Chapter 3
500 years ago…
It was the Sengoku period, Japan was full of civil wars and social upheaval. But they were happy. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and despite the blood that had been shed throughout the land, where they were was peaceful. Hidden away from the horrors of the outside. This small town was so small, it wasn't even worth glancing at. So the people lived quietly and didn't bring attention to themselves. It was safer this way. It was this light in the darkness that drew the two girls to the town in the first place. During that time, Grimmjow had been a hard working blacksmith. His only friend/rival since childhood, Ulquiorra, was an artist that would often sit outside his shop to keep him company and to draw and paint the good view of the near-by mountains. The view was especially beautiful at sunrise and sunset, the colors vibrant with life. One day the two decided to get a drink at the local bar. Sometimes, they needed a little extra help to tolerate each other. Or to just simply unwind from especially long days.
That was when they met the twins. Their small town rarely, if ever, got visitors and this made the villagers nervous and unpleasant towards the girls. Seeing this bothered Grimmjow, what the hell was their problem anyway? Two girls can't even go through a simple town anymore? Ulquiorra wasn't any better either, and when he saw a passing villager trip the blue eyed girl as they walked by, he nearly lost it. But he was beat to the literal punch when the red eyed girl, who seemed to be related, knocked said villager out with a single punch and continued on without breaking her pace. The blue eyed girl got up to follow, as if nothing happened. Grimmjow looked like an idiot with his mouth hanging open in shock, Ulquiorra wished he had his materials so he could draw said idiotic look just to piss Grimmjow off.
"Now that's a hell of a woman." Grimmjow commented once he regained his bearings. And just his luck, they were walking into the very same place they were headed. Grimmjow grinned, "I call the red eyed one." he said childishly. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes, "By all means…" He didn't think Grimmjow would ever mature, they were already 21 years of age and his friend showed no signs of a maturing. It was gonna be a long life at this rate. Ulquiorra thought as he followed behind Grimmjow into the bar. They sat down at a table not too far from the twins, Grimmjow internally debating how he was to approach them. The red eyed girl got up from the table to head over to the bar area, and ordered a drink. Or at least tried. The bartender kept his back to her, as if she didn't even exist. Before said girl could give the bartender a piece of her mind, Grimmjow saw this as the perfect opportunity and waltzed right up to order two sake's. Grimmjow gave the girl his signature grin, giving her the second drink. "Thanks" she replied unsurely, not understanding the gesture.
"Anytime, Sweetheart." He winked. The girl just looked at him from the side, glaring. Rolling her eyes she took a full swig of sake, downing it in one gulp. Grimmjow stared at her a moment, mouth hanging in shock for the second time that day. This girl is something else. Damn, I really need to get to know her. Grimmjow thought as she ordered another round.
"It's on his tab. Damn, that sakê's strong!" She said, almost yelling. The girl got some ugly looks from some of the occupants in the pub, but she either didn't care or didn't notice. She just took another gulp of sake, starting to get a slight blush to her cheeks, Grimmjow found it sexy.
"So, what's your name, boy?" She asked, looking at him directly for the first time. Grimmjow noticed, with slight surprise, that she wasn't even drunk, her eyes piercing into his very being. He was speechless...
"What is it? Too stupid to know your own name but can buy a girl a drink? What is this world coming to..." She said with a fake drunken drawl to her voice. Grimmjow momentarily snapped out of his stupor.
"Well, if you're going to insult me, might I have the pleasure of knowing your name, women?" He asked harshly, refusing to be smacked around. She looked him up and down, then gave a small smile.
"Azumi. And you might want to remember that name for later." She winked at him drunkenly. Grimmjow went red for a moment, but he grinned after a second.
"Azumi? Nice name. I'm Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Local blacksmith. Need anything, I'm your guy." He puffed out his chest and stretched, just happening to show off his muscles. Azumi rolled her eyes, apparently losing interest. Uh,oh. Grimmjow thought, he would not lose, he refused to. He was about to make a smart comment when a drunken villager came up between them.
"Hey, girly. How much are ya?" He slurred, grinning. Grimmjow grew hot, pissed that this guy assumed she was a whore. Azumi just sipped her sakê and looked straight ahead.
"Go home, sir. I am not a prostitute and quite frankly, you're not even worth my time." She said this in a dull monotone, like she was use to this kind of thing happening. War must have changed the outside world a lot if girls were getting constantly harassed like this.
