- 52-
La Pequeña Muerte/ La Petite Mort
Ulquiorra Schiffer
Former Espada of Aizen's army
Formerly known as Cuatro
A Born dead, Running on Cold Blood, Lustful, and Greedy Creature, a hollow could represent many of the most frightening and gruesome aspects of death. But the true nature of a hollow lay in their impressive dedication to living life itself to the fullest of its possibilities. That made them simultaneously close to Mortals and close to the Gods.
Back on the bridge, he did all he could to never let go of Orihime Inoue. That much he remembered. Yet, at the time, he knew that to protect her more effectively, he had to sacrifice the hold he had on her. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, though it was neither unpredictable nor unpreventable. Understand, he wasn't making excuses for himself. Whatever she may have said to him about him getting closer to Kurosaki, he felt like trash with the profound knowledge that something was wrong with him. Regresión. The Relapse. Like a dark shadow over their heads, it was frightening a prospect to any hollow the fact that they could relapse and turn again into primitive beasts.
He let go of her small hand to unleash his zanpakutō, knowing it could be the last time he held her hand. It demanded an unexpected amount of bravery, he didn't know he would one day need, but he did it anyway. He used his resurreción, knowing he was far from ready to do so. The burn of so much reiatsu at once started to enflame his ki in an already deteriorated Reika, meaning he was burning from the inside out, his integrity compromised. Yet, he ignored the discomfort turned into blazing agony. He used Sonido and kicked Moon away, joined Kuchiki girl in the melee, slammed Moon mercilessly against the concrete. He had to sacrifice his regeneration skills to gain speed. His wounds were critical. Yet, he doubled his speed in a matter of seconds, not even questioning the sacrifice he was making for that human. He did manage to catch Orihime back before she crashed on the floor, but it cost him the most precious time. Archer crashed onto him full force, his blades crushing Ulquiorra's unprotected face and neck, almost beheading him in the process. Blood sprayed the side of Orihime's face as his carotid was sectioned. He bled out like a waterfall with blood almost black as night, the bottom of his hollow mask exploding in the process, the pain shooting in his brain like fireworks.
Thus, Ulquiorra blacked out as a survival measure. It was that or extinction. So, he blacked out and fell into the bridge, digging a hole underneath him. Like a dead weight, he sunk in the bed of the River Onose and laid there amongst junk and water plants. His eyes were open, but he couldn't see. His mouth was open, and the last of his oxygen was spilled in the water. Then, nothing. He no longer needed to breathe. He no longer needed to see. He no longer needed any of his senses.
It had been the death of noises, patterns, and colors. The death of everything he had started to cherish just a bit.
He died.
Once more.
With the rising of darkness, silence dulled the pain of his mask eroding slowly. Darkness was nursing him back to what he was as he drifted into limbo to better repair his damaged spiritual envelope, his Reika. He didn't register being moved from there, dragged from the water by Yoruichi Shihouin. He didn't even register being shot full of liquid gold and other experimental drugs and put in a cylinder of reishi particles. From time to time, his body would be put to more tests and simulations. His reflexes were dead, his nerves ending shut down. Ulquiorra's brain gave no signs of activity on the monitor Urahara was staring at.
"I don't understand. He should get better." He said before turning to Yoruichi like he expected her to find the solutions to all his problems.
"Well, despite my extensive background, I'm not versed in Hollow emergency medical procedures. I'm just cute when I'm wearing slutty nurse clothes, or so I was told. So don't even look at me that way…"
Urahara grinned at that behind his surgical mask. He turned slightly to check her out again. She looked exquisite in that unbuttoned pink blouse. He had asked her to dress up for him; it always helps stimulate his own brain activity, to think of all the things he could do to his "kitty" when they are finished with this mess.
But right now, he needed to focus. He needed to activate his own brand of genius. He got back to his subject without a word as he skillfully pulled off the sutures in titanium he used to hold Ulquiorra's neck wound open. Without this, there was no way he could have managed to inject fluids passed his Hierro. Even in that state, the extremely durable skin of the Espada was like an armored wall. He watched it close off slowly with something akin to fascination. It was there the dangers of these creatures partly resided in.
"Well, his Reika clearly improved upon being given all ten doses of Liquid gold. Just like it did with Reiji. It did help with his instability, so I guess that's a good thing. Still, it remains quite unstable. Look at that…"
With his zanpakutō, he sliced open his sternum triggering the alarm of the monitor. Spreading it with his bare hands, he silently asked Yoruichi for a hand. He pushed away his organs vital or not, noticing there was no blood flow. How strange! No blood irrigations during a long period was a bad sign for even a shinigami. He dropped some clot in a basin. Yoruichi grimaced.
"Lamp."
Yoruichi pushed the lamp while he was holding the wound open. Like a tiny pouch of human tissue, his ki, translucent and vibrating, appeared swimming in boiling liquid gold.
"It's there… See."
"Is that?"
"His ki…surrounded by the fragilized Reika. All these walls are surrounding his true soul. It's still damaged despite the gold."
Yoruichi frowned.
"So that guy's really got a soul? For real?"
"Yup… Don't be so perplex? This tiny thing we all have one."
"Well, it's an Espada. A hollow. I could never be sure these creatures actually got souls."
"Well, they do… despite some of them acting soullessly. You can let go."
Yoruichi did as she was told. This was beyond gross. Urahara watched the wound close by itself, mesmerized by the reconfiguration of tissue. He could keep it up forever. It always ended like this.
"He seems to be healing fine. That means… He is going to wake up soon?"
"Well, technically, he should have been awake… like Renji, his blood flow restored."
