[AliCe In Chains]

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

[Perils Of Burden]


ORIHIME!-the voices screamed in her ears as she came hurtling to herself, forcefully thrown from the heretothere back into her body. It was an indefinable feeling- like the vertigo accompanying the drop from a far height. It was a rush of force that overwhelmed her body with its intensity, like being pushed unceremoniously into an ice cold river. She came to herself with a gasp like a choked breath, her head ringing painfully in her ears and her vision blurring violently as she struggled to come back into her senses.

Remember!

Instinctively, a natural flexibility honed by years of cheerleading practice, and the muscle control and strength she had gained from taking martial arts classes with Tatsuki in high school, kicked in as soon as grey eyes rememberedtofocus- on the clawed hand reaching for her chest. Barely pausing to think she dropped down low immediately, dropping down into a crouch. She expertly rolling beneath and to the side of his outstretched arm in a single fluid motion, merely a moment before his fist tore unmercifully into the fabric of cushion and metal with an ease that made her body shiver and her heart race. She rolled over onto her feet, still stumbling slightly from the feeling of the hereandthere that made her limbs tremble, her mind racing, pulse hammering in her chest, heart beating a steady thrum of life and blood in her ears.

'That could have been me' she thought with barely restrained horror, watching the way Grimmjow staggered on his feet, idly shaking the ruined remains of the fraying fabric from around his clenched fist. His head rolled limply on his neck so that wild eyes could focus on her- so that blackened fangs could smile for her, the jaws gaping in a wicked grin that reminded her 'That could have been me!' That single thought made her throat dry and her vision blur as she thought of the pain, the blood, as bones snapped and bent and broke and-

Orihime! You must focus Orihime!

He charged her again, wildly, blindly, like a drunken man and again she dropped down and rolled out of his way a moment before his fist bit harshly into the concrete wall behind her with a crunch like shattering bones. She hurried back to her feet, her stride matching the quickening sprint of her pulse as she leapt into a run across the lobby. She tried to remain calm, tried to remain calm, tried to stay strong- but she could hear the sound of cement and gravel, she had seen the way concrete had parted before the might of his fist, where her head had been, and the high keen of panic was bubbling in her head and-

Orihime! You must stay strong!

'Yes!' she tried to tell herself as she attempted to think clearly, tried to think over the madness beneath the surface, tried to think over the voices racing in her mind, over the sound of her roaring blood and pulse. Because there were no cold hands to hold back the feeling, and there were no dragons to hide her in darkness. There was the girl who she was in this moment, this girl who could scarcely draw breath for the pounding of her heart, the echo of madness ghosting along the corridors of her mind, straining the chain of thought. With a startling clarity, she knew- if for one moment she lost her calm, if for one moment she denied this-

I'll go mad from the revelation.

Think! She had to think clearly! She couldn't run outside- that thought cut through the haze, for taking to the streets was nothing short of madness. Her death was one thing, but to risk the lives of other innocent people was another. Especially not people who knew nothing, people who had no idea, people who-

There would be nothing left of her, when he was done. Nothing but a sunset colored blood stain, torn to pieces-

-and she was stupid, and this was stupid because the chain had told her of him, had told her that he was the Sexta Espada, that he had ripped hollows, human and soul reapers alike to pieces with his bare hands. It had told her of the echo of his laughter over battlefields covered in blood beneath darkened skies, of the wrathful joy, of the pleasure he got from breaking bones and tearing flesh and-

Orihime!

-and dear god she heard him roaring behind her, heard him trampling behind her as he slowly but surely regained his strength, as he slowly but surely gained control of his limbs despite the cumbersome weight of the shell that encased his madness, his rage, what remained of his blackened soul. And all thought left her and she could think of nothing but-

Dispassionate emerald eyes and cold hands.

please please please-she thought as she pivoted on her feet, nearly throwing the nearest door off its hinges in her haste, leaping up the stairs of the landing three at a time, hurrying upwards but no one could hear her, no one would know and soon she would be dead, a sunset colored stain on the floor amongst the red and she had to, she had to-

ORIHIME!

And she ran up the stairs, ignoring the harsh slap of concrete stinging against the unprotected flesh of her bare feet as she hurled herself upward, using strength she didn't know she had as she dragged herself up the stairs, the bite of tears threatening to spill over, the panic, the tremble in her hands as she stumbled, a fear she desperately tried to fight. Her legs went numb, dead weight that seemed to cripple beneath her, panic reducing her to a groveling mess as she fell forward onto her knees. She couldn't find the breath to scream, a wordless sound of muffled horror lodged in her throat as she dragged herself forward, crawling on all fours, and she-

["I have never seen such a lamentable sight."]

