Ulquiorra stared down at the teal haired arrancar, his eyes narrowed. Even though he had made a small cut, drawing a few droplets of blood to show how easy it was for him to inflict damage upon the arrancar despite his hierro, the man just kept on staring up at him, his sapphire eyes wide. How did the arrancar know his name? Ulquiorra wanted to know. He had only been a lieutenant for a few months, a captain for barely a day. Were there spies in Soul Society? Or did word of mouth spread quickly?

It was quite dark so he was unable to make out the arrancar's face, but he could tell that the arrancar had some sort of mask at the side of his face and hair the most curious shade of blue. And there were tears in those sapphire eyes.

Had the arrancar been crying earlier or did he fear for his life?

From their short conversation a few moments ago, Ulquiorra could tell that this man did not fear death. However, he could not think of anything that could reduce the man before him into tears.

Deciding that he had pondered long enough - he was going to kill the nameless arrancar anyway – Ulquiorra applied a little more pressure on Grimmjow's throat, making more blood seep through the wound.

"How do you know my name?" Ulquiorra repeated, his voice hard. "Answer me."

Grimmjow's mind was spinning as he continued to stare up at the man above him in disbelief. Except for the absence of green tear track markings, a broken mask in the shape of a helmet and a hollow hole, the shinigami bore an uncanny resemblance to the Ulquiorra Schiffer that he once knew. And apparently, the shinigami also shared the same name as Ulquiorra.

But there was no way that the shinigami was Ulquiorra Schiffer.

Grimmjow had seen Ulquiorra die in front of his very eyes. There was no way that the man above him was Ulquiorra. This was all just a cruel joke that someone was playing on him, making him come face to face with a man that was like a replica of his Ulquiorra. Of his lover. This was all just a sick, cruel joke.

"I am losing my patience, arrancar."

The voice of the shinigami named Ulquiorra Schiffer brought Grimmjow out of his thoughts. That, and the added pressure on the blade. He blinked, trying to make sure that this was all not a dream.

It was not.

The blade that Ulquiorra was holding against his neck was very much real. So was the blood seeping out of his shallow wound. The old Ulquiorra Schiffer or not, Grimmjow had to get out of this position. And fast. The shinigami did not look like the type that would show him any mercy. But first, he had to try and get a better look at the man. To make sure that his mind was not playing tricks on him since he had only managed to get a glimpse of the shinigami's face.

Grimmjow did not know why he said the next thing that came out of his mouth, especially since he was not at all certain of whether the shinigami was the Ulquiorra that he knew, but he said them anyways; "You don't remember me, do you?" Grimmjow whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Ulquiorra frowned.

The way those emerald eyes looked down on with him a condescending and annoyed look was exactly like how the former Ulquiorra used to look at everyone else. The only difference was that this look was directed at Grimmjow instead of everyone else.

Grimmjow fell silent once more, examining the shinigami's doll like face, sapphire eyes large. Time seemed to stand still between the two of them. At least it felt that way for Grimmjow. He doubted that the shinigami before him could care less about him or the fate that lay in wait for him - death. He tried pushing the blade away, but found that it was impossible. Ulquiorra had kept a firm grip on his zanpaktou, and the position that Grimmjow was in did not allow him for any means of escape.

Ulquiorra used his knee to pin one of Grimmjow's arms down while he used his free hand to grip at the Sexta's other arm, further decreasing Grimmjow's chances of escape. "What does the number six on your back mean?"

He noticed the number even in the dark? The shinigami was just as observant as the former Ulquiorra.

"And what does the word Espada mean to you?" Ulquiorra thought that he might as well use the position that he was in to his advantage. Seeing that the teal haired arrancar remained silent, Ulquiorra continued, "It is my theory that the Espada are a group of arrancars. An elite. A group of the strongest arrancars for the army in Hueco Mundo. So far, I have not met any arrancars with numbers tattooed onto their body like you have. And they were all weaklings." Ulquiorra paused, eyeing the sapphire eyed arrancar carefully, his lips set in a thin line. "You, however, are stronger from the ones that I have encountered. And you have a number tattooed on to your body. You are different. It is my theory that you are a part of this Espada and that your number represents your rank, your power." Another pause. "Am I correct?"

Even though the man's knowledge on arrancars in Aizen's army was obviously limited, everything that he had said was spot on. He was just as intelligent as Ulquiorra. Just as calculative. Just as analytical.

