Secrets

'...' Thinking

"..." Speaking

Before I continue, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to these amazing individuals for following my story and supporting me through and through.

Dark Little World

Danielapmatute

Kayray20

Xxxivyninjaxx

Ammeanna

Maxwell C-Dornez

Disclaimer:

This will be my first time writing in a few years, so please be patient with me. All the stories I write are my interpretation of how I would have wanted the show/game to end up. The characters and the actual series I write about are not mine as I do not own any rights. I am just a fan and love to show it by creating my stories, but any OC's I create are that of my own imagination and creativity. Please keep in mind I am not a perfect writer and I do make mistakes.

"Did anyone see what happened?"

"Oh my God! Someone call 9-1-1!"

"Did anyone get a good look at the guy?"

Clouds gathered around as the sound of thunder rolled in, lightning trailing not too far behind. Crimson blood spread across the sidewalk like a bucket of paint that had been knocked over. The victim, a man in his late teens, looked up at the sky. He heard voices all around him but could not make out what they were saying due to the ringing in his ears. Being sideswiped by an oncoming vehicle was no laughing matter, the pain he felt in his bloodshot eyes were proof of how serious the consequences were. Slowly turning his head, he saw his companion laying a few feet away with their back turned toward him. "H-Hey man just keep your eyes open! Help is on the way!"

He felt his fingers twitch as he willed his hand to curl and uncurl. The small motion was proof enough that nothing was too damaged, but he did feel his body becoming numb from the blood loss. Over his body, a man and woman shielded him from the rain with their umbrellas while others used pieces of their clothing to make tourniquets on the two victims. Just enough to where they could stabilize until the ambulance arrived. "You're going to be fine young man. They will take good care of you and your friend here. Don't you worry multiple bystanders recorded the video of the guy who fled. I am sure the police will catch up to them soon!"

The older gentleman rested his palm on the man's chest as his breathing got more rapid. "Calm down…you need to preserve what strength you have left."

He could not believe it! They just went out to buy more supplies for the festival that was supposed to start in an hour. The next thing he knew people were shouting and motioning for the truck to slow down, but it never did and veered onto the sidewalk heading straight for them. "What's your name? Hey, just keep talking to me we need to keep you awake."

"U-Ul….qui..orra….Ulqui…orra."

"Ulquiorra is it? Nice to meet you, my name is Jushiro Ukitake. Don't try to move or touch her we don't know what could be broken and I don't want to risk it."

Ulquiorra tried to say something, anything but only the sound of his gasping could be heard. He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure one of his lungs were collapsed or at the very least, punctured. 'Momo…'

Soon red and blue lights flooded into his line of vision as cops and paramedics arrived. People were ushered to the side as caution tape was set up around the perimeter meanwhile, the police took down witness statements.

"S-Save her f-first…nn," 'She can't die. I don't want her to leave me…'

Ulquiorra could feel himself fading in and out of consciousness, but he was able to see her one last time before they took her away in another ambulance, what he saw made his eyes glazed with despair.

Back at Karakura High multiple students were finishing up with last-minute decorations before the festival opened to the public eye in thirty minutes. At the entrance to the school, Nnoitra could be seen hanging up a banner with one Momo Hinamori helping him center it. "A-Almost there Gilga-Sama! Just a little more to the right-and…perfect! That should do it!"

"Alright hand me the nails and hammer." His large hand gripped the ladder tightly while his other was held out to her. Momo shuffled to the table near the main entrance and grabbed both items before returning to his side. He watched as she tippy-toed and handed him the materials required to finish the festival banner.

"Don't hurt your feet. I can come down if it's too high up."

"N-No…almost t-there….ah! Here!"

"Alright, it's up. What is next on the list?"

"U-Um we just need to put the signs up f-for the gym doors and cafeteria. Unfortunately, w-we ran out of poster boards and paint so Cifer-Kun went with Nel-Chan to the store to help her carry the stuff and g-get yummy snacks for everyone who helped decorate today."

