Ulquiorra Cifer shifted on his bed, his chest rising and falling gently with each breath he took in and breathed out. His eyes were closed, but he was far from asleep. Ulquiorra was awake; he just did not feel like getting up yet. So warm... he thought, as he pulled the blanket closer to his body, enjoying one of his few moments of relaxation. From being a confused and restless individual, he had become what one would call... happy, much to the surprise of his comrades.

Though things were rather busy for him and he was constantly kept on his toes due to the increase of arrancar attacks in the human world, Ulquiorra was in better spirits than he had ever been. Even though he would return home every night exhausted and sometimes with a few injuries, this did not dampen his spirits. Nor did the fact that he would sometimes fall unconscious out of exhaustion as soon as he returned. Returning home every night in ripped, bloodstained clothes, with blood, dirt and sweat clinging to his skin was now a normalcy.

The way he felt now was a far cry from before.

Ulquiorra now had a sense of calmness.

He felt like the void that had existed in him since he was reborn was finally filled.

Why, even his comrades had noticed the change in him. Hinamori, who was usually so nervous around him, was more relaxed in his presence. He no longer snapped at Ichigo and he even agreed to go out for a drink of sake with Captains Shunsui and Ukitake when they extended the invitation to him, much to their surprise. And when Zaraki Kenpachi requested, no, demanded for it, Ulquiorra surprisingly said "yes" to a spar. So, to put it simply, though things had never been busier for him as one of the captains of the 13 Protection Teams, Ulquiorra never felt more happy than he did right now.

And he supposed that he could attribute this change in him to a certain blue-haired arrancar that he now acknowledged by name; Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

Ulquiorra held onto his pillow, burying his face into it and breathed in deeply, taking in the clean scent of freshly laundered cloth.

"Had another rough day?"

"... Hmph." Ulquiorra closed the door behind him and placed his zanpaktou on the floor before slumping onto the chair opposite the arrancar's. "It was most certainly nothing I couldn't handle."

A chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, tough guy..."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, trying to take in deep, calm breaths. He felt faint; his mind kept slipping in and out of consciousness. As usual, his uniform was splattered with blood and dirt, and a thin layer of perspiration covered his skin, but this did not bother him in the least. Even his zanpaktou still had blood clinging onto its blade. Such an appearance was to be expected during difficult times such as this. He had absolutely nothing to complain about. The occasional injuries that he receives from battles, however...

"Here." Grimmjow offered a bottle of water to him. "You need this."

Apparently, even making a simple movement such as raising his hand to accept the drink was too much for him when he was in such a state.

"Oi... you alright? Ul- h-hey-!"

Without warning, the emerald-eyed male fell into unconsciousness.

He opened his eyes and looked at his arm, which was placed on top of the pillow that he laid his head upon.

A sigh. And the sound of fabric being ripped.

These were the sounds that he was awoken to.

"You really are a piece of work, you know that, Ulqui?" Grimmjow said as he tore another piece of his uniform and used the strip as a bandage; he wound the strip around Ulquiorra's arm, and another around his hand, covering the gash on his palm. "You're just as stubborn as before," Grimmjow grumbled, "Pushing yourself to the limit, even if it makes you pass out."

Ulquiorra blinked, looking at him blearily. His vision was still blurred. All he could see was a blur of tan, blue, white and black colours. Even then, he did not need to have clear vision to tell who it was. There was only one person he knew that had such a crazy hair colour.

"Even if you are strong, you need to rest too, you know-"

"Grimm... jow...?"

"Yeah, that's me..." Grimmjow chuckled. "There." He finished tying the strip of cloth. "This'll do for now." He helped Ulquiorra sit up on the couch that he now laid upon. He did not let go of Ulquiorra's injured hand, though, choosing to hold it carefully with his own. "You alright?"

Ulquiorra closed his bandaged hand.

His touch from last night... It still lingered.

Ulquiorra buried his face in his pillow. What on Earth was he doing...? Should he have been found out by anyone here in Soul Society, he would have long been imprisoned and called a traitor. But...

He smiled. A soft smile. A real one.

This was his guilty little secret.

Ever since he had recovered some of his memories concerning Grimmjow thanks to Ichigo Kurosaki, Ulquiorra had been spending a lot of time with the Sexta. Before he spoke to Kurosaki, he did not, no, did not want to think about how he felt an air of familiarity whenever he was around the Sexta Espada, thinking that it was all his imagination. Now, having spent more time with him, and without trying to kill him, Ulquiorra found that it was not his imagination at all. Those feelings were real.

Instead of watching the stars from rooftop that they usually sat on, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were both lying on the grass on a hilltop. Doing this was already a habit for them, and so was talking about anything and everything that came to the top of their minds.

