Upon hearing the arrancar's name, Ulquiorra Cifer stiffened.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez...?

He stared up at the arrancar in disbelief. He was speechless. So this man's name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?

That was not possible.

"W-What did you just say?" Ulquiorra breathed, utter disbelief running through his veins, yet his heartbeat increased from excitement of the possibility that he had just found the answer he was looking for.

The arrancar repeated what Ulquiorra thought he had misheard, destroying any doubts that Ulquiorra had in mind of mishearing him, "My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Silence.

The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their heavy breathing, and Ulquiorra could hear the blood pounding in his ears. After what seemed like an eternity, Ulquiorra was the first one to make a move.

As though on instinct, Ulquiorra made to remove his right hand from the arrancar's grasp. When Grimmjow was sure that Ulquiorra would not attack him, he released his hold on the shinigami's wrist, though he still watched him cautiously. He still was not sure what Ulquiorra's intentions were. The man's expression, which was one of pure shock before, was now unreadable. So when Ulquiorra reached out to press his hand against the side of Grimmjow's face, the Sexta was surprised.

"Grimmjow..." Ulquiorra tested out the name on his tongue, running his thumb across Grimmjow's smooth skin in a curious fashion.

Grimmjow reached up and held Ulquiorra's hand, holding it in place against his cheek. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly, feeling himself relax. This felt like how things used to be between him and Ulquiorra, except for the fact that in the past, such an act was done out of affection instead of curiosity. He opened his eyes once more, and met emerald eyes. Ulquiorra was watching him intently, not even minding the fact that Grimmjow was holding onto his hand in an affectionate manner.

"Ulquiorra..." Grimmjow's expression softened.

"So it is you?" Ulquiorra mused.

At that, Grimmjow's once dead heart fluttered with hope. Did he remember? There was no way he would have said that if he did not know anything, right? This was the first time since they had met in Karakura Town that Grimmjow was able to get a good, long look at Ulquiorra. Those large, intelligent emerald eyes, that pale skin, and that doll-like face. Everything. He missed everything about his former lover.

As though drawn to Ulquiorra, Grimmjow slowly leaned forward until their lips were a few inches apart. Even when he drew close enough that his breath fanned across pale lips, Ulquiorra only watched. How long had he longed for this moment? For them to be together again? All he had to do was to close the distance between their lips and he would be able to taste what was his. And Grimmjow was just about to that-

... Only to withdraw a second later.

Grimmjow shook his head, suddenly becoming acutely aware of the whole situation. What was he doing? This was wrong. Everything about this was not right. Screwing his eyes shut, a lone tear managed to squeeze its way out of his eye and fall onto Ulquiorra's pale cheek. Grimmjow bowed his head, letting go of Ulquiorra's hand.

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra."

Ignoring the fact that she had just dropped the stack of papers she was carrying, Hinamori reached out and grabbed the front of Hanataro's uniform, her hands shaking. She could not believe it. What Hanataro had just told her could not be true. But the look in his eyes told her otherwise. Yet she still asked. She needed to make sure, she wanted to hear him confirm where he had said earlier.

"Hanataro," she said, her voice panicky. "Is this true?

The young man nodded fervently. "Captain Ulquiorra is in danger. His house got broken into-"

And that was all Hinamori needed to hear before she let go of Hanataro. She had wasted enough time already. Her hand on the hilt of her zanpaktou, she turned her back on Yamada before she shunpoed in the direction of her beloved captain's home.

"W-wait! Hinamori!" Hanataro yelled out. "Wait for me! I still need to go and get back up-"

His cries fell on deaf ears, though. The dark haired female looked straight ahead in determination, the wind whipping at her face, not letting anything else distract her. All Hinamori had in her mind was the objective to come to her captain's aid. Within seconds, Hanataro was left far behind.

Captain Ulquiorra. Please wait for me.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened when he saw a single tear fall from under the arrancar's closed eyelids and felt it land onto his own cheek. He did not even make to wipe away the tear. Its warmth made him jolt back to reality. The tear slid down from his cheek and fell onto his bed.

What was that that the man had said? That he was sorry? Sorry about what?

Ulquiorra knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. He was not sure whether he trusted this man, or even believed him, but he could not deny the fact that he felt compelled to ask him more questions.

How did he know about that name, that very name that had been plaguing him since Ulquiorra was reborn? All this time Ulquiorra had been searching for an answer, trying to remember and came up with nothing, and now he was suddenly presented with was supposed to be the "answer"? He was having a hard time trying to grasp that.

