A/N: Gawd I've had a horrid writter's block; this was the first story I could bring myself to update, expect others real soon since I'm little by little working on them.


3000 Years Ago

She opened her eyes slowly, to allow them to become accustomed to the light. This was not her room, it was very large, the walls were white, the ceiling made of thick glass; the blue sky was clearly visible above. The bed seemed to be suspended in the air since the base of it was made of glass. The blankets were white and made of very soft material, but it was a different texture from the silky fabric of the blankets at her own manor. 'Is this fur?' she thought to herself as she ran her fingers through the strands.

She tried to get off the bed, but winced at the soreness of her body. Regardless, she got off the ridiculously large bed, and gingerly sauntered off to the balcony. Outside there were endless hills of snow…the only other thing in sight was the artic blue ocean. Where was she? How was it that she was somewhere in the artic and not cold? She looked down at herself to find she was only wearing a nightgown, it was white, fell down to her knees, and had thin straps. She wore no shoes, and the white marble floor was warm.

The sun seemed warm outside, and there was nothing she wanted more than to bring out her wings and warm up her feathers under the sun. She closed her eyes, and stiffened the muscles in her back to spring her wings out, but nothing happened. She tried again, but in vain.

Giving up, she yawned and stretched her muscles; she winced when she felt a stinging sensation on her entire abdomen, and the rest of her limbs felt like they would give out on her any second. Then it all came back to her, the demons…Ulquiorra. Rukia gasped, was she in his manor? Did he bring her back with him? And what she did with him…

"Agh!" she groaned frustrated. She didn't mean to return the kiss, she was losing blood, she was delusional.

Cautiously, she walked out of the room and was met with a long white hall with numerous doors; it appeared to be endless. She looked up fascinated, the ceiling was made of thick glass and specks of green and purple, it was unlike anything she had ever seen, it almost looked like ice.

After wandering the hall for minutes, she found a spiral staircase, it was wide and seemed to go very far down. The staircase was, like many things in the manor, made of see-through glass, and it disappeared into the blueness of whatever was at the very bottom. She walked carefully, to avoid making noise and because her body was very weak.

After what must have been six different levels, she reached the very bottom. Her jaw dropped. She was in a colossal chamber, there was an array of large pillars of glass, and everywhere, there were amazing carvings of ice. They were beautiful, and many of them were of angels she recognized, one of them being the angel who sired her, Uriel. She placed her hand on top of it, running it along the perfectly carved ice, closely admiring the beautiful work. Her palm felt warm on it; she scrunched her eyebrows together, warm ice?

"You know, ice can also be warm," said a familiar voice from the other side of the statue; Rukia saw a hand press against hers from the other side of the ice statue. Once their hands aligned through the ice, sparks of violet and green swirled all over the inside making the statue light up like a light bulb. Stunned, she pulled back, and went on the defensive as soon as Ulquiorra stepped out from behind the statue.

"What did you do with my wings?!"

"They were a mess, I had to put the, away, I'll give them back once you're completely healed. Otherwise you'll run away," said Ulquiorra walking towards her; she took backwards steps away from him.

"How long have I been here? Where am I?!"

"You've been here three days; this is one of my manors."

They stared at each other for a moment, and once her gaze on him became more intense, she looked away bashfully. He noted her embarrassment and took the opportunity to step towards her. She tried to move away but he placed both hands on her shoulders and kept her in place. Panicked she tried to kick him, but she was too weak and he evaded her kicks.

"Relax for me won't you kid?" he chuckled leaning in; she gulped when she felt his breath on her lips. Her eyes became fixed on his lips, and he noticed how the color of her eyes changed, there was a swirl of indigo in them, resembling a raging storm.

"Please, let me go," she whispered, "you don't want this, and neither do I." He looked at her carefully, she looked so vulnerable. But just as his mind arrived to the conclusion that she was weak, the ground beneath them started to trembled; the ice surrounding them cracked and fell to the floor. Her indigo eyes were now a very pale blue, almost white, and she was glowing.

"Release me!" her voice was deep and monstrous, a wave of white energy emanated from her shoulder blades forming the outline of what would be monstrous wings, except there were no wings because he had removed them. Her nails grew larger and her teeth sharpened, her short hair grew long, and her skin more pale.

"Just who are you really?" asked Ulquiorra thoroughly surprised.

"I have already told you before, the angel Anemone, a Throne," her voice came out in a growl, but even though her voice was monstrous, she was still the most beautiful being he had ever seen, the features that were supposed to make her more intimidating, only served to make her more attractive to him.

"I have never heard of you before, you were not there during the war."

"Of course not, I did not exist then, I am only three-hundred, but father did…"

"Father? Who is, father?" Asked Ulquiorra curiously, surveying her body to find some sort of resemblance; then he noticed it, could she really be…?

"Uriel, and mother is Sophia."

