Karin POV
I racked my brain for someway to save myself. I had on Gin's estimate a month or two to live and the last thing I would probably see would be Toushirou being too late to save me.
Wait! I had Soul Reaper training doesn't that mean that I'll just be a... No. I keep forgeting that the pills Kisuke gave me only acted until I returned to my body. I'm still only human.
Ichigo fought Aizen and won once right? Maybe he can do it again? Not with all the espada in the way...
How many people are coming to save me? Is anybody coming? I doubt the Head-Captain would give permission to chase after Aizen when they didn't know what he could do now that he was out of the seal.
Didn't Aizen still have the Hogyoku inside him when he was sealed? Where is it now? That's probably what he was using to bring the dead espada back... If I could just get it from him. What if it was still inside of him? He looks normal like he did when he first rebelled against the Soul Society. Why?
If it was still inside him then it may be so that they would underestimate him. And my brother is just stupid enough to fall for it. Gah! This is so frustrating.
Suddenly I only had one thought on my mind. Not that I was going to die. Not that I'd never go home again. Not even that I wouldn't get to tell Toushirou I love him. No the thought on my mind is I wouldn't be back on time to return to school when my suspension was up... Wow what silly things you think of when death is close.
Gin led Nnoitra out of the room without giving me anything to cover myself. Great. Not only was I going to die, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra would most likely see me half naked. That just made my day...
I fell onto my side and curled up in a ball. I was positive that my neck was terribly bruised and I still could only take in shallow breath. Just as I started to close my eyes and sleep I finally came up with an idea that could very possibly save my life. However it would be hard to pull off alone. Maybe Grimmjow and Ulquiorra would help. They did say they wanted to leave here.
But then I'd have to convince the Soul Reapers to let them live. Why do plans have to be so complicated?
If I could convince Aizen that I'd work for him then he would spare me right? But I would have to come up with something that would make me valuable to him... If I could come up with that I could possibly live. And I'd get actual clothes...Wow this day just got better.
I stared at my demolished shirt where it lay on the floor a few feet in front of me and thought of how different it would feel to wear actual clothes. I almost fell asleep again before I saw feet. I was too tired to look up but I recognized the voice, "Well isn't this interesting? No shirt, bruises, and blood. What do you think happened Ulquiorra?"
"I don't know. And I prefer not to care."
"Wow you're a bigger jackass than I am...And that's saying something."
I used my knees to cover my chest and reached up for his chest, "...Shirt..." It sounded stupid but it's all I could manage to say. He seemed taken aback by the idea, "Wh-what?"
Ulquiorra sounded amused, "She wants the jacket you call a shirt to cover herself with."
Grimmjow sounded embarrassed which I thought was impossible, "I-I don't think it'd be very good for covering...It's not that big of a jacket."
"You're quite a lot bigger than her it would be good enough for now."
I managed to pull at the cloth on his shoulder, "...shirt..."
Just talking again made me cough which hurt my throat immensely I had to close my eyes from the pain. It wasn't until I opened them that I realized I had coughed up blood onto my knees and onto the floor.
Grimmjow sighed loudly, "Hold on." A few seconds later a cloth was draped over my upper body, "...Th...thank...you."
I started to fall asleep again and got the sensation that I was floating. My face landed on something soft and I opened my eyes one last time before rest and found my pillow unnder my cheek. I remembered my plan and tried to put it in action before I completely feel into slumber, "...need y-your help wi-" Cough,cough,"-with esc...esc...nnnn."
I couldn't finsh the sentence.
They were already being a lot nicer than when I got here. Who would have ever thought that Grimmjow of all people would give me his jacket to cover myself with? Who would've thought that I would have to pretend to be on Aizen's side? I never thought I was capable of even pretending.
I dreamt that I was watching myself as if from someone else's point of view. I was wearing the white outfit that every other espada wore. Aizen was standing behind me with a huge grin on his face, "If you screw this up I'll kill both of you."
I nodded, "Yes Aizen-sama."
What was going on? The me I was looking at didn't seem to be conscious of her actions. She had a blank emotionless stare like a robot.
The door in front of this fake me slammed open and my brother rushed through the door, "Karin!" he got this look of realization on his face, "I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to take you home, ok?"
Ichigo was covered in blood, it must have been hard to get here...But the thing that caught my attention was that he was the only one there. Not even Rukia was with him. Then...he came alone?
My question was answered when Aizen spoke, "Say Kurosaki didn't you have a partner when you first got here? Where is that silver-haired prodigy, hmm...maybe that's his blood you're covered in? You're certainly not injured yourself..."
Ichigo slowly looked down at his bloody hands then looked to the side and towards the door.