"So…"
"You see, I suspect that what Rigor did render their spiritual envelope, commonly called Reika, unstable like friable walls. That's how this thing can resurrect or kill people. Rendered instable, the Reika is mollified, and the creature can move spirit particles to his will. Accelerating it or slowing it. In Ulquiorra's case, it slowed the deterioration of tiny particles of spirit-matter as he died from Ichigo's fight long enough for Ulquiorra's incredible regenerative abilities to kick in. Even though it left him weak at the same time…That's why he could stand and generate a resurrection under this condition. Yet, it seemed he burned all his energy trying to maintain his integrity long enough to save Orihime. Renji was using his bankai when that happens. Since a bankai and a Resurrección are similar, there may be something to it. I will send Unohana a couple of notes. She has to stimulate Reiji's regenerative skills to the edge too. Unlike Ulquiorra, it may take him months… years… to recover at this rate. I wonder if some kind of soul transfer will work?"
"Nope. No soul transfer. That is crazy, in addition to being incredibly dangerous and unethical. Can we stay on the ethical part of science, Kisuke?"
Urahara got startled at the mention of his name. The intonation in her voice had been cold and firm. He stared at her and noticed she was swallowing.
"Of course. Of course, Yoruichi is always right. But maybe there is something else… there at play. Something we're not seeing… worth seeing."
"I don't get any of this, Kisuke. That's your territory, not mine."
"Indeed."
"Yet, I will draw the line at uber testing the guinea pig that could actually destroy the town. So, does that mean we know how to fight that other thing? It's all I want to hear."
"Not yet."
"Uh, I swear you would say that." Yoruichi groaned.
"I'm working on it, Yoyo."
"Don't call me that with the voice of that person whose promises meant shit." She retorted, annoyed.
He stared at her, annoyed too. She was supposed to be a nice quiet fantasy.
"I will absolutely call you however I want." He said with a whine, his expression being suddenly dark and rebellious. "I mean, if I can't call you whatever I want, who can? Tell me? Who can?"
He said with a great sense of tragedy.
"Kisuke…"
"Yoruichi…"
"You're moody too. Something is bothering you. What is it? Make it quick so we can move on."
His face closed off immediately.
"Well, he is not improving for a start. I pumped him full of gold I had Tessai steal in Kurotsuchi's office in the Shinigami HQ, and all I got was a meh reaction. I am feeling underappreciated."
"You said that already. I will stop you there. We need to move on. To how we fight this thing. We don't have much time left." Yoruichi sat on a stool, adjusting the short skirt of her nurse uniform.
Still lost in his thoughts, Kisuke dropped his hands on either side of her thighs, spreading them open as he crouched to perverted level. He went on, obviously lost in thoughts.
"His stats are better, but he is not improving. Reika is still frail. But we could still confirm that Renji's stats got significantly better in a shorter period of time. On the other hand, Renji's wounds are not closed. He is still very much suffering from the decompression of spirit-matter. While Ulquiorra's wounds are closing on their own, his Hierro is active. Longer time has passed since his resurrection. This could explain that? Yet, at this instant, he doesn't demonstrate any reflexes of any kind. There's no brain activity. His mask is still eroding. That's what I don't understand. Hollow cannot survive the loss of their masks technically. That's what we know, at least. So, it means it's not good. I don't know what to do. I have never observed a hollow subject of his class this close. I mean, he is above your typical hollow, even above your typical arrancars. His powers are atypical with two resurrections… In addition, he is something Aizen played with. Maybe it is something about the hogyouku's influence? Or just something about his nature as a hollow? What if it's something we have no data on? I don't know."
"Huh? Kisuke? What are you looking at?" Yoruichi asked with a sadistic voice.
"Just fascinating." He said.
With a sigh, he shook his head and hid his shameful face beneath her skirt, pushing his nose deep in it. Her fist raised, she was going to kill that man slowly.
"Kisuke…"
"He's dying. That's what these stats are showing anyway." He said with a muffled noise.
Yoruichi blinked twice. She finally nodded, understanding what was clearly bothering him. Kisuke was never very good at dealing with conflicts. Especially humankind.
"Does she know?"
He knew exactly who she was referring to immediately.
"I may have tried to tell her." He muttered in her panties.
"The same way you try to talk to Ichigo earlier, or you really had a clear conversation with her using nonmedical descriptive words?"
"Yoruichi, you're a mean kitty." He moaned.
"Che! I'm going with you beating around the bush like always and the girl still being in the dark? Is that it?"
She said, closing her legs on his head, smothering him to the point he could barely struggle for air. He deserved no less for his stupidity. She released pressure when it seemed like he couldn't take anymore.
"I promised her I try and save him, Yoyo."
"You did what? What's wrong with you? You never worked on a hollow before?" She groaned, holding his head firmly again.
"Weren't you there?"He said. She may have a valid point with him not having any experiences dealing with hollow anatomy, the closest he came to know about High-Class hollows and their behaviors were when he dealt with the vizards. Yet, she didn't have to put it that way. But maybe he should give Hirako-san a call just to catch up?
"I didn't think you were serious. He is still very much the enemy, you know. He is still very much dangerous. If the Gotei 13 knew he was here… If the Gotei knew he was alive… If they knew we helped… We'd be in a world of trouble."
"Come on, be a good nurse, Yoyo. You have to be nice and comfort the Doctor."
"I don't care if she is an impressionable young girl and that we like her, Kisuke. This is not right."
"He saved her."
"Well, she wouldn't need saving if he didn't kidnap her, to begin with. Twice."
"Some people don't know how to express their feelings."
"Like you… You made me dress like this."
"I love the way it holds your curves."
"Kisuke, you may inadvertently be making this Stockholm Syndrome of hers worse. She is in that phase where she like bad boys. Actually, any boys. She needs to get over him. She needs to get over boys, really. They are too damn stupid like you."
"Well, I'm a sucker for triumphant stories of redemption," Kisuke said, slowly standing up.
"You also love experimenting too much?"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with trying to help?"
"You're an idiot. I will tell Tessai to move him back to a room upstairs, and I will talk to her before we go. Like there's not much time. She needs to say goodbye. Whatever happens."
