It had been awhile since Grimmjow last saw Ulquiorra. Since the meeting the shinigami had with some guy called Captain Yamamoto, Ulquiorra kept being sent on missions. If Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were to meet each other, it would only be for awhile before Ulquiorra would either be whisked away due to duty or because he needed to rest. Well, Grimmjow supposed that it was better this way since meeting Ulquiorra was already risky as it was. Really, it would be even better to not meet him at all, but he just...
Silent tears ran down Ulquiorra's face as he glared up at him, frustrated that Grimmjow was not showing more concern about himself.
"Why aren't you listening to me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? At least take this situation seriously-"
Grimmjow leaned down and pressed his lips against Ulquiorra's pale ones, silencing him.
He just could not bring himself to do it. Nor could Ulquiorra. Neither of them could.
His lack of reaction to Ulquiorra's news concerning the meeting... It was not because he did not care about his own safety, like Ulquiorra thought, but he did not show any surprise because he had expected it to happen. He had known from the beginning that if he were to pursue Ulquiorra, he would immediately be putting himself in danger. And the same could be said for Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra knew that getting involved with him, Grimmjow, would be risky, even though they were not really doing anything wrong. But he supposed that the seriousness of the situation only slapped Ulquiorra in the face during the meeting.
Grimmjow placed his arms on the window sill as he gazed at the endless desert outside. He did not see a single Hollow in sight, save for a little lizard Hollow.
Hm...
It was not like he had not considered leaving Las Noches. But Ulquiorra had squashed that idea before he could even voice it, stating that it would be too dangerous, especially if his leader, Aizen, was as cruel as everyone made him out to be. Though Grimmjow was pretty sure that if Ulquiorra left Soul Society to join his side, Aizen would welcome Ulquiorra with open arms, but hell, Grimmjow would rather die than to have Ulquiorra come back and work under Aizen. He balled his hands into fists.
Yeah... It's better for Ulquiorra to stay in Soul Society than to work for that sick bastard, Grimmjow thought darkly. Much better.
But he and Ulquiorra had to deal with this obvious block in their... "relationship", for the lack of a better word, sooner or later. However, with the way things were getting more and more tense between the residents of Hueco Mundo and Soul Society with each passing day, it was not going to be easy. For now, this was the best thing they could do. To meet in secret.
"You know, I could just push you out the window right now if I wanted to."
Grimmjow whirled around, coming face to face with Las Noches' mad scientist, Szayel Aporro Granz.
"Or I could always stab you with Fornicaras."
"Granz," Grimmjow growled.
"You really shouldn't let your guard down," Szayel sneered, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. "If I were to stab you at just the right place, it would be instant death for you." He looked at his gloved hand in a bored manner. His voice was so sugary sweet – to coat his malicious intent, but failing to do so - that Grimmjow felt like slitting his throat. "It's not like it won't be such a huge loss. You're hardly here anyway. So attached to the memory of you and your dead lover that you keep running off to your old haunts..."
"Cut the crap, Granz," Grimmjow snapped. Szayel was not exactly one of his favourite people in the world. The scientist was stuck up, annoying, creepy, too full of himself, and a plain massive pain in the ass. And he would also not miss the opportunity to make snide comments or make jabs at Grimmjow's expense. It was only sheer patience – pfft, like as if Grimmjow had much of it, or any, really – and the fact that Aizen would kill him that Grimmjow did not murder Szayel already. "The fuck are you here for? Talk, or I'll jam Pantera right through your skull."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such language," Szayel tutted. "I'm only here to inform you that Aizen-sama has requested for a meeting with all us Espada. He ordered me to tell you." Szayel let his hand drop to his side, and with that, also the smirk that he wore previously. Apparently, he had lost his mood to play around with Grimmjow. The man had mood swings worse than that of a woman – yet another reason why Grimmjow preferred to avoid him; too much crap to deal with. "You better not be late. Aizen-sama said that he has something important to say. The meeting is in ten minutes."
Just like how talking about having to send someone to the Real World all the time to get a new supply of tea is important?
But Grimmjow held his tongue, knowing all too well that Szayel would not hesitate to tell on him to Aizen.
"Fine. I'll be there."
