She never imagined she'd be back here. No. It wasn't only that she didn't imagine it. She would have vehemently refused even the slightest inclination of ever coming back to this place. Yet here she was, ankle deep in frozen sands while scanning the horizon for Las Noches.
"Why are we going back to Las Noches?" She shouted over the wind to the woman leading her. Bright green hair made her a beacon of color in the infinite dullness around them.
"There is something there that was left behind by Aizen that will help us track Grimm-Grimm." She replied.
Haruka flinched at the sound of Grimmjow's pet name. As hilarious as it would have been any other time, she couldn't help but wonder what the hell warranted such a familiarity. "He didn't say anything to you when he got here six months ago?"
Nel turned her head slightly, regarding the Shinigami carefully. "Like I already told you, he stormed in, went to his room, and then left again. I tried to talk to him, but he was colder than usual." She shrugged before turning ahead again. "Why, what did he tell you?" Her voice was playful and teasing.
"That he had some business here he had to take care of." She returned, careful not to give too much detail. While Ichigo had appeared friendly with her, she still had no idea who this Arrancar was.
An amused chuckle reached her despite the howl of the wind. "What's so funny?" She scowled at the beauty in front of her.
"Of the three of us, he was the last one I'd expect to do something so foolish." The arrogance in her tone caused Haruka to shift uncomfortably.
"Foolish?"
"Falling in love with a Shinigami."
Haruka's cheeks flushed instantly as her voice stammered. "He's not in love with me! Why would you say something like that!?"
"Well you love him, don't you?" She turned, her brow quirked curiously as she examined the violet haired woman. "Why else would you come to a place like this for a beast like him?"
"He's not a beast." Haruka's surprised look quickly deteriorated into a glare. "And I do care about him. That's why I'm here. I never knew the man to lie so the fact that he didn't come back tells me something or someone is stopping him." A thought occurred to her then. Someone might be stopping him. Someone like a powerful Arrancar or two.
Her eyes locked onto Nel skeptically. If anyone existed in Hueco Mundo strong enough to hinder Grimmjow, it would be an ex-Espada. Now she wondered if she had just gotten herself into a heap of trouble. But to know for sure, she would have to get into Las Noches and that would require her to continue to follow Nel.
"You care about him, but you don't love him?" Nel continued to tease.
"My relationship with Grimmjow is none of your business." Haruka snapped.
"It's dangerous, you know, to fall for a broken soul." She replied, her voice going sad. "We aren't like you. Our suffering will haunt us for an eternity. That's why we belong here. Just because Aizen made us more like you, doesn't fix that."
"Well if I can ease that suffering, even a little, then it will be worth any struggle I went through to get here." Haruka declared quietly.
"Your righteousness is admirable. Foolish, but still admirable." A small, surprised smile pulled at Nel's lips.
"It's not righteousness. It's called compassion and it's something you Hollows forgot about long ago. Hopefully with the return of your humanity, you can regain some of your empathy." Haruka sneered as she stormed passed her and in the direction of Las Noches. The buildings were now visible on the horizon. While the image brought forth a sensation of dread, the obvious devastation to Aizen's old stomping ground eased some of her anxiety and made it easier for her to remember that he was no longer there.
They continued moving, never seeming to get any closer to the large structures in the distance. She had forgotten how endless all of this was. It felt like hours were dragging by, her feet growing tired and sore. It was getting harder and harder to push away the memories that lived here.
"Why here, Aizen-sama?" She asked, perfectly ignorant.
"This is the only place where we can safely continue our practices. If you wish to heal Hamasaki-san, then we must do so in a place where our methods will not be questioned." He explained while leading his group of loyal followers to the palace he had recently claimed.
"I wish Soul Society would understand…" She trailed off, her eyes scanning the distant horizon, observing the chaos of warring Hollows.
"I know." He affirmed. "Perhaps one day we will help them see."
"Thank you, Aizen-sama, for not giving up on him." She said.
