Title: Aquamarine Moondust

Genre: Romance

Rating: M

Pairing: GrimmRuki, with a sprinkling of IchiRuki and AshiRuki

Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH and its characters. They all belong to the great Kubo-sensei!

Summary: Rukia goes back to Hueco Mundo to fulfill her promise to Ashido. She knew the dangers that await her, but she never expected to see HIM.

Timeline: The story follows the events in the anime, as I'm aware Ashido is not present in the manga. However, I will try my hardest to stick to the original storyline of Bleach.

CHAPTER TWO

Rukia adjusted her cloak again as she felt the first winds of Hueco Mundo across her unaccustomed cheek. The land of perpetual darkness hasn't changed much, but then again she hadn't expected it to. The hot sand beneath her feet and the howling wind felt more comfortable to Rukia than the deafening silence inside the precipice world, so she was thankful that she had finally reached her destination. She heard a hollow's cry in the distance, but she paid no heed to it.

Ukitake had given her some instructions and a few devices that might prove useful to her during the mission, and one of the most important reminders he had was to keep a low profile. Her captain advised to her to avoid fighting as much as possible so as not to disrupt Hueco Mundo's environment. Each time her Reiatsu would flare up as a result of a battle, more and more Hollows would be attracted to it, and that's something she had to avoid at all cost.

She knelt down on the sand and opened the satchel that was slung around her shoulder. Inside were three small rectangular boxes, a watch and a red choker that made Rukia uneasy. It reminded her too much of the one she wore during her execution. As she took two of the rectangular boxes out of the satchel, she recalled Ukitake-taicho's strict instructions on how to use them.

"Listen Kuchiki, these devices are called Reiatsu Emitters. They're like bombs that you can place anywhere, but instead of an explosion, bursts of captain-level reiatsu erupt from these boxes. They can be set off using this remote," Ukitake said as he handed the remote over to Rukia. "but you can't use them just anywhere. As soon as you step into Hueco Mundo, I want you to place two of these at any landmark near the gate where it won't get tampered with. Since there's a barrier preventing anybody from opening a gate from Hueco Mundo to Soul Society, we'll open one for you in exactly 24 hours, okay?"

"H-hai, Ukitake-taicho," Rukia stammered quickly. A nagging voice inside her head was wondering if she could pull the mission off successfully in just 24 hours, but she shoved her doubts at the back of her mind. She was glad that she was going on this mission and she was not going to jeopardize it because of some doubts. She'll just cross that bridge when she got to it.

Thankfully, her captain didn't seem to catch her lapse in resolve. He continued his briefing; "In exactly 24 hours from the time you arrive in Hueco Mundo, I want you to set off the charges. This is so you can find your way back to the gate no matter where you are. If you stray too far, you may not feel the gate's energy signature, so these charges will help you do that. The last charge is yours to use however you want to. The choker is a reiatsu inhibitor for you to wear around your neck when you need help hiding your reiatsu."

Rukia was now looking at the choker and try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to wear it. Although it was all in the past, she got goosebumps on her skin just holding it. As for the charges, she set the two behind some large rocks in the area, making sure they were firmly placed and hidden from plain sight. She strapped the watch onto her wrist and adjusted her cloak for what seemed like the nth time that day before she set out towards the direction of the Menos Forest.

The limited time frame annoyed her for some reason, and she decided she would save a lot of time if she used Shunpo to get to the forest. She just hoped she wouldn't run across aggressive Hollows along the way as she didn't really want to fight unless she needed to.

Fate seemed intent on antagonizing her little mission right from the very start when something large shot out of the ground before her, forcing her to sidestep to the left sharply in order to avoid it. Since she was moving through the desert at high speed, it was impossible to veer to the left and dodge gracefully, and her sidestep, although saving her from a painful head-on collision with whatever it was that appeared, sent her flying across the sand.