As soon as Szayel exited his room, Grimmjow dawdled for a few minutes before sauntering to the Meeting Room – he had no intention of walking there with the insufferable Granz.
At the entrance, he caught sight of Starrk, who, upon catching sight of Grimmjow, immediately averted his gaze from him. The Primera walked into the room without so much as uttering a greeting or giving him a second glance. Normally, Grimmjow would have found this strange since Starrk was usually quite friendly with him, but after the way he had treated Starrk the last time they spoke – and it was quite awhile ago – he was not surprised at all. So Grimmjow simply shrugged, dismissing it, and went to sit at his seat, waiting for Aizen to come in.
All of the seats at the table were filled. The Espada made it a point to arrive early for meetings, not wanting to risk angering Aizen – everyone knew that doing anything that displeased the man could lead to heavy consequences. Even on the seat in front of him, the seat that used to be Ulquiorra's, sat a fair-haired Arrancar that Aizen had recently chosen as the newest Cuarta Espada. Grimmjow had no idea what the Arrancar's name was, nor did he care. He did not need to get to know the new Cuarta to know that he could not compare to Ulquiorra. Aizen had been filling the place up with more and more Arrancars every day that he just could not be bothered to remember any of them.
Grimmjow had barely taken a look at all of his comrades when a brown-haired man entered the room. Behind Aizen, trailed his two subordinates, Tousen and Ichimaru. The Meeting Room, which was previously filled with chatter of the Espada, fell silent.
All eyes were on Aizen Sousuke as the man went to take his place at the head of the table.
"Welcome," Aizen said, smiling that smile of his. A smile that Grimmjow hated the moment he laid eyes on it. "Thank you for coming. Now, you all must be wondering why I asked you all to come here, right?"
Nods from all round the table.
There were three things that Aizen usually talked about during meetings. He would usually talk about the war, about him ruling the world, or about their supply of tea running out. If Aizen talked about the last two, Grimmjow was prepared to be bored to death. If he was going to talk about the war, however...
"Well, I am here to talk about the war." Brown eyes surveyed all the faces at the table, making sure that they were all listening. All of them except the Primera had their gaze on him. Coyote Starrk had his eyes fixed on the table, not able to look at Aizen, Grimmjow, or anyone in the eye. That behaviour was to be expected, Aizen supposed. Starrk seemed to be on good terms with Grimmjow. No doubt that guilt was plaguing him. But Aizen was sure that even though Starrk did not dare look at him, he was listening. Aizen's gaze then slid to the Sexta Espada, where they lingered for a little longer than necessary as though to see if his words made any impact on him. Grimmjow's expression did not change, so he continued to speak. "As you all know, I have been increasing our numbers, each Arrancar stronger than the last, and then sending them to the Real World."
More nods.
"But one by one, your brothers and sisters are killed off by those shinigami." On either side of him, Ichimaru and Tousen flanked him, looking very much like bodyguards. Though how a blind man could be of much use as a bodyguard was beyond the Espada – they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut about it, though. Aizen picked up a teaspoon, scooped some sugar from a little container and into the cup of tea that a low rank Arrancar had placed in front of him. He then continued to speak, his calm voice filling the Meeting Room, "Well, I have received some information on Soul Society from a reliable source that we can make use of."
Silence. No one dared to speak just yet. Not until Aizen was done saying his piece. But he could see some interest flicker in their eyes as they listened intently for his next words, hoping that they would at last be able to do something.
"It has come to my knowledge that the shinigami have considered the situation serious enough for the Captains of the 13 Protection Teams to step forward. Captain Yamamoto has set a schedule for them to take turns protecting Karakura Town."
Grimmjow stiffened visibly at this.
"So I have decided that we should give them a welcoming present in the form of an attack when one of the Captains come to Karakura Town. Just to give them a taste of what is to come."
Excited murmurs could be heard amongst the Espada. Blood lust in the more rowdy Espada could be seen.
"The Captain of the fifth division is scheduled to come to Karakura Town in two days' time. I have chosen three people to attack the Captain and his subordinates. The first person is Ichimaru Gin." He nodded at Gin. "He will be the leader."
"It's my pleasure." Gin grinned.