I'm trying! I'm trying! she screamed aloud in her head to the ghost that was not there as she stumbled back to her feet, righting herself over the roar of unrestrained rage, the echo of Grimmjow's madness and laughter behind her and don't look back don't look back keep going keep going keep going and you have to, you must!-

ORIHIME!

And she wanted emerald eyes like she had never wanted them before, she wanted the cold of his chest, of his arms, she wanted the line of his back before her, she wanted to be at his feet, in his shadow- she wanted him to make the world clear and true in the way that only he could, she wanted the cold of him, she wanted the chains if it would only save her, if he would protect her, if he would be the pillar of strength she needed if he would only-

Orihime! You are strong Orihime!

'But not strong enough for this!', not strong enough to do this, not strong enough to face this, not strong enough to turn around and stare into the depths of those wild eyes crying tears of black, not strong enough to do anything but run as she ran up the steps and she- she needed him- she wanted him, she cried out with everything inside of her, her soul screaming with a desperation that could only bear his name.

'Ulquiorra! Please Ulquiorra! Please! Please please-!'

But she could not hear the rattle of chains, could not feel the cold of his chest, and her scream was lost in the pit of her being, lost in the darkness so that not even the dragon could answer her pathetic cry for salvation. And there was no Ichigo to make the bad things go away, no Tatsuki to drive the demons back, there was no Uryuu or Chad or Rukia to make things easy, to surround her with that smothering blanket of protection that had kept her safe.

And she stumbled onto her landing, staggering to her door as she fell onto her knees, searching blindly for the spare key she hid under her mat. And she didn't know what the hell she was doing, nothing could save her, no one could save her -and what was she doing but consenting to an annihilating death in the only place she felt safe? The irony of the thought was lost in her shaky breath and fumbling hands-

["I have never seen such a lamentable sight."]

And she was a lamentable sight, groveling at her door, fumbling for her key as she trembled on her feet, not even knowing what she was doing- but she had to keep him away from others, keep him away from everyone until she could…!

She didn't know- what was she going to do? What was she planning to do? And that thought alone horrified her more than anything else and her hands shook so hard she couldn't concentrate as she hurried with the lock.

-and she had done it! She kicked open the door and- she turned and saw him coming, stalking her slowly on the landing like time was of no consequence, his shoulders hunched forward and his eyes rolling in his head, his cheeks coated in the black of his tears, black rolling from between his grinding jaws and the look in his eyes when he saw her made his grin stretch to the point of madness. And it spoke of torment and rage and she felt her heart cease in her chest, her eyes wide and wavering in a fear so intense she could not name it, a fear that robbed her of her strength, her will, a fear that told her to just shut up be a good bitch and die for me-

'ORIHIME!'-the voices! Screaming- 'KEEP GOING ORIHIME!'

-voices screaming at her, growing louder and louder into a crescendo of sound urging her forward, calling her closer and CLOSER and CLOSER and she knew that she had to find them, she knew that they were here but there wasn't enough time and she couldn't-

["In this moment Onna, you are frightened. Your brief display of bravery has abandoned you, and now you are what you always were. Weak. The strength on which you so heavily relied has faded. There is nothing left for you now but despair. This is a battle you cannot win."]

And he was right, he had always been right- and she turned around, the sight of Grimmjow and the thought of being trapped in an enclosed space from which there would be no escape echoing through her mind. She dashed through her kitchen, a moving mass of pure instinct and limbs as she dashed through the open door of her bedroom- in the moment before his body crashed into hers with all the force of a train, knocking the wind straight from her lungs as he collided with her, the solid and unforeseen weight of his body as it connected with hers making a harsh scream of surprise rise and die in a gasp of harshly drawn breath.

A roar of victory leapt from between his wide jaws, making the very essence of her soul shudder in pure terror as she screamed. They rolled violently across her disheveled bed onto the floor in a single disjointed motion, her head knocking so hard against the corner of her table dresser that it toppled over, and the breath in her lungs left her in one foul swoop as the weight of his body smothered hers, and she felt the wavering edge of her sanity, of the barely restrained madness she had been holding back with feeble hands grasp her in a cold fist as she looked into his eyes.

His eyes. Caught between don't look don't look don't look don't look and that whispering murmur of laughter hovering over a battlefield covered in bodies, his fists bringing death, bringing pain- destruction-the wild depth of that blackened gaze as he ran a tongue over haggard jaws, the pit of nothing and everything behind them, the twisted grin of madness and hate etched into the lines of his face and a hunger that spoke of immense pain.

