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CHAPTER 21
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It wasn't but a few hours after Orihime had fallen asleep that she awoke. She could tell Ulquiorra was back and a part of her questioned why he didn't join her in bed. At first, Orihime fully intended to fall back asleep. All she wanted was rest but it always seemed her brain wanted to re-evaluate her entire emotional outlook on their relationship at the most annoying of times.
As troublesome as it was, she found that she had been sleeping better when she was next to him at night.
Shoving the covers off her body, Orihime rolled out of bed and padded her way to the door. He was probably already asleep, but maybe she'd get lucky and find him awake. Even if she lost her nerve, she simply desired nothing more than to sleep beside him. She wanted to be near him. She wanted to know him. Was that so wrong? Being with him was an unexpected sort of comfort in a place where she had little. He kept her nightmares at bay, and usually she was too tired after being intimate with him to stay awake and fret over all her anxieties.
So, as Orihime stood at his door, she debated with herself whether she should actually enter. It kind of felt like she was looking over the edge of a cliff. A really, really steep one where she couldn't see the bottom.
Raising her hands, she pushed his door open and jumped head first over the metaphorical ledge. After all, she knew better than anyone else that getting close to him was going to take risks.
Ulquiorra was a risk she was willing to take.
She crept quietly into his room, pausing briefly as if she expected him to call out to her in annoyance for waking him up.
However, when she heard nothing, she continued to hold her breath. The lights didn't even come on at her entrance, meaning the motion sensor must have been turned off.
The breath she'd been holding came out of her slowly as her eyes scanned the dark space and found the bed.
Orihime immediately smiled, noticing his shape under the sheets.
Without further hesitation, she moved forward and slid under the covers next to him. Snuggling closer, she inhaled his scent as she felt the familiar cool sensation of his skin against hers. He didn't stir at her presence, which was a little surprising.
Feeling the warmth beside him, the sleeping man roused slightly. As if expecting her to be there, his arm reached out and wrapped around her waist.
Strange butterflies suddenly erupted within Orihime's stomach when he pulled her against him, pressing her back flush against his chest. She felt his mouth settle into the crook of her neck and his face bury into her hair, causing her heart to explode with a rather foreign sensation of happiness.
It was different than the other feelings…familiar, yet lighter at the same time.
Had she not already known her feelings for him, she would have been frightened of the emotion, strong and wonderful as it was.
Even as he settled back down and his breathing evened back out, she couldn't stop her heart from beating its erratic tempo.
Hesitant at first, she rested her hand against the arm wrapped securely around her.
"Goodnight, Ulquiorra," she whispered silently before joining him in slumber.
Ulquiorra was draped around something scorching when he awoke the next morning, a sensation he only ever experienced when he slept with the woman.
He could feel her next to him, sense her, smell her, and when he opened his eyes she was all he could see. He wasn't surprised to find her there, yet at the same time, he was.
He didn't recall her coming to bed with him. In fact, he distinctly remembered seeing her in her own bed the night before.
Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the gentle rise and fall of her shallow breaths.
She couldn't possibly have slipped into his room without him noticing it…let alone his bed.
He suddenly realized that he'd begun to develop a small problem concerning the woman.
He'd become far too accustomed to her presence, accepting it as a non-threat, which was untrue. There was no such thing as a non-threat, no matter how weak and unimpressive someone may appear.
He had no issue with growing used to her; he even napped in her room occasionally. It was only normal to become habituated to regularity and the individuals in one's schedule. However, this was very different. This was letting her into his space, his very vicinity, when he was at his weakest, most vulnerable point.
This would not do.
He had no interest in such a relationship, least of all with a human.
Yet, he was doing it regardless.
As if in search of the reason, his arm shifted from her waist to slide further up her body. His hand closed around her throat, squeezing softly until he felt the steady thrum of her pulse. Was that why? That thing beating strongly under his fingers?
At the movement, the woman stirred against him, squirming slightly before snuggling further back into him. Her rear pressed into his groin, reminding him just how early in the morning it really was. He was suddenly aware of the smell of her hair, his face partially buried in the bright, red locks. She was so soft it was nearly unreal.
His hips rocked forward, his other hand moving down to hold her waist as he ground against her slightly.
She made a small noise, nestling that delectable, soft flesh deeper into the growing hardness under his pants.
Ulquiorra ran his lips down her neck, half tempted to taste her skin. He was becoming painfully hard, painfully fast.
"Woman," he breathed against her ear, suddenly wanting her awake and forgetting what he'd been so annoyed about. "Woman," he whispered again in a bid to wake her, reaching down to pull himself out.
He stroked his shaft, his fingers scarcely able to shove aside her underwear fast enough as he pressed the head of his cock into her opening.
Growing frustrated, he reached a hand under her thigh and lifted her leg slightly. Suddenly, his entire length plunged fully inside her tight sex.
Groaning, Ulquiorra froze against her. His cock was so hard because he'd just woken up and his skin was burning and she was so loose in her unconscious state that there was absolutely zero resistance. Unable to hold back, his hand tightened around her neck as he thrust once, twice, and came damn close to releasing himself inside her, stifling his grunt against her hair.
His nails started digging into the skin on her hip when he realized what he was doing.
He was fucking an unconscious woman, and probably wasn't even going to last ten seconds.
It was…pathetic.
Pulling out of her, the girl shivered and made a helpless, whimpering sound as the head of his dick popped out from between her legs. It was dreadful and for the first time in a long time, Ulquiorra felt the inklings of anger for losing himself.
Ulquiorra detached himself from her and left the bed, uninterested in being around her any longer than necessary. His member was still aching and unsatisfied, but he held no desire to linger in bed, especially with her in it. Instead, he went straight to the shower, turning the knobs even colder than usual.
The woman had slipped undetected into his bed and he'd given in with a disgusting amount of ease. It had been a mistake he would make sure not to repeat.
The annoying thing was…Ulquiorra was unused to making mistakes.
Orihime's muscles shivered as she stretched awake, feeling strangely lonely in the bed.
It was cold. Though, it was always cold when she woke up with Ulquiorra. His skin was quite frigid at times, only ever warming up when he really exerted himself in bed. But that morning felt like a different type of cold. Her body was throbbing, particularly between her legs, and she felt unusually wet. Her core was aching to be filled and she had hoped he'd be next to her when she awoke. Everything inside her felt hot and swollen, as if a fire had already been stoked to life, only she had no one to put it out.
"Ulquiorra?" she called out on a yawn as she sat up, her eyes searching the room for him. She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, trying to clear her vision.
He was nowhere to be found.
Orihime's heart sank.
Why did he always have to leave so early? Where did he always have to go all the time? Was he really so busy?
With an audible sigh, Orihime rolled out of bed and wrapped a blanket around her to keep warm.
The moment her feet touched the floor, her body seemed to protest the action.
Reaching an arm back to catch herself on the mattress, Orihime lowered herself down into a sitting position when a dizzy wave suddenly overtook her. Her head swam briefly, making her a bit woozy. However, within seconds it had passed and she felt good as new.
"That was weird," she breathed, rubbing at her eyes again. Perhaps her blurry morning vision had thrown her off balance. It also was quite possible she'd simply trained too hard the day before. It had been a long time since she'd fought that seriously. Actually, she'd never fought like that in her life. Nnoitra had put her through her paces and Harribel had not given her any quarter. It was difficult to keep up, but it somehow felt…nice.
No doubt it had taken a lot out of her.
She probably just needed something to eat to get her energy up.
Not wanting to go all the way to the kitchens for food, Orihime got up and made her way to the little nook in the corner of Ulquiorra's room. She doubted he had anything worthwhile stocked in the cabinets, but she was definitely too worn out to make the long journey into the dome.
Curious, she pulled open one of the cupboards and blinked in surprise at the neatly spaced rows of plastic packages.