"Nnoitra Jiruga."
"Hell yeah!" Nnoitra pumped his fist in the air. "Finally, some action!"
"And." Aizen's lips curled into a smirk. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
The moment Aizen announced that he, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, had to be part of the team that was supposed to attack the Captain of the fifth division and his subordinates, time seemed to stop for him. Captain of the fifth division. Ulquiorra was the Captain of that division, wasn't he? His heart had stopped beating, he had felt faint, the colour had faded from his face, and everyone else had melted into the background, leaving only Grimmjow and Aizen together. Grimmjow, who had stared at Aizen in disbelief and Aizen, who smirked, confident. The voice at the back of his mind had screamed, How does he know?
He had made sure to be extra careful whenever he went to visit Ulquiorra. He had never left for Soul Society or Karakura Town from here in Las Noches anymore. He would always open up a Garganta in the desert, away from prying eyes and the cameras that were tucked into every corner in Las Noches. Even whenever he wanted to open a Garganta in the desert; he would always check that he was completely alone before doing so. He also made sure not to be away for long periods of time. So how the heck Aizen knew about Ulquiorra, he did not know.
Was it possible that he was seen during one of the times he was with Ulquiorra?
But that was impossible... He was sure that there was not a single soul around whenever he was with Ulquiorra. If there was, he would have sensed it.
When Aizen saw the change in Grimmjow's expression, though it was slight, because the Sexta was trying his hardest to maintain his composure so as not to give himself away, the shinigami placed the teacup onto the table.
"Is there something wrong, Grimmjow?" he asked, feigning concern.
Grimmjow clenched his fists, not fooled one bit by the facade.
"No, Aizen-sama," Grimmjow answered through gritted teeth. "Carry on. I want to be a part of this."
Grimmjow did not even need any proof to know that Aizen knew about his little secret. There was no way that any of this was a coincidence. He had served Aizen Sousuke long enough to know that. That, and the way Aizen smirked at him when he announced his name.
Fuck!
He slammed his fist into the wall in his room, making a hole clean through it, not particularly caring that he would probably get reprimanded for this later.
Stupid, stupid... Right after telling Aizen to continue, the brown-haired man had proceeded to go into detail as to what they had to do in two days' time, acting as though nothing of significance had happened. And throughout it all, Grimmjow had to act the same way. He had to act like he did not give a fucking shit about the life of the Captain, that the thought of killing the bastard would bring pleasure to him, and that he looked forward to it, even.
Breathing hard, Grimmjow drew his hand back before sinking onto his bed.
What was he supposed to do now?
"Had fun teasing our lil' Sexta, Sousuke?" Ichimaru asked playfully as they walked away from the Meeting Room.
"Hm? I have no idea what you're talking about," Aizen answered nonchalantly. "Also, do remember to keep Grimmjow occupied till the attack, will you?"
"Right, right..."
"Oh, and, Gin." Aizen stopped in his tracks when he arrived at his room.
"Nn?"
"Remember to put down that shinigami we caught. Now that we've gotten all the information that we need, we no longer have a use for him."
"In other words, you want me to-"
"Kill him," Aizen finished calmly, not even sparing a second thought about the bloodied, starved and now nearly mad shinigami that they kept strapped to a table in one of the many rooms of Las Noches. "After what he was put through, death is not too far off for him anyway."
"Aye, Sousuke." Gin bowed his head, a smile stretching upon his lips. "Will do that right away."
Grimmjow's shoulders shook.
The next time he meets Ulquiorra...
It might just be his last.
He laughed bitterly.
My last.
... Our last.
Ulquiorra's breaths came out as a white mist before his face as he breathed in and out.
It was a cold night tonight here in Karakura Town. He had to rub his arms periodically just to keep himself warm, not that he was complaining, really. He was pretty much used to the cold. And with what he had been doing nowadays, he hardly cared about the cold, his mind focused only on his duty. He had seen and spilt so much blood that the cold simply could not compare, his mind concentrated on just that - not the cold, but killing.
A stark difference to what he did when he was not on duty. He cherished every stolen, tender moment with Grimmjow.
Unfortunately, now was not one of those tender moments that he cherished so much.