Even though he did not tell anyone about the only other name that he remembered other than his own, Ulquiorra was not taking any chances.

The shinigami realised with a start that he still had his hand pressed against the side of the arrancar's face in an almost affectionate manner even though Grimmjow had already let go of his hand. What surprised him even more was the fact that even when the man had leaned down till their lips were nearly touching, Grimmjow's warm breath fanning across his lips, Ulquiorra did not move away. Looking at him now, the man seemed to be having an emotional conflict within himself.

Ulquiorra let his hand fall to his side.

Ulquiorra brushed a strand of teal hair out of the arrancar's eyes. This action seemed to bring some comfort to the arrancar, even if it was only a little. It hurt seeing him look so lost, so even though Ulquiorra had a bad feeling about what was about to come, he was going to do his best to lift the other's worries. Even if he had to lie in order to do it. Taking in a deep breath in order to calm his own nerves, he looked straight into sapphire 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." Ulquiorra bit his bottom lip. This was a lie. Because he did not know whether they were going to make out of this alive. But the other seemed to understand this. "I love you, Grimmjow. I always will." And with that, Ulquiorra placed a soft kiss on Grimmjow's lips, their eyes fluttering close at the sweetness of the moment. When he withdrew, he took one last look at his lover, turned and left with a heavy heart.

Out of all the things he had said before he left, that was the only truth that he told.

Grimmjow. Ulquiorra looked at the man above him sharply, as though unable to believe what he was seeing. Grimmjow did not seem to notice this, though; he was still preoccupied with his thoughts.

The man in his visions was him?

Aizen sighed, brushing away at some dust that had fallen onto his shoulder as he walked in the halls.

Las Noches was really quiet nowadays, just the way he liked it. It showed that everyone was following his orders. But he had to admit that this tranquillity was beginning to make him feel a bit restless. It was not going to be like this anymore soon, though. He was going to make sure of that. The edges of the brown-haired man's lips lifted into a small smile. A war was coming soon. A war that he was going to start. He was certainly looking forward to that.

The man stopped when he came upon a door leading to the surveillance room. Perhaps he should check on how Gin and Tousen were doing. Upon opening the door, Aizen walked into the surveillance room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The familiar sight of the screens that were arranged neatly in rows on the wall met his eyes. Gin was playing with a pen, seemingly bored at the lack of activity, while Tousen simply stared at the screens in determination.

Sometimes Aizen wondered why Tousen insisted on doing that when he was blind.

Perhaps he would ask him that question one of these days.

"Any news to report?" Aizen said when he came to stand by Gin's shoulder.

By the look of how relaxed Gin was, he already knew the answer, but simply asked the question out of habit.

"Nawww... Nothing much." Gin yawned, stretching his arms above his head leisurely. "It's the same as usual. Everything is dead quiet." He placed his chin on the palm of his hand. "Yammy is sleeping as usual after snacking out. Szayel is dissecting something. Starrk is sleeping too. Harribel is talking to her fraccions..." he trailed off. Aizen did not hear the rest to know what was going on. It was pretty much the same thing every day. "This is so boring," Ichimaru whined. "Nothing ever happens around here."

"You're right," Aizen agreed, and said nothing more on the subject.

He flicked his gaze over at the screens on the wall. Each screen showed a different location situated in Las Noches. He could even see what the arrancars were doing in their rooms since cameras had been installed there. It was just like Ichimaru Gin had said. All of the arrancars were going about their daily routine. He could see Yammy sleeping on his bed, drool coming out from the side of his wide-open mouth. Szayel was dissecting an unfortunate Hollow alive, thrilled to see it flail and scream. Starrk was sleeping on his bed and Lilynette was nearby, a look of mischief in her eyes, and Harribel was deep in conversation with Sun Sun, Apache and Mila Rose... Nothing out of the ordinary. Aizen stopped when he noticed someone missing from all of the screens.

"Gin," Aizen said pleasantly. "Do you know where our Sexta Espada is? He seems to be missing here. He's not even in his room."

"Ah?" Gin looked up at the screens in surprise. "You're right. He's not here at all."

"Hmm."

Though the smile on the brown-haired man's face did not waver, the change in his reiatsu was enough to tell Gin what the man really felt.

"Maybe Grimmy-chan is out in the desert?" Gin said. "You know how he likes to wander around nowadays. Maybe he is out there right now."

"Perhaps." After some thought, he said, "Or maybe he has disobeyed me and has gone off to the human world." Aizen placed his hand on the silver-haired shinigami's shoulder. "I think we should send someone to check on him just in case."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Who do you suggest?"