He smiled, warm and inviting, like he had so many times before; pleased at her utter obedience. "It is you, Haruka-chan, who has not given up on me."
"Hey! Are you paying attention?" A high pitched tone dragged Haruka out of her memory. She shook her head in an attempt to wipe away the visual. Her hand pressed against her face, shielding her eyes from the past.
"Yea." She managed to grunt out the word, her voice strained with emotion.
"You're going the wrong way. It's this way to the entrance." Nel repeated as she pointed off to the other side. It was a side entrance into the massive kingdom, one that only residents of Las Noches would know about. It was one that she was purposely trying to forget about.
"Right. I forgot." She lied.
"How long has it been since you've been here?" Nel questioned.
"Not long enough." Haruka grumbled.
"You came with Aizen?" She continued to prod.
Haruka sighed discreetly, not wanting to open old wounds. "Yes." She glanced at the woman, who looked oddly childish in her demeanor and constant questioning. Before Nel had a chance to continue her interrogation, Haruka turned the tables. "How long have you known Grimmjow?"
Nel tilted her head back nonchalantly, digging to the back of her mind for the memories. "Since Aizen brought him to Las Noches, but we disregarded each other. It wasn't until Aizen was defeated and this place was left to the Espada remaining did we communicate. Halibel took the reigns, though. Grimm-Grimm was focused on training and kept to himself mostly. He was usually in a bad mood."
"That's unsurprising." She smirked, suddenly feeling a vast emptiness at picturing him in his typical uncaring way.
Nel regarded her closely, watching her reaction. "You miss him."
Startled, Haruka looked up at her. "Yea."
"Me too. He was fun to play hide and seek with." She smiled wide as Haruka's smirk distorted into a frown.
"Are you close to him?" She couldn't help herself, the jealousy pulling the words from the back of her throat.
"Maybe." She drew out playfully. "Would it upset you if we were?"
Haruka turned away, burying her annoyance and the uncomfortable sensations twisting her stomach before shrugging nonchalantly, "no."
Nel's playful enthusiasm dimmed at the half-hearted response and she continued alongside the purple-haired Shinigami.
"And what about Ichigo? You seem close to him." Haruka continued to prod.
"He saved my life. How much closer can you get to a person?" Her voice had turned sullen.
Haruka stilled in her movements as Nel continued to walk. When she noticed Haruka was no longer following she stopped and turned, a questioning look lifting her brow. "Grimmjow saved mine." She stated. "And I think I might have saved his as well."
"There is value in that, especially from someone like Grimm-Grimm. He wouldn't bat an eyelash for me even if I was fighting for my last breath. The fact he did that for you says a lot." She remarked. Haruka swore she saw a hint of envy in the set of her stare, but perhaps she was only projecting.
"All the more reason for me to find him." She stated concretely before moving again, Nel taking a spot at her side.
Eventually, they arrived at the hidden entrance tucked between jagged stone and overhanging cliffs. The entry was ominous at best, just as she had remembered. "Are there still Arrancars living here?" She asked as they entered.
"Yea, but they won't bother us. Halibel keeps them in line." Nel replied.
The place was as she remembered, a labyrinth of sorts; one that she hadn't taken enough time to memorize, but her guide was well acquainted enough with this place to lead them through several hidden passageways to cut the journey in half. It was once they were in the main hall that everything came back with a vengeance.
She watched in awe as Aizen sliced down another group of Hollows effortlessly. It made her shamefully aware of her lack of ability, but she wasn't here to cut down Hollows in a foreign land. She was here to heal the hearts of infected Shinigami.
"Welcome to your new home." Aizen announced as he moved up the long staircase. At the very top stood a broken throne that was once the seat of a very old Vasto Lorde. Aizen slid his hand along the armrest just before taking a seat in his new throne. "I am now god of this realm."
The statement had taken Haruka off guard. She never knew Aizen to be arrogant enough to stake such a claim.
"Now bow to your new god."