Through their conversations, Ulquiorra found out what Grimmjow usually does during his spare time, what his comrades were like, how he became an Espada... Ulquiorra learned a lot more about Hollows and arrancars through Grimmjow than he did right in Soul Society. And since Grimmjow missed more than a year of Ulquiorra's life in Soul Society, he made Ulquiorra talk about his life there. Right from the moment he was reborn. Sometimes, their meetings were not filled with conversation, but silence. They were not uncomfortable silences, though.

Having just completed a tiring mission, Ulquiorra was already dozing off, his head lolling to the side. It did not look very comfortable sleeping on the hard ground.

"You little bastard..."

"K-keep quiet..." Ulquiorra muttered, "I'm exhausted..."

"You don't say." Grimmjow rolled his eyes, pulling Ulquiorra close.

"Hey, what are you-"

"Just shut up and sleep, Ulquiorra. I'll wake you up later."

And that was that; Ulquiorra, tired as he was, was not able to come up with an argument, so he stayed where he was and kept quiet. And Grimmjow, with an arm wrapped around Ulquiorra, allowed the shinigami to lay on his chest as he slept under the stars.

Though they spent a lot of time together, not once did Ulquiorra raise the question as to what their previous relationship was, nor did Grimmjow seem to make any sign of wanting to talk about it either. And this only made Ulquiorra question his final memory of him and Grimmjow.

Was that really a memory, or just his imagination?

No... It could not possibly be his imagination, could it?

No, it could not.

Ulquiorra was sure of it. Otherwise, there was no way that Grimmjow would go to such lengths just to find him again. To have Ulquiorra remember him.

Grimmjow...

Just thinking of him made Ulquiorra's face grow a bit warm.

Ulquiorra wondered what the Sexta was doing right now. Was he awake right at this very moment? If he was, what was he doing? Training? Eating? Was he carrying out the duties that his leader set out for him? What was he thinking about? Was he thinking about-

A few knocks on his door.

No, not now... Ulquiorra buried his face deeper into the pillow. I don't want to get out of bed just yet...

"Captain Cifer!" called a voice that Ulquiorra knew all too well. "Please come out."

Momo Hinamori.

"Hn..." Ulquiorra sat up in his bed reluctantly, yawning. He reached for his robe, put it on, then went to answer the door. Wanting to look at least presentable, he ran his fingers through his hair. This better be good... If Hinamori was here to chat with him meaninglessly, he was going to have to politely turn her away.

"Yes, Hinamori?" Ulquiorra opened the door, revealing his dark-haired lieutenant. "What is-"

The serious look on her face made the small smile on Ulquiorra's face fade ever so slightly.

"Hinamori...?"

"Captain Yamamoto has requested a meeting."

A meeting.

That was all that Captain Yamamoto wanted. He just wanted to have a meeting regarding the movements of the arrancars.

It was a meeting just like any other, and yet, Ulquiorra could not help but to get a bad feeling about it. Perhaps it was because it was the first meeting that they have had since Ulquiorra made peace with Grimmjow. Since he befriended the enemy.

Yes, that must be it, Ulquiorra thought to himself.

The knowledge that he was "betraying" Soul Society, though he had not revealed any secrets of the 13 Protection Teams to Grimmjow, constantly nagged at the back of his mind. Whether he was spending time with Grimmjow or not, the knowledge nagged at him. At first, the nagging was loud and clear, but as time passed, it eventually grew smaller and softer, until it was almost nonexistent.

And now it was back, as loud and clear as ever.

Ulquiorra tried his hardest not to let his stoic mask slip when Captain Yamamoto talked about how arrancar attacks have increased. At the table that he, the captains and lieutenants sat at, Ulquiorra saw that all of them wore serious expressions on their faces. The air was almost suffocating. And it got even worse when Captain Yamamoto said that they must "kill all arrancars in sight".

A line that was commonly spoken during meetings ever since the war had begun, but now, it hit Ulquiorra differently.

Instead of firing him up to do just that, to kill all arrancars that dare cross his path, it just gave him a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach.

The silence was almost deafening once everyone was in the meeting room. So when Captain Yamamoto shuffled the pieces of paper which consisted of the latest report that he had received, the sound was loud to their ears. Ulquiorra shifted in his seat, his heart beating fast against his chest, slightly nervous. Once Captain Yamamoto had all of the papers sorted, the meeting began.

Every word that passed Captain Yamamoto's lips hit Ulquiorra hard.

"As you all know, the number of arrancars has increased as of late."

They hit him, beating him.

"Due to the large increase in numbers, the shinigami we send to the Real World are having difficulty in handling the situation. There have been some casualties... for both shinigamis and humans."

Telling him that he, Ulquiorra Cifer, was a traitor.

