A/N: Just a warning that there's something in this chapter that may be disturbing. Please read at your discretion.

Chapter 28: due

It was well into the afternoon that the Meeting of the Seasons adjourned, having finalized the redistribution of rainclouds to aid the Goddess of Time into ushering Orihime up to the realm of the Spirit King. There would be just enough rain to bridge the sky and the world of the gods. All that was left was for Neliel to gather them, and it would take her roughly five days.

Five days, thought Senna, forcing her demeanour to conceal the sudden alarm that grew within her. No, she admonished herself. She had seen it in her mirror. Nothing would come to waylay her and Grimmjow's plans. Everything would happen accordingly. She was sure of it. Even if she didn't preside over Visions (as that was the province of Ulquiorra, after all), her mirror never lied.

Muttering her farewell to the other gods, she left.

As she made her way down the marble steps, her gait faltered as she spied the remains of her wedding gifts upon the ground. She had expected the withered core that had been the apple given to Ichigo (the product of her wish-fulfilment), but she was curious to find the two others lying beside it: one was half of a green apple that she could only surmise belonged to the God of Knowledge, and the other was the remnant of the red apple she had given to Orihime. A snide chuckle burst out of her as she crouched down to inspect them, seeing that the seeds had been removed from their cores.

So what if those three now knew of the wishes she'd instilled in the red ones? Them having knowledge of it mattered little. She could see that at least one of the wishes had come true, even if she hadn't bore witness to Ichigo's expression as it happened. The sad withered fruit on the ground was proof enough.

With a wave of a hand, her autumn leaves rose and swirled around her discarded gifts, making them disappear, leaving no trace that they had ever been there.

All she could do now was wait: her second wish coming true was wholly dependent on Orihime.

She rose, dusting herself off, hearing her name being called by a female voice behind her. Mustering up a smile, she turned, waving back to Neliel, watching as her friend made her way down to where Senna stood.

"Good that I caught you," said the green-haired goddess.

The tangerine-eyed woman tilted her head to the side. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

At this, Neliel grew guarded, clearing her throat as she wrung her fingers together. "Um, yes, I suppose. I hope. Well... It's about...what we were speaking of before. On the boat, I mean. About..." she trailed off.

"Grimmjow," supplied Senna.

Neliel bit her lip, nodding.

"Are you sure?" asked the Goddess of Autumn.

The Messenger released what she hoped could be interpreted as a determined sigh, albeit laced with nervousness. "It's better to say that I tried, right?"

"Yes, I suppose." Senna knew what Neliel was feeling all too well. One could only mask the hurt so many times; the pretense could only last so long. And five days from today, after what was bound to happen had come to pass...who knew if another such opportunity would arise? "I'll do what I can. But it would be up to him in the end."

"I know. I thank you for nevertheless trying for me."

"Alright. I'll speak to him on your behalf."

The two made way for the docks, seeing smaller boats already waiting for them. They both climbed into one, filling the ride with empty conversation. Arriving at the House of the Goddess of Autumn, Neliel chose to wait in the boat, and Senna disembarked to seek out her lover and accomplice. In the form of a panther, he lounged upon a branch of her prized apple tree, blue eyes gazing down at her in disdain.

"Whatever it is you're about to say about her," he began, "you're wasting your breath. And she's wasting her time hanging around at the boundary of your House."

Unsurprised that he was able to sense Neliel's presence, Senna pursed her lips and tried to think of an alternate angle in which to broach the subject.

"Your revenge drives you," said she. "We both know that. And after your vengeance had been fulfilled, we both don't know what's in store for us. Where will we be afterwards. Is this not a chance to finish this millennia-long unfinished business with her? To finally fan down the flames still lurking in your heart?"

"Tch," muttered the God of Destruction, unfolded himself from his perch and leapt down, transforming into his human-like form. The grin that stretched upon his lips was bitter and laced with derision as he reached out and encircled his fingers around her neck, and both of her hands rose up to grasp his wrist in an effort to alleviate the force of his grip, to no avail. "Don't speak like you know me that well. There's nothing 'unfinished' between us. Whatever it was died the moment she chose that—" he pointed to the waning afternoon sun, "over me."

He squeezed his hand, relishing her whimpering gasp for breath and the nervous pulse that thrummed beneath her throat. He enjoyed the helpless flail of her fists against his chest as his nails elongated and sharpened, the tips poking at her skin like needles. Drawing her close, Grimmjow muttered against her lips, "I'm with you. For now." A kiss. A lick. A plunge of that tongue inside her mouth that abruptly cut off the inhale she tried to draw. "There's no use reclaiming what's been lost. You and me…" Loosening his hold, with all the minuscule tenderness he could muster, he stroked her cheek before grabbing her by the waist and pulling her flush against him. "We've got better things between us." Raising his other hand, he held between forefinger and thumb the small box that they called the 'cage', procured from he who dared call himself the other God of Knowledge.