Right now, he had his fingers tightly wrapped around an Arrancar's neck, the latter looking worse for wear. He had caught this one while he was patrolling the street across the hospital with Momo Hinamori. The Arrancar was a rather tricky one, full of cunning though she was obviously mentally unstable, but he had managed to cut her down. Blood oozed out of numerous wounds on her body, all of the wounds inflicted by none other than Ulquiorra Cifer. Every laboured breath she took only caused more blood to gush out of her wounds. She did not have long to live left. It was a pitiable sight, but Ulquiorra was not going to give in to sympathy.
He squeezed the Arrancar's throat, causing her to choke. It appeared to make no difference whatsoever, though, because the mad smile remained etched on her face as she stared up at Ulquiorra, a maniacal glint in her eye. He would have stabbed his zanpaktou right through her chest had she not started laughing.
"You..." she giggled, flecks of red on her cheek. "Enjoy what little time you have left."
Ulquiorra furrowed his eyebrows, a bit confused by the way she was acting. Thinking that she was merely toying with him, he unsheathed his zanpaktou almost mechanically, ready to do what he had been doing everyday now. To kill.
She reached up to caress a pale cheek. Ulquiorra did not even flinch. "Such a shame..."
"Do not touch me."
"Such a shame, such a shame..." she repeated, her voice mocking. Not listening, she let her hand trail down from his cheek, to his neck, down to his chest and rested her hand there. "Such a shame to lose such a beautiful specimen..."
Disgusted, Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist when her hand began to wander again. "What on Earth are you talking about?"
But she only smiled. The smile unnerved him. Just his luck to have to deal with an obviously crazy one.
"Just like I thought..." Ulquiorra muttered. "Stalling."
"Stalling? No, not stalling, never stalling..." she giggled once more. "Must be painful to live knowing that you're going to be killed... You and the rest of the filthy shinigami... Oh, yes, it must be..."
"What?"
"Aizen-sama is going to kill you," she said in a sing song voice.
"So I've heard," he said dryly.
"He is going to kill you, and all of your friends. He's going to be God, you know... He has big plans... Big plans that he's going to put into motion soon..." She pulled her hand out of Ulquiorra's grasp, grabbed the front of his uniform and yanked him down towards her. The Arrancar whispered into his ear, her warm breath tickling his skin, "He's going to kill you. Your friends. Your loved ones. Be sure to enjoy what little time you have left, love." She flicked a tongue out at his earlobe, licking it. Her touch made Ulquiorra grimace. "The people you love... They will all die a painful, painful death..."
He pushed her away from him, slamming her to the ground.
"Ack-!" She coughed out blood. "That wasn't very nice!"
"Trash."
She spat at his face.
"Captain Ulquiorra!" Hinamori, who had been by his side all this time, exclaimed in alarm.
Ulquiorra drove his zanpaktou right through the Arrancar's chest, right where her heart was supposed to be. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open to form the shape of an "O", not expecting Ulquiorra to be so quick at killing her at all. The anger that was previously present in her eyes moments ago was replaced with madness once more.
"So beautiful..." she managed to gasp out between pained intakes of breaths as her life began to slip away from her. "Yet so dangerous... Yes... Such a shame..."
Ulquiorra said nothing, his lips set in a thin line. When she finally heaved out her last breath, he reached out and closed her eyes, making her look like she was sleeping.
"Farewell."
The fact that Captain Yamamoto's prediction was proven true did not surprise him at all.
Unable to take it anymore, Grimmjow stood up from his bed.
"Fuck this shit," Grimmjow growled, yanking the door open. "I'm not gonna sit around here. I'm gonna go and see Ulqui right now and-"
"Hello, Grimmy-chan," Ichimaru Gin greeted when the door was opened. "I'm here to hang out with ya for a bit. Aizen-sama's orders. He thought ya might be a bit lonely, what with Ulqui-chan being dead and all." He tilted his head, silver hair falling across his eyes. He grinned. "I hope ya don't mind."
DIOR: To everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, thank you! So sorry for the late update. I would have updated sooner, but I was busy with Christmas, New Year and stuff... You know how it is. ^^; Reviews are appreciated.
Also, a very Happy New Year to everyone!