Nnoitra rolled his eyes and folded up the ladder, "they will be gone until the festival is over. Nel always gets sidetracked when she sees something she cannot resist buying. We might as well look for spare cardboard and extra art supplies in the art room to decorate in the meantime."

"Ehehehe-" Momo lowered her head in embarrassment, how could she have known? She was still learning more about Ulquiorra's friends, but this was a new discovery for her. She would remember to notate that piece of information the next time Nel offered to go anywhere in her steed.

To: Cifer-Kun

From: Momo H.

Subject: ETA?

Hey,

Sorry to bother you! Just wondering how much longer you both are going to be? The festival starts in 30 minutes! Be safe! I love you...

Soon the grand opening of Karakura High's annual sports festival came to light and people were making their way inside. Although she should have been happy by the turn out she couldn't help but worry as Ulquiorra and Nelliel were nowhere in sight. "Gilga-Sama…Cifer-Kun's phone keeps going to voicemail…I can't seem to get through. Can you try Nel-Chan's phone? It's already so late."

Nnoitra nodded and fished his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He refreshed his messages multiple times but kept getting the "no new notifications," tab. He tried calling but got no answer. He even sent multiple texts to their group chat and to Nel individually. "Nothing. Where the hell are, they?"

To: Nel O./Ulquiorra C.

From: Noir

Subject: WYA?!

NG: FYI the festival started 10 minutes ago. Where the hell are you two…? Ulquiorra just drag Nel by the shirt if she won't leave the store -.-

To: Nel O.

From: Noir

Subject: Location?

Babe…Momo is worried about you and so am I. When you read this call or text me back. Let me know you two are okay and on your way back.

"Maybe we should go look for them? The store was down the block from our school, right? I am sure we can make it there and back before the festival ends. That way, we all have some time to enjoy everything."

He nodded his head and grabbed his backpack, "that's probably the best course of action right now. If I don't get those signs up for Nel, she'll get an earful from that damn committee president." Momo reached down for her knapsack and put it on before walking side by side with Nnoitra but found it difficult to keep up considering he was tall and took long strides. It took him a few moments to realize Momo was falling behind. "S-Sorry, I'll walk faster!"

"Don't worry about it. I am so used to walking by Nel's side I forget there are people shorter than her. I get lost in thought and don't pay much attention to my surroundings. I feel…at peace when she is around."

'A new discovery…' Momo listened intently as he spoke. It was rare for them to be in a room alone together since they always had their partners. It was…nice to get to know more about her new friend. "You really like Nel-Chan! I see it all over your face."

His face flushed red and turned away clearing his throat. "You idiot. Who taught you to be so smug? Get that look off your face…come on we are almost there." He ruffled her bangs causing her to giggle. 'He gets embarrassed easily…especially when Nel is mentioned.'

"Hold on! Stop right there you two! No one is allowed past this area. Please turn around and find another route!" A female officer no bigger than Momo was blowing a whistle and ushering the cleanup crew in. "What appears to be the problem officer? Why can't we pass?"

"Nasty accident. Hit and run but according to witnesses, it seems like it was premediated. I really don't have time to explain so please hurry alo-"

"One more question, please! My boyfriend and my friend's girlfriend came in this general direction. They were picking up some supplies for the festival happening at Karakura High! Did you by chance direct them elsewhere?"

"What do they look like?"

"Ah! I'm so sorry here-" Momo nervously fumbled with her phone and brought up her background picture. A group photo of the four of them during lunch that Nel had taken.

As soon as she saw the picture her eyed widened and she backed up, "One moment." The officer turned around and walked away to radio something into her walkie, but Momo couldn't make it out.

"Where else do you think they could have gone?" She asked Nnoitra who was staring at the dried blood that was being cleaned up by official personnel. "They could have taken a train to Mitsumiya…I heard there is a shop there run by a middle-aged man and his two children. However, that's two hours away I doubt they would travel that far and miss the festival. Nel has no patience, she couldn't bear to be on a train that long."

