OCs (c) Me

Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

The Bleached Chronicles

Chapter 20

"Mm…" Chihiro moaned softly as she awoke from her slumber. Her head felt slightly heavy, almost throbbing with a coming headache, before she opened her eyes. She looked at the pristine white ceiling before sitting up, confused at first.

"Where… am I?" The entire room, walls, furniture, everything, was white. She shook her head, it looked exactly like every other room in Las Noches. But this room… she didn't know where she was, and it certainly wasn't her room. For one, this one had a balcony, but her room had only barred windows. And… it was nowhere near as… messy.

There were clothes strewn all over the place, giving it a messy look. There was a trashcan overflowing with papers and other things resting in a corner of the room, and a lone door could be seen on the other side of the room. There was a few pieces of furniture, a table, a couch, and a few chairs. But most of them looked worn down and rugged, like someone didn't care about taking care of their things. She looked down and realized she was in a king-sized bed that looked similar in western-style with the sheets pushed up around her.

"What…happened?" she mumbled as she adjusted her pajamas, trying to remember what had happened before she fell asleep. She lifted her hand to touch her head before feeling a twinge of pain when her fingers brushed her left temple. Then it came back to her. Nnoitra!

"Oh god… I hope he didn't-" she started but stopped as she looked down at her clothes. There was no sign of them being messed with, causing her to sigh in relief. She then looked over and saw a familiar white jacket lying on the floor, its front opened and collar upturned…

"Grimm… jow?" she gasped as she bolted upright. She looked around the room before closing her eyes. His reiastu was all over the room, she could feel it. And his scent… it was everywhere. "Grimmjow… I… I'm in Grimmjow's room…"

She opened her eyes and spotted her clothes at the foot of the bed, looking like someone just tossed them there. Probably Grimmjow, no doubt. She got up and grabbed her clothes before walking to the other door, which she assumed was the bathroom, to change. To her astonishment, it had blue towels, rugs, and even a blue shower curtain, giving the white bathroom a dash of color for once. This made her giggle, because the blue items were a few shades lighter than his cyan eyes.

"That would be just like him… Grimmjow always hated white." she thought before giggling louder. Even the curtain was torn in certain places, giving it a rugged look. She quickly changed into her arrancar uniform before washing her face. She sighed as she splashed her face with cool water, it felt nice to have something that reminded her a little bit of home.

"I wish I was home…" she thought sadly. Even though Aizen had shown her so much hospitality, all she wanted was to go home. She sighed sadly before drying her face with the towel, smiling only a little as she rubbed her cheek against its softness.

When she was done, she walked out into the messy room before spotting a sheet of paper on the nightstand. It was probably one of the things that stuck out, because it look like it had been placed there, not crumpled up or tossed there. Curiosity getting the best of her, she picked it up before reading it. Her eyes widened when she realized it was addressed to her, and almost laughed at the numerous crossed-out sentences that ran for most of the paper.

Chihiro,

Look, don't freak out. Before you ask why you're in my room and how you got there, I saved you from that bastard Nnoitra. The Tres Ae are with that Inoue woman, so they're okay before you ask.

I went to go talk to Aizen about Nnoitra, but there's something else I need to ask him. It's about you. Before you start feeling guilty about nothing and all of that other bullshit, there's something you and I have to talk about. But wait here until I get back, and if you even think of running, I'll tear down every white wall in this goddamn place to find ya. Don't think I won't, because I fucking will.

And don't even think about hiding behind Starrk, since Halibel's still on that mission. I don't give a rat's ass what rank he is, I'll kill him if that means talking to you. You should just sit here like a good girl and wait for me, it's important and you need to listen to what I have to say. Besides, I locked the door from the outside so there's no point in trying anyways.

Grimmjow

P.S. Don't say I didn't warn you. You run, and I'll find you.

Chihiro read the letter over again before cringing. She felt the hot tears drip down her face before wiping them away, she didn't want to know what he was going to say. It even hurt to think of it. She knew… it had to be bad. It had to be. Why else would he want to talk to her? He had done nothing but avoid her for the past week, and he even put her in Halibel's care so he wouldn't have to see her. So why would he even want to see her in the first place?

"Why…?" she whispered, letting a sob escape her lips as she closed her eyes tightly. Opening her eyes, she looked at the balcony before eyeing the sheets. She had to get out of Las Noches, just for awhile. Maybe enough time for Grimmjow to forget about talking to her, just so she wouldn't have to bear the pain of his rejection a second time.

