/* Thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favorites! And also for your continued patience as I know biweekly updates feel like forever. The good news is I'm making decent progress on this and should have it finished soon! Then the updates should come quicker. For now, enjoy Chapter 3! */

Chapter 3 -

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Her companion asked for the tenth time.

"Once again, it's not what I want. It's what he wants." She sighed loudly in an attempt to convey her annoyance, but was blatantly disregarded as usual.

"Why do you have to do what he wants? Why not do what you want?"

Haruka felt a very profound headache coming on. "Because, Nel, sometimes life is about compromise and we all know what happens when Grimmjow doesn't get his way."

Nel pressed her pointer to her lips, her expression quizzical. "Grimm-Grimm tends to break things when he doesn't get his way."
"Yea, so it's better this way. I probably won't be of much use anyway." She grumbled.

"You don't give yourself much credit." Nel pointed out. "Are you saying that because you truly do not believe in your own skills or is it because that's what he believes?"

Haruka shot a glare at Nel, refusing to answer her. She had no idea what Grimmjow thought of her abilities at this point. He believed in her enough to let her take on Satomi and Haru by herself, but this was a whole different scenario. Whatever this Espada was that he was fighting, it was strong enough to send him into hiding and that should be enough to have her running.

"Let's just get back. I don't want to be here when those things show-" She was cut off by Nel's toned arm crossing over her chest. She looked up from the sands and instantly paled. In front of them, a row of those faceless creatures had appeared and more were popping up from the sands around them.

Nel pressed into Haruka, directing her back the way they came. "Run back to Grimmjow. Don't stop running until you reach him." She urged on a whisper. "I'll take care of these guys."

"You can't take them all by yourself." Haruka urged.

"They're here for you." She insisted as the things started stalking towards them.

"How do you know?" Haruka could feel the tremble as her grip wrapped around the hilt of her zanpakuto. Before she could get an answer, a deathly cold hand tangled around her ankle from the sands below. Haruka let out a frozen shriek while slicing at the hand. Dairokkan was just barely able to graze the hardened flesh, but it was enough for the creature to let her go.

"Run, Haruka!" Nel screamed desperately as she blocked the incoming monsters that were very obviously going for the purple-haired Shinigami.

She didn't waste anymore time. Using shunpo, she charged through the sands and back the way they came. She saw in horror as the Vasto Lordes continued to swarm her; an infinite army all dedicated to bringing her in. Then someone different appeared directly in front of her, hovering several inches above the ground. He was more human-like than any of the other creatures in Hueco Mundo, with dirty blonde hair, pointed facial features and a set of piercing dark eyes.

She hesitated, stopping within a few feet of him. "Good afternoon. My name is Zev and I'm going to need you to come with me."
Her face completely deteriorated as Zev's reiatsu exploded around him, his minions screeching in agony as they responded to their master's call.

She had no other choice now. "Void, Dairokkan."

Instantly he was filled with absolute dread. It was an automatic reaction upon sensing the frantic pulse of her released form. He vanished immediately, amplifying his sonido with as much of his reiatsu as he could. The sands exploded in waves as he went, flying into the air behind him.

"Stay alive, Ruka." He chanted in his head as he went, feeling her aura dim until it finally vanished. "Fuck!" He pushed himself harder, faster, until his legs went numb and his lungs burned. He finally arrived. A few corpses were littered around Nel's collapsed body, but Haruka wasn't anywhere.

"Nel!" He shouted angrily as he kicked his foot into her side, forcing her on her back. Her body was mangled, but she was still alive. "Nel, wake the fuck up!" He snarled.

She quivered, her face straining with pain as she woke. Slowly her eyelids lifted until her soft jade stare appeared. "Ruki." She gasped while trying to push herself up. "He took her."

"Where?" He demanded while grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. She cried out painfully. "Fucking where!?"

"Into the sands." She pointed to where she last saw the violet Shinigami, a small mound of sand had been disturbed and pointed to where they had gone.

"Fuck!" He roared while tossing her back to the ground. "I asked you for one fucking thing!"

"He's not going to kill her yet." Nel rationalized. "He's doing this to torture you. If you go rushing to her, then you won't stand a chance. We need Halibel's help for this."

"Fuck her, this is my fucking fight!" Grimmjow declared.

"It's not about who's fight it is anymore. Did you already forget who's life is at risk?" She prodded. "Are you going to throw her away for your pride? Like you did with your fraccion?" Grimmjow's reiatsu exploded, his anger overwhelming him and going straight for her throat. "He's too strong. I don't know how he managed to grow so powerful out here, but it's beyond what any of us has accomplished. At least with Halibel we will have a chance to save her."