"What-?" Orihime quickly closed the cabinet and opened another, only to find the exact same thing. It was the same type of packages she'd seen him use the morning prior, but they were literally in every single cabinet she looked in. Reaching up, she grabbed one of the packets and began reading the ingredients with an eye of disbelief. They looked like military rations…in fact, she was pretty sure that's exactly what they were. They were utterly jacked with proteins and fats, fiber and carbs, almost to the point of excess.
It was no wonder he was so thin, if that was the kind of stuff he was eating every day.
Then again…with all those fats and carbs, it was actually astonishing he wasn't morbidly obese now that she really thought about it.
It made sense, in a way. Considering his body probably had a higher demand for energy than the average human, he probably had to force that stuff down several times a day.
The alternative being devouring souls…
Orihime shuddered and tried not to think about that. It was the first time that fact hit her.
She really needed to get him on a proper diet.
Maybe she could make him dinner?
Orihime promptly blushed at the notion.
Cooking for Ulquiorra? On a date?
Did Ulquiorra even know what a date was? If he did know, she had a sneaking suspicion he probably wouldn't agree to it. Then again, she'd offered once before to cook for him and he'd blatantly disregarded her. Of course, at the time, he'd been quite peeved at her for disobeying him and 'sneaking' off to the kitchens without any protection or permission.
There was a good chance she could pull it off so long as she didn't act like it was a date, but just the thought was causing her to become flustered!
She remembered asking him once what types of foods he liked, but she couldn't remember him answering. He'd tried her cooking once before, when Aizen had ordered him to test her food. He hadn't complained and turned ten shades of green like everyone else did when they tasted her food, so she wouldn't have to worry about that awkward feeling she always got when people made strange faces after eating her culinary creations.
Either way, anything would have to be better than the MRE's he was currently living off of.
Orihime couldn't help but shudder again as another mental picture of Ulquiorra chugging that giant pitcher from yesterday morning came to mind.
Even she had her limits, and that was certainly it.
He didn't even put any red bean paste in it.
Completely losing interest, Orihime placed the package back into its slot in the cabinet before turning to the bathroom.
She'd take her shower and then go from there. Most of her day was open, anyways, so she had plenty of time to plot a way to get him to eat dinner with her.
Orihime stalked the halls of Las Noches in a wonderful mood. She was hungry for some socialization. Life wasn't much like it used to be when she first arrived in Hueco Mundo. She wasn't as isolated or lonely, and now that she'd had that lovely taste of freedom and friendship, she wanted it every day.
At her heel, the resident canine of Las Noches followed closely, panting and woofing in the hopeful anticipation of receiving a piece of that sweet smelling biscuit she was carrying around with her. His tail wagged playfully, vying for her attention, but she hardly seemed to notice. Her biscuit remained untouched, save for one small bite she'd already taken nearly five minutes ago, before her mind had wandered off.
"Hm?" Orihime hummed in a moment of distraction. "Did you say something?" she asked as she glanced down to the small dog beside her.
Seeing that it finally held her interest, it barked again in excitement.
"Now, what are you so wound up about?" She cocked her head and stared down at the pup. She almost instantly melted at the sight of its large, hollowed eyes. There wasn't much of an expression on its masked visage, but Orihime could practically feel the adorable vibes radiating off it, begging for something her distracted mind had failed to even notice.
"You want a piece of this biscuit, don't you?" She placed a hand upon her hip and gave him 'the eye'.
At the word 'biscuit', the dog's ears perked right up as it jumped on its hind legs to paw at her skirt.
Orihime sighed. "I was always told you shouldn't spoil pets and children," she began, but pulled off a piece of the starchy bread anyways. "Good thing I never listened!" She giggled to herself as she crouched down and held it out to him.
Orihime couldn't help but smile happily as the dog scarfed down the treat and licked her fingers clean.
"You know, I think you really need a name," she mused. "But I don't know what to call you."
Licking his chops, the dog sat back on its haunches and stared up at her, apparently sated now that it had gotten what it wanted.
"What do you want to be called?" she asked, as if it could actually answer her.
"That dog already has a name, princess," someone said from behind her.
Blinking curiously, Orihime twisted her head around to look up into a pair of familiar blue eyes.
"Grimmjow-kun?" she started, and then promptly allowed a large smile to spread across her cheeks. "Grimmjow-kun! What are you doing here?"
Before he could even answer, he broke out into a lengthy yawn that somehow managed to make his sharp teeth appear even more accentuated than usual. His mask parted with the action, only adding to the effect. As he reached up to cover his mouth, it was then that she noticed his hair was even more messed up than normal. He also had quite a pair of dark bags under his eyes.
"Eh? Me?" He waved her question off nonchalantly. "Like that matters. What the hell are you doing all the way out here, though?"
"Huh?" Orihime blinked again in confusion and looked around. "Actually, now that you mention it…where am I?" she pondered aloud, finally realizing she had no clue where she was at. She must have wandered off without realizing it. No wonder she ended up lost so much…
"Over by the sixth tower," he answered. "You're in my territory now, princess."
"The sixth tower?!" Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. "How long have I been walking?!" It must have been hours!
"How the hell should I know?" He sighed, scratching at the back of his head. "I ain't yer damn babysitter."
Orihime puffed her cheeks out in indignation, but held her tongue. It had been a while since she'd seen him and she didn't want to chase him off. She wanted some company and he seemed to be the only one around at the moment. Not that she minded, she found she actually began to miss him in the days since he hadn't been around.
"What's that in your hand?" he said as he bent over her crouched form, leaning over her head.
"H-hey!" she protested when he suddenly plucked her biscuit from her fingers. "That's mine!"
Orihime jumped up to chase after her stolen pastry, her hands reaching.
A wide grin spread across Grimmjow's face as he easily held it out of her reach, teasing her by moving it this way and that. Each grab she made only resulted in failure, and he really seemed to get a kick out of it.
"Didn't Aizen say you couldn't eat anything without a taste tester?" He arched a brow down at her and Orihime gaped.
"You wouldn't dare! It's mine!"
Grimmjow merely chuckled and tilted his head back to lift it over his mouth.
"No! Grimmjow-kun!" she whined as she watched it disappear past his lips. At her feet, the dog barked and yipped in shared objection, excited by the commotion. Seemingly in a single gulp, the biscuit was gone just like he'd done to her picture so long ago. "You…you big bully!"
"Not bad," he teased. "Looks like it's poison free…too bad there's none left." He leaned in closer, pinning her with a tormenting grin.
"You just did that to be mean!" she slammed a fist against his chest, her eyes glaring up at him in indignation.
"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" he scoffed, unimpressed by her puny punches.
"Why do you always have to be like this?!" she abruptly shouted at him.
Shocked, Grimmjow's eyes widened at her outburst.
"You spend days ignoring me, only to sneak up on me and start picking on me!" she continued, her eyes brimming with frustration. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry!"
Quite without warning, Orihime turned and stormed off, feeling strangely hurt. Her entire body felt tense and on edge, all of her muscles rigid. However, she didn't get two feet around the corner of the hall before she suddenly stopped and realized what she'd just done. She had just yelled at Grimmjow…and she felt terrible about it, even if he deserved it.
Clenching her fists, she abruptly spun back around. "Grimmjow-kun…I'm sorry, I-" Orihime skidded to a halt as she rounded the corner to find him still standing in the same place, his arms crossed as he leaned his shoulder against the wall. A decidedly smug expression was plastered on his face, his grin most definitely mocking, as if he'd already known she was going to turn back and apologize.
His grin broadened.
"You're really too predictable, princess." He chuckled in amusement. Pushing away from the wall, he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode forward, closing the gap between them. "Much too predictable…"
"I…I'm still sorry." She knit her brow and bit her bottom lip, trying not to show her embarrassment.
