Chapter 16
"Where is she," Grimmjow's growl is met with a defiant glare as his Zanpakuto clash's with the small Captain's. Around them, the battle continues and a few bodies fall, Arrancars and Death Gods alike.
More than a few Fracciónes have met their end.
"She is dead."
"Lies," Ulquiorra says, voice as empty as always though Grimmjow can detect the slight despair in his voice. It makes it wobble the tiniest bit and only he picks it up because, in this moment, he is tuned into the other Espada as he would have been to a Fracción.
Sure, they'd been forced to fight side by side. Ordered by Lord Aizen to fight together and watch each other's back since they are one of the few without a Clique. Therefore, have no one to help them if they find themselves in trouble. However, even as just a fellow pack member, Grimmjow can tell the boy isn't firing on all cylinders.
He's distracted, distant. Slow to react to the swing set his way as he continues to scan the battlefield for any sign of brown fur. Grimmjow blocks the attacks with ease even as he sends the distracted Espada a disapproving glare.
Ulquiorra quirks a brow while he, unnoticeably, tries to shake of his distracted state. He's trying to focus on his fight with the Captain but his eyes can't help but pull to the left. He stares over the green hills, towards the hills the Death Gods had been standing on just as the one known as Rukia, along with her brother, disappears behind it.
'She knows.'
He spares Grimmjow one last glance. The Sixth Espada and Captain have their Zanpakutos locked together and it provides Ulquiorra with the distraction he needs. He uses Sonido—a high-speed movement technique—and moves behind the Captain. He doesn't bother to make a big deal of it. Doesn't draw attention to what he's about to do. He just spears the Captain on his Zanpakuto, breaking his spine and spearing his heart.
"Let's go," he says as he yanks his Zanpakuto free of the small body. The Captain collapses on his knees without a sound. Hands clutching at his bleeding chest, he slumps forward. Ulquiorra doesn't know if he's dead or not. He doesn't bother to check as he follows Rukia's Reiatsu over the hill and towards the city.
Grimmjow follows him with that one command alone. He doesn't ask for an explanation even though he wants to grab the boy and shake him for killing their only lead on Matilda. He figures the other has a plan though. He wouldn't have risked never finding Matilda if he didn't because she means too much to them.
She means too much to Ulquiorra.
As his first and only Fracción, Matilda means the world to Ulquiorra and Grimmjow will do anything to get her back for him. So, together, they race through the city, following the trail of residual Reiatsu that hangs lightly in the air.
It stops before a huge, unassuming building. A warehouse and they enter carefully, mindful that they have no idea which side the Death Gods inside stand on.
"Who are you?"
The voice of the smaller Kuchiki rings around the empty warehouse. It bounces off the walls, echoing, but they follow it to the source easily enough. The Death Gods stand in middle of the room, back facing the front door, as they tower over a chair.
A girl—Matilda sits on it, immobile. Her hands are tied behind the chair, her head hangs forward. Her long flowing hair shields her face from view before she throws her head back. She heaves a huge, bitter laugh. It's devoid of all humor as a bloody tongue comes out to lick equally bloody lips.
"If I knew the answer," she begins, voice cold and nonchalant as she once again hangs her head. Her moves are sluggish, the Espada realize as she trails off a bit before shaking her head. She looks back up with dazes eyes as she struggles to remember what she'd been about to say. "Ah, I wouldn't be he, here."
"You don't know who you are," the oldest Kuchiki asks, doubt coloring his voice. However, it soon turns into annoyance as the girl laughs again. What she's laughing at, they don't know. There isn't anything remotely funny about any of this and the oldest Kuchiki's temper snaps at the sound of it.
His hand buries itself into the girl's long hair as he hauls her head up to look her in the eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Brother!" Rukia yells as she pulls him away from her. "She can't think straight. Captain Hitsugaya drugged her," she says as she moves around the girl to untie her arms. "She's harmless now."
"You have no fucking idea what harmless is," the girl snarls, surprising them as she breaks from her bonds before Rukia finishes untying them. "You fucking bastards, I was so fucking close," she screams as she launches herself at Rukia though she stopped by the older Kuchiki once again sinking his hand into her hair.
"Close to what," he asks, suspicion in his words as he drags her back to the chair and tosses her into it.
"So close to getting free," she grumbles as she slumps into the chair, the effects of the drugs once again hitting her. It comes in waves now that it's almost out of her system and she's timed it. Counted the seconds between each wave so she'd know when the prefect time to finally escape would be. "So close. Ah, they need my help. The war's started, hasn't it?"
"Yes," Rukia says, cautiously approaching the girl again.
"Well damn," the girl curses as she struggles to her feet. She tilts a bit but manages to keep her balance as she stumbles towards the door. "Should have known they wouldn't wait for me," she mutters, dazed and distracted even as she begins to search for an exited. "They better not fucking die."
"Wait," Rukia calls out just as the girl tilts dangerously but her brother flash steps next to her in time to stop her fall. "We need to ask you a few question."
