Not Alone Anymore Chapter 26: It's A Start, a bleach fanfic

Mori: Whooo! Didn't I promise a quick update?! XD I'm sooooo happy!

Thank you Ishasuki Mitoki, White Alchemist Taya and Megami Houshiko for reviewing right away! Such loyal readers I have! (sniffles) I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Ishasuki Mitoki: I assure you I'm still alive and well for the time being! And YAY YOU GOT MY FIRE JOKE THINGY! XD

White Alchemist Taya: Thank you for reviewing right away! Don't worry, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve (wink) she'll remember soon enough!

Megami Houshiko: Thanks for your support! I hope I get lost more in the future!

This goes out to you guys! (muah!)

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Orihime and Raven both stood in the middle of the room, staring at the waning moon through the only window in the room. They were dressed in clothing similar to the Espada's. Orihime's was white trimmed with black and seemed to fit her perfectly without showing an inch of skin.

Raven's, however similar, was slightly different. Her black short shorts were complete with white leggings that reached just past her knees and white flats to compliment it. Her top was a white Chinese style shirt that parted in the middle by straps and sleeveless, trimmed with black. She ordered Ulquiorra that if he gave her anything sleeveless he would have to either get her another shirt or some bandages. He got her bandages, reluctantly.

Raven sighed, "Did the moon really stop shining?" Orihime continued to stare at the moon and nodded. Raven averted her eyes to the floor.

Ulquiorra walked in the room after some time had passed by, "It fit's the both of you amazingly well,"

Raven and Orihime jumped slightly.

"When did you get here?!" Orihime shouted.

"Where you peaking?! You perv!" Raven glared at him.

"I got here just now," he replied calmly, "Now quite your idle banter," he took a step towards them, "There's news. Your nakama (1) have invaded Heuco Mundo,"

Orihime turned to him and Raven only looked confused, only half facing him, "Why?" She asked, nearly speechless.

"'Why?' You ask? To rescue you. To them no other reason is necessary," He turned to Raven, "Fortunately for ourselves, they do not know you are here as well, Jaganshi-san,"

Raven snapped out of her daze, "Hm? Why would that matter?" He scoffed at her and turned back to Orihime, since it meant nothing to Raven already.

"However this should mean nothing to you. We already own both your body and soul," He pressed his cold look upon her, "What you're wearing now has solified what you are now, Inoue Orihime," he turned his attention back to Raven, "And I doubt you have any memory of them, but just to be safe, this applies to you as well,"

Raven folded her arms across her chest and scoffed, "Whatever. These people mean nothing to me as far as I can remember,"

"Then say it," he ordered to the both of them, "Your body and soul, what purpose do they have now?"

Orihime hesitated, "Their only purpose…is for Aizen-Sama and his ambition," She closed her eyes in shame.

"And you," he told Raven.

"My body and soul? Che, like I have anything left for you to take anyway. There's no meaning in such words if I am nothing but a puppet," she glared at him ever so coldly, "Tell Aizen to use his 'precious' marionette wisely or it'll break,"

He gave her a disapproving glare and left.

"Ori-chan, I'm gonna walk around for a bit," Raven walked towards the door.

"B-But, Jaganshi-chan! We're not allowed outside without permission!" Orihime tried to stop Raven. Raven waved her hand lazily over her head to calm her down.

"I'll be fine," she sighed, "Stay safe," Then she was gone.

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Raven wandered the halls aimlessly. She didn't know where she was going, or even cared for that matter. She didn't want to be there, where she was constantly surrounded by hollows. She quickened her pace to a light jog. The feeling was just too unfamiliar and unsettling. She hadn't felt this caged in such a long time.

After about an hour of jogging Raven began to feel a slight fatigue and decided to stop and walk instead. She leaned against the wall of the unknown hallway and closed her eyes. It was low at first, but as she strained her ears to hear further, she heard a fight nearby. It was hard for her to sense reiratsu in the large building and even harder to find her way around.

Though the trail was easy enough to follow considering there was only one path left in front of her. , which could only lead to the nearby battle. She walked slowly towards the sounds, nearing the bright light of another room. She heard a woman screaming insults at the top of her lungs to someone and several crashes followed.

Raven stopped just before she set foot inside the room itself, though she could see everything else just fine from where she was standing. Her eyes scanned the entire room to get a good look at who was fighting.