However, Ulquiorra seemed to have mistaken Grimmjow's speechlessness for fear because the next thing he said was, "I see that you are useless even though you are, as I have theorized, the sixth strongest. Since you have chosen not to cooperate, I will end your life right here, right now."

He was just as cold and merciless when it came to eliminating the enemy.

Cold.

Quick.

Efficient.

Merciless.

All of these similarities were overwhelming Grimmjow even as he watched Ulquiorra lift his zanpaktou, some drops of crimson clinging onto the edge of the blade.

Ulquiorra was ready to bring the blade down to end the arrancar's life. Ignoring the look on Grimmjow's face, he intoned, "Good bye, arrancar." Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were at war. This was not the time to show any mercy. And with that, he brought the blade swiftly down.

At any rate, the arrancar's death was inevitable.

Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head. There did not seem to be any arrancars here in Karakura Town tonight. He had checked absolutely everywhere and still nothing. At least at the North side of Karakura Town. The orange haired teen wondered absently whether Ulquiorra had found any arrancars or hollows lurking around. Ichigo swung Zangetsu onto his back. He did not need it. Not at the moment.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ichigo walked towards the South side of Karakura to look for Ulquiorra. Their shift was nearly over anyways.

Ulquiorra.

The young Vaizard winced at that name. When he first saw Ulquiorra Schiffer a few months ago, he nearly had a heart attack. He was sure that he was imagining things. For months the memory of that he was responsible for the Cuarta Espada's death haunted him. He had barely been able to sleep, guilt clawing at the corner of his mind, eating him, devouring him whole. So when he saw a shinigami that looked exactly like the former Espada, Ichigo could not believe his eyes.

As soon as he had laid eyes on Schiffer after being introduced to the pale man and before he could say anything to him on the matter, Captain Byakuya had pulled Ichigo aside and ordered him not to say a word.

"Ichigo," Captain Yamamoto said, "Meet our new lieutenant. His name is Ulquiorra Schiffer."He gestured at a pale, raven haired man who was clad in the usual shinigami uniform.

The former Espada looked at Ichigo through emerald orbs. "Pleased to meet you. I have heard a lot about you, Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said politely.

Ichigo's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. He pointed his finger at Ulquiorra's face. "What the fuck…!!! What the FUCK….! You… you… Why are you-"

"Excuse me?" Ulquiorra knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, the finger that Ichigo was pointing directly at his face unnerved him somewhat. "And can you please point that thing somewhere else?"

"You… you…" Ichigo stuttered, ignoring Ulquiorra's last sentence. "You're supposed to be-"

"Supposed to be what?"

Seeing where this conversation was going, Captain Byakuya grabbed Ichigo and nearly yanked his arm out of his socket when he pulled Ichigo to a corner. When they were out of earshot, Byakuya glared at Ichigo, who was still staring wide eyed at Ulquiorra. "Do not," Byakuya said dangerously, "say a word to him about his past."

Ichigo looked at Byakuya, confused. "But-"

"That's an order."Byakuya said it with so much finality that Ichigo did not question the man any further.

It was only till later that Rangiku Matsumoto had taken pity on him and explained the situation to him. Long story short, Ulquiorra Schiffer had been reborn into Soul Society after his death, just like the rest of the hollows. Which explained Ulquiorra's sudden reappearance. However, the former Espada had lost all of his memories and everyone would like to keep it that way.

Even though Ulquiorra was one of the higher ranked officers, no wait, a Captain, he hardly knew anything that was going on. Nearly everything that had a strong connection to his past was kept a secret.

Ulquiorra did not know anything about what the Espada really were.

Ulquiorra did not know who was Aizen Sousuke.

Ulquiorra did not know that he was the Captain of the team that Aizen had been the former captain.

Ulquiorra did not know that he was an arrancar. Let alone the former Cuarta Espada.

Ulquiorra definitely did NOT know that Ichigo had been the one who had "killed" him.

All that the raven haired man knew was that Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were at war. He knew nothing of who was behind it all or anything. Nearly everything was kept a secret from Ulquiorra because everyone feared that he might go back to Aizen's army after finding out the truth; Ulquiorra was, after all, Aizen's most loyal arrancar. That fear and possibility were ever present.

