Cuts cover her upper arms and legs, some cuts even piercings her armour. A mild slash goes down her eye, chipping a piece of her mask. Her posture still strong as she pants heavily staring at the cold man in front of her. Three cuts upon his silk white skin. One across his cheek. One down his back. And one on his left arm. His breathing just barley deeper then when they began. She charges at him once again, he brings his sword up to block her viscous claws swiping and slashing at him. He dodges a blow and turns it around, it's Toshi's turn to block the attacks flying at her, a block here a duck there, a jump and a roll. Toshi, crouches down and flicks her claws, they begin to glow oranges and red. She flashes towards Ulquiorra flaring her claws at him, even with a bare miss his clothes singe and smoke.
"Hm, thats quite the attack you have there Toshi-san."
The girl just growls and aims for him again, this time its a hit, a cut appears in his side, then melts into a larger wound. He cringes and steps back, pain floods his face. A sharp pain shoots through Toshi's heart.
"Stop this Ulquiorra-kun! This is not you!"
"Is it not me Toshi-san, or are you to naive to believe even your own eyes." He regains his posture and flashes in front of her, his face mer inches away from hers, Toshi's breath stutters. "Look into my eyes Toshi-san, can you say that I am not me?"
Toshi loses her total train of thought and with this opportunity Ulquiorra takes his hand and stabs it through her chest. Toshi's eyes widen in shock, her lungs forgetting to breath for the moment. He removes his hand and she falls to her knees. Wide eyes just stare out in front.
"Trash." He begins to walk away. Passing a slight gleam of light that a cero from Toshi created in the wall.
Toshi smiles as she falls to the ground.
"Forgive me, I couldn't even beat a Gillian"
Blood pools out on the ground, and her eyes fall shut.
A ROOM IN LAS NOCHES
A large pain shoots through the green eyed mans head. His face twists and a hand shoots to his head.
'What is this pain?'
He begins to feel for spirit pressures through the mansion like area.
'Two dead. One dying... one dying... one...d y i n g...'
He races out of the room faster then he has ever ran. Around corners down hallways through doors. He races and races, searching praying.
LATER IN TIME
"She went up this way." Orihime says while pointing up to the stairs and bridge.
"Well then lets hurry up." Ichigo begins to run. Orihime and Sado following at his heels.
They all climb up the stairs to what seems like a sky maze, bridges and doors in towers and more stairs.
"Now what?" Sado asks in a monotone voice.
"We split up and search. Sado you check the right side, Orihime, middle, I'll go to the right."
"Hai!" Orihime shouts and the three take off.
'You better be alright or I'll kick your ass!'
'Please Toshi-chan be safe!'
'Toshi-san...'
Open, shut, open, shut, open, shut. Nothing, Every where Sado looked, it turned to be just an empty room.
Empty room, hollow hallways, nothing was in sight anywhere. Orihime just kept running and searching, running and hoping, running and losing. She stood out in the middle of a bridge she could see out so far. She squinted and looked out further. A pile of rubble laid by the wall of the mansion.
'I wonder what happened out there. I should go check it out. Maybe Toshi took a different root.'
The orange haired girl found a set of stairs and took off towards the rubble.
"TOSHI!!" Ichigo shouted and hollered through every room he searched.
"TOSHI ANSWER ME!... WHERE ARE YOU!?"
Empty rooms had never scared him more in his life. Usually in enemy territory an empty room would be a blessing, but right now he didn't care he just wanted to find something, someone. Suddenly he enters a room strange to him. There was a hole in the wall so he entered. Looking around, debris was every where, claw marks covered the floors and wall, rubble singed and burnt, craters in the floor and pieces of walls and ceiling missing. Something sickening caught his eyes, he ran over.
EARLYER IN TME
Szayel walked with his head down, a shadow covered his face. He felt empty, cold, he felt like his very own experiments. Sadness and guilt filled his eyes as he stared at the passing ground. A flash of black and white whipped by him, his hair flew from the breeze.
