Hey all! Glad to report my computer's still with us! I've got a dying hard drive... :( -Airumel
-Chapter 11-
Airi followed the Fourth Espada in reluctance. How had this happened? She hadn't questioned anything he'd said before, but now she was doubting herself. How much of her free will has she lost? Escape would be impossible if he had as much control over her as she thought he did.
Only when they arrived in his domain, did Ulquiorra speak, "I heard you fought with a Shinigami and were unable to take him out. That is unacceptable."
She hung her head. The words stung even though she tried to tell herself that she didn't care about his opinion of her.
"You should have been able to use your release and destroy him, instead, he got away and will become stronger himself."
Airi glared up at the taller arrancar. She was actually glad he'd lived. At least Ulquiorra seemed to be unaware that she had been about to dispatch the bald man when she remembered what she was doing. She knew her recent bloodlust wasn't part of her original self and she would do all that she could to keep herself to remain as close to what she had been.
"Now, fight me," Ulquiorra commanded as he drew his sword.
Gladly, thought Airi, drawing her own.
Zezuri awoke safe in her bed a few hours later. Sitting up, the girl noticed her arms were bandaged up with heavily bloodstained strips of fabric. Confused, she began to unwrap her right arm and wondered what in the world happened to her. Underneath, not a single cut, scab, bruise, or scar could be seen. She could not remember what happened at all last night, who's blood was on the fabric, and where was her cape? She'd just noticed the lightness of her outfit on her back. Looking to Airi's bed, she noticed that she was all alone.
Grimmjow appeared in the doorway, scaring the poor girl. He had a new cape for her in his hands.
"Thought I'd check up on ya..." he said quietly, worry in his voice.
"Thanks... but I thought you wanted nothing to do with me..." she responded weakly.
"I don't- I mean I... Here," he tossed the folded cape to her.
"What happened to my other cape? I have no idea what happened last night..." she remembered to ask.
"You don't remember? We were looking for those shards and the damn Shinigamis showed up. Then you-" he suddenly stopped, he thought it would be best not to tell her until he figured out why it happened.
"Then I what?" she asked.
"Nothing... One of the Shinigamis attacked you, Airi bandaged you with your cape."
"Where is she?" she said asking again.
"I don't know. Probably with Ulquiorra or someone. Oh yeah, you here's a new pair of gloves too," he pulled them from his pocket and handed them to her.
He proceeded to sit on the bed next to Zezuri, making her feel very perplexed.
"The shards... is there anything different about them that you can notice?" he tried asking without sounding suspicious.
"Umm I don't think so?" she knit her brow at him.
"D-don't gimme that look! I was just asking!" he said embarrassed.
"A-Are you worried about me?" the brunette suddenly became uneasy.
"NO!" the espada shouted, becoming pink in the cheeks. The moment became very awkward.
The two remained in silence for a moment, both staring at the floor.
"I, uh, I need to get back to Aizen," the Espada excused himself, face still flushed.
"Grimmjow?" Zezuri called after him.
He paused and looked over his shoulder, "Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"...You're welcome," he turned away quickly so she wouldn't see his smile and left the room.
Zezuri watched him go and listened the blue-haired man's footsteps disappeared down the hall.
"We're not done yet," Ulquiorra stared emotionlessly at Airi. She leaned on her sword, kneeling on the floor, trying to catch her breath. A few cuts oozed blood, but it was all the damage she'd sustained in the past few hours she'd been relentlessly training.
"I... can't... take anymore," she gasped.
Unmerciful green eyes stared at her, "As my fraccion, it's not your choice. You will fight me."
Putting all of her weight onto her weapon, Airi pulled herself to her feet. She knew she was disappointing the Fourth Espada, and the fact that she cared bothered her immensely. However, she had no idea how to release the true power of her sword and Ulquiorra wasn't one to provide instructions. The only thing she could do was to continually block his attacks and try to fight back.
A green cero blast shot by and she knew she'd spaced out, "S-sorry!" she shouted and jumped backwards as he charged forth.
"Discard your emotions, they are worthless."
Airi nodded, but inside screamed in fury.
Zezuri was beginning to wonder if something had happened to Airi. Maybe she'd go look for her, she decided. But, as she stepped out of her room, she walked straight into someone.
"Oof! Oh! I'm sorry!" she apologized, "Oh! Airi! You're back!"
Airi remained silent as she slumped to the floor, she was very exhausted after fighting Ulquiorra.
