Sorry about the wait, but it took me a while to finish proofing this chapter. First of all, I want to thank darkmachines, Kain101, The bat hatter, and Myrna Maeve for their reviews and feedback for the last chapter. I put a lot of work into this chapter and the next, I hope you guys enjoy them.
TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW
Chapter XXVII:
"Back in Black, Part 1"
The Living Realm...
Karakura Town, 0800 hrs...
Halschwach entered the dimly-lit chamber, taking his seat before a large monitor, which flickered to life as he eased into the swivel chair. "My Lord," the Quincy began, the screen illuminated with a faint flow and the low hum of static. "Within the hour, we will meet with the members of the Brethren and begin carrying out the first stage of your plans." He spoke.
The static warbled slightly and he nodded. "Yes, of course, My Lord, your Imperial Agents have been deployed throughout the city in strategic locations." Halschwach spoke evenly. "Yes, the Brethren have supplied us with the locations of the Shinigami portals..." He continued. "Of course, I would not waist your time with mere idle speculation- I assure you, My Lord, my best men have personally confirmed the validity of these Shinigami way-points." The pale-haired man added.
The Quincy nodded calmly. "Yes, I shall personally oversee the entire operation... Yes, My Lord, the troops are completely reliable." He went on reassuringly. "I personally hand-picked the Sternritter and Soldat troopers from my personal guard-force... And Hunter-Commander Quilge had brought his best Jagerdarme with him, and will personally supervise them."
"Everything has been accounted for..." The Commander remarked. "Our strategies have been checked and re-checked, all eventualities prepared for. And I am prepared to stake my life on the success of the glorious mission." Halschwach continued as he addressed the screen. "Everything has gone according to your plan, and you may rest assured that I shall personally see to it that this continues."
"Yes, My Lord." The white-uniformed man continued. "I appreciate the delicacy of the situation... And I will not allow any diversions to endanger the stratagem." He Offered. "The Boy? Ah yes, of course... My Lord, he will soon be within our clutches, and so too will the girl." Halschwach offered.
"No one will suspect a thing." He finished, a small smile gracing his lips.
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Soul Society...
Central Chamber, 1000 hrs...
Kensei entered the heart of the Gotei Command. "My attendance was requested?"
The other Captains looked up as he moved to join them. A holographic map of the entire Tokyo region and the surrounding areas was being projected in the gap between the squared (or Taurus-shaped) table. The image glowed blue, the three-dimensional topographical representation divided by the intersecting white grid lines, and dotted with flashing red lights.
"What are all those signals?" The tall, pierced Captain asked.
Szayel looked to him. "They're dimensional anomalies." The pink-haired Arrancar began. "Rifts in the ether shielding the Living Realm from the other realities..."
"But why so many..." Captain Komamura started, his canine eyes narrowing. "How could so many of these... things have just appeared in the Living Realm, and without prior readings?"
"That's just one part of the mystery." Shinji remarked. "The other thing we should be considering is the point of origin of these anomalies." The lanky blonde pointed out. "They're similar to a Gargantua or a Senkaimon, but we can't trace them back to... the other side."
"Surely the rest of you must find this all a bit too suspicious?" Rose remarked.
"Of course." Szayel replied seriously, interlacing his fingers. "But we have no choice... The danger of these things is too grave for us to ignore." He lamented. "We have to investigate."
"This has all the earmarks of a trap." Shunsui offered. "But he's right, we have no choice."
Soifon nodded, a solemn expression on her face. "Then we're all in agreement."
"Well then," Hitsugaya remarked. "then we better get moving."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
The Living Realm, 1130 hrs...
Orihime smiled to herself as she went about tidying up the living room. It was especially important to keep things clean and orderly, as it was also the place where Ulquiorra slept, as well as the room which housed their television and the birdcage that housed Ulqui-kun and Hime-chan.
The young woman blushed, thinking about how much time they'd spent in this room- together!- as she finished wrapping up the electrical cord to the vacuum cleaner. After she'd tucked it away in the nearby closet, she went to check on the cage. "Hello, Ulqui-kun, Hime-chan!" The youthful redhead spoke as she greeted the little birds with a smile. "Oh, Ulqui, you've started building a nest, how bold of you!"
Just as she'd remarked, various bits of old cloth, straw, and shredded newspaper left in the floor of the cage had been gathered up and neatly placed into the rounded wicker nest the two bird occupied during the night. "Oh, Hime, I hope you appreciate all his hard work." She gushed happily, as she removed the seed dish and water bottle, carrying the item to the kitchen.
