**I would like to thank rainy-lullaby for letting me use her character Penelope for one of the parts. Her story, Black Wolf, is really great and if you like StarrkxOC you should check it out! :)**
Quickly Graciela got up to find Gin and Grimmjow outside her room. Once out she fell into step with the latter. The walk was awkward and more times than none, Gracie considered starting up a conversation between the two men. Each time she thought of something, she just shook her head thinking, 'no that wont last long…' and tried to think of something else again.
After a painstakingly slow five minutes, Gracie and Grimmjow were ushered into the giant doors by Gin; who was to wait patiently outside.
Taking their seats at the table, Aizen was at the head, sitting in his 'throne' as usual. What was unusual about this meeting is that the only other people in the room are Ulquiorra and Inoue. Confused, the girls shared a glance but it was suffice enough to express their suspicion to each other about the meeting.
"To answer your question as to why you are here," Aizen began, "it is merely to check to see how my… guests are fairing." Sure he may have used the word 'guests', but to them the undertone made it sound more like 'prisoners'. The girls glanced at each other warily at the word. Each swallowing the lump of fear forming in their throats.
"Well, how have you been?" Aizen directed the question at Inoue. In return she began to shake lightly, the most probable cause of the action: out of fear.
"I-I-I've been well sir."
Seemingly pleased with her stammering answer, he turned his attention to Gracie.
"I see that you are not wearing the gown."
She felt the need to explain herself, "Gin came in unexpectedly so I didn't have time to change, I-I'm sorry," she added begrudgingly but still felt the strange need to do so.
"Very well, next time I expect you to be wearing your formal attire. Now, I understand that you were very upset the past few days."
Her eyes widened in shock, she was not aware that anyone other than Grimmjow knew about her breakdown. She formed a little thought in the back of her mind, 'perhaps he told Aizen?' but she brushed it off. She believe that Grimmjow wouldn't do such a thing.
She was partly right about him not telling Aizen, though the person he did tell, told the aforementioned; so he is partly responsible for her experience to become a known thing.
Somewhere within his mind, Grimmjow felt a sense of remorse, but he knew it to be a pointless emotion and ignored it; for now at least. The level of where it is now is nothing compared to what he will feel in a few days time.
"Y-yes Aizen-sama. I was asked a question by Grimmjow, it was simple really; though it reminded me of a bad experience and wounds left to simmer."
He quirked and intrigued eye brow, "do tell."
With every ounce of her being she wanted to ignore that comment, no, the order. But seeing as it is such, she had to tell him; she was being forced to. She shook, worse than Inoue with the attempt of suppressing her feelings yet again. Surprisingly, she heard a voice in her head, she was unconsciously letting her control on her mind powers slip thanks to the effort of holding back her feelings.
The voice, though small in the back of her head, came out strong and powerful. As if the person sitting next to her really had said it.
'Damn you, Aizen; you bastard.'
With the new restored faith in Grimmjow, she pulled herself together, somewhat, and told the condensed story; one of which she left out most names.
"Grimmjow asked me a question, and I overreacted to the answer. I was unable to hide my feelings and everything from the past few weeks came crashing down on me then." She kept a stoic expression, one that could rival even Ulquiorra's.
Aizen sensed that there was still things left unsaid, but did not press farther; no need to make himself look desperate for information. Information, in fact, that he will just receive from Grimmjow eventually anyway. So for once, he let the incompetence to answer slide, and dismissed the people gathered before him.
Behind his throne and hidden between two pillars, lay a door. Aizen retreated to the door, after he called Gin back into the room only to dismiss him again on surveillance purposes. The door leads to a hallway. A hallway, that when followed all the way through, winds up and to the top of the dome in Las Noches. At the end of the hallway there are three doors, two facing the person walking up to them, and one down a smaller branch of white halls to the right.
The two doors that a person would first notice when walking up the hall, lead to a kitchen and bathroom respectively from left to right. All the way to the right, lay a bedroom. One that is the size of a presidential suite in a high class hotel.
When Aizen first walked into the room he took his ever present white kind of trench coat off and put it on the back of a very white, very large, couch. Across from the couch lays a smaller white loveseat and a chair and a half. Each facing the larger couch diagonally. Walking in past the couches and the large glass coffee table, two steps down lead to a sunken floor landing. It was relatively wide, around ten feet, with a rectangular and, you guessed it, white rug running through it from one set of stairs to the other. On either side of the carpet lay two closets, set perfectly centered on the wall. One side his, the other; hers.
