Warning, this chapter is shorter than the last two. But I bet you'll enjoy it anyways. :D -Airumel
-Chapter 6-
Back in Karakura, the high school was still in a state of shock. Two students, who many were sure they'd seen at school the morning of the incident had been found dead of food poisoning in their apartment. Contaminated tofu, the report had read, as a very over date container of the fermented food had been found open on the kitchen table.
But one man knew the truth. Kisuke Urahara had known the risk of Aizen knowing about what he had created. He just hadn't expected him to come so soon and in such large numbers. Ichigo Kurosaki was none the wiser on why Aizen had attacked his school during the day with no warning, but Urahara knew it was only a matter of time before the young man saw through his hasty cover-up. Despite needing to recover what he'd lost, the shopkeeper knew there was a chance to fix the situation without a full out war between Hueco Mundo and Karakura spiritually aware.
Now that darkness had once again covered the city with a moonless sky, the banished captain strode down an alleyway looking for place to hide the contents of his pockets.
"Eh, that you, Kisuke?" a voice curiously asked.
The man jumped back, startled by the voice even though it was familiar, "Oh, hello, Shinji! How are you and the rest doing?"
"Eh, the usual, just staying under the radar and reading whatever Lisa finds," a tall man with chin-length blonde hair stepped from a shadowy doorway.
Urahara continued looking about, "That's good," he replied without much interest.
Shinji arched an eyebrow, "You wouldn't be up to something, now would you be?"
"Who, me? I'm never up to anything!" a nervous laugh escaped from the accused, "Well, at least nothing serious."
The other man looked over Urahara, "Well, if you say so, I guess I'll see you around!" he gave a wave and vanished back into the darkness.
Urahara sighed. He desperately hoped that Shinji and his group would not get involved with his current mess. He'd hurt them enough already. He came along to a burned out lamp on a short post. "That will work," he thought.
Days passed as Airi trained in sword play with Gin and Zezuri was left to wander about escorted by either or her usual guards.
"What do you have to report, Gin?"
The former captain of the third division stood before his leader's throne. Szayel knelt beside where Gin was standing in the otherwise empty throne room.
"Airi has made substantial progress, yet she holds back her full ability. I believe she suspects us," Gin chuckled, "It's clear she doesn't trust any of us."
Aizen nodded, "I expected as much, though she seems a little more resistant than I had initially guessed."
"Aizen-sama, if I may," Szayel spoke.
The leader silently gave his approval for the Espada to speak.
"On the topic of the blonde, she has reiatsu off the chart; she should be much stronger than what Gin-sama has informed me of. It surprises me she has not succumbed to the hunger for power she must be feeling by now with the tonic running in her system."
"I think she is more powerful than we thought, but if she can not reach that power, then she is of no use to us," remarked Gin.
The expression on Aizen's face remained neutral, "What of the other girl?"
"Zezuri seems to be experiencing early-stage development of shinigami-like powers," the researcher pulled out his notebook and flipped through it, "Though weak in reiatsu and completely resistant to the tonic despite increases to its concentration, she appears to be aware of the reiatsu of others. My guess it that she can see it visibly over her normal vision, but she has not made any mention of it to me. I believe she may trust Espada Six, however. Whether or not either or them are aware of it, she seems comfortable in his presence."
Aizen's eyes narrowed, the girl's lack of power was concerning and not what he had expected at all. Why did only one girl display such amplified powers and the other resemble a Shinigami, he could not say, "Gin, Szayel, listen closely," he addressed his minions...
The next morning, or whatever time it actually was in Hueco Mundo, Aizen returned to the Girls room, followed by Szayel and Ulquiorra.
Airi and Zezuri were surprised as this visit seemed different than usual. They also noticed their regular guards were not there when they awake a few moments ago. Aizen and the others remained silent as Szayel strided over to Zezuri and gave her another short checkup to see if anything changed.
After brief moments of silence, Szayel shook his head in Aizen's direction as he returned with a short nod.
"What's going on?" asked Zezuri confused.
"Your presence is no longer required," Aizen responded stoically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Airi demanded with her anger rising, "Why don't you people ever explain anything!"
Just as Ulquiorra was coming over to remove the brunette, Airi stepped in front of him.
"I know you aren't returning her back home! If you kill her, you'll have to kill me too!"
But Airi's threats were in vain as Ulquiorra effortlessly struck her down with his hand, knocking her unconscious. He continued in Zezuri's direction, grabbing her by the arm.
Zezuri began to show restraint and attempted to pull away but the Espada's grip was iron as he drug her out of the room.
"AIRI!" Zezuri yelled out as she continued to struggle.
Ulquiorra kept pulling her down the hallway with the distraught girl still yelling and struggling.