"Sophia, princess Sophia?" He asked shocked, now he realized why she looked so familiar, she had her mother's beauty, and obviously her father's strength, she was so young, yet she was already so powerful. Ulquiorra started laughing, and Rukia glared at him.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just…such a small universe. Did you know, your father, was my apprentice, I taught him everything he knows. So he mated with Sophia then?" said Ulquiorra still surprised, to think that if he had not rebelled, he might be this girl's father.

He remembered the day he left, up to this day saying goodbye to his beautiful Sophia was the most difficult thing he had done. It was rare when two angels that joined in marriage actually loved each other, angels didn't make love, they mated, but Ulquiorra and Sophia were an exception. They were engaged, and not long after that it happened, the rebellion, it hurt him to leave her, but he had to do it, he believed in his cause, and he would die by it…only he didn't die, he was expelled from heaven with thousands of others, they were morphed…turned into different beings.

"It's a small universe indeed," he said looking up at the being that was both part Uriel and Sophia, his best friend…and the woman he once loved.

"Mr. Schiffer, who were you before…before you were this?" She asked curiously, slowly powering down and returning to her previous form.

"Part of the royal guard, General Schiffer…" he felt that he needed to pause there, the girl wasn't prepared for the information he would love to give her.

"And you said you knew Father? I've always wanted to know what he's like," said Rukia with child-like curiosity in her eyes.

"You mean you don't know him yourself?"

"Only a little, ever since the war it is forbidden for angels to be emotionally attached, I see my parents sometimes, but always under the supervision of other guards."

"It's gotten worse then…"

"Yes," said Rukia sadly looking down at her toes. Ulquiorra paused for a second, but then looked back at her with a determined look on his face.

"All right then, I'll tell you about the adventures we went on, your father and I."

"Really?" She beamed at him practically jumping with joy.

"Yes, but in one condition."

"What?" She asked a little disappointed.

"You must behave and not try to foolishly escape until you're completely healed." Rukia seemed to think about it for a while, but then she smiled at him.

"Deal."


Present

"Foolish girl, you cannot beat me," Said Ulquiorra surveying her closely. Rukia stood in front of him, zanpakuto in hand, seething with rage.

"Don't talk you filth, I'll kill you! I'll kill you for taking him away!" Screamed Rukia, angry tears flowing down her eyes. Her body was bruised, and she could hardly stand but she would avenge him, she would avenge his death.

"You should've left the fighting to Kurosaki eh? Ulquiorra and I would've both had a shot at him," said Grimmjow, he was watching their fight from the sideline, looking extremely bored.

Rukia thought about it for a moment; perhaps it would have been better to wait for Ichigo. They were both sleeping at Urahara's, and Rukia sneaked in through the gate, she wanted to avenge Ashido's death on her own, but now that she found herself in this tight situation, she knew it would have been better to wait.

Ulquiorra watched her carefully, she wouldn't last much longer, he had inflicted near to fatal wounds and if he did any more damage she would die. He did not want to kill her, Gin said she was crucial to their mission, and apparently the girl was supposed to mean something to him. Supposed to, because he felt nothing, he now remembered their entire story three-thousand years ago, but he only felt anything when the flashbacks came to him in a rush, when they flooded his mind…it was like he was there, reliving it. But once the flashbacks ended, he no longer felt, anything, actually, he returned to being that being that knew not the meaning of emotions. The little creature in front of him became nothing but an assignment again, and he could not fathom how he once felt anything for her.

"You will die if you insist on carrying on this foolish fight." Rukia said nothing, merely glared at him, it became painful breathe, nevertheless talk. She had no more strength, her arms became limp and she dropped her zanpakuto.

"Come with us, and we will not harm you," said Ulquiorra walking towards her and extending his hand towards hers. Rukia flinched back, but Ulquiorra grabbed her and pulled her body against his.

The mere feeling of his strong reiatsu weakened her, and she struggled to keep herself conscious. She looked up at him, the pain of her own failure evident in her eyes; but his eyes lacked all emotion, like always, she gave one last attempt at pushing him away, but he hit her swiftly on the back of the neck, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Ulquiorra watched her carefully there was a glimpse of something igniting within him, for a moment, as he held her, he felt he was back in the past, holding her like he had so many times before, the moon casting its rays upon them through the ice ceiling. Her bare body pressed against his equally bare one, her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of her breathing. She was radiant under the moon…she belongs amongst the ice, the moon…she should stay here forever, with me.

"Hey, Ulquiorra!" Yelled Grimmjow; Ulquiorra snapped out of his trance, "we should head back before that Kurosaki guy comes back, not that we can't beat him, but Ichimaru said to avoid as much trouble as possible."

"You're right, let's go," said Ulquiorra, he carried her in his arms, and he and Grimmjow sonidoed away, taking Rukia with them.