Dear readers, I love you all(: You are my motivation to continue this ff!

I'm posting this chapter as a new year present! less than 2hrs to 2012! Forgive me if this chapter is terrible, cos I was writing it while drinking, and I might be a little tipsy(:

This one will be about Skye's past, so hopefully it will shed some light on her character. o.o Enjoy!

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I love you till infinity ends.

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"that was what happened between me and Taeda."

Skye

My voice cracked as I forced myself to continue. "he loved me so much. We were so happy together...And then everything changed."

It had been two weeks and three days since she last saw him. Where had he gone to?

He seemed to have distanced himself from her over the last few months. Sure, they had made love, cuddled and did most things together, but she could not shake off this feeling. He felt so far away. His eyes wouldn't focus on hers whenever they embraced. Sometimes he laughed for no reason. And his reiatsu increased dramatically. She could sense it. He had become much more powerful. Even his hair, brown at first, had turned to white. 'overexposure to reiatsu', he said.

However, the strangest thing about him now was his disappearances. He explained to
her about the effectiveness of training alone. 'I want to become stronger so that I could protect you from anything.' he had told her when she asked him about it. But somehow, she felt as though he was lying about what he had been doing during his disappearances. "no. Taeda is not this kind of person." she quickly dismissed any stray thoughts.

"I was so naive back then. Stupidly trusting everything he told me." I glanced at Byakuya. He was looking outside the window, but his attention was on me. "I was wrong."

It was a windy night. No moon, no stars, no clouds. She stared at the bare sky, wondering where he had been. "Almost a month," she mused. "come back, Taeda." Sighing, she closed her eyes and drifted away.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a silver haired teenager smiling down at her. Too shock to do anything else, she made a reach for her zanpakutou.

"ya don't have ta defend yerself," the man grinned. "I'm a friend."

"who are you?" she asked as she backed away, still wary of the unknown person with a big smile.

"I'm bringin' ya ta see Taeda. Don't ya wanna see him?"

At the mention of her lover's name, she felt herself letting out a breath she did not know she was holding. "yeah. Do you know where is he?"

She watched as he grinned even bigger. "come on."

I stopped, not knowing if I should continue. It was personal, and I never had the courage to tell others about my past. And no one asked. Well technically speaking, Byakuya didn't ask me about it too. I just felt that he should know.

Speaking of Byakuya, he seemed to sense my discomfort, because he finally shifted his gaze on me. He kneeled down on the tatami mat in my room to make himself more comfortable, all the while silently beckoning me to continue with his eyes.

"That person with a big grin" I continued as I made myself comfortable, "was Ichimaru Gin."

"See? That's him over there!" the guy pointed to a small figure in the clearing, not once dropping the smile etched on his face.

Taeda. Taeda! She smiled as she ran towards the figure. The closer she got, however, the more she started to worry. Something is wrong, she can sense it. She noticed that the white haired guy, whom she guessed must be Taeda, was not alone. There was other...things on the ground. Things...they looked more like bodies, she thought. Another huge wave of reiatsu was released. She tried to move forward with much difficulty. She could now see his features. His eyes held a wild look she had never seen on him before. His grin was so big, just like the silvered hair man who brought her here. His clothes were tattered and bloodied. All in all, if it wasn't for the zanpakutou he was holding, she would never admit that the guy in front of her was her lover. He did not appear to have noticed her yet. "you hollows are nothing compared to me!" he shouted as he sliced the monster he was battling into half. She hesitated. This guy is much too volatile to be Taeda. What if it's a trap? Her brain started making useless assumptions. What if someone was impersonating as Taeda just to kill me? Who was the silvered hair man? As she stood there contemplating on her actions, he finally turned and saw her. "Minori! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

She froze. The voice. She cannot be mistaken. He is Taeda. "Say...you look so tasty today. How did you find this place?" This time, the voice was sounded so near she looked up in fright. "Don't scare me." she muttered, one hand covering heart. "What are you doing here?" she did not feel so confident near him anymore.

"Getting stronger, of course." he paced himself in circles around her, watching her, like how a predator watches his prey.

She shivered involuntarily. Her instincts had told her to flee, but it was Taeda! She couldn't run from him. He's the only one she had. "you...you sound..." the word 'evil' was on the tip of her tongue. She swallowed it, of course. How could she use that word to describe him? "…different." she carefully chose the word to not upset him.

To her surprise, he laughed. It wasn't his usual laugh; this one had menace dripping over it. She couldn't help but back away from him. "Of course I'm different. Do you feel my reiatsu? It's like a never ending river! God, I need to thank sempai for that!"

She looked at him confused and afraid at the same time. "Sempai?"

Suddenly, he whipped his head in her direction and growled, barring his teeth at her. Her, of all people. She flinched, finally aware of how dangerous he had become. "Do not speak of sempai in such an indifferent manner, you understand?" she nodded slowly, still taking in his abnormal behaviour.