He paused, clenched teeth inches from her face. "You want me to grovel at that bitch's feet?"

"You want to protect her, right? Well you've failed so far. This might be the time to try and be a little better at it."

"Fuck you. I'll get her back myself. I don't need you or Halibel!" He spat, completely volatile. Much to her chagrin, she watched as he raced towards the mound of sand and burst through it, chasing after the one light he had left.

Haruka groaned as she adjusted herself to the tight cell. She had suffered a fairly large gash to her side and another to her leg. Her injuries throbbed as she moved, trying to find a comfortable position.

"You may heal your injuries. I have not restricted the use of your kido." A familiar voice said from the other side of the room. Haruka looked up, her startled expression scanning the darkness for any signs of movement. "I am not going to hurt you. You understand that I had to defend myself when you came at me."

"What do you want with me?" She asked while trying to keep the shaky distortion out of her voice.

"Has he told you who I am?" He asked as he lit a candle settled on a table beside him. The dim light allowed for her to finally see him. Yellows and oranges danced across his sharp facial features. He sat in a makeshift chair, chiseled from rock and structured with bones almost artfully so. He was leaning back, his arms hanging casually over the sides of the chair. His dark eyes regarded her thoughtfully, analyzing every inch of her trembling form.

"Has he told you what he's done to me?" His voice was darker now, deadly even.

Haruka could feel the involuntary shake in her jaw. "N-no." She was frozen, her very bones quaking. Everything about this place felt raw, as raw as an open wound and as frightening as death itself.

"Don't be afraid. I told you I wouldn't harm you." He stated coldly and it only evoked more dread. "Heal your wounds."
"Where is my zanpakuto?" She demanded, her voice a bit stronger.

"I would have been happy to keep you united with your weapon, but you insisted on using it against me. So for now, it is by my side." He slid his hand down to the side of the chair and wrapped lanky fingers around the sword's sheath.

"Give her back." Haruka felt panic rise in the back of her throat, the sight of Dairokkan in the hands of an enemy draining the remaining color from her face.

"I am curious, Shinigami, as to why you are here in this wasteland." He raised the sword up so that his eyes could slide along each crevice, intimately examining it. Haruka felt her stomach twist, apprehension and disgust building.

"That's none of your business." She seethed and he smirked.

"I can see why he likes you. He always goes after things that challenge; for things he doesn't deserve." He remarked playfully.
Haruka fought hard against her own curiosity. She would not feed off of information from this creature. For all she knew it was nothing but lies. Yet, he was willing to talk to her. It was more than what Grimmjow would even offer her…

"How do you know him?" She asked, her voice low and cautious.

His eyes shifted, fleeing her zanpakuto to run along her slumped form. "Heal your injuries and I will tell you." He instructed.
Haruka swallowed hard. Her hands shook as she lifted them. Blazing blue lit up her fingertips as she ran them along raw, open flesh. She watched, as she had so many times before, as her skin knit itself back together inch by inch. Her capture adjusted, placing her zanpakuto gently on the table beside him and leaning forward slightly. His dark eyes absorbed the blue light, drinking it up. He continued to watch until the last bit of skin was perfectly smooth.

"Now tell me." She ordered, steadying her shake and attempting to at least look a little bit dangerous.

He smiled at her. Much to her surprise, it wasn't threatening or the slightest bit disturbing. It felt...genuine. "To him, I was nothing more than an assignment from Aizen. To prove himself and show his loyalty, he was to kill me and the woman I had taken into my care. He only half succeeded." His eyes moved to the table, focusing on a glass that his hand soon clasped around. It was filled with a deep red liquid that stained his lips as he sipped. A gentle clank echoed off the walls as he placed the cup back down. "He murdered my lover and tried to murder me."

Haruka's eyes widened and breath caught. "But he was told to by Aizen. It was Aizen's fault-"

"Do you always try to see the good in evil?" He asked outright.

Her gaze slid into a glare. "There is good and evil in everyone. He is finding the good in himself."

"I would have been inclined to at least entertain your argument if he hadn't come back here of his own volition to finish the job." He purred.

The shake returned to her entire body. It was a cold she could not ignore no matter how she tried. It moved along her skin as goosebumps and caused her lip to tremble. "He attacked you to protect me." She answered. "He thought you were going to come after me to get revenge."

