Chapter 27

Vellena wandered the halls aimlessly. Grimmjow had been called to an Espada meeting, and she had nothing to do. So she did what she usually did in her spare time – she tried to get to know her way around.

Grimmjow had been wilder than usual last night, exultant at the return of his arm and his rank. He'd introduced her to something he called 'kinbaku', and she had spent most of the night tied up and screaming in pleasure. It took two hands to tie rope properly. She smiled, remembering it. That had been a lot of fun. She had to admit, she enjoyed Grimmjow's dominance of her body. He seemed to enjoy it just as much as she did.

So lost in thought was she, that she almost didn't hear the sob. When the noise finally registered, she stopped dead in her tracks. A sob? She'd never met an arrancar that cried. Screamed, cursed, howled, and pitched fits, yes, but not cry. She extended her reiatsu senses, trying to locate the source.

Of course! The human girl. She felt the reiatsu nearby, in a room. Finding the door, she opened it. The girl was on her knees in front of a plain white couch, her face in her hands, her elbows on the couch pillows. She was wearing an arrancar uniform, her hair unbound except for the two hairclips that contained her amazing power.

At the sound of the door, the girl spoke without turning, giving a mighty sniff. "I'm wearing the clothes, Ulquiorra! Leave me alone!" she said.

"I am not Ulquiorra." Vellena said. The girl turned, tears in her wide grey eyes. The night elf could see a tremor of fear run through the girl.

"Are you here to make me heal someone too? You aren't going to hurt me are you?" the red-head quavered.

"No. I am not here to hurt you and I do not need healing. I heard you crying, and I came to see why." Vellena's voice was quiet, gentle. Nevertheless, she could tell that the grating sound of it still scared the girl.

"I… I miss my friends. What if they think I'm a traitor? What if I never see them again?" Inoue's (she thought that was the girl's name) voice cracked on the last words, tears flowing once more. Vellena could think of no acceptable answer. The girl's friends were ostensibly her enemies, after all. She said nothing.

"Are you… are you the one who fought with Renji?" Inoue asked.

Vellena nodded. Renji, that was the red-haired shinigami who was so impulsive. Yes, she'd fought him.

"I healed him." She sniffled. "I hope you're not mad."

"I'm not mad." Said Vellena.

"Um… I don't know your name." Inoue said, sitting on the couch, facing the Death Knight.

"Vellena Nightwind."

"Ah, that's a pretty name, Vellena-chan!" Inoue smiled. This child is a strange one, thought the night elf. Such changeable moods.

"Thank you." Replied Vellena. What other reply was there to that?

"Vellena-chan, why are you in Las Noches? Did Aizen kidnap you too? You don't look like the others – your ears are too long and your skin is purple. And you haven't got a bone on your face. Are you purple all over?"

"I came here by accident, from another world. Aizen is supposed to be helping me return to my own world." Not that there had been much progress in that direction, she reflected. "I'm not arrancar – I'm a night elf. And yes, I am purple all over." She smiled.

"Are you friends with Grimmjow? He seems so scary."

Was she friends with Grimmjow? Well, one could put it that way. "I am friends with Grimmjow. He's not bad when you get to know him. Thank you for healing his arm." Vellena said.

"I had to." Inoue protested with a sniffle. Vellena sat next to the girl on the couch. The girl looked up at her, then looked at her own feet.

"It doesn't discount the fact that you did it anyway. It was taken from him unjustly." In saying that, Vellena felt as though she'd crossed a bridge. She'd finally admitted what she hadn't wanted to – that Aizen had permitted, and probably tacitly approved of the mutilation of Grimmjow, and that it was unjust. That Aizen was unjust. She sighed.

They were silent for a moment. Then Inoue spoke up again, "Vellena-chan, do you love Grimmjow?"

Shock flowed through the night elf. She was silent for a long moment. Did she love Grimmjow? What kind of question was that? Was such a thing even possible? She was peripherally aware that the girl was staring at her, looking upset.

"S-s-s-sorry, Vellena-chan! I didn't mean to ask such a personal question—." Inoue stuttered.

"It's alright." Interrupted Vellena.

Inoue continued. "It's just that, if someone can love someone like Grimmjow, then maybe he can love someone too, and maybe he's not all bad!" she blurted. "He's so scary!"

"It's alright." Vellena said again. She thought about it for a moment, then she answered. "I don't know if I love Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I am not sure something such as me can fall in love, or if he can either. But I … like him very much." And she did, she realized. She'd grown… attached. Wasn't this a strange development?

"His eyes are so scary. Ulquiorra's eyes are so cold, but Grimmjow's eyes are so… hot." Babbled Inoue.

Yes, Vellena thought, Grimmjow's eyes are indeed hot. But she had something of a different appreciation for those eyes than this frightened child did.

"Do you have someone you love?" Vellena asked. Inoue nodded.

"Kurosaki-kun." She replied. No wonder the girl was afraid of Grimmjow. She'd probably only ever seen the arrancar when he was attempting to kill her beloved.

The night elf thought about what the human girl had said. If someone could love Grimmjow, then maybe he could love someone. She supposed the corollary was true – if someone could love Kurosaki, maybe he could love someone. She knew there was more to shinigami than she had been told. She remembered watching Kurosaki through Ulquiorra's eyes, fighting desperately to save the lives of this very girl, and the large human friend.

"Inoue-chan, would you tell me why Aizen and Soul Society are at war?" she asked. Suddenly, she had to know.

"You mean you don't know?" Inoue turned wide eyes at her. "But you've been fighting on their side, how can you not know?"

"Tell me." Vellena gently insisted.

And the girl did. Vellena listened intently to the story – the scheduled execution of Rukia; the desperate attempt of Kurosaki and his human friends to rescue her; the battle on the top of the Sōkyoku hill; the dramatic rescue of Rukia, only to then discover that Aizen had betrayed Soul Society and used Rukia as a vessel for the Hōgyoku. She learned Aizen's plans, to become a god.

As the story came out, Vellena realized that she was indeed on the wrong side of the fight, after all. Aizen was not fighting against tyranny – Aizen was the tyrant. Aizen was an Arthas in the making. The possibility that the girl might be lying was considered and dismissed – this girl had no guile. Too many little pieces corroborated her story, too many little things that Vellena had noticed in her slightly-more-than-a-month in Las Noches.

"I see." She said when Inoue had finished her tale. "Thank you for telling me this, Inoue-chan." She smiled at the girl, showing nothing of her inner disquiet.

A ripple of familiar reiatsu approaching caught her attention. She looked up. "Ulquiorra returns. I must go." She said.

"Vellena-chan…" Inoue began as the night elf rose from the couch. Vellena looked at the girl expectantly. Inoue smiled. "Thank you for coming to talk to me, Vellena-chan. I feel better." A small, pale hand took hers for just a moment. Vellena smiled back.

"Ande'thoras-ethil, little one. May your troubles be diminished." She tapped open the garganta. "Do not speak of my visit to Ulquiorra." The wide-eyed girl shook her head solemnly. Vellena disappeared through the portal.

As she walked across the silver path, she reflected once more on the similarities of garganta and the death gate. She had begun to suspect that Aizen would never return her to her own world – indeed, it seemed likely that he had never even tried to find a way. Szayel's work was most likely nothing more than a ruse. Perhaps… perhaps there was another way…