"Aizen-sama will bring us justice." Tosen was the first to lower his head, followed quickly by the slippery Gin Ichimaru.
"My, my, you better listen to your new god, Haruka-chan." Gin purred from beside her. Apprehension and fear suddenly overwhelmed her as her gaze shifted back to Aizen who had grown especially cold and calculating.
"Is there something wrong, Haruka-chan?" Aizen asked, a dangerous undertone carrying his words.
"N-no, Aizen-sama." She replied before quickly falling to her knees and bowing deeply. "I will follow you until my death, Aizen-sama. For everything you've done for Kenji, it's the least I can do."
A smile tugged at his lips as he looked down upon her. "I'm so very glad to hear it, Haruka-chan."
"Hey, quit zoning out!" Nel demanded as she grasped Haruka's arm. Haruka looked at her dumbfounded, as if she had just traveled through time to this battered throne room with this rowdy Arrancar.
"Nel-sama!" A new voice joined them, coming from a side hallway. "Oh, Nel-sama! I'm going to find you!"
"Eek! It's Pesche! Come on, we have to hide!" Nel exclaimed while dragging Haruka towards another door.
"What, who's Pesche?" Haruka sprinted with Nel through the door and into the darkened room.
"Shhh." She hushed her while pressing her palm to her lips.
"I know you're here somewhere, Nel-sama!" Haruka held her breath as they heard the muffled call of Pesche through the door. As his footsteps started trailing off, she sighed with a bit of relief.
It was then she noticed the obnoxiously loud breathing in her ear. "Do you have to breath so loudly?" She whispered harshly.
"Sorry," was the response she got, but it wasn't Nel's voice she heard. Haruka and Nel turned their heads slowly, the darkness making it nearly impossible to see, but it was very obvious that someone else was in the room with them. "Isn't this a great hiding spot, Nel-sama?" The voice asked as a creepy large hand thrusted forward between them.
The startled shriek that came from Haruka's lips erupted throughout the palace, echoing through the hallways. An equally loud shout was added to that from the intruder. Nel covered her ears while bursting out into laughter. "Dondochakka, you found us!" She giggled.
Suddenly the door swung open, revealing a skinny Hollow with unruly blonde hair and a mask that encompassed his face. "Why is it you always win this game, Dondochakka!?" He whined.
"Game? You were playing a game!?" Haruka shrieked at the three as she pushed her way out of the cramped closet. Nel followed casually while Dondochakka rolled out in a heap.
"We always play hide and seek. It's Nel-sama's favorite game!" Dondochakka announced.
Haruka grimaced, her patience for these Arrancars waning. "Are you going to help me or not? Because right now I'm just about ready to go find Grimmjow myself."
"Grimmjow? What's a Shinigami like you got to do with Grimmjow?" Yet another newcomer joined, no doubt looking for the source of the hair raising scream.
Haruka twisted around, ready to shoot her glare at the next nuisance. She stopped suddenly, shock marring her features as she recognized the tall blonde. Her face was covered with the elongated neck of her shirt and her form was set in that typical uncaring, yet intimidating, posture. But what frightened Haruka more than all that, was her all encompassing reiatsu. It was powerful, more so than Grimmjow's, and she was showing it off on purpose. She was trying to threaten Haruka.
She tilted her head slightly, curiously observing the Shinigami intruder. "Well? Are you going to answer me or should I just cut you down now?"
Haruka shifted back, taking a defensive stance instantly. She remembered Halibel, an all imposing force that stood by Aizen's side. She knew from Grimmjow that the 3rd ranked Espada had survived, though she was not privy to the circumstances surrounding it, or her obvious new position as leader of Hueco Mundo. "I'm looking for Grimmjow." She said simply.
"I am well aware. My question was why?" Halibel stated, noting the girl's nervous disposition.
"She's Grimm-Grimm's girlfriend." Nel purred from beside Haruka. "She misses him so she came to Hueco Mundo to find him."
Amusement flitted across Halibel's face for a breath of a second. "Girlfriend? Grimmjow?"