Rukia winced as she landed on the sand, the rough grains bruising her elbows, arms and left cheek. She ignored the pain her landing caused as she hurriedly got up and readied herself to fight her opponent by moving into a defensive stance, her hand poised over the hilt of her Zanpakutou. The hollow that shot out of the sand was a huge centipede-like creature, almost 10 times her size. Its head was encased in a mask of pure bone that resembled that of a moose skull and it had a large double-tipped green tongue that reminded Rukia of a snake, poised to strike.

She barely had time to withdraw her sword when it lunged at her. Thinking quickly, she jumped high into the air and looked back down to see if the creature was following her. Curiously, it was now burying itself into the ground on which it lunged at, displacing all the sand around it. Rukia took out her sword and landed back onto the sand just as the creature's tail disappeared, sand covering the hole it had left in its wake. She surveyed her surroundings and with her feet, felt for even the slightest movement underground to determine where the creature was going to surface next.

She sensed a low rumbling at first, and then the sand around her feet started to vibrate. Now, she thought, her eyes narrowing as she leapt up a mere second before the creature's head shot out of the sand. Rukia skillfully jumped onto the hollow's back, raised her sword and with both hands on the hilt, stabbed the hollow. The creature cried out in pain and bucked about in an attempt to overthrow its unwanted passenger. Plunging the sword in deeper, Rukia ran along the hollow's back, taking the embedded sword with her and cutting the hollow right along the middle in the process. Once she reached the tail, she swiftly took out the sword and jumped off.

The hollow's blood was everywhere; on her sword, on the sand, and there were spatters on her cheeks and cloak. The monster howled in pain; but to Rukia's surprise, it still moved about at the same speed, as if she had not injured it. 'The cut must have been too shallow' Rukia decided and cursed herself for underestimating her foe. She had no choice; she needed to use her shikai.

"Mae, Sode no Shira-" Before Rukia could fully call out her shikai, a bright red light blinded her and she was forced to take a step back. A Cero? It can't be! was the only thing on Rukia's mind as she used her sword as a shield for whatever attack was headed her way. She had kept her eyes on her enemy at all times and she was sure the creature didn't get a chance to charge a Cero.

Rukia's eyes widened as a red beam of light shot past her, missing her by a mere inch. She turned to follow the trajectory of the Cero and saw it collide with a nearby sand dune, where it exploded. She looked back at the hollow she was fighting and she could now see a large gaping, smoldering hole where its belly used to be. With a final grunt, the hollow fell to the ground before dissolving into a million ashen particles.

With the hollow out of the way, Rukia could now fully see who had fired the Cero from behind the monster. The newcomer was walking towards her slowly, his figure becoming clearer as he passed the cloud of dust generated by the hollow's passing. Through the smoke, dust and sand, Rukia realized with a start who her "savior" was. The light blue hair, the remnants of the hollow mask over the right jaw and that arrogant stance – Rukia was all too familiar with them.

"Espada," she hissed as she once again took on a defensive stance. In contrast to her actions, Grimmjow remained laid back as he approached Rukia with steady steps.

"Oi Shnigami," Grimmjow called out as soon as he was close enough. "Couldn't even take care of a weak hollow?" His hands were on his hips and he was wearing a smug look that looked vaguely familiar to Rukia. Unbidden memories flashed through Rukia's mind of a certain orange-headed boy who used to wear the exact same smug expression whenever he was successful at protecting his loved ones. Hastily, she shoved the memories back into the recesses of her mind and turned her attention back to the present.

Did the Arrancar just save me? She wondered. If so, does that mean he's changed?

Her confusion must have been clearly noticeable because Grimmjow's smug looked turned into a full-blown sinister grin. He took out his weapon and pointed it straight at Rukia. "Well then, now that we're alone, I can kill you without getting interrupted."

Okay, so maybe not.

In a split-second, he was right in front of her. Instinctively, she raised her sword to shield herself from an oncoming attack. She hissed as the sound of metal scraping against metal rang loudly in her ears, her arm muscles burning as she tried to block the force of Grimmjow's attack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him holding up his other hand, his palm glowing bright red as he prepared to fire off another Cero.