Ichigo did not agree with that though. He thought that since Ulquiorra had pledged his loyalty to Soul Society, it was highly unlikely he would betray them. It was also unfair to Ulquiorra, in Ichigo's opinion. But he had promised to keep his mouth shut on the matter, so he was just as bad as them. However, their worries were quite understandable.

And now, since Ulquiorra was back, Ichigo had been trying to make sure that the former Espada did not get into any sort of danger. He had to live through the guilt once. He did not want to live through it again.

Ichigo stopped in his tracks.

Strange.

He narrowed his brown eyes.

There were two reiatsus. One belonged to Ulquiorra Schiffer. And the other felt vaguely familiar. From the feel of their reiatsu, one of them was in a life or death situation. The killing intent in Ulquiorra's reiatsu was unmistakable. Ichigo's throat constricted.

No.

The Vaizard shunpoed his way to the location where the two reiatsus were coming from. If his suspicions were correct, he had to stop Ulquiorra.

He came to a stop when he spotted Ulquiorra pinning someone with teal hair to the ground, his zanpaktou raised. The man was not even fighting Ulquiorra off. His fear was confirmed once he saw that it was indeed Grimmjow Jeagerjaques that Ulquiorra had trapped. And he was about to kill the Sexta.

Ulquiorra felt something, someone hit him with such force that the next thing he knew, he had landed heavily to the ground, his zanpaktou knocked out of his hand with a clatter. He let out a sharp cry when his head hit the ground, pain searing through his mind and body. Feeling something wet at the back of his head, he reached up, touched the wet substance and brought it up to eye level, his blurry vision slowly coming into focus. He was bleeding.

"Kurosaki??" Ulquiorra said in disbelief when he saw that Ichigo was the one who had pushed him.

The orange haired teen shook his head, his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry, Ulquiorra."

"You fool," Ulquiorra hissed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the teal haired arrancar was slowly regaining his senses and was getting up. "I'm not done with you yet, arrancar." The pale shinigami stood up shakily, grabbing his zanpaktou from the ground, and clutching the back of his head as he did so. Damn that Kurosaki. What was the boy playing at?

Ulquiorra was about to reach out for the arrancar who stood rooted to the spot when he felt Ichigo grab his wrist, stopping him.

"Don't do it, Ulquiorra!" Ichigo managed.

"Why?" Ulquiorra glared at the Vaizard.

"I… Because…"

"Enough. I do not have time for this." Seeing that the Vaizard was not able to come up with a reason, Ulquiorra pushed Ichigo away from him roughly, making him slam into the wall and performed a binding spell on him, locking Ichigo's arms behind his back. "I will deal with you later," he said, his tone hard as he turned his back on Ichigo.

"Ulquiorra! Let me go!" Ichigo struggled with the binding spell that held his arms in place. "Damn it! You are making a mistake!" he yelled out desperately.

Ulquiorra ignored him. He doubted that he was making a mistake. How could killing your enemy be a mistake? He had to act fast; the spell would not be able to hold Kurosaki down for long. The boy was known to possess immense power. Ulquiorra shunpoed in front of the arrancar, bringing his zanpaktou down, intent on slicing flesh and making blood spill.

However, the arrancar had finally unsheathed his own zanpaktou and had blocked Ulquiorra's attack. "Stop it, Ulquiorra!" the arrancar gritted out from the effort of holding the pale shinigami off. "I don't want to fight you!"

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. What was going on? Why were the arrancar and Kurosaki acting so strangely? So many questions were running through his mind. He was confused but he ignored all of those thoughts. "An unwise decision, Espada," Schiffer said coolly. "Because nothing is going to stop me."

Grimmjow's eyes widened. He could not believe it. This was surreal. Even though the man standing before him was apparently Ulquiorra, he did not seem to know who Grimmjow was. It was like he had completely forgotten Grimmjow. That Grimmjow was just another nameless arrancar to kill.

Even with that fact present in his mind, as Ulquiorra's zanpaktou slashed through the air, their blades clashing as Grimmjow blocked every attack, Grimmjow did not attempt to fight back. He could not. Even when the tip of Ulquiorra's blade managed to slice a shallow wound across his cheek, he did not retaliate. Even when Ulquiorra made multiple cuts, slicing flesh, sending crimson spurting out of wounds from his body, Grimmjow did nothing to injure the pale man.

