"Oh, how the mighty have fallen!"

Slamming a book down on his desk, Ulquiorra lets out an exasperated sigh. That pretentious voice can only belong to one person — one extremely annoying person. He turns around to face them, his eyes narrowing as a ridiculous grin spreads across the culprit's face. "Is that it? Did you come here just to say that, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow scoffs at the question. "I see that sleeping beauty is still in his typical pissy mood." He strides into the moonlit library, letting the door shut behind him. "Surprised to see me?"

"To see a person like you in a library? Yes. With that being said, go pester somebody else."

Grimmjow rushes over and grabs the collar of Ulquiorra's jacket, yanking him forward. "Oye! Watch it! The last subordinate that disrespected me got their damn head blown off!" he hisses.

"Oh? Are you attempting to intimidate me?"

Gritting his teeth, Grimmjow shoves Ulquiorra away. "Tch, intimidate. Y'know what? If it were up to me, you'd already be dead."

Watching the sexta turn towards the door with clenched fists, Ulquiorra grows curious. Though he's no stranger to Grimmjow's behavior, something seems off. Why didn't the brute kill him the moment they saw each other? Is it simply because Harribel forbade it? Since when has he ever followed directions?

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Grimmjow glances over his shoulder. "Anyways, I didn't come here to visit you, so get off your high horse," he mutters. "Harribel wants to meet you in the surveillance room. She ordered me to bring you there."

"What? Why would she need me to be in the surveillance room?"

Grimmjow slams open the door, flooding the room with light. "How the fuck would I know? Just shut up and follow me."

"Follow you? Nonsense," Ulquiorra says, stepping past Grimmjow and into the hall. "I know where the room is; I do not need you to guide me."

"Nobody gives a shit about your sense of direction, idiot! Blondie sent me to make sure your weak ass doesn't get killed on the way there. Let's go."

With that, Ulquiorra silently concedes.

Weak.

Yes, Ulquiorra is weak. There is no denying it. Though his mind is running rampant, he somehow keeps mum as he treads behind Grimmjow.

The two walk through the halls of the Las Noches base, passing countless rooms until they reach a small door. Grimmjow presses his hand onto a panel beside it, prompting the door to slide open.

"You're late," a woman's voice calls out from within. "Come inside."

Ulquiorra steps aside, allowing Grimmjow to enter first before entering himself. As soon as the door shuts, the sound of rustling papers echoes throughout the room.

A second later, Harribel emerges from the shadows, her long fur cape flowing behind her. "I see that you have both arrived safely. Well done, Grimmjow. You may return to your regular duties."

"Huh!? You're kicking me out?"

"Goodbye, Grimmjow."

With the sexta finally gone, Ulquiorra brings his hand to his temple and lets out a relieved sigh.

"I see that nothing has changed between you two. It's as if I'm watching two brothers fighting," Harribel says, picking up a small stack of papers from the desk beside her. "To be honest, it's quite endearing."

". . . Brothers?"

"Hm? Am I the first to say such a thing?" she asks, handing him the paperwork.

He holds the papers in his hands, looking down at them in confusion. It doesn't seem like anything too important. Taking a closer look, all he can see is messy handwriting on stained notebook paper. "What are these for?"

"Those are for you," Harribel answers, sitting down on a nearby chair. "I know you despise being weak. The look in your eyes, even now, makes that quite obvious. Thus, I'm giving you the only solution I have been able to find and witness myself."

Speechless, Ulquiorra peers up at her, and then back to the papers.

"This is not solely based on sympathy though," Harribel says, closing her eyes as she rests her chin on her hand. "No. It is out of necessity as well. Las Noches needs somebody with your strength, Ulquiorra."

"I believe you are mistaken," he responds, sitting across from her. "The palace has been perfectly fine in my absence."

"Incorrect," Harribel says, her eyes opening and locking onto him. "Las Noches has not been fine. Do you not see the state that it's in? Quincies and shinigami have taken turns killing our comrades and destroying our home. And now, for the last few months, various rebel arrancar factions have been trying to make the final blow."

"Rebel arrancar? You should be more than capable of killing those pathetic factions within seconds."

"You would think so. But times have changed. I may be the ruler of Hueco Mundo, but I am no longer the strongest Arrancar. That title belongs to Barragan, and he is their leader."

"Barragan is still alive?"

Harribel sighs, closing her eyes once again. "Resurrected, and stronger than ever before."

Furrowing a brow, Ulquiorra responds, "Stronger? How is that possible? You informed me that all resurrected arrancar are only at half strength. Is he an exception?"

"No, he is not an exception. The answer is in those papers you hold. If you follow the same method Barragan utilized, you will be more powerful than you were before you died."