Standing boldly on a high cylinder like pedestal, was a woman with dark hair that was in pigtails and a funny, white looking dress-skirt with high heeled boots. Raven leaned against the wall and studied her for a bit. She threw around a sharp yo-yo tool that annihilated everything it touched. Her victim was having a hard time dogging the attacks.

She froze at the sight of her victim. Short black hair, glasses, fair skin, steel-grey eyes. This was the same man from her dreams. Her eyes went wide with shock for a second, but quickly reverted back to their focused look. She looked just past him and saw another body hidden in the shadows.

It was a hollow that had a more human form to it, but his mask still looked like a sort of ant. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and watched with anticipation. It didn't take long for the girl to notice the stray hollow that was watching them. She glared at the door behind her victim and threw her weapon at him, just barely missing him by inches.

"Who the hell are you?!" She shouted at him. The man with glasses looked at the hollow, surprised for a moment.

"Aren't you Pesshe Gatieche?" he asked the hollow. Pesshe was silent for a moment, thoughts running through his head.

"No way…do you…like me? I mean…you know," Pesshe hesitated.

"What do you mean?!" The man shouted, "Don't say things like that all of a sudden! You're ruining the mood!"

"SHUT UP!" The ex-espada woman shouted and attacked them yet again, "Fuu. What is this white looking ant creature? Pale ant," she insulted him. Pesshe was offended and began to yell at her. In return, the man with glasses began to yell at him because of being yelled at for a simple comment he made to Pesshe about being white.

"I told you two to shut up!" She threw her weapon again, "Hm. Whatever the case, it appears the white ant is your ally,"

"Wait a second! He's a hollow! How could he be my ally?!"

"That's…that's terrible!" Pesshe cried, "And I considered you my ally this entire time!" The man yelled at Pesshe again for being stupid.

Raven's ears were hurting. All three of these people were extremely loud and gave her a migraine. She finally began to step in the room, letting herself be known.

"Fighting two on one isn't all that fair," She said smoothly and stopped just beside the pillar the woman was standing on.

"Who are you?!" She hissed.

"Hm," Raven replied, "I can see you're no Espada. I'm Aizen-sama's new recruit,"

Ishida couldn't believe his eyes. Before him, stood the love of his life, saying she was working for Aizen. He gripped his bow tightly to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He blinked several times to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. He swallowed the forming lump in his throat and tried to calm down a bit.

"R-Rei-chan?" Raven snapped her head in his direction and shot him an angry glare.

"What right do you have to call me that?!" She spat at him, making him flinch slightly, "Who the hell are you to call me by such a familiar nickname!?"

"Don't you remember me?" he hesitated in asking, being careful not to make her angry.

"Ugh, not you too," Raven rolled her eyes, "First that Orihime girl and now you too," she sighed.

"Inoue-san? You know where she is?"

"Meh, not really. I got kinda lost," She scratched her cheek lightly in thought.

"Lost?" Pesshe looked at her dumbly, "How lame is that?" Raven shook her fist and glared at him.

"Shut up! You all talk too much! You're so annoying!" The girl yelled and attacked Pesshe and Ishida. She turned to Raven and glared, "Stay out! I don't need help from a filthy human!" Raven shrugged and sat against the wall calmly.

She watched them carefully. She mostly watched Ishida. His movements, his face, his fighting style was all too familiar to her. It irked her, chilled her to the bone. She couldn't figure out why she was feeling so much anxiety from seeing him. She continued watching with interest. The woman was about to attack them when Pesshe used a technique to defend himself. He spit out a liquid on the blade and as soon as it hit him it slid off. She was surprised for a moment, but got over it when she saw Pesshe aim for her. She easily dogged it, smirking at them.

"Han. I don't really know what that is, but there's no way that I'll be blindly hit by it! I'm not stupid…" She trailed off as Pesshe covered all the pillars in the oil that emitted from his body, "What the…" She landed on one and slipped off.

"Alright!" Pesshe gloated, "My juice can keep pouring out forever! It's your fault for taking me so lightly!" Ishida mumbled something from behind him, "I named this technique the 'Infinite Slick'!"

"The fact that the name is kinda cool pisses me off…" Ishida muttered. Raven rolled her eyes, annoyed at the fact that these guys were hardly being serious about the situation.