"Yoruichi… I could learn so much from studying him. Maybe there's something more I can do… Like a therapeutic Gigai. Imagine it. Will be my first? A hollow therapeutic gigai with a specially modified soul graft? It could sell like crazy!? I could develop a niche. A new market?"
"Let the guy die in peace… He did his part. You did your part. You helped. Whatever happens now, it's not in your hand. Let her say goodbye. Work on finding something to kill that behemoth because, like most people of sound minds, I have no faith in Yamamoto's fucked up plan. That's all you need to do."
Kisuke frowned and nodded.
"Do you still keep in touch with Kukkaku Shiba?"
Yoruichi shook her head and crossed her arms over her opulent chest.
"She will not wear a slutty nurse uniform for you, Kisuke."
"You didn't even ask her!"
Ulquiorra floated in translucent liquid, his mask turning to dust slowly. None of their words were currently reaching him. He was basking in a glowing green liquid. He was not dying. He was dead. That much was true. And for a hollow to be born dead again, you needed a lot of reiatsu, time, and prayers.
Prayers. It was like a steady metronome in his ears, the monotonous tone of her voice upstairs.
Her hair undone, Orihime kneeled next to her futon, her hands joined in silence. She was thinking about her brother Sora. She was thinking about Ichigo. She was asking for forgiveness for her weaknesses. If what she did hurt people, she wanted to be forgiven too. She was thinking about him. Ulquiorra. She was asking whoever was in charge of helping him recover. Because deep down, she believed he was a good person who deserved a second chance. He deserved a chance to discover that life could be full of nuances, colors, and rainbows. He could be different. Someone shouldn't have to die just because they didn't know better, because they didn't experience better. Ulquiorra wanted to scoff at that. What an incredibly naïve creature!
Unbeknownst to all of them, Ulquiorra was slowly turning the mineral elements around him into spirit matters he was using to replenish himself in a form similar to Asshuku kaijo[1], It was a really slow process, one that required he stopped the irrigation of all vital organs.
So, his mind had been wandering back and forth, in a desert of sterile ideas, from his one-sided conversations with Yammy to him listening to Aizen as he was explaining his plans, to him watching Grimmjow getting his arm turned to ashes, to that girl slapping him over and over, to him killing a boy who was too close to be a god, to wandering the dry wilderness in Hueco Mundo, images streaming through his brain at incredibly high rates.
He stood in front of a canvas representing a king and his heirs, their faces scratched and damaged by time, and the painting turned to ash slowly.
"Some of us were born from regrets, others from rage or lust. You, my boy, you were born from Death itself, for I am death, empty of purposes, genuine in his goals."
Murcielago croaked loudly as it extended its humongous black wings in the sky, hiding the moon. The manifestation of his Zanpakuto suddenly morphed into a humanoid figure, the only distinctive traits being the long blond hair floating behind him.
"Will you snap out of it, Ulquiorra? You need to protect the King."
Ulquiorra growled low, Murcielago ensnaring his waist with his tail. They both growled again.
"Sire…"
The figure did not turn.
"Wait…"
The shadow froze with both his hands in his pockets, standing very much like Ulquiorra himself.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Didn't I give you a task? Didn't I give you an order? Why are you not defending the castle?"
"I sensed her fall… Her declining reiatsu… It tore a part of me… When she fell… So, I ran to…"
"You felt that too? Well, you're really her boy, after all. How incredible, isn't it?! The prospect of the True Death! It fills me with anticipation! Knowing I am about to join her. I am counting on you then."
"Please don't go. There is something I can do. I will give up anything…"
" Am I the only one you are totally okay disappointing, Ulquiorra?"
Mammongi said, his head tilted to the side.
"I can't… do this. I don't know enough. Not without you. Not without a purpose. I am in that state because she is gone, and it's already agony."
"I gave you Death, didn't I? I gave you…"
"You gave me…Life, Father. You gave me everything."
"Then why are we having this conversation? I will free you now, you and your siblings. I free you from the bond tying our fates together. It's all yours now."
"No! Why are you doing this?! The King… They…"
" I do not owe him beyond death. He was our King. He was deserving of our loyalty and devotion. We were his favorites."
"Yeah, but he is gone now… She is gone too."
"I promised her she won't ever go alone. That's the promise I made. One day, if you manage to find that person to whom you will make that kind of promise, consider yourself lucky. Freedom will not be far. Your glorious reward won't be far."
"It's agony… Please."
"It will pass like Death. Like a shadow… You won't remember the despair. A step back. For a step forward. That is our ability."
"I never asked you. I did everything you ever asked me to do… but this…"
The shadowy figure seemed to lean over another body, stroking ebony hair, before lifting it in the air, as they both danced with the wind.
"You have got to stand on your own now. You will have to choose who you will follow to the Pit of Hell. That's the toughest choice to make. The hollows need to remember. We only need one of us to remember. Only one. Paz and I, we needed to leave someone who will remember. She gave you her unrelenting curiosity. Her wonder. Her ruthlessness. I gave you everything I had and more. I gave you a mind that cannot be enslaved. Take care of your brother and sisters. We are the Rulers of Death. The Vasto Lorde. Till the end of Time. Make sure to remind them. They're just cattle, forgive them for running wild."
He was walking away slowly when a female shadow figure held Mammongi's hands and bowed slowly.
"Ulqui-Chi! Thrive, never yield, rule wisely, have fun, do not regress, do not waste food, protect the Council, and Protect the King to Come. Make us proud."
The figures started to fade, their particles disintegrating slowly in the atmosphere.
"Goodbye, my little Hueco Centro. " Were Paz's last words.
The pain started then, blinding him as he doubled over, feeling sick and nauseous, disgusted with himself, the mask forming on his face, and hiding his shame. He should have gone with them. If only he had gone with them… He wanted to go with them.
Ulquiorra contemplated his surroundings again. Emptiness. He was surrounded by nothing. Tilting his head, he searched his reflection in a mirror made of liquid reishi. The cycle continued. He conversed only with the dead. He relived this infamous moment over and over. He was almost delirious from the echo of Murcielago grunting over and over, his claws scratching the marble floor, the voice of Orihime praying like a chant in the background.