"About what? That little tantrum?" he scoffed and walked around her, moving on down the hall. "Sorry to say…but I've heard worse."
"Where are you going?" she asked as she bent down to pick up the dog. When he noticed that she was following him, the mutt held securely in her arms, Grimmjow grimaced at her over his shoulder.
"I'm going to look for something interesting to do," he answered. "Preferably someone to beat up. Anything to get away from another one of those damned meetings," he added in a lowered voice.
"Meeting?" Orihime tilted her head. "I didn't hear about any meeting."
"Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you," he said, not sounding at all troubled. "But you don't get invited to everything, princess."
"So…you're playing hooky?" She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head, pinning him with an accusatory look. It struck Orihime how, if he were in her school, Grimmjow would undoubtedly be a delinquent; picking on girls, skipping class and beating up hapless nerds who didn't do his homework. "Won't you get in trouble for that?"
Grimmjow let out a laugh. "Like I care."
When Grimmjow didn't hear any further response, he took another glance back to find her running her fingers lovingly down the back of the animal cradled in her arms, cooing and petting the beast dotingly. He quickly stomped down the spark of jealousy in him and frowned. The damned thing was practically suffocating in her tits!
Damn dogs…
"Hey!" he barked at her. "If you're gonna be following me around all damn day, then get rid of that filthy mutt."
Orihime gasped and reached up to shield the dog's ears, as if afraid his words would somehow offend the dumb creature. "Don't say that!" she exclaimed. "What if you hurt his feelings?" Ignoring his 'you've got to be kidding me' look, she quickly went back to soothing the dog, burying her nose and fingers into its short fur. "Don't listen to him, 35-chan. He doesn't really mean it."
Grimmjow grit his teeth. "Like hell I don't mean it," he grumbled. "And I told you, it already has a name."
"Then what is it?" she blinked up at him expectantly.
"I don't fucking know, but it sure as hell isn't '35-chan'. Who the fuck names a dog that, anyways?"
"I thought it was a cute name." She looked back down to the animal tucked against her chest, second guessing her choice. "That's what his number says, so why not?"
Grimmjow reached up to rub his brow. "You're really getting on my nerves, you know that, princess?"
A bright, embarrassed blush spread across her face at his words. "Well, I…I'll just leave, then."
"Please," he drawled in reply, seemingly all too eager to see her go.
"F-fine…I'm going!" she announced and began to turn away from him.
"By all means." He motioned with his hand as if to show her the way out.
"I really am…right now!" She took a single step in the opposite direction of him, though her eyes were still glued to his face. She really didn't want to show him how much his disinterest bothered her. In all honesty, she couldn't understand why he seemed so intent to ignore her lately. He'd been mad at her before, but he always got over it, usually before his real temper ever got sparked.
She didn't get another step further before a solid body suddenly crashed into hers. With a loud yelp, Orihime fell back onto her bottom, the dog flying out of her arms as she felt something bury itself into her bosom. In the commotion, the dog began barking in protest to being dislodged from the warmth of her embrace, whilst she heard Grimmjow mutter something about a 'fucking crazy retard'.
When she glanced down to the foreign body nuzzling against her, Orihime smiled at the head of shaggy blonde hair that greeted her.
"Wonderweiss-san," she giggled, glad to see him. Placing a hand on his head, she gently tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. At the gesture, he looked up at her with unusually excited eyes. That was odd. Normally, she rarely saw anything other than dull apathy on his face. "What's the matter?"
"He's a fucking nut job, that's what's the matter," Grimmjow supplied and Orihime cast him a withering look.
"Hime, come!" Wonderweiss urged, literally pulling her up with him without even a smidgen of effort. Just like that, she was scooped up off the ground and left speechless at the suddenness of it all.
"Wait, Wonderweiss-san!" Orihime's eyes widened in surprise as he abruptly turned and began to take off.
He didn't get ten feet before Grimmjow had the boy by the scruff of the collar, pulling him to a halt.
"One fucking minute, retard." He narrowed his eyes down at his captive, who in turn held Orihime in his arms. At their feet, the dog kept barking, bouncing about and causing quite the fuss.
Wonderweiss glared up at Grimmjow, his mouth set in a seldom seen frown.
"Glare all you want." Grimmjow sneered down at the blatant display of attitude. "Like hell I'm just going to let you run off with the princess. Who knows what the fuck you'd do." Ignoring the boy's warning snarl, Grimmjow reached down and plucked the girl from his arms.
Throwing her over his shoulder, Grimmjow dropped Wonderweiss back to the ground and smirked haughtily down at the young blonde.
As he turned, he barely had time to register the animalistic growl of anger that welled up from the boy's chest. Without warning, Wonderweiss's shin was thrust into Grimmjow's gut. Even before the recoil, Wonderweiss had reached out and snatched the girl by the fabric of her cape, pulling her to him as Grimmjow's body was sent reeling back into the wall.
Orihime's shriek was barely heard above the sound of cracking plaster as Grimmjow hit hard. His impact had made a large indentation in the marble, filling the air with dust and the sound of crumbling cement.
Seemingly unaffected by the violence, Wonderweiss's expression remained unusually stony as he stared into the rubble, his brow drawn down and his mouth set in a stubborn frown.
Then, with Orihime tossed over his shoulder, he turned and strode away from the scene.
"G-Grimmjow-kun?" she breathed in disbelief, her eyes glued to the slowly fading cloud of dust.
The dog was hot on her captor's heel, barking up at her in a panic as if crying out not to be left behind with the violence that was surely about to unfold.
Orihime gulped and held her arms out to the small hound, clapping her hands to urge it to jump up to her. "Here, come on, 35-chan," she said, her voice laden with nerves. Eager to obey, he leapt right up and into the security of her embrace. Just as she closed her arms around him, an ungodly roar of fury erupted down the hall.
Orihime jolted back as she watched a large boulder explode out from the crater Grimmjow's body had been buried in. Reiatsu filled the hall, causing the ground to tremble and her skin to prickle.
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Grimmjow howled in outrage.
"Ohmygod!" Orihime yelped the words all at once, her entire body tensing up when the outline of his seething figure became visible in the thin haze of lingering dust. "W-W-Wonderweiss-san!" She patted his back frantically. "I…I think we need to get out of here!"
At her words, the boy spared a careless glance over his shoulder.
"Like…now!" she shrieked.
The next thing she knew, the hall that she'd been staring down was gone, and so was Grimmjow. Everything was moving by too fast to register. On instinct, she quickly wrapped her arms around his head, leaving the dog jammed unceremoniously between her breasts and his freckled cheek.
Still, despite having left the scene, Orihime could still feel and hear Grimmjow's rage.
With the Espada hot on their tail, Wonderweiss began traveling at a speed even she had yet to experience during her handful of encounters with sonido. Her hair was flying back into her face and her skirts probably would have been thrown over her head had it not been for the arm holding her legs against his chest.
"M-maybe not so fast!" she cried out, feeling beyond dizzy from the mind numbing velocity. "I'm quite certain this isn't safe!"
Orihime was beginning to wonder if she should have just stayed in her room that day. As it was now, all she could do was hold on tighter and pray that it ended soon.
When Wonderweiss finally came to a stop, Orihime didn't even move from her perch in his arms. Her hair was in a wild mass of tangled knots and frizz and her skin was pale, utterly flushed of color. Her brown eyes were large and frozen open in a state of shock, her arms unmoving from their locked position around his head, very nearly suffocating the boy and blinding him with her sleeves smothering his face.
Wedged tightly between her breasts and his temple, the tiny pup wagged its tail happily, completely unaffected by the entire experience. It yipped up at Orihime, its tongue coming out to lick at her cheek cheerily.