"You know, I never would have imagined myself owning birds." Orihime confessed as she retrieved a bag of special 'small bird' seed-mix from the pantry. "But, well, Fujiyama-san just sort of came along at the right time, and here you two are." She added with a smile as she filled the cup. "And now I couldn't possibly image not having you guys here." She declared as held the water feeder bottle under the faucet and turned the tap on- filling up the bottle in short order.
"Oh, and don't let Ulquiorra's grumpy act fool either of you." She continued as she put away the bag of bird seed and capped the bottle. "He cares, he's just too worried about his tough image to openly admit what how much of a big ol' softy he really is." Orihime declared as she walked back the living room, unaware that elsewhere in the city Ulquiorra felt the urge to sneeze...
"There you go, fresh food and water." The curvy red-haired girl proclaimed as she placed the seed cup back in its slot and and re-affixed the water bottle to the side of the cage.
Just then, Orihime heard the doorbell chimes sound off. "Oh, good, Tatsuki is here!"
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
1200 hrs...
Halschwach watched impassively as his people tended to an array of monitoring equipment that had been set up in the disused factory they'd taken over.
As a result of the declining manufacturing industry over the past twenty-five years, countless factories had shut down their production lines and- in some cases- simply abandoned the facilities. And with the jobs gone, so too went the people. As a result, without any oversight, the Wandenreich had been able to turn the area as a staging ground, even manipulating the power grid with little effort.
Everything was going according to plan, just as anticipated. The only interruption to his musings came when a door opened abruptly swung open, prompting him to look as a small group arrived. The Quincy smiled as they approached, one of the men dropping Ishida on the floor before him.
Aside from his hair and clothing looking a bit disheveled, the teen looked to be otherwise fine. He was also unconscious, with his hands bound behind his back.
"Excellent, very good." Halschwach commented. "Tell me, how was he captured?"
The same man who'd carried him in- a tall muscular blonde- stepped forward. "It would seem, Sir, that the boy sensed a disturbance from our operations, and came to 'investigate." He explained. "He showed up alone, and we had little trouble dealing with him." The man continued. "Once he was subdued, we brought him here, as per your instructions."
"You've all done well Lucian." He replied. "Now, as to our guest... I take it then that his powers have been sealed away?" He asked, getting a nod from man in a white uniform. "Well then, wake him up and get that gag off of him, would you?" Halschwach calmly instructed. "If this young man is indeed who I think he is, then I think it would be prudent to have a chat with him."
Lucian removed the covering over Uryu's mouth, and gripped him by the shoulders, jostling the teen enough to wake him up, his eyes snapping open. "W-where am I? What the hell's going on?!"
"Really, come now," Halschwach replied. "As the prisoner, you should know that I'll be the one asking the questions, with you giving the answers." He chastised. "Frankly, child, you're not much too look at, but your power... that's different. You may be shabby, but you're still a Quincy."
Ishida's eyes widened suddenly at the remark, as he continued. "And that brings me to my next point." Halschwach calmly went on. "Surely boy, as a Quincy yourself, you would have been keenly aware of the Shinigami coming and going all throughout this city?" He asked. "You've clearly been trained in the use of your abilities, and yet you have done nothing... Neither in regard to the Shinigami, nor even the glaring aura of the top-tier Hollow living here. Well?"
The bespectacled teen glared at the man, as he went on. "Just what sort of Quincy freely associates with the greatest enemy of his people, let alone allow a powerful and dangerous monster to remain at liberty, right under your very nose, no less?" He asked him.
"Shit... he's talking about Ulquiorra." Ishida thought. "If he knows about Ulquiorra.. then Orihime is in danger as well." The young man thought to himself. "I have no idea who any of you are, or why the hell you're here in the city! ...And I don't care!" He spat back.
But the man only smiled unnervingly at this. "You shouldn't lie, boy... you're not very good at it." He countered calmly. "And there's no point in trying to protect your... friends from us either. We know all about the cover-up you've helped the Shinigami to perpetrate- about the monster disguised as a human, and the whore of a woman that he's been living with all this time."
Uryu felt a chill run through him as the revelation hit him, as well as the feeling of his forced bravado giving way as the dialogue went on. "Lucien, you are dismissed- as your talents will surely be of more use in capturing the girl." He instructed the man, who saluted him. "Yes, you see, I'm afraid we know all about this little farce that's been allowed to go on here, and we intend to do something about it."