It was a foolish thing she was doing, she knew. But why burden him with her feelings when she knew she was going to break down in front of him? She didn't need him to take any pity on her, even though the espada never really pitied anyone. She didn't want to be the first.

She quickly grabbed the white sheets from the bed and walked over to the closet, taking out more sheets before she began tying them together to make a rope. Once she was done, she tied the makeshift rope to the edge of the balcony and gave it a few tugs to make sure it was stable. When the coast was clear, she began climbing down to the white sand below, being careful as she did so. Once she was close enough she let go of the makeshift rope, landing with a dull thud as the sand flew up around her from the impact. She looked around to make sure nothing was around before she took off running.

"I can't… I can't do it! I can't face him!" she thought as she ran, her breaths coming out in short gasps as sand was kicked up behind her. She looked up at the lone moon in the black sky before running faster, trying to get as far away as possible. She didn't know how far she ran, but she ran until she couldn't run anymore. Stumbling a little, she landed on her knees and placed her hands on the ground, kneeling over. She panted heavily as she sat there, her breaths blowing the sand away. She looked around at the white sand around her, before sitting straight and hugging her knees. With that she buried her head into her knees and began to cry.

"I'm so sorry… but I can't face him right now. I… I want to be at his side, as more than just a friend, but I know he doesn't feel the same because he can't even stand to look at me. Even so… not being with him hurts. It hurts so much."

-Grimmjow-

"I see… so Nnoitra attempted to harm Chihiro-hime while she was in her room?" Aizen asked from where he sat at the meeting table. Grimmjow nodded as he stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets. The meeting had ended minutes ago when Halibel returned to report, and he stayed behind to tell Aizen what had happened the night before.

He knew that killing Nnoitra would only end up pissing off Aizen, so he decided to do the smart thing for once and just tell him straight out what the hell happened. Aizen gazed at him from where he sat before sipping tea from his china cup.

"I see. You may go then, I will talk to Nnoitra about this." he said. Grimmjow held back the urge to growl before slightly inclining his head and leaving the room. But then he stopped.

"Oh, and I'm gonna be Chihiro's warden from now on. Is that okay with you?" he added, not turning to meet the other man's gaze. Aizen blinked at his back in confusion, before nodding. "Very well, I shall inform Halibel that she is free of her duties." Grimmjow sighed in relief at this and proceeded to leave the room.

As he walked, he looked around the dull, white walls of Aizen's palace and sighed. He hated white, that was for certain. He wondered how half of the Espada could stand such a dull and boring color. Then another thought crossed his mind.

"Wonder if she's up yet." he mused. Chihiro must be up by now, only he hoped she hadn't made a run for it, otherwise he'd have to destroy half of Las Noches just to find her. Sure the door was locked, but the Tres Ae could've come over and busted her out. He quickly sonidoed to his room, unlocked the door and threw it open, only to find her not in his room. At this, he roared loudly as he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Aw, give me a fuckin' break! Why the hell is she so goddamn stubborn? I fucking told her to stay put!" he roared loudly. He didn't know how she did it, but she somehow managed to escape from his room despite the door being locked. He was about to turn and start searching Las Noches before spotting something white tied to the edge of his balcony. Curiosity got to him and he walked over to see what it was.

"Aw, shit." he growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He saw the makeshift rope as it swayed slightly in the breeze, and immediately jumped down. He landed on the ground with a loud thud before looking around. He spotted a trail of footprints in the sand and knew it had to be hers as he started running. He followed her trail a ways before spotting a huddled form in the distance. As he got closer, he realized it was her.

"Ha! I fuckin' found you!" he exclaimed. She flinched in surprise and turned to look at him, her face streaked with tears. Her chocolate-brown eyes opened wide before she leapt to her feet and started running, not even bothering to wait and see what he had to say. He growled as he sped up, not at all liking what she was doing.

"Come back here, damn it!" he called as he ran after her. She paid him no heed, and instead ran faster, her long hair flying in the breeze behind her. He growled loudly before using sonido to get in front of her and cornered her instantly. Before she could turn and bolt, he grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest, causing her to gasp loudly as she started to struggle.

"No, let me go! Please!" she cried as she tried to get him to release her. He growled before holding her tighter, glaring down at her.