"Hime!" Wonderweiss's muffled voice called out, though it went unnoticed. "Hime!" he said again, his tone once more as excited as it had been before Grimmjow had attempted to steal her away. "Come! Look!"
Blinking once, a bit of alertness returned to Orihime's eyes. Shaking like a mental case, she slowly lifted her head from where she'd buried it against his hair.
"W-where are we?" she managed, though her mind wasn't quite catching up with her words.
"Hime! Look see!" he urged yet again, strolling forward in a large, sterile room. Screens and lab equipment lined the left wall, where numerous monitors came down to a long console that was utterly littered with buttons and knobs. A few chairs were tucked under the technology laden counter and the wall directly in front of them was nothing but a giant glass window that remained closed, leading into chambers that seemed to be meant for observatory purposes.
"Is…is this Szayel-san's laboratory?" she wondered aloud, vaguely recognizing the space.
Orihime, trying to get a glimpse of what he was so worked up about, twisted around as much as her position allowed. She didn't get far as he suddenly, and quite ungraciously, dropped her on her ass.
She yelped in pain as he merely ran forward to plaster his face to the glass, staring down at something with a large measure of adoration.
Rubbing her sore bottom, Orihime looked up curiously, only to find the massive window was closed off with a metal partition, completely blocking off the view of whatever was on the other side.
"Wonderweiss-san…there's nothing there."
What on earth was he even staring at?
"You there!" a deep, masculine voice called out, catching her attention.
Orihime whipped her head around, searching for the source.
"Yes, you!" it said, its tone implying an overdose of conceit and importance. "What is your business here?"
Orihime nearly gasped in shock when she found what she was looking for.
A large, burly man sat upon a terrifyingly morbid throne, its entire foundation constructed of bones and Hollow masks. Four large men were carrying the skeletal chair with two smaller males escorting him on each side.
The man himself was dark skinned, with scars marring nearly every inch of his face, neck and arms. His pale gray hair was styled perfectly upon his head and his mustache was equally well trimmed. His magnificent mask, in the shape of a crown, sat upon his head, making him appear even more intimidating. He sat quite regally, though he appeared very bored.
Orihime eyes utterly lit up with amazement.
She recognized him well enough. She'd seen him during the meetings she'd been allowed to attend. Though he never really talked to her and only ever spoke insults to her indirectly by scoffing about her to Aizen or the other Espada…she still couldn't help but be impressed. She had never seen anybody travel with such an entourage.
It was strangely, but wonderfully impractical.
"Child!" he nearly shouted in impatience. "I asked you a question! What is your purpose here, ant?"
Orihime practically squirmed in delight, completely unperturbed by his insult. She'd heard plenty of them well enough during the meetings. Her skin was getting thicker by the day.
"Baraggan-san! I didn't know you had a throne!" She smiled up at him. "Are these your friends? I've never met them before."
The old Espada sat up a little straighter and huffed down at her, apparently offended.
Sneering at the display of familiarity, one of the fraccion nearly balked at her. "B-B-Baraggan-san?!" the man sputtered, his shirtless upper body utterly covered in an intense collage of tribal tattoos.
"How dare she refer to His Majesty in such a disrespectful fashion," another man, this time a dark haired youth retorted.
"His…Majesty?" Orihime echoed, cocking her head in question. As if the throne and servants weren't obvious enough, she also took notice of the way the others carried his Zanpakuto, just like the kings of old.
Before any of them could answer, Baraggan firmly slammed his fist down twice upon the arm of his throne. Seemingly reading the wordless command, all four of the carriage bearers lowered themselves onto their knees and gently placed him on the ground.
"What ignorance," Baraggan said as he stood from his seat to stare down at her. "Do you know who I am, ant?"
Orihime shook her head.
"I am the King of Hueco Mundo," he declared boldly, assertively.
"King?"
"Yes, His Majesty is the original ruler of Las Noches. He ruled over all, even the skies above," a blonde man said, his calm, suave smile nearly overshadowed by his obscuring mask. He stepped forward, offering his hand to the young human. Orihime readily took it, allowing him to help her to her feet and guide her forward. "You are the young lady Lord Aizen has brought from the human world, are you not?"
Orihime smiled and nodded. "Yes, my name is Orihime Inoue."
"I see," he said, one corner of his mouth tilting up slightly. "Allow me to introduce ourselves…I am Findor Calius," he continued, lifting her arm to kiss the back of her hand. "And these are my fellow fraccion, Choe Neng Poww, Abirama Redder, Ggio Vega, Nirgge Parduoc and Charlotte Chuhlhourne…and this is our master…His Majesty, King Baraggan Louisenbairn." He ushered her to the foot of Baraggan's throne, his fingers slowly slipping out of hers to present her to his master.
Orihime beamed at the novelty of it all. It was all a little too grandiose, but she had been bored and they offered a perfect distraction. She had no qualms playing along.
"A real king?" She clapped happily.
"Exacta! A real king," Findor confirmed smoothly.
Eyes shining, Orihime promptly grabbed her skirts and dipped into a proper curtsy. "Your highness," she greeted reverently, bowing her head slightly. "It is a true pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Baraggan stared at her down the length of his nose, taking in her words and stance. Unspeaking, he lowered himself back into his seat, his eyes still upon her.
"How refreshing to see someone capable of appreciating true nobility," he finally said, his stern expression completely unchanged. "You may rise."
At the acknowledgment, Orihime arose from her curtsy and beamed up at him. "I've always wanted to meet a real king."
Baraggan harrumphed. "Yes, peasant that you are, it is understandable that you should be so enthusiastic."
"Yes, your highness." She bowed her head again slightly, still smiling. The man truly was full of himself, but the game was fun nonetheless. Like Starrk and Harribel, Orihime did not feel the need to stay on her toes around this Espada. Despite his big head and haughty insults, he seemed restrained enough not to lose himself to anger or violence to strike her down.
"Here, here, here!" Charlotte began loudly, clapping his hands in a distracting fashion. "For His Majesty to accept the young miss, her heart must be of the purest beauty!" The large man pranced forward; his lips were glossy, his long permed locks were flowing dramatically, and an unreasonable amount of hair was showing above the waistband of his pants. "For one to have such beauty both inwards and outwards…we must be…"
"Kindred spirits!" Orihime finished eagerly, her eyes alight with mirth.
Charlotte gasped, shocked by the cheerful girl's easy acceptance of him. She was quite possibly the most gorgeous thing he'd set his eyes upon in a long time. Not only that, she seemed oddly unaffected by his own blinding beauty.
Without warning, he pulled the girl into a tight embrace, tears streaming down his overly painted face. "What beauty! What grace! What heart!" he prattled uselessly, burying the poor human in his muscular chest. "Here, here, here!"
Orihime merely smiled up at him, unperturbed by the transvestite's hideous outward appearance. "T-thank you," she offered sweetly, which only caused the man to cry harder and mumble something about the inspiration he'd just been struck with.
"Release the girl, Charlotte," Ggio said, stepping forward to pull her small frame out of the much larger man's embrace. "You're going to suffocate the thing. Can't you see she's very delicate?"
"Ggio, you jealous cretan!" Charlotte protested, sounding much too girly for a man of his size. "Give her back, I wasn't done with her! We're going to have makeovers and sexy slumber parties and baking contests!"
"Who cares about baking, yeah?" Nirgge said, frowning at the very idea. "Why don't you just take that dress of yours off so we can see those giant tits?"
"Hush your vulgarity, Nirgge." Chow frowned at his comrade, silently glaring at him from the corner of his eye.
"My…what?" Orihime blinked, unsure if she just heard him correctly. He couldn't possibly have meant…
"Do not listen to them," Findor interrupted their tirades and swept her away from Ggio with practiced ease. "I'm sure you'd much rather be entertained with the courageous accounts of His Majesty's endless conquests." His arm slipped around her waist, guiding her back to the foot of Baraggan's throne.