His eyes! And all of the strength of her will shattered in a moment, so suddenly, so violently that she could do nothing but stare, wide eyed and mindless as everything she had held from herself in this moment caught up with her, a fear she could have only dreamed of, a fear that made her entire body tremble from head to foot, a fear that made dark smiling grins in allies look like nothing, a fear that-

'ORIHIME! YOU MUST NOT LOOK INTO HIS EYES! ORIHIME!'

And she screamed, screamed loudly as the fear caught up with her as the getawaygetawaygetaway collided with the he's going to kill you he's going to kill you stupid girl and eat you alive and- she tried to roll out from under him, she tried to fight him with flailing fists, but he barked black blood into her face as she struggled, the weight of his body crushing her. And he was burning, his skin was burning like hot steel as it pressed against her, as one calloused hand forcefully caught her flailing arms, forcing them above her head, the bruising force of his grip holding her captive. The fear was hot and real and tangible in her throat so that it choked her scream, a fear she had never known of blood and torment and her vision began to fade and blur, pulsing in and out of focus so that she couldn't think and-

'ORIHIME! ORIHIME! ORIHIME!'

-the voices were loud and insistent in her ears, deafening her but she couldn't!-

'LOOK AWAY FROM HIS EYES ORIHIME! '

But she was paralyzed by that gaze, by her fear and she could not think as a clawed hand tore at the thin fabric of her shirt, ripping it in two with a violent rip that left swift, ragged lines of red running down the length of her chest and abdomen, the adrenaline pumping through her blood making her numb for a second of mercy until the pain stung her swiftly as she sucked in a breath, a promise of more, of worse, in pitch black eyes, of a pain so unimaginable she wouldn't be able to survive it.

His claws bit into the bare flesh of her unprotected chest, drawing lines of red against her sweat stained skin, so that it smarted, a new twinge of pain that made her body leap beneath him, struggling in vain to hurl him from her. And she screamed, wanting to scream his name, screaming for salvation, screaming for help that wouldn't come, choking on a barely contained sob that made her chest rattle as his tongue ran a burning trail up the length of her abdomen, nipping harshly at the side of her breasts. Ohgodohgodohgod as the tears ran freely down her face, as she knew his intent, knowing that he was going to take her and use her and destroy her completely and leave nothing left-

'ORIHIME!' And the voices were clear and sharp and strong in her ears, startling in the force of their combined voices and she knew she was close, she knew she was close, she just had to-!

She couldn't think as he traced the outlines of the smarting scratches he had drawn against her chest with the burning length of his tongue, her heart roaring so loud in her ears that she couldn't think, the iron grasp around her wrists tightening, tightening to breaking and- she jumped beneath him, her hands grasping aimlessly above her in his grip, desperately searching the ground before her strength gave out, before-

And then she felt the sinking of fangs into the unprotected flesh of her chest, the pain immediate, so intense that she unleashed a fresh scream, a mangled sound of pain as her entire body leaped beneath him to throw him off, her legs careening wildly, her back straightening against the carpet as if she wanted it to swallow her, to take her away - the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, goose bumps of pure terror breaking out along her bare skin, her heart pounding so intensely in her chest that she could hear nothing but the haggard, mangled breaths torn from her parted lips. The end- almost at the end, she could see the dark coming, brutal and-

-and her hands found the cool edge of metal pins where they had been thrown against the floor and- the voices were clear, so clear and strong that they seemed to echo through her entire body, making her clenched hand grow hot and hotter and-the voice was proud, strong, a roar of strength she didn't have-

'LISTEN TO ME NOW GIRL! YOU MUST-'

But the pain was too much! she couldn't focus, she couldn't concentrate on the voice over the burning heat of his skin trapping her, the bite of fangs gnawing against her chest as if he would devour the light inside of her, the sickening warmth of her own blood rolling against her skin, the scent of copper and her fear and dear god this was the end this was it she was going to die- she was going to die and the dragon would come and he would devour what was left and she-

'-FOCUS ORIHIME! YOU HAVE TO CONCENTRATE! YOU MUST-'

But she couldn't think of anything but this staggering pain, this pain, the pain of his fangs tearing through flesh, not like that dark kiss of frantic of pleasure as he had drunk from her but a conquering of all that she was- and he was going to tear her to pieces and take what was left he was going to take and take and take and-

['I took nothing from you that you did not freely give.']But she had given him nothing! She had given black eyes and fangs nothing! And he was just going to take it from her like some starving beast, he was going to eat her alive like whipped prey, like the rotten remains of an ancient feast. And suddenly the fiery voice cut through the haze to the core of her and she knew-

'-YOU MUST REJECT HIM ORIHIME!'

