It's been a long time... I hope you would forgive me.
And I would like to apologize in advance; I'm too lazy to proof read. ^_^
...
"Revelation"
...
"I am still looking for them."
Aizen sighed as he listened to the voice that's coming from another line. Behind him, he heard Nnoitra snickered.
"France is a big place Ryouken-sama. It's not that easy to look for him here."
An angry tone answered him, making him grip the handle of the telephone harder.
Once I've become the emperor, I'm going to fucking cut your head off and hang it in front of my room you asshole.
Nnoitra laughed hard this time, making Aizen grew more furious.
He eyed Nnoitra with so much killing intent, making the guy stop abruptly.
"Yes Ryouken-sama. I will continue."
And after a few more seconds, he hang up the phone.
"You should've just told them that your brother is now dead."
He heard Nnoitra said, making him sigh and turn to see the other guy.
"Are you sure about that, you monkey head?"
He answered with a smile.
"Of course. He's the first guy that I shot. I spent a whole magazine to that guy."
Nnoitra proudly announced. This made Aizen frown thinking that this guy is really mad.
"And his wife and child?"
Nnoitra spread his arms and rested them on the back rest of the sofa, leaning back.
"Burnt them alive. Found their bodies in front of the church's altar."
He answered as he reached for his pocket, taking out a necklace with the Japanese Empire's crest.
Aizen can't help but smile a little. With this, he is now a hundred percent sure that he will be the only one that's going to inherit his father's throne.
Aizen is the product of a one-night-stand between his father and mother when the German delegates once visited Japan to form a treaty. His father is the emperor, but his mother chose to take care of him to avoid any conflict against the royal family. It's not like his mother is a nobody. In fact, his mother is the 3rd daughter of a noble family in Germany. So Aizen grew up finely. Actually, he doesn't even give a fuck about his father before. Until one of those Japanese minister contacted him, asking him to find his older brother somewhere in France.
He found out that the crown-prince died, and now, they're trying to locate the second prince that somehow ended up in France. Aizen saw an opportunity because of this. He can stay here in Germany and forever serve under Hitler, or, he can do something about this second brother of him, and claim the throne for himself.
And now that Isshin Shiba is dead, he just have to wait for a few more months.
A few more months.
xxxXXXxxx
"Pops, what's that?"
Isshin hid the box back inside the hole on the floor behind the altar of the church, then covered it right away before facing Ichigo with a frown.
"What are you doing here Ichigo? Where's your mom?"
Ichigo frowned. It's very clear that his father is trying to hide something from him. And his curiosity is killing him. So he tried to look again pass his father.
"She asked me to look for you. Lunch is ready."
"Ichigo."
He looked at his smiling father this time, not even trying to hide his annoyance.
"You don't have to ask, I'll show it to you once you're old enough. But now, promise me that you won't try to get whatever's in there. Can you do that? For me?"
Ichigo tried to read whatever's inside his father's head, but decided to nod instead. Something telling him that this is the right thing to do, for now.
His father smiled and ruffled his hair, slowly guiding him out of the church.
Ichigo, now's the time. Find it. And promise me that you'll protect it no matter what.
Ichigo's frown returned, after hearing his father's echoing voice. He looked up, only to see that he's alone.
What the-
Then he started feeling hot… so hot. The whole church is now on fire. People started shouting, asking for help. Ichigo's eyes grew wide.
He started to panic. He can't breathe.
Ichigo.
Run.
Everybody is calling him. People are now surrounding him, making him panic more. He can't breathe. He can't…
Ichigo!
Ichigooo!
ICHIGO! WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
Ichigo opened his eyes and tried to sit down only to be greeted by a very strong light forcing him to close his eyes again and just squint instead. He's heaving. He's throat feels so dry. And he's scared.
"Ichigo, hey, look at me."
That's when he noticed those strong hands that's holding both of his arms, trying to keep him in place. He looked up to see those two worried blue eyes.
"Are you okay?"
He started to calm down.
"It's me, Grimmjow. Can you hear me? Can you recognize me?"
Comprehension started kicking in.
Yes, how can he forget the man that saved him?
He looked down and started nodding slowly.
"Oh fuck, you scared me!"
Grimmjow hugged him so tight. Rubbing his head and kissing his hair occasionally. And it's calming him.
"I thought you're not going to wake up! You were shouting and thrashing like crazy!"
Ichigo just sat there. Part of his brain trying to understand what's happening, and part of it trying to remember his dream. And after a few moments, his brain finally formed a conclusion.
Ichigo, now's the time.
"Grimm, we need to go back..."
Grimmjow distanced himself from him a bit to look at his face.
"What do you mean?"
For the first time in a few days that they were together, Grimmjow saw fire from those chocolate orbs. It's like Ichigo's now finally decided on what he should do. He is now past his mourning period.
"I need to go back there, in Oradour-sur-Glane."
Grimmjow's eyebrows furrowed. He's trying his best to read Ichigo but he can't. His face is now devoid by emotion.
"What the fuck are you saying? You can't go back there! That place is now surrounded by Germans. We can't just go there just because you wanted to."
Ichigo forwned with a sigh.
"I have to. I remembered my father trying to hide something behind the church's altar. I need to get that. It's very important that I do."
Grimmjow sighed and sat by the edge of their bed.
"But the bodies are-" shit.
Grimmjow looked back just in time to see Ichigo's eyes grew darker. He made a mistake. He made him remember.
"are still there."
Ichigo continued, clenching his hands.
"My parents are still there."
Grimmjow sighed once more, cupping his own face with both of his hands. Another sigh.