Sensing the danger, she used shunpo to sidestep to the left and jumped back, just to create a considerable distance between them. As she saw Grimmjow turn in her direction, she quickly held out her hand in front of her. "Hado no 31! Shakkaho!"

A ball of red light shot out of her palm and dove straight for Grimmjow, who dodged it easily. Though it didn't hit him, Rukia was relieved to find that she had successfully interrupted the Cero charge. "Mae, Sode no Shirayuki!" she called out, activating her shikai. Her opponent was no mere hollow, and now was not the time to hold back.

As she eyed him warily, waiting for him to make his next move, she noticed that his body was covered with bruises; some were old and on the verge of healing, while some were still fresh. She surmised that he had been in a fight recently; also, that he had not fully recovered from his fight with Ichigo and she hoped that she could use this to her advantage and that he was not fighting at full strength.

When Grimmjow closed the distance between them with a quick Sonido, Rukia realized how wrong she was. As she was once again forced to defend herself, parrying,dodging and taking a step back with each swipe of his blade, she noticed a great difference between their strengths. She was breathing heavily, unable to pull off a single attack, while Grimmjow still had a smirk on his face and was swinging his weapon at her almost effortlessly.

Dammit, he's just playing around with me, Rukia thought in annoyance. She would never accomplish anything by simply blocking the Arrancar's attacks. She had to risk executing an attack, even if it meant leaving herself open to a counterattack. Her eyes narrowed at her opponent, who was still regarding the battle as if it were a game.

At least he's underestimating me, I can use that to my advantage.

She planted her feet firmly on the sand and met his next attack with full force, determined not to take a step back. Her right arm shook as she tried to hold her sword steady against his, even as both blades were steadily moving closer and closer to her face. She held out her hand and started chanting in her mind. Grimmjow must have noticed this, because he tried to stop her by putting both hands on his sword in an effort to throw her off. Her knees gave way and she fell back, but her spell was ready. As she was falling, she shot her hand out and yelled, "Hado no 33, Sokatsui!"

As soon as she landed on the sand, Rukia struggled to get back on her feet hastily. She stood up just in time to see Grimmjow move backwards to avoid her spell. Without wasting another second, she waved her sword and turned it upside down. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"

The sand around Grimmjow's feet disappeared in a haze of white light. He moved out of the way as a pillar of ice shot up from the ground where he once stood. Although he managed to avoid being encased inside the pillar, his right arm and the lower half of his right leg were frozen by the attack.

As he looked at his ice-encased hand, Grimmjow's grin widened. The Shinigami was faring better than he's expected. He was thinking he'd play around with her and lull her into a false sense of hope that winning was actually possible before killing her. However, she was actually fighting back, and he could see she was a bit stronger compared to the last time he saw her. But then again, maybe it's simply because he wasn't at his best right now. He could see it in her eyes; he could see that she was starting to get confident again.

Good, Grimmjow thought. Now let's work some fear into those eyes again. He held out his frozen arm and using his Hierro, chipped the ice away from his arm and leg as easily as a snake shedding its skin. "I thought you'd learn by now Shinigami; your attacks are useless against me."

Rukia simply narrowed her eyes at Grimmjow, and readied herself for his next move. Her feet were planted firmly on the sand, slightly apart with legs bent slightly at the knee. She held her sword horizontally at face-level, both hands clutching the hilt near her cheek, with the blade pointed directly at him.

Although she was looking directly at him, Rukia's focus was on Grimmjow's feet. The moment she saw the sand around his feet move, she fired off another attack before he could take another step. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A blast of ice came barreling towards Grimmjow, who was able to activate his Hierro seconds before the blast hit him. With arms crossed over his chest, he tried to stand still against the force of the Shinigami's attack. Grunting, he moved back a couple of steps as he continued his attempt to neutralize her attack when he heard her call off another attack. Just then, another blast of ice hit him, destroying the initial blast and sending Grimmjow flying backwards.