No...Ichigo couldn't kill anybody...He wouldn't hurt Toushirou would he? The other me finally seemed to react to something and pulled a blade out. It wasn't a zanpakuto just a knife... The other me charged towards Ichigo with only the knife. He looked betrayed, "Karin..."
But I stopped and he stared at me. And Grimmjow suddenly was punching him. The punch hit hard enough to send him back through the door he came in. I wanted to cry but I had no tears. I wanted to scream but I had no voice. I wanted to die but I was already gone.
I woke up coughing again. This time it only hit the bed. I couldn't see anything and it would be pitch black if it weren't for the barely open door. I thought back to the dream what did it mean I was already gone? Was I dead? Was that why I could see myself? But if I was dead who was the other me? Who was controlling that body?
I heard a loud yawn on the other side of the room and jumped. Instintively I reached for a lamp only to realize I didn't have one. Were Grimmjow and Ulquiorra still in here? That's the only people I could think would be in my room. But why? Did Grimmjow want his shirt back or something?
My heart raced wondering who it was. I don't think I could handle anymore drama today.
I sat up quietly, wincing at the overall ache of my upper body...espcially my neck. I was going to get out of bed when the door opened the rest of the way. I sighed in relief when I saw the emerald eyes and black hair. I focused my attention on the other part of the room where the yawn came from. It was indeed Grimmjow curled up in a ball, in the corner, asleep.
I put his shirt or umm...jacket on and pulled it tight around me for warmth and coverage. I wanted to laugh that Grimmjow was curled into a ball. A mighty fighter slept like a kitten...well I suppose his released state is Pantera or "Panther King" so it makes sense.
Ulquiorra walked further into the room without closing the door. I looked over at him and he stared blankly at me stopping his movement. I was starting to get light-headed from sitting up. I must've lost a lot of blood...who knows I probably have brain damage. Now I'm really never going to catch up to Toushirou in the intelligence area. Not that he ever really expected to be caught up to anyway...
Grimmjow yawned again and stretched out opening his eyes just a little bit. This time I really did laugh. And I couldn't stop no matter how much it hurt. So in the end I ended up crying instead and furiously wiped at my eyes.
I smiled sadly, "...don't make me laugh..."
I was suprised by how weak my voice sounded. I sighed loudly, "Dammit. I thought I was going to get out of here the same as I was when I got here."
The blue-haired espada on the other side of the room seemed amused when he said, "You thought you were going to get out of here?"
I shook my head, "I don't know...That's the thing about having loved ones you always have a gut feeling that they'll save your ass when you get yourself into trouble."
He raised an eyebrow, "I thought Ichigo was the only one in your family who could fight." I shook my head, "My Dad used to be a Captain of the Soul Society and I was training to be Soul Reaper before Toush was hurt."
"Who?"
I quickly looked up suprised that they didn't know, "Huh? I figured you'd know who the Captain of the Tenth Division is...Especially since your boss seems to have him set as a personal target. I...I think Toushirou is the reason I'm here. I mean he didn't choose this for me but Aizen has this thing that I've picked up on where he does everything he can to hurt Toushirou and I'm one of Toushirou's best friends soo..."
"For someone who was coughing up blood earlier you sure are talking a lot. And I really don't know who the hell you're talking about."
I smiled, "For someone who scared the hell out of my brother you sure are being a lot nicer than I expected...You also cuss less than I expected."
Ulquiorra sighed exasperated, "He usually swears a lot more."
In response Grimmjow grinned, "I could swear if you're going to complain about me not swearing." I shook my head, "No I prefer you don't." He scoffed, "Then don't complain."
Ulquiorra crossed his arms, "As much as I hate to admit it he makes a point you are talking a lot. That's probably not good for your throat either."
I blushed and looked away, "Probably not." My words were still really weak and I should have waited for my throat to heal. Grimmjow snickered, "She started talking a lot when she brought up that Captain guy. Maybe there's somethin' going on there?" He was teasing me... Wow just wow.
I could feel my face burning and Grimmjow's grin got bigger, "There is!" I shook my head as fast as I could without geting dizzy, "Not a mutual thing!"
"Huh?"
"Oh! Don't look at me like that! There's nothing sexual going on either! And there's certainly not any rape going on!...Well ther was earlier today but that had nothing to do with Toushirou! I meant he doesn't like me the way I like him. That's all I meant!"
My raised voice caused me to start coughing again. Once I stopped I realized that both guys in the room were staring at with a blank look.
I cringed, "What?
Ulquiorra answered, "What do you mean by rape was going on earlier today?"
"Oh."
Wow some espadas being nice...who knew? Awkward moments for Karin...Review please!