"Look, I can't take you there for now. Not because I don't want you to go, but because I don't want you to see what happened there. You won't like it."
"But I need to go there!"
"I know!"
Grimmjow's voice rose as he stood up. This surprised Ichigo. It seems like he really angered Grimmjow this time. This made him panic a little bit inside. Just the thought of Grimmjow being angry makes him feel depressed.
The room was field with silence. After a few seconds, Grimmjow spoke again. But this time, in a much calmer tone as he kneeled beside the bed to look at Ichigo.
"All that I'm asking for is time. Give me some time Ichigo. Then I will accompany you there myself. Okay?"
Ichigo sighed. He's not even sure if he can really go there himself. He's actually a little scared. But can he really trust this guy?
"Okay."
Grimmjow smiled then pulled Ichigo and hugged him really tight.
"Thanks kid."
"Actually, I think, I'm going to ask you a favor..."
xXXoOoXXx
"How is it?"
Grimmjow's voice was muffled by the gas mask that he is now wearing again. But his voice is loud enough for his troops to hear that are now on their way back to Glane's gate.
"He's an animal I'm telling you Grimmjow."
Yylforte answered as he and D Roy slowly walked back towards the entrance where Grimmjow is now waiting. Starrk helped them get permission to go back in Oradour-sur-Glane pretending that Starrk lost his SS medal during their raid in that town. And they're supposed to get it back.
D Roy frowned knowing that Grimmjow must be annoyed because of his unanswered question.
"It is safe. But bloody." He answered instead.
"Like I said, he's an animal, that Nnoitra." Yylforte said.
"Shawlong is now trying to clear most of the things up." D Roy added.
Grimmjow sighed. He made a good decision on not allowing Ichigo to go. On their way here, he saw a lot of cruel things that he is a hundred percent sure that Nnoitra did. Because no one in their ranks is capable of doing those things.
"It seems like after we left, they tried to set the whole town in fire. Most houses are now burnt." D Roy reported.
"That explains these fumes." Grimmjow answered, flexing his shoulder and wincing a bit. D Roy saw it, so he immediately approached Grimmjow to see his shoulder.
"We saw some people from other towns. They approached us asking if they can bury the bodies of their aquaintances." Yylforte added. Grimmjow nodded, still eyeing the smoke that's still lingering around them.
"Tell them it's okay. We can't risk the safety of other towns. Tell them to do it ASAP."
And with that, Yylforte ran back towards the town's square, as D Roy check Grimmjow's shoulder eagerly.
"You heal like a werewolf as usual." D Roy finally said after a few moments of silence.
"It's no longer bleeding, but I guess it will take a few weeks before you manage to take off this cast." He added.
"Bullshit. You'll take this off next week. Got that?"
D Roy sighed, helping him to fix his shirt once more. Grimmjow will always be an asshole.
"Are you still going to go back to that church?" He asked after a few minutes,
"Yeah, I promised him that I'll bury his parents properly. And I need to get something for him." Grimmjow answered, as he takes off his mask. He can't see properly with this thing on.
"But it might be dangerous. The roof is slowly collapsing. What if-"
"It won't take that long. We'll just get his mother's body, then go back."
D Roy is still worried but he can't possibly argue against Grimmjow. Not when the other guy is so focused.
After a few more minutes, Nakeem came back to tell them that it is now okay to go to the church. As they walk towards the church, Grimmjow tried his best to keep his eyes away from those dead bodies. He can't feel remorse now. He have a mission that he needs to accomplish.
"The whole church looks alright." Edrad reported as Grimmjow arrive in front of the church.
"Good. How about Ichigo's mother?" Grimmjow asked as he eyes the altar a few meters away from him.
"Uumm, we just noticed something. She's not where we left her last time." Shawlong answered.
Grimmjow frowned, eyeing Shawlong.
"What do you mean?"
"She was dragged a few meters away from the altar together with the child that was clinging to her. It seems like they were shot a couple of times.. like-"
"Like someone is trying to make sure that they're dead." Grimmjow continued.
"How about his father? Did you find him?"
"We think we did." Shawlong answered again.
"What do you mean you think you did?"
Shawlong sighed before answering.
"He was the only one that's burnt, beyond recognition."
Grimmjow stiffened a little. He can't believe what he just heard. In that case, it would be really hard for them to identify Ichigo's father.
Grimmjow's worry seems to be reflected on his face that's why Shawlong continued.
"We saw matching rings. That guy is wearing the same ring as with Ichigo's mother. I think it was their wedding ring."
Grimmjow sighed in relief. Ichigo would be very glad to know that they managed to find and secure his parents. But something is really puzzling him right now. With all of these overkill for Ichigo's parents, he can't help but worry. For him, it almost seems like the Nazis targeted this town just to kill Ichigo's family.
Grimmjow's face darkened as he started walking towards the church. Shawlong and Yylforte flanking him while D Roy, Nakeem and Edrad stayed in front. There's so many question flooding his mind right now. And it seems like there's only one person who could give him the answer.
He went straight towards the altar, and studied the patterns on the now burnt up shrine. Trying to remember what Ichigo told him.
There, in the middle of the altar, is a rectangular frame with an image in the middle. You should find a switch that you would press, for it to open.
He crouched in front of the altar to study the image more, running his fingers on it, until he found a soft spot. He grinned.
Found ya'.
He pressed it until it sunk inside. And with a soft click, a small round compartment opened below the altar, revealing a clothed item. He took it and opened without any warning. Looking at it, a frown slowly formed on his face.
"This is..."
Thanks for reading.