"Can it, Findor," Abirama shouted, his intensity seemingly out of place in the moment. His harsh grimace had remained completely unchanged, his many tattoos partially hidden behind his crossed arms. "If anybody is going to be retelling His Majesty's battles, it's going to be me!"
"Silence!" Baraggan slammed his fist into the arm of his throne. Instantly, his subjects bowed before him, falling entirely silent. Orihime looked around and, noticing their reaction, also fell into a hastily executed curtsy. "You may rise, peasant," he said, granting her the right to stand in his presence once more.
"Thank you, your highness." Orihime couldn't help but smile, fully enjoying herself.
"You amuse me, child," he said, his voice deep and gruff and worn with time. Orihime clearly noted how she'd already been fast upgraded from 'ant' to 'peasant' and now 'child'. "What can you do?"
"Do?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, what can you do? I wish for you to entertain me."
"Oh…well, I'm not really sure." She shook her head and answered honestly. "I have no real talents to speak of."
"Nonsense!" He slammed his fist down again, something she was beginning to notice he did when he didn't like something. "Everyone can do something, even a peasant such as yourself."
"Hm…I suppose you've already seen my healing capabilities. That's really about all I'm good at!" She blushed in embarrassment. "Though, I can also sew, but I doubt that would interest you."
"You are correct, that is of no interest to me." He reached up to stroke his chin, as if contemplating what to do with her.
"Actually…" she began, but then hesitated, wondering if what she was thinking of would even impress him. "I…I do have…fairies," she finished quietly.
"Fairies, huh?" he thought aloud, and then turned to address the blonde haired man still kneeling at his side. "Findor, have I ever seen fairies during my rule?" he asked, not even bothering to look down at the man. Instead, his eyes remained focused on the girl before him, studying her internally.
"No, My King," Findor answered unwaveringly, making sure not to raise his head.
Baraggan's fist connected with the arm of his throne yet again, though far less roughly than before. "Then it is decided! Peasant, amuse me with your fairies!" he commanded.
Orihime bowed happily, her smile barely hidden. "As your highness wishes." When she lifted her head, she reached up to gently touch the two matching charms adorning her temples. "Everyone…please come out, there's someone I would like you to meet."
Baraggan watched with a stern face as her hairpins slowly lit up, glowing in a soft golden light. As the lights began to disperse and separate into individual beams, several of Baraggan's fraccion peeked their heads up to see the strange, unseen power possessed by the simple human girl…the very power Aizen Sosuke had sent his best soldier to retrieve for him.
Soon, the brightness faded and in its wake remained six tiny floating creatures, all of them surrounding their mistress. One of the beings, a small blonde thing, flittered forward, his trail shimmering with sparkling glitter.
"You called on us, Orihime?" Shun'o smiled at her kindly.
"What the hell is all this?!" A rather loud little spirit, Tsubaki, shot forward to glare into his mistress's face. "You called all of us out here for this? I don't see any battles going on."
"Ah, yes…well, you see…" Orihime scratched her cheek nervously. "I wanted everyone to meet His Majesty, he's a real king!"
"You stupid woman!" Tsubaki slapped her clean across the face, causing the girl to squeak in surprise and rub at it with tears in her eyes, her lips scrunching up to fight off her wounded expression.
"T-Tsubaki…" Ayame began apprehensively, trying to calm him somewhat. "Please control yourself. The mistress called upon us, there is no reason to be so hostile."
"Fairies." Baraggan's authoritative voice cut straight through the air, pulling all eyes to him. "This is something I have never seen in all my time. And time holds no meaning to me, the God King of Hueco Mundo," he declared. "You have amused me, peasant."
"Peasant…?" Tsubaki drawled, his voice dangerously low. Slowly, he dragged his eyes away from his master and glared at the large Espada from over his shoulder.
"Oh no," Orihime gulped quietly, second guessing her whole decision.
"Tsubaki…" Shun'o said carefully, his tone holding a touch of warning. "I really don't think you should-"
"Don't go getting her into trouble!" Lily scolded.
"I'll show you who's a real peasant!" he shouted and charged forward, fully ready to attack the arrogant man before him. Before he could get two feet, a large hand was wrapped around him, holding him captive.
"Ignorant creature!" Abirama growled down at the tiny sprite in his hand. "How dare you think to attack His Majesty!"
"His Majesty?" Tsubaki grimaced up at the man, and then promptly began laughing his head off. "How ridiculous! You call that old, fat bag of shit 'His Majesty'?"
"You mock King Baraggan?!" Abirama's eyes widened in anger. "I'll crush you! I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it!" he called over and over again, nearly to the point of excess.
"Yeah? And I'll slice your ugly face in two, ya loudmouthed freak!" Tsubaki retorted, seemingly fearless and all too willing to engage in the fraccion's shouting match. "And I'll do it without repeating myself twenty times!"
"I'll squeeze your tiny body so hard your head will pop off, you useless little monster!"
Having had enough, Tsubaki let out a warning growl, only to quickly morph into a beam of light that launched itself straight at Abirama's face, poking him right in the eye.
Howling and wincing from the pain, Abirama jolted back and reached up to rub at his stinging eyeball. "Why you!" he spat, using his one remaining good eye to track the fairy as it swung back around to Orihime's side and seamlessly morphed back into a more physical form. His arms were crossed and his dark eyes were glaring at the fraccion haughtily, satisfied to have won that particular battle.
"Oi!" Abirama frowned angrily. "Why don't you get back here and fight me like a real warrior!" he challenged.
"Enough!" Baraggan announced. "Disband your spirits, girl. They no longer amuse me."
Orihime bowed her head at the command, still happily playing along.
"Idiot woman!" Tsubaki hastily shot forward and rammed the girl upside her downturned head. "Why the hell are you bowing to this guy?! He's a Hollow! Have you finally lost it?!"
"But…Baraggan-sama is a king," she tried to diffuse the situation, not wanting to cause any more tension than there already was.
"Our mistress always did want to be a princess," Baigon sighed, finally seeing the connection.
"It's not that…" Orihime fiddled with her fingers in a moment of anxiety. "I was just really bored, and I thought it would be fun…"
Tsubaki narrowed his eyes at her even further. Lily slapped a hand to her face in silent disbelief, whilst Shun'o watched on, shaking his head in unvoiced pity.
Before any of them could get any farther with their conversation, an enormous reiatsu exploded throughout the air, seeping in from the halls and filling the room with a sense of dread. It was sudden and unexpected, yet heavy with force.
Abruptly standing, Baraggan shouted out, his stance firm. "Findor!" He waved his arm towards the man in a silent command, one that only his fraccion seemed to understand.
Orihime barely had time to register what was happening. In an instant, long blonde hair filled Orihime's vision, shielding her from the massive cero that blasted through the room. The wall that had been in front of them shattered in a single hit, leaving whatever remains to crumble to the ground as if it were made of paper.
"B-Baigon, Hinagiku, Lily!" she stuttered out, sending her shield to protect both her and the blonde man standing before her. As she did, the rest of her fairies quickly took up positions around her, waiting to be called upon.
The rage filling the reiatsu in the room was startling, causing her knees to shake slightly. The dust hadn't even cleared yet when Orihime suddenly remembered Wonderweiss was still in the room, his nose still glued to the closed window as if it were the most wonderful thing in the world.
"Oh, no…" she gasped and turned. "Wonderweiss-san!"
The young blonde turned to glance at her over his shoulder, seemingly not even noticing the destruction that had just been wrought upon them. His lavender eyes hadn't even met hers before he was sent flying through the window, a boot having been firmly planted in his back. The resulting explosion shook the entire complex, cracking the glass he'd just been thrown through.
Orihime fell to her knees from the sheer reiatsu pressing down on her, filling her with a certain degree of fear.