Ulquiorra hesitates for a moment, contemplating whether to take the offer. After a few moments of thought, he nods. "I will need to read through the contents beforehand."

"Take your time."

Ulquiorra looks over the documents and reads the contents to himself. The words jump off the page and sink into his gut like an anchor.

The method Barragan used did, in fact, bring his power beyond what he had possessed before his death.

The method itself, though, is what repulses Ulquiorra more than anything. He needs to utilize the power of a specific soul reaper. An unnamed soul reaper living in the world of the living; one who has been blending in with humans for decades.

Ulquiorra is hesitant. In more ways than one, Shinigami are inferior beings. Though they are interesting to observe, they are weak, unintelligent, and a nuisance.

From what he can tell, it is unlikely that there is a better way to go about this.

There are lives at stake and there is little to no hope left. He needs to be strong enough to kill his foes without hesitation.

Surely, there is a good reason behind this. After all, Harribel is not one to make such rash decisions. Yes. He must help put a stop to an inevitable war, even if it means draining the life energy out of a soul reaper.

"So? What do you think?" Harribel asks, tilting her head.

Drawn out of his thoughts, Ulquiorra stirs in his seat. "Are you certain this is worth trying? Killing this shinigami might anger the Soul Society." He looks away from her and stares out the window. "This may burn bridges."

"Possibly," she replies, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms behind her neck. "But that is the least of my concerns. I doubt the Soul Society has the time to fret over the death of an exiled Shinigami."

He exhales sharply and closes the folder. "Then I shall take the risk of using it."

"Very well," she says with a nod.

She pauses for a second, picking up on something that makes her eyebrows furrow. "Grimmjow! Come back here! I know you're eavesdropping at the door!" she calls out, keeping her stare fixated on Ulquiorra.

"Wow. Was it that obvious?" Grimmjow asks, abruptly entering the room with a grin. "Hmm. I thought I heard someone talking about some sort of secret technique. I guess it was a figment of my imagination."

"Ah, what impressive listening skills you have," Harribel says with an eye roll. "Since you want to be nosy, you're going to help Ulquiorra out with it."

Grimmjow lets out a loud huff and crosses his arms. "Why me? You've got a lot of faith in me, don't you, Boss Lady?"

She scoffs at his sarcasm. "Because I trust you, Grimmjow. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it. Besides, it is just a simple trip to the world of the living."

"Wait, you mean we have to go to the human world!? Why? Damnit, I already know this is going to be boring as hell!"

"I have already made my decision. Argue all you want, but the longer we wait to get this settled, the more likely we'll have to face Baraggan alone. I know this is last minute, but you two must leave immediately."

"Hey, you never answered my question! Why are we supposed to be going there!?"

Harribel shakes her head. "I'm afraid that's classified information. Just know that if you fail at protecting Ulquiorra, it won't end well for you."

Groaning, Grimmjow waves his hand dismissively at the notion. "Yeah, yeah. I get it," he says, turning toward Ulquiorra. "Let's get this over with already. I have better things to do."

"I doubt you do," Ulquiorra mutters, standing up from his seat. "But, yes. Let's get this over with. Open the Garganta."

"Allow me," Harribel says, stepping in front of them and tearing open a portal with her hand. "We will all await your return."

The two men say their thanks and step into the Garganta. As the portal closes in on itself, Ulquiorra turns to face Harribel. She watches on with a softened gaze. A gaze that is so familiar. Then, everything becomes black.

"C'mon. We can't just stand here," Grimmjow sighs, walking away from the scene.

Not bothering to respond, Ulquiorra follows suit.

And so they travel. Making their way through what separates their world from the next . . . all in complete silence.


"We've been waiting around this dump for a week! This obviously ain't the right spot!" Grimmjow says, pacing back and forth.

"Grimmjow, it has only been four days. We must be patient."

"Whatever. It's still taking too long."

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra leans back against a wall and resumes admiring his view of the city. Giant towers adorn the skyline, the night sky illuminated by their lights.

From this height, one can see everything. Admittedly, this world is quite captivating.

Indifferent to it all, Grimmjow lets out an exaggerated sigh. "This is getting annoying! For once, listen to me! I keep telling ya over and over. There are no soul reapers here!"

"Incorrect. This was their last known location."

Scoffing, Grimmjow steps in front of him, obstructing the view. "Oh, yeah? When? Two million years ago?"

"Don't be stupid," Ulquiorra says.

"Hah! I'm not the stupid one! This city has thousands of people and you don't know anything about this shinigami! No name, age, or if they're even dead or alive. Didn't ya think all of that was kind of important to know before we came?" Grimmjow asks with a sneer.

"How many times do I need to remind you? The only known information about the soul reaper is that they live in this area. Therefore, we have to rely on guesswork. Logically speaking, an exiled shinigami would not wander far from their original settlement."

