"The H-family and the whole of its clan first questioned the ruthlessness of the Royals, then their principles and lastly their very existence. Many nobles joined their cause, only to be deposed or exiled one by one later on when all their efforts had come to naught. My family was among those who maintained a neutral stand. Nevertheless, some of them were pardoned after having ascertained they themselves had found the errors of their ways. But never the House of H-." Captain Ukitake was telling us. He had just arrived from the Penitentiary Unit from which he drew out the conclusion that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were indeed the lost sons of the Lord and Lady of the H- house. He continued,
"They changed very little, as I remember them from brief chance meetings centuries ago. But, whatever the case is, no one would distinguish their faces now. All their family portraits were destroyed, and that's to say nothing of the change Hueco Mundo brought upon their general appearances."
I didn't know why I so readily devoted myself, heart and soul, to the whole matter despite knowing all this was, in great measure, a blunder. But perhaps I only wasn't prepared to face the likelihood that Grimmjow Jaggerjack, right from the start, had meant more to me than what anyone had any reason to suspect; I, included. If he were to be hanged…
"But, Ukitake-san, what became of the sons of Lord H- after that? Ulquiorra and Grimmjow retained almost the same name, so how is it that no one remembers them?"
"You've just answered your own question, Inoue; they became Hollows."
"Why and how?" I asked firmly, with only the desire to save me and Inoue both time and suspense.
Captain Ukitake only had to sigh to inform us he was the sort of person against whom the force of impatience had little power. And so with the same reverent manner, he answered,
"Their parents were duly executed. Naturally, their two sons were next in line for the chopping block. But the twins were smuggled hours before their execution to a place the smuggler believed to be safe; Hueco Mundo."
Inoue gasped at this. The captain motioned for silence and continued,
"The young lordlings possessed immense power. It would've been impossible to conceal them in some odd corner of Soul Society and expect them to remain undetected. Therefore someone, or a group of people, thought it fit to shun them beyond the detection of the Royal Family and its supporters. The venue chosen was Hueco Mundo. At that time, both were quite young but their strengths had been established to be capable of vying against the evils lurking down there. What were mere Hollows to the sons of Lord H-? Ants. They didn't deserve that, of course, but what was exile in a remote underworld compared to certain death? What would be worse than death? Well, we have now come to realize their current situation is worse…They were children, and some people were fools to expect they could survive the Underworld."
"Was it you who smuggled them, captain?" I surprised myself and the other two in the room for asking this. Ukitake stared at me, sizing me up for what seemed like my whole worth before making a rejoinder,
"No. It was my father."
Well, of course this was the sort of answer I was expecting, because how could he have known this much anyway if he wasn't directly involved in the affair?
"Why?"
"I don't know, although I've had my suspicion that it had everything to do with mercy. The twins were innocent, as far as their father's actions were concerned, and killing them to punish their father would've been heinous in every sense of the word. It is just a speculation, however, as the mindset of my father and a few other Lords during that time were completely beyond me. I strongly believe he stood not alone on that task. But when all that had been done there was no pursuing the two lordlings. From then on, the names of members of the H-clan were obliterated from all known records, except from the most secret, forbidden archives. A hundred years later, the family's name was left unuttered, as if a certain act of blasphemy were attached to it. Another century rendered it forgotten. In the last one hundred years, the name never existed for all everyone knows. If you fling their names on the street, no one would have recognized them. And we knew not what became of the twins until now."
"And they're in death row because their very existence is equivalent to a rebellion against the Royal Family. I understand it now. The supporters of the Royals believe Ulquiorra has been resurrected by someone, perhaps the same someone who smuggled him and Grimmjow to safety four hundred years ago, so that he could take the place of Lord H- and devise another upheaval to overthrow the King and his family. How very paranoid and stupid. You know, your King needs medication, frankly." I said.
Ukitake shook his head. "Not quite. I have reason to believe many nobles, especially those who once sided with Lord H- and received pardon later on, are only biding their time. And that's not mentioning the exiled ones. The Royals will never allow that, having learned so much from what transpired four centuries ago. Listen, Kurosaki-kun, Inoue-kun; it's too late. Understand that when morning comes, the two Arrancar will be no more than ashes-"
"-Ulquiorra is NOT an Arrancar." Inoue interrupted.
