(Back to Chie)

As I approached Ulquiorra-sama's room, I slowed to a comfortable walking pace.

I knocked on the door cautiously.

"Who is it?" he asked monotonously. It sounded more like a demand than a question.

"Chikara Konoe, your Fraccion. The first training session starts now," I stated simply.

Instinctively, I backed away from the door as I heard footsteps coming towards it. The door opened slowly and Ulquiorra-sama stepped out, a bruise covering one of his eyes, a slight crack in his mask and scratches and cuts coating the rest of his body.

I peered into his room, Halibel strolling over casually with her arms folded under her chest.

I gulped nervously.

"A-are you okay?" I managed.

"I'm... Fine." Seriously? You expect me to believe that bullshit when you're covered in cuts, scratches, bruises, and all the rest?

"...Whatever you say," I muttered.

He turned around to finish his 'business' with Halibel, who elbowed him sharply in the stomach. The force was enough to make him bring up a mouthful of blood. I clasped my hands over my mouth in shock and backed up against the wall opposite the door.

"You're not finished yet," Halibel said to the shorter Espada.

He wiped his hand over his mouth and straightened himself up, sending a glare Halibel's way which she returned promptly.

"I'm... Sorry," he apologised, turning to face me.

"For...?" Halibel urged him to go on.

"...Attempting to cero you when you had done nothing deserving of it," he finished.

"...Okay..." was all I could manage through the surprise, barely audibly.

She nodded politely at me, as if to say "Goodbye". I nodded back automatically.

I stared inattentively at the figure as she strode down the long hall, trying to dissect the situation and figure out what had just happened, only coming back to reality when I felt myself being picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder. I'll admit, I actually missed this.

Silence lingered in the air around us. I felt the need to start a conversation, so I did.

"Are you really okay?" I asked in no more than a whisper.

He gazed straight forward blankly. Fine then, ignore me. Why should I be concerned about your health anyways?

...Why am I concerned?

I shook my head, throwing the thoughts and the confusion that came with them away.

I licked my finger thoughtlessly and smeared it over one of the cuts on his cheek. When I was alive, it normally helped my injuries. Let's see if it works in the afterlife, too.

"What are you doing?" he flinched, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Stop moving, it's working," I smiled.

He thought nothing of it and allowed me to continue. The smaller cuts faded shortly after application of my saliva. The larger ones took a little longer, but they were visibly fading too.

"Why didn't you heal on your own? Most of these cuts are so minor," I peered at him curiously.

"Halibel-san injected me with some sort of substance that has disabled my regeneration. I assume she has obtained it from Szayel, because in the battle I have been notably weaker also," he replied, wiping his cheek with his free hand.

"Stop that," I said as I pushed his hand away. He continued to try. So persistent. He only stopped when I interlaced my fingers in his. Realising what I had done, I blushed furiously, looking away shyly but refusing to release my grip on his hand.

"H-how did it all start anyway?" I stuttered.

"She asked me to apologise, which I refused to do. She then injected me with the liquid and instinctively I fought back. Though a single rank makes a large difference. She didn't even need a quarter of her strength to defeat me, though I think Szayel is partially to blame for that. You then showed up, and that is where it ended," he replied nonchalantly, completely oblivious to the fact that I was healing him. And holding his hand. Just thinking about it made me blush harder.

"Do you think we should check with Szayel to see how long the effects will last?" I asked.

"I suppose we could. But I highly doubt it would last much longer." I nodded in agreement with his statement. Halibel-san doesn't seem like the type of person to try to permanently disable Aizen's precious Cuatro, and I don't think Szayel has anything against him, so it's unlikely that he created the potion to do as mentioned above.

I heard swords clash as he let me down. As my feet hit the sand, I realised my grip on his hand and glanced around; the desert. I looked to the left, where the clash came from. I watched intently at the scene; Grimmjow was training Kitsune, quite hard actually. She charged for him again and without any effort, he knocked her a few feet away, chuckling.

"What was that?" I heard him chuckle as he strode over to his Fraccion, sword resting over his shoulder. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that, Kitsune."

"Yes, Grimmjow-sama," she said, lifting herself up to her feet.

"That isn't how you train your Fraccion, trash," Ulquiorra-sama argued.

"Fuck off, I've trained five other Fraccion who came out just fine and-"

"Four of them are dead."

"Goddamn Shinigami..." he muttered under his breath. "Alright then, how about you show me how it's done?"

Before he could respond, I pushed into the conversation and cheerily said, "Challenge accepted!"

(YAY! We're almost at chapter twenty, meaning piccy linky, and I shall reveal her Zanpakuto! I also think I might make the next chapter a bit longer than the average... I don't know, I can't really write battle scenes too well. But yeah, review and chapters will come quicker :P bai bai now ^^)