Though the most intriguing thing about the runner going through the center of the sunken floor, is that on a pedestal in the middle, a little orb lay enclosed within a square case.
The set of stairs, five steps high, lead to another landing which looks over the whole room before it. To the left, two chairs with high backs sat between a square table with matching standing lamps next to each. To the right, lay a shared desk with an all glass top. Two chairs accompanied it to make it look of use, other wise, the desk had only a few papers lying on it and looked completely useless.
Aizen made a move to take the papers, they contain information he needs to read. He glanced at the paper for a few seconds, -So who have you been with?- the question read. He chuckled slightly to himself over the way she can be so straightforward. It actually made him want to read the whole conversation from the beginning.
In the middle of the room lay three large windows, cascading into an arch, or semi-circle, design. The windows however, looked out towards the perpetual moon of Hueco Mundo instead of the artificial light within the dome itself. Centered, like everything else in the monster of a room, lay a king sized bed. Within the bed, on the right side, lay the kings girlfriend, no; lover.
"Momo my darling," Aizen called to her.
She looked out from behind the magazine she was reading, one that she picked up from her recent visit to the human realm.
"Yes my love?"
To an onlooker it would be strange how informal they are around each other. If it was merely just an affair, a way to take advantage and use the girl for his plans (like so many in Las Noches have speculated), then why would they share a room?
Why would they address each other so informally?
Why does it seem that when Aizen looked into her eyes, he was being true?
Not just true as in words, but in actions, motives and thoughts. Most importantly; true in love.
Yes, he truly loves Momo. Not so surprisingly, she truly loves him back.
If there is love between an evil mastermind and the shy girl who took every one by surprise with her betrayal, surely there is hope for Graciela.
Surely.
*~Graceful Melody~*
'How.. how did he know?'
That singular thought ran through my mind the rest of the day. Even when Grimmjow made some sort of movement, some action to try and get me mad; I didn't react.
I couldn't face him; not yet anyway. Especially with the possibility that he's the one who told Aizen about my break down.
'Gracie, you know that he was outside of your room the whole time.' Celest tried to reason.
'Yea well the only reason I did that was because I was subconsciously reaching out for someone to comfort me, no thanks to you guys,' I added as an after thought. If they had just helped me keep my senses in check I would not have been aware of Grimmjow at all, but in this case it's a good thing. I know that he didn't go to anyone in the time he was out side my door.
'Why is it that when you're down and depressed and feeling like crap, you always reach out for other people. To comfort them or just worry about them; why waste your time.'
'Ry is right Gracie, you always end up getting hurt in the end.'
My expression, now shocked, caused Grimmjow to look over at me. He must have noticed that I'm no longer playing with my bedspread.
'No, the only reason I get hurt is because people are stupid. You know what? Shit happens then you die, it's as simple as that.'
'Yea and then even more shit happens in the after life.'
I was stunned into silence again.
Celest sighed, 'the only reason we are saying this is because Grimmjow is the enemy here. In the end the enemy always comes back to hurt you. Besides, that's why they're your enemy in the first place; because they hurt you and the ones you love.'
'Grimmjow is different! I know that he is the enemy but he will listen to me! Someone who listens can't be all that bad!'
'Prove it,' Ella challenged.
'Erm.. well. Oh Aizen!'
'Him? How can you use him as an example! He's as cold and heartless as it gets!' Ry said condescendingly.
Boy was I going to show her, 'you guys watch through my eyes, you see it. You all saw when I first got here and how he looked into Momo's eyes. That twang of jealousy I felt towards her, why else do you think I got so mad at her! It was for no reason and normally if I get mad I have one.'
'But that doesn't mean anything about listening.'
'Yes it does! He must have heard her out in some way of another for them to be together. Maybe he found a way to listen to the way her heart would beat when he was around her, maybe he listened to a confession, I don't know the specificities*! But I do know that it all started with someone listening.'
'Stop being so stubborn!' Ella screamed at me.
We all stayed in silence before I tuned them out. Now not only am I even more mad than I was when Aizen asked me personal questions, but I'm tired and emotionally drained as well.
I walked over to Grimmjow and tapped his shoulder lightly. I pointed to myself, then to the closet. Then I pointed to him and right after the door. He got the hint, but quirked and eye brow at why I wouldn't talk to him. I just shook my head and ushered him out the door.