"And I wonder how he came to that conclusion seeing as I never sought him out, not even once. I have never even threatened his life even after all he had done to me. Because, like you, I believed it was not truly his fault. He was doing simply what he was ordered to do under Aizen. I would have done the same thing." He stood up from his seat and approached Haruka's enclosure. "He stole someone dear from me. And I was going to forgive him for that. But he has shown his true colors. He's nothing but a blood thirsty beast."

"You're wrong." Haruka declared.

"Am I?" He asked on a whisper, his lips nearing the space between the bars. "Or did he just deceive you with his mouth?" The lock clanked loudly as he twisted it, the door freeing itself. Haruka's eyes remained fixed on him, anger and resentment pooling in her gut. "You're free to roam about this room. I will return in a few hours."

"What do you want from me?" She asked on a shaky voice as he turned towards the exit, grabbing Dairokkan on the way.

He stopped and slowly turned his head, just enough to regard her in his peripheral vision. "I want you to rest and recover both your body and mind." He continued moving, not waiting for a response or not expecting one. He pushed open the heavy set door, a bright light nearly blinding her before it closed once again. A rush of air swept by the candle and left her in darkness.

The harsh echo of grinding stone and subdued snarling filled his ears as he raced through the maze of caverns. It had been easy enough to blast through the small mound of sand where Haruka was last seen. It was much more challenging, however, to follow her scent. This place was massive and spoke to either Zev's determination or insanity at just how intricate this underground system was. It bothered him even more that he never discovered it. He would spend days at a time exploring Hueco Mundo and all it had to offer him after the Shinigami left it to waste away. How did he not find this place?

He paused at yet another fork, reaching out with Pesquia and attempting to find that pulsing purple reishi. Instead, he felt a near infinite sea of powerful reiatsu surrounding him on all sides. It baffled him. How the hell could Zev hide this much power right under their noses?

"Shit, this is going to be fucking impossible." He snarled before sprinting down the left hallway. He would have to find a glimmer of her presence somewhere. Why the hell else would Zev take her down here if all he was planning to do was kill her?

He paused as a sickening realization fell over him. What was he planning on doing with her?

"Damnit! Hang on, Ruka." He declared, his voice conveying his anxiety as he continued to race through the halls.

Hours had passed that she sat in the dark, huddled in the corner. At first she had attempted to find a way out, sliding her hands along cool stone for imperfections or weaknesses she could exploit with kido. When that had failed, she attempted going through the door, knowing full well it was locked but she had to try something. After struggling with it for at least fifteen minutes, she finally gave in. She needed to be careful how much energy she wasted trying to escape. She needed to be ready to fight him when he opened the door once again.

She just wasn't exactly sure how.

A broken sigh fell from her lips as she dropped her head to her knees. This all could have been avoided if she just stayed in the World of the Living. It didn't matter. She was kidding herself if she thought she really would be able to move on and forget him. Him and all his chaos and complexity and…everything she could possibly need in her life. A reminder that she was far from perfect, but she didn't have to be. He accepted her for what she was. But was the opposite true? Did he really come back here to finish off a Hollow he had so brutally attacked? Even after he slaughtered his lover?

The thought sent chills down her spine. It was a concrete reminder of what he was and what he was capable of. It wasn't that long ago that she and her brethren had called the Arrancars and Espada monsters, perhaps appropriately so. Even watching Nel not so much as flinch as she sliced through her own kind like they were nothing showed her true character. Were they all just a bunch of bloodthirsty beasts taken out of their element and given a human face?

The loud clank of the door opening startled her from her thoughts. "My, my, have you been sitting here in the dark this whole time? My apologies. I hadn't realized the candle went out." The sound of Zev's voice had her pushing to a stand and backing away, despite the sympathy. "You could have relit it yourself you know. I have no intentions of restricting your kido." He stated simply, shutting the door behind him. She didn't respond as he lit the half-burned wick. "Of course I'm sure that was the very last thing on your mind."

"What do you want with me?" She asked while her eyes scanned the room, weighing her options.

Zev sighed while taking a seat in the chair across from the cage. "I've already told you that haven't I?"

"I want to leave." She demanded.

"You're more than welcome to, but first I'd like to speak to you if that's alright. That and you really should eat something. Your spirit energy is awfully low after our little scuffle." He held out a similar fruit to what Nel had offered her the previous day, but she wasn't falling for it. She sneered at the offering. "Suit yourself." He brought the fruit to his lips and sunk his teeth into it, juice dripping down his chin.

Haruka unconsciously licked at dry lips, her hunger starting to become obvious. She couldn't eat from the enemy's hand, however. She would have to push through this. It wouldn't have been the first time. "Where is my zanpakuto?"

