Disclaimer-I don't own Bleach
Chapter 24
Fairytales
Taking Gin's hand, Sayomi let him hold her up as they rose into the gaping dark hole in the otherwise bright blue sky above them. She glanced back down at Byakuya, he hadn't taken his smoky eyes from her.
"There's no getting out of this, is there, Gin?" She asked quietly, her pale blue eyes dull as she held Byakuya's gaze. There was so much that still needed to be said, so much that still needed to be fixed between them, but she wasn't even sure she would ever get to see him again.
He sighed forlornly. "'Fraid not, sis."
She leaned heavily against him, her head on his shoulder while her eyes began to flutter closed. "I'm tired."
Her body was heavy, the pain of her wounds had dulled, and her vision blurred as the world around her began to spin and fade. The darkness that was so quickly devouring her was welcome, it made the pain in her heart and the fear of not knowing what was going to happen fade away into a numb nothingness.
Gin easily caught her as her body went slack and lifted her gingerly into his arms. He stared at her for a moment, frowning at her face that looked peaceful in her unconsciousness. "You always were a handful," he sighed. "Always causing trouble.. I just don't know if I can get you out of it this time."
"Aizen-sama has need of your skills again, woman."
Orihime froze, her blood turning to ice in her veins at the sound of the familiar emotionless voice. Swallowing, she slowly turned to look into the green eyes of the Espada that had kidnapped her and had nearly killed Sayomi. She knew that alone she stood no chance against him and was trying to think of a way to buy herself time until Ichigo or someone could get to her. It didn't take her long to realize that it wouldn't be anytime soon when she felt the clashing reiatsu of her friend's as they were engaged in battle with the other arrancar that had also come to Karakura Town.
"I suggest you do as I ask, or do you not remember the deal we made?" Ulquiorra asked.
Gasping, Orihime took a step back as she recalled the reasons why her kidnapping had seemed like anything but a kidnapping. She had willingly agreed to go to Aizen because the lives of all of her friends had depended on it and she couldn't be the reason any one of them got hurt. Her arms went limp at her sides and her shoulders slumped, she had no choice but to go with him.
Warmth. That was the first thing that Sayomi became aware of, a strange warmth that seemed to reach every inch of her soul. The warmth soon melted away as she became aware of the stinging pain she could feel in almost every inch of her body. She groaned and tried to move, but was stopped by a soft, comforting, and familiar voice.
"Please don't move too much, Sayomi, you're still badly hurt."
Her eyes snapped open and Sayomi looked at the red headed girl that was sitting beside her. "Orihime?" she asked in confusion.
Smiling reassuringly Orihime nodded, but Sayomi knew the girl too well. The smile was too forced, fake. As the fog lifted from her mind and she realized where she was, Sayomi shot up, crying out and hunching over her knees as her body reflexively curled up in pain.
"Sayomi," Orihime cried worriedly, reaching forward to try and help Sayomi as her pale blue eyes squeezed shut and her face paled.
"Why are you here, Orihime? Why are you back in Hueco Muendo?" Sayomi inquired, her breaths shaky, her body trembling from the pain that was washing over her in waves.
The red headed girl hung her head, staring solemnly down at her hands. "Ulquiorra.. He showed up in Karakura and told me that Aizen needed me for something. I.. I didn't have a choice." Tears were filling her usually bright eyes while her hands balled up in her lap.
Sayomi sighed, slowly lying back down and staring up at the ceiling through a golden glow that was encircling her, Orihime's healing spell. She could tell by her surroundings that she was back in her room at Los Noches. "I'm sorry, Orihime. I have a feeling it was my fault you were brought back here."
Looking up at Sayomi, Orihime offered a small, teary eyed smile. "I don't think that, but I'm glad I can be here to help you heal. You were in really bad shape... What happened?"
"I was trying to stop my brother and Byakuya from killing each other, but..." She trailed off, a soft smile forming on her lips as she continued to stare up at the ceiling. "I don't think either of them were truly trying to kill one another. I should have trusted them, but I couldn't watch them fight like that.. I was so afraid of losing either of them again."
"Was the Soul Society really going to execute you?" Orihime inquired. "I heard your brother mention something about it being a trick."
"It was a trick. The execution orders were dismissed after a little unorthodox help from a few old friends. It was decided that instead of actually executing me they would use me as bait in hopes of luring my brother to Soul Society. They wanted to capture him and use me to get answers about Aizen's plans. I didn't want to help, but I had little choice... I never wanted to come back here," she murmured, closing her eyes and releasing a lonely, tired breath.