Quickly I changed and hopped back into bed, not without opening the door for Grimmjow, of course.
The mood in the room took on an angry one, without turning my head, I could tell Grimmjow had a scowl on his face.
"Oi brat, you look pathetic. Just get over yourself why don't you?"
His words stung, they stung deep. But I know that they are his way of trying to comfort me, that I am sure of.
'I know Grimmjow, I know.' I answered him in my own mind, 'but if I get over myself; I will surely only focus on other's well beings. Never again mine.'
I drifted off into unconsciousness to another singularity, 'but then I suppose I would never get hurt.'
The next morning I woke up to find Grimmjow m.i.a.* Shrugging, I got up to stretch and walk around a little. I feel much better today, and finally decided to do something productive such as actually moving around.
Remembering, kind of randomly, that I told Grimmjow I would move the notes we wrote. Looking under the mattress, I couldn't find them.
'Hm, Grimmjow must have moved them, he's the only other person who knew they were there.'
Moving my gaze from the mattress back to the whole bed, I realized how much of a mess the bed was. Sighing, I threw the pillows off the bed, then the comforter, then the sheets. Time to make the bed look decent. The attempt didn't go far though, for as soon as I started to shake out the sheets Grimmjow came barging in.
"Oi brat, let's go," he called while grabbing my arm. When he slammed the door we really started to rush.
"Grimmjow, let go! I can walk on my own. Besides, where are we going? Why are we in such a rush?"
"Here take this," he said thrusting a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a roll at my face, "eat quick, we're already late for the meeting."
The mention of a meeting made me not want to eat my favorite breakfast food any more.
"Crap!"
"Shut up brat, we have to go!" Grimmjow called back.
I ripped my arm from his vice grip, "you go on ahead, I need to do something."
"What the-"
"Just wait for me outside of the doors I'll be there in a few minutes don't worry!" I interrupted.
Slightly jogging backwards I waited until he nodded to transport myself back to my room. Remembering Aizen's warning from last time, I had to change into the gown. Quickly throwing off the sluttish shirt and comfortable pants, I opened the closet and grabbed the dress.
Realizing fully how little time I have before Aizen gets pissed, I transported myself into the dress. Yea I found out that I could do that yesterday when being too lazy and upset to bother changing correctly.
I did a one over in the mirror before I transported myself to Grimmjow's location by the doors.
"Took you long enough," he said after blatantly checking me out.
He opened the doors and I did everything in my power to suppress the blush that appeared on my cheeks. For once, it actually worked.
Inside, we parted. Grimmjow went to his usual seat at the long table and I went to stand next to Orihime.
"To start this off, it has come to my attention that we have not seen one of our guests display her power," Aizen looked pointedly at me, in turn, I became slightly nervous.
'Do you think he would make me demonstrate my powers right here? Now even?'
'I wouldn't bet on it,' Celest reassured.
Calmed down, I began to pay attention to Aizen's words again.
"Though one of my own espada has seen her fight, Grimmjow," he paused to give each member in the room the opportunity to shift their gaze to the man in question, "you have fought with her before. Since you lost to her, I can assume she is stronger than you. On which espada's level do you think Graciela here would be on?"
Please, please, please, plea~se don't let him say Nnoitra.
"Ulquiorra. She couldn't be much better than him."
Oh thank god.
"Hm," Aizen began, "very well then. In two days time, Ulquiorra will battle Graciela. Everyone is welcome to watch," Aizen finished with.
I looked at him through my peripheral vision, there was something else behind his words that I sensed. Perhaps he wants more people to see me, what he assumes, lose? Does he doubt my powers? Or maybe he's just giving the arrancar reason to believe that I'm weak-
'Graciela stop. Your rambling is annoying, just shut up; who cares. You'll fight him, and win. End of story.'
I deadpanned, 'thanks Ella.'
I tried to tune into what Aizen began to ramble about now, but found it exceedingly difficult. No wonder Starrk always falls asleep at these things…
I then thought of a way to amuse myself while putting up with the rest of the meeting, a little mind snooping can't hurt. Can it?
'Are you guys in?' I called out mentally to them. Celest didn't say anything but I got okays from Ry and Ella, along with suggestions as to whose mind to look into first.