"I'm going to fucking rip your carcass to pieces!" Grimmjow's furious voice roared through the dust, his figure coming into view as he stepped forward to the edge of the broken window. Planting his foot upon the ledge, he leaned forward slightly to glare into the void. "Attack me, you little shit…I'll show you not to mess with me again." He was practically bristling, his claws long and prepped to cleave through flesh.
"No, Grimmjow-kun!" she called out, hoping to stop him from attacking the boy.
Blinking back into momentary awareness, Grimmjow turned to glance at her, looking a little surprised to see her there with one of Baraggan's own fraccion guarding her.
"Princess?" he sneered slightly, as if disgusted by the company she kept. "What the fuck are you doin' around creeps like that?"
"Creeps?!" Abirama shouted.
"Yeah, creeps." Grimmjow stepped back from the ledge slightly to frown at them. "Fucking worthless lot, that's what ya are."
"G-Grimmjow-kun!" Orihime stuttered nervously, unsure why he was being so rude. Rather, ruder than usual. Either way, she could tell it wouldn't turn out good. "Please…maybe we should just go? If you want, we can go to the arena and-"
"I shall defend His Majesty's honor, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!" Abirama took a heavy step towards him.
"We will not allow you to insult King Baraggan's name so easily!" Ggio also moved forward, as well as the rest of them, each of their faces as equally serious as the last.
"You have been a thorn in His Majesty's side long enough," Chow added, uncrossing his arms to take up a stance beside his master. "You will bow before your king…be it the last thing you do."
Grimmjow threw his head back as maniacal laughter erupted from him, filling the room with its maddening echo.
"King?!" he cackled. Suddenly, the laughter stopped and he pinned them with a harsh blue gaze, his expression hardened into one of dead seriousness. "The only king in this place is me, you got that, Baraggan?" he said, his eyes glued to the haughty elder man who merely stared at him with a level of boredom. "I'm the one that's going to be taking over Las Noches when the war's over."
"Grimmjow-kun…" Orihime breathed softly.
"Listen up, princess," Grimmjow called out, though his eyes never left Baraggan's. "Lemme tell you, that ain't no king. He's nothing but a wannabe fraud."
"Is that so?" Baraggan narrowed his eyes slightly. "And I suppose you believe you would make a better one, Grimmjow?"
"Fuck yes I would," he answered without a second's hesitation. "No real king would just stop at Hueco Mundo. Is that really the extent of your desire for power?" he scoffed, their gazes locked in a battle of wills. "Owning the very skies above Las Noches? Please. If it were me, I wouldn't ever stop. Hueco Mundo, the living world, the Spirit King's realm, Soul Society, hell, all of it; I'd just keep going and going until it was mine. I wouldn't just sit around on my throne and command my subjects to kill each other in fits of boredom…I'd just order them to kill everyone else. I'd destroy everything…until it was mine."
Orihime shivered at the look in his eyes, seeing for the first time a side of Grimmjow she was unfamiliar with.
"And I suppose you know better than I?" Baraggan raised his chin slightly, a clear but subtle gesture of looking down on the man. "I suppose you have ruled for all the centuries I have? Do you know what I know? Do you have the power that I have?"
Grimmjow smirked darkly. "Maybe not today…but that doesn't mean I won't surpass you someday soon."
Abirama, Nirgge, Ggio and Charlotte chuckled at him.
"Still having delusions of grandeur, Grimmjow?" Findor grinned and Orihime felt her chest constrict slightly. They were belittling him and, knowing the size of Grimmjow's pride, it hurt her just thinking about the anger he must've been feeling. Despite the calm façade he was keeping on the outside, she could still sense the way his reiatsu boiled just under the surface. It seemed like there was some type of past history that was still lingering over the heads of both Grimmjow and Baraggan. For some reason, it saddened her. She was just getting to like the old man and she really didn't want to see any of them fight.
She was truly starting to enjoy them. Should she try to intervene?
Before she could answer that question, a loud scream came from the chamber Wonderweiss had been kicked into.
Without thinking, Orihime rushed over to the ledge, her eyes searching through the shadows trying to find the boy. She feared the worst, thinking that he may have been somehow hurt by the attack.
"Wonderweiss-san!" she called out as she wrung her hands together fretfully.
"Girl, step away from that room!" Baraggan's voice ordered sternly. "It is dangerous!"
"What? Dangerous?" Orihime asked, though it was already too late.
From the darkness, a looming silhouette rose up like a mountain. The shape was massive and imposing, dwarfing anything she'd ever seen, even the Menos Grande. There was no real form to the figure, but the huge glowing eye that slowly cracked open gave off a very ominous air.
As it moved, lights gradually began flickering on inside the large holding chamber, illuminating the beast's unusual features.
"W-what is that?" she stared up at the huge creature, hardly able to believe her eyes. Its skin was pale and sickly looking, but held a light violet sheen. In the crevices of its bulbous body, long tufts of hair stood out, sweeping over its clammy hide. Its fingernails were nothing more than Hollow masks and its lone eye was glaring down at her.
"That's Hooleer," Baraggan explained levelly. "The boss has kept him locked up for a while. Now that the boy has found him, I should have known something like this would happen." He sounded slightly exasperated, almost as if he wasn't in the mood to deal with the trouble Wonderweiss would no doubt cause.
"So that's why Wonderweiss-san was so excited," Orihime noted aloud. "That's Hooleer. It's…it's just so…"
"Hideous."
"Adorable!" Grimmjow and Orihime annouced in tandem.
Orihime clasped her hands together in admiration. On impulse she reached her hand out to coax it forward. "Come here, I won't hurt you! Come now."
Grimmjow's head snapped over to where she stood by his side. "You dumbass!" he hissed. "Don't call it down here! It ain't a fucking dog!"
Blinking its large, menacing eye down at her, the Hollow watched her for a brief moment, and then unhesitatingly began to bend down.
Grimmjow instinctively moved in front of her, attempting to block her with his body as he glared at the beast.
Much to the shock of everyone present, Hooleer ignored him and eagerly offered the girl its head. Its eye closed in delight as Orihime proceeded to lean further over the edge to reach him, her hand seeming so tiny against its colossal frame. At her touch, it rumbled in pleasure.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Grimmjow frowned in partial disgust, partial disbelief.
"I think he's sweet!" She smiled at the creature again, enjoying the purring sound it made as she continued to pet it. As enormous as it was, the purr sounded more like rolling thunder, vibrating the chests of everyone present. "Hooleer, would you please take me to Wonderweiss-san?" she asked politely, as if she were talking to just any other normal person and not a gigantic dangerous Hollow-glob.
Seemingly understanding her words, Hooleer leaned back slightly and began to lift his front paw. Without an ounce of fear, Orihime jumped right onto its hand. Behind her, she heard several of the fraccion gasp in astonishment, though she was unsure if they were surprised by her boldness, or just the fact that the creature had allowed her so close.
"Shun'o, Ayame, come with me, I may need you," she called over her shoulder as the large paw she sat upon began to pull away from the wall. Gillian masks completely dwarfed her tiny form in their shadows, surrounding her on all sides as Hooleer's chunky fingers curled around her. "Tsubaki, please wait here with everyone else."
"Hell no! Why should we stay here?" Tsubaki protested and Orihime could do little more than smile at him.
"It's fine, I'll be alright."
"Keh, stupid woman. Who said I was worried about you?" Tsubaki scoffed under his breath, only to notice the way Grimmjow was staring at him. "What are you looking at, ugly?"
Grimmjow's eye twitched.
Sure enough, as Orihime was lowered to the floor she could hear arguing voices blow up overhead. No doubt the two would get along terribly…
When she was finally set down, she quickly ran over to the broken section of the wall that Wonderweiss had been thrown into. He'd impacted much higher up, but had fallen to the ground with debris piled on top of him. The moment she saw his unmoving foot poking out of the wreckage, Orihime's heart leapt into her throat.
