Bleached: Four Years Later

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, just Airi, Zezuri, Eyon, and Cyerra.

Note: Happy Halloween everyone!!!!! -Airi

Gin carried Airi through the hallways swiftly avoiding all glances from the arrancar they passed. The blonde girl made no attempt to escape her captor's arms; she knew it would be pointless; both routes of escape were inaccessible to her. Only a pure shinigami could open the gates to the in-between world and only a pure arrancar could tear a gash in the dimensions. She was neither but something twisted in between. Sure, she knew Ichigo could open the gates himself, but he, as well as the rest of the Vizards were more shinigami than arrancar, so they could open the gates with a bit of difficultly, but Airi herself was more arrancar and if not for Zezuri's kido spell she knew her mask would show. Deep within herself was her hollow side, not an entirely separate conscious, just another part of her mind, but currently it was caged by a powerful kido. However, upon her return to Hueco Mundo, Airi felt it stirring lightly as if to remind her of this fact.

The silver haired ex-taicho noticed Airi's lifeless expression, "And I thought you'd be happy to be back where you belong."

Airi waited for a moment before responding, "I don't belong here, I belong- I belong nowhere anymore," she shut her eyes in an attempt to stop her mind from replaying her argument with Shinji. "So stupid," she muttered almost inaudibly.

"Ah, so you had an argument, did ya?" Gin teased, "Best way to make a dramatic exit, eh?"

The Vizard's glare suddenly swelled back to full force as she almost spat back at Gin, "YOU PLANNED THIS DIDN'T YOU?"

Gin smiled and shook his head, "I had nothing to do with this. Kidnapping girls isn't my job… Anymore," he added the last word as an afterthought.

Airi went back to being silent, realizing that she would get no further answers from this man.

---

Soon, they reached Aizen's throne room. Upon entry Airi saw that most of the espada were present, save for Grimmjow. That's good, she thought, he's still with Zezuri. One thing struck her as odd as she counted the members; only eight were present, Aizen either hadn't replaced the sixth or they weren't present. And the other absentee, the fourth espada…. Airi's mind shut off before his name could present itself.

"Aizen, I brought her as you wanted," Gin set Airi on the floor at the foot of Aizen's throne and took his place next to his fellow ex-captain, Tosen.

"Welcome home, Airi," Aizen said in his caring tone.

She returned the welcome with another glare, "WHY? Why did you bring me back here?!" she shouted at him.

"Why else, you are a member of my army," he stated nonchalantly.

"No. No I'm not," her voice shook as she spoke, "I'm a Vizard, part of the masked army and I have been for the past four years."

Aizen raised an eyebrow as a smirk crossed his face.

"You even sent U-Ulquiorra to kill me!" she yelled, at her wit's end. Whatever thoughts were lying behind that smirk she'd never know until it was too late and answers never came from this man. Or so past experience told her.

"Ulquiorra did that on his own accord, I cannot account for his actions that day. His only order was to destroy the enemy." Aizen's tone was sincere and the words hit home.

Airi felt as if she was falling inside into an endless void of confusion, "If not Aizen's orders then why?" her mind fought frantically for any scrap of an answer she could surmise. When she found her strength to speak again, she spoke at a normal level, "I'm still not part of your army. My friends will rescue me. I know they will, they should have sensed everyone who came after me!"

The leader of the espada said nothing, but kept his satisfied smirk on his face. Something about his look said "We'll see." "Now, as to your current form, we'll fix that first."

The girl's eyes flew wide. "No! I won't let you!" Her sword suddenly formed in her hand as she drew it and flung herself toward Aizen's throne atop a long staircase. Her path was interrupted by the closest espada, Arinero. "Get out of my way!" she screamed and shoved past. The ninth espada fell to the floor on his knees, but no one stopped to notice, Airi had made her way up seven stairs before she found herself surrounded by the remaining espada. Nothing was going to stop her today, Airi pushed through the seventh espada as well since he'd been the one directly in front of her. However, this time she couldn't go any further. As the seventh fell a newcomer took his place. Airi gasped as her blade was suddenly thrown across the room by a single blow. One green gaze met another as the Vizard looked upon the pale face of the fourth espada. "Ulquiorra," she rasped, suddenly very much out of breath.

In the half second it had taken Ulquiorra to disarm the girl, the rest of the Esapda closed in tighter this time. Stark wrapped an arm across her collar bone, holding her back. Completely defenseless and unable to resist any longer, Airi hung her head in defeat.

"Szayel," Aizen's voice boomed over the commotion.

The pink haired Espada merely nodded and drew from his outfit another syringe full of a liquid.

The flames of rebellion shone once again in Airi's eyes as she tried to break free of Stark's grip, but the first Espada held her firmly in place.