"That little harlot is going to be the 'bait' for our trap." The Sternritter Commander revealed to him with a smile. "Once that monster realizes we have her, he'll come looking for her..." He continued smugly as spoke to the teen. "And then, when he's within our grasp, we'll ensnare him in our trap."
Ishida sighed and shook his head, before looking back up to him. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I do know one thing..." His tone was even as he spoke. "None of you have any idea of the shitstorm you're going to bring down on yourselves by doing this." The young Quincy went on.
"Oh really? In that case, please do enlighten me then?" Halschwach asked mockingly.
Ishida closed his eyes, before meeting the man's gaze once more. "There aren't very many things that Ulquiorra gives a damn about... But Inoue is on the top of the list of things he does. Oh, you'll have his attention alright... just, not in the way that you want." He cautioned.
Halschwach placed his hand on his hips. "Is that assertion supposed to frighten me?" He countered in a cool, collected tone. "You have no idea of what we are capable of. Our elite Jugadarme can capture and contain any Hollow, no matter how powerful it might be... And when we've caught him, he'll either end up being conscripted- to be used in our invasion- or dead."
"Invasion...?"
Halschwach chuckled. "So, you really do know nothing of your heritage, or of the gloriously legacy of the Wandenreich." He chided. "Still, I suppose your ignorance is only to be expected... After all, you're a thin-blooded halblûten, raised without knowledge of the grand empire of your forefathers."
Crowley entered the room, but remained in the doorway, saying nothing...
The teen frowned. "If my pedigree is so offensive to your delicate sensibilities, and I'm so beneath you all, than why are you even bothering talking to me, then?"
"Partly morbid curiosity." He fired back. "I wanted to hear, first-hand, the reasoning of a Quincy that would willfully betray his sacred duties by associating with both the age-old enemies of his people and very monsters that he's blood-bound to kill." The Sternritter finished.
At this, Ishida bolted to his feet, glaring at the man before. "I am not beholden to anyone or anything, not by my blood or by anything else!" He fired back at him. "Least of all, to some bigoted and archaic organization and the false god they worship!"
The Sternritter slapped him across the face. "How dare you profane the Sacred Ancestor, the progenitor of all of us!" He snapped. "I would kill myself right now, if not for the Emperor's direct orders that you be taken alive..." Halschwach managed to compose himself. "But rest assured. When this is over, I will see you- on your knees, at the foot of the Emperor himself, as you recant those words."
"Now you're sounding more like a member of the Wandenreich." Ishida replied darkly, unfazed by the blow to his face. "Why are you all here?!" The youth demanded.
"So, your father did tell you something of our kind after all?" He replied. "If you know anything about our people's past- your people's past- then you'll know that the Shinigami's time of reckoning has at last come to be." Halschwach explained. "And all righteous sons of the Empire will watch as the Kingdom of the Soul Reapers burns- reduced to ashes, in penance for their crimes."
"Indeed." Crowley interjected, finally speaking up as he approached. "The time of reckoning is indeed close at hand, and the sinners will pay in blood."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
1330 hrs...
Tatsuki was seated on the living room couch, watching Orihime gush over the two little birds inside the cage set up in the corner, near the room's rear window.
The dark-haired teen smiled to herself, happy to see her friend finding so much enjoyment through her interactions with the two finches. Tatsuki had initially been surprised upon learning the names that had been bestowed upon them- that of "Ulqui-kun" and "Hime-chan". The idea that the morose Espada had actually consented to such a silly arrangement was unexpected.
But then, Orihime could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be. And, Tatsuki began to believe- perhaps somewhat reluctantly- that even Ulquiorra wasn't exempt from some 'human' weakness. And in his case, it just happened to involve her best friend.
The entire situation would have been so much easier if she could have written the so-called "reformed" Hollow off as just an aloof prick that didn't give a shit about the well-being of others, but it was clear to Tatsuki that Orihime's happiness was perhaps the one thing that even the seemingly emotionless Cuatro Espada gave a damn about- the cause he was prepared to fight for.
After a moment, Orihime then moved to join the other girl, the buxom redhead taking her seat next to the dark-haired tomboy on the cushions. "So, how are things going for you and Ishida-kun?"
The other girl blushed faintly at the question, but resigned herself to answering. "Good... In fact, better than an unappealing person like myself could hope for." Tatsuki answered, self-effacingly.
"Tatsuki," Orihime began, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "you should have more faith in yourself, you're amazing." She continued reassuringly. "You are the kindest and the strongest person I know, and I-" The brown-eyed girl paused, mid-sentence.