The door behind Orihime opened, allowing the bright white light that lit the hallway beyond it to pour into the room. Opening her eyes Sayomi turned her head to see around Orihime, a single tall figure had entered the room and was making its way towards them. It was Gin with his ever present grin.
"Ah, you're awake," he observed stepping beside the bed.
"So what now, big brother?" Sayomi inquired, trying to sound hopeful, but she knew the her smile and her eyes betrayed her.
There was no real reason to hope everything would be fine. She was back within Aizen's reach and it wasn't likely that the psycho was going to let her even remotely close to out of it again.
"Now we both keep our promise," he replied.
She stared up at him oddly, confused by his reply. "Our promise?" She repeated. "What are you talking about, Gin?"
He only smiled at her before shaking his head at her. "You've already messed up your sheets. Maybe I should tuck you in like old times? Tell you a bedtime story?" He teased.
"I do not need to be tucked in," Sayomi snapped irritably. "And you never told me bedtime stories."
Gin hummed, shrugging his shoulder. "No? Hm. I thought I did. I only wanted to check on ya, but I need to get going. Get some rest, Sayomi."
Watching her brother's back as he left the room, Sayomi frowned. She was missing something, forgetting something. Heaving a weary sigh she relaxed into her pillow and raised her right arm to place it over her eyes. The silver chain-link bracelet on her wrist tinkled quietly, sounding almost annoyed.
"What are you upset about?" Sayomi grumbled at the bracelet, lowering her arm back to her side.
"Sayomi?" Orihime questioned.
Blinking over at the young girl, Sayomi smiled. "Sorry, Orihime. It's nothing. I'm just tired."
"You should get some rest then," Orihime suggested kindly.
She nodded. "Yeah, I think I will. Thank you, Orihime, for looking after me."
The girl blushed profusely at the praise, chuckling in embarrassment. "It's really nothing."
Encased in the warm golden glow it was easy to let the world around her fade away, to let herself slip away to one of the few places she found comforting.
"You're such a troublesome child, honestly."
Cheek twitching, Sayomi opened her eyes to the world of Fuyukaze. They were in a large, circular cave with a bright, warm fire crackling invitingly in the center. Fuyukaze was sitting on the opposite side of the fire from her on a shelf of rock that acted as a sort bench.
"How am I troublesome this time, Fuyu?" She inquired haughtily, striding around the fire to take a seat beside the beautiful man.
"When are you not troublesome?"
Rolling her eyes, she leaned back against the rock. "When are you not an arrogant pain in the-"
"You do realize that we're in a very bad situation, don't you?"
"Of course I do. It can't be helped. What does that have to do with me being troublesome?"
"You nearly got yourself killed. Again, Sayomi-hime. It's a very troublesome habit." He sighed, shaking his head at her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You were worried, Fuyu? How cute," Sayomi teased.
The man huffed, but wrapped his arm around her and rested his cheek against her head. "I wasn't worried, I was appalled by your unladylike affinity for getting into trouble and nearly dying every few days."
"Fuyu.. shut up," Sayomi mumbled. "You're being annoying."
"I must get that from you," he replied. "Part of your soul and all."
Sayomi sighed. "I don't want to be here either," she said softly, knowing part of the reason for Fuyukaze's annoyance was their return to Hueco Muendo.
"I know, little one. I just don't like it here. Plus, I've been cooped up with that annoying Senbonzakura for my only company. That's enough to make anyone a little less than pleasant."
"The old rivalry is still strong, I take it?" Sayomi asked with a chuckle.
"Rivalry? There's no rivalry, Sayomi-sama," Fuyukaze snorted arrogantly. "It's been proven who the stronger of us is. It's not my fault that stubborn, prideful idiot can't accept that I'm better than him."
"You two didn't cause too much trouble for poor Byakuya, did you?" She inquired, casting a reproachful look up at him.
Sniffing in disdain, Fuyukaze replied, "I was a perfect gentleman. That annoying flower boy on the other hand is another story."
"And you two used to work together so well," she sighed wistfully.
"Aren't you supposed to be resting, Sayomi-sama?" Fuyukaze asked, pointedly ignoring her comment.
"I can leave, you know. Let you brood on your own for awhile." She sat up, eying him curiously.
He returned her stare for a moment before sighing and pulling her back to him so she could curl up beside him. "What now, Sayomi-hime? This isn't exactly how things were supposed to turn out."
"No, it isn't. For now I rest, heal, regain my strength. Then.. I don't really know. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."
"What your brother said, do you know what he meant?" Fuyukaze inquired thoughtfully.
She shook her head, frowning pensively. "I don't, but I feel like I'm forgetting something..."