And she knew it she knew it -she thought of how she had given herself away, regardless of reason, how she had made the decision to give herself away. Because she had loved him with all of her. But not like this, not like this, not to wild eyes and bloody fangs-

-and she focused through the pain, despite the pain and she focused on that- on nothing but that- on the hot something boiling in the pit of a girl named Onna who was not to be taken advantage of, who would not let herself be taken advantage of-and then the words came spiraling from inside of her, leaping from her lips with the bite of that heat, the force of her desperation, practically screaming the words into wild eyes-

"KOTEN ZANSHUN! I REJECT!"

And for one moment, she was blinded by the harsh glow of a light so strong that it blinded her, illuminating the shadows in his eyes, making her body burn hotter than the sun, glowing with a force she could not explain. A sudden wind that made her eyes burn and whipped the hair violently around her face, fluttering her curtains, tossing the scattered remains of clothes and paper around her room in a violent tornado of movement and chaos. In a moment that seemed infinite- but as brief as a blink- a force seemed to explode from inside of her to the heart of him, to the black of his chest. And the light, the heat, the force seemed to hover, contained against his might in a moment in which she could have sworn she saw a black bird, grinning at her with a callous smile. And then it burst in a stream of power and light, hurling him away from her with frightening force, sending him reeling backwards through her covered window with an explosion of shattering glass and the sickening scent of scorched flesh.

The roar of a hot summer's wind and the high keen of broken glass assaulted her, her entire head ringing, the lingering light making her eyes water as it faded away so suddenly that she lay paralyzed against the floor. For a moment she lay where she was, her entire body flushed with the aftermath of something she could not even begin to understand. As the wind dissipated she was covered in stray papers and articles of clothing as gravity dragged them back to earth, the hair settling hotly back across her face.

'What…what just happened?' Wearily she struggled to make sense of the insanity of the moment as she lay there, her entire body flooded with heat, her muscles slack against her damp carpet- from her blood, staining it beneath her. 'Was…was he-?' she cracked open weary eyes, her haggard gaze drifting around the room as it began to blur- but he was gone- the proof of his violent exit seen in the shattered glass littering her carpet and her open window, the blinds blown to pieces and the remains of her curtains hanging in frayed tatters.

She sucked in a heady breath against the floor as the light and heat finally disappeared, replaced with a fatigue so intense it robbed her of the ability to even move, the high sharp bite of the pain in her bleeding chest fading away into a dull murmur. Once more she heard him- the strong voice, smoldering and raw, filled with something that could have almost been pride.

'Heh. Good job girl. Guess you aren't as helpless as I thought.'

'Who?' she thought through the haze, as her eyes began to drift closed. She asked the question wildly, blindly although somehow she felt as if she already knew the answer. The voices were fading quickly, still calling to her, but she didn't have any more strength left to hear them as they faded in the void. She felt the dark creeping upon her, a welcoming dark of silence and peace. 'Grimmjow?' she thought clearly, for a moment, as the room began to spin, her body overwhelmed with exhaustion. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry…I…I'm…sorry…I-' but she blacked out in the middle of regret as the dark overwhelmed her.


["The Onna is one of us now. And you will give the Onna guidance in my absence. You will inform her of our ways until I return."]

He mulled briefly over the words- if they had even been spoken- the fact that he was not certain was one he did not want to acknowledge, much less accept. Had he imagined them, he wondered? Had the depths of his being given the words form? Even that thought was laughable- as if he could even begin to imagine what emerald eyes must have felt as he spoke them.

'Fool' he could hear those eyes speaking, cold and sharp as they cut him to pieces. 'You cannot begin to imagine what I am.'

And the truth of those words perhaps, was the most frightening thought of all. What manner of man truly lay behind emerald eyes? What truth lay rotting beneath that hole in his chest? What desires, what he hungered for, what he wanted- were all things he could not even begin to fathom. But mostly- if he knew the truth of this all along, then why did he not deny her? If he knew my words were all the push she needed to weaken her resistance to the call, why did he spare her?

The allure of wide grey eyes, the appeal of that sickening charm of innocence and budding womanhood, the gentle curves of her goddess like form were all things that would be able to sway the most hard hearted of men. However- Ulquiorra was beyond that, above that. What had happened between them- he could not help but wonder- that had made it so easy? And so impossible to believe?