A fraction of a secant later, Tatsuki picked up on whatever had spooked her close friend. The sporty girl's awareness of such things was fairly limited, especially in comparison to Orihime's. However, the redhead's body language made it more than clear to her that something was not right.
Orihime rose to her feet, her brown eyes turning towards the direction of the door. Without prompting, Tatsuki followed her example. "Orihime...?" She asked tentatively.
"We have to get out of here." Orihime began, her eyes wide as she turned to her. "D-danger! We have to get away, right now!" She instructed, now visibly panicked as she grabbed her hand.
However, before they could make a move, the front door to the apartment violently flew open- sending wood splinters flying as it swung inward and crashed against the wall.
A tall, blonde man- clad in a full white uniform and cap, lowered his black boot and ventured into the entry way. Orihime felt a chill as she spotted the Quincy emblem on his clothing. She frantically turned to Tatsuki to warn her to run, only for a powerful blast of electricity to arc across the room...
The bolt hit Tatsuki dead-center, singeing her t-shirt and sending the dark-haired girl flying across the room as the electrical current continued on along its path. Tatsuki's limp body impacted with the floor as the lightning surged onward- hitting the birdcage and destroying it in a flash!
"NO!" Orihime screamed, before turning back to the door. At the exact time that this was happening, a blond woman- dressed in a skimpy variant of the man's uniform- stepped forward, breasts jiggling as she moved. Her gloved hand crackled with power as she casually surveyed the apartment.
Orihime's gaze flitted briefly to the sight of her downed best friend, then to the charred wreckage of the bird cage, and the sight of the two little birds, burned and motionless amongst the scrap...
Tears flowing from her eyes, Orihime whirled back around, her entire body radiating with golden reiki as she glared angrily at the intruders. "You see that, huh, bitch?" The scantily-clad woman asked arrogantly with a big smile, before giving a silent not the man beside her. "Now, little girl, you just step off and move the hell back, and we'll-"
"KOTEN ZANSHUN!" Orihime screamed furiously, her Shun Shun Rikka pins flaring to life and launching Tsubaki at the invaders. Even the masked Fairy was unprepared for the intensity of the super-charged attack, audibly cursing in surprise as he was "fired" by Orihime like a bullet.
Tsubaki hit the man with such force that he pierced his torso and came out the other side with power to spare, the breach sending blood from the exit wound splattering onto the woman's face. The man, now sporting a dark crimson stain in his uniform, dropped to his knees and crashed lifelessly onto the floor, while the woman seemed to be on the verge of gagging as she struggled to wipe his blood from her eyes.
"Holly shit!" Tsubaki exclaimed as he turned around to look at the carnage. The velocity at which he'd been launched had lessened enough that he managed to regain control of himself. A look of shock in the tiny creature's half-visible face as he processed what he'd just be a-party to.
"Fuckin' hell?!" The fairy exclaimed internally. "Woah, she killed him- she killed the shit of him!"
The buxom blonde advanced toward Orihime, frantically wiping at the blood on her face as she glared at the younger woman. However, the teen extended her hands. "Santen Kesshun!" Three flashes of light came from her hairpins- Lilly, Baigon, and Hinagiku- the trio of fairies forming their triangular golden barrier just as the invader fired off another burst of lightning. "If that's how you want it, than take this!"
The attack deflected of the shield, back at its source- the woman's hand. She let out a cry as her own attack turned her glove to ashes and scorched the flesh. Cursing, she drew her hand back, but still kept her gaze directly on Orihime, who responded with a defiant glare of her. "Y- You bitch! I'm gonna-"
"That's quite enough, Miss Catnip, don't you think?" A voice interrupted.
Orihime glared at the latest unwelcome face to arrive. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt, with the hood pulled over his head, along with a pair of gray cargo-pants and white sneakers. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with brown eyes and reddish-brown stubble on his face.
Dario entered through the doorway. "It's clear that the only thing your efforts so far have succeeded in doing is provoking stronger attacks from her." He commented to the irate blonde. "Ah, Miss Inoue," he resumed. "I must say, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He went on, holding his open hands out.
"Really, I must apologize for the abruptness of this intrusion." He went on, in a tone far more amiable than was appropriate for the situation. "Ah, I can see things have gotten off to a bad start," he continued as he looked around the room. "And I can tell that you're upset... Not that I blame you. However, what I think you need right now is to juuust reeelax, don't you agree?"