She called out to him as she dug through the rubble, silently hoping he wasn't injured too terribly. "Wonderweiss-san? Wonderweiss-san, please answer me!" When she got through enough of the damage to find him, she swallowed hard at the sight of the large rock sitting on his chest. Her fingers ached slightly as she quickly grabbed the edge of it and tried to pry it aside.
When she had no luck getting the boulder to budge, Orihime drew her bottom lip into her mouth and began chewing frantically.
What if he was really hurt? What if she couldn't get him out? Grimmjow definitely wouldn't help her dig him out. Maybe Baraggan, or one of his fraccion?
Orihime started wringing her hands all the more anxiously as she tried to decide what to do. Her plight didn't last much longer as the boulder she'd been so desperate to move began to tremble slightly.
"W-Wonderweiss-san…?" she whispered hesitantly, her body freezing in anticipation. The trembling quickly turned into outright shaking and, without warning, the heavy rock was violently thrown into the air, where it soon crashed back down onto the floor with a thunderous crack.
Orihime shivered slightly as she watched the young boy emerge from the wreckage, dust and gravel falling off his dirtied uniform. His innocent freckled face was twisted in a furious scowl as he stared up at the hole in the window Grimmjow had launched him through. She could see his breathing was a little erratic and every muscle in his body was prickling with tension.
Suddenly, Wonderweiss opened his mouth and let out an earsplitting scream.
Orihime nearly fell to her knees as she quickly reached up and covered her ears, clenching her eyes shut from the pain.
"Wonderweiss-san! Please, stop!" she cried out, but she could hardly even hear her own voice under his.
When it finally died out, Orihime cautiously blinked her eyes open. She didn't have long to wonder on the purpose of the tantrum, for Hooleer proceeded to drop its mouth open and spew out a mass of blackness and death. Groaning deeply, the beast began to vomit up a throng of something dark and writhing. Orihime's heart leapt in a mixture of confusion and horror. She took a step back as the darkness began to seep closer and closer to her feet.
Out from those inky depths, the moaning, thrashing forms of uncountable Menos Grande began to take shape, their masks melting out of the shadows.
"What…is this?" she breathed in shock, forced to take more and more steps back.
"Orihime!" Shun'o buzzed close to her ear, his voice clearly worried. "You need to get out of here…now!"
Before she could even turn and run, an arm wrapped around her waist from behind and hauled her off the floor. Wonderweiss had them standing atop Hooleer's head in a flash. With Orihime tucked under his left arm and his eyes glaring down at the object of his anger, the boy made a quiet noise, one that the beast seemed to understand all too well.
Orihime watched Tsubaki and Grimmjow's arguing faces freeze in a moment of utter shock as the humongous Hollow launched itself forward, crashing through the observatory window without an ounce of difficulty. Barking in a panic was the small dog, his tiny paws carrying him as fast as he could manage as he ran this way and that, trying to dodge the crumbling walls and shards of glass.
"Orihime!" her fairies called in concern.
"You fucking brat!" Grimmjow yelled up at Wonderweiss, his fists clenched angrily at his sides. "You really wanna die that bad?!"
Wonderweiss merely stared down at him, his violet eyes unimpressed by Grimmjow's shouts.
"Silence, ant!" Baraggan's sharp voice cut Grimmjow off from any further explicatives. "We will handle this. You will only make the situation worse!"
"Butt out, you old relic!" Grimmjow hissed over his shoulder, jumping back to avoid being smashed under Hooleer's feet. The elder man had long since abandoned his throne, moving instead to place some distance between himself and the chaos. His fraccion remained around him protectively and when a group of howling Gillian sauntered towards their king, they merely cut the beasts down with ease, displaying no mercy to any who dared to attack their beloved master.
"My King, shall we intervene?" Chow asked calmly, keeping his position to Baraggan's right.
"Lord Aizen ordered you to retrieve the beast, anyways, did he not?" Findor voiced his own question.
Baraggan sighed. "Yes, I was to escort this monster to a new cell for further experimentation…however, I doubt that will be possible at the moment." His weary, unscarred eye narrowed as he watched the Hollow slowly amble by him in the hall, the ground shaking with its every step. The creature was attempting to chase down that troublesome Sexta Espada, all the while Yammy's weak little fraccion dog skittered around their feet. Wonderweiss stood atop its head, the human ant screaming like a banshee in his arm whilst her fairies flew all around the place in a blind panic; their usefulness rendered moot in the face of her emotional instability.
"My, my, what a mess." Charlotte chuckled at the scene.
"Yeah, but it looks like it could be fun." Abirama ginned wickedly, his eyes a little excited. "If this is the kind of action that girl brings with her, we should hang around her more often."
"Try to keep the beast under control," Baraggan suddenly announced. He crossed his arms as he continued to observe. "Do not harm the peasant. It is refreshing to have someone around this place that actually knows how to respect authority."
"Yes, My King!" his fraccion all cried out in unison, their loyalty filling their voices.
In an instant, they disbanded, leaving their master to watch from a distance.
Starrk yawned for the umpteenth time as he leaned his chin deeper into the palm of his hand.
"How much longer we gotta wait?" he tilted his head lazily to glance at Aizen, who in turn sat calmly at the head of the table sipping his tea.
"It sure has been a long time, hasn't it?" Gin smiled from his position standing beside the tyrant. "Sexta-san is also missing."
"That is nothing unusual," Zommari commented dryly. "That heathen has no sense of honor or dignity. To skip a meeting called upon by Lord Aizen himself…it is sacrilege."
"Sacrilege?" Nnoitra scoffed derisively. "It's called playing hooky, you ugly zealot. Something I wouldn't mind doing right about now. I'm bored out of my fucking mind!"
"You should learn restraint, Nnoitra," Harribel said, not even deigning to look up at him.
Nnoitra lifted his upper lip in an open sneer. "Yeah, cause that just sounds like such fun."
"I wouldn't mind a nap," Starrk sighed. "It sure would be nice to just lay down on that mistress's lap…" He closed his eyes, as if mentally picturing the comforting scenario. After that first encounter he'd had with her in his tower, he'd wrongly mistaken her for Ulquiorra's mistress and had lazily let the name stick, though it seemed to embarrass her terribly every time he referred to her as such.
"Lap?" Nnoitra echoed. "Hell, I'd rather just bury myself in those tits!" he cackled. "Ya know, she really tastes sweet. It's no wonder you eat that pussy out all the time, Cifer." He turned to Ulquiorra and grinned at him lewdly, to which Ulquiorra merely ignored him. "She's got a lot more flavor than any Arrancar bitch I've fucked."
"Perversion in the presence of Our Lord!" Zommari slammed his fist onto the table and Nnoitra laughed wildly.
"My, my…what a lively bunch we have today. Wouldn't you say, Captain?" Gin chuckled next to Aizen, though his voice lacked any real amount of exasperation.
"Quite," Aizen agreed with an air of boredom.
"Baraggan should have returned much sooner than this." Tosen stepped forward from the shadows. "This is taking much too long."
"Perhaps we should send someone after him?" Gin suggested.
Aizen wasn't even given the chance to answer as a deep, steady rumbling began to sound from the hall outside. The quiet noise slowly grew in volume, rising until it was a thunderous roar. Shouts and curses could be heard, though no singular voice could be pinpointed from the ruckus. A frantic, feminine screaming could also be distinguished through the noise, causing half the occupants of the room to look up in question.
"What the fuck…" Nnoitra trailed off, his gaze directed at the closed doorway from which the sounds were coming from.
Soon, the shaking and rumbling became too much to ignore. The table and cups began to clatter, a few actually falling to the floor where they shattered.