He allowed all of this to happen.

He grunted with effort when their zanpaktous clashed once more.

"Fight back, Espada. Or are you too cowardly to do so?" Ulquiorra hissed, his face close to Grimmjow's. "Aren't you even going to attempt to hit me?"

He could not keep this up. The man was overpowering him. And he did not have the heart to fight back. Especially when he saw his former lover in the man.

"I can't," Grimmjow said softly.

Emerald eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment, but then they hardened once more, turning cold. "So be it, Espada," Ulquiorra said coolly. He raised his zanpaktou once more to attack.

Time seemed to pass by slowly.

With every cut, with every slice.

Crimson blossomed.

Was Grimmjow going to die here? Die here by the hand of his "lover"?

Droplets of blood flew through the air.

A hiss of pain.

The sounds of blades clashing resounded across the street.

Cuts decorated Grimmjow's body.

Patterns of red coated his skin, clinging onto his uniform.

His vision began to blur. His movements grew sluggish. Blood everywhere. There was just so much blood. He could not think. Cold metal blade cutting his flesh open. More and more. But he did not raise a hand to stop the shinigami. Some of the Sexta's blood dotted the pale man's face, standing out against that porcelain. Grimmjow blinked blearily as he blocked one of Ulquiorra's attacks sluggishly. Was it fate for him to die by this shinigami's zanpaktou?

Ulquiorra pointed his zanpaktou at Grimmjow's throat, the teal haired arrancar's arms hanging limply by his sides. He could not fight Ulquiorra, nor did he have the strength in him to defend himself. "You lose, arrancar," Ulquiorra intoned.

Maybe he should give up.

"I know." Grimmjow closed his eyes. He decided to accept his fate. Moisture gathered under his dark lashes. "Just kill me."

"I will," that cold voice said. "Do you have any final words?"

A pause.

Then Grimmjow asked the question that had been nagging at him the whole time since Ulquiorra had found him. He knew that the shinigami's name was Ulquiorra Schiffer. And the resemblance that he bore to his former lover was uncanny. What he needed to know was whether this man was his Ulquiorra. "Do you remember me?" Grimmjow managed. "Do you know who I am?"

The cold blade slid across his skin slowly, taunting him. When was this going to end? How long was fate going to play this cruel joke on him? Let it end… Please, just let it end…

"I don't know who you are, arrancar."

There was not a hint of a lie in those words.

That was the last thing Grimmjow heard the shinigami say before he felt a hand grip his shoulder, pulling him up in the air. Snapping his sapphire eyes open, Grimmjow twisted around and saw who had pulled him to safety. His eyes widened. "Tousen??" He looked up and saw that a Garganta was already open. Tousen must have come here in search for him.

"Aizen is looking for you, Sexta," Tousen said, his tone hard. "You are late for a meeting. And when I find you, you are getting yourself killed."

"I did not!" Grimmjow said heatedly. "And let go of me you friggin' fag!" He tried to free himself from Tousen's vice grip, but to no avail. The former shinigami was much stronger than him. "Get your hands the FUCK off of me!"

Tousen did not reply to that. Instead, he dragged a struggling Grimmjow into the Garganta. Before the Garganta closed, Grimmjow looked down to the ground desperately, sapphire eyes in search for the form of the pale man. He knew that he had just escaped certain death, but he could not help wanting to see the shinigami again. There were so many questions that he had. Too many things that he wanted to know. And then the Garganta closed shut, leaving Grimmjow in darkness, blocking his view of the shinigami called Ulquiorra Schiffer.

Back on the ground, Ulquiorra was struggling to get out of Ichigo's arms. "Let go of me, Kurosaki!" The damned boy had broken free of the binding spell. And he was just about to deliver the finishing blow when a dark skinned man had appeared out of nowhere, pulling the arrancar to safety. He had tried to go after them but Kurosaki held him back. Ulquiorra could only watch as the teal haired arrancar and the man entered the Garganta that had been ripped open in the sky and disappeared.

Once the two individuals were out of sight, Ichigo let go of Ulquiorra.

The pale man whirled on Kurosaki, anger burning in his eyes even though he looked calm. "You shouldn't have done that Kurosaki," Ulquiorra said, his voice dangerously low.

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra, but…" Ichigo began.