Boy does Starrk has interesting dreams. Each sequence was different and all of them completely random. In the first dream he was sitting at some random restaurant in the human world just eating hamburgers. One after the other after the other, he seemed sad and desperate as if the inability to become full left him empty inside. It was weird…
The second dream consists of him walking a pet dog, well, it looked more like a wolf. He kept walking around this one city block, at some points Lilynette joined him and pet the wolf but would not stay for long.
**The most interesting part about this dream is when another girl, Penelope, one of his fracción, appeared next to him. She would be walking with him and holding a smaller wolf on a leash next to her. At certain points it would flash a bright light and they would be holding hands, the next flash he had his arm around her waist and hers around his shoulders. The last flash would appear right as the two went to kiss. Then memories of Penelope yelling at Starrk would show up and the dream would restart.**
The last dream was the weirdest one, Starrk was just standing there in a vacuum. He felt like he couldn't breathe but didn't feel the need to. I felt his confusion and his loneliness and it reminded me so much of what happened with Hitsugaya…
'Gracie, don't go there,'Ella warned me.
I mentally shook my head to clear the thoughts, they're right, there's no need to go back to that place.
I dismissed Ella's thought of going through Nnoitra's mind and jumped at Ry's vote for Szayel's mind. It was empty for a few seconds before a mental lightbulb went off and he started to think different formulas and calculations; he had thought of a new… something.
I quickly left his mind after that, I actually became slightly dizzy with all the scientific mumblings running through his head.
Next on the suggestion list lays Grimmjow. Although I wanted to very badly, I actually knew him so I resisted the urge. For out of everyone in the room he is probably the only one that could recognize my presence.
Settling for Ulquiorra, I hoped on over into his mind. Absolutely no thoughts were running through his head, well other than Aizen's words echoing throughout and being stored into memory. Since his mind was empty, I decided to improvise, even though I know Celest will kill me.
'The woman is really pretty, she's such a princess. My princess, oh… Orihime,' I thought for him longingly. Let's see how implanting this thought goes…
Quickly I escaped him mind. Without making it too obvious I refocused my gaze back onto Aizen, not above his head. Now I was looking at Ulquiorra through my peripheral vision and barely stifled my laughs. The shocked expression on his face said it all so clearly, I would have never even thought about going into his mind to find out every detail.
Though as fast as the look came, it left, only being noticed my myself and, of course; Aizen. Speaking of which, he was closing up the meeting.
"That is all."
Wow, time flies when you're having fun with other people's minds.
'Right guys?'
'Yea!' Ry and Ella agreed simultaneously again.
It struck me as weird how Celest didn't scold me about the thought implants, but I shrugged it off. I was just happy to be out of that five hour long meeting.
Yea, five hours. Hence why I was able to observe three of Starrk's dream sequences. Considering I saw three, and each sequence is and hour and a half long… wow time does more than fly, it soars!
'Well wasn't that punny,' Ry said sarcastically.
I mentally made a face at her, sticking my tongue out.
Filing out of the meeting room, I met up with Grimmjow and we wake back to my room in silence.
When we got back and Grimmjow shut the door, I asked what I meant to ask him this morning.
"So what happened to the notes?"
"Hm?" He questioned back.
"The notes I hid under the mattress, I went to move them today and they were gone."
"I moved them into my room cause you never know if Aizen would decide to check your room," Grimmjow replied offhandedly.
"Couldn't he just as easily check yours?" I asked back, the logic didn't seem sound to me.
"Yea but he wouldn't," and Grimmjow let it at that.
I thought it over a little, I suppose since they are fighting for him he would have no reason to search their rooms. What could they have to hide anyway?
*~Narrators Verse~*
The rest of the night passed quickly for Graciela, her and Grimmjow got to talking again and all her prior suspicions were forgotten.
The night passed without incident, or noise. Almost too perfect of a night, which left Aizen in anticipation for a move from soul society.
Morning however is a different story in the world of the living.
"So is it finally ready yet?" Matsumoto asked, she was starting to get impatient.
"Actually, yes," Kisuke replied with.
"How much longer is it- wait, what!"
"I said that it's done."
"What's done?" Said Rukia who just walked down stairs.
"The garganta, it's finished," Kisuke said again, he was getting tired of people asking him the same question over and over again.
'I swear if someone asks that one more time-' but his thoughts were interrupted.
"IT'S FINISHED?" Ichigo screamed barging into the room. He stooped over and put his hands on his knees, as if he ran all the way here.