"Let me go! You're hurting me!" she began to hit him with her free hand.
"Aizen has instructed me to relieve him of the useless 'Trash'," he finally spoke.
They arrived at the entrance which Zezuri gazed at with confusion.
"I thought you were-" she was then cut off.
"No one wants to take them time to have your blood on their hands. You can wander out here until your imminent death," he said, as the doors opened.
He shoved her out into the desert, and shut the doors quickly behind her.
"Wait-!" it was too late as the giant doors were already closed.
Zezuri didn't know what to do. She couldn't get through the doors even though she pounded on them and pleaded to be let back in. She looked behind her in awe at the vast desert and then turned her head to wherever she heard a distant howl.
"I'm going to get eaten..." she thought.
She continued to look about, hoping to see a safer place to hide. But it was futile as there was nothing on the horizon except more sand. Looking down at the course material beneath her, she let some slide between her fingers before dusting herself off.
"I've got to try..." she decided as she began to walk off into the distance.
Airi came to shortly after Zezuri was cast out. The lights were dim again, which the girls took to be the arrancars way signalling the night time. It was almost as if these lights resembled the sun, being so bright in almost total darkness, except for the moon.
Grimmjow was just returning to his shift and found Airi to be alone.
"Is she with Szayel or somethin'?" he asked.
Airi sat in silence as she recalled the moments before she was knocked out. "No she... she's..." Airi began to cry into her hands, believing her best friend to be dead.
Ulquiorra appeared in the doorway to inform Grimmjow of the situation but before he could say a word, Airi was up and charging at the dark Espada.
"You bastard!" some kind of pressure flowed from her body but Ulquiorra stopped her again blocking her strike with his forearm.
"I didn't kill her. I do not even know if she is dead yet. If she is smart enough, she probably found refuge, but that is unlikely. The Hollows react quickly to the scent of a human," his doomful gaze remained on Airi until she backed off.
Airi felt a sense of relief but still feared for her friend's life.
"Huh...I guess it was only a matter of time..." muttered Grimmjow averting his eyes over to the window.
"How dare you! Zezuri isn't weak, she can make it out of here! I know she will!" Airi retorted.
"On her own? It looked more to me that she relied on you more than anything. Without someone to shelter her, she is useless and weak. You just need to accept it," Ulquiorra said cooly but it felt like knives to Airi as it was a truth she didn't want to believe.
"I don't believe you. She may not have physical strength, but she's at least a better person than either of you! Or anyone here!" As Airi's temper rose she found herself wanting power more than ever. Power to take down the dark haired Espada who towered over her, to save Zezuri, to get home. She clenched her hands into fists wanting it all so bad.
Grimmjow growled, "I don't see why Aizen didn't just throw you out too! After all, you're nothing but a weakling too!"
Airi shifted her glare to the guard still seated in the doorway. He did have a point though, why hadn't she been thrown out as well. The brief thought flashed through her mind, but left terror in its passing.
"What's all this racket for?" a fourth figure entered the room.
"None of your concern, Starrk," muttered Grimmjow.
"It's classified on Aizen-sama's orders," Ulquiorra spoke at the same moment.
A frown crossed the other Espada's face as he arched an eyebrow, "Okay, then, I won't ask." Silently he wondered what Aizen was up to. He felt a questioning gaze upon him.
Airi stared at Starrk, recognizing him from when she and Zezuri had just been brought here, "They've thrown out Zezuri!" She choked out through her anger and rage.
Starrk blinked, "Is that so?" he spoke softly while trying to fit the pieces together.
Tears formed in Airi's eyes. Why had she just blurted that? This man wouldn't help Zezuri. He was in league with all the rest.
"Heeeeey! Staaaaaaarrrrkk!" a female voice called from down the hall, "Come out, come out where ever you are!"
The brown-haired Espada sighed, "Lilynette, I'm in here," he spoke as a scantily clad female arrancar passed by the door.
She jumped, "Hey! That's not how you play hide and seek!" Lilynette made a quick pouting face to Starrk before realizing there were others present, "Oh hey! A party!"
Grimmjow wondered how Starrk managed to put up with his fraccion. If any of his had ever acted in such a crazy manner he would have seen to their destruction personally.
Ulquiorra stared emotionlessly at Airi, ignoring Lilynette.
"No, not a party. I was just passing by, looking for somewhere quiet to take a nap. Away from you."
"Awwww! But Staaarrrk! That's all you ever do!"
"If you were ever quiet, then maybe I'd get some decent sleep..."
The two glared at each other briefly.
"Can you two take your lover's spat somewhere else?" moaned Grimmjow.
Starrk and his fraccion gave the blue haired Espada a disgusted look.