Orihime's body tensed further while he looked her in the eyes as he finished. "What are you-"
Almost as if on cue, Orihime's eyes rolled back and her body went slack, her shield vanishing and her fairies returned to her Shun Shun Rikka as she collapsed onto the floor.
The hooded man ventured forward and paused to regard her fallen form briefly. "There you go." Dario remarked, turning to Candice with a smile. "You see? Much easier this way."
The scantily-clad blonde gave him an annoyed look, as she protectively cupped her injured hand with the other, rubbing the singed flesh. "What... How did you do that?"
Dario smiled to himself. "It's a gift." He replied as he knelt down beside the unconscious redhead and looked her over. "Yes, this is her, all right." He commented. "This is Orihime Inoue. She's definitely the one that your leader wants brought back to him." He revealed.
"Wait," Candice started. "Just what the hell are you?" She asked incredulously.
"That's a good question." Dario replied with a smile. "The problem is... that I don't know." The man continued, still smiling as he walked up close to Candice. "It's these powers of mine, you see, there's just so much uncertainty... Trying to keep track of where one reality ends, and another begins."
The closeness of his proximity unnerved her, but Candice felt as if she was stuck in place as he looked into her wide eyes with his own dark brown ones. "You know those brief moments you have, when you wonder what's real and what's not?" Dario continued. "That's my entire life."
And then, just like that, he turned away from her. "Now, we have more pressing concerns."
Accutron lowered his distinctive revolver- with its five point star shaped barrel- and holstered it as he walked into the living room. "What about the other one?"
Dario looked over to Tatsuki's prone form. "Leave her, she's not important." He replied. "Besides, we'll have our hands full dealing with this one." The hooded man commented as he gestured toward Lucien's lifeless body in the entryway. "And so," he continued. "With the young lady taken care of, there's only one more person of interest still at liberty in the city to deal with..."
He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and dialed in a number. "Yeah, hey Jinx, this is Dario... We have the girl, and the Ishida kid is already at the base." He revealed as he spoke. "Exactly, right... That just leaves us with the other one to deal with... Go out and round up Chad Yasutora."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
1400 hrs...
Elsewhere in Karakura, both Toshiro and Rangiku- in their Gigais, and dressed in regular clothing- were making their way from the train station toward the apartment complex where Orihime lived, in order to check up both her and Ulquiorra (as long as they were in the living realm).
"This whole situation is... is just wrong." Hitsugaya remarked. "I can't help but shake this feeling that we've all missed something... something obvious." He added.
"What do you mean, Captain?" Rangiku asked as the walked. "Anything in particular?"
"A lot of things. Not least of which, the distortions in the 'ether'." The white-haired youth remarked as they both turned into a park. "The readings certainly were clear enough- they showed countless extra-dimensional anomalies... Similar to the portals we and the Hollows utilize to move between the realms, except with point of origin." He continued. "Like holes in the fabric of reality."
The buxom woman nodded understandingly. "Yes, but then... why didn't we or any of the other teams find anything?" Rangiku asked. "After all, Senkaimon and Gargantuas require a lot of energy to create, so we should have detected something... I mean, you've said it yourself, that energy doesn't just vanish, it has to go somewhere. So where'd it all go then?"
Hitsugaya nodded. "Good memory." He offered. "Everything is energy at the most basic level, and it doesn't just vanish... Like water evaporating on a hot day, it disperses in a different form." The Captain explained as they continued down a paved pathway. "Still, we had to get away from there... I couldn't stand the thought of standing around and staring at seemingly empty space, looking for something that- the more I think about it- might not even be real."
"Well, you can think more on it while we're here, Captain." The Lieutenant replied. "And in the mean time, at least we'll know we're getting something done in the process." Rangiku smiled. "That's as good enough of an excuse as any to come here, and it'll be nice to see Orihime."
"Wait, that's it!" Hitsugaya proclaimed. "The distortions could have been faked- phantom disturbances, created in order to draw us away." He mused aloud. "Someone wanted us out there- distracted, wasting our time- chasing after ghosts, as it were... but why? And to what purpose?"
"Even if this all has been just a diversion, Soul Society is still more than protected." Rangiku replied as they continued walking. "Thanks to Szayel and Aizen's notes, we've vastly improved both our detection systems and our defenses." She recounted. "Plus, we have the Espada and the Arrancar helping us, so we have the numbers to rebuff any invading force that tries to breach the barriers."
