I'm back baby! I got a few Chapters ready for you, some of which, I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to showing off. This Arc should take us to the start of the Winter War, with a few events that are TECHNICALLY Winter War territory happening near the end. If all goes well you should be getting a chapter every Sunday, but if something comes up I will do my best to be honest with you.
I really didn't get done as much as I was hoping due to some CERTAIN EVENTS, but I'm back on the productivity train and have free time for some strange reason so I'll get these done as we go along.
Trigger warning detailed at the end. Read it if you care. If you don't… proceed.
Part I
The trip was silent and somber. Through darkness Rukia was marched, and pulse pounding in her ears she tried to stay inconspicuous. Her head was down, eyes firmly on her shoes, stealing glances every so often at the white robed figure before her.
A part of her was still trying to figure a way out of this giant mess. Another, more sensible, part knew that it was far too late for that. Ulquiorra, or Cifer as he had politely introduced himself, must have known that, too. Otherwise he wouldn't have his back turned, right now. He wouldn't have just trusted her to follow, not unless he were absolutely certain.
That realization in itself was crushing, to Rukia, and it wasn't lost on her how that was most likely the Hollow's intention. Still, all she could do in this situation was silently curse herself as she followed, like an obedient dog minding its maste
Suddenly, Rukia found herself squinting against the… well, it was still shadowy, but she was no longer in that odd murky darkness. The room they entered was made entirely of pristine white stone, with no noticeable light source. Shadowed faces of Arrancar were scattered about what she could only assume was a throne room.
(She scoffed. Of course, Aizen had a throne room.)
Most of the faces didn't ring a bell. One, however, recognized her quite well, and she found herself cringing from it. Rukia's eyes stayed down as she tried to keep her pulse in control as Jaegerjaquez's venomous glare burrowed holes into her.
Her brain didn't even want to acknowledge Aizen's gaze, his eyes pleased.
"Welcome to Las Noches." His voice echoed down from the pedestal he had placed himself upon. It was so high, she had trouble even making out his features. That hardly mattered, though. She could hear his smirk, plenty. She didn't need to see it. "It's… Rukia Orikasa, yes?"
Rukia bit her lip, eyes still on her shoes. Cifer took a purposeful step forward. He said quietly, threateningly, "Answer him."
She gulped. "I thought you knew." Her voice was practically swallowed by the room. "We've… met."
Aizen's smile widened. "Either way, I'm certainly glad to have you with us, now. I fear, however, that not all share my sentiments. Isn't that right, Luppi?"
She could see a smaller Espada, one that she could have mistaken for a young boy if she didn't know better. He looked frostbitten, weary. She wondered which of the Shinigami managed to do that to him, because she was sure this wasn't her handywork.
With a frown, he stepped forward, going into a deep bow, nearly bending a full ninety degrees at the waist. His next words would not be nearly as respectful.
"Why would I… Lord Aizen," the title sounded thrown in. "We go on an assigned mission, go through a battle such as that, and in the end, it turns out we were just acting as decoys, all so you could capture some useless human girl. Who would be happy with that?"
Aizen tutted, and for a moment his sympathy sounded genuine. "Ah, I truly am sorry for that. If I had known you would get beaten so badly, I may have planned things differently."
The glare he received was sharp and immediate. The child's fists were practically shaking. Still, he held his tongue, even as Aizen waved a dismissive hand.
"Leave," he ordered simply. Luppi twitched, as if to move forward, to say something more. The moment, passed, though, and in the next he was stepping back and stalking towards the exit, brushing right by Rukia on his way out.
"Watch yourself, little girl," he hissed. His footsteps faded away.
Rukia swallowed once again, saliva sinking like a rock down her throat.
"…Why?" she asked quietly.
"Speak up," Cifer ordered.
"He had a point," Rukia snapped, pulse hammering. "Why go through all that trouble? Why do you want me here?"
Jaegerjaquez let out a chuckle. "Maybe it's cause without all your little friends there it'll be that much easier to ki–"
"Szayel," Aizen called, and she watched as Jaegerjaquez just about choked on his words. Aizen didn't even look at him. "Have our guest escorted to the labs. You know what to do."
"As you wish, Lord Aizen." A pink haired Espada bowed deeply, looking leagues happier than just about everyone else the room. It wasn't comforting. He raised fully, adjusting his glasses, and with a snap of his fingers, two more Arrancar came from the shadows, grabbing one of her arms each. They were dragging her to the exit before she even realized what happened.
(Their status as Arrancar was questionable, she thought. They looked just human enough for the… differences to send a shiver down her spine. Their empty eyes, pinned on grins, perfectly spherical bodies barely supported by spindly limbs all formed something… unnatural. She couldn't even stand to look at them for long.)