He leaned against the railing in front of his open apartment door, sleeves rolled up and feet bare as he lit the cigarette perched between his lips with a motion perfected from years of practice. A truly marvelous invention- cigarettes- calming somehow in knowing that were he a mortal man, smoking as much as he did in a day would kill him, satisfying in the sense that it would not. The feel- of smoke clouding the lungs that did not draw breath- was one he thoroughly enjoyed. The knowledge that in many small ways, these mortals did what they could to numb themselves to the feeling of life, to the blessing they denied. How laughable it was- to think of all the ways in which mortals spat in the face of all that he was- they were- with that callous indifference. 'Ah, ignorance.'

To think these poor fools drank themselves into oblivion, that they smoked and did whatever they could alleviate the burden of that which they could no longer bear, reveling in self-destructive behavior, openly flaunting their means of escape while theythey were forced to suffer as they were. They did not live, and so robbed of the simple pleasures of even being allowed to thrive. They could not die- they simply ceased to exist. And what became of them? Their feeble, putrid souls, damned from the beginning, twisted so far from its original form that there was not even the slightest chance of salvation?

He let the thought go. Drawing on the length of his cigarette, pursing his lips only to let the smoke billow out from between them.

And that girl-

-he wondered if he could kill her. He wondered if he could lull her once more into a false sense of security, wondered if he put his hands around the pale column of her neck and tightened his grip- would she struggle? Would she beg? Would she show him the face she had shown emerald eyes…or would she fade pathetically away into nothing?

It had been so easy, the first time. Disgustingly easy-how could a girl be so foolish? So trusting? So fucking naïve? In that room, she had shared more of herself with him than any of her so-called friends had ever known- her fears, her concerns, the depths of her insecurity- and to what ends? To think that a woman walked the earth who was so fucking innocent she would share such an intimate part of herself with a man she had never known. How frustrating it had been- to hide back the high bubble of madness from seeping into his eyes.

And what lay behind those wavering eyes, within the confines of that chest- what about this wisp of a girl- had made Nnoitra unable to resist destroying her? That had led Grimmjow to save her? That had led Ulquiorra…to spare her? What secret did she hold, what possible curse had fate decreed she bear that had led her so violently right into their hands? To think that this frail scrap of nothing- whose only curse was the purity of her soul- had unknowingly found herself caught in the crosshairs of beings she could not begin to understand. There was the notion of her loyalty, her devotion to those she called 'friends'- and there was her love, binding her to the monster he knew. He knew with certainty that she was the sort who could not fight the force of her feelings, of her passion, once it had been ignited. She was a girl- if she lived a thousand times, her love would neither waver nor diminish.

He could not put his finger on it. And that alone perhaps was proof enough that this was going too far. That girl- she may have just been a liability after all, a gamble he had no right to make. The time would come- he could feel it as the ash was tossed from his lit cigarette by a stray wind. The time would come where he was going to sordidly regret his reckless decision. But before then…well.

He looked down into the expanse below with a thoughtful gaze, resigning himself for the moment, to simply accept things as they were. It was in this very moment that he first heard it- a strange sound far below, rattling the silence of mid-morning. He cocked an eyebrow, the apartment complex in which they now lived were known for many things, however noise violations had never been one of them.

If he had not known from personal experience, it would have been hard to acknowledge the sound for what it really was- a scream. A woman's scream. It didn't take even a moment's pause before he was sighing with unbridled frustration. Nnoitra had always been a messy eater and had occasionally brought back a meal for a late night snack, since it seemed good sense and decency when feeding eluded him quite often. In fact, lately his reckless feeding habits had grown far beyond the degree of comfort. Surely if Grimmjow had not put him in his place the other night, there wouldn't have been enough left of the girl to even fill a coffin.

However upon further reflection he was surprised to find that the he had miscalculated the degree of the scream- it had come from below- a few floors down perhaps? There was something else- a strange scent. Heavy and ancient, it smelled like - the cigarette fell from between his open lips as the scent registered. 'Grimmjow…how could you?' In the moment in which he realized, in the moment in which he felt the panic beginning to blossom it was too late, it was - stop it, dammit! You must stop it!