Szayel approached cautiously, wondering if she'd break free of even the first Esapda's grasp; she'd grown much more powerful since she'd killed Luppi four years ago. But even then, he thought, she'd been in a rage worse than what she'd just displayed, it seemed that her powers were now above his own.

Airi watched with rage still flaming in her green eyes, wanting anything but to be reduced back to arrancar state. She could only watch in horror and dismay as yet again Szayel injected a needle into her neck. However, this time instead of passing out, she merely went limp, but still retained consciousness.

Aizen rose from his throne and approached the pillar containing the hyogoku.

Airi was unable to even watch as she had lost all control of her muscles; her eyes stared aimlessly at the floor. Her thoughts swam looking for any escape she could use.

Aizen walked down the stairs of his throne through the mass of the Espada that parted as he approached. "You're late, Ulquiorra," he spoke to the fourth Espada as he passed.

"I apologize, Aizen-sama," he bowed like a knight of old; with a step back and his right arm across where his heart would be if he had one.

The brown haired ex-captain passed by without further comment and stopped in front of Stark who was holding up the limp form of Airi. He pulled her up more by the back of her tattered shirt to a point where she was almost standing. She moved her eyes up to glare weakly at Aizen. He smiled gently back before he slammed the hyogoku into her chest once again. Zezuri's spell shattered, freeing the dark corner of Airi's mind. Thanks to the serum, Airi felt nothing this time as her heart disappeared for the third time. She felt the wetness from her tears before they again turned milky; however this time they immediately formed the fragments in her hair instead of covering her face first. When the transformation was complete, Stark let her sink to the stairs. The transformation had managed to add to the serum's effect as Airi had passed out sometime during it.

"She seems to have become more powerful since the last time," Aizen noted. He glanced in Ulquiorra's direction. The fourth espada walked over and picked the unconscious girl up and moved her off the stair case, leaving her on the floor as they all filed out silently.

---

Slipping. Falling. From a wet, slanted surface. Why was she here? Airi tried to scream, but couldn't as she slipped further, off a roof. Was this the warehouse she'd called home for the past four years? Yes, yes it was. Sudden movement above her caught Airi's attention. "Shinji?" she called. "Shinji! Help!" The Vizard appeared not to have heard his comrade's screams as she slipped off the final part and fell. However, the landing was more of a poke in the side than anything else. Again it came and Airi realized she really hadn't been falling, instead she was on her back gazing up at a grey stone ceiling. A third poke finally got her attention. "Stop that…" she sat up slowly.

"Uwah?" asked a voice next to her.

Airi turned to face her rescuer from her dream. "Oh, Wonderwiess… hi there…"

The youngest arrancar seemed as immature as ever. "A-airi…?" he asked.

Her eyes went wide, she hadn't expected any development in his vocabulary, but then again, she'd barely known the other blonde arrancar when she'd been here previously. "You can talk now?"

"He's been working on it for awhile now, but that's as far as he's gotten, just a few names," Tosen stood in the doorway to the room.

It was now that Airi realized she was still in the throne room. Everyone else had since departed; only the three of them were in the room.

"You should count yourself lucky; Aizen-sama is never so quick to forgive those who go against him."

The girl's mind went quickly through the last thoughts she'd had before passing out. Putting a hand to her head, she found what she feared most; mask fragments. All the anger had seeped out of her during her final struggle; again she hung her head in defeat.

"Your form is a bit different from last time, but we believe it just changed with your power level." The ex-captain entered the room more, and offered Airi a hand up. She ignored it, wondering why he was being so friendly, and got up on her own. Still a little dis-oriented from the serum, she swayed a bit on her feet. After pausing a moment to regain her balance, she attempted to take a step, but fell forwards almost instantly.

Tosen's strong grip kept her from hitting the heavily polished black titled floor as he pulled her up right.

"Why are you bothering to be nice, it won't change anything. I won't follow your orders this time. I know better than that." Airi wrenched herself free of Tosen's grasp and stumbled forward into something hard, cold, and white. At first she thought she'd hit the wall.

"Ulquiorra, I believe you can take her from here." Tosen exited from the room with Wonderwiess close behind.

Airi backed quickly away from the figure she had just crashed into. Indeed, it was the fourth espada. She looked up into his green eyes to find she couldn't tear her own gaze away. Somehow, it seemed that he now could control her actions better than she could as she tried to look away. Something clicked in her brain that she wouldn't be able to look away unless he let her. "What's going on? Why can't I look away?" she wondered frantically.

"As Tosen told you, your own powers have grown, now you are actually useful to Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra began in his monotone as Airi tried everything she could to break eye contact with him. "Resisting is futile, no fraccion can disobey the espada that commands them."

Thanks for reading!!!! Enjoy the lovely twist we threw in at the end??? Please comment/review! It means a lot to us! -Airi