Kisuke and Matsumoto sweat dropped, Rukia on the other hand spoke everyones thoughts.
"How do you even know?" She half screamed, getting into his face.
"I heard you guys!"
"Do you have super hearing or something? Last time I checked you were absolutely no where near this building!"
"Well then you are a bad checker because when you left I woke up and saw you out my window and followed you here because I'm a ninja!"
"No you're an idiot carrot top!"
"I'm a STRAWBERRY. Not a CARROT."
"Oh so you admit it? Okay, Strawberry."
"NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
Kisuke and Matsumoto just watched the whole thing, their heads turning from one to the other as words were exchanged. Hitsugaya walked down stairs and started to watch the whole thing go down. Each time their voices rose or the words exchanged became even more idiotic, his eye twitched even more.
Until finally…
"SHUT. UP!"
That quieted them.
"Thank you, now are we leaving?"
Kisuke looked pointedly at Rukia and Ichigo, "well I was going to let every one go right away, but seeing as the way the two of them," he pointed at the aforementioned, "have behaved, I think you need some more training since on the control of yourselves when with other people that annoy you. For when in Las Noches, it would be very bad to get noticed like that. So you will be leaving tomorrow early morning instead. Good day," and he made his exit.
"You two…" Hitsugaya began threateningly, he had a dark aura around him and before he got any more words out every one disappeared from around him.
He sighed exasperatedly and trudged back up stairs.
"Morning Graciela," Grimmjow held a strangely serious aura around him. It unnerved Gracie quite a lot but she answered all the same, thinking that he may just be having a bad day.
"Morning Grimm," as she started calling him, "why so serious?" She asked playfully.
"I had a flashback," he started very unsure of himself and what he is about to do, "I remember how I died."
"You, you do? Like.. your death as a- as a… human?" She asked tentatively.
"Yea, and I thought I should let you know," he got up to sit next to her on the bed, with each step more and more dread filled his mind. Already regretting having to follow Gin, and Aizen's orders, he started to recite the 'confession' so that Gracie in turn gives him- no Aizen, the greatest amount of leverage over her.
"It was me and my friends and we were all drinking one night, that night I was getting particularly drunk because I just had a bad breakup," Gracie's heart constricted over this, "and needed some alcohol therapy. My friends decided that it would be funny to race me while I was drunk out of my mind. Since I have always been one to hold my liquor they never really knew how drunk I was, but asked for the race anyway because they also knew that I wouldn't give up a good challenge."
He paused for a moment as if to compose himself. But in reality, he was just trying to remember the rest of the fake story.
"Since I was the track star of the school they knew that I wouldn't lose, even drunk. They rules were that the first one to the cliff side would win. Well I made it there, and won, but my other friend who I was racing tripped into me and pushed me over. But hey, maybe it's all just what it came to me as, a dream. It doesn't seem like it could happen-"
Gracie, in tears, interrupted him with a hug. It was the first contact they made body to body, other than fighting.
"No…it's probably real. I," she choked down a sob to tell her story, "died in a way similar to that."
Grimmjow's eyes widened at the revelation. Now he understands why Gin told him to say the, almost unbelievable, story. To get her to relate and share her past.
"Me and my- my… friends," she sounded reluctant to let that word slip out of her mouth, "were playing a game. I was dared to go to the edge of the cliff and do a certain act... When we were about to complete the act, they pushed me off and I broke my back on the rocks and bled to death. I still-" she broke down and through her loud cried managed to finish the last bit, "remember every single ounce of pain they put me through while I was on those rocks."
Later into her crying fit, she managed a few more words, "it was all- it was all out of jealousy!"
Grimmjow, at this point and time, felt the worst he has ever in his entire life. Even killing as many people as he has doesn't suffice for the amount of remorse he feels right now.
"I-I'm sorry," he said into her ear. What most surprised Grimmjow is that he meant it, he truly meant it. For everything he was forced to do to her and what he will have to tomorrow.
"Th-," her voice cracked, "thank you."
*I really love this word, ahha.
*For those who don't know, Missing In Action
**The character Penelope mentioned in these is not my own, she belongs to rainy-lullaby and only to her**
Yes, Grimmjow is a little OOC but he needed to be.
Like it? Don't like it? Think it's cute? Please review! =3 :D
Friday, 12:32 am.