Chapter 6
"What are you doing here?"
There is a moment in everyone's life where they can't help but wonder what they're doing with it. And, as one Ulquiorra Cifer stares up at one irate Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from his place on the floor, he wonders just that.
"Speak, damn you," Grimmjow snarls when the only answer to his previous question is a rather skin-curling growl. The girl sure takes her act to heart. If Ulquiorra didn't know any better, he'd honestly think there's a wild animal on his chest.
But he does know better and he knows that the creature sitting on him, while not human, is definitely not an animal. It's that damn girl. It's the one parading around as a wolf and, if it wasn't because he honestly can't, he would have torn her to pieces for even thinking of touching him.
Ulquiorra likes his personal space un-invade, thank you very much.
They're currently in a Garganta. A wormhole of sorts that allows them—the Espadas—to travel to and from the realms at will. They're on their way to The World of the Living at the moment to retrieve Orihime for their Lord so that the girl can restore Grimmjow's arm.
Therefore, with Ulquiorra, the leader of their current mission, pinned by the She Wolf—that somehow managed to sneak in through the Garganta after them without their knowledge—they're not going anywhere. At least not until she chooses to move.
Grimmjow is not a very patient man however. He's brute strength and piercing anger and, really, Ulquiorra sees it coming a mile away as the man reaches down to yank the girl off him. If he can't move the girl there's no chance in hell that the armless idiot can.
For all that the idiot is a pack member, Ulquiorra's more than a little peeved that the idiot's thoughtlessness could quite literally get them all killed in the upcoming war. Therefore, he says nothing as he watches the girl tense in telling way.
Years, upon years, upon years spent fighting tends to teach you just what to look for when your opponent is getting ready to attack. Thus, as the girl's ears draw back and flatten against her skull, Ulquiorra let's a tiny, unnoticeable smirk cross his lips.
The idiot deserves it.
"Son of a bitch!"
Grimmjow's shriek rings in Ulquiorra's ears long after he's gone from view. Taking a pleased She Wolf with him as she clamps down on his remaining hand with surprisingly sharp teeth and refuses to let go.
"Get it off. Get it off. Get it off!"
"Go after them. Do not lose sight of them and remember your part of the plan," Ulquiorra orders as he stands. He has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watches Grimmjow and the She Wolf get smaller in the distance. He does his best to ignore it, though, and continue with the mission.
"Wait for my signal to retreat."
"Aye, Aye Captain," Luppi, a relatively new Espada that no one and I mean no one likes, says. He's Grimmjow's replacement. Created by Lord Aizen for that sole reason, and it has led to his rejection.
It's not an uncommon occurrence.
With so many Arrancars and such a huge pack (army) there's bound to be some Arrancars that just don't fit. For some reason or another, a new Arrancar can be rejected by Starrk or Barragan or Harribel and that's that.
Nothing Aizen can say or do can change it.
The rejected Arrancars, while not disposed of, tend to roam the edges of Las Noches. They busy themselves with guarding its borders. After all he's done and all the resources used to change them, Lord Aizen won't just toss them out if they're useful. Of course, that isn't to say that they are safe. The other Arrancars tolerate them at best and usually attack them for fun if their paths ever cross.
It's only because of the upcoming war that Luppi's even an Espada.
His rejection had been a typical one.
Starrk had found some fault in him and refused to scent him, which led Barragan and Harribel to do the same. Luppi probably would have been ambushed right then and there and ripped to pieces by the others—it has happened before—had Aizen not put his foot down. He'd reminded everyone that they desperately needed him, rejected or not.
His strength was too great to waste.
"Grab the brat and let's go before they get there without us," Luppi tells Yammy—a tall, big, bald, brute and the Tenth Espada—as he nods towards Wonderweiss.
"Who put you in charge," Yammy grumbles, threat clear in his voice as he stares the Reject down. He lifts the Arrancar nonetheless and tosses him over one shoulder. Rejected as he may be, Luppi still outranks him. "Why do you have to be so dumb, kid?"
Wonderweiss is the new Arrancar. The one created less than an hour ago. While Yammy's words sound harsh, he handles the disabled kid with care as they speed down the Garganta and after Grimmjow.
Grimmjow, for his part, is not a happy camper.
His hand hurts, he's bleeding, and a group of Death Gods are currently staring at wolf dressed girl that's growling like she's going to take another nibble out of him. With an aggravated sigh, he runs his hand through his turquoise locks.
Now he has blood in his hair.
"Perfect…."
"Oh? We came at a fun time didn't we?"
The screech is so unexpected, so sudden that, even as Grimmjow recognizes Yammy's voice, he starts. He can't stop his flinch as the others finally exit the Garganta. At least they're together again. Now Grimmjow doesn't have to worry about having to face the Death Gods alone.
In his current state, he wouldn't last a minute against even one.
But he's here to distract and so he shall. He's just not too sure how he's going to go about doing that when he's so weak everyone here could kill him with just one good shot. Good thing Matilda has just the answer.
"God damn it!"
Grimmjow yells as he once again runs off into the distance, a very content She Wolf attached to his arm as he goes. He races down streets and alleys, desperate to get the girl to let go. It's as he makes a particularly sharp turn that he loses her. Matilda's grips slips. She's sent tumbling across an empty field as Grimmjow races off.
Either not caring or not noticing his lack of wolf.
Well then.
Matilda sits up almost lazily. A smug smile on her lips as she tucks her legs under her and pulls off her mask. The air feels fresh against her skin and she wastes no time abandoning her clunky gloves as well.
She carries it all under one arm as she stands while her other hand digs through the pockets of her shorts to pull out her communicator. She'll need to get rid of it soon, lest Takumi start tracking it once they realizes Grimmjow's 'lost' her.