By the time they neared the door she was struggling.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" she yelped. "Y-You…!" She kicked out in every direction, twisting her body around to look back. "Aizen! Answer me!"
The last thing she saw of Aizen before the door was slammed shut was him lounging back in his chair.
The next thing she saw was the Espada looming over her.
He started talking, but honestly, she could barely hear him over the buzzing in her ears. Her mind wandered.
He had bubblegum pink hair, which was hardly the strangest thing considering the people she usually associated with. Then there were the "glasses."
Well, they weren't really glasses, upon further inspection. They weren't made of plastic or metal. There were no lenses. They seemed to be made from the same material that formed a Hollow's mask.
It struck her that this man, an Arrancar who had once been just a regular human, had glasses so ingrained into his being that he took them into the next life. She wondered if Ishida were to somehow become an Arrancar if the same thing would happen to him.
She could imagine the protests she would get for even suggesting such a thing. Ishida could get so worked up about things like that…
(It was almost enough to make her laugh.)
"…You might be the most intriguing specimen I've had yet," the Espada said with a smirk.
(Almost.)
"Is that why Aizen wants me?" she asked bitterly. "I'm just some interesting lab rat?"
"Oh, don't talk down on yourself," he said with a chuckle. "There's hardly anything wrong with being a lab rat. We analyze you and Aizen will have 'completed the set.' He's never had the chance to properly study one of your kind, not after that Shinigami, Kisuke, so rudely stole away his specimens."
Rukia frowned, sweat running down her back in earnest.
"You're being awfully talkative," she mumbled. "Will 'Lord Aizen' really be happy about that?"
The madman rolled his eyes, shoving open the door they had approached. "Oh, it hardly makes a difference." He snapped his fingers once more. "You two, get her on the table, and please, make sure this one is secure."
"Wait!" Rukia yelped. She flinched from the grip of the two Hollows to no avail. They had absolutely no trouble lifting her up and slamming her against the metal slab, securing her limbs and attaching clamps around her head in an instant.
Heartbeat rising, she tried jerking away, doing anything and nearly shouted as a stinging zap came from the head restraint.
Okay, now she was starting to panic.
"If it makes you feel better," Szayel started, snapping on his gloves, "even I don't know why he's so obsessed with studying us half-breeds, but hey, at least I get some fun out of it."
Fun? That's what he sees this as.
She forced herself not to make a sound when a cart of tools was wheeled by, but her widening eyes gave it away. A light was brought down right into them, blindingly bright, leaving Szayel as a silhouette.
"Now hold still," he said, so close she could feel his breath. "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me."
Part II
Grimmjow seethed silently, barely remembering to roll his eyes at the sick display before him.
The human kicked, screamed, clawed, hell he's pretty sure he saw a snap of teeth at one point as she was dragged out of the gaudy-ass throne room. All the while Szayel grinned like some cat that caught the canary. Hell, even cats didn't take this much glee doing some of the sick shit Szayel got up to.
Not like it was his problem, though. So, with a scoff he turned to leave. Aizen made it clear he wasn't wanted here, after all.
"Grimmjow," a clear voice cut across the room. The Arrancar frowned. Speak of the fucking devil.
Grimmjow turned back around, giving a half-hearted bow. "…Lord Aizen?" The Shinigami smirked (Smug Bastard).
"I need someone to look after our guest and make sure she does as she ought. Do you understand?" His fingers drummed mindlessly on the arm of his throne. "I had considered giving the job to Ulquiorra, but as an Espada he has much more important things he needs to be worrying about."
Grimmjow barely caught the thinly veiled jab. He was too busy grinning. "Wait… you're serious? You're giving her to me?" Now this was just too good to be true. To think he'd have his most hated enemy at his mercy.
"I suppose you could say that," Aizen shrugged. Grimmjow nearly cheered aloud. "Of course, as our guest I must insist she remain in perfect condition. Should I learn that she hasn't been cared for properly, I assure you the consequences would be dire."
"What?!" the former Espada snapped. Aizen looked at him carefully, daring him continue. Grimmjow chose his next words… delicately. "So… I'm going to… look after her?" he stumbled.
(He was going to be some over glorified manservant is what he was going to be. The only reason he was still around was to act as a godsdammed wet nurse to some human brat, apparently.)
"I'm glad you understand," Aizen said with a smile. "Ulquiorra, summon all Privaron Espada here, if you will. I have an announcement to make that they will find… interesting."
The pasty bastard practically snapped himself in half at the waist bowing. "Yes, Lord Aizen." Grimmjow held back a growl of anger, but remained ramrod straight, hand clenched in his pocket.
"Grimmjow," Aizen asked curiously, "what are you still doing here?"