Suddenly, the massive double doors burst open, filling the air with noise. An entire horde of Menos Grande poured into the room, startling half the seated Espada. Not long after, Grimmjow and a small dog came barreling through, one yelling curses whilst the other howled and jumped around in a desperate bid not to be crushed in the commotion, all the while biting at anything it could sink its teeth into, which was usually Grimmjow's ankles. Immediately after, Baraggan's six fraccion flooded in, followed by an entire flock of panicked fairies as the large beast Hooleer smashed through the doorway, destroying half the walls surrounding it with its wide girth.
"Cut the tendons in its legs!" Abirama shouted.
"Don't give me orders!" Grimmjow retorted.
"Do it or I'll kill you, you pathetic excuse for a warrior!" the dark haired fraccion shot back, their two personalities clashing like oil and water.
"I told you to stop ordering me around!" Grimmjow growled, their foreheads smacking together as each man glared the other down, utterly refusing to give in.
"Don't think I won't kill you! I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it!"
"Then fucking do it and stop talking about it!"
"Grimmjow-kuuuunn!" Orihime's voice shrieked out above the noise, her person still tucked under Wonderweiss's arm. "Please, help me!"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Zommari shot up from his seat in outrage.
"Fuck yes!" Nnoitra also bolted up from his chair. Slamming his foot atop the table, he leaned forward eagerly. "Now that's what I'm talking about, pet-sama! This bitch has got the right idea! This should be exciting!" Without waiting, he launched himself into the fray, cutting through the first Gillian that crossed his path.
"How distressing," Szayel said. "How on earth did that thing get out of confinement?"
"Someone! Help me!" Orihime continued to scream, squirming against Wonderweiss's side. "Ulquiorra-kun! Get me down!"
Seeing the girl's plight, Harribel stood up, ready to intervene should the situation call for it.
"Kukkapuro!" Yammy snapped when he saw the small canine was also tangled in the chaos. "Did you have something to do with this?! You stupid dog!"
"Oh, dear…" Gin sighed as he watched the disaster continue to unfold. "This is quite the scene." He chuckled as he glanced at Aizen from the corner of his eye. "I bet it's going to take a while to clean up."
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he continued to watch the disorder from behind the rim of his teacup, his eyes dangerously narrowed. Half the Espada in the room had already been dragged into the fight, most of them joining in simply for the entertainment of it. As it were, the fighting had somehow escalated into a contest of 'the first one to capture the princess wins'.
"Ulquiorra-kuuun!" Orihime shrieked again when she saw him sitting at the table on the other side of the room, piercing the air with her shrill voice.
"Goodness, it seems the Captain ain't in a very good mood." Gin cocked his head to take in the pale Espada sitting across from him. "Don't you think you ought to do something about it, Cuatro-san? Our little flower's callin' out for your help, after all. Do you plan to ignore her?"
Ulquiorra completely disregarded him, not even flinching at the woman's voice. He merely closed his eyes, seemingly trying to pretend that he wasn't even in the room.
"So loud…" Starrk grumbled. His cheek was squished up against his palm as he watched the mess continue to unravel from the corner of his eye. Nnoitra's laughter could be heard amongst the violence, even whilst Abirama and Grimmjow continued to quarrel loudly, each man throwing punches and ceros at each other like they weren't in the middle of the meeting room.
"How very amusing…" Aizen said dryly as he set his cup down and stood up. As he turned to leave, he paused beside Ulquiorra and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Find someone to clean this up. Now," he commanded quietly. "Gin. Tosen."
Smiling at the unspoken order, Gin slipped his hand under his coat, resting his slender fingers on the hilt of Shinso.
In the blink of an eye, Tosen disappeared and rematerialized atop Hooleer's head. The boy barely saw it coming when he grabbed Orihime's arm and pulled her away from him. "My apologies, Wonderweiss, but you have created unnecessary disturbance…and now you must face punishment." Wonderweiss's eyes widened in shock as he watched his most beloved, favored person come at him. With a single swift kick, Tosen sent him flying. Immediately after, the ex-Reaper dropped to one knee and rammed his fist into the top of Hooleer's skull, causing it to screech out from the force of the attack.
By the time the Hollow hit the ground, Gin had drawn his sword. Like a flash of lightning, Shinso extended, forcing every Espada in the fray to dodge for their life. Some went up, others went down as the lethal blade slashed clean through every Menos in the room, cleaving them in half in one deadly swipe.
Howls of pain echoed off the walls as their mutilated bodies fell to the floor, their blood creating a mass of dark crimson pools.
"That wasn't too hard," Gin commented with a smile as he tucked his sword back into its rightful place under his cloak.
"Come on!" Nnoitra hissed in anger, upset to have his excitement for the day exterminated so soon.
Gin paid his protests no mind and turned to glance mischievously at Ulquiorra, who had pushed his seat back to stand up. As he did, Tosen appeared at his side and promptly dumped Orihime onto the table in front of him.
Seemingly only just realizing where she was, Orihime looked around at the men glaring down at her like she was the sole purpose behind the problem. Blinking nervously, she dared to direct her gaze to the pair of green eyes before her.
Orihime couldn't help but curl in on herself slightly, seeing anger in his eyes for the first time.
Trying her best not to cower, she smiled up at him sheepishly. "Um…sorry?"
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes.
Orihime gulped.
She was really going to get it now…
Ichigo could hardly believe his eyes. In fact, he was really getting sick of the repetitiveness of the situation.
Runuganga, the supposed guardian of the white sands, had risen before them yet again. His imposing stature had erupted from the ground beneath them whilst they were making good time on their way to Las Noches riding upon the back of the Hollows' pet beast.
The huge guardian had opened up another antlion's pit, sending the lot of them struggling just to stay on the surface. It had only been made all the more hectic when Rukia had accidentally stabbed Bawabawa in the back whilst trying to summon her ice to be rid of the sandy pest.
They'd been sucked under faster than they could put up a fight and the ground had closed up over them like the collapsing of a black hole.
It had taken them a while to notice it, but Rukia had vanished amidst the chaos. Not only that, but Nel had crashed down on his head… promptly followed by both Pesche and Dondochakka, leaving him with a terrible splitting headache. To make matters worse, Nel and her delightful pair of siblings had went and gotten themselves kidnapped.
It had left him in a pretty pissy mood.
Now, he had to find not just Inoue, but Rukia and Nel, as well.
What a fine start they were getting off to…
Ichigo scowled as he stared into the crackling embers of their campfire. It was his turn to stand watch, and he tried to stay alert, considering the Menos Forest they were currently trapped in was far more dangerous than anything on the surface. While some of the Hollows may not have been as strong, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. He needed to stay on his toes, but he kept thinking about a pair of sharp violet eyes.
He could hardly believe she'd actually let him get away with half the shit he'd done up on the surface. She just got under his skin like no other woman he'd met. He honestly didn't even know what he found so attractive about her. She was probably eighty pounds soaking wet. She had no real curvaceous figure to speak of, and her breasts were so small they barely fit in his palm…and it got him so hot sometimes he couldn't stand it.
Now, she was gone again…not by his side.
If only she wasn't so damned tiny, she probably wouldn't have gotten separated from them so easily.
One good thing was that she kept his mind off Inoue and that creepy Arrancar. He really didn't know how much more he could stand worrying about the redhead.
With a lazy sigh, he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back on the trunk of the tree he was seated against, staring up at the canopy of the forest. Chad, Ishida and Renji were all fast asleep, with Bawabawa curled around them, his massive body acting as a barrier to keep the heat of the fire close.
He really had no clue where Rukia was, but one thing he knew for sure was that he wasn't leaving without her…not even for Inoue's sake.
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TBC
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So, a different tone for this chapter. Just view it as a filler 'episode'. I wanted to get some lighthearted fun thrown in somewhere along the way.