"Send Starrk to search for him," was Aizen's immediate reply. "He is the Primera Espada. He is the fastest Espada we have and will able to get the job done quickly." He fixed his gaze on the sleeping figure of the strongest Espada. Right at that moment, Lilynette chose to jump on him and proceeded to crush his balls. The man's howls of pain could be heard throughout Las Noches. "Ah, he's awake," Aizen said, completely indifferent to the man's pain. "Perfect timing. Call him here, I'd like to speak to him before he goes out to search for our Sexta. I do not like to waste time."

The silver-haired man grinned. "Sure thing."

Inside his room, Starrk had just recovered from his balls getting crushed by Lilynette. Yet again. He swore under his breath. And the fact that he could not reprimand her since she had taken off laughing did not make matters any better. He could feel tears prick out of the corners of his eyes. That was totally uncalled for. He really needed to have a talk with Lilynette. His half really needed to cut this out. His balls... There was no way he would be able to sleep again any time soon.

Groaning, Starrk sat up in his bed when he heard someone knock on his door.

"Starrky-chan~" called out the familiar voice of his superior, Ichimaru Gin. "Open up the door, please? I know you're awake. Aizen-sama has a little job for you to do."

What was it now? The Primera looked at the door as though trying to make sure that he had heard right. A job? Aizen-sama had not given him or anyone for that matter, a job in a really long time.

Wincing when he stood up, Starrk walked over to the door and pulled it open. He sighed in relief when he saw that this time, his silver-haired superior was fully dressed in his white robes instead of being half-naked like he was before.

"Yes?" he said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

"Ehh?" Ichimaru tilted his head, silver hair falling across his eyes, smiling a knowing smile. "What is wrong, Starrky-chan? You look like you're in pain. Did something happen to you?"

"No, nothing important. It was just Lilynette fooling around. You know how she likes to roughhouse a lot," Starrk responded quickly. He cleared his throat. He really did not want to talk to Ichimaru of all people, about how he was in pain because Lilynette had decided to crush is nut sack with her own hands. And also, he somehow had a strange feeling that Ichimaru knew what was going on anyway. "What does Aizen-sama want me to do?"

"Ah, yes, that's what I came here for, right?" Ichimaru clicked his tongue for forgetting that. "Aizen-sama has a job for you. He needs you to find Grimmy-chan for him."

Starrk knitted his eyebrows together, confused. "Grimmjow? Why does he want me to find Grimmjow for? Isn't he in his room?"

"Simply because Grimmy-chan has been a naughty kitty. And no, Grimmy-chan isn't in his room or anywhere in Las Noches."

"What?"

"Hmm..." Ichimaru hummed. "Perhaps it would be better if Aizen-sama talks to you about this matter personally."

Sosuke Aizen was sitting on the chair that Ichimaru Gin previously sat on, still waiting patiently in the surveillance room when his Primera Espada arrived. The brown-haired man looked at his strongest arrancar, a small smile on his face.

"Aizen-sama." Starrk bowed. "You wish to speak to me regarding a mission?"

"Yes," Aizen replied. "I'm sure that Gin has filled you in on the details?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Good." The shinigami leaned back in the chair that he was sitting on. He regarded the Primera for a moment before continuing, "I'm sure that you are aware of the fact that your comrade, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, has a habit of going to the human world nowadays?"

Starrk nodded slowly, balling his hands into fists at his sides. He had a bad feeling about this. Something about Aizen's tone told him that what the man was about to say next was not to be taken lightly.

"Well, because of that, I have restricted his movements. You know how stubborn he is. I don't want to lose another Espada due to his foolishness," Aizen explained calmly. "However, it seems that he is now missing. So I need you to go and search for him and bring him back. If he has not disobeyed me, I'd like you to keep an eye on him. If he has indeed disobeyed my orders and had gone to the human world..." he trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.

Though he did not finish the sentence, Starrk understood. He bowed once more. "I will do my best to fulfil my mission, Aizen-sama."

Aizen smiled. "I know you will."

Once Starrk was outside, ready to comb through the desert of Hueco Mundo in order to find his teal-haired comrade, he allowed his gaze to look over the endless land of sand. He could not see Grimmjow or even feel a trace of his reiatsu. The man was either very far away, or was hiding his reiatsu very well, or... Starrk sighed, running a hand through his brown locks. Or he was not here in Hueco Mundo at all.