'Why is he in such a hurry?'
He just shrugged it off and began his journey back to his lab.
WITH ORIHIME
Orihime walked along the desert like area, the pile of debris gets larger and larger as she continues to walk. A sick feeling fills her stomach, like poisonous butterflies are fluttering around. One step at a time, and time just seems to freeze, motionless, empty. Just like the body now in her view. Blood, vomit, it was a cruel scene. She began to run towards the body, running faster and faster. The body didn't seem to get closer. Then finally it was like the body flew at her and hit her in the face. Tears pour out of her poor eyes, sobbing comes out of her shocked face. She falls t her knees and rolls the body onto her lap. It lays there limp and bloody.
"Why?... Why?!... WHY!?"
She begins to shake the pile of bone and flesh.
"Wake up..." She shakes it more, tears falling frantically. "Please just wake up..." She stops shaking and sets the body on the ground. "Just wake up! Please!"
Orihime looked at eh body, nothing seemed right there was actually no wounds on him. Just a lot of blood.
'How... How did you die?!'
"Sōten Kisshun!"
An orange shield covers the body and Orihime sits there putting as much focus as her mind, soul and body can produce.
The shield glows, Orihime sits there staring, tears ceasing to exit her eyes. Time goes by, more, and more, and more. Her arms shake from being held up for so long, her head throbs from the intense use of her power. Nothing. Her shield drops, the hair clip forms back to normal. The body still lay there motionless and cold. She falls to the chest.
"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry Ishida-kun... I'm sorry.." She begins to sob again. A large hand embraces her shoulder.
"Orihime.."
She looks up to see a sympathetic and sad Sado looking down to her. Her sobs turn to cries and she grips Ishida's body tighter. Sado just stands there, watching this depressing event.
WITH ICHIGO
He walks to the middle of the room. A large pool of blood lay there.
"Strange.."
'Wheres the body?'
He search the room once again and find nothing, no trace of a body, not even a sign of the person leaving. He rushes outside in search of Orihime and Sado, they are no where to be seen. He catches site of the pile of rubble far off in the distance. He sprints off.
HEALING ROOM
Harribel runs in panic covering her face.
"AKIKO-SAN!"
The small arrancar nurse pops out from around a corner.
"Yes Harribel-sama?"
"You have to save him! Hurry!"
"Bring him in here. Set him on the bed."
Harribel does as instructed.
"Now please leave the room Harribel-sama."
She hesitates but the nods and leaves. She stands outside the door, so much pain fills her eyes.
'This can't be happening to him... This can't be happening...'
She leans against the wall, and falls to the ground.
WITH ICHIGO
Ichigo punches the ground.
"DAMMIT!"
He crouches whit his head down. Orihime just stares down at the cold body in her arms tears still pouring out of her eyes. Sado just stood there, unable to grasp everything that was happening.
'Why do I have these arms? I couldn't protect my friends.' He puts his head down.
WITH HARRIBEL
She punches the wall and large crack forms from the ceiling to the floor.
"This isn't right. None of this is right. You said you were unbeatable! YOU LIED!"
She punched the wall with her other hand not with as much force. Falling to her knees arms against the wall. No tears formed. All you could see in her eyes was furry.
You said we could win Aizen.. you piece of shinigami scum!'
She felt a presence come up behind her, she jumped up and turned around ready for a fight. What she saw broke the last bit of sanity in her mind.
WITH ICHIGO
"Chad, Orihime. Go home."
They look up at him.
"You two go home. Take Ishida with you. I will find Toshi."
"But-"
"I SAID GO!"
Orihime just looked at the orange haired boy. His back facing her so she couldn't see the pain on his face yelling at the hurting girl.
"Please.. I will find her I promise."
Orihime looked at him for a few minutes before Sado picked up the lifeless body. She stood up and began to walk. She turned back but Ichigo was already gone.
"Be careful Ichigo..."