"Because of this, we have come to the conclusion that the enemy has something big planned. The enemy is going to attack soon. We need to be ready."

It was difficult for Ulquiorra to maintain a calm composure as the Captain spoke. Every time a person happened to glance at him, he felt his heart freeze, scared that maybe, just maybe, they have found out his secret just by looking at him. Even if he looked calm on the outside, that did not reflect what he felt on the inside. Because on the inside, his mind was reeling, his heart was beating fast, his emotions were at war with each other.

"And that the shinigamis we have sent to the Real World are simply not strong enough to handle these new arrancars."

Feeling a gaze on him, Ulquiorra glanced to his side, and saw that Hinamori was looking at him with concern. Without saying a word to her, he snapped his attention back to Captain Yamamoto.

"Even with Ulquiorra Cifer volunteering to help out at the Real World, it is not enough."

Was he that easy to read?

"So this is my order to you all."

Everyone at the table, including Ulquiorra, tensed visibly.

"Kill all arrancars in sight."

Even as they filed out of the meeting room, those words kept on echoing in his mind.

And along with those words, a face that he had gotten to know all over again.

"Captain Cifer?" Hinamori asked him timidly, "Are you alright? You look rather pale... paler than usual."

"Hm?" Ulquiorra said without even looking at her, "Oh, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me..."

All around him, he could hear the captains and lieutenants talking to each other. Talking about how they were going to slay every arrancar that they encounter. Ulquiorra immediately shut them out and walked away from the crowd, unable to listen to another word that they had to say. He ignored the looks that he received from them. He supposed that since they knew his secret, they must have expected him to give some sort of reaction. To be affected in some way.

But Ulquiorra maintained his stoic mask. Right till he was out of sight.

When he arrived out in the open, where there was hardly anyone, he clutched at the front of his jacket, over his heart. He felt it beat, almost painfully, under his flesh.

Grimmjow...

Images.

Ulquiorra clutched at his forehead, breathing hard.

Images of Grimmjow lying on the ground, with blood seeping out of his many wounds and spreading across the ground. Images of Grimmjow staring at him lifelessly, eyes dull, the light of life gone from them. Images of Grimmjow being cut down, swiftly, mercilessly and without so much as a second thought; exactly the same way Ulquiorra had intended to end his life. These were all the images that filled Ulquiorra Cifer's mind, and more.

What if Grimmjow were to encounter someone like Byakuya Kuchiki?

That man would kill Grimmjow without hesitation.

Or perhaps Zaraki Kenpachi?

Knowing how bloodthirsty Kenpachi is, he would probably draw out the battle if he finds Grimmjow an interesting opponent. The thought of Kenpachi enjoying and loving every single cut he made that would bring Grimmjow closer to death just made Ulquiorra sick to his stomach.

He knows that Grimmjow is a more than able fighter, but the captains of the 13 Protection Teams are all at a whole new level.

Grimmjow... if he were to encounter one of them, he...

Ulquiorra squeezed his eyes shut, willing the images away.

Grimmjow, where are you?

Even though the meeting had just ended hours ago, and that they had yet to send out any of the captain or lieutenants to the Real World, Ulquiorra was restless.

What if one of them decides to go on ahead to the Real World ahead of time?

What if one of them meets Grimmjow while they are there?

Grimmjow does like to go to the Real World from time to time.

For all Ulquiorra knew, Grimmjow could be there right now, gazing at the stars on that rooftop – honestly, Grimmjow, now is not the time; where is your common sense? – before he-

"Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra's head shot up.

There, a few feet away from him stood Grimmjow, who was staring at him curiously. He had come to meet Ulquiorra at the hut, just like he promised he would last night. Ulquiorra was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not even hear the door open, nor did he hear Grimmjow's footsteps approach him. The Sexta Espada's look of curiosity turned to concern as he closed the door behind him.

"Oi, Ulqui-"

"Grimmjow!"

Before Grimmjow knew it, a tiny black and white blur barrelled into him, nearly toppling him over.

"Whoa, hey there!" Grimmjow said, trying to keep himself from falling down. A pair of thin, pale arms wrapped themselves around his waist, pulling him into a tight hug. "Calm down, Ulqui!"

No answer. Instead, the owner of said arms, who now had buried his face in Grimmjow's chest, tightened his hold on Grimmjow.

"Oi..." Never, since they made peace with each other, had Ulquiorra ever initiated a hug. Grimmjow looked down at the silken black locks that topped Ulquiorra's head, not sure what to make of this situation. He wondered what was going on in his pretty little head. Why was Ulquiorra suddenly doing this now...? Unsure of what to do, Grimmjow reached up and patted Ulquiorra on the head tentatively. "Hey... what's wrong...?"