Fuyukaze was quiet, brushing some of Sayomi's hair from her face before he rested his cheek against her head. "He never told you stories when he tucked you in as a child?" He inquired after a few minutes.
Humming, Sayomi blinked her eyes open. She had been nearly asleep when Fuyukaze had spoken. "Stories? No, he never told me stories when I would go to bed as a child."
"Well, what would he tell you?" Fuyukaze inquired softly.
"I don't remember, Fuyu, I was a child," she answered dismissively while adjusting her position beside him. Her eyes closed and she was intending to sleep, safe and warm, beside him.
"But, little Sayomi-hime.. Why would he tell you to remember what he used to tell you every night if he didn't think you would remember?"
"What are you talking about, Fuyu? I'm trying to sleep."
The man sighed, beginning to absently stroke Sayomi's hair that was resting on her back. "Alright, little one, you rest. Don't worry about the future, I'll always be by your side to help protect you from all the monsters in the world."
Sayomi jolted, sitting upright and blinking at the white haired, blue eyed man. "What.. What did you just say?"
"That I would always be by your side, Sayomi-sama," Fuyukaze replied uncertainly, the look on her face was unsettling.
"After that," Sayomi prompted urgently.
"Sayomi-sama, are you-"
"What did you say, Fuyu?" Sayomi pressed.
"That I would always help protect you from all of the monsters in the world," Fuyu answered. "Is everything alright, little hime? You look as if you've seen a ghost. You know I will always be by your side, I have always said so and I have never lied to you."
It felt as if her heart had stopped beating and the entire world had opened beneath her. She finally understood. Not only what Fuyukaze had been talking about with his questions regarding her brother, but what her brother had meant.
"Sayomi-sama?"
She blinked up at Fuyukaze, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "I... I know what Gin's doing."
Fuyukaze's snowy brows drew together. "What do you mean?"
"He's trying to kill Aizen," she replied slowly, a note of slight note of horror in her voice.
"Kill Aizen? Little one, you're not making sense."
"When I was little Gin would tell me the same thing every single night before I went to sleep. It was this routine we had.. When he said to remember what he used to tell me while on the Sokyoku Hill, I wasn't thinking clearly... I didn't know what he meant."
Fuyukaze gently took Sayomi's face gently in his hands, she had been staring vacantly down at her hands, but now he could look into her eyes. "What was it he used to tell you, Sayomi?"
Sayomi smiled. "That he would always protect me from monsters. As I grew older I started to say that I could protect myself, but he would sigh and say that he was the big brother it was his job to protect me. I would tell him he was always going to be my big brother, but what about when I was older? He couldn't tuck me in and protect me forever. Gin would ruffle my hair and say "It doesn't matter how old you get, how big you get, or how strong you get, kid. All that matters is you're never alone because you'll always have me. I'll always protect you. Whether it's from the monsters in your dreams or from the real ones out here, I will protect you, because", I would always cut in and finish for him. "Because you're the big brother." He was telling me to remember that he would always protect me. I asked him what side he was on and that was his answer."
"I don't see how that means he's trying to kill Aizen."
"Gin has a way of saying things without actually saying them. He promised to take care of me, to protect me from monsters. Aizen is a monster, I've voiced that opinion in the past. What better way to protect someone from a monster than to kill the monster? You don't look convinced, Fuyu," Sayomi observed, noticing the frown on her companion's face. "Then let me remind you what else Gin said... He said that we would both keep our promise. Not promises, but promise. He was telling me that we have made the same promise at some point. There was only one promise that I can think of that ties in to what Gin used to tell me. You should know what that is."
He stared at her quizzically for a moment before his eyes cleared and nodded in understanding. "You said you would kill Aizen. That you would kill the monster. That's what you had decided after you decided you wouldn't kill Gin." Pausing,Fuyukaze sighed. "This means you're going to be causing trouble again, doesn't it? You won't just let your brother handle the monster, you're too stubborn."
"And Aizen isn't someone that either of us can handle alone." Sayomi smiled reassuringly while consolingly patting Fuyukaze's leg. "Well, you already knew I was troublesome, Fuyu. So this can't be that much of a surprise. I'll try not to get myself killed, though, I promise."
"Just go back to sleep, Sayomi-sama," Fuyukaze requested wanly. "You're going to need your strength for all of the trouble you're likely going to cause while trying not to get yourself killed."
"Poor, Fuyukaze," Sayomi teased lightly. "At least you're not stuck with Senbonzakura anymore."
"You're giving me a headache, Sayomi-sama. Please just go to sleep."
Chuckling, Sayomi curled back up against Fuyukaze. "Don't worry so much, Fuyu. This is one fight I don't plan on fighting alone."