"Hey now, don't be like that, little girl. I'll be nice." The man went to reach for her arm and at that point Grimmjow's anger had boiled over. He stood straight up and punched the guy in the face. There was a loud crack as his nose broke and he fell to the floor, knocked out cold. The years of hammering steel and iron had made him strong. The noise stopped and everyone looked at him. He glared right back. The bartender walked up to Grimmjow asking him to leave. "We will not tolerate any violence. There is already enough going on in Japan as it is. If you want to fight, then get out. Same goes for you as well, miss. I think you've caused enough trouble, I'm afraid this town doesn't take kindly to newcomers. Not in this day and age." Both Grimmjow and Azumi were pissed off at this point.
"Ashyah! We're leaving this crap excuse for a pub!" Azumi shouted, making sure everyone heard her. Ashyah got up from her crouched position in the chair and skipped out the doors, Azumi and Grimmjow following behind. Ulquiorra sighed, just now realizing he was stuck with all of their checks. After paying and mumbling an apology to the owner, he went out to catch up.
They all met at the small cottage that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra shared with their combined wages. Azumi and Grimmjow complained and bickered about whose fault it was in being kicked out of the pub, while Ashyah picked up multiple different plants and flowers that caught her eye. Ulquiorra watched Ashyah, curious as to her reasoning. Grimmjow brought out his own bottle of sake and poured him and Azumi a cup. Ulquiorra denied his offer and Azumi stopped Grimmjow from giving Ashyah any. That would be very bad. Ashyah had alcohol once and Azumi was hell bent on never repeating that mistake.
Azumi and Grimmjow sat out on the porch, drinking. Ulquiorra showed Ashyah his art, paints, and charcoal. Ashyah was happy. Once Ulquiorra found out that she too was an artist, they sat down to work. Ashyah drawing the flowers she had picked with the borrowed charcoal, and Ulquiorra using the paints.
"Why would you choose such colorful flowers, and then draw them in black and white?" Ulquiorra asked, adding some pink and orange to his piece. Ashyah didn't look up, but answered, "Colors make you feel, I don't want to feel the past or the future, just the present. I can see those colors now, but I don't want to remember them." She started on a new flower, overlapping it on another. "Why don't you want to remember? Is it not a beautiful memory?" Ulquiorra asked, not understanding. This time Ashyah looked up, crystal eyes meeting teal, "Because it is sad, when something is happy, it only becomes sad later...Why is that?" She questioned, a look a seriousness on her childish face. Ulquiorra didn't know what to say to that, he looked at the flowers for some time before looking back at her, "I'll let you know when I find the answer."
Meanwhile out on the porch, Grimmjow and Azumi talked weapons. Azumi was quite intrigued with Grimmjow's work. He spoke of how he didn't make weapons too often these days. The town had prohibited it until the wars were over. So for now he was stuck making pots, pans and other everyday household items. Azumi felt bad for the poor bastard. Azumi talked about her travels with her sister, how they didn't have a home to stay, or a family. You could practically see the light bulb above Grimmjow's head light up. "Well, if you don't have anywhere to stay, we have a little room here. Though it's not much." He suggested, his tone of voice uncharacteristically bashful. Azumi pondered the offer, it wasn't like her and Ashyah had anywhere else to be. And sleeping on something that wasn't the ground or a tree would be nice if only just for one night. Not only that, but the blue haired blacksmith was pretty hot. Guilty as charged. Was there shame? Nope.
So Azumi agreed to his offer, the twins taking up the living room as their new bedroom with the extra sleeping mats Grimmjow and Ulquiorra kept in the case of guests. They stayed there one night. Then two. Then ten. Until the days blurred together and the living room was no longer a living room.
After the first two months, Azumi and Grimmjow fell in love. They were always together, and after two more months, Azumi moved to Grimmjow's room. Ashyah was not alone though, since soon after Azumi switched her sleeping arrangements Ulquiorra confessed his love for Ashyah. And five months after that, on a quiet spring afternoon, Ulquiorra asked Ashyah to marry him, to which Ashyah tilted her head and asked what "marry" meant. Ulquiorra didn't know whether to facepalm or to go off and die in a ditch. Though once it was explained, Ashyah agreed. Azumi and Grimmjow had thought about marriage but Azumi got pregnant before any arrangements could be made.