"Now, where were we?" he relaxed again. "See those bodies over there?" he pointed at a pile of carcasses on the blood stained ground. "I killed them. All of them." he put his hands on her shoulders, willing her to look at him. When she did, he spoke excitedly, "see? I am stronger now! I can definitely protect you! We do not need to hide anymore! Sempai promised to make me the head of his army when the time is right, and..."

She moved away from his grab, trying to take in everything he said. So he lied to her, she thought bitterly, just to chase for power, the very thing her sister warned her against. He left her alone, for a month, without a trace, just to senselessly kill these hollows. For what? She did not understand. For the first time, she found herself unable to stand by his decisions.

"why?" she asked him.

He looked at her, confusion written plainly in his eyes. "Why do you do all this? Why did you lie to me?" she voiced out all the questions in her head.

He frowned, not expecting her disapproval. "I want to protect you, from these disgusting creatures that took Kara's life." she opened her mouth, ready to retort, but he stopped her. "Sempai saw me practicing two months ago, and promised to help me become stronger. He understood my pain, understood my desire to protect you but unable to do so. He was there for me! Anyway, he helped me, at a price, of course. I could not tell you about him."

"Then why are you telling me now?" she asked with a hint of anger. He spoke of his 'sempai' with such admiration and respect, it made her jealous. He sounded as though his 'sempai' held a more important position in his heart than her. She did not like his 'sempai' at all.

"He told me that he could make you stronger too! And that once we both become powerful beings, we can rule the world together with him!" his eyes shone as he spoke of that.

She paled at what he said. Rule the world? She did not want that. She did not want to become stronger. Shaking her head, she dismissed her doubts about him. How could she be so naive, thinking that he will still be the same even if he became stronger. No, he's not the Taeda she knew anymore. He's the very person she feared he become.

She shook her head, body quivering as she turned away from him. "no."

She heard his sharp intake of breath. "wha...but I thought..."

"No. Did you even ask for my opinion? I don't want to be some fucking ruler!"

"Now, don't be unreasonable. We both know what you desire, deep down, even though you refuse to admit. I'm helping you achieve what you want!"

"what I want right now, is for you to open your fucking eyes and look at yourself! You are forcing me to accept something I do not want!"

"no, you are the one who should just shut up and listen to me! Sempai said you will be happier-"

"what do your sempai know, huh?" she raised her arms over her shoulder as they engaged in a verbal dispute. She made sure to sneer when she said 'sempai'.

He glared back at her. "I told you not to do that!"

"do what?" she said exasperately. "speak of your perfect sempai?"

His eyes were of fury. She had never seen him acting this way in front of her, but she was too irate to care.

"you can ask your fucking sempai to go to hell." she spat, not noticing how his knuckles turned white from grabbing his zanpakutou too hard. "from what I gathered, it looks to me that he had some fucking mind control-"

She did not finish her sentence, for within the next second, she was pushed to the ground roughly. Finally, she saw what she should have seen long ago. How could she miss that? He looked like he was ready to kill her. She realised that she had stepped out of the line. 'He chose his sempai over me' she thought bitterly. 'some stranger over his love.'

"do you care to repeat that?" He knelt down, shadow looming over her.

Oh, to hell with that, she thought angrily. "I said, you can ask your fucking bastard of a sempai to go to hell. I would never, in my entire existence, train with that bitch, nor would I rule some fucking kingdom with him." She said defiantly. "If you want to follow him that much, be my guest."

Within seconds, he had his zanpakutou on her throat. He pulled her up forcefully as his other hand pulled her head back roughly. She saw everything from hurt, anger, despise, to hate. But she didn't find what she was looking for. Hesitation. Was he going to kill her just like that? In cold blood? She didn't know what he would do anymore, he was all but soul.

"not so brave now, are you?" he countered. He grazed her neck with his zanpakutou, watching in delight as blood started oozing out of the fine wound.

She, on the other hand, was scared to death. Perhaps dying by her lover's hands is merciful enough. She killed her sister, after all. "why are you like this?" she asked quietly, forcing herself to calm down.

"I think I can answer' that." She turned in time to see the silvered hair man in between them, holding his zanpakutou away from her neck with JUST HIS HANDS! Just who is this guy? "ya are s'pposed ta convince her ta join us,not killin' her, Hakishima~"

"Mind your own business, slimy bastard." He seethed. "sempai asked me to complete this task."

"Well boy, I was assigned ta another task."

She may not have comprehended the entire situation, but she felt as though she was the task they described. Should it happen in a lighthearted manner, she would feel insulted for being referred to as a task. But right now, she is battling with her own death, Taeda's strange behavior and the weird turn of events. The entire situation overwhelmed her. It felt like she was a part of a great plan to overtake the world. She shook her head at the thought, quickly dismissing her ridiculous idea.

A shout from Taeda brought her out of her thoughts.

"He would never do that to me!" He roared, swinging his zampakutou at the constipated face man.

They seem to be fighting, completely forgetting her presence. She watched the battle, half wanting to escape, but her curiosity got the better of her. She had never seen two powerful beings fighting before, it was somehow...exhilarating.