"GOLONDRINA!" The woman shouted in anger. Her entire body was covered in a powerful aura that hid her from everyone's eyes. Once it disappeared she was no longer in a humanoid form. Her appearance looked more like a swallow tailed butterfly. Though instead of wings, blades held fast to the top half of the wings, "I will crush you! I, Arrancar No. 105, Chirucchi Thunder Witch!"

Raven glared at the Arrancar. Her entire being made Raven shiver and want to attack for some odd reason, but she kept her peace and continued to watch from her place by the entrance she came from.

"Now then," Chirucchi began, "Which way would be best for me to slice you up?" She didn't wait for a reply before she threw a wing of blades at the two. Ishida and Pesshe dogged each of her attacks, "Ha! You sure are fast when it comes to running away, Magane-kun! (2)" Ishida turned around while running and formed a much more detailed Quincy bow, firing several arrows at her. She blocked them with ease with one of her wings.

Raven's eyes widened in response. This man was a Quincy just like her! How could she not sense it?! She concluded that the building was truly having an effect on her senses. Raven bit on her thumb nail and tried to comprehend the situation at hand. She was Aizen's marionette(3) now; she had to help the side she was place on by any means. On the other hand, standing right in front of her was another Quincy! She couldn't just ignore her own kind. Raven knew she could appose Aizen if she truly wanted. Though her Sensei was a bit of a problem, but if they had kept their promise and stayed away from him then she'd have nothing to fear. She knew that if they kept their promise to her then her Sensei would be long gone by now, safely hidden until the battle was over.

She stopped chewing on her nail and dropped her hand back to her side. She knew her place, though she may not have liked it very much, she knew none the less. Raven's senses were turned back to the fight before her.

"Hirenkyaku huh?" Chiruchi smirked and prepared another attack, "And how is that…" She attacked using her blades, "Any different?!" Ishida and Pesshe braced themselves for the attack, ready to doge it yet again.

Her blades scattered before it even reached them, sending them flying in each direction across the room without going near Ishida and Pesshe.

"What?…" Chirucchi was surprised for a second, then that surprise turned into anger, "I thought you were on our side! Why are you helping them?!"

Raven stood in front of Ishida and Pesshe, her head hung low, "I was," she replied simply, "But I can't just abandon a fellow Quincy. It goes against my morals. I'm sorry that I deceived you, Chirucchi Thunder Witch, but I this is my choice,"

"Quincy?" The Arrancar didn't even care about the fact that she was deceived. After all, why would she even team up with a human in the first place? The name 'Quincy' rung a bell in her head, "Ah," she sighed with recognition, "So you're of the Quincy?"

Raven nodded her head while Ishida answered back, "So you know of us? What a privilege,"

"I know all about them," she replied, "A sad group of people who were destroyed by the Shinigami. Those are the only fact that I can recall," Raven's gaze turned into a glare. In an instance she was right behind the thunder witch.

"What's it to you?" Raven hissed in her ear before using her foot to kick her halfway across the room.

"Ha! At least now I know why you'd betray Aizen-Sama! All for the sake of your own kind! I've gotta admit that I have the slightest ounce of respect for you, Quincy-girl!"

"Just so you know," Raven ran her fingers through her bangs and sighed lightly, "I don't fight like your average Quincy. What you learn from me may not apply to him," She jabbed her thumb behind her to point at Ishida.

"Can't you at least use my name?" He adjusted his glasses a bit.

"I'm sure it would help if I knew your name," She crossed her arms and continued to stare at her opponent.

Ishida felt a wave of sadness wash over his body, like someone just plunged a dagger into his heart and twisted it ever so slowly. He clenched his fists and swallowed the growing lump in his throat.

"Uryuu. Ishida Uryuu," His voice was cold and aching. Raven could almost hear the agony in it, but brushed it off as her imagination at work.

Raven nodded her head and turned her attention back to the Chirucchi, "Ready? I'll hold back if you wanna have a bit of fun," Raven smirked at her expression. Chirucchi grew furious with Raven and attacked her almost blindly.

Raven dogged each of her attacks with ease and swiftness. Raven smirked and landed on top of the highest pillar in the room.

"Insect!" Raven yelled out.

"What was that?!" It was never very smart to piss off an Arrancar.

"You resemble a swallow tailed butterfly the most, therefore," Raven pointed at her, "Insect! Raven's eat pests like you!" Chirucchi grew even angrier and aimed her blades at Raven. Raven rushed towards them and dogged each one, getting closer to the thunder witch.