"Airi, was it? You shouldn't blame these two, they're just following Aizen's orders. And his word is law around here," Starrk and Lilynette exited the room.
The words of the other Espada slowly sunk in as Airi sank down to her bed. She made a mental note to apologize to Grimmjow; after all he'd never hurt her. But, as for Ulquiorrra, she still raged at him for knocking her unconscious.
"I must return to Aizen-sama," stated Ulquiorra as he too left the room.
Grimmjow let out a sigh of relief; peace and quiet at last.
Airi stretched out on her bed trying to figure out a new plan of escape. Maybe she wouldn't be able to protect Zezuri, but she wasn't about to let her friend die alone in the monster-infested desert.
Zezuri felt as if she wandered for hours, and her legs couldn't take anymore. She sat quietly on a high dune, alone with her thoughts. She wondered what would become of Airi, then she thought about home again.
"I wonder what that Ichigo boy is up to?" she smiled remembering one of the few people she'd actually talked with at school.
She tried thinking about what would of life have been like if this never happened. Airi would of gone on to be a scientist of some sort, and Zezuri still felt undecided about anything. High school came so fast, she never thought about her future before. It certainly wouldn't of had any of this in it.
Zezuri stood once again to continue her trek in the desert. As she began to walk, she noticed the ground shift beneath her feet.
"W-woah-" she had no time to think as the sand fell into the ground and so did she.
She continued to fall into darkness and braced herself for the ground but felt something catch her in midair.
They landed on a nearby tree, bare of leaves and just a lighter shade of black than the night sky. Once Zezuri got a good look at her rescuer she let out a scream. Though the arms that held her were human, a frightening mask shielded the face of the figure and his back was covered in fur.
"Silence! The Menos will hear us..." it spoke softly with a deep voice, putting his hand over her mouth to stop the screaming.
Zezuri nodded silently, not knowing what a menos was, but deciding that she didn't want to find out just yet.
The strange figure brought her to a cave that looked like it had been lived in for a long time. Zezuri was placed on her feet as she backed away, trying to get a better view of the figure who saved her.
The man who had saved her wore a large horned mask, that had frightened her earlier. He also had a woolen cloak and a tattered black uniform. Now certain they were safe for the moment, he removed the mask and cloak to reveal his true form. He had shaggy dark auburn hair, free of any bone fragment, and Zezuri didn't seem to notice any hole on his body like the Arrancars did.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" he began to ask.
Zezuri was taken aback by the sudden intensity of the questions.
"I'm sorry, it's just... I thought I sensed something odd and then all of a sudden, a human spirit falls on me out of nowhere!" He laughed in attempt to lighten the mood, noticing her nervously fidget with the hem of her cape, "It's not every decade that I get a visitor, you know."
"I-I'm Zezuri," the girl began nervously, "I was brought here by a man n-named A-Aizen, and..." he voice wavered.
The man then noticed the metal bracelet on her wrist. Zezuri noticed what he was looking at and held it up.
"T-they put this on me..." she began to explain but then was surprised when the stranger drew his sword and grabbed her arm.
"Hey...!" she said startled but he continued to raise his weapon and quickly struck the device, breaking it off her wrist.
"Thank you?" she was confused. The bracelet didn't have much effect on her anymore, she had almost forgot it was on her arm.
"Sorry, it was suspicious. They can't hurt you here anymore," he sheathed his sword, "I am Ashido, and I'm... a Shinigami..."
Meanwhile Gin was in some sort of control room watching a large monitor.
Grimmjow managed to walk by and noticed Zezuri on the screen, moments before her bracelet was removed, "I see how it is, this was part of a plan," he said bitterly. He was quite frustrated of Aizen playing games in his domain.
"Tsk cat's out of the bag!" Gin replied. " The bracelet was a diversion. Throwing her out was Aizen's actual plan."
"What makes you guys think they have any power at all? They'll just turn on you," Grimmjow said.
"No they won't. You haven't." Gin smiled. "Neither have the rest of you. All Aizen needs is you to fear him and you will do his bidding."
Grimmjow felt like nothing would please him more then breaking Gin's neck. He hated anyone questioning his abilities and making him the weak servant. Before Aizen, Grimmjow was a King, and he fought and killed, devouring his way to the top and becoming an Espada. He had joined AIzen's forces in hopes of becoming even more powerful, but now he was just some lacky being tossed around because of these two girls Aizen had brought into their world. And for what purpose? No one had felt that he should know!
"Don't go trying to screw up Aizen's plans now, Grimmjow. Using the ladies to get revenge won't have any benefit to you," Gin warned wily.
Airi couldn't sleep. Ever since Szayel had injected her with the tonic, she hadn't had any nightmares, that at least she was thankful for, but tonight, sleep would not come.