Still nothing. But he could feel Ulquiorra's body shake ever so slightly.

"Ulquiorra..."

Nothing.

"Hey..." Grimmjow returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around that slender figure that he had known for years, pulling Ulquiorra close.

It was faint, but the Primera Espada was able to feel the reiatsu of his comrade.

"Of all places that bastard had to go, he had to pick this place of all places?" Starrk grumbled as he pushed a low hanging branch out of his vision.

Since he was ordered by Aizen to keep an eye on Grimmjow if he was found disobeying him, Starrk was doing just that. When he realized that Grimmjow was not in the Real World, he went to the next place that he could think of; Soul Society. Sure enough, as soon as he arrived here, he could feel Grimmjow's reiatsu. It was very faint, so the Sexta must be trying to cloak it.

"So troublesome..." Starrk sighed. Why was it that he kept having to get out of bed just to check up on his comrade? This was boring... Without thinking, he let go of the branch and it smacked him right in the face. "Fuck!"

Starrk rubbed his nose. He could feel slight tears prick at the corners of his eyes. "Ow... I shouldn't have done that... I really shouldn't have done that..."

Starrk nearly reached up to rip the branch off the tree to step on it out of revenge when he stopped, seeing something that was worth much more of his attention.

A hut.

And coming from inside it, were two cloaked reiatsus. One, that he was sure was Grimmjow's, and the other, he found familiar, but just could not put his finger on to who it belonged to.

Curious, Starrk sonidoed to the hut and stood in front of one of its windows. He peered inside. It was a bit dark, but he could make out two figures that stood inside it. The taller one, Grimmjow, stood in front of a pale, slender man, who was dressed in a shinigami uniform. Who was that...? Starrk squinted, trying to make out who it was. But it was difficult to see since that man had his head bent down like that-

Wait...

The man raised his head to look at Grimmjow.

... Ulquiorra?

"This... this is serious..." Ulquiorra said in a low voice.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. Even though Ulquiorra did not really say much, he could tell that something was wrong. He had known Ulquiorra long enough to be able to tell what the emerald-eyed man was feeling without having him tell him. "What are you talking about?"

"Just... just now at the meeting... Captain Yamamoto... he... he..."

Ulquiorra clutched at Grimmjow's uniform, unable to continue.

"Oi... Ulqui..."

Starrk could not believe it.

Ulquiorra was alive.

The former Cuarta Espada was alive.

"Don't you understand...!"

Ulquiorra was frustrated. He had told Grimmjow everything that happened. So... How could Grimmjow not see how serious this situation was? That idiot...! He was so frustrated that he could feel himself shaking. He clutched at the back of Grimmjow's uniform, gritting his teeth, trying to keep the hot tears that were threatening to spring forth from his eyes at bay. So far, that plan did not seem to be working out so well.

"Why are you so stupid...!"

Ulquiorra wanted to punch him. Kick him. Anything. Just to vent out his emotions. Grimmjow did not even say anything after Ulquiorra told him about the meeting. He just stood there, staring at him, stroking his hair. Why didn't Grimmjow get it? Why was he so calm? Just how thick is this man? Did he not realize that his life is in danger? That... that...

"You idiot..." Ulquiorra said, raising his voice slightly, "You..."

"Ulquiorra..."

Why don't you understand?

"You just don't get it, do you? Grimmjow, you-"

He felt Grimmjow tuck his fingers under his chin, making him lift his head and look up at him.

You really don't get it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ulquiorra glared at him. The hot tears fell, sliding down his cheeks. He could not believe it. He was crying. Crying over someone he barely knew, no, someone he knew, no, he knew Grimmjow, he just... he did not know anymore. "Why aren't you listening to me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? At least take this situation seriously-"

A pair of lips descended upon his, silencing him.

"...!"

Ulquiorra's eyes widened with shock, unable to believe what Grimmjow was doing. He stiffened in Grimmjow's arms, not even moving when the arrancar wiped away the tears that he had just shed.

When Grimmjow finally pulled away, he leaned his forehead against Ulquiorra's, breathing softly. He then pressed his lips against Ulquiorra's forehead, closed his eyes, and placed his chin on top of the shinigami's head.

"I know, Ulqui, I know..." Grimmjow murmured as he stroked those raven locks.

Ulquiorra's embrace on Grimmjow tightened once more.

The silence that fell right after was a comfortable one.

Grimmjow... Starrk shook his head, sighing.

He stepped away from the window. It was time to report to Aizen.

Aizen-sama is not going to be pleased.

DIOR: Finally. University really killed my time and creativity. It's going to take me awhile to get back into the groove of writing. Semester break is going to be till February, so expect more updates from me. At least till the next semester starts *sweatdrop* Reviews are much loved.