Chapter 5: Comfort

Ichigo's words really had no intended reaction beforehand. She hadn't planned on any sort of reaction at all actually, so when she was asked more questions about who this 'Halibel' was, she was more than a little caught off guard. The first questions coming from Kisuke.

"And who, pray tell, is this Halibel anyway?"

Then her father.

"What exactly do you mean when you said she was the only good thing there?

Then Renji.

"What exactly did she do to make you want to say that?"

Then Rukia.

"I've never heard of her before, who is she?"

And finally a narrowed eyed Yoruichi. She thought about it for a moment. A woman that Ichigo is reminded of when she looks at her? Not many people look like Yoruichi, especially an arrancar, but there was one that she could vaguely think of at this moment.

"Wait a sec. Did she have tan skin and blonde hair, Ichigo?"

That was the question that Ichigo could genuinely answer without a moments hesitation.

"Yes. She does." Ichigo answered honestly. This had the result that she did not expect. Yoruichi went wide eyed and jaw dropped at hearing this information coming out of Ichigo's mouth. The woman that she had spent so many nights remembering as the one who stole Ichigo away from her, from everyone, was the one that Ichigo considered a friend? How? That was the question that Yoruichi kept asking herself at that moment. How could Ichigo really think this way about the woman who stole her from her home and took away his freedom? How?

Ichigo and everyone else noticed Yoruichi's stunned and horrified look and didn't know why that was important information to know about this 'Halibel' woman. They watched as Yoruichi stumbled back and sat on a nearby rock as she continued to stare straight at Ichigo.

"Yoruichi." Kisuke started. "What's wrong?"

Yoruichi looked to her best friend and stammered at first. "That woman- she was the one who stole Ichigo that night."

First Year In Las Noches

Ichigo laid in her bed, shaking like a stray leaf in the wind. She was so cold despite being given this warm and comfortable bed and sleeping in it for almost a year now. Despite that, she was always cold. Ichigo didn't know why Aizen was being so courteous to her. He actually cared for her in his own sick and pretty grotesque way. The way he had her trained in her powers was brutal and very nerve racking to say the least. Her first training session ever was with Halibel and Aizen ordered her not to go easy on the newly transformed strawberry, but also to not kill her either. Halibel reluctantly did as she was ordered and showed no mercy as she destroyed Ichigo in their spar. After a few weeks of that, Ichigo was able to adapt and at least figured out how to properly use sonido to escape Halibel's water faster. Ichigo may have been a fast learner when she was training for the invasion to the soul society and even when training to learn Bankai, but this was a whole different level. Back then, she at least had a mentor to tell her what she needed to learn and how much time she had, but not here. Here, she was just beaten down by Halibel until she learned something new. Unfortunately for her, there was no true goal for her at this point. Even if she were to attain some kind of power, what would she do? Everyone here has been ordered to ensure that she is not permitted to leave under no circumstances. Her power was slowly developing to the point of being able to use some hollow techniques, though at her current state now, she still can't even put a dent in a simple arrancar. The pain and hopelessness of the situation had already been well evident to her. From the way Aizen was treating her and comforting her at times was truly jarring to her. Why would that man, who is as ruthless as he is cunning, go out of his way to check on her progress everyday? It really made no sense to her. He was still a cruel man for having one of his espada to use full force to train her, but he would still show that he cared for her in some way. Ichigo didn't get it at all.

As she lay in her bed, still freezing as always, she heard the faint click of the front door opening. Tensing up, Ichigo started to breathe erratically as she remembered the last dozen times someone entered her room while she slept. Those male arrancar were ruthless in taking her any way that they wanted to those times. They knew that she was far too weak to really do anything to stop them, and this was the only time that Halibel wasn't around her too much. As Ichigo curled up into a ball under the sheets, praying that it was only three of them this time and not the whole bunch, Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut as fear grew by the seconds.

There was a weight that was felt to her on the side of the bed. Ichigo could do little to prepare for what she knew was going to happen, but before anything could happen, she felt a warmth grab hold of her. She didn't know what it was or who was causing it, but she knew one thing that actually mattered right now. It was warm. The first warmth she had this entire time and a feeling of safety and security for once. Ichigo opened her eyes a few seconds after her breathing became steady and turned her head to see the calm teal eyes of the last person she thought she'd ever see like this.

"Halibel?" Was all she could let out in her current state.

Halibel was laying next to her, her arms wrapped gently around the cold girl's waist. Comforting her. She wasn't in her usual arrancar outfit. As a matter of fact, she wasn't wearing anything. She was completely nude and yet she didn't care. Even her mask fragment wasn't there, letting Ichigo see her beautiful face like the times they trained. Ichigo felt her large and firm breast pressed gently onto her back. The soft melons giving her some sort of warmth that she wasn't accustomed to. The third espada also placed her long, toned and smooth leg over Ichigo's and held onto the orange haired teen possessively. Yet her grip wasn't painful to Ichigo. As a matter of fact, it was very comforting, but more importantly, warm.

Halibel noticed the look Ichigo was giving her and leaned in until they were practically touching each other. Without saying a word, Halibel let her lips glide over Ichigo's. The color contrast was apparent as the arrancar's caramel lips came into contact with Ichigo creamy ones. To say that the teen was shocked was an understatement. She was completely caught off guard by this notion and wanted to part away as quickly as possible, but something stopped her. Something inside of her told her that this was right. She didn't know why by any means, but for some reason she started to relax. Ichigo allowed herself to finally let go and bask in the first bit of comfort for her since being in this hellhole.

Halibel noticed that Ichigo was becoming more relaxed and deepened the kiss. Ichigo fully turned around to the woman and wrapped her arms around her neck softly. Halibel could feel herself and this girl's feelings growing and the passion as well. It was unbearable to the espada and she wanted more. She wanted to taste every nook and cranny of the strawberry in her arms.

They departed their lips for need of air before Ichigo laid her head down on Halibel's soft and warm bosom. This was the most comfortable time in her bed that she's had in her life to be honest. This first time she had ever felt someone so soft cuddled up towards her made her want to stay like this just for a little longer. Her mind went blank at her situation and just like that, she was fast asleep in Halibel's waiting arms.

Halibel looked down to Ichigo's sleeping form and smirked at how peaceful she looked. Without even thinking of the consequences of what Lord Aizen would do to her, Halibel gently kissed Ichigo's forehead and fell asleep as well next to her strawberry.

Monitor Room

Unbeknownst to the two, there was a certain pink haired espada was watching the whole intimate moment take place. All he did was smile sinisterly at the consequences that his 'fellow' espada would face once Aizen finds out.

I Know, Weird Way To End This Chapter, But I Thought A Little Bit Of Backstory Was Appropriate Right Now. The Next Chapter Will Have Everyone's Reactions To This Information.

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