He remembered dying a long time ago where men were scarce on the plane of existence called earth, and demons were numerous. He died as one of them. He died, probably regretted it, came back to life, hunted more souls in a neat cycle, fighting for dominance. Again and Again. The chaotic entanglement of souls. Like flesh melting together. Colliding together. Compacting together. To mesh something anew. That was what his memories were made off. No clear beginnings. Until what he was today became sentient for the first time… when Mammongi, the father of all Hollows and his Soulmate Paz Schiffer, gave him life, sacrificing a sizeable part of their souls to create something new that would be theirs and that could be left behind. Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra Schiffer was his name. He was born dead in Hueco Mundo. Not crying and wailing like any newborn infant in the living world, no simply lifted in the strongest claws toward the Moon. Under the silent gaze of thousands of hollows and Adjuchas, his eyes opened on this world for the first time.
All of a sudden, a sound managed to pierced that fog, strange visions were assaulting his brain at once.
A Cero strike blasted Orihime's shield in pieces, as she was standing in Ulquiorra's garden, and she crashed against the brick fences surrounding the Magic shop. Blood dripped on the ground and dried there slowly. He heard the tearing of her mortal flesh. The ground was shaking. He felt the familiar tingle of dark magic in the air.
Silence is the mother of a nation. There is only silence in Hueco Mundo. None of that agitation you will find in the Land of the living. He was accustomed to it. Yet, when he heard her voice, his soul was no longer at rest. It boiled down to how quickly he could get close to that voice. It boiled down to how hot his blood would boil under his Hierro. It boiled down to the ribbon of fate tying her to him and him, strangling his neck. It was enough for him to hear her cry for the suffering to increase tenfold.
His mouth opened with urgency, Ulquiorra inhaled sharply. Air seeped into his lungs at once, and he straightened up as best he could, caught in a fit of cough. How long had he not feel the need to breathe? Then the noise... He was almost delirious with all the ruckus outside. The sound of her cries of despair, her moan of pain… His head was exploding. The delicious smells of all the souls rotting outside… The scent of decaying death… Amidst all of it, the sweet smell of her flamboyant mane…
He remembered the red-haired. He remembered the slap she gave him when he threatened her friends. He remembered kissing her. He remembered the hunger. The memories of her were taking a lot of room suddenly. It all came in chaotic order. Colliding against each other. Like entangled souls. Like the making of a hollow.
He was in despair and in a constant state of pain. But this was as close as he would get to being alive.
Most Wondrous Battle Music Ever: Power Of Will-Alan Al
Grabbing the blankets on which he was lying, his eyes closed, he rolled aside and crawled to the entrance of the room. Gripping the doorway with his bloodied black claws, he hoisted himself halfway up before finally managing to straighten up. He staggered out of the house, blind. Ulquiorra staggered a few feet from Orihime without seeing her. He slowly tried to open his eyes. To no avail. So much noise rendered the beast Mad. He lowered his head at an odd angle and opened his mouth. Food.
Chad and Ishida turned at the same time. A large tornado was born where Ulquiorra Schiffer stood, eyes closed. The sky was crackling and fracturing into a red inferno... Even the clouds looked bloody. Everything turned critically red. Three Adjuchas were racing towards Orihime.
Ulquiorra stood there at this odd angle like the living dead. He opened his eyes slowly as color and noises assaulted him. He was enraged at it. So much pain at once. So much pain.
Orihime opened her eyes groggily. She gasped. What was he doing here? Her mouth went dry, and she didn't even realize Tessai was helping her to her feet. She didn't even see the Adjuchas coming their way. Ulquiorra… His mask was eroding right in front of her.
Ulquiorra grabbed the side of his face with a grunt. He pulverized what was left of that mask at once. He was… He almost looked human standing there without his helmet. Without his mask.
He opened his eyes. His green eyes usually empty and dead…was so vivid... Shining...like burning Emerald. Ulquiorra opened his eyes, and blinding white replaced the darkness. The blur faded. He recognized the Heart at last.
Ishida and Chad were retreating toward the shop as more hollows appeared. Jinta and Ururu were doing the same. The group was surrounded.
The forme Espada touched his head again, looking for his helmet. It means, like Ichigo, you cannot lose. He took another step staring at his reflection in a puddle of water. He felt his blood pumping in his veins. Everything was happening in slow motion around him. Where was he? He closed his eyes and stared at his reflection in the pool. Images of Grimmjow kissing Nelliel, a sensation of cold as Tia Harribel leaned over Ice paraded before his eyes. Brothers. Sisters. He remembered. The beast was howling inside him to be unleashed. He stared at his reflection again, and he could see Murcielago looking back at him with a feral gaze. . . .Brethren. The creature showed his fangs in the dark. We. No. longer. Can. Conceal. The. Heart. We. Will. Protect. It. Instead. Murcielago was flying in the Hueco Mundo sky with another creature. The "Father of all, Hollows." Father. His desperate wandering in the desert. Aizen. Gin. Tosen. Impostors. The Espada. Purpose. At last, he remembered the redhaired who extended her hand to him. Heart.
Menoly pointed again in his direction. Orihime didn't know what possessed her really, but she just started to run toward him.
Ulquiorra stared at his reflection, tears of blood streaming down his cheeks, drawing patterns on his face. He was whole again without the mask. Without shame. Without regrets. Without the confusion. It was the beast underneath, shouting proudly. At last, they were free. It was the beast being hungry. It was the beast rejoicing. They will rule again. Before the Cero strike reached Ulquiorra, Orihime held her shield up again. Hearing her screams, Ulquiorra spun back toward the disturbances and roared like a legion of Menos Grande.
Tessai, Chad, and Uryu turned toward him, unsure what to do.