Eyes of tangerine peered up into blue, seeing in them his resolve, unwavering and absolute.

And he continued, "Better to pull her gaze away from us. We don't want our plan to be compromised, now, do we?"

Senna veiled her eyes with her lids, communicating one last imploration with her hands on his chest. "Please don't hurt Neliel. She is still my friend."

A sardonic smirk pulled at the corner of his lips beneath the half-mask over his right jaw. "By the love we both bear for her…of course not." Then, grabbing her by the front of her dress, he dragged her towards the dock. "Now, let's put on a show."

Neliel tried to temper down the nervous flutter of her pulse, a hand reaching up to stroke the chipped mask perched upon her head. Even after all this time, even as she suppressed the longing and hurt caused by parting from Grimmjow, even as she buried her feelings and the past, with just the faint flutter of hope, all her bridled emotion washed over her, melting the visage that had come to be called the Messenger of the Sun God.

What could she say to him now that an almost-opportunity was arising?

There was undoubtedly much that had changed between them in the intervening years as she pursued her acquired duties for the Spirit King. The entity known as Grimmjow-and-Neliel lay buried in the past; it was true that she didn't fight for them, didn't fight the destiny that pulled them apart. For how could one fight against the very one who ruled their existence? To refuse the Sun God was to refuse to live. And back then, back when she had accepted the decree of the Spirit King to serve him as his messenger, she had decided that it was better for her to choose life, choose the continuation of her existence, even if she had left herself and Grimmjow both heartbroken.

His anger, his hatred…Neliel had willingly accepted them, deciding that it was better this way. At least, with these, they were laced with all his passion. She'd rather he felt something for her than face his indifference.

The decision was, without doubt, unwise. He never held back the zeal of his emotions. He reveled in expressing them: succinct, frenzied, demonstrated to all the world with all of himself, holding nothing back.

And so, on a subconscious level, it was to be expected that he would use her friend, the Goddess of Autumn, to show Neliel just how much he held her, the Goddess of Time, in contempt.

Amidst the flutter of leaves that cluttered the ground of Senna's garden, he barged out, dragging the goddess in tow. With malice and spite curving his lips in a grin, he bent the purple-haired woman over the balustrade that ran the perimeter of the dock, shoving her skirts up over her waist and undoing his pants, and proceeded to ravish his new lover in front of his old one.

After a few seconds of disbelief, the Goddess of Time squeezed her eyes shut and turned away, rage and helplessness warring for dominance inside her.

Above Senna's struggling against him and her entreaties to stop, Neliel heard his snide remarks.

"Been a while, huh, lover?" he called out sarcastically, in-between grunts as he continued to rut. "Sorry I haven't greeted you, but as you can see, I'm busy."

"Stop," whispered Neliel, echoed by Senna.

"Is this not what you want to see?"

No, she replied in her mind.

"—You want to see me happy, right—?"

Please, not like this.

"—You want to see me moving on—?"

Don't do this. Her hands rose to cover her ears, a futile attempt to deny what was happening in front of her.

"—What my life has been like without you—?"

Don't defile us like this. Tears leaked from her closed eyes.

"—Well, Neliel, my love—"

Please.

"—Like for like, sticks and stones—"

Stop.

"—I am the God of Destruction. My function is to destroy. And should you really keep yourself turned away now—?"

Hoarse sobs hitched out of Neliel's chest, weighed by horror and rage, sorrow and helplessness, the illusion of hope shattering with every word spewing out of his mouth and with every violent slap of skin against skin that she heard. She was frozen in place, unable to turn away no matter how much she tried to take control of her will.

"—I want you to see this. See me destroying your heart just as you destroyed mine."

An anguished scream finally, agonizingly, erupted out of her. "STOP IT!"

And time halted.

When seconds once more resumed into minutes, the two on the dock found themselves without their unwilling audience.

Grimmjow pulled out, staggering back with a pant. Swallowed down the bile that had risen to his throat, hands rising up to his hair to claw at his scalp.

Senna's tear-stained face turned to him as she rearranged her dress, stomping over to where he stood to deliver a resounding slap across his face, jostling the mask over his jaw.

"How dare you?! How dare you do that to me? To her?" exclaimed she, rage shaking her form as she beat her fists on his chest.