They were all happy and content with their lives. That was, until the baby was due. When the child finally came, there was no cry. There wasn't even a first breath. Azumi wouldn't talk for days. She wouldn't even come out of the room she and Grimmjow shared. It took a total of six weeks before she spoke again, and a year before she was back to normal. Though no one was allowed to talk about the baby. In Azumi's mind it never even happened. Ashyah and Ulquiorra had held off their marriage until Azumi was back on her feet. They both agreed that it wouldn't have been right to have such a happy celebration during such a sad time.
So they had their wedding on a spring day, just like the day Ulquiorra proposed and were married. It was small, just Grimmjow, Azumi, and the bride and groom. Ashyah wore a simple white kimono and was married that day. About a month after the wedding, Grimmjow helped Ulquiorra build his own house not too far from the one they had shared. It was small and wooden, but Ashyah and Ulquiorra loved it none-the-less. They were all happy together, Azumi and Grimmjow especially now that they had a house all to themselves.
About a year after the wedding, Azumi got pregnant again. Though she was scared all throughout the pregnancy, Grimmjow assured her. So nine months later Azumi had a boy and named him Kasen, and if Grimmjow were a baby, Kasen would be it. Though it was clear from the way the child cried that he had the personality of his mother. Grimmjow was happy and yet at the same time wanted to strangle the thing for crying so damn often. What was worse was the fact that the only thing that could shut the kid up was when you gave it to Ashyah. Azumi had the feeling that Ashyah was showing Kasen illusions to distract him. That was cheating, and both Azumi and Grimmjow told her so; to which Ashyah would always grin.
About six months after Kasen was born, joy was spreading throughout the tiny family. News from the outside world alway came pouring in, but the tiny village seemed to be secluded from it all. It was a total of five years since they had all first met. Then it all went to hell. It was a hot summer day, the town was peaceful and quiet. Grimmjow and Azumi were sitting outside playing with their child and enjoying the beautiful view of the mountains, while Ashyah and Ulquiorra were in their small house painting. Then they all heard the hooves of horses and the shouts and screams of villagers. The smell of smoke filled the air. And it was all getting closer to their small corner of the town.
Azumi grabbed Kasen and Grimmjow ran them to the nearby tree line, making sure they were all well hidden. Ten minutes went by, and there was no sign of either Ulquiorra or Ashyah. That was when they saw one of the stray soldiers riding away on their horse, shouting to someone in the distance that there was no one in the houses, that person in the distance shouted an order to burn the houses down anyway. Grimmjow held back Azumi, telling her that it was suicide to go out now. When the soldier was gone and the first flames started to engulf the structures, Grimmjow had Azumi wait with the child while he got Ashyah and Ulquiorra. The beams of the structure cracked and creaked and then something snapped and a shout of pain could be heard. When Grimmjow got inside, Ulquiorra was under a large wooden beam, his lower half completely covered in debris. Ashyah was at his arms, trying to pull him out. The tears running down her face mixed with the black dirt that covered her. Ulquiorra's face was twisted in pain, and from the odd angle he was in, it was obvious both of his legs were broken. Ashyah whimpered in frustration at not being able to pull him out, but she never gave up. Grimmjow ran over to help, but the large beams wouldn't budge.
"Please…"Ulquiorra croaked, saying something that Grimmjow couldn't hear but from the look of horror on Ashyah's face, it was clear that she had. She pulled even harder, then frantically tried pushing against the beams to get them off. Grimmjow moved closer to try and hear what he was saying, "get her out…*cough*...I'm not getting out of here, I can't even feel my legs anymore." He said with a look of despair. Grimmjow pulled harder at his friend's arms, he didn't want to leave him. How could he? We still have time he thought desperately. But then Ulquiorra looked Grimmjow right in the eyes, his face set in anger and determination, "Get. Her. Out." He said each word clearly. He was begging him now. Grimmjow's heart dropped, and he made the toughest decision of his life. He grabbed Ashyah around the waist and tried dragging her away, but Ashyah held strong to Ulquiorra's arms, refusing to let go.
"NO! Put me down! I'm not leaving!" She shrieked. Ulquiorra looked into her eyes then, telling her it was alright, and that this was what he wanted. He wanted her to live. "No, no, nonono…"She repeated sobbing and shaking her head. Grimmjow pulled at Ashyah and successful threw her over his shoulder, a lump in his throat. Ashyah kicked and screamed, and pulled against Grimmjow. But he wouldn't let go, he wouldn't go against his best friend's last wishes. Ashyah looked one last time at Ulquiorra, knowing she wouldn't be able to get free from Grimmjow's grasp.