Ulquiorra jerked back. All the Adjuchas immediately melted on the floor. With a finger snap, they turned into a liquid that streamed toward the brunet as if it had a will of its own and latched on his bare feet. He looked up at the sky, and Menoly crashed on the ground like a fallen Meteor.
"Fuck…Menoly…" Lolly screamed before she opened a Garganta and disappeared.
Menoly crawled out of the small crater, gasping for air.
"Fuck! Fuck! Let go…That fucking hurt, you asshole. What's wrong with you?"
He turned toward her passively. Noises. Too much noise.
"Don't do this to me…"
Ulquiorra said nothing. He currently answered to no one. The blonde was clinging to the ground with all her might meanwhile the rest of her body glided toward him. She tried to stab the ground with her zanpakutō. It didn't work.
She dropped on her scraped knees, the palms of her hands and claws bloody. But even if she was fighting it with every fiber of her being, the call of a Vasto Lorde was something so strong; there was no way she could refuse him. Even if she knew he was going to kill her… She couldn't even question how come she knew this. It's not like she was ever in the presence of a Vasto Lorde before, but this she knew to be true. It was like her own blood was telling her the story of how she was about to die.
For I am death, empty of purposes, genuine in his goals…
Orihime just stared at them in astonishment.
"Ulquiorra..." She whispered.
"Fuck….No! I don't want to end like this… Go to hell! My master is Aizen-sama! He is your master too. What are you doing, you fuckhead?"
Black ink spilled in one of his eyes. He had no Master but the Red King himself. Twitching his head on the side, he accentuated his pull. Menoly slid completely on the ground. She was almost there. He was going to absorb her just like the Adjuchas earlier since he was their Lord and Savior. It was inevitable. He was starving.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know… She was yours. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me… Please..." She sobbed with a runny nose.
Ulquiorra blinked, his focus shifting quickly as he stared at the oddest angle at his unprotected left side. He grabbed Lolly by the throat before she fully materialized outside the Garganta. Then, he slammed her into the ground like she was nothing but an insect. A crater formed as the earth rippled like water under his feet, a testament of the strength of his retaliation. Orihime jumped startled by the suddenness, and the brutality of it all, and Uryu and Tessai rushed to protect her from the blast.
Lolly couldn't emit a sound as a spurt of blood escaped her throat. In a desperate attempt to defend herself, she stabbed Ulquiorra in the neck with her zanpakutō, Scolopendra. He let go of her like she was a hindrance but made no signs her attacks had any effect on him. The wound immediately healed. He released her throat, and she crawled with her battered body, using the last of her strength, leaped toward Menolly to catch her and disappeared in a Garganta.
Ulquiorra said nothing. His eyes focused on his surroundings. Humans were lying in the streets, unconscious. He was starving—so many souls. So much for… Cattles. Cattles everywhere.
"Ulquiorra."
His thoughts got interrupted immediately, and he turned slowly toward Orihime like he was seeing her for the first time. She. Smelled. Like. Life. Itself.
"You... I was so scared she might...hurt you."
He registered the mix of fear and worry in her voice. It pleased him somehow. Then he realized her voice was more and more distant as if she wasn't standing right in front of him.
The Kido spells were strong, and his Reika was still too fragile, pushing him to retreat in Survival mode again. The lights went out again. He lost consciousness as suddenly as he woke up earlier. He crashed face-first on the ground.
Ulquiorra woke up back in the white chamber.
"Well, took you long enough to wake up, Dimwit."
Only he looked up to find none other than Grimmjoww Jeagerjack, sitting on a chair astride.
Grimmjow Jaggerjacques
Former Espada Number 6
Also known as Sexta
Gnat, cockroach and ant babysitter
Even death did not want the last King of Hueco Mundo.
Grimmjow watched Ulquiorra rose slowly from the floor. Without exchanging a word, they stared each other down with distrust for a while. Before long, they were running toward each other, springing forward. It was impossible to see who landed the first blow or how long they exchanged blows. Ulquiorra grabbed Grimmjow by his neck and wiped the table at the center with him. Grimmjow rolled on the floor, circled Ulquiorra's legs very much the same way Nel did to him once. Losing balance, Ulquiorra fell on his back, rolling on his back, he got back on his feet before Grimmjow could catch on. Striking his neck, without pausing in his stand, he lifted him in the air before crushing him face-first against the marble. He tried to annihilate him with a cero strike. Except it didn't fire. He stared at his finger and paused. Was he that damaged that he could not fire his Cero?
They were back to square one like all of this never happened. Grimmjow was the first to frown as Ulquiorra flickered his fingers toward the lights examining them. He tried again. He didn't fire. They stared at each other again. Nah! They went at it again. For the same results. They stared at each other and started back. This time Grimmjow got the upper hand. Ulquiorra doubled over on all fours as Grimmjow was kicking his guts sadistically. But after a while, they got back to square one, staring at each other in this vast empty ethereal white room. Grimmjow paused, breathing hard. It's not like he was feeling exhausted or anything. He surveyed at his surroundings, mimicking Ulquiorra's reaction earlier.
"Is this payback?" Grimmjow suddenly asked.
Ulquiorra frowned.
"Payback?"
"For my little negacion trick? For stealing that girl? For"
Ulquiorra shrugged and surveyed his surroundings again. He hadn't even thought of all that. Like he'd care about all that guy's sins. As if he'd care for anyone's sins but his own. He looked at Grimmjow as if they didn't speak the same language.
For the blue-haired Arrancar, it had to be a joke. Or it had to be some kind of karma trick, him getting stuck with Ulquiorra of all people. He groaned impatiently.
"We're stuck in a loop."
"Like we haven't noticed," Ulquiorra said disdainfully.
"I want to kill you. Not pretend I kill you, wanker!"
Ulquiorra sighed a drop of sweat on his brow.
"Maybe you will tell me what I'm doing here?"
Ulquiorra continued to look around. He studied Grimmjow suspiciously and staggered groggily to a chair.