But too late! Far too late! An unfathomable desire was building within him to explode into laughter, a high shriek of madness, riddled with the joy of the feeling. Of the freedom he must be feeling. The feeling of being unleashed, unchained, relinquished from the bonds that restrained them, that hid the black of their souls beneath the illusion of mortality. The feeling welling in the depth of the void, from the hole, of pure joy for his brethren, pure joy as he could feel it, could taste it. He could feel the hollow, clawing its way up from the abyss, fighting against the shell, to be released to plague the earth. The feeling of that dark soul clawing to life, made his own chest rattle, making his hands tremble, his breath caught from the force of holding himself together. The madness! The madness wanted to join its brethren destruction, it wanted to create a world of black and blood it wanted to-

'You fool! You fucking fool!' grinding his jaws closed, fighting the beginnings of the gnashing of teeth, fighting the black, building in his own throat, so close he could taste it- the warmth of barely restrained power in the air- of reiatsu, turbulent and violent. Falling to his knees, hands beginning to claw at the fabric of his shirt, fighting to pierce the skin of the shell, his body moving of its own volition. The feeling of being split in two, the feeling of the dark overwhelming his waking mind. 'Do not succumb you fool! You must not succumb!'

To lose to that night was the true failure, to lose himself in the depth of that madness- and he was not quite so weak, so pathetic as to lose himself to that call, willing him to let go and be free. To do such a thing was suicide! To do such a thing was betrayal- to them. The damned curse had taken others- but it would not take him, Sweat broke out along his forehead, entire body trembling from the force of getting himself under control. The scent of that power, smothering him, forcing him to relinquish himself, to be lost in that power-

'Fight it you fool! Fight it!' The black, rising, the hole consuming, standing on the edge of that void that led to the end- feeling his self control slipping, fading fast. On the edge- he could feel it the scent of her blood, coating the air-her blood. 'Fuck! Fuck!' If he lost himself now- if they lost themselves now- there would be no mercy from emerald eyes. Callously, cruelly he would slice away the cancer, he would slay the both of them with his bare hands- once the curse had taken hold there was no escape. Either return to the abyss of the other side, or succumb to being hunted like a wild dog by the very beings they were trying to avoid. Emerald eyes would care nothing of their bonds as comrades, emerald eyes did not recognize such trivial things as friendships, as foolish and fleeting as shared struggles. Without the slightest hesitation, he would slay the both of them. Regardless of sacrifice he would complete his duty- and if they had to die for the sake of the others, he would kill them without a second thought. He would plunge that cold hand into the depth of his being, and drag up the remains of his putrid soul and crush it in his palm.

And he could not, would not, allow himself to be slain like vermin, like filth! After all of his struggles, after overcoming such strife, after crossing over, after surviving when a hundred others had failed- he would not settle for being killed like some rabid beast, he would not allow himself to be slain like a dog! He- Szayel Aporro Granz- would not perish here!

But suddenly something pierced through the black, some strange warmth that banished the feeling as suddenly as it had brought him to his knees. Reeling from the force of the warmth, flowing through his body and he could feel the black fading away back into the abyss. Gasping for breath, feeling the sweat matting his brow, he struggled to regain his senses. His mind was left in shattered disarray in the aftermath, and he struggled to regain enough of himself to comprehend the strange power that had banished the dark. Such a strange, unfathomable power! Hazy and warm like the rays of a midday sun, piercing the black and banishing the shadows of the madness- what had that been? What on earth could have possibly-

He staggered to his feet, hurling his body against the railing. There was a moment in which time was of no consequence, as he stared down far below- into blank eyes, a mouth riddled with black stained fangs, gravity dragged his prone body down with a vengeance as he fell, hurtling to the ground and lost in the trees. 'Grimmjow' he thought with a vengeance, as he watched the man fade away far below, leaving behind him an overwhelming scent of singed flesh, of warmth, of reiatsu and- her.

He remembered the words then, the words cold emerald eyes had left with him before vanishing. Words that had sunk into the core of his being and settled there.

["No harm is to come to the Onna - or you will be held responsible."]

He connected the dots between emerald eyes, the girl and his fascination with her fate, all within the single moment that it took him to leap over the balcony to drop down below. The gravity and the wind that assaulted him echoing the force of the maniacal laughter building in his chest.


The echo of silence. The harsh wind whipping the scent of blood and sand…of ash. A forlorn sound of loneliness…emptiness…echoing through the ruined remains of a castle that had once towered, magnificent, beneath the illusion of a blue sky. He knew now, the folly of that illusion. The sun of the human world was brighter-mocking him with its warmth, as it echoed along the cold planes of his chest. The black length of wings snapped closed as he alighted, the cement cracked beneath him, still black, stained with the scent of blood and an age old whisper of torment. Emeralds eyes bore witness to the shattered remains of the cold, white kingdom that had stood over these planes, a testament to the might and power of the man who had forged it. A solitary beacon of order, of something more than the never ending cycle of death and destruction, the bloody aftermath of countless battles fought and won.

This was where he had found his beginning. This was where he had known he would meet his end. This was where he had found it- the only testament to a life worth living, beyond the void, beyond the cold lure of emptiness. He had wanted nothing before this. He had been born from nothing, steeped in the emptiness of the abyss, only to be banished from the darkness to a world without meaning.

In the wake of his rebirth, there had been a few scant centuries of wandering without purpose or desire, across a barren land. Void of sound, stripped of need, lacking the same savage ambition that drove his kind to madness. A walking void.

It had been centuries since dark eyes had asked him what it was he desired in return for his service. He had desired nothing but an end then. A end. To everything.

A lone shadow, a solitary witness he walked the length of halls that even the centuries would not allow him to forget. Time had done its worst- many of the halls ruined beyond use, the cement cracked and broken, the halls littered with wayward sand. There was no trace of remorse or regret as emerald eyes lighted upon the remains of comrades that had once fought at his side. Filth. Trash not worth noting, not strong enough to hold onto their putrid lives. Worth less than nothing.

There was no fondness, no pleasurable memories to assault him as he walked the halls. He remembered nothing but the cold of the sword in his hand, as Murciélago had sung a bitter, empty song of blood and death. Carving a path through gods, heading to the height of the tower, to the beginning and the end. To the side of his Master, his lord, the only thing worthwhile in the meaningless stretch of existence mortals called living.

And he had thought of nothing but the void then, when he found the man…a mocking smile of benevolence still etched onto his lips.

The void took him in a familiar embrace of nothing and darkness, Murciélago's song now an empty echo of and a black pit of despair, calling him to release, to awaken himself from the stagnant weight of mortality. Were he a lesser being, the cross over alone would have been enough to unwind him, reverting him back to his original form.

But there was…a sigh like a smothered scream, choked in darkness. And the warmth of a flower, blooming in his palm. Just this once. I still love him. A strange…something…balancing, delicately on the edge of a precipice she could not fathom. A whisper, lurking there. Of more. And if you're a part of him, I guess I'll have to love you too. Emerald eyes as cold as winter, wondering at the way amber suns burned from the pit. But he said nothing, silent and still at the wordless silence of more, fading away into the darkness. But he pushed it all below with a callous hand, sending it all to the bottom of the abyss. Into the void of before- void of sound, of feeling, of nothing but the world reflected in emerald pits.

He was a cold, cruel master in possession of all that he was. And unperturbed he vanished further into the halls of white.


[[She ran. Her brow drenched with sweat, bangs plastered to her forehead, long strands hot and heavy against her breathe. Run. Throwing herself forward with the last of her strength, every ounce of anything left within her weary body. Running up the staircase of white, towards the unmerciful heavens. Save him! Head down, arms flailing as her legs burned, setting a scorching pace, a blistering, rhythmic pounding matching the heart thrumming violently in her ears. SAVE HIM! Without time for respite, choking the fear in her throat. YOU MUST SAVE HIM! Gray eyes wide open, blinded by tears, the sound of her heart, her blood roaring in her ears- her weary body burning, begging for release- for-SAVE HIM! Heading towards the open doorway at the top, at the top of the world- just a few more moments, more time, she needed-SAVE HIM! (Who?!) She screamed into the mindless abyss of nothing, as she staggered through the doorway, desperate, consumed by the black pit of fear lodged in her chest. How can I-!? How could I possibly- wide gray eyes, haggard and weary, open and broken as she stumbled through the doorway, falling to her feet in a moment in which she knew no pain. Looking up- at the prone body, dangling limp and bloodless- eyes like emptiness- the hole-

Feeling the very marrow seep out of her bones as the air left her, as everything within her ground to a shuddering halt.No. she thought in a moment of clarity, the very moment before the scream was ripped from her lips. What have you done! The echo of darkness full of a centuries worth of wrath, of some abyss she could not name, being wrenched from her lips as she was blinded by her tears.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!

It was the next scream- a sound of such misery, such unfathomable torment- such- pain- that she woke up.]]


'Is this…another dream?' was the first thought that roused from the depth of her mind, groggy and slow, so that she felt as if she were in a box stuffed with cotton trying to scream. 'Can't be.'She thought wearily, through the haze, through the fog of the dark behind her eyelids.' I am dead as a doornail.' And there would be no prince charming, this time, to give her the kiss of life. Or was that another dream? 'But how strange, I always thought…being dead would be different, not like-'– like being run over by a train carrying a hoard of zoo animals, trampled by donkey riding midgets, and then having her body beaten six feet under by a troupe of Irish river dancers. As she awoke, she could feel her entire body, heavy and numb, throbbing, pounding with such a raw, unnatural tendency that she felt like emptying her stomach onto the floor. But her throat was dry, so that even her slowly drawn breaths sounded more like dull whispers of sound.