"All's going accordingly. Will be destroying the communicator now. I'll contact you again when phase one is complete."
— T
She doesn't wait for a reply.
She throws the communicator on the floor and grinds it under her boots before walking off. Mask and gloves still tucked under her arm as she searches out her target. She doesn't fear being caught by the Death Gods as she walks down the streets. Lord Aizen has done her the favor of sealing her powers. Either way, they're all too busy dealing with the Espadas to notice her.
It's only once the sun sets that she finds her target. She blames it entirely on her sealed Reiryoku. She's normally a better hunter and tracker than this, she swears. She throws on her mask, gloves, and follows him for a bit before making her move. She has to make sure she gets the perfect opportunity for him to see her.
That's the plan.
By now, the Death Gods should have put out an all points bullet on 'the human seen with Aizen's Arrancars'. If all's going as planned they should be looking for her to interrogate her, which means Ichigo's looking for her.
Now all she has to do is show herself to this human who will do the rest for her.
"You okay, Miss?"
She plays the part of lost and afraid perfectly as she bumps into the boy and then all but clings to him. It's just late and dark enough that the boy buys her act almost instantly. Though she'll admit, she's a little too old to act like a scared little girl. Thankfully, the body barely looks a day over fifteen. Especially when a mask isn't covering the face so she does it anyways.
Dr. Day would be proud.
"Are you lost?" the boy asks worry etched on his face. The only reason Matilda tolerates his fussing as he puts his jacket over her shoulders is for the plan. As a warm hand lands on her arm, she wants nothing more than to stick a knife into him. "I'm Mizuiro Kojima," he says, hoping to calm her down as she continues her panicked act. "I have a friend named Ichigo who's always talking to weird people. Maybe he'll know what to do with you?"
Finally!
"Though it might be better if I took you to the police department," he muses not noticing the way Matilda tenses at the word. Oh no, she's so not getting involved with the cops again. Especially since a fair share of countries are looking for her. "Wait, Miss!"
With the thought now firmly planted in his head that he should tell Ichigo about her, Matilda takes her leave. She speeds through the streets, dodges oncoming cars with practiced eased, and goes over and under everything that gets in her way until she finally reaches the park.
Once there she climbs the highest tree she can find and settles on the thickest branch. Removing her mask and gloves again, she pulls out Mizuiro's phone from the pocket of his jacket as she drapes it over her bare legs.
"Phase one completed. Ichigo should know by tomorrow that I've stayed behind. I expected my payment now."
— T
It's only seconds later that the reply comes in.
"Nu-uh, remember the deal. You'll get your answers when the job is done. All the way done. So you better hurry, Princess. There's a war coming and the clock's a ticking."
— I
~o0o~
Aizen isn't sure how he does it. He doesn't know how he keeps from crushing every single idiot—particularly the blue-haired one—into nothing but dust as he sits on his throne. His Espadas bow at his feet. However, the tension only continues to rise as Ulquiorra explains how Grimmjow-Fucking-Jaegerjaquez lost the She Wolf.
Now Aizen wants nothing more than to strangle the twit and de-rank who ever had been stupid enough to leave the She Wolf alone with him. However, seeing as he can't afford to lose any more of his men so soon, he settles for giving them the mother of all glares.
He has already lost Grimmjow's abilities thanks to the twit's terrible decision-making and, if all goes according to plan, he'll lose another Espada in just a few hours so there's nothing he can do. Not that this will be the end of it. If they survive this war, Grimmjow will be serving one hell of a punishment.
Maybe he will put him on bathroom detail…
It takes a lot for Aizen to ignore the band of Assassin as they mutter to themselves in the background. Leah, though, stands next to his throne, frozen in her spot next to him as her eyes lock onto Grimmjow. There's a look of utter betrayal on her face. One the Grimmjow studiously keeps from looking at.
"Very well, then, Ulquiorra proceed with the plan and retrieve Orihime," Aizen said as calmly as he can. There goes his chance of getting their help. "I would like to apologize for my men's actions and their stupidity.
"I understand you wish to retrieve Matilda as soon as possible. However I'm afraid you can't," he tells the assassins. When they look about ready to protest, he raises a pacifying hand. "You nine have treaded upon my land at a time of Great War and I am sorry to say that your Wolf has been left behind on enemy territory. That is not to say I will leave her there for the enemy to take.
"I will send my most trusted men to look for her. You may accompany them if you wish, though it would be best if only a few of your group were to go. Too many new faces in their territory will only be cause for suspicion," Aizen says and his still bowing men visibly flinched as his Reiatsu covers them. "For now I will provide you all a place to rest until we can bring Matilda home. Gin?"
"On it," Gin chirps. It's all the prompting he needs as he turns to the group and leads them towards the shattered doorway. "Com' wit' me, wills ya? Ah got sum rooms pa'pared for ya thou' sum of ya will hafta share."
"Leah, Daisy, a word please?" The Lord calls asks before Leah can move from his side. She nods at Daisy. With some quick hand signals that The Lord can't interpret, she motions for the others to follow Gin.
"Leave, before I do something we will all regret." Aizen growls low enough that only his men hear. He glares after them as they all but race out of the room. "I'll be blunt with you. If the enemy reach her before we do it will be next to impossible to get her back," he says as he motions for Leah and Daisy to follow after him once his men are gone.
"Why?" Leah questions, matching him stride for stride despite her short stature as they exit the throne room while Daisy trails after them. "What could they possibly want from her?"
"There is a lot that I will have to explain for you to understand but I will keep it simple," he tells her, throwing Daisy a quick glance as they make their way down an empty hallway. "What do you know of the existence of the three realms?"