He would be lying if he said that he did not feel a bit worried about his comrade. Grimmjow did have the tendency to do whatever he wanted, regardless of what orders that he was given. If Grimmjow was found disobeying Aizen, he knew that this was not going to end well.

"Damn it, Grimmjow," Starrk said under his breath. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do to Grimmy-chan in case he really disobeyed you?" Ichimaru asked.

Aizen did not take his gaze off of the screens. At first, he did not respond to Gin's question, and when he did, he said, "You will know when the time comes. I will make sure that the punishment is fitting of his crime."

Ichimaru grinned. "Well, then, in that case, for the kitty's sake, I hope he's just wandering around in the desert."

"What are you sorry for?"

Ulquiorra's question was presented in a voice that was barely above a whisper, yet the Sexta heard it all the same, though he did not answer it.

Grimmjow kept his gaze averted from Ulquiorra's. He could not bare to look at Ulquiorra now. He could not look into those questioning emerald eyes. He did not want to see the emotions that he had made flicker through those eyes. That anger, that distrust, that shame, that confusion, that fear. He did not want to see his reflection in those eyes. He did not want to see what he had become. Looking around here now, no, just being here in Ulquiorra's house only solidified the reasons for his feelings. He was not supposed to be here.

What was he doing?

He had been grieving over his lover's death.

Once he had come to know that Ulquiorra was alive again, he had tried pursuing him.

When Starrk tried to talk to him, Grimmjow had brushed him off.

He had pursued Ulquiorra in hopes that he would remember him even when Ulquiorra clearly did not want anything to do with him.

He had even gone as far as to go to Soul Society and break into Ulquiorra's house.

And now he was making Ulquiorra listen against his own will.

All of these facts forced Grimmjow to face the crushing reality that everything that he had done up till now was wrong.

This may be the same Ulquiorra, but at the same time, he was not. He had no memory of Grimmjow at all. And on top of that, he had his own life now, a life that Grimmjow was not a part of. He was also a part of Soul Society, which only served to make the wedge between them even bigger. What right did Grimmjow have over his actions? He could feel shame burn him. As hard as it was to accept it, it was now time for him to let go and accept the fact that he was no longer a part of Ulquiorra's life. That now they were not lovers, but mere strangers.

"You didn't answer my-"

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said once more, still not meeting the other's eyes. He sat up, completely releasing his hold on Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra looked up at him questioningly. "I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"W-wait, you're leaving?" Ulquiorra said in surprise when he saw the arrancar make to leave. Grimmjow was even preparing a Garganta. He could not leave just yet! Not now when Ulquiorra had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask the other. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed at Grimmjow's wrist. "Don't just come in here and then leave!" he growled.

"But-"

"Don't you 'but' me," Ulquiorra hissed. "You have a lot of explaining to do and-" He stopped, tightening his grip on Grimmjow's wrist. His eyes widened.

Seeing Ulquiorra suddenly go still made Grimmjow take away his attention from the portal to the pale shinigami. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Damn it," Ulquiorra cursed.

Though it was slight, he could feel the reiatsus of his fellow shinigami. They must have been hiding their reiatsu. And amongst all of those reiatsus, he felt that Momo Hinamori and Matsumoto Rangiku's to be the closest. They were so near that they must be right in this very house. They must have been closing in on them without them realising it. And it seemed that even the arrancar had finally sensed their presence, because his expression suddenly turned serious.

"You," Ulquiorra addressed the arrancar, making him look at him. "Can we meet again?"

Rangiku picked up a shard of glass from the floor and frowned. Hinamori landed softly behind her. Just like she had thought when she saw the broken window, the enemy had come in through here. And if her suspicions were correct, the enemy that they were dealing with was most probably the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

Ichigo had told her what had happened; that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had met once more. And then there was the news of Ulquiorra running into an arrancar right here in Soul Society and failing to kill it. What was more, it turned out to be the same arrancar that he had met in Karakura Town during a recent visit there. There was no way she could overlook this when there was a high possibility that it could be Grimmjow again. Captain Yamamoto had clearly stated that these two must not meet again. If it was any other arrancar, she was sure that Ulquiorra would be able to handle everything just fine, but this was Grimmjow. What if...

Noticing the look on Hinamori's face, Rangiku said sharply, "Hinamori. Focus."

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry," the dark-haired female apologised.

Hinamori brought back her attention to the room she was in. She could feel her captain's reiatsu, along with another, a reiatsu that must belong to the intruder. Although there were no signs of a struggle, it still did not help ease the worries that were present in her mind one bit. She knew where they were and she was itching to confront the enemy right now, but Matsumoto absolutely forbade it, stating that they should not act so rashly. Rangiku did not want to alert the enemy to their presence before they could capture, or if necessary, kill him.