Nel giggled wildly as Haruka's face turned tomato red. "I don't see what's so funny about this." Haruka sneered.
"Perhaps because you don't know him as we do." Halibel countered.
"No, I probably don't. But you also don't know him as I do. Our relationship is no one's business but ours. So, are you going to help me or not?" Haruka said firmly, steadying her shake and straightening her posture.
Halibel crossed her arms and contained her massive reiatsu while looking up and down Haruka. She had heart, and for that she had to give her some credit. "Follow me." She turned and started walking towards a side hallway.
Haruka hesitated, surprised by the sudden change in attitude. "Come on, Ruki!" Nel laughed as she skipped towards Halibel.
"Ruki? It's Ruka! Gah, I mean Haruka!" She stuttered out before sprinting towards the two ex-Espada and her only means to finding Grimmjow.
The place was as big as she remembered, with long pointless hallways and countless rooms. She had followed Halibel's leisurely pace for what seemed like hours, navigating the in's and out's of the palace she had wished she had forgotten, until they finally arrived at what looked like some sort of control center. "I've never been here before." She mentioned.
Halibel looked at her curiously before turning back towards the monitors on the walls. "This was one of Aizen's control rooms. He would monitor everything that went on from Seireitei to the World of the Living to right here in Las Noches. He used special transponders to track our locations and special cameras to watch us and virtually everyone he found of use. Most of the cameras are useless now, being destroyed in the war, but the transponders still work." She explained as she pressed a few buttons on the control panel. "I failed to mention any of this to Grimmjow as I thought it would be important to keep track of his antics. He tends to cause chaos wherever he goes." She mentioned idly while a small device raised out of the center console. She grabbed it and observed the tiny blinking lights.
"So you knew he was in the World of the Living?" She questioned.
"Yes, but I also knew he was in the care of Kisuke Urahara so I didn't pay much attention to whatever it was he was doing there. My concern is for Hueco Mundo and ensuring another war does not break out to destroy the very little we have left." She explained as she held out the device to Haruka. "This will take you to where he is. It won't tell you much more than that."
"That's all I need." Haruka took the small blinking tracker and looked up at Halibel. "Thank you."
"I doubt you'll be thanking me once you find him." She mentioned idly. "I've been sensing bursts of his reiatsu for months. I thought he was training again, but now that you're here looking for him…" She trailed off as Haruka's face paled. "Just don't be surprised when you end up dead."
"Jeez, Halibel-sama! Do you have to be so blunt?" Nel whined. "It will be ok, Ruki. We will find Grimm-Grimm and then we can all play hide and seek together! It will be fun!"
Halibel rolled her eyes before moving towards the exit, pausing for a moment, "Nel, you should show her to Grimmjow's quarters so she can rest before venturing out into the desert."
"That isn't necessary. I need to find him now." Haruka insisted.
"It isn't wise to travel through the desert in a state of exhaustion. The Hollows will eat you alive out there. Grimmjow has lasted this long. What's one more day?" She asked and Haruka paused.
"Come on, Ruki-chan! I'll show you his room." Nel insisted and Haruka felt powerless. Who was she to argue with two ex-Espada that could easily crush her at a moment's notice? She was in over her head.
So without another word, she allowed Nel to drag her down what felt like a few hundred more hallways until they found a desolate little wing of the palace. The destruction here was evident with several doors being crushed open by fallen debris on the opposite side. There were burn marks and deep gashes in the walls. The entire place looked ready to collapse. "Grimmjow stays here?"
"He likes being alone so he chose the area that would bring the least amount of attention." Nel mentioned casually.
A thought occurred to her then. "Pesche and Dondochakka, they are your fraccion aren't they?"
Nel turned to her and nodded. "They are more than just my fraccion. They are my family." She smiled, warmth emanating from her face. If it was one thing these Hollows did gain, it was a sense of kinship among their kind.
"And does Grimmjow have a fraccion?" She asked innocently.