"But, what, Kurosaki?" Ulquiorra neared Ichigo, his reiatsu flaring up even though his demeanour was as calm and composed as ever. Emerald eyes bored into warm brown ones, in search for the truth. "Just what is so important about that arrancar that you have been trying to stop me from carrying out my duty?"

"I…" Ichigo really did not know what to say. He could not exactly explain his actions to Ulquiorra. It would give everything away. Luckily, Ulquiorra seemed to have lost his patience and had turned away from Ichigo in disgust.

"I don't want to deal with you anymore," Ulquiorra said. He winced slightly, touching the back of his head. He was still bleeding. Now that the excitement of everything that had happened had gone down, Ulquiorra was feeling rather weak. Light headed. "Damn," he breathed, leaning against the wall, supporting himself against it. His vision was getting blurry. He had used up a lot of energy fighting. The wound at the back of his head did not help matters.

He hated it when he was weak.

"Lieutenant!" Ichigo had gone back to calling him by his title.

He went to Ulquiorra's side and draped the slender man's arm over his shoulder, supporting him. "We need to get you healed. I'll bring you to Captain Unohana," Ichigo said worriedly.

Ulquiorra nodded weakly, closing his eyes as he did so, exhaustion taking over. A lot had happened today. As he allowed Ichigo to support him as he walked, he could not help thinking that when he had managed to get a good look at the arrancar's face earlier and despite his words, the arrancar looked vaguely familiar.

Grimmjow was furious. Once he was back in Las Noches, he pushed Tousen's hand off of him before falling to his knees, breathing hard, trying to calm down. Never mind that he was coated in blood. Never mind that his uniform was now torn in places. He just wanted to know; what the FUCK had just happened just now?

A shinigami who bore an uncanny resemblance to the former Cuarta suddenly coming out of nowhere and attacked him and who also happened to have the very same name as the former Cuarta. What the hell was going on? Was it all just a coincidence or was there a meaning behind all of this?

What the fuck did this all mean?

Tousen merely stood behind Grimmjow, silent, before he finally said, "In this condition, you are not fit to attend the meeting. I advise you to clean yourself up and ask your comrades or Ichimaru about what has been discussed during the meeting."

Grimmjow's eyes widened.

Tousen!

He was a shinigami. He should know what the hell this all meant. Sure, the guy was an ass and he hated the man's guts, but he was desperate. He wanted answers. "Tousen!" Grimmjow stood up and faced the blind former shinigami. "What happens to arrancars after they die?"

Tousen turned away. "You should be thinking about serving Aizen-sama instead of something as trivial as that."

Oh how Grimmjow wanted to crush that man's head with his bare hands. Trying to keep his temper at bay, Grimmjow asked one more question. "Did you see who I was fighting with?"

"What?"

Oh, right. Grimmjow had forgotten. The man was blind.

"Never mind," Grimmjow muttered, deciding to find the answer elsewhere.

"Hmpf. See to that you don't get into anymore trouble. It would be an inconvenience if we lose another Espada," Tousen said before he left Grimmjow to his thoughts.

"What is the meaning of this, Sexta??" Szayel snapped, his amber eyes flashing in anger. He looked down at Grimmjow's hands, which were now fisted to the front of his uniform. "Let go of me, you idiot!" he growled. "You are wrinkling AND dirtying my uniform!" Then he looked at Grimmjow. "Do you know that you look like shit? Who the hell beat you up?"

Grimmjow ignored the Octava's comment. The Octava was smart, right? He should know what all of this meant. The guy knew practically everything, for crying out loud. "What happens to arrancars when they die?"

"What?"

"You heard me!" Grimmjow said exasperatedly. "What happens to them??"

A snide smile broke across Szayel Aporro Grantz's face. "Afraid of death now, are we?" he sniggered. Grimmjow could feel a vein throb in his temple. He could kill the scientist after he received his answer. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Grantz. Right now, at least. Szayel pushed his glasses up his nose. "Unfortunately, I do not have the knowledge that you want. Only shinigamis would know what would happen. They are, after all, the ones that deal with the afterlife. But my guess would be that arrancars will just disappear into nothing. Permanent death."

Grimmjow let go of Szayel, horrified. "You don't mean that."

"They all go bye bye." Szayel made a "boom" sound and hand movements to go with it, laughing madly.