"Ah! You're covered in wounds! I can't believe they do this to you!" the brunette exclaimed, quickly reviving her friend, "Hey, do you think we will go on another mission soon? I'm sorry, I was in the way last time when that Shinigami beat me up," Zezuri became silent as she realized she was talking to herself.
"A Shinigami beat you up?" Airi then asked as she was healed.
"Yeah... That's what Grimmjow told me at least. Why? Did something else happen?" Zezuri became ecstatic with questions again.
Airi looked at her friend suspiciously, Zezuri obviously had no memory of the night before. That and she never talked this much, something had put her in a good mood.
"No. Nothing else happened," Airi said quietly. She rose off the ground and went to her bed without another word.
"Hey... are you alright?" Zezuri asked noticing her friend was acting different.
"Please, just leave me alone..." Airi's words would have sounded annoyed, but her tone was flat and there seemed to be no meaning behind it all. She laid on her bed and faced the wall, her back to Zezuri.
Zezuri sat puzzled, wondering if she said something insulting and didn't know it. Maybe it was all coming true, Airi was starting to hate her she thought. She started to become upset and decided to leave the room.
A trail of tears scattered the hallway as Zezuri tried to figure out what went wrong.
Aizen had called his espada to the throne room to discuss the night before.
"I see... so that girl is the one," Aizen couldn't help but grin. It seemed whatever he had been searching for had come to a close, and what he had planned for the two girls was a success.
"What do you mean 'the one'?" Grimmjow asked, a little tempermental with his attitude.
"The power contained within the shards I have been collecting are identical to Zezuri's, which is why she can lead us to them and bring out their full power. Therefore, she is the one I have been searching for, her friend was also a nice addition," the sinister ex-captain continued to explain.
"Why are you telling me now?" the Sixth Espada struggled to guess at what his leader was thinking.
"You and the brunette have become, rather close, wouldn't you say?" asked Aizen rhetorically, "It would be wise to distance yourself from her. As you've seen, she can be, rather unstable."
Grimmjow tried to hide the scowl he felt coming on.
"She may appear to just be harming herself at the moment, but I would expect any future exposure to become more serious for those around her as well. However, I have another mission for you tomorrow and you will need to take her along as she is the quickest to find the shards."
Giving a shrug, Grimmjow turned and left wordlessly. As he reached the door, he heard the brief swoosh of fabric, as if someone had suddenly dashed off, but looking down the hallway in either direction, he found no one.
Zezuri strode down the hallways of Las Noches quickly. No longer crying, the girl just needed to move, suddenly finding herself in a familiar area, she opened a door and entered a sunny enclosure. The false sunlight didn't make her feel any warmer, but it was a comforting sight in it's surreal light blue sky.
Fully aware of the danger that lurked within this room, the girl seated herself next to the door she'd entered through and leaned back against the wall. The tan colored sand was a relief after countless days spent inside the white palace. Even when she'd been on the last mission, nothing had been this colorful since it had been the dead of night. Staring up at the sky, she realized how much she missed seeing it everyday. How much she missed school, home, her life...
"Hey there!"
"GAH!" Zezuri jumped to her feet and had a hand on the door when she realized it wasn't the scary tall man with the scythe.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you hadn't seen me," a young man, clearly an arrancar by the bone fragment on his head, with sandy brown hair smiled at her, "You must be Zezuri."
She nodded, trying to calm her racing heart.
"I'm Tesla, Nnoitra's fraccion," he extended a hand, "Why don't we sit down, Nnoitra-sama is not here at the moment".
Zezuri took Tesla's gloved hand and he pulled her up onto a nearby rock, "What's a fraccion?" she asked, having heard the word before, but not quite sure what it meant.
When he gave he a puzzled stare, she apologized, "No one really told Airi and I what was going on..." she looked down, fighting back more tears.
"I see, sorry, I guess I didn't realize you were so in the dark on even the basics," the fraccion was a little embarrassed himself, "Well, a fraccion is kind of like a servant; we have to follow all the orders of the Espada we serve."
"What if you don't like what they tell you to do?"
"I'd still have to do it."
"That's horrible!" gasped Zezuri.
Tesla shrugged, "It's not that bad, depending on who you serve. Most of us at least get some protection in return. Not that too many other arrancar would even pick on us in the first place. You have to be pretty strong to be chosen by an Espada."
"Oh, I see," the brunette replied distantly, it still sounded bad to her.
"TESLA!" a voice shouted impatiently.
Alarm crossed his face, "He's back sooner than I thought!" grabbing Zezuri with an arm around the waist, he flashed over to the door, set the startled girl down, and flashed off to heed his master's call.