"Well…" Grimmjow said.
"You're dying."
"Thanks, Noodle, but I think I would know if I was dying." He said, sitting on a chair astride.
Ulquiorra spun suddenly before vomiting black mucus on the ethereal floor. Grimmjow just had time to scrape his chair on the floor further away.
"Oh! Fuck me! You don't feel well?"
Ulquiorra stared at the floor again. It was an immaculate white. Interesting.
"Something is wrong with me and you."
Ulquiorra said with a monotonous voice.
"You were stabbed and poisoned?"
"How do you know that?"
"I was here alone. I was wounded."
"Oh!"
"But then you are here now… It means you are wounded too."
"I don't remember…"
"I am the one supposed to always remember…"
He was interrupted by a feral groan in the distance. It's like a horde of predators were waiting outside. Grimmjow turned toward the noise, annoyed.
"What was that?"
"The primitive beasts are fighting…"
"What?"
"The manifestations of Pantera and Murcielago enraged because they want to be unleashed. It seems they are naturally against the bond."
Ulquiorra played with his collar. Grimmjow sat there, dumbfounded. That could be an explanation! It was good to know their hatred transcended planes of existence.
"Well, you seem to know where we are, at least. I don't know what this is… I want to get out."
"I just told you. Intercambio Cognitiva. We are sharing the Bond. I am the first Link. It seemed I took over for that person. "
"The first link? Can you be any more cryptic and annoying?"
"The Sire. The Lead. The Primo Lorde."
"Forget what I just said? I don't want to know. I wanna barf."
"I should be the one asking you. You were just an adjuchas before and not a good one. You mated with the Shrimp?"
"The shrimp."
"The one who shrank sizes. She was just… Promising at one point in time. But Nnointra broke her. Miserable with ostentatiously mediocre fraccions? How degenerated can you be?" Ulquiorra said, his head tilted to the side.
In one leap, Grimmjow grabbed him by the collar, lifting him at once.
"What did you say I did? I did it to save her! She got her powers back, but they were unstable. So I did what I have to do to ensure her future. I saved her."
Ulquiorra tilted his gaze at a weird, unnatural angle.
"A selfless act. I see."
Grimmjow frowned. No. It was pretty selfish. He absolutely loves the feel of her leaning over him when she was her old self. There was nothing selfless about it. It was selfish. It was insane how selfish he was.
" I see. You have feelings for her?" Ulquiorra said matter-of-factly, locking eyes with Grimmjow.
"I'm going to punch you!" Grimmjow growled, doing the exact opposite.
"You are infatuated with her?"
"Says the guy following a human-like a dog."
Ulquiorra sat down again, staring in the distance with indifference. He really didn't care either way. That was their problem. As for Orihime, this was a matter better left undiscussed.
"I don't care. It's not really important anyway. This has nothing to do with the bond."
"How convenient! See, I don't care about your bond! I care about getting out of here since I don't want to share anything with you, believe me. I don't even know why I am here. Why you of all people have to be the lead?"
"Survival mode. Cámara de dolor. The chamber of Sorrow. It means we were so mortally wounded we needed to come back here to heal. We use the bond as a way to maintain the integrity of our souls and relieve the stress in our bodies. That's the way of the Vasto Lorde. We can train here but not annihilate each other. This is an asylum of sorts. It seemed mating with a powerful one, even a damaged one, did the trick for you. You share blood in your Hueco Centro. You share strength. Your mind are connected in ways nobody can imagine."
" A Vasto Lorde?"
"What I always was… What you are now… despite you… not shedding…"
"Shedding?"
" The mask… It has to go. It's unbecoming of our rank."
"You…"
"It takes longer for people like you."
"I don't understand anything you're saying. A Vasto Lorde… Me…I wanted to…Believe me, I tried. I Killed a couple of motherfucker for that crown. I never could achieve it."
" Like we pointed out, Your act was selfless, devoid of confusion, and possible regrets. It's rare but not unheard of. A selfless act of love or sacrifice… Murder, Cannibalism, Breeding or Mating, can engender a Vasto Lorde. Granted, it's not a state easily achieved, and our ranks depleted greatly over the years. I can see you still have a lot to learn, and this will not come easy to you. Yet, I am bound to help you get there before I passed."
Grimmjow blushed for some unknown reasons. That sounded enticing an idea to have Ulquiorra trained him.
"Shedding is the vivid testament of the change of your heart."
"My heart… You…" It sounded deliciously sensual. Grimmjow frowned. That was so not the point.
"Why are you talking like that?" He said.
Ulquiorra blinked, like coming out of a reverie.
"This is the way I always talk."
"Nope, you're like proper and… all-wise. All quiet-like. What's wrong with you?" Grimmjow said.
"You're an idiot, and you're trash."
"That's more like you, fucker! Fuck you! Fuck this bullshit! I'm out of here!"
Grimmjow spun around frantically. The room had no doors. He dropped a bead of sweat.
"The fuck! Why are you so nice?"
"You share the bond. I am the first. I should show by example."
"The first what? Again? What's that nonsense? You're starting to piss me off again. I'm telling you."
Grimmjow frowned before nodding slowly.
"Fuck me!"
"Your transformation is uncomplete, Grimmjow. You and Nel are not ready. I am starting to think our weaknesses may have something to do with Aizen experimenting on us. Since my father was strong enough to call everybody at all times."
"Your father."
"Yes, he left me in charge when he passed. I don't know where to start? What to do? We don't exactly have a king anymore. We don't have a kingdom to protect."
"Whatever you say, I'm not helping Aizen."
"I'm not helping Aizen, either. Now that he remembered what he did."
Grimmjow was not listening. He turned to Ulquiorra once more.
"What happened if I die? What happened if this doesn't work?"
"You know what happened."
"I didn't do it so she can die, dickhead! I don't want her to die! That was the whole point!"
"Paz died slain by a shinigami with long ebony hair."