"Thanks," the girl says as Byakuya carefully lowers her to sit on the floor. She buries her head into her hands, dazed beyond belief. She's been trained for this situation, being drugged, but, in that moment, she can't remember protocol. "I wouldn't bother," she tells them, a humorless laugh once again escaping from her. "I've never broken under interrogation and I'm not about to now."
"This isn't an interrogation," the man says, eyes hard while he watches the girl struggle to get herself together. "We must simply need to know if we can trust Aizen."
The girl laughs bitterly again, her voice ringing around the room as she lets herself slump back. The world spins as she lays sprawled on her back. From this position, she can see the older Kuchiki's patience is once again running thin.
"How the fuck should I know?"
"Don't you work for him?" Rukia asks, surprised and it only increases when the girl lets out another laugh and shakes her head.
"Fuck no," she says around her laugh, eyes closing. She wills the world to stop spinning while she takes in deep steady breaths. "I don't work for that fucking nut," she mumbles when she opens her eyes again. She's more centered than she was before and manages to get to her feet easier than the first time. "I may answer to anyone willing to pay for my service but Aizen has not made an offer."
"Then who are you working for?" Rukia asks, watching the girl as she makes her way towards the exit again.
"I'll let you know when I find out. Though, I have a feeling I might already know who," she growls, stalking out the room and running right smack into the two eavesdropping Espadas. "Well, I'll be. Looks like I actually am worth a fucking rescue mission."
"Matilda," Grimmjow greets, both relieved and annoyed that the girl is alive. Sure, she's pack but the girl had made quite the mess of his hand.
"Kitty Kat," she greets back with a smile that is all teeth and mischief before her eyes turn to the most important person in the room—well, for her that is. "Ulquiorra," his name is a whisper on her lips but before she can jump into his arms like she wants to, their reunion is cut short.
"I thought you weren't working for Aizen," the older Kuchiki's voice is full of nothing but suspicion and Matilda gives him a wide smirk.
"I'm not," she says as she brushes her hair over her shoulder and away from her face. "But that doesn't mean I don't know who his men are. When you're hired to convince a man to turn his back on those he calls allies you have to know all the details of the job, after all."
"Turn?" Rukia asks, dread in her voice as everything falls into place. "You came to recruit Ichigo. Why?"
"Because I was promised my name, the one I was born with," Matilda says as she push past the Espadas. "And now that I've completed my mission, I intend to get my payment. Ichimaru better be fucking ready to pay up."
~o0o~
"Izuru?"
His name is a question on the wind. Soft and concerned but he jumps anyways. Zanpakuto clench tightly in his hand he swings it up, ready to defend as a lithe body makes its way towards him.
"Gin?" Kira calls, dazed and confused and drench in blood that is not his own. No, it belongs to the Death God at his feet. One he can still not name and yet he can remember Gin's name clearly. "What?"
"Its okay, Izuru," Gin calls, voice soothing and warm and Kira realizes, belatedly, that his Zanpakuto is still raised. Still pointing threateningly at his former Captain. He almost drops it then.
Almost.
He catches himself at the last second. Stops himself from dropping it like it's burnt him and instead just lowers it enough to show Gin that he's not going to attack him.
To show him that he's chosen him.
That he'd craved his way through his former allies to make his way to Gin's side. To cut down the Death God whose name his brain still can't bring up. He doesn't say a word, doesn't explain himself. Gin knows him well enough to know what he's trying to say without voicing it.
A soft smile pulls the silver-haired man's lips up, melting Kira's heart even as it clenches painfully. They still have much to say and even more to discuss but, somehow, Kira knows it'll be okay.
"Ya don't have ta fight, Izuru," Gin says as he carefully pulls the Zanpakuto from his hands. Kira lets it go easily. Completely trusting of the man he loved—loves. He still does, even after all the hurt and betrayal and doesn't think twice as he throws himself into the man's arms. "Go ta The World of the Living. Wait for me there."
Kira wants to say no. He wants to bury himself further into Gins arms and never let go but he knows he can't. They're still on a live battlefield, still fighting for their lives. While he truly wants to avoid the fight, to disappear and pretend it isn't happening, he knows it's not possible.
Just like he knows he can't go hide and wait for it all to just blow over.
"I'll fight with you," he says, voice steadier than he feels as he takes his Zanpakuto back. "I'll always fight with you."
"Gin!"
The call comes just soon enough for Gin to react. He pulls Kira into his arms and raises his Zanpakuto just in time to block the attack aimed their way. Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the First Division is the one behind the attack.
There is no smile on Gin's face now. It's wiped clean by the threat on Kira's life. That above anything else is something he will not forgive. He uses his Zanpakuto to push man away from him while ushering Kira behind him.
He keeps the man hidden behind him, desperate to keep Kira from being forced to kill another Death God. The man may say that he's willing to fight at Gin's side but he knows Kira. He knows his gloomy little Lieutenant will regret this.
He'll regret cutting down the people he once thought of as friends.
The fight goes on for longer than Gin can keep track of and, at some point, Izuru has rejoined the fight. He blocks any Kido spells and swings sent their way even as Gin desperately wishes the man had taken his advice and gone to The World of the Living.
"Ichimaru!"