The Arrancar frowned. "You just said you wanted all former Espada he–"
"I gave you your orders. You are to wait outside of Szayel's labs until he is finished and escort our guest to her rooms. Have I made myself clear?"
Grimmjow grit his teeth so hard he was shocked they didn't crack. "Crystal," he muttered.
He stormed out of the throne room, brushing by Ulquiorra on his way out. He may have knocked the bastard over had the Espada not stepped left without so much as a glance.
The second he left Aizen's sight Grimmjow found his fist embedded deep into the nearest granite wall, knuckles aching, back heaving from the force of his breath. He heard footsteps behind him, could practically feel the onlooker's judging gaze.
"WHAT?!" he roared over his shoulder.
Ulquiorra looked at him, looked away, and kept walking, the fucking prick.
…
Grimmjow ended up waiting outside of the labs for the better part of an hour, leaned against the doorframe and glaring at anyone that so much as entered his eyeline. He took some satisfaction in watching all the small fry quicken their pace as he did this.
The only time he held back was when a particular figure came by. The second he caught sight of that ridiculous hood his head was down, eyes averted. There were some fights even he didn't want to pick.
"Can't believe we're wasting out fuckin' time over this shit," Nnoitra sneered. "We kidnap some human bitch, and for what? For Szayel to have a new toy? We don't even get a decent fight out of this, just a coupla kids who are maybe coming."
"According to Lord Aizen the girl did have some close connections with the Shinigami," his Fracción reasoned. "He said to be prepared for them to come, as well."
"What, the same Shinigami that couldn't even kill Luppi? Color me godsdammed impressed," he sneered sarcastically. The Espada stopped near Szayel's door. For a moment Grimmjow thought they might enter the labs, not that Szayel would take kindly to that. "Hey, you… nobody. You went to the human world. What kinda heat they packin'?"
It took Grimmjow a moment to realize who Nnoitra was talking to. He kept his head down.
"Are you deaf or just stupid? Answer me when I'm fucking talking to you."
"I have a name," Grimmjow said. "Don't pretend you don't know it just 'cause daddy decided he liked you more."
"Why you little–!"
The lab door swung open right between them, Grimmjow stepping back to avoid getting hit in the face. Szayel passed through, removing his gloves with an arched eyebrow. He took one look at the scene and smirked.
"You know, if you two are going to fuck I'd rather you not do it on my doorstep."
Nnoitra's fists clenched once, twice, and with a scoff he backed off. "Sick piece of shit," he mumbled under his breath. "Jaegerjaquez," he said, "watch yourself."
With that he stalked off, his Fracción following close behind, and Grimmjow just grinned at their backs. So, the freak did remember his name.
Szayel hummed. "You're the one they sent to pick her up?"
"Got a problem?" Grimmjow sneered.
"No," he sighed out. "It was about what I expected." Stepping back into his lab he waved a dismissive hand. "Get her out of here. I have a tight schedule to keep."
With a frown Grimmjow followed the man in, only to be quickly abandoned as the scientist walked straight past the table and disappeared further into the lab. It was his weird-ass Fracción that remained, removing the human from the table with practiced motions.
She wasn't fighting anymore, he noticed. Granted, she wasn't limp. Her fists were clenched, her spine tight, but she just kind of allowed herself to be moved, her black hair flopping into her eyes.
Her clothes laid in strips by the metal slab, her underwear thankfully intact. (Thankfully because Grimmjow didn't want to add scrubbing his brain clean to his list of to-dos for the day.) Still, she fidgeted, arms moving as if trying to cover herself.
He stood over the three, shadow looming.
"Leave," he ordered the two with a flick of his head. Without so much as a blink the lesser Hollows dropped the human's arms, chasing after their master. Grimmjow suppressed a shiver.
He instead used that impulse to grab the human by the arm, tearing it away from where she held it. He looked down at her, then, and for some unknowable reason felt angry.
(Oh, but he knew the reason. How dare she. How dare she be this weak, the one that took everything from him. He wanted to tear her apart, smear her across the walls, giver her something to godsdammed cry about.)
His grip tightened, enough so that he could practically feel her bones creek under the pressure. He turned, the human in tow, and left the labs.
He'll give her this, she didn't start sobbing on the way there. She barely even made a noise, but, glancing back at her bloody lip, he knew how badly she wanted to. Just for that he gave her the small mercy of making the walk quick and direct. The second he opened the door to her private rooms he threw her in against the bed and towards the oh so gracious gift Lord Aizen had left for her.
"Change," he commanded.
Eyes down she shifted, knees up and close together, arms wrapped tightly around them. He rolled his eyes.
"I gave you a fucking order," Grimmjow said. "Change."
"And what if I don't want to?" Rukia snapped back.