Taking in a deep breath, Momo Hinamori tried to still her nerves as they neared the door to Ulquiorra's room. Rangiku placed her hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it. She could still feel the reiatsus that were coming from inside the room, though from the feel of them, it seemed that they were now alert of their presence.

Hinamori tightened her grip on her zanpaktou. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. This was her captain that she was talking about, after all. He was strong, she knew that. He could take care of himself easily. And should they have any trouble with the enemy, they still had the back up that Hanataro had gotten for them outside. But that still did not stop her from worrying.

Seeing him reach out for another piece of paper, Hinamori reached out and placed her hand on top of his, stopping him.

"Don't worry about that, Captain. I'll take this one," she said, ignoring the way her skin tingled when she touched his hand.

"Now," the blonde woman mouthed to Hinamori.

Hinamori nodded, ready as ever.

Rangiku slammed the door open-

"Ulquiorra...!"

-Only to see that the room was empty except for Ulquiorra, who was sitting on the bed, looking rather stunned. Upon hearing them enter, Ulquiorra turned to look in their direction sharply.

"Rangiku? Hinamori...?" the pale man said, surprised. "What are you- Oof!"

The next thing Ulquiorra knew, he was lying with his back on the bed once more with an over enthusiastic female on top of him, hugging him.

"Captain!" Hinamori had abandoned her zanpaktou in favour of wrapping her arms around her captain's neck, completely ignoring the fact that Ulquiorra was not wearing anything except for the towel around his waist. She buried her face in his neck, her nose pressed against his damp raven locks. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"

"H-Hinamori... too... tight..." Ulquiorra choked.

"Did he hurt you? What did he do to you? Were you able to fight back?" Hinamori babbled. She hugged her captain even tighter, savouring his warmth, not wanting to let go. She could not help it. She was just so relieved to see him in one piece.

"Hinamori..." Ulquiorra wheezed, sitting up, trying to get the excited female to let him go. "I appreciate your concern... but your hug... it's getting a bit too tight..."

"Oh, right! Sorry, Captain!" Hinamori said, suddenly remembering who it was exactly that she was hugging. Embarrassed, the dark-haired female let go of Ulquiorra. Her hands were now holding onto the sides of his arms, as though holding him would remind her that he was really there. For a moment there, she was worried that she had lost another captain. She looked him over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm quite alright, Hinamori. You don't have to worry about me."

The woman instantly brightened up. "I'm glad, Captain," she said.

All the while this happened, Rangiku was watching Ulquiorra intently, the expression on her face serious.

"Ulquiorra," she said slowly, bringing the man's attention to her instead of his Lieutenant who was currently sitting on his lap. "Where is the enemy?"

"The enemy?" Ulquiorra averted his gaze, making Rangiku narrow her eyes. "He escaped through a Garganta as soon as he felt your reiatsus."

"I see."

Ulquiorra shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She did not quite believe him, he knew. He also knew that he would need to tell them what had happened. He would need to tell them the truth. But I won't tell them the entire truth, he added mentally. Even Hinamori was looking at him expectantly now, wanting to know the whole story. Ulquiorra sighed.

"Look, I'll tell you what happened. The arrancar isn't here anymore, so we don't need to worry," he explained. "I will also need to meet Captain Yamamoto regarding this. He would want a report on this. But first, I will need to get dressed."

Rangiku nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer that she had received from Ulquiorra.

"I'll take my leave then and I'll tell the others that the arrancar has left," she said before exiting the room, leaving Hinamori and Ulquiorra completely alone.

Returning her gaze onto Ulquiorra, Hinamori asked worriedly, "Are you sure you're alright? You look paler than usual."

"I am fine, Hinamori," he reassured her.

He bit his bottom lip, looking out of the window. As expected, the sky was a stretch of black blanket with some diamonds scattered across it. It was night, after all. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Ulquiorra thought, remembering the teal-haired arrancar's face and how those sapphire eyes looked at him as though they knew him. And how in his most recent vision, he had spoken and treated him as someone special. He let out the breath that he had been holding in. He could feel another headache coming on. Ulquiorra hoped that he knew what he was doing.

"Captain...?" Hinamori touched his shoulder.

He gave his Lieutenant what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."

I want answers from you. Till the next time we meet, arrancar.

DIOR: And that is the end of chapter 7. Hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated.