Konnichiwa or Konbanwa (depending on what time you are reading this -;;) So here's chap 29!

eheheh...two things that crack me up at the moment...

1) when you get the little red lines saying spelling error underneath characters names...the suggestions for what the dictionary thinks you're spelling...sometimes they are entertaining XD

2) Is it an irony to say Grimmjow has a Grim expression? O.o

Oh and this just came to me... A while back on i saw this thing..."10 ways to Annoy Grimmjow"...one of which was to call him...Grimmjow Crackerjack...

XD

cheeky half-demon: You were right on there! Here it is!

Chapter 29

Hara opened her eyes and forced herself to focus on the story and not on the many pairs of eyes that were now on her.

"Most of you know my background," she glanced at Ikkaku, Yumichika, and finally Renji, "But because the rest of you don't, I'm going to repeat it," Hara cleared her throat, drawing her thoughts into a long time-line like speech.

"My brother Zuro and I were born in the west Rukon district, to a family that had once been nobles, but had fallen due to a lack in reitsu and power. When Zuro was born, he already carried telltale signs of that lost inheritance, a strong reitsu that from an early age guaranteed his acceptance into the academy. Because of it, when he would come of age, he would take over as head of the family. Because of his reitsu, it was thought that the clan might become well known again, and so they wanted more children. Children who would be strong and healthy like Zuro, children that could bring back the Ayumi clan to power."

"For five years they tried and failed. It wasn't until Zuro was nine that I was born. Unlike my brother, I was born with barely any reitsu whatsoever, which was a huge disappointment to the clan, so my parents were told by the clan elders to try again, but the chance never came. They were killed, and Zuro and I orphaned. The clan then took over, ordering our uncle to adopt us into his family, which he did.

"My uncle took care of us kindly, but Zuro was the favorite, the one that was the hope for our clan, the one who might bring the Ayumi family back into the light. And the one who would bring riches back to the empty halls of our home." Her voice became slightly bitter as she continued, "That meant that I was pushed to the side, the least favorite of the family, even of lower value than my cousins who would be nothing more than house wives and hostesses. Even though I had some reitsu, it wasn't enough for the clan or my uncle to allow me to attend the academy. I was going to be taught how to sow, make tea, and basically be like the rest of the women in my family, wallflowers that faded as quickly as they bloomed."

"But my big brother wasn't going to let that happen to me. We were close, as close as siblings could get. He was always my protector, my idol, the shadow I walked in. And I loved him.

"He began to train me in secret, strengthening me and teaching me how to control my reitsu whenever he wasn't busy with the academy or clan duties. And it wasn't too long after that that the elders took notice, and with my brother's persuasion, I was allowed to attend the academy.

"That's where I met Renji and Rukia; fellow students and friends who worked just as hard as I did to try and get into the Gotei 13. It was hard, but after a while we all got accepted. Zuro had my back, guiding me when he had to, but letting me fight my way by myself to find out where I would be placed."

"And That day came quickly, the day where everything was set and ready for my transfer into the Gotei 13. I was going to be put into squad 11, under Kenpatchi Zaraki, like my brother's close friends Yumichika and Ikkaku. I was following my brother's footsteps…he had been in the same squad, before he had been transferred to squad 5." She shifted in her seat, flexing her fingers and pulling her long hair away from her face and neck. "Things were going so well back then… I had everything I wanted, nakama, the approval of the clan, and I was beginning to have my own separate path, finally moving out from the enormous shadow of my brother and instead casting my own. Things were perfect…Until one night.

"I had been at home, waiting eagerly for my brother to return home, and excited about the next few weeks when I would graduate from the academy and be initiated into the Gotei 13. Zuro had even promised to come home early to celebrate, but he never showed up. I waited, and waited, and waited, but still no brother. He didn't send someone to tell me if he had gotten held up, and I had an eerie feeling something was off, as I soon saw when I saw the Seireimon gate go down.