"Hmmm…What about Hirohyaku Supermarket? They might have some art supplies there-oh! Or the shopping district back near the hospital!"

Nnoitra's eye widened and he nodded, "You might be r-"

"Momo Hinamori? Nnoitra Gilga?"

"Ah! Y-Yes that is us!"

"Did the school report us? Cause we have permission to leave the grounds by the vice principal her-"

"You two need to come with me to the station…we know the identities of the two victims because their belongings were found on the premises along with their school IDs. We believe your uh…partners were targeted. Witnesses say that the truck headed directly for them even when told to slow down and stop. You both are eighteen, so you don't require a legal guardian to be there with you, but you're more than welcome to give them a call."

"Wait how do you know who we are?"

"The parents of the victims named you two specifically. They told us you are their significant others…was this wrong information?"

Noir glared at the rookie cop and stepped forward with an intimidating aura surrounding him, "No. It's absolutely correct, but I ask you. Are we being questioned criminally? You don't think we could have done something so-"

"N-No, sir. We just need any details you might have on who could have done this." The officer began scribbling down their names and contact information, "trust me the faster we finish the quicker you can get to the hospital and see them. I want nothing more than to see you all reunited."

"C-Can you at least tell us if they are okay? Has anything been broken? Concussions?!"

"Look lady I don't have time to answer your questions. You haven't arrested us so unless you are going to then I am heading to the hospital." Nnoitra turned on his heel and began to run toward the direction of the Karakura hospital.

"W-Wait! Ah, dammit…I hate being new I feel like I have no authority here."

"I-I'm going too! I'm sorry Officer…p-please you already know who we are as soon as we find out they are okay we can answer your questions!"

"Hold on! At least take my card! Call me if something changes in their conditions believe in me, I will find whoever did this."

"Officer Kuchiki is it…?"

"That's me." Rukia smiled softly and patted Momo's shoulder, "look, kid. I'll get better at this I promise. Stay out of trouble because when I make captain one day, I want you and your friends to be model citizens for the vision of Karakura Town that I will one day create. Now…get out of here your friends need you."

Momo wiped away her tears and bowed in respect to the rookie police officer before running in the direction Nnoitra went. It took mere minutes for her to catch up, she may have been small, but she was fast. "G-Gilga-Sama, wait please!"

Nnoitra heard his name being called and he turned just in time to see Momo stumble over her feet. His eye widened and he caught her by the waist causing her to blush and rest her hands on his chest, "s-sorry me and my two left feet. Ah…s-shall we go in? I am sure they are just fine."

"Y-Yeah."

The two friends walked up to the front counter where a tall woman with silver hair was typing away at her computer and moving files over to the cabinet. She saw Nnoitra first and her eyes widened, what an unusual looking man. "Y-Yes, sir? Can I help you?"

"We are here because of our partners…my girlfriend and her boyfriend were brought here on a hit and run. We want to know the status they are in and if we can see them please."

"Uh…one moment while I look up that information." She quickly typed in their names into the system and got an instant ping. "Yes, we have both of those patients here and both are in surgery at the moment, but unfortunately that is all I can tell you unless you are family."

"Does that matter right now!? I just told you my girlfriend is in here hurt…I need to know if she is going to be alright…."

"P-Please ma'am we are so worried…" Momo bowed repeatedly to the clerk practically begging her to let them in on what their friends were being treated for. "I am sorry…but that's hospital pol-"

"Look. They are both eighteen years old and Ulquiorra lives with me because his father is a piece of shit and an alcoholic who beats on him. Do you want to call that monster here just so he can abuse his son further? If Ulquiorra is in worse condition, then he might even purposefully make your staff pull the plug?"