"Whatever he or his brother is now matters very little, if not at all. The council will not wait for them to choke out the name of the person who resurrected Ulquiorra-san; they can look into that later on if they please. On the other hand, should mercy be granted them, anyone would not find it hard to lay other charges on them. Know that in the eyes of the most powerful entities here, Grimmjow-san and Ulquiorra-san have to really die."
It dawned on me how impossible it was for the two to escape the consequences of their identities. The manner by which Captain Ukitake informed us of the hopelessness of everything only served to contribute to our mortification. Grimmjow was going to die, and this time there was not a thing in my power which could retract the inevitable. Beside me, Inoue was on the brink of heavy tears.
"Well, fuck them Royals. Come on, Inoue; we have work to do." I heard myself say.
"And where are you going?"
"I'm gonna storm that stupid prison and there's not a damn shit you or any other captain can do about me."
To my surprise, Captain Ukitake smiled his pleasant smile, with nothing of the disagreement I expected him to have against my conduct. He told me,
"When the twins were being lined up for the chopping block a few centuries ago, they were imprisoned in a chamber very similar with the one in which they are being held now. Ordinarily, six or seven sealing spells were administered on the walls as protection against any form of siege or breaching."
"And your point is?" Irritated as I was, I was impelled to at least be courteous enough not to ignore him.
"My father managed to penetrate its walls a few hundred years ago."
"And so?"
"What you need is... the very same devise he used to break through the seals. Come with me, the two of you."
Inoue wiped her tears and stared longingly at the captain. I, much astonished with the turn of events, couldn't help thinking Jyuushiro Ukitake must be the next Commander should old man Yamomoto kick the goddamn bucket, otherwise the world really sucked.
…
I have heretofore drawn the more important parts of the story rather than the more remarkable events. In the light of what I have so far revealed, it is very easy to understand, or to predict, that Inoue and I succeeded in our plight with the help of the equipments lent to us by Captain Ukitake, but not without due difficulties. Having before faced more danger than what the emancipation of the two Arrancar required, we, Inoue and I, both knew we were up against less daunting obstacles. And so I will not trouble myself with the accounts of how we breached the walls of the Penitentiary without raising the uproar we expected, just as how Ukitake's father before us undertook the same labor once upon a difficult time. I am jumping to the narration of what transpired after we managed to smuggle the two former Espada from their tight incarceration.
…
Under the pressure of being caught, there was nowhere else for the four of us to go but to a place well beyond the detection of the soldiers of high power. We proceeded to the human world.
As we drew nearer and nearer to our goal, the awareness that soon we would part with the two Arrancar, to perhaps never meet again, became unrelenting and heavy in our hearts. I knew because Grimmjow and Ulquiorra made it clear how much they wanted to live in peace at last, to leave behind their family name and start anew as they had done countless times before. Grimmjow did not even inquire as to the whereabouts of the emblem he lent Inoue a few days ago. On top of things, I had wanted so much to settle accounts with Grimmjow and wipe out any misunderstanding we had had in the past. To part ways in peace, setting aside all the hard feelings which stood between us- was it too much to ask?
For the life of me, I couldn't tell why he hated me so. If I hadn't killed Ulquiorra, he would still be Cuatro now, in which case he would have been lost to Grimmjow forever. But slowly I came to realize this resentment was due to the environment in which he found himself, and he couldn't help it if he existed in a place and time which he loathed. In line with this thought, I could only wonder if he had at least considered me at some point in time as a person other than his one true nemesis. I so wished he had.
"We are taking you to Urahara. He will open a link to the human world and Hueco Mundo." Inoue was telling Ulquiorra, who nodded in gratitude. They did look very good together but, knowing they would never be, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her, and for myself.
In a few hours ahead we would be sundered forever, as sure as the rivers reached the sea.
TBC
A/N: Last chapter coming up. Tired of prolonging this crapfic so this has to really end.