"It wasn't until almost morning that Zuro came back, stumbling in the door and drenched in blood. His blood." The room took on a dark chill as she spoke, "I tried to get him to tell me what had happened, but all he told me was that he was in trouble and that soul society was after him. I pressured him more about what had happened, but he only began to warn me about the soul society, and that it was not to be trusted. Right when he was about to warn against some captains, three shinigami burst through the door.

"They announced that Zuro was under arrest for treason, and that his sentence would be execution by Soukyoku. But Zuro wouldn't stand for that, he lifted his sword and prepared to fight for his freedom, sending me outside to hide.

"When I came back, after it had gotten scarily silent, the shinigami were gone, and only my brother remained… dying. He told me to take his zanpakuto and transfer his power to me, because he didn't want it to go to waste and wanted me to protect myself.

"Right after I did…he…died." Hara paused, looking at the table and grimacing. Grimmjow reached out and touched the small of her back; she looked up sharply. "Have any of ever experienced the feeling of having someone you held dear torn away from you in an instant?" Rukia's eyes flashed in agreement, as did Orihime's and Ichigo's. "It leaves you feeling like your heart has been ripped out and set on fire, like a hole in your chest that makes everything around you cave in… And that's how I felt, as I held my brother's dissolving body in my arms…"

"When he had gone, more shinigami appeared." Her voice was thick with sorrow and anger, "I couldn't control myself… There was no way that my brother had committed treason… He had always loved the soul society, loved fighting to protect those around him… He was good… So why?! Something had happened and he was killed for the sake of the real betrayer… And yet these shinigami who appeared wouldn't believe it! They were the same men that had fought beside him many a time and they had turned on him!

"The rage I felt consumed me, and I fell into a mindless fury, slaughtering anyone who dared approach me, including the shinigami… I didn't care anymore… My dreams and my brother's dreams had been shattered in an instant… I felt as if I had nothing, so I let my rage carry me into mindless killing…" Hara wiped at her eyes, wiping away angry tears. She looked around at her audience; all the men wore solemn expressions, while the three who had known Zuro bowed their heads. Orihime was silently sobbing into her hands, her shoulders shaking as Uryuu tried to comfort her.

Hara felt a hand wrap around her own, giving it a sharp squeeze of reassurance. She glanced at Grimmjow who was staring at her with a grim, worried expression. She gave him a slight smile in thanks, before turning to her audience again, unaware of Renji watching the silent exchange with furrowed brows from what he had seen and what he had heard.

"I ran far away and began to train myself, growing stronger and stronger so I could take out those who framed my brother… So I could exact revenge on them. I was ready to die for it, I wanted to die…

"Months later I attacked a small platoon of shinigami that were near the area, trying to get information. I found nothing, but continued to attack any shinigami that I could find.

"Of course, Captain General Yamamoto didn't like that… So he sent a large group out for me which I defeated quickly. I wasn't subdued until my brother's own captain appeared, along with his lieutenant Gin Ichimaru. They were able to calm me down, but not before I nearly killed Gin, calling them both betrayers and murderers. Only Aizen was able to subdue me, and it took a lot of effort on his part. He then swore that they had had nothing to do with what had happened to my brother, and that why he was here was because he was trying to help him.

"He took me to his squad in secret where he begged me to tell him everything that I knew about what had happened, and I did. In return he told me that there was something strange going on in the seritei, and that he was desperately trying to get to the bottom of it. He told me that I should go to the human world and hide, and that soul society would be after me as well as the traitors who murdered my brother.

"He promised he would contact me when things were safe, and that he would find out who framed my brother so I could kill them if I wanted to take revenge. So I did as he requested and hid in the human world…

"It was years and years before he contacted me again… And that was only a few weeks ago… Aizen said that he needed my help in Hueco Mundo and that he no longer was part of soul society as they saw him as a traitor as well-"

"He is a traitor!" shouted Renji suddenly, "Don't you know what he was doing in soul society?!" Hara stared at him blankly, a sign that she did indeed not know.

"Aizen was, and is trying to destroy soul society!" said Rukia,

"And that's why he's in Hueco Mundo!" added Renji, his eyes narrowed and on Grimmjow, "So he can make these monsters to destroy us all!"