If he had the capacity for it, he would've been shamefaced of the action he had taken. But Grimmjow had always been as he was: brash, brutal, prideful, willing to go as far as he was able to for any goal that he might have had. Perhaps, within him there was a minute smidgeon of regret—but this was something that wasn't permissible of himself; he couldn't allow it to grow and spread, couldn't allow it to consume him. There was no recourse or reckoning for something that he himself had destroyed. He was the embodiment of Destruction, after all. And so he flung aside this perceived weakness and pressed forward.

"I did what was necessary. If you're expecting an apology…such a thing is beyond me to give. Heh." A muscle ticked in his jaw as he swallowed, head held high, adamantly refusing to soften the hard edges sent from the blue of his gaze. "I did warn you."

Senna sniffed, her fists curling tight. In her mind she couldn't shake the image of the last friend that had seemed to remain with her, now driven out from her life so ignominiously.

"She'll be leaving us alone," continued the God of Destruction. "That's what we want, right? This is the best way for us to go through with our plan. You know I'm right." In a gesture that belied his earlier exhibition, with a thumb he traced the errant tears that had left tracks down her cheeks. "Soon, you and me…we'll finally get what we want, won't we?"

Lips tremulous, the Goddess of Autumn raised eyes the colour of tangerines to meet the uncompromising blue of the God of Destruction's, seeing in them his dedication and resignation to their agreement, and she could only berate herself for wavering momentarily on behalf of a friendship she held dear. Tightening her lips to cease their trembling, she stepped back, her hands falling away to land at her sides, dislodging his own from her cheek. Head high and back ramrod straight, she nodded, forcing down the guilt and humiliation, and concentrated simply on what she had originally sought out Grimmjow for.

"Yes. That day will soon be upon us."

"No apologies," said Grimmjow. "No regrets."

"No," echoed she. "No regrets."

When evening came, back in his father's house, the God of Death with his bride lay upon their bed, clasped together like spoons. A breast in one hand and a thigh in the other, he reveled in the gasps that issued out of her every time he moved his hips, drinking in the look of rapture on her face when a thrust would go in too deep. Her back arched, bottom pressing close against his belly to take more of him in, and he bent his head to nip at the column of her neck. His hand stroked her leg, lifting it higher, opening her wider. Lost in frenzy, Orihime couldn't seem to decide where to hold him, now a hand was entangled in his hair, now it would grasp at his hip to try to gentle down a hard thrust. Brown eyes closed, he indulged in simply listening to the hitches in her gasps with every move he made.

They basked in the afterglow afterwards, cheek to cheek and nose to nose, measuring the synchronized beats of their hearts.

But the darkness that hovered in his mind had only been delayed, pushed back by the sudden reunion they had upon meeting up again in their bedchamber. Now it sprung back, unhindered, and Ichigo found himself pulling away from her, raising himself up on his elbows.

Tenderness curved her lips as she gazed up at him, fingers tracing the furrow on his brow.

"You're my heart," said he. Then with a breath he whispered, "Orihime."

Finding herself aglow at his words, and yet bashful, her toes curling and her legs closing tight together, with reddened cheeks she answered, "As you are mine. Ichigo."

A pleased smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. "I missed you."

"I love you."

"Still?"

"O-of course. F-for always."

"That's good." With his thumb, he traced the curve of her cheek, the outline of her lips, and lightly tapped her nose. He lowered his head to swallow her laughter, tongue plunging in to press and curl against hers before retreating back again, brown eyes roving over her face, committing to memory everything about her that he loved.

"So, then, will you tell me?" asked she, hands rising to run through the short orange spikes.

"Hmm?" murmured he against the underside of her forearm.

"About what you'll be giving to the God of...Despair, was it? You said you'd tell me." Feeling him freeze against her, her hands retracted, eyes shifting away from his. "I-I'm sorry," she quickly said. "I-if you don't want to say, you don't have to—"

"No, don't apologize!" exclaimed Ichigo, grabbing back her hands and returning them to where they had been. "I did tell you I'll let you know. Don't worry yourself."

"Sor—" At his sharp gaze, she stopped, then amended, "Alright."

He exhaled out slowly, eyes following his finger as it roamed over her chest, lightly squeezing it down between her breasts, then up again to tap over her heart. "I'm to lend him my heart."

Beneath her skin, he felt the jump of her pulse.

"Y-your heart?" she repeated.

Eyes rising up to meet hers, he clarified, "The moon." At the growing worry and confusion on her brow, he lowered his head in an attempt to kiss away her fears.

"H-how?" she managed to breathe against his lips, turning her face away and putting a hand over his lips to avoid more of his brand of distraction.