She used Hirenkyaku to get even closer to the Arrancar and reappeared right in front of her face, "You're finished. You never had a chance of flying the moment you spread your wings," Chirucchi stood very still, shocked that Raven was so close and listening intently to her out of fear. Raven grabbed her face and brought her lips close to her ear. Chirucchi could feel her warm breath tickling her eardrum, "Butterflies can't fly when they just barely hatch,"

Raven gathered a fist full of spirit particles and used ever ounce of strength she gathered to send her enemy flying into the wall opposite of them. Chirucchi fell to the ground, nearly unconscious, but still alive. Raven took one look at the Arrancar and turned on her heel.

"Lets go you two," she began walking down the hall.

"Are you sure?" Pesshe asked, "That person's still alive,"

"I don't kill," she replied and continued to walk to the exit, "Even if she tried to get up and chase after us, it wouldn't work anyway. She'd just be committing suicide,"

Ishida was silent for a moment, but quickly realized what she had done, "You severed her saketsu (4)?" Raven nodded in reply. The two nodded and followed. Though, Pesshe was hesitant, Ishida assured him that they would be fine in trusting her.

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

"You honestly don't remember anything? Nothing? Nothing at all?" Ishida continued asking and pleading for her to tell him something as they walked down the hall. Anything to give a sign that she remembered her time with him.

"No! And stop asking!" She was growing frustrated with him and was almost beginning to wish she hadn't have saved them. She sighed and took pity on him, "…Ishida…Uryuu…right?" He nodded excitedly, "I honestly can't remember anything, but Orihime told me a few things about my time with all of you…supposedly anyway,"

"Like what?" He asked curiously. Pesshe remained completely silent. He knew it wasn't a good idea to disrupt them. Even he could sense the atmosphere around them.

"I went to Soul Society? To save some girl named 'Rukia'?"

"Yes," Ishida adjusted his glasses slightly, "You went with us to save her. Rukia is a Shinigami who is our ally,"

"I see…What are 'Bount'?" She continued to ask.

"They were…another kind of species you could say. An experiment in Soul Society gone wrong," he tried to explain, "They're the one's who took you…we haven't seen you since then,"

Raven's head began to throb painfully and her vision became somewhat blurry.

Flashback

"You even think about it and I'll kill you," Raven threatened in a low voice. In front of her stood a figure she wasn't able to make out. He towered over her as she sat on the ground like a helpless child. He smirked and got even closer. Raven's fox ears went flat against her head and she bared her teeth at him.

"Little Kitsune shouldn't be so difficult," he smiled at her and continued to advance. Raven's eyes narrowed in anger as she prepared herself.

End Flashback

"Rei-chan?" Ishida and Pesshe stopped walking when Raven did. They noticed a far off look in her face and attempted to shake her out of it, "Are you okay?"

She blinked once and looked at both of them, "Uh…yea. Why?"

"You spaced out," Pesshe told her, "You went off into your own land," he expressed what he said through physical body movement. He waved his wrists as if he were a bird and stood on one leg to exaggerate flying. Ishida's eye twitched at Pesshe's pathetic actions and he turned back to Raven.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again. She nodded hesitantly. He looked at her lovingly and embraced her tightly. She stiffened in his grasp, but it slowly faded; feeling a familiar feeling consume her. He leaned down into her ear and whispered softly to her, "I'll wait for your memories to come back and even if they don't," he paused and hugged her tighter, "I'll still love you," He kissed her forehead, knowing that a kiss on the lips would be unacceptable in her current state.

Raven's heart was beating like mad. It felt as if it would burst through her chest at any given moment, but it was much different from her chronic attacks. He letting go of her and pulling away. Raven immediately didn't like the cold feeling that was washing over her like a wave of ice water. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held his embrace, feeling the warmth of his body once more. He didn't object and continued to hold her as if it were the last thing he'd ever do. Raven sighed in content and listened to his rapid heartbeat within his chest.

'So warm,' She thought and blushed at how utterly weak he made her feel, 'I don't think I'd mind…staying like this for an eternity,'

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

Mori: WOOT! Review please!

1: Nakama: Japanese word used for a comrade or close friend

2: Magane-kun: White glasses. Chirucchi's nickname for Ishida was 'White Glasses'

3: Marionette: For those of you who don't know what a Marionette is, it's a puppet! X3

4: Saketsu: Soul Chain