Ulquiorra gave her a small sad smile, tears now running down his face as well. Then another beam snapped, and it fell over Ulquiorra, falling, falling. It seemed to happen so fast yet in slow motion at the same time. But it happened, and Ashyah saw the whole thing. The wooden beam fell straight down, the sharp tip of it slicing through Ulquiorra, right through his heart. And Ashyah watched. Watched as his eyes widened for a split second in pain and surprise, and then watched as those same eyes she adored so much closed. And he was silent. He was still. And Ashyah couldn't say a word.
Grimmjow made it to the door, but something cracked, and he ran. He threw Ashyah's small body through the opening before the whole thing collapsed down on him, something severing through his stomach. Ashyah turned back getting up and pulling at the debris to get to Grimmjow. When she got to him, he was coughing up blood, pulling at something in his pocket. When he got it out Ashyah could see it was a ring, like the ones they wore in Europe. Grimmjow coughed up more blood and it dribbled down his chin. He looked at the small black band he had made for Azumi. Then held it out to Ashyah, "Can you…" more blood came up, making him cough on it. "This is for Azumi…" He got out, dropping the small object in her hand. Ashyah's eyes widened, and she shook her head. Not wanting to believe what was happening. Then footfalls could be heard, Azumi coming up behind her sister, child in her arms. "Grimmjow?" Azumi questioned, not believing her eyes quite yet. She fell to her knees by her love, setting Kasen to the side. Ashyah put the small piece of metal back in Grimmjow's hand. She walked away, quietly picking up Kasen and taking him away from the flames.
"What…? Where's Ulquiorra? Why…? Azumi's eyes widened when she saw Grimmjow's stomach, "Grimmjow...your…"Azumi broke off, her words unable to make it past her lips. Grimmjow lifted his hand, wiping at Azumi's face. Azumi hadn't even realized that she was crying. Then Grimmjow took Azumi's hand and placed the ring in it, wrapping her fingers around it, "I guess I've always kinda sucked at timing, but I wanted you to have this. It's how they propose in the west, and me being a blacksmith and all, I thought it would be fitting…" He explained, the sky getting darker as clouds started to move in. "It looks like rain…" He mumbled, like everything was fine. Like today was just another normal day. The first drops starting to fall, before it came in a downpour, dowsing the flames. Azumi held Grimmjow's hand, looking into his cyan orbs. Knowing what was coming, she placed her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his free arm around her.
When the rain finally cleared up, Grimmjow was limp. His strong chest no longer moving against Azumi's cheek. Azumi's stomach twisted, her heart nearly stopping. Tears streamed down her face, body shaking before she screamed in despair and agony. She held onto Grimmjow's body until the heat from it went cold. When she got up, she was numb. She looked to where her sister sat off in the distance holding Kasen. Walking up to her, she could see that her sister's eyes, which were always so full of life, were empty and dull. As if she were looking at nothing, Azumi had a feeling that her eyes looked the same. The next day, Azumi buried Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. Ashyah hadn't stayed. She couldn't bare to even help dig a hole for the bodies, so she sat with her back facing in the opposite direction, holding onto Kasen and taking care of him. Once the work was done, Azumi took one last look at the two graves that faced the beautiful mountain view, the sun setting by the time she had finished.
Azumi walked up behind Ashyah, "Do you want to say goodbye?" She asked. Ashyah didn't respond, just got up and walked forward, in the opposite direction of the graves. Azumi wasn't surprised, and she couldn't really blame her twin. She followed her sister, taking her son from Ashyah. It was then that Azumi realized something, it was too hard to look at Kasen. He looked too much like Grimmjow, she could hardly bare it, though it wasn't Kasen's fault. Azumi knew that, but figured it was best that Kasen didn't stay with them. He deserved better than a mother like Azumi, especially a mother that could at the very least look at her own son. Heart breaking even more, if that was even possible, Azumi and Ashyah took Kasen to an old woman they knew would take good care of him a couple towns over. When Azumi gave him over the the old women, she turned around, refusing to look back. The twins got as far away as they could from the area, and the place where their happy lives had been destroyed…