I looked down at my feet, reminiscing about the fight. It was supposed to be a fight between two Shinigamis,but I have always had this unsettling feeling that Taeda was being controlled, reduced to a fighting machine. I remember how scared I was of Taeda. I did not want him to win. It was funny, thinking about it now, how I secretly rooted for Gin to win, when I didnt even know his name.

"he died?" I was snapped out of my anamnesis. "your...lover. He died?" Byakuya repeated the question.

I managed a small smile. It started raining again.

"stop. Stop! Oh fuck, stop! Please, please! I beg you, please!" she screamed. She ran towards the two battling souls; the only thing on her mind was 'not Taeda!' She witnessed his rapidly diminishing power as the silvered hair man broke his zanpakutou with ease. The killing aura from the stranger was so strong, not even his relaxed battling form could hide it. She believed that he could be saved. From whatever darkness he had fallen into. She loved him! Didnt that count as something?

"ya shouldn't beg fer his mercy. He's destined to die."

She decided then and there that that was the most ridiculous statement she've heard. No one is destined to die! No, she would make sure he lived.

She stepped between him and the stranger, stretching her hands out protectively as the unknown man got ready to land the final blow on him. "Don't. Don't do it, please. I'll...I'll do anything that you ask. Just let him go. Please." she begged desperately.

The man stopped grinning at her words, as though seriously contemplating on her offer. "ya would do anything ta make sure he's not killed?"

She nodded solemnly, preparing herself for his demands.

"How about I kill both of ya?" the strange man smiled again.

Before she could reply, she heard a cough behind. Swiftly turning and squatting beside him, she patted on his back as he coughed out blood. "Taeda!"

However, he did not seem happy to see her. He pushed her away from him, staring at her in disgust. "Don't put your filthy hands on me! You are a disgrace to sempai!" He grabbed a piece of his damaged zanpakutou. "I would deal with you after I killed her." he snarled at the stranger before turning back to her.

She was scared shitless. His eyes reflected her death, and she could do nothing to stop him. She was unarmed and too hurt to retaliate. "Goodbye, Minori. To think I actually loved you."

She closed her eyes, preparing for the stab. She heard a gurgling noise as the cold merciless weapon connected with flesh, but felt no pain. Perhaps death wasn't as painful as she thought.

"Hey ya can open yer eyes now!" Why could she still hear the stranger's voice? Did he die with her too? "Yer not dead, so open yer eyes!"

Confused, she opened her eyes, one at a time, trying to assess the situation. 'Oh no, no, no, this is not happening', she thought. She was looking at him, his eyes wide open, life draining out of him. It was then that she saw the sword that was sticking out of his body. Shaking her head, she tried desperately to contain her tears as she ran towards him. "Don't…don't die." She whispered. "Oh shit, don't leave me, please. Please don't die!" She locked gaze with him, willing him to whisper the three words that she missed so much.

He didn't. His gaze held anger and madness, no love, no sorrow, for leaving her behind. "Fuck you." He spat out blood as he opened his mouth. "You deserve to…die. Sempai…he will kill you."

"That was his last words to me." My hands tightened around my robes. No words of comfort or affection; Taeda died hating me.

I felt a warm hand covering my own. "Yet you love him." Byakuya stated.

"I think I realised now. I loved him." I said quietly. "But I just can't seem to let him go."

"What happened to Taeda san? He sounded…" Byakuya's voice trailed off.

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

She calmed down, knowing he will never return.

"Yer alright?"

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice coarse from all the sobbing. She didn't know whether to trust him. But then again, she had no where to go, no one to stay with.

He opened his slit eyes, revealing his red orbs. "I'm Gin."

"You killed him." She stated.

"I was ordered ta kill Taeda…an' capture ya." I froze. "Don't worry. Yer not dead yet, an' won't be anytime soon." He started walking, motioning me to follow. "He was a failed experiment, that's why I was sent ta kill him. Yer s'pposed ta be his replacement."

"So his sempai wanted to kill him?"

"Yer right."

"Who is sempai?" She finally asked the question tingling in her head ever since Taeda first spoke of him.

"Ain't telling ya. Unless ya want ta be killed."

Looking at Gin's retreating form, she wondered what would happen to her. "Are you bringing me to sempai?"

"Not unless ya want ta."

"Why are you helping me?"

He paused. "Yer remind meh of someone…I left. Can't let ya get hurt. Come'on."

"Thank you." She supposed it was right to thank him after he saved her, even though he killed Taeda.

"Yer welcome! Now, let's go an' get yer zanpakutou. Yer be following me from now on." She stumbled behind him. Gin did not answer all her questions. She would know the truth, eventually. Nothing could be hidden forever.

I really had no time to reply to the reviews individually, so I shall post it here o.o

Indescribable music: Love you(: Thanks for your review! I will work harder!

Ficchii: Thank you! Oh sorry I didn't realise but thanks for correcting me! I shall change to fukutaicho from now on -.- I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sakura-Glow: I owe you a big thank you for your compliment! *blushes* Btw I realised that I've read your ff before. It's really nice and I hope i can write as well as you someday!

Goodbye for now! I wish everyone a happy new year and hopefully 2012 will be a better year for all of you! Until then! Have fun!