He gathered his bearings and back-flipped in mid-air to avoid landing on his back. He was able to land on two feet, but the sheer force of the attack caused him to stumble and he fell with one knee on the ground. Fortunately, his Hierro prevented him from getting frozen and – "Hakuren!"

Caught by surprise, Grimmjow didn't have time to ready for himself for the attack and against his will, simply avoided the attack by doing a barrel roll to the left. He took several leaps back and eyed his opponent, who was breathing heavily from executing three consecutive attacks.

He had fought many battles in his life and he could tell how his opponent felt based on the attacks they made. Seeing as how she's risking exhaustion by dealing one deadly blow after another, it told Grimmjow that the Shinigami was in a hurry to end the fight. He doubted though that she wanted to kill him – to his knowledge, Shinigamis were more mission-driven rather than instinct-driven, and he felt no desire to kill coming from her. She probably just wanted to catch him off guard so she could freeze him and hopefully make a hasty retreat.

Damn her to hell if she thinks she's getting away from that easily, Grimmjow thought with an inward smirk. The Shinigami made a huge mistake in giving her all in an attempt to end the fight quickly. Now was his chance. She was in no position to set off another ice attack, that was for sure.

He swung his sword, Pantera and charged at her. He didn't need spells and abilities; all he needed to defeat her now was his sword. She was severely diminished in energy and he doubted she would last long against his flurry of lunges, swipes and slashes.

True to his word, Rukia was only able to block half of his attacks. She felt like her knees were ready to buckle any minute now and she could barely grasp her sword properly. Her cloak was torn in many places and was stained with her blood. She cursed herself for being so reckless, but it wasn't like she had much choice. Her mission was to fight only when it was absolutely necessary. She had considered fighting a hollow or two if they got in her way, but she never dreamt she'd have to fight off one of Aizen's former Espadas within minutes of her arrival. She wanted to finish the battle quickly, because she still needed to find Ashido, figure out what to do and reach the gate in less than 24 hours. But thanks to her folly, it seemed like she won't be able to do any of those things anymore.

She started to raise her sword, preparing to go down fighting, when Grimmjow's leg appeared out of nowhere and hit her square on the stomach. She blanched as she fell onto the sand with a sickening thud, the coarse grains aggravating her cuts and bruises. Suddenly, something fell out of her sleeve and tumbled onto the sand beside her face. She opened her eyes slowly and eyed the small satchel containing the items her captain gave her.

I can't, Rukia thought, as an idea passed through her head. She quickly shoved it away because it would complicate matters later on. However, the idea kept resurfacing and she had to admit, she had no choice. The way things were going, she was sure to die by Grimmjow's hand, and she certainly had no intention of failing in her mission. With her last ounce of strength, she opened the satchel, grabbed the small black box, and pressed the button.

Grimmjow stared at the Shinigami, who was breathing heavily on the ground. She made no move to get up, but based on her breathing, he knew she was still far away from death.

I'll fix that soon enough, Grimmjow smirked as he walked over to where the Shinigami was. Her back was turned to him, and he could see that she was rummaging around in the sand for something – what it was though, Grimmjow had no clue. It didn't matter though, because the battle was coming to a close soon enough.

Suddenly, Grimmjow stopped in midstep as a strong force of Reiatsu assaulted his senses. The Reiatsu was strong enough to render him breathless for a moment before he quickly snapped back to reality.

"A captain-level Reiatsu?" Grimmjow exclaimed, frantically looking about. He moved closer to the girl. "Oi Shinigami! You're not alone are you?" He barely got the question out of his lips when he was forced back by another Reiatsu signature, this one a tad bit stronger than the last one.

Rukia summoned her strength so that she could at least get up on all fours. "It's looks like my backup is here," she bluffed. "I wouldn't... stay here if I were y-you." She tried her best to sound confident, but her voice was breaking due to the strain and fatigue she felt. She really hoped Grimmjow would choose to run away and leave her be, rather than wait for the "newcomers" to arrive.