"Safe." He replied with a smile as he wiped the juice from his chin. "I apologize. I must look like an animal. When you spend so much time alone, you stop caring about your everyday behaviors. Is loneliness something you are familiar with, Shinigami?"

She stood silent, carefully watching his movements. He posed little threat like that however, sitting nonchalantly in his seat with his legs crossed and his stare towards the wall. Every once in a while he'd glance over to her, eager for a response or just trying to read her, she really couldn't tell.

"I'm not interested in talking." She said finally.

"That's a shame. I really am interested in getting to know the woman that tamed a beast." Zev taunted.

"He's no more beast-like than you." She jabbed, attempting to prod at his patience.

He chuckled, clearly amused at her spirit. "Perhaps you're right." He took another hearty bite of fruit and Haruka felt her stomach ache with hunger. "What is your name, Shinigami?"

Haruka glared at him, refusing to give in.

"I find it very unfair that I know the name of a zanpakuto before the name of its wielder." He attempted, but still there was silence from her. "Perhaps you would rather trade information then? You seem keener on talking when it served your interest."

"Why would I tell you anything? You kidnapped me!" She spat.

"I would not have had to if you just cooperated. After all, I was simply looking for information."

"Information? What information could you possibly be looking for other than where Grimmjow is and what his weaknesses are?" She argued.

"Don't insult me." He laughed. "That mongrel has been holding up in a cave formation several clicks east of here. If I truly wanted to kill him, I would have done it by now, dear."

Haruka gasped, "what?"

He twisted his head enough to catch her surprised expression, mocking it with his own pleased smile. "I'm not the heartless monster he makes me out to be, wielder of Dairokkan. He doesn't realize he's sitting in my very territory. I know everything that goes on above and below these sands. He is no exception to the rule."

"Is that because of your Vasto Lordes?" She questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her.

He smiled expectantly.

She sighed deeply. "My name is Haruka Akiyama."

"Ah yes, one of Aizen's Shinigami followers. Now the pieces are starting to fall into place." He mentioned while turning his head forward.

"I'm not one of Aizen's anymore." She seethed.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean it as you took it. He deceived many of us or perhaps all of us. The Shinigami were not excluded." He finished the last of the fruit, tossing the pit on the table while standing. "The answer to your question is yes. My Vasto Lordes provide information to me from even the slightest disturbance. I knew you were here before you did, Akiyama-san."

Haruka grimaced as she watched him move towards the door. "What are they?"

He paused as his hand rested on the door handle, contemplating his response. "I learned many things from Aizen, the most important being that evil can be repurposed."

"Evil can be repurposed?" Her brow furrowed while attempting to understand.

"Yes. It is a concept most readily practiced by those claiming to be 'of good nature.' You should know, yes? You have attempted to remold a very evil soul with your hands into something more…balanced."

"You shouldn't talk of souls as if they are items for manipulation." She countered.

"Forgive me. It must be the remnants of Aizen's influence talking. I will leave you be for now. Perhaps we can speak more later? I do very much enjoy having someone reasonable to talk to after being alone for so very long. I will have some food brought to you later. I hope you can learn to trust that my motives are not as sinister as you think." He stated as he finally pushed the door open, revealing that bright, obnoxious light.

"I have yet to determine your motives." She said as he exited.

"Good. I hope future discussions will shed some light on the situation. It was nice speaking to you, Akiyama-san. I'll see you soon."

"Wait!" Haruka shouted, causing him to stop in his tracks, turning his head curiously towards her. "If Grimmjow just came back here to kill you and you haven't provoked him not once… I don't believe that to be true." She declared with an unsteady voice.

Zev nodded, "I understand your skepticism. Perhaps you should look deeper into what drives someone as chaotic as him. You said yourself that he came back here to kill me in order to protect you. Maybe it wasn't to protect you at all. Maybe it was to protect his reputation. What, after all, would you think of someone who killed another man's defenseless lover?" And with that, Zev left.

Haruka remained standing, staring at the door and contemplating all that had just transpired. She felt her hands quiver as a cold sweat had broken out along her forehead. Her hunger grew fiercely, causing her to hunch over until she was a quaking ball in the corner of the room. She felt light-headed and exhausted. But worse of all, she started doubting Grimmjow's motives for coming here. What if Zev was right? What if Grimmjow didn't come here for her? What if it was just to erase his past? To make sure she never found out about what he had done? It would explain his overwhelming resistance to explaining himself. What if she was wrong about him?

Soon the exhaustion and lack of nourishment was enough for her body to drift into a chaotic sleep, one that would bring no relief.