Her eyes widened and she looked down at her computer visibly uncomfortable. "I-I'm sorry if I had known I wouldn't have…called his parent already. His father has been here since they brought Ulquiorra in. I can tell the staff to keep their eyes on Mr. Cifer, but that's all I can do, I sympathize with your situations I do, but I can't risk my job. I have a younger sister to support. Maybe you can talk to Mr. Cifer and convince him to let you see your friend, or if Ulquiorra recovers and can voice his needs for his own… then we can let you see him the same goes for Ms. Odelschwanck."

'That fucking prick isn't going to let us get anywhere near him…'

"Has Nel's Mom arrived yet?"

"Yes, sir…she is in the waiting area feel free to go look for her."

"Yeah…thanks for nothing." He glared and turned his back to the clerk. Momo was in tears as she had no way to get to Ulquiorra or even know his health status. So, she had no choice but to follow Nnoitra to find Nelliel's mother amongst the crowd of patient's families.

It didn't take long since Nelliel's mother was a woman of fashion, though she may have seemed strict and cold to other people she was quite the opposite of the ones she was close with. "Mrs. Odelschwanck…"

Nnoitra stepped in front of the lavishly dressed woman, who hopped up from her seat and threw her arms around his shoulders. It seems…they were close and knew one another, but it was to be expected considering Nelliel and Nnoitra were friends since forever and now lovers.

"We came as soon as we heard the news. What sick bastard would want to do this to her…? To Ulquiorra…?"

"I-I don't know Noir…I am so worried…she's been in surgery for hours now."

"S-Surgery?" His eye widened and a look of despair graced his face, "for what…what was injured?"

"They said she needed a plastic surgeon…her face was badly injured in the accident. Her lung was punctured by her broken ribs and she lost some of her teeth…I…that's all they told me before they took her to the back for emergency surgery." She grabbed Nnoitra's arm and began to cry into his sleeve. He patted her mint-colored hair that was so much like Nel's and had her sit down before she fainted.

"I-I'm so sorry G-Gilga-Sama…" Momo collapsed into one of the chairs in disbelief and threw her hands over her face to hide her tears.

"W-Who is she Noir?" Mrs. Odelschwanck questioned as she wiped her snot with a tissue, "I don't believe we have met."

"I-I'm Nel-Chan's friend a-and C-Cifer-Kun is my b-boyfriend…."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, "I-I didn't know he was even in a relationship and trust me I know a lot…my Nel keeps me-" Her voice grew quieter as she thought of her daughter, "she kept me…up to date on current events in her life."

"I am so sorry this happened…it should have been me. I was supposed to go to the store with Ulquiorra, but I had to finish the other tasks and I-I…Mrs. Odelschwanck I am so sorry…this is my fault…"

Nnoitra sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "it's not your fault. It's just bad timing…plus ah-" he looked over at Nel's mom and frowned, "I don't know if you know this, but the police believe this was planned. The truck that hit them both was speeding and purposefully veered onto the sidewalk where they were walking."

"B-But who would want to hurt them? My Nelliel is the sweetest child ever…and Cifer-San is so polite and quiet….two angels if you ask me! He's right dear this isn't your fault…it's just a cruel prank life decided to play on us"

"I don't know, but Mrs. Odelschwanck have you gotten any update on Ulquiorra?"

She cast her eyes downward and shook her head, "that father of his frightens me. He hasn't left the waiting room near his door. Even if I tried, I don't think he would let me, through."

Momo sniffled and held herself she felt so helpless like there was nothing she could do or say to help the one she loved. Nnoitra felt bad seeing another woman cry so he sat in the middle and patted their backs in a small comforting gesture.

"It's going to be alright. We all know how strong willed they are…they will pull through and come back to us, just have patience." Nnoitra murmured as he closed his eye and tried to concentrate on his nerves that were in bunches from the time they left the crime scene

A few hours later Nelliel's mother stood up and yawned. "I'm going to go home to shower and change…do you kids want anything when I come back?"

"Ah no thank you Mrs. Odelschwanck I am quite alright." Momo chimed and perked up, but it was already one in the morning and Nnoitra could tell she was tired. "You're both adults so I am going to trust you two to look after my daughter until I come back. I'll be an hour top."

