her bare hands before it connected with her shoulder.

"Oh no, you are NOT getting the chance to thwart me again!" Rukia declared angrily.

With one swift tug, she yanked the blade out of Takuya's grasp. The girl yelped as a new pain consumed her hands, both of which now bearing slice wounds that ran from the base of her thumbs to the outsides of her palms. In no time at all, thick red blood began to ooze from the wounds and drip to the ground below.

"Dance," she looked up toward the sound of Rukia's voice, "Sode no Shirayuki!"

Takuya gasped as she watched the zanpakutou turn a pure, snowy white before her eyes; a long white ribbon flowed gracefully from a hollow, snowflake-like sphere attached to its pommel, and tiny flakes of snow danced around the entirety of the weapon.

"I'll end this quickly…" Rukia muttered, backing into her fighting stance once again.

"Rukia, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo's voice carried from the spot across the field where he and the others stood watching the showdown. "This is a warm-up match, not a blood battle!"

"Tsugi no mai…"

"Rukia, DON'T!"

"…Hakuren!"

At that moment, a massive, pure-white wave of ice shot from Sode no Shirayuki's blade and barreled toward a stunned Takuya at an incredibly high rate of speed. Within seconds, and even before she'd realized what was happening, the girl was encased in a huge block of ice.

Frozen silence overtook the atmosphere then. With a slight harrumph, Rukia sheathed her weapon and looked over her handy work momentarily before proceeding to walk back toward the rest of the group.

"Sorry, Takuya, but you couldn't possibly have hoped to beat me on the first try." she declared, smirking. "You are skilled, no doubt about that; but you still have a whole lot of learning to do."

She then looked toward Grimmjow, readily expecting him to be looking disappointed and murderous at her victory; what she saw, however, made her stop in her tracks. Not only was the Espada not looking murderous, but his gaze was unshakably fixated on the gargantuan block of ice she created, and he was actually…smiling. A frown quickly replaced the smirk she'd been wearing.

What the hell is he grinning about…?

"You are right, Rukia. I do still have a lot to learn…"

A shuddering gasp escaped the shinigami's lips, and she spun around towards the direction of the voice. Her blood froze in her veins when her eyes came to rest on none other that Takuya, who now stood alongside block of ice, an eerily calm expression on her face; the blood that had once stained her hands had all but disappeared as her wounds had been frozen shut by the ice.

"…H-how…?" she forced out, her legs suddenly shaking beneath her.

Without a single word, the ebony-haired girl raised her left hand and laid it on the ice block. Almost immediately it began to glow with an ethereal blue light, and slowly but surely, it began to change shape. Rukia watched in speechless shock as the ice steadily condensed and reshaped itself, moving faster and faster until it had finally shrunken down into a singular, elongated object; her jaw dropped when she realized just what it was that the girl was now holding in her hand… It was a replica of Sode no Shirayuki!

"…Im-impossible…there's absolutely no way you could…th-that's impossible…!"

"Not quite." Takuya replied. "You see, despite still having a long way yet to go, this duel of ours has already taught me a great deal…about me…and about you…"

Shocked gasps echoed through the air as she outstretched her arm, bringing the icy sword to her eye level. As she did so, the blue light surrounding the frozen blade began to pulsate and shine even brighter.

"Tsugi no mai…Hakuren…"

Rukia's piercing scream was silenced by the roar of the enormous ice wave, and within mere seconds, she'd become imprisoned within very same ice she'd unleashed upon Takuya. Within seconds, she'd fallen victim to her very own attack…cast by a ghost of her very own zanpakutou.

Silence ensued once again as Takuya brought her now empty hand back down to her side. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the suddenly wintery air of the training ground, the chill of it temporarily soothing her warmer than usual body. A feeling of accomplishment washed over her as she exhaled, and a small smile curved her lips as her gaze fell upon the new block of ice before her.

"I did it…" The reality of that quiet declaration broadened her smile ever so slightly and caused her heart to race with pure joy.

"Epic win."