"Wakey Wakey Princess."

'Who was that?' she thought slowly, shying away from the words murmured hotly into the shell of her ear. 'Sorry God….I'm so tired I could probably sleep through a twenty three car train wreck…and an explosion.' She wanted to dream again, a better one. One not quite so…frighteningly sad. Were she in her conscious mind, she would have wondered at the strange, disjointed dream, pulled from the depths of a place she could not name. As it stood- she yawned, her body shifting as her eyes remained closed. 'A better dream this time,' she thought groggily, a small smile etched into the lines of her lips. A dream of- riding on the back of the amber eyed dragon, laughing for all she was worth-

"Come now, dear girl! It's time to get up."

'Not yet, not yet-' shifting defiantly onto her back, her brow furrowed, mumbled, half hearted words falling from her lips. "The…'est….art…" 'A loud screech of laughter as she held onto his horns. Faster! Faster! A smile so wide she thought it would split her face in two. A sigh as amber eyes begrudgingly acknowledged her request, picking up speed with a great flap of dark wings. She was laughing so hard she could not find time to breathe as the wind whipped the hair around her face, tears of mirth flowing down her cheeks as they climbed higher into the sky. How on earth could he stand to be so miserable- when this was so fun! This was three times as fun as the time she had danced naked through every room in her apartment, jumping on her bed and touching the ceiling, reaching for the sky. Higher, Higher, into the blue- higher, until space! Until-

"Onna." Cold Amber Eyes. "Just this once."A murmur like winter, like-"Orihime! Remember!" No! Not yet-! but like a spirit he faded away to nothing, beneath her hands, and she was falling through space. Surprised, wide eyes struggled to comprehend as she floundered through the stars of morning, falling deeper into the abyss, into- "Shut the fuck up." Eyes the color of lightning, pearly fangs coated in black, claws aching to rip her apart- she gasped aloud as unbidden, the tears of anguish flooded her eyes."Orihime! You must-" No! Not yet! Not-

And then the hand struck her, the action so sudden that her body stopped its floundering, as the sweet dream blackened into the gloom of a nightmare from which she could not escape. She came to her senses panting, gasping for breath, the sweat on her brow real, dampening her bangs against her forehead, her cheek smarting from the blow of the slap. Her eyes drifted open, wide and frightened, haggard from the remembrance of that pain. Immediately, she was assaulted by the harsh electric light pointed directly into her face. Cold, pallid palms, heavy and slow, rose to shield her eyes, the intensity of the light blinding her, making her head spin and spots blot the dark as she closed her eyes.

Confused and disoriented, she rubbed at her half open eyes, blinking owlishly through her fingers as she struggled to focus her gaze.

"Is that…you, God?" she muttered curiously, her voice laced with weariness and confusion, cheek still smarting from the subtle blow. But then the figure at her side rose over her, blocking out the light and coating her in the dark of his shadow.

"I'm afraid not, dear girl." A voice- polite, well mannered and comforting- so that she wondered at the shudder than ran up and down her spine. A shudder like…fear, as she lowered her hands, her eyes adjusting to the dark of his shadow as he stood. The strike of the match flaring, the small, flickering flame illuminating his face. Glinting malevolently off of the lenses of his glasses, ghosting eerily along his smile as he lit the cigarette perched between his grinning lips.

"You couldn't be more wrong."

A shudder - like fear, she thought, as she stared into cold, languid eyes. Filled with a sickening warmth that was anything but comfort, as she felt her heart lurch in her chest as slowly, many things suddenly clicked into place.


AN: Well. Not as much Ulquihime this chapter. However...I would like to take this time to just go ahead and state that thanks to my own fan fiction...I now ship Grimmhime.(#BOOM) Don't ask me how the hell that works because I have NO FUCKING IDEA. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a triangle (I usually HATE those) but somehow I can see where this is going...and there is nothing like good old fashioned soap opera drama. Anyway, thanks again to my lovely Beta THE CAT WITH THE HAT (SEE LOOK I GOT IT RIGHT THIS TIME) for being a bangin beta!

But whoooa foreshadowing, suspense, crazy and a whole lotta other stuff this chapter. Tell me what you think! I love to get reader conspiracies, rants, and other wise reviews telling me what a shitty job I'm doing lolz. Hope you guys liked the chapter, or at least it might have given you something to bite your finger nails about. See ya'll on the flip side!