Grimmjow cursed under his breath. So the Shinigami woman wasn't alone after all. Grimmjow debated whether he should just kill his opponent before fleeing – she was already down for the count anyway. However, Grimmjow distinctly remembered something about these Shinigami that he hated so much – they all had great timing. He still remembered how close he was to killing this same Shinigami twice already, but just when he was about to finish her off, someone would come along and he'd be forced to fight whoever it was that came to save her.

He could practically see it in his mind – him dealing the final blow, only to be stopped by whoever those strong Reiatsu belonged to. And he was in no shape to fight. Glancing at the girl one more time, he seethed, "This isn't over Shinigami. Next time, I'll finish you off. That's a promise."

Rukia closed her eyes as the sand between them scattered with the force of the Espada's sonido. When she opened them again, he was gone and she was alone. "I'll hold you to that promise then," she croaked tersely. Using her sword for leverage, she gingerly stood up and looked at the device in her hand.

Things were already getting out of hand. She thought at first that the mission would be so simple. Now, not only was she severely wounded due to her unforeseen fight with an Arrancar, but she had used the Reiatsu Emitters, which would make finding the gate more difficult later on.

Rukia comforted herself with the thought that at least she was alive. All she had to do now was find Ashido and maybe with his help, they could just wing it and figure something out later on. She picked up the satchel from the ground and took out the red collar that unnerved her before. Without hesitation, she put it around her neck and adjusted her blood-stained cloak. Survival was her topmost priority now.

Saying a prayer under her breath, she used what was left of her energy to Shunpo as far away as possible from the direction Grimmjow fled to and made her way to her destination.

It seemed that Rukia was not the only one who was busy hiding her Reiatsu. Atop a tall tree in the midst of the Menos forest, a lone figure with light blue hair and matching eyes was watching carefully, as a cloaked Shinigami tried to nimbly Shunpo from tree to tree in search for something.

After fleeing from their fight, Grimmjow had hung around, but chose to hide his Reiatsu so he would not be found. He didn't exactly follow her, but he had an inkling that the Shinigami girl would go looking for Ashido. He watched her intensely, trying to find her so-called "backup", but he was surprised to find her alone.

A small laugh almost escaped his lips as he watched her almost fall from one of the main branches, and leaned onto the trunk for support. He knew she was severely wounded and his interest was somewhat piqued that she still had the strength to use Shunpo. He knew very well that he could just go to her right now and finish her off, but he was still wary of the strong forces of Reiatsu he felt earlier. So for now, he'd just sit, wait and bide his time. He was in no hurry, he assured himself. The Shinigami was able to inflict wounds on him and he needed time to heal. Also, he was getting pretty bored with Hueco Mundo's lack of activity. It wasn't everyday that something new happened and he had been given front row seats to the show.

At first, it vexed him to think that he had failed to finish her off for the third time. But the more he mulled over it, more and more reasons were beginning to surface as to why it might be a better idea to keep her alive. With a sinister smile, Grimmjow moved back into the shadows. He'd let her live for a little while longer. After all, it's no fun if he killed the only source of entertainment he's had for quite a while.

Rukia coaxed her spiritual energy to accumulate and take on a physical form over her right palm. She was able to produce a small ball of flame, enough to light up the small cave she had wandered into. She swept her gaze across the cave and she knew for sure that this was Ashido's hideout. In the far corner was a makeshift bed out of dried branches and torn pieces of cloth. Everywhere Rukia looked there was a Hollow skull staring back at her, and she suddenly had the urge to comment on Ashido's weird choice of décor.

A hollow mask sat atop a spear by the entrance, as if guarding the cave from trespassers. Remnants of what seemed like a tusk adorned the wall to her left, while more bits and pieces of hollow bone were scattered by the foot of the makeshift bed. It definitely looked like Ashido had made himself at home. The cave looked pretty much lived-in.

But when, where was Ashido?