Nel paused, taking time to think about her response. "I don't know too much about it as I was no longer in Las Noches when it happened, but Halibel told me he let his entire fraccion die."
Haruka stared in disbelief as Nel looked away. "He let them die?"
"In the beginning of the war, he went to the World of the Living with them and challenged the Shinigami there against Aizen's orders. They all died. As punishment, his arm was cut off and he was stripped of his rank." She explained.
A whisper of a memory came back to her in that moment. "I remember hearing gossip about the fearsome sexta Espada losing his arm and rank. Honestly, I hardly cared back then. We were all kept separated. After Aizen gave up on trying to turn Shinigami into Hollows, my days were spent staring at walls and healing injuries of low-ranked Arrancars." She shifted her gaze down the hallway, getting lost in a myriad of bad memories. "I left shortly after that time, anyway."
Nel glanced at her one last time before moving once again. "Come on, it's down here." She stopped at the last door on the left, jiggling the handle until it clicked. "He never did fix the lock." She smirked and then pushed open the door.
Inside was dark and cold. Nel fumbled around until she found a single candle situated on a rickety old desk. She lit it and then turned to Haruka who had halted at the door. "You can come in. I promise there are no monsters in here." She chuckled, earning a glare from her temporary companion. "Make yourself at home. I'll go find something for you to eat. Then after we've gotten some rest, we can set out to start our search."
Haruka stepped inside, trying to comprehend all she was learning about her mysterious lover. "He really stayed here?" Her apartment was a luxurious pad in comparison to this. As uninviting as it was, there was one thing that comforted her immensely. Tiny whispers of his reishi were all over this room, the highest concentration being on his pile of pillows and blankets he clearly had made his bed out of. It had been so long since she last felt it, she had almost forgotten what it was like to be all wrapped up in him.
She crawled into the pile of bedding, reveling in the feel of his reishi buzzing along her skin. It was as if it clung to her, familiar with her own reishi. She sighed deeply while nuzzling into a pillow, actually relaxing for the first time since coming here. "You are wasting your time." A familiar pessimistic tone echoed in her mind.
"I have little choice. I'm going to need help finding him. Halibel is right. He will be fine for one more day."She mumbled on a tired voice.
"You misunderstand me."
"Ah, right; because you don't agree with anything that I'm doing here." Haruka rolled her eyes while pulling her zanpakuto free and placing it on a pillow near her head.
"He will not be happy to see you here."
"Well I guess that's just too bad for him." Haruka sputtered while stretching tired limbs.
"You will regret coming here."
"It wouldn't be the first time, Dairokkan." She teased. "You should be a little more appreciative of the man who freed you. He needs us. I won't abandon him."
Silence followed. It was almost enough for her to fall into a blissful slumber if at that moment an obnoxiously loud Arrancar didn't make her presence known.
"Ruki-chan! I brought you some spirit food! The best we have! Eat up!" Nel demanded as she marched over to Haruka's new slumbering grounds.
"Thanks, Neliel-sama." She replied politely.
"Call me Nel! No need to be so formal." she said as she sat beside her, handing her what Haruka could only guess was a fruit.
"Nel." She said awkwardly before sinking her teeth into the sweet, juicy morsel. Silence followed for several moments before Haruka felt the urge to break it. "So what do you think he's doing out there?"
Nel glanced at her and shrugged. "Who knows?"
"Well what do you Hollows do around here?" She asked, slightly annoyed.
"We train, we play, we eat, we kill each other. Really not so different from you." She mentioned.
Haruka rolled her eyes before taking another hefty bite of fruit and then sighed. Nel eyed Haruka as she finished the last of her snack and collapsed back into the mass of bedding. "Thanks, Nel." She mentioned as her eyes slid closed. "For helping me find him."
Nel pushed herself to a stand. "You're welcome. See you in a few hours."
Haruka gripped her zanpakuto tightly, allowing herself to fall into a restless doze as she heard the door click shut.