Grimmjow was on his feet in an instant, his fist a blur as he punched Renji in the face. The two of them drew their zanpakuto and were about to battle it out right there, but suddenly Hara jumped in front of Grimmjow, her hands on his chest.

"Don't…" she pleaded, staring into his cyan eyes before turning to stare at Renji. Grimmjow growled but stalked back to his seat, glaring at Renji who was sporting a bloody nose. Hara stared out at everyone,

"We are not your enemies," she said, "We hate Aizen as much as you, if not more. So let's at least try and get along?" Renji gave her a glare that made her inwardly wince at the hostility, "Now, let me finish." Hara folded her hands in front of her, "I didn't know about what happened in soul society… But I believe it. I never liked Aizen too much, and now… I hate him. That's why we're here…"

"Just before we arrived here in the human world, I had gotten into a fight with Tosen… I nearly killed him too…But Aizen appeared and took me to his 'throne room'. It was there that he decided to deal out my punishment for attacking one of his assistants. My punishment…was to be killed, by Zuro who is now an arrancar."

Hara looked at Yumichika and Ikkaku, "It is him…there's no doubt, but… he's not like he used to be…" she glanced at Grimmjow, "If Grimmjow hadn't come to my rescue… he would have killed me… He follows completely under Aizen…" she bit back her tears, "He's much stronger now… Grimmjow and I could barely hold our own against him…"

"So that's what happened that night!" said Ichigo, staring at them.

"Huh?" said Hara and Grimmjow in unison,

"We saw you guys towards the end of a fight… We were wondering why you were here…"

"This…Kero…he followed us here on Aizen-teme's orders…he was to kill us." Growled Grimmjow, his eyes dark.

"Hmm…" muttered Urahara, "This isn't good…" his gaze moved to Grimmjow,

"Grimmjow-san…what is your espada number?"

"Six…" he answered, a raised eyebrow. He knew that the man before him was strong and to be respected, even if Grimmjow wasn't much for being respectful to anyone. The man pondered beneath his hat, his eyes in the shadow of the brim,

"And how much stronger would you say he is…from say you?" Grimmjow thought about it, a frown growing deeper by the minute,

"When I fought him I wasn't in the best condition," he flexed his newly returned hand in thought, "But I'd say now that I'm all healed up… he's probably three or four times stronger, in his released form. Enough to be a threat to most of the other espada…"

Ichigo slammed his fist on the table in anger, while Urahara closed his eyes.

"This isn't good. If Aizen creates any more arrancar like that, we will be in trouble." He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, "Hara-chan," he said softly, "Thank you for the information you gave us… You need not worry; we do not see the both of you as enemies any longer, am I correct?" Everyone around nodded, though Renji kept his eyes fixed on the wall beside him, dried blood on his shihakusho.

"Well," said Hara, standing up, "Now that everything's out in the open, and there's no reason to hide… Urahara-san, can I use your phone?"

Everyone's jaw dropped in surprise, and Hara stared at them, "What?" Urahara smiled,

"The phone is right there…" he pointed to a table where she picked it up and began speed dialing.

Eheheh, just wait for the next chapter...lots of fun awaits!

Also...eheheh I know i don't often write down here, but something just came to mind... I had an odd dream a while ago...about Urahara...

Nothing pervy of course! :o

What happened was...I was walking down a street in my old neighborhood (i've moved since then) and it seemed normal, but suddenly i heard the sound of a bike and glanced back to see...Urahara?! He was riding a bike up the street. I'm standing there dumbstruck, and once he goes by, i begin to chase him yelling "what are you doing here?!" All he does is laugh as he turns and rides up a steep hill... then i woke up. O.o odd, no?

Another dream I had was even odder and shorter...

Kurogane (from tsubasa) and I were standing in the doorway of my kitchen, chatting. For some reason, about what clothes were best for combat. My answer: one's that aren't too tight or too lose. I woke up and stared at my ceiling for half an hour trying to figure out what the hell that was all about lol

okay i'm done rambling.

Stay tuned for the next chap!