Grimmjow felt his shoulders ease just a bit. That was better. "Look, I don't care if you want to run around butt-fuck naked, but these are the clothes you're getting. Stop being difficult."
Frown deepening, the human took another look at "gift," hand going to the pure white cloth. She stopped once more, barely a centimeter away. "His colors…" she muttered.
"What'd you expect?" he scoffed.
With a grimace she picked it up, glancing up at Grimmjow out of the corner of her eye. "Do you mind?"
He rolled his eyes once more and left the room, slamming the door shut on the way out, taking satisfaction in the quiet sounding of a lock. Absentmindedly he shook out his hand.
He wiped off the bits of frost that lingered on it, relief washing over him as they fell off without issue.
Part III
Rukia would say that she didn't sleep that night, but to be honest she wasn't even sure when "night" was, here. When she looked out of the single window in her over glorified cell all she ever saw was the moon and a uniform black sky. There weren't even any stars up there to comfort her.
She must have sat like that for hours, ignoring the first meal shoved through the door, and then eventually the next. It was only when her thirst was too much that she decided to move.
The first thing she did was take one large gulp from the provided cup, nearly emptying it. Then, she scarfed down about half of the watery rice porridge on the tray and headed towards the one door in the room that wasn't' locked.
If Rukia were feeling nice she might say that it was pretty generous for these guys to provide a private bathroom, but hey as long as being a complete monster was the current thing to do…
It was probably bugged, anyway.
She trudged in, regardless, turning on the faucet and splashing water on her face, just to get the tiredness out of her eyes. With a frown she looked down at her damp fingers, flexing them.
Her hand had nearly been cleaved right off, but looking at it now, it was like nothing had ever happened. The numbness in her fingers was totally gone. There wasn't even a mark. It was better work than even Orhime could do.
(Absently it made her wonder why Jaegerjaquez looked the way he did, missing an arm and horribly scarred, when they were capable of things like this. That wasn't really her concern, though.)
Staring at her healed wounds should have given Rukia some relief but knowing who did the healing just made her ever present anxiety spike. Her eyes darted to the mirror, hand to the seam in her robes, desperate to find anything else that may have changed.
She nearly yelped when she looked up to find her face covered in that mask, but when her fingers went up to tear it off, they only met smooth skin.
"Oh, don't be so jumpy," the Hollow sneered.
"W-Wha… You scared the hell out of me!" she whisper-yelled back. "What are you doing here?!"
The Hollow tilted her head, eyes smiling. "Just wondering if you've become as much of a coward as it seems… That's all."
"Coward?!" Rukia hissed. "That's not… I'm j-just… thinking, is all," she finished lamely. "I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that." The Hollow's eyes crinkled.
"That's a damn shame. There's no better time for me to try for a takeover then when you're acting like a little bitch."
"Oh, please," Rukia muttered. "Even you're not that stupid. If you haven't noticed, we're alone in a fortress crawling with Arrancar. Now is not the time for a mindless rampage. I mean, even if I had my sword, I wouldn't try it, and right now… right now…" Rukia bit her lip.
"…You have gone soft," the Hollow scoffed. "You know what? If you don't think you can fight your way out of this, that's fine with me. Sit here and rot."
"Hey!" Rukia yelled, but in between one blink and another the Hollow was gone, leaving Rukia's normal reflection in her place. With a wordless shout, she pushed herself from the sink, or at least tried to.
Her hands were stuck, she realized with a grimace. She was pretty sure she had a nightmare like this once. With a strong yank she was tumbling, falling into the wall, back hitting it hard. All she could do was sigh.
…Wait a minute.
Ice. She'd made ice in her human form? She didn't think that was possible. Then, a few things suddenly clicked in her brain, and she had the sudden urge to smack herself in the face for not realizing it all sooner.
The Hollow thought she could do something. Rukia had just chalked it up to her usual arrogance, but…
Maybe there was a way to battle her way out of this. Maybe there was a plan to be made here, somewhere, that was just good enough to succeed. She couldn't see it now, but… but…!
If Mashiro could teach her how to use Hohō in her human body, Rukia sure as hell could teach herself a bit more. It felt like a longshot, but hey, if Sode once said it was possible. She'd just have to give it a try sooner then she'd expected.
(She said it like it wasn't a last resort in a moment of complete desperation.)
With purpose in her step she marched back to her room, sat on the bed in her best meditation posture, and closed her eyes. It was now or never.
Trigger Warning: Offscreen, Szayel strips Rukia down to her underwear, traumatizing her. Nothing graphic happens.
Thoughts? Anyone? My new cat was bothering me the entire time so this one might not be edited the best. Still, she is very cute so she gets a pass.
Your comments literally give me life.