"Yes." He replied. "But what if it wasn't Soul Society they were trying to draw us away from, but..." Toshiro trailed off. "...But here! Rangiku, we could be the only Shinigami in Karakura!"
"But then-"
BAM!
Bits of dirt and mortar flew into the air as something narrowly missed them, instead hitting the ground with such force that it left a visible impact point on the sidewalk.
Another whistled past Hitsugaya's head and Rangiku's shoulder, sending up the nearby soil and grass as it made contact with the earth. "Someone's shooting at us!" Toshiro exclaimed, grabbing the woman by the hand and rushing them both off to take cover behind a nearby stone bench.
A shot flew over both them, hitting the ground. However, both of them realized- upon looking at where the ground had been disturbed- that there was no bullet in the ground.
"W-what's going on, Captain?" Rangiku asked.
"I don't know... not completely." The Captain began. "But... whoever it is firing those 'shots', they're not shooting at us with regular bullets." Toshiro continued. "Think about it... can't you sense it? That's pure reiki, being fired at us like rounds from a gun." He pointed out, as another shot sailed past them.
Both the white-haired young man and the curvy strawberry-blonde woman were hunkered down behind the cover of the bench. "But how?" Rangiku asked. "How is this even possible?"
He looked to her. "The ability to manipulate pure reiki... what sort of person do you know of that can directly wield spiritual energy, in the form of their choice?" Toshiro asked.
"But only a Quincy can do that..." The Lieutenant pointed out. "A- and Uryuu Ishida's powers manifest in the form of a bow and arrow, not as bullets fired from a gun."
"That's the disturbing part..." The Captain started. "The shooter... is also a Quincy."
"But the war..." The woman replied. "The majority of the Quincys died... Ishida and his father, aren't they the only Quincys left in the Living Realm?"
"That we know of." Hitsugaya countered. "And if there's one Quincy we didn't know about, then there could be more... Who knows where they could be, or the damage they could cause..."
Elsewhere...
Lille Barro lowered his rifle, bringing the scope away from his eye and adjusting his cowboy hat as he looked to the man beside him. "They've taken cover." He remarked. "I can't get a direct shot at either of them, as long as they remain behind that stone bench."
"Well then, someone will just have to flush them out." Bazz-B replied excitedly, with a smile. "I'll drive them out, sure enough." The Sternritter proclaimed. "Plus, if that kid really who I think he is... Then it's the perfect chance to finally prove that my fire is stronger than his ice."
Barro regarded him for a moment. "Fine." He replied. "Just try not to loose track of the bigger picture. This is about more than just you, so keep that in mind while you're messing around down there."
"Right." Bazz answered. "You'll get your targets, and I can finally have some fun."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
1430 hrs...
Ulquiorra was making his way toward the apartment he shared with Orihime, a bag of groceries from Shop Urahara in one hand and his cellphone in the other. He had wound up running a little late, and so had tried to call Orihime to let her know... However, after several attempts, she hadn't picked up.
Given the woman's nature, he suspected that something might have distracted her, keeping the female from answering her phone. So, he figured, he'd just speak to her when he arrived at their apartment and explain how he'd been held up (and hopefully, why she wasn't answering his calls). However, the closer he got to the door, the more worried the Hollow became...
The door was open!
But more than just that, he could see the obvious signs of forced entry- including the fact that the door's deadbolt was still 'deployed'- now jutting out conspicuously, at a crooked angle- plus the damage to the door frame and the bits of painted wood laying on the ground.
However, what disturbed him even more was the countless little crimson stains dotting the frame and the floor close to the entryway. Not far in, there was a much larger blood stain on the floor, which drew him into the apartment. He dropped the groceries and rushed inside, where he was promptly met with the signs of carnage- including blood on the door frame and entryway, Tatsuki lying motionless on the floor the living room, and a scorch mark on the far wall!
He felt a sicking surge of anxiety rush through him as he stumble further inside. "Orihime..." Ulquiorra murmured softly to himself as he looked around the apartment. "She's gone..." His eyes snapping shut, his chest trembling as his breathing sped up. "She's been... taken!"
(- End of Chapter XXVII... -)
So, what do you guys think? Not too shabby for a cliffhanger, if I do say so myself. Anyway, I put a lot of time and energy into trying to make this and the next chapter as exciting and engaging as possible. The next installment will a special XL-sized chapter.
I'll have more to say in the next chapter, until then, please let me know what you guys think of this chapter. I'm quite eager to know what you guys thought of this, and where exactly you think this (and the larger story) might be going.