"Which one?"
"I don't know."
"Despite not being defeated by the leader of the mutiny, scarring the man on his forehead with his claws, Mammongi had to follow her. They left me behind." Ulquiorra said with an unusual sorrowful voice.
Grimmjow paused.
"They killed our King. They killed Paz Schiffer. They killed Mammongi. They killed our soldiers and destroyed our army. They killed the Quincies."
"Your mother's name was Paz?" Grimmjow asked.
Ulquiorra smirked, almost proud.
"She was also known as the Collector."
"Fuck, the Collector! The real 'Collector.' She was in charge of leading the "cattle" to Jigokucho. At the time where Jigokucho was our giant pantry. This is the kind of story; old hollows tell the youth to make them green with envy. You're talking about a legendary time when the food was plentiful in Hueco Mundo."
"Yes, I was young. Naïve. I didn't see the war coming. There was the Council of Vasto Lorde… The King… His children…"
"Hueco Mundo was like the capital of the Spirit World. The Glorious City of the Dead. What happened ?"
Ulquiorra frowned.
"I don't remember it all. I remembered only wandering in the desert."
"Who were the shinigamis?"
"I don't know."
"What happened to the King? Is he really dead?"
"I don't know."
"Where are the King's children?"
"I don't know."
"What happened to us when they killed the King?"
"I don't know."
"Is there even something you know for sure?"
"You're an ape. I don't know why Odelschwanck accepted you as her mate. She could have chosen anyone, but she chose you? She seemed like a wise creature. She was wise to reject Nnointra's vulgar advances. What's gotten into her?"
"I was the one who proposed, you asshole!"
"You intimidated her?"
"No."
"You intimidated her fraccions?"
"No!"
"She doesn't remember you intimidated her or her fraccions? "
"You're pushing it?"
"I don't get it."
"Of course, you wouldn't, you're stalking a human. Let's talk about that."
"You're stalking the boyfriend of that human. What makes you mighty?" Ulquiorra groaned, annoyed.
"Professional curiosity only. I'm doing my job being evil."
"Our job was not to be evil! Evil is a meager weak concept. We are above it. We helped pushed the Wheel of this Reality. We made this world possible. Grow up!"
"Yo, even in my dreams, you're an asshole, Ulquiorra."
Ulquiorra smirked.
"There it is. What's with the smirk?"
He shrugged.
"And the shrug? It's a nightmare. I'm never gonna wake up. This is hell, right? I'm dead. This is how I pay my due to Society. This whole bond thing is just a big bag of bullshit."
"I don't like to repeat myself."
"How long are we supposed to stay here? Is time passing by at the same rates outside? Oh! Right? Is it possible to kill each other here? Is it possible to die of boredom?"
Ulquiorra crossed his legs impatiently, shifting position on his chair so he can face the wall.
"You're not going to answer any more questions?"
The brunet remained silent.
"Really? That's it?! Fuck you, Ulquiorra!"
It's the last thing he remembered of that strange, surreal conversation he had with Ulquiorra before he got torn from that place. Air feeling his lungs with the sensation of drowning. Grimmjow exhaled at last and coughed. He inhaled again, his chest burning. His mind was still drifting between space and time. He could see Nel in the lab with Tres. He could see Ulquiorra… fall in a giant backyard in the living world. That was odd. They had been talking just a minute ago. He heard Tia's laughter from before the collapse. The collapse. He knew about the Collapse. How did he… Well, he just had that weird conversation with Ulquiorra. How could he still be here but not... here. He wished it made sense. What was he doing here? In the throne room, they got caught and surprised by that Koshinko asshole.
Grimmjow vaguely felt fingers massaging his chest in a circle. He was dead, and this felt like Heaven. So warm. So safe. Her hair fell on his nose, its soft caress, tingling his Hierro. Yet, he couldn't move a muscle.
"Come back, please, Grimmy! Open your eyes!"
He was there. He was here.
"Give me some room. He is stuck in the Camara de dolor, drifting. It's the poison."
"What do we do?"
"We guide him back."
Cold, wet fingers massaged his temples firmly. Without opening his eyes, he had a clear vision of Tia Harribel standing inches from him. At last, he heard what she was saying.
"This way."
Grimmjow pivoted. She disappeared again. He hesitated.
"If I die, you die."
Nel? He turned quizzically. Tia? Ulquiorra? Anybody out there?
Tia reappeared before him, and he jumped, startled.
"I cannot maintain myself here… It's too difficult. Come this way. Come back, Grimmjow."
Nel's tongue tickled his, and he felt every cell in his body regenerate at this simple touch. He could recognize the fresh glue she called her saliva, eyes closed. Except it was replaced with something thicker with a more pungent metallic taste. He squeezed his eyelids open to no avail. The liquid traveled directly to... his missing soul. He felt complete. Satiated for the first time in his life. He latched on it, suckling like a baby. He stretched out his arms, suddenly grabbing a handful of turquoise hair blindly. He opened his eyes suddenly, realizing he was biting on her wrist. He was drinking her blood. He groaned. He couldn't stop. He wanted more. Black tears streamed down her cheeks. Her Hierro ethereal white, her mask was eroding. She silently nodded her consent. He reveled in the vision she represented, leaning over him. It tasted so perfect like a missing part of him. Tia pushed Nel away.
"Do not drain her, brother."
She held out her own wrist. After a tiny hesitation, he tore into a wrist savagely.
"We will need our strength. There is much work to do." She said.
Nel stared at him with teary eyes.
He finally let go of Tia to catch Nel's lips. She allowed their kiss to deepen, and he was holding against him with all he had, only breaking away to stroke Tia's shoulder. Nel straightened up then wiped her tears with the back of her hand. He opened his eyes at last... Tres. The old Tres. The current Tres. Were they all in Hell? Was this Heaven?
He scanned his surroundings.
"I reckon you were not alone in the Camara de dolor…"
"Ulquiorra… I saw Ulquiorra…" He was breathless, still licking Nel's neck in between explanations.