When Grimmjow continued to stare at him in horror, the pink haired arrancar threw an irritated look at Jeagerjaques. "What do I look like to you? A shinigami?" he spat out. "If you do not appreciate my opinion, then fine. Just so you know, I am always right. Perfect."

"There must be another explanation!" Grimmjow choked. "Anything but that!"

Szayel shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not a shinigami. Why don't you ask Ichimaru-sama? He should know. And he won't cut your arm off."

"Ichimaru?"

Szayel rolled his eyes. "Yes, you idiot. One thing's for sure. You didn't become the Sexta for your brains."

"Ichimaru," Grimmjow repeated, the fox faced man's face appearing in his mind.

Of course!

Grimmjow sonidoed his way to the surveillance room so fast that Ichimaru nearly fell off of his chair when Grimmjow came bursting into the room. "Kyaaaa! Don't do that, Grimmy-chan!" Ichimaru scolded as he clutched at his chest, his smile falling a bit. Just a bit. "You nearly made me fall down!" He got up, dusting himself. "Now, why are you here?"

"I… I want to know what happens to arrancars when they die," Grimmjow breathed, panting a little. To be honest, he was exhausted what with everything that had happened, but this was important. It was crucial for him to know. He could not give in to exhaustion just yet. "Where do they go?"

The fox faced man tilted his head, his smile widening. "Now why would you want to know something like that, Grimmy-chan?" The Sexta certainly was a very curious individual to be suddenly interested in such matters. Noticing how bloodied and run down the teal haired arrancar looked, Ichimaru added, "And do you know that you look like shit?"

"Please," Grimmjow said softly. "Can you please tell me, Ichimaru-sama?"

"Eh?" Ichimaru was surprised. It was rare for Grimmjow to be so polite. To anyone, actually. The teal haired arrancar was known for his brash and rough personality. The only person that he seemed to show his soft side for was the former Cuarta Espada. Seeing the look in those sapphire eyes, Ichimaru sighed. "Well," he said carefully. "Since arrancars are hollows, they will be reborn in Soul Society once they die."

"They what?" Grimmjow breathed.

"They will be reborn into Soul Society," Ichimaru repeated. "But only if they die by the blade of a shinigami's zanpaktou. If they don't, well, they will just become nothing."

Grimmjow's mind was spinning.

Ulquiorra died by the blade of Ichigo Kurosaki's zanpaktou!

This meant… This could mean that…

"What happens to them after they are reborn?" Grimmjow asked another question.

Ichimaru scratched the side of his head. "You seem awfully interested in this afterlife subject all of a sudden, aren't you, Grimmy-chan?"

"Just tell me. What happens to them after they are reborn?" Please just answer the question. Grimmjow wanted to know so badly that he let the fact that Ichimaru had called him by that accursed nickname slide.

"What do you mean? They will live their lives in Soul Society of course."

Grimmjow gritted his teeth. "What I meant was," he said, "Will there be any side effects? Will they remember anything about their past life? Their past life as a human? Their past life as an arrancar?"

Ichimaru tapped his chin. "It depends, Grimmy-chan. There have been some cases where they do remember everything. But those are rare and far between. Some remember bits and pieces of their past life. The majority however, do not remember anything. But they may regain their memories if they are exposed to something or someone that had great meaning to their past life. The only thing that all of them remember once they are reborn are their names."

So the raven haired shinigami was Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra was back. But he did not remember Grimmjow at all. And worst of all, he regarded Grimmjow as the enemy, going as far as nearly killing the Sexta.

Grimmjow did not know whether he should be happy about this. But it certainly brought some hope back into his heart. Ulquiorra was back… This fact kept repeating itself in his mind, overwhelming him. Ulquiorra… Grimmjow felt light headed. He had never thought that he would be able to get the chance to look into those emerald orbs again. And now he could. But there was only one problem…

"Did I help, Grimmy-chan?" Ichimaru smiled, his tone playful. "This is about Ulquiorra-chan, isn't it?" he mused.

"No, it isn't," Grimmjow lied, snapping to attention.

"That's good," he said, even though he sounded a little disappointed. He wanted some drama to happen around here. And Grimmjow going on some mission to search for his former lover would have certainly been drama. Things were just so dull around Las Noches lately. Nothing ever happened nowadays. "Because Aizen wouldn't like it if you go looking for him. Especially since he is now a resident of Soul Society. Aizen would view it as betrayal. He will absolutely forbid it."