Takuya felt her smile broaden a little more at the sound of Grimmjow's voice; she looked up at him when he appeared at her side, and smiled even more when she saw the shadow of a smile still on his face. After a second or so, her gaze went back to the block of ice, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"I kept my word, and I managed not to let you down." she said. "Do you want to know what my motivation was?"

Grimmjow's cerulean eyes found the girl as she began to move forward, slowly making her way to the giant ice block until she was within arm's length of it.

"It was the simplest of things," she started speaking again after a slight pause, "and I'm fairly sure that you'll think that it's really stupid but…my motivation was…your smile…"

The Espada glared incredulously at Takuya. Did he…did he hear that right? His question was immediately answered when the girl looked back at him for a second or two, giggling at his reaction to her comment before turning back toward the ice. His glare intensified then, and he suddenly found himself not knowing whether he should be completely disgusted, shocked to hell, or unexplainably angry. This girl has fucking lost it..!

"Heh…I knew you'd think it was stupid…" Takuya said quietly as she reached out and touched the ice block with her right hand.

It was shattered into microscopic pieces almost instantly under her touch, revealing Rukia, who immediately sank to the ground in a shivering, sputtering heap. About five seconds later, Orihime and Hanataro appeared and began assisting the woman as best they could, getting her to her feet and walking her off of the temporary battleground. The ebony-haired girl watched them for a few more seconds before releasing another deep sigh and turning to face Grimmjow once again. His disbelieving glare had been replaced by an irritated scowl, and his gaze was still pinned on her as if his mind was still painfully trying to register what she'd said to him. After a minute or so, he turned so that his back was facing her, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"That match counts as your training for today…let's get the hell outta here." he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at her briefly as he proceeded to walk away.

Takuya smiled at the Grimmjow's retreating from; she shook her head as mild uncertainty began to creep into her mind.

Oh dear…perhaps I shouldn't have told him…

With a final sigh, she finally moved to follow after the Espada, who was already a short ways ahead of her. She'd only taken about seven steps, however, when a spell of dizziness descended upon her, accompanied by a sudden wave of heat that emanated from her midsection and quickly enveloped her entire body. She staggered, rapidly becoming disoriented by the sudden change in her condition. As she fought to keep her bearings, she looked up towards Grimmjow, and opened her mouth with the intent of calling out to him.

And then everything went black.

"So where do we start looking?"

Ulquiorra didn't respond to the posed question, and rather stretched out his senses and began his search for his allotted targets.

"Man I don't even sense that Kurosaki kid. You sense anything yet, Ulquiorra?"

"Perhaps if you'd close your mouth and expand your senses, you may succeed in finding the targets…Yammy." Ulquiorra said, his tone even colder than usual – if that was even possible.

Though his stoic expression betrayed nothing, the green-eyed Espada was categorically annoyed by the presence of his gigantic comrade. He was a klutz above all else, having almost gotten himself killed during their first visit to the living world. And now, somehow, they had been paired up again, and the likelihood of their successful completion of their assigned mission was already looking bleaker than ever.

"Argh, this is taking way longer than it should be…and this rain is getting to be a pain in the ass." Yammy grumbled, wiping rain water away from his eyes with the back of his hand. "Oh…hey, I got an idea. I bet if we start destroying stuff, we'll draw them all right out. C'mon let's give it a try."

The Diez Espada had only barely managed to get a foot into the air when a hand reached out, clamped onto his wrist, and yanked him back down onto the roof he'd just been standing on. He'd been pulled down with so much force that the entire building shook upon contact. Slightly disoriented, he looked up toward his fellow Espada with the intention of asking him what his problem was, but was instead met with a foot planted firmly on his large neck."

"…U-Ulquiorra…w-what are you…?"

"Listen carefully, you blundering fool. This mission is of the uttermost importance, as the manner of its completion will determine the outcome of quite a number of events that will inevitably be taking place in the near future. Should we succeed, Lord Aizen will possess enough power to easily overcome the Soul Society and the world of the living with incredible ease, thus making the accomplishment of his ambitions mere child's play. Should we fail, our enemies will continue to possess the unfathomable amount of strength they've suddenly acquired, all that our lord has worked to accomplish will be lost, and Hueco Mundo will be dealt a blow from which it may never recover. Therefore, failure is not an option, which in turn means there is no room for you rudimentary mistakes. In light of this, if you continue to jeopardize the success of this mission more than you already have with your…gargantuan size, I will kill you in the must inhumane way possible. Do you understand…Yammy?"