"Fuck this." Grimmjow jumps down from the balcony they stand on, landing on the ground with a thud. "Whether you like it or not, we're going to look somewhere else."

Not moving from where he stands, Ulquiorra peers down at him. "No. This is where we stay. The shinigami will reveal themselves eventually."

At this, Grimmjow throws his arms out. "Oh! Right. Because a soul reaper takes a whole four days to realize arrancar are hanging around their city. Makes a lot of damn sense to me!" he hisses. "Now, get moving! Don't make me force you to come down here!"

"Harribel only told you to protect me. I don't recall her giving you authoritative powers," Ulquiorra says, closing his eyes. "I'm staying."

"Oye, if you want to be left here alone, that's fine by me!" Grimmjow yells out. "Go ahead, stay and waste your time! All we have to do is find one with a similar spiritual pressure to yours, right? Watch! I'm going to find this soul reaper in the next town over and rub it in your face!"

"Maybe it will be similar to mine. Maybe not. Try it," Ulquiorra says, opening one eye. "But you won't be successful."

"We'll see about that," Grimmjow mutters, kicking at a few pebbles by his feet. "As much as I would love to see you get killed, don't let it happen. Blondie would probably chop my head off or something if that happened."

"I assure you, I can take care of myself."

Grimmjow scoffs. "Sure you can. I'm out of here. It won't take long."

Ulquiorra doesn't bother to respond, simply watching Grimmjow sonido away.

Relieved to finally be alone, he slowly turns back to face the city, trying to decide what his next move is.

It's true, the population here in this city is quite high. Could that be masking the shinigami's spiritual pressure?

Perhaps they're wearing a gigai and living amongst humans. A gigai that suppresses their spiritual pressure. Does such a thing exist? That would explain why neither he nor Grimmjow could sense them.

Regardless, he cannot just stand here.

Deciding to search the more populated part of town, he uses whatever energy he has to sonido there.

A few pluses are wandering about the city, but none are worth noting. Chattering humans litter the sidewalks, most traveling in groups. The noises they make are quite annoying, actually. Fortunately, they are not even remotely aware of his presence and can't bug him.

He continues traveling down various streets, hoping to find something useful. Pausing to look up at the sky, he lets out a sigh. So far, this search has turned up nothing.

Just as he's about to continue on his way, he sees someone flash past him from the corner of his eye.

Shunpo.

Taking a step back, he scans his surroundings. That technique is unique to Shinigami. Finally, one has finally decided to reveal themselves. But is this the right one?

Ulquiorra strains his senses to try to identify them. They are practically invisible with no spiritual pressure to be found.

He moves in the opposite direction, cloaking his spiritual pressure as much as he can.

The soul reaper follows. He tries to get a good look at their appearance, only for them to use shunpo again. It seems that this is quickly becoming an aggravating cat-and-mouse chase.

Wanting to test how long they're willing to stalk him, he sonidos through the city. All the while, they keep disappearing and reappearing within the shadows of alleyways, keeping up with ease.

So they are following him. It is a fact that he cannot deny.

But why?

Normally, a shinigami would have attacked by now. What is the reasoning behind this? Are they waiting for him to tire out?

If they wanted to kill him in this weak state, then they wouldn't need to tail him. They could easily cut him down from behind, ending his life right then and there.

Growing more curious, Ulquiorra comes to a stop and turns back to look at the alleyway where he is standing.

"You're not going to attack me," he says, knowing the soul reaper followed him here.

Without so much as a sound, they slowly emerge from the darkness.

They wear a hooded cloak, making it impossible to see any facial features. Their hands relax at their sides as they stand there, staring at him.

With their spiritual pressure concealed, it's impossible to decipher whether this person is familiar or not. Whatever technique they're using is so effective that it's impossible to even discern whether they are male or female.

Despite their ability to hide themselves, Ulquiorra can tell they are breathing heavily. He turns to instinct and takes in their scent from afar, finding that it is reminiscent of lavender. But, behind that pleasant scent, he can tell they're perspiring. Are they afraid? Keeping his composure, he places his hand on his sword hilt and stands tall.

"Who are you?" he asks, taking a step forward.

When the soul reaper doesn't answer, he repeats himself, adding a hint of urgency to his voice. "Speak!"

Still, they remain silent. And still, his hand stays in the grip of his zanpakuto.

He listens closely, noticing that the Shinigami's breathing has become more ragged. Their scent has gradually become somewhat tainted from adrenaline.

What is going on? Why won't they answer him?

Is this some type of stunt? Are they frozen in fear?

Suddenly, the stranger unsheathes their zanpakuto and runs towards him. Just as Ulquiorra is about to bring out his own weapon, something heavy collides with his head.

And, just like that, his world goes black.

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