"I know," Grimmjow said. "I know," he said once more, softly.

The smile on Ichimaru's face widened. "Good kitty cat."

Grimmjow was in his room. He had cleaned himself up, just as what Tousen had told him to do. The Sexta had also attended to his own wounds, wincing slightly each time he accidentally touched the cuts when he tried bandaging them. They stung like hell. The pain was a bitch. The teal haired arrancar lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, his mind occupied with many thoughts and memories.

Emerald orbs were raised to look into my own sapphire ones. "It is time to go for battle. The shinigami and his friends have arrived," you said. "Aizen-sama has commanded me to finish off Ichigo Kurosaki."

I clutched at your white hands, not wanting to let go. I had a bad feeling about this. Something horrible was about to happen, I just knew it. "Please, don't go." I looked at you pleadingly. I pulled you into a bone breaking hug, closing my eyes, taking in your scent. I wanted us to stay in that position forever. I did not want you to go. Never.

Even though that had happened over a year ago, a few hours before the Cuarta's death, that memory was still fresh in his mind. He remembered how Ulquiorra's skin felt against his. He remembered how small and fragile Ulquiorra seemed when he held him in his arms. He remembered that as he took in Ulquiorra's scent, he had never felt happier or safe. He remembered how Ulquiorra seemed to fit in his arms so perfectly, as though he was made for him. As though they were made for each other.

When I finally released you from my crushing embrace, you reached up to cup my cheek. "I have to go. This will never end if we don't put a stop to the shinigami."

I bit my bottom lip, forcing down the tears that were threatening to spring up to my sapphire eyes. I knew that you were right. As always. But I did not want to admit it. "Ulquiorra…" I touched your doll-like face, tracing the contours of your face, touching that flawless porcelain white skin that I loved so much. I wanted to imprint your image in my mind forever.

Ulquiorra was back. And he was now a shinigami. But he did not remember Grimmjow at all. Nothing. They were now enemies. Grimmjow being on the Hueco Mundo side, and Ulquiorra being on Soul Society's. If he attempted to pursue Ulquiorra, Aizen would sentence him to death for sure. He would automatically be labeled as a betrayer amongst the Espada.

And Aizen did not take betrayal lightly.

Then there was the fact that Ulquiorra would just try to kill him again if he so much as approached the pale man. And who knows, next time, maybe there would not be anyone to save him like Tousen had done.

"Grimmjow." You pushed a strand of teal hair from my eyes. "No matter what happens, we will always be together. You are a part of me, and I am a part of you. If anything happens, we will never truly be apart." You bit your bottom lip. Truth was, you did not know whether we were going to come out of this in one piece. I could tell. I knew you were saying this for me more than anything else. And I was grateful for that. "I love you, Grimmjow. I always will." You placed a soft kiss on my lips, our eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment.

And then you left for battle.

Grimmjow turned to his side, tears filling his eyes. Ulquiorra had told him that he loved him that day, just like he did many times before that. "I love you," Ulquiorra's voice echoed in his mind. He stared at his open palm. He had held Ulquiorra's hand that day. That small hand fit his perfectly, those slim fingers intertwining themselves in his. Small, delicate.

Was Ulquiorra really worth losing his life for?

Grimmjow closed his hand into a fist and then opened it once more. If he were to pursue Ulquiorra, he would have to try and get the man to listen to him. But even if he did manage to get the man to listen to him, there was no guarantee that Ulquiorra would remember him. There was no guarantee that Ulquiorra would ever remember him.

I love you too, Ulquiorra. I will never forget you.

Even though he asked all of these questions, he already knew the answer to all of them. He did not need to ask any of these questions. He knew the answer to all of them and what he was going to do about it from the start. Was Ulquiorra really worth losing his life over?

The answer?

The answer was yes, Ulquiorra was worth it.

And Grimmjow was going to make him remember. Grimmjow was determined to bring back Ulquiorra's memories. He was going to pursue Ulquiorra even if it meant death. Because Grimmjow loved him. That fact will never change. Nothing will ever change it.

A/N: I really wanted to cry out in frustration and hit my forehead against the desk when I wrote this. In fact, I nearly DID. It was just so HARD. D: I'm not much for writing fighting scenes. I need to practice writing this sort of stuff more. Anyways, please tell me what you think. Reviews are appreciated.