The larger Espada immediately nodded as best he could, fully aware of the truth behind Ulquiorra's words. The foot was then removed from his neck, and he stood to his feet again.

"Now, let us continue our search."

"Yes…o-of course…" Yammy said. He then outstretched his senses and restarted his search for their targets in silence.

A dry groan escaped Takuya's throat as her eyes slowly blinked open. She found herself once again in the dimness of her room, surrounded by the sound of unrelenting rain as it continuously battered the shop. Her body was somewhat sore, and her head swam with a slight dizziness that refused to let up.

"…What happened?" she thought out loud.

"You blacked out." Grimmjow's voice drew her attention to the right of her, where the Espada sat against the wall by her bed. "You've been unconscious for about an hour."

Takuya's brow furrowed slightly at that, and after a few seconds she turned her gaze to the ceiling. "Why…? What happened to me?"

"Tch, hell if I know; but the shopkeeper seems to think that it may have something to do with the weird ass way you used of your spirit energy."

"…"

Grimmjow shifted his glare to the girl then. "How the hell did you do that?"

"…I…I don't know. I honestly…don't know." Takuya murmured, her mind drifting back to her match with Rukia, a soft sigh whispering pass her lips.

A long moment of silence passed between them then, in which time, Takuya turned to lie on her side, her back now facing Grimmjow. Sleep was beginning to descend upon her now, like a warm blanket on a cold night, making her half-lidded gray eyes even heavier and more difficult to keep open. She had just about dozed off when the Espada suddenly spoke again.

"My smile, huh?"

His unexpected question had pulled the ebony-haired girl completely out of her sleepy haze and had widened her eyes as her brief conversation with him back on the training ground sprang back into her memory. She didn't turn to face him right away, afraid that he might see the blush that was now staining her cheeks pink.

"Yes…your smile…"

The Espada half-glared at the girl's back, waiting for an explanation. After a slight pause, she finally began to speak again.

"I'd never seen you smile as much as you did today. In fact…I don't recall ever seeing you smile at all before today. So, I made up in my mind, before the match had even begun, that it would be my duty to keep it there…and if defeating Rukia was what would keep that smile on your face, I would try my absolute hardest to win."

She then turned onto her other side so that she faced him, however still not meeting his gaze. "I know that you must think it's stupid…but, whether you believe me or not, it truly did motivate me. It really, truly did."

Grimmjow's gaze remained on the girl for a few more seconds before it shifted aimlessly into the dimness of the room.

"Tch…hell yeah I think it's stupid." he muttered. "Even after hearing you talk about it twice, it's still fucking hard to comprehend the notion of my…my…smile, being the sole object of your motivation. In all honesty, it makes me want to throw up…and then kill something…and then throw up some more."

The bluntness of his words caused Takuya to cringe slightly, a familiar uncertainty creeping back into her mind once again. A small sigh escaped her as she slowly began regretting ever bringing it up.

I knew I shouldn't have told him…

"But…," the Espada's voice drew her attention to his face once again, a wave of shock washing over her at the sight of a broad grin stretching across his face, "if it's in the name of beating the shit out of everybody, I guess I'll just have to deal with it, right?"

A smile slowly turned up the corners of Takuya's mouth, and the shock and uncertainty she felt was replaced with a small measure of joy. She'd opened her mouth to respond to him when, without warning, her room door flew open, revealing a semi-frantic Ichigo.

"Grimmjow, we've got trouble. Ulquiorra's shown up again…and this time, he's not alone."

And there you have it, Chapter thirteen! This chapter was, by far, the HARDEST chapter to write, especially the fight scenes (I suck at those XP). Did you like it? Hate it? Do I get points for effort? LOL, feel free to share your thoughts. ALL opinions are welcome… Thanks for reading!

xLSx