Grimmjow had returned to replace Luppi hours ago. He'd seemed quite troubled by something, an expression of which Airi had never seen on the Espada's face. Occasionally he glanced at her, but never spoke.
"May I come in?" an all too familiar voice made Airi cringe.
Grimmjow grunted and admitted Szayel, who walked in and set a tray on the bed next to Airi.
She sat up and looked up at him bleakly.
"Here's your dinner," he gave an mocking bow.
Airi looked at the food, but decided against eating once she saw the contents of the mug.
Szayel gazed down at the girl, "I'd advise you drink that or we'll be taking a trip to my laboratory."
Fearing her safety, Airi picked up the glass and chugged its contents. Before she could place the cup back on the tray, a burning sensation consumed her. "Ahhh!" she yelled in pain, the cup fell to the floor and shattered.
The Eighth Espada took a step backwards as power surged in unstable waves from the girl.
"What the hell did you just do?" Yelled Grimmjow, leaping to his feet, "Where's that power coming from?"
A chuckle issued from Szayel which grew into laughter, "All part of the plan, Grimmjow!"
"Dammit! What plan?"
Airi was unable to hear anything more; something thundered in her mind blocking out all other sound, but it was incomprehensible. The burning feeling surged through every limb of her body. She wanted nothing more than to jump out of her skin. Then, the pain receded all at once, as if she had fallen into a pool of water. The room came back into focus and all she saw was an onlooker in the hallway before she passed out and crumpled on her bed.
Szayel had left before Airi had collapsed, to make his report to Aizen, only after dodging all of Grimmjow's questions. Now only the blue haired Espada remained sitting in the doorway trying to make sense of what he had just seen.
Ulquiorra swept in silently.
Airi lay in a rather uncomfortable position on the bed; her hair was in the food on the tray that Szayel had left behind. She breathed deeply, fast asleep.
Making sure he didn't step in the broken ceramic on the floor, the Fourth Espada moved the tray off the bed. He gazed at her briefly and left the room as silently as he had entered.
Aishido decided to let the girl sleep after all the wandering in the desert she done earlier. He got all the information he could out of her about the presence of Aizen in Hueco Mundo.
"Something must of happened in the Soul Society..." he thought.
He had a fire built and tossed in the metal bracelet he removed from Zezuri's arm, realizing it to be a tracking device. He decided to not tell the girl to keep her from worrying further.
"They will return for her... She must still be of value to them..." Ashido continued to ponder.
Zezuri began to stir awake, drawn to the warm the of the fire.
"Did you sleep well? I'm sorry the floor of a cave isn't the most comfortable of surfaces," Ashido apologized.
"It's alright. The beds there were the same, but this cave is more cozy than that place," she said politely. "I was always afraid that Szayel guy would come from me in the night and kill me..."
"What a horrible man... I'm sorry that all this has had to happen to the two of you. I still don't understand myself..." Ashido began to quietly think to himself again. He wasn't used to having company around to talk to.
"They kept trying to make us powerful by putting spirit energy into us with a serum. I don't know why they would choose us..." Zezuri spoke, hoping Ashido would have some answers.
"No... they wouldn't of just choose two strange girls... unless..." Ashido finally realized the truth, "You never noticed?" he asked the confused Zezuri.
"Notice what?" she knit her brow.
"In the human world... nothing strange happened to you?"
"No... not until a few days before they kidnapped us."
"You must of had the power with you all along... they weren't trying to give you power... You already had it."
Zezuri was stunned, she could not believe she had any power before. She never did anything that made her a freak of nature like some kind of superhero. "That's impossible..." words escaped her mouth. The idea had never crossed her mind.
"From what you told me, you can notice spiritual energy. And the presence I sensed before I caught you... It's almost like you're a Shinigami..." Ashido could also not believe it, but it was all too possible. "But you'd have to be..." he suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "Is your chain of fate severed!" he asked.
Zezuri was at a loss but then recalled a dream from the first night she slept in Hueco Mundo, when a chain connected to her chest had broken apart.
"It was a just a dream I thought..." she said.
"Then you are some sort of Shinigami..."
Her face changed to grief as the girl realized the truth, "I-I'm... already dead..." she began to panic, her body trembling. Zezuri remained motionless, as she clenched her chest. "I-I can never go home?" she began to shriek with despair, but then she started to emit a large amount of spiritual energy.
"Zezuri!" Ashido called out but the force of pressure was keeping him away from the brunette.
What will happen to the girls? Will Zezuri survive the Menos forest and come to terms with her death? What's going on with Airi? Find out next time! XD -Airumel (and yeah, I'm a scientist in real life, a biologist, actually)