"No I won't. Now stand still and listen to me!" he commanded. She stopped and stood still, knowing that resisting further would only enrage him. He sighed deeply before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"I'm… sorry for all of the fucking shit that I said and did. Especially the 'I never wanted to see you again and I hate your guts' part. I… never meant any of it. The only reason I did what I did was…" but looking down at her, he saw the disbelief in her eyes and decided to switch tatics.

"Look, Aizen threatened to kill you if he saw us together, and I was only trying to keep you safe!" he explained, trying to get her to believe him. She shook her head, something inside her didn't understand. Why was he trying to apologize? Grimmjow never apologized, ever. It made no sense.

"No… you're lying…" she choked as the tears fell down her cheeks. He growled loudly before looking her in the eye.

"I'm telling you the fuckin' truth! I never hated you, I always- …look, when we were together… I felt… weird. I liked hanging out with you, hell, you made me feel… like I didn't have to look behind my back every second. For once, I felt like I could relax." he paused, his scowl deepening as he tried to explain how he felt, all these weird ass feelings jumbled up inside of him as he held her in his arms. At this point, he felt like a soft-hearted fool.

"At first, I tolerated you because you never looked down on me and was honest… and then from there… it began to grow. I actually began to like having you around, to the point where I started coming around just to see you." he explained. She stopped struggling as she listened to his words, shocked at first. He lifted a hand and placed it against her cheek as he caught a few of the tears that fell.

"And when Aizen threatened to kill you if I got too close… I had no idea what the fuck to do. I knew that either way, someone was gonna get hurt. I was gonna get hurt by letting you go, or you were gonna get hurt by staying with me. And… I chose to keep you safe. I-" without warning, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest, cutting him off as he stared down at her in surprise. He could feel her body shake with every sob that escaped her lips, and it actually hurt him inside. Instinctively, he placed his hand behind her head while his other rested on her back.

"Y-y-you've… done so much… for me… I-" she cut herself short as another sob escaped her lips. He growled at this blatant show of weakness, but decided to let it go for now as he tightened his hold on her.

"Stop crying. It's… look, I feel real shitty when you cry. For the sake of both of us, stop it." he growled lowly. She shook her head, she couldn't stop her tears, because she felt so happy and so sad all at the same time. He sighed at this as he held her, she needed to vent her emotions, so he might as well let her. After a little while, she finally stopped crying as she began to wipe her eyes. Once she was done, she looked at him.

"You… never asked me about it. I would have been happy being with you, even if I got killed for it. I…" she stopped when he brushed her hair out of her face, staring at her with the most serious expression she had even seen on his face.

"That's why now… I still want to know everything you said to me that day was, and still is, true. I don't care about what Aizen will do anymore, I want you. I need you. And I need to know, do you still want me?" he asked, his chest rumbling slightly. She looked at him as his cyan eyes stared back at her, waiting for her answer. She felt like her heart was going to burst, all of these emotions were threatening to spill out, and she wouldn't be able to stop them. She smiled at him before reaching out and placing her hand against his human cheek, letting a few fingertips brush against the teal marks under his eyes.

"Of course it was. I love you, Grimmjow. And that fact will never change." she whispered, smiling like she was the happiest person in the world. And for the moment, she was. He smirked at her answer, feeling like he was king of the world.

"That's all I needed to hear." before she could say another word, he crashed his lips against hers, pulling her closer to him. Right now, he couldn't care less if Aizen saw. She squeaked a little in surprise before allowing her eyes to close, smiling against his lips. He tangled his hands in her long hair as she fisted his jacket in her hands, getting as close as she could.

He deepened the kiss by brushing his tongue across her lips, before she timidly opened her mouth. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth before meeting hers, his passion increasing by the minute. After a minute or two, he could feel her breaths getting shorter and he broke the kiss, before picking her up into his arms and holding her close. They stood there for a few long moments, regaining their breath, before he spoke.

"Heh, left you breathless, did I? Probably should've asked-"

"No, it's okay. I know that… with you actions speak louder than words, and I'm okay with it. You love me too, right?" she admonished quietly. He nodded, though he didn't really like the term one bit. But he did. He cared about her so much. She smiled before burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"Okay. That's all I needed to know." she whispered. He held her close before sonidoeing back to Las Noches, never once letting her go. And hoping to never let her go again.

All I have to say is...finally!