The shout of his name rings around the battlefield, stopping any and all fighting in it's tracks. They all turn as one towards the shout, towards one of the hills just as Matilda appears on it, angry and itching to fight.
There's blood splattered all over her and most wonder how she's still standing with so much blood loss. The others, those who had been hoping at her survival, heave a relieved breath even though it looks like she's ready to attack Aizen's Second In Command.
She doesn't stand alone on that hill.
Ulquiorra and Grimmjow appear behind her followed by Rukia and Byakuya. At the arrival of the last two, many Death Gods gasp in shock. They stand beside the enemy without signs of attacking them.
Renji briefly sags in relief. It seems he might not have betrayed his Captain after all.
Gin smiles at the girl as he takes advantage of the distraction she's made to stab his opponent clear through his chest and out through his back. Ending the Lieutenant of the First Division before anyone can gather their wits and remember that their having a war.
Gin Ichimaru is nothing if not a sneaky bastard.
"I'm going to fucking kill you," the girl declares and Gin's smile widens as he laughs. It enrages the girl more and with a snarl, she's off. She races across the warzone with impressive speed. One Gin easily matches as he meets her half way and does what he's been itching to do since he first found her.
What he does next surprises many. He yanks the girl's wolf mask off to reveal wide green eyes and a young, childish face but that isn't what surprises them. What surprises them is what happens when his hand connects with the girl's forehead.
He wears a fingerless glove on his hand. One most Death Gods would recognize anywhere. It's red and sleek and holds the Death God's sigil on it and it used to help a Death God exit a Gigai.
And a Gigai does fall.
It lands limply on the floor as it's wearer is pushed out of it.
However, a Death God doesn't emerge.
A Hollow does.
Sharp teeth, pointed ears, white-haired, red-eyed, bushy tailed and body bigger than the Gigai, the Hollow falls to the floor, confused. It's a sentiment echoed by many as Gin laughs and pulls the Hollow to her feet because she doesn't look like a Hollow even though her Reiatsu feels like one.
She's human looking with human hands and feet and even a human looking face. She resembles an Arrancar more than your typical Hollow but Aizen looks as confused as everyone else does. He stares at the girl like he's never seen her before.
But he has. Gin knows he has, but the explanations will have to wait for later because their still fighting a war. A war that seems to only be remembered by a certain spikey-haired Captain as the girl's Reiatsu springs across the battlefield, strong and suffocating.
The Reiryoku of the Espada he's currently fighting doesn't compare to the newcomer's. With a smile that is completely predatory, he charges. His swing is met with a Zanpakuto that doesn't belong to the Hollow girl. It belongs to pale boy with emotionless green eyes and black hair.
The boy blocks the attack easily enough but the Captain know he's not as strong as the girl, not by a long shot. Therefore, he flicks the boy away from him and attacks the girl again.
She blocks him this time, but not with a weapon. No, she blocks him with her arm. Thick granite like skin refuses to break under his Zanpakuto even as he pushes all his weight into it. She swats him away then and he laughs manically as he slides, still standing, a few paces away from her.
"Finally, someone strong enough to fight me," he cries, thrilled but the girl just looks at him, impassively.
"You seemed to have had a hell of a time trying to take the other Espada down," the girl muses, sounding bored beyond belief. She's confused. Who wouldn't be but her training kicks in. Her mind focuses in on the fight as she pushes the questions to the back. She'll save those for later. "What makes you think you will be able to defeat me?"
"I don't."
He charges her again and, this time, she moves out of the way at the last second. She sonidos behind him and fires a Cero at him. So closed range and sudden the Captain has no hope of dodging it. He laughs, loud and incredibly pleased even as it sears into his skin.
Burned and smoking, he still stands at the end of it. He's cover in ashes, blackened but he still finds the will to raise his Zanpakuto. The Hollow takes one second to pity him, to watch his feeble attempt of an attack before she rushes forward as well.
She meets him half way and warps a hand around his thick neck.
Her small hand doesn't manage to wrap completely around it but it doesn't matter to her. She wraps her hand around his windpipe as much as she can and crushes it.
His body falls to his knees as he suffocates. His hands claw at his neck, tearing the skin slightly in his panic. His Zanpakuto lies on the floor, dropped carelessly and the Hollow picks it up slowly. She stares the man in the eyes as she raises it.
The Zanpakuto slices through his neck easily.
"Anyone else?" she calls as the Captain's body falls to the floor with a sickening thud, the dismembered head rolling across the field. She drops the Zanpakuto next to the body without a thought. Her challenge is met with silence as she stands over the fallen Captain. "Good."
She steps over the fallen body without a though and she stalks towards her next victim. Gin realizes, just a little too late, that this might not have been a good idea. As the Hollow draws towards him, anger shining in her bright red eyes, he wonders if he really should have released her full potential after inciting her wrath.
This won't be pretty.
She is her father's daughter, after all.
"Tell me," she growls, drawing herself to full height, trying to look as imposing as she can even though she's a few heads shorter than him. There's desperation in her voice Gin wishes he couldn't hear. It tugs at his heart to see the girl he once care for so much so completely lost. "Tell me my name."
"Trixy."