Upholding a front of bravado, he claimed, "I am without a heart most of the time. Whether it's in the sky or in someone else's hand, it's all the same."

Lips pursed, Orihime slowly nodded, muttering, "If you say so," and acquiescing to his point even if she wasn't entirely convinced of it. Though she had to concede that she didn't know much about how exactly his heart worked: yes, it was the moon in the sky, but at the same time, in the nights of the god's realm, it was within his chest, and...well...she could feel her mind entangling itself trying to understand the metaphysical aspect of this whole thing.

But...she supposed she now had forever to try to wrap her mind around it. There will be time for that, she thought, trying to imagine all the years that would stretch just to fill the concept of forever. One hundred years from now, she figured she would have that all worked out.

In one hundred years...

Her brow furrowed.

Seeing the shift in her expression, he cradled her cheek. "What's wrong, Orihime?"

Taking his hand, she entwined their fingers and placed both of their hands over her belly. "I just...well, it's all still overwhelming, really. You. You and me. And now this."

"Our baby?"

She nodded. "I don't know if I can last being pregnant for one hundred years. Us humans don't even live that long."

"You're no longer human," he reminded her.

"Yes. But still, I was one, and just even trying to imagine it...it's just so many years. Too many years. Many people can't even count that high."

He couldn't help the laughter that suddenly erupted out of him, then quickly subsided it. "I can give you the reasons why it's that long, something about cellular growth housing an innate power and so forth, but I don't really have adequate knowledge to explain the full extent of it. It's not exactly the kind of thing I preside over."

"It's alright." Orihime raised her head to quickly kiss his lips. Once her head was back on the pillow, she claimed, "We'll be fine, won't we?"

"You have me."

"We have each other."

"Yeah."

"I just wish all those years will come fly by so fast, get this all over with so we can greet this life we made together."

Heart feeling full, Ichigo couldn't help but be lured by the love in her words, bending down to gather her in his arms and pulling her close, lips descending to kiss her. The answering ardour from her own lips left a shivering trail down his spine, and he could feel himself hardening, readying once more for a second lovemaking. But she pushed from him with a gasp, body curving away from him as she curled into herself.

His libido instantly depleted when a long, anguished wail wrung out of her. Her hands were pressed tight over her belly as she twisted and turned and writhed, face reddening and contorting with tears as indescribable pain wracked her body.

And all he could do was watch, unable to move from bewilderment and horror, as her stomach began to expand.

APPENDIX:

Senna - Goddess of Autumn (filler character from Bleach: Memories of Nobody movie)
Neliel - Goddess of Time, Messenger of the Sun God (transforms into a half-human, half-goat/ibex)
Grimmjow - God of Destruction (transforms into a panther)
Szayel - formerly a messenger butterfly that evolved into the form of a man; calls himself the other God of Knowledge with permission from Urahara, the actual God of Knowledge
Ichigo - God of Death and the Moon (transforms into the black form, Mugetsu, during the new moon, and into the white form during the nights the moon is visible in the sky)
Orihime - formerly a human but was made into a goddess following her marriage to Ichigo
Ulquiorra - God of Despair and Visions (transforms into a half-human, half-bat)

A/N: Thanks to all the readers of this fic and to the lovely lovely people who got this story to reach 1000 reviews. I am flummoxed and flabbergasted, and very very grateful that you took the time to let me know what you thought and how you felt about this story XD Food for the writer's soul! You keep me and my muse nourished!

And yes this chapter took a while to get published. Mostly because I have OCD when it comes to numbers (my actual job having to deal with numbers and making sure they match up with whatever they're supposed to match up with. And also I have writing rules), and I had a wish for ch27 to reach a certain number, and it did take this long to get to it (thanks for helping reach it, kind and awesome folks!). I have that same wish for ch28 (same with the previous chapters who luckily got the number in somewhat shorter-than-ch27 periods). I guess we'll see if ch28 will even get that number...Anyway, cheers! Hope you will enjoy this chapter ^^ (because this and the next one mwhahahahaha—er, I mean, look there's Ichihime being cute in the manga! *points randomly before running away*)

Random Q&A
Why isn't Yumichika the God of Beauty?
Simply put, it's because Yumichika has already been alluded to in chapter 19 (ie: the elegant male companion to the bald guy that Keigo's sister was after). So, since he's already implied to be a human character, I had to use someone else to be the God of Beauty.

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.

Flashback order: 14, 2, 9, 13, 17, 3, 15, 11, 8, 7, 6, 5, 12, 4, 10, 16.

Thanks for reading :)
Nov/2014