She closed her eyes and felt around her for his Reiatsu. It was there, but it was extremely faint. It meant he had not gone back to the cave for several days now. She had no clue where he went or if he was even still alive.

"Okay...minor setback number 100 for today," mused Rukia with a sigh as she discarded her cloak and stepped outside the cave.

He was still watching when she emerged from the cave and sat by the entrance. She looked down at the Menos that milled around the bottom of the forest floor as if she were watching sheep in the meadow. Grimmjow thought she'd be like that for hours – sitting with her legs dangling over the edge, her face gradually relaxing.

"What the hell is she doing?" wondered Grimmjow out loud, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Did she come here to take a goddamn vacation?"

As if hearing his words, Rukia suddenly stood up, grasped her sheathed sword by the hilt and jumped down to the forest floor. Grimmjow followed suit, jumping onto a lower branch so as not to lose sight of his target. The menos turned in her direction as she walked past – although her Reiatsu was concealed, they could still sense that she was different and curiously looked on. However, the exact strength of her Reiatsu was a mystery to them, so many chose to hang back and leave her be.

Every now and then, a particularly brave hollow would approach and try to attack her, but she defeated those easily. Not far behind her, Grimmjow watched as she walked around, fought hollows, and then walked some more. He transferred from one tree to another when she was far enough, careful not to alert her of his presence.

Rukia was getting fed up as more and more Menos approached the farther she went. Even more annoying was the fact that she couldn't unleash her Shikai because of the choker she wore around her neck. It wasn't such a good idea anyway, because fluctuations in her Reiatsu would attract more Menos her way, which would just complicate things.

Grimmjow watched as the Shinigami found herself surrounded by large Menos, who wanted to take a sample of her Soul. He wondered for a moment why she couldn't just freeze them all, instead of just slashing repeatedly at anything that got close. His eyes narrowed as he saw the Shinigami fighting one Menos, completely unaware of the presence of another one that was creeping up behind her. He shook his head in disbelief and pointed a finger in the Shinigami's direction, a pale red light appearing on his fingertip, gradually growing larger.

Rukia watched as the Menos before her disappeared after she took it down with one clean swipe. She was about to sheath her sword when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of light. Turning around, she saw nothing except the black ashes of a Menos disintegrating right before her very eyes. Confused, she looked around to see if there was somebody there. However, all she saw were shadows amongst the trees. Probably more Menos, she thought.

Grimmjow wanted to hit his head against the tree. Sure, what he did was out of impulse, and he never ever questioned his impulses, but saving the Shinigami turned out to be a stupid idea. He still didn't know where her companions were, and he risked exposing his location with that Cero. He now saw her looking about, probably to find the location of her savior. "Ashido, is that you?" she called out. Grimmjow wanted to hit her head against the tree.

"Nice going Shinigami, pretty stealthy of you," he murmured sarcastically. He sincerely wished he had a comrade with him right now, someone he could make bets with. If he did, he'd bet that the Shinigami won't last a day if left to her own devices. "Probably make a fortune," he grumbled.

While he was watching her, he recalled something that fairy Aizen had said to them: that she was partly responsible for why Kurosaki Ichigo was as strong as he was. He looked at the tiny Shinigami, then recalled all the fights he had with the orange-haired Shinigami. Grimmjow shook his head in disbelief. Did she really help him become that strong?

Grimmjow looked down at his hands. Shinigami don't just show up here in Hueco Mundo. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, see what was really up. Of course, it didn't hurt that her presence may potentially benefit him and his dreams of gaining strength. If she really did something to make Kurosaki stronger, then maybe she could do something about the standstill that he was on.

Grimmjow looked for the Shinigami once more, only to find that she was once again surrounded by Menos. He sighed.

Now, if only she could stay alive until then.

Author's Notes: This update took longer than expected. I wanted to release a chapter per week, but I was held back by work . I want to thank those who placed this fic on their alerts and to those who reviewed. Special thanks to BarbaritaS! your PM made me happy ^^