Zezuri, needing no explanation, pushed open the door and returned to the bleak hallways leaving the sunlight behind.
Zezuri arrived back in the room to find Airi sound asleep, yet her expression on her face was not peaceful. What happened to you, Airi? she wondered, what happened last night?
"Hey," Grimmjow announced his entry.
A faint smile crossed Zezuri's face as she looked up at Grimmjow, but it faded as she saw his expression, "What's wrong? You look like someone died."
"It's nothing."
"No, it's not. And you didn't tell me the truth about last night!" suddenly all of Zezuri's pent up frustration came bubbling up, "What happened to me? What happened to Airi? Why don't I remember?" she demanded.
"I don't know why you don't remember!"
"Then something happened! I knew it! What happened?"
The Espada's temper flared, "I'm not sure! One moment you were fine the next..."
"What?" angry tears welled up in her brown eyes.
"Will you two keep it down?" Airi was sitting up staring at her arguing friends. Looking at the expressions on their faces, she knew that probably wouldn't happen,
"Nevermind," she rose to her feet and walked out of the room.
"Wait... Airi..." Zezuri called behind her friend, but did not receive so much as a glance over her shoulder.
Airi's departure broke the tension in the room, "Oh, that's what you meant..." he muttered.
"Where is she going?" Zezuri wondered, "You know, don't you?" suddenly she whirled back at Grimmjow, determined to get some answers.
"Yeah, I know," he replied distantly, "I was hoping I was wrong about it."
Zezuri's rage subsided, "About what?"
"Ever since we returned, we've seen more and more of that emotionless Fourth Espada, Ulquiorra," he began.
"Yeah?"
"Well, she's an arrancar now... and a decently strong one too."
Zezuri didn't like where this was going, "You mean that...?"
"The Fourth has taken her as his fraccion; she's headed for his domain."
"Can't we stop her?" shouted Zezuri.
Grimmjow shook his head, "Stopping her isn't the problem; it's Ulquiorra who is."
Zezuri gave the Sixth Espada a desperate look, "I'm only the Sixth! Sure, I love a good fight, but that's suicide!"
"But he is turning Airi into a zombie!" the brunette declared, more tears streaming from her eyes.
"Zombie?" Grimmjow said confused, but it didn't matter, he felt like there was something he should do to stop Zezuri's sobbing, "Listen, if we try and stop them now they will make us wish we were dead. You're just gonna have to make Airi remember who she still is on your own!"
Zezuri wiped her eyes and began to calm down, "I guess you're right..." she sighed.
"That means you have to stay strong for the both of you..." he went to put a hand on her shoulder but stopped himself, "I...I need to leave..." he turned but Zezuri gently grabbed the back of his coat.
"Something is happening to me, it's not what happened to Airi, I know that much. But that makes me more afraid, because I don't know what it is... Please, tell me what happened..."
"I...I can't... I mean, I can't explain what happened to you... You reacted to the shard after it touched you. There was so much spiritual pressure emitting from you, it almost crushed us. Then the reason you were bandaged up when you woke is because your body was ripping apart from the pressure as well." he left it at that for Zezuri to contemplate, "I guess only Aizen knows why, so good luck getting answers out of him."
"I knew when I found the shard that it was a bad idea to go near I wish I knew why it was only me..." Zezuri gazed at the floor.
"Aizen also warned us that it is dangerous to be around you. I don't know if he is bluffing or not..." he watched as hope slowly drained from the girl's eyes.
As they stood together silently, the 8th espada made an entrance, "Ah, there you are," he said as Grimmjow and Zezuri both made it clear that he was unwelcome from the glares they gave him. Never the less, he ignored their stares and continued, "Aizen has assigned you a special room due to your condition with the shards. Now if you will follow me."
"So you're just gonna confine her into solitary?" Grimmjow scowled.
"I'm sorry, but you do not fully understand the situation. She is a great threat to you, and as Aizen said, it is best for you to keep your distance, same goes for the rest of us. That is why she will be confined."
Grimmjow's anger rose, but Zezuri put her hand on his. "Please, it will be alright. I can't be in the same room as Airi, it will only bring her more pain. And I won't let it happen to you..." she said quietly.
"You see Grimmjow, she know it is for the best as well. This way, please," Szayel beckoned for the girl to follow.
Zezuri held her head high and walked off without looking behind her. She'd be strong for everyone.
Dun dun dun! Solitary confinement! Poor Zezuri! Anyways, expect more action next time! :D Comments, questions, reviews, etc. We love hearing from you! Until next time! -Airumel