"I'm alright ma'am. Go home and rest we will handle everything here."

"Such a good man…I would be proud to call you my son. I'll see you two soon. Oh! Before I leave, I'll make sure to tell the clerk to allow you both to visit here whenever."

"T-Thank you so much!"

"We appreciate it…"

Both stood and bowed respectfully to their elder before quietly sitting back down. The tension was high, but in each other's presence, it didn't seem so bad. "I'm really sorry…I don't know what else I can say."

"I told you already there is nothing to apologize for…if you want me to get mad at you, I'll do it, but I can't promise you its genuine." He gave a slight smirk and ruffled her bangs before retracting his hand. She rubbed the spot that he touched and gave a nervous smile. "N-No that's okay. I-I believe you…I just…"

She looked up into his eyes with tears streaming down her face. "I want them both to be okay…to smile and laugh with us again…"

He sighed and looked up at the flickering hospital light, "you mean Nel to be smiling and laughing because I'm pretty sure I haven't heard Ulquiorra laugh in a very long time…though with you I am not surprised, you bring out the best in him and make him feel happy. I appreciate you being there for him Momo, he is my best friend and a brother to me. Tell any of this to him and I will find a way to blackmail you."

"N-No worries! You won't have to worry about me...I appreciate your words, but may I ask? Where do we go from here?"

"I'm going, to be honest with you. Nel sounds like she is in serious condition and we still have no word on Ulquiorra because of Aizen."

"Who is…Ai-zen?" Such a weird name she wasn't used to the pronunciation.

"Oh, I'm sorry I thought you knew. Aizen is Ulquiorra's father's name. I just prefer to call him that because he doesn't deserve the household name Cifer."

"Household name…?"

"Ah…yeah Ulquiorra's mother's maiden name is Merci Cifer. Aizen married into the family's wealth. For a while, from my understanding, he was a nice man, but when Merci became pregnant with Ulquiorra she fell ill with a condition called pregnancy poisoning, of course, there is another fancy term for it, but I am not a doctor."

"I-I never knew that…he didn't tell me…then again we are still learning new things about each other every day."

Nnoitra leaned back in the hospital chair and let his hair down to ease the slight throbbing he was feeling in his temples. "To be honest with you I am not surprised. He never knew her…she died before he was a month old…the infection was too much for her body to handle. Anyways Aizen inherited all her money and blamed Ulquiorra for her death. He really did love her and maybe at one point, he was excited about having a child…until that very happiness is what tore their family apart."

"B-But it wasn't his fault! It's a condition…it happens sometimes in pregnancies you can't possibly blame a child for that."

He nodded and rubbed the slight stubble under his chin, "I know, but Aizen was different. The moment Merci died it's like a switch flipped on and he changed a complete three-sixty. He began to drink and when Ulquiorra was old enough to attend a school that's when the beatings happened. The rest…you already know. Maybe when they both recover you can take a day to ask him about his past. I am sure he trusts you enough to fill you in...one baby step at a time, right?"

She couldn't believe it…why couldn't he just tell her? Sure, she would have been worried and shocked, but she never would have judged him for what happened. It wasn't even his fault why did he blame himself so much? All she knew is that she just wanted to hold him in her arms again and love him. She wanted to be his heart and she wanted him to be hers…a true human connection. 'I'll wait…however long it takes. Until Ulquiorra comes back to me.'

As the minutes ticked by the two felt themselves slowly becoming drowsy as if the day's activities had finally caught up with their bodies. When Nelliel's mother returned she saw a precious sight…both Nnoitra and Momo had fallen asleep against each other, shoulder to shoulder, and knee to knee. She didn't have the heart to wake them so she placed her blanket over their bodies and sat across from them with her pillow on the wooden armrest, she figured she'd get some rest because who knew what test results waited for them in the morning. Only fate could decide the best route for Ulquiorra and Nelliel now.