Tia was staring at the couple with an air of indifference. She was didn't seemed to be troubled by their newfound level of intimacy or embarrassment by this open display of affection. She was simply observing.
He, Grimmjow Jaggerjacques, was alive. A chill ran down his neck. Damn, he was literally frozen. Nel straightened to accept the blankets that Harribel was handing. She put them on Grimmjow's shoulders. He traced the tears on her cheeks with the tip of her index finger.
"Gnat?"
"I was so scared. I was so… sad. It felt like something was tearing in me."
She wiped her tears again. She couldn't stop. Until then, Grimmjow never suspected that an Espada could cry this much. Hearing some movements behind him, he turned. Tōshirō Hitsugaya lay on the ground, face down, trapped in an ice sarcophagus that he must have erected himself. The whole room was trapped in ice.
He hadn't felt the bastard's presence. Grimmjow didn't even have time to savor his surprise; the ground hid under his feet. In a blink, he crashed into the doors of the banquet hall with phenomenal violence. As he glided down to the floor, he saw a dagger blade sticking out of Hitsugaya's chest. The young captain dropped a curse. He closed his eyes for a second and opened them just as Hitsugaya collapsed face down. Grimmjow tried to sit up, realizing that he didn't really have the strength. The walls rippled around him. He crawled painfully on the ground, almost blindly. The blade that had left Hitsugaya's chest gently caressed his carotid artery. He was getting his ass kicked by a second-rated shinigami swine. He really wanted to punch someone.
Koshinko stood over him, quite satisfied with himself.
"I really deserved to be made, Captain!"
Grimmjow tried to get up in vain. An opaque film veiled his pupils. He did not even feel the ground gradually crystallize under his fingers. He continued to make desperate efforts to get up. He needed to get up, call Nel… No, not call Nell.
" I present to you my zanpakutō, Cain. His Shikai has the power to paralyze and kill any enemy in 3 hours."
Paralyzed, had he said? A bunch of BS, he was fine. He was going to choke that guy to death three times, at least before he really eat him. With a grunt, though, Grimmjow stopped fighting and started to convulse on the ground, the foam covering his purple lips.
In the distance, he vaguely heard "Cockroach" and "Ant" rush into battle. But while he was seized by the Hyourinmaru's Shikai, the world faded like a mirage before his eyes. It was as if a leaden rod had fallen on him. The ice trapped his chest. He stopped breathing—Survival mode. We're in Survival mode.
Back to the present, he realized something was missing.
"Cockroach ... Ant ..."
Nel burst into tears, shaking her head. She wouldn't stop crying.
" Nel…"
She shook her head, frantically.
"They're… You mean…"
He remembered they were one step behind them, and they rushed into battle. But he told them to run. He told them to run.
"They are… You mean, that's it for them?"
Tia nodded.
She did not mean they were dead trying to save his skin. Was she serious? These big idiots couldn't have done something so stupid? Why would they do this to Nel? Didn't they know they wouldn't stand a chance? Why?
Nel answered his unspoken question, her voice shivering.
"I ordered them too. They did it because I ordered them too." She said in a breath.
Nel buried her face between her legs, which she had brought against her chest. Grimmjow watched her without finding anything to say. She was kidding, right? She didn't do that? If you die, I die. He remembered that stupid oath he made her do. He remembered just a couple of years ago; it didn't seem like such a big deal. He couldn't even imagine what the loss of her fractions meant to her. When he lost his own, he just felt as alone as before. It had been a return to square one. But nothing had really changed for him. The desire to fight had remained ... His anger had remained ... What was left of Nel?
With a stroke of her sword, Tia split Hitsugaya's sarcophagus in half. Slowly she turned him over and massaged his ki points. Little by little, like Grimmjow before him, Hitsugaya started breathing again.
" With his remaining resources, Hitsugaya Tōshirō launched a final counterattack. As the ice slows the circulation of life fluids, blood, and reishi, the effects of Koshinko Geren's poison could be greatly reduced. Without it, it is clear that the poison of this shinigami would have taken you both." Tia commented coldly.
Nel kept her head down, sprawled on the floor. Tia coldly continued to explain the situation.
"However, we arrived too late for Dondochakka Bilstin and Pesche Guatiche. Tia finished. We couldn't stop the enemy either. It seems there was a hostage. We do not know what happened to her. But the machine ... The machine ... by Szayel Apporro Granz ...
Grimmjow was no longer listening. The blood wasn't always rushing in the direction of his brain. He didn't take his eyes off Nel. She suddenly looked up. What was left of Nel? Grimmjow crawled slowly toward. What was left of her? It was in the reflection of her eyes. It was him he was seeing. He was the only thing she got left. He almost died on her. For the first time in his existence as an Espada ... No, for the first time in his existence as a Hollow, he regretted "being alive" if only because he knew that it was indirectly the cause of her tears. She was perfectly stupidly happy before she met him, running around this castle, playing games of tag. He was the one who brought her into this mess.
Yes. All his years of serving Aizen, serving his own cause, fighting for an ideal he didn't even believe in, fighting to be the last, the first, the strongest, the king ... To fight for silence... To subdue the rage ... She brought him peace. How did he reward her?
Grimmjow Jaeggerjacques had never regretted once having inflicted pain and suffering on others.
Never.
Except he was contemplating his reflection in her eyes… Her eyes were slowly shifting from utter stupor to anger and vengeance. He stroke her cheek softly. He needed to make this right. He will make this right. It was a powerful sound that startled them both the sound of his mask shattering on the ground. Grimmjow was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings; he let go of his zanpakutō, which he hadn't even realized he kept in his hand this whole time. The zanpakutō, which had always been until then his one and only companion.
He placed Pantera on the ground and held Nel close to his Hueco Centro instead.
[1] A demonic kido technique of the highest level, which allows the user to outsource and extract reishi from his immediate environnement.