HUECO MUNDO
He walked up to a crumpled body on the floor, but it didn't take very long for her to stand up. Anger, he has never seen so much anger in one persons eyes. He never seen such anger turn to sadness a s fast as a blink either. But today, today he witnessed it. Harribel stood there staring at the body in his arms.
"Ulquiorra...."
Fear, fear was what my face was expressing. I didn't understand the emotion but I have seen it enough with my eyes.
"Akiko.." Harribel called out. He couldn't speak. He seemed almost frozen. The small nurse walked out. Her eyes darkened at the sight, she ran over and grabbed the limp body out of Ulquiorra's arms.
"No. No. No....Why is this happening." She took her into a room and slammed the door shut. Ulquiorra just walked over and leaned against eh wall, his face in his hand. Harribel moved beside him.
"Grimmjow-kun is dead...." She put her head down crossing her arms.
"I'm truly sorry for your loss."
"This place will be lost if that girl dies as well."
"Szayel will break down and lose what sanity he has left. I think even Nnoitra will be effected. He wasn't even included. He's going to flip... and you Ulquiorra. I can't imagine how your feeling. He looked up at her slightly confused.
"You two weren't close but your bonds were unbreakable."
He looked back down.
"It was hard to understand but very easy to see."
"Hn."
They stood there in silence.
WITH ICHIGO
Large empty hallway after large empty hallway. The place was to large and like a maze. Ichigo ran and ran. He didn't know what or who he was really looking for anymore. Doubts filled his mind.
'What if Toshi was the bad guy? What if she played them all along? What if she killed Ishida? He shook his head. There was absolutely no way Toshi could do that.'
He took another turn and smack. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Where is Toshi?!"
All he got were uninterested stares.
"I'm not wasting anymore time. If I have to go through you guys to I will. I need to find Toshi."
Ulquiorra looked back up and turned to Harribel. Her eyes were hardened with anger and hate. He turned back to Ichigo.
"You were the one who killed Grimmjow?"
"He refused to get out of my way and let me bring Toshi back!"
Knuckles cracked as Harribel formed a fist.
"Toshi is our family she has no concern to you."
"She is my friend. She is Orihime's, Chad's, Tatsuki's Keigo's Mizuiro's friend. I have every right to fight for her."
"No. You are nothing but a mer human. Leave before I force you to leave."
Ichigo pulls his sword from his back. "I will. Bring her back with me."
Ulquiorra goes to walk towards the boy. A hand grabs his shoulder.
"You need to be here when she awakens. I have some unfinished business with this boy."
He looks at her and nods.
"Alright boy. If you want that girl you will go through me, but we are not fighting here."
She runs and kicks the boy through a few walls and follows him. The dust settles and they are no where to be seen.
'Toshi-chan. Must you make yourself such an important piece of everyones life?'
Akiko walks out.
"Ulquiorra-sama?"
He turns.
"Shes...
His mind twists his stomach turns his heart races.
...Alive. Barley. But she managed, she has a lot of fight. I don't know how long she will be out for though. I apologize."
Everything in his body stops. He didn't know how to feel, He didn't know he could feel this much. He nodded and began to walk to the room. His heart still frozen, he didn't believe it. He needed to see her himself. He froze at the corner of the door.
'What if it's better if I leave her. What if I just take her to Nnoitra and make him take care of her. Never to return..... She would be better off. with her human friends. No more wars. Humans there. Espada's erased.'
The sadistic thoughts and loneliness scrambled through his head. He walked into the room.
She was hooked up to many machines. Beeps could be heard. Blood stained bandages everywhere. He couldn't imagine how she was surviving. He just walked over and stood above her.
'It's what I have to do...'
I decided to leave all ramble to the end.. I can't believe I have written so much.. I was guessing maybe 20-25 at the most, but here I am at 30.. with my longest chapter yet. I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys are thinking?! lol. well yeah... the battles have come to a close, the verdicts are in well i guess except one.. still a couple un answered questions.. and poor nnoitra i guess he got left out of the party! but the story continues for another chapter.
*triggerspec