Sayomi awoke alone in her room. Orihime was gone, likely back in the room that had been reserved for her there in Los Noches. Pushing herself up and groaning at the tightness she could feel throughout her body from her recently healed injuries, and the time she had spent immobile, she put her bare feet onto the cold flooring and slowly stood up. The room was dark except for the light of the ever shining moon that filtered in through the window behind the bed.
Deciding to take a shower to help relieve the tension in her muscles, Sayomi made her way to the bathroom, peeling off the clean white robe that she wore and letting it fall to the floor carelessly as she walked. The hot water of the shower proved to be just what she needed, she felt more awake and much less tense as the water washed over her. When she stepped out of the shower she toweled herself off before wrapping the plush white fabric around her body.
"What do you want?" She asked coldly as she stepped out of the bathroom, not even bothering to look at the tall figure that was leaning against the wall by the door that led into her bedroom.
"A thank you would be nice," a masculine voice grunted in reply.
"You expect me to thank you, Grimmjow?" Sayomi asked acerbically as she let the towel that covered her fall to the floor when she stepped up to the closet, her back to Grimmjow. "You didn't do anything because you wanted to, you did only what you were told. There's no reason for me to thank you for that."
Glaring at her bare back, Grimmjow snorted and turned away. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" She questioned in mock sweetness, turning her head to smile at him over her shoulder as she slipped on a pair of white hakama before grabbing a white backless halter top with a high collar and pulling it over her head. "Aizen told you to let me leave with Orihime, didn't he? He also told you to help Gin retrieve me from Soul Society. So are you sure I don't know what I'm talking about?" She turned toward him, smoothing out her shirt as she did so. "I'm pretty sure you're just another obedient little-"
Grimmjow growled, stepping forward and pushing Sayomi back against the wall roughly. She returned his angry glare with a calm, cool, and knowing smile.
"Hit a nerve there, did I?" She taunted casually.
Grimmjow leaned over Sayomi, his face almost touching hers, his hands on either side of her head. He could feel the heat of her body, the warmth of her breath on his chest as she stared up at him with her placid blue eyes. "You should know better than anyone that obedience has nothing to do with it. I don't give a shit about Aizen and you know it, but I'm not an idiot either."
She stared up at him for a moment before blinking and looking away with a sigh. "Fair enough. Why are you here? I doubt it was to tell me how happy you are that I'm back so that I can kick your ass some more."
"Aizen wants to see you," he answered, pushing himself away from her and shoving his hands in his pockets. He continued glaring at the white haired woman as she grabbed black socks and a pair of heeled boots.
"Does he now?" Sayomi replied blandly. "What if I don't want to go?"
"Do you think you have a choice?" He countered. He was expecting a fight, some sort of argument, but he didn't get it. Sayomi hid a flinch at his words and her eyes that had been relatively clear clouded. "Lets go," he growled menacingly.
Sayomi slipped on the heeled boots before responding. "Lead the way," she replied with a mocking smile while waving a hand towards the door.
She followed calmly a few steps behind the angered Grimmjow who had his hands jammed into his pockets. When she stepped into the same room that she had been taken after failing the first mission she had been given she kept up a blank facade and moved towards the giant balcony where Aizen stood with Gin. Grimmjow was still at her side and she couldn't help but wonder if he was there to make sure she didn't try to attack anyone, or possibly because she might be attacked. Walking to her brother's side Sayomi blankly met Aizen's brown eyes.
"You look well, Sayomi, I'm glad," the man said, smiling at her in an attempt to seem caring.
Sayomi lifted a white brow, but didn't say anything as she continued to stare evenly at Aizen.
"You've figured it out, haven't you? Why I had you see an illusion of Gin's dead body? Why I had Ulquiorra attack and why I allowed you to leave with Orihime?" Aizen asked, smirking at her. It was clear he was amused by the hell he had put her through.
"You wanted me out of the gigai and you wanted me to be seen as a traitor when you sent Gin to save me from Soul Society," she answered blandly.
"You are a traitor, Sayomi. Or have you forgotten everything you've done and all of the people you've abandoned?" Aizen replied.
"I haven't forgotten anything. You, on the other hand, have," she replied tersely, smiling coldly.
This act of defiance, of strength, only further amused Aizen. "And what have I forgotten, Sayomi?"
"What it means to believe in someone. I wasn't going to be executed in Soul Society. There was debate about whether or not I was traitor, but the general consensus was that I was not. The execution was just a ploy to see if you would send any of your little minions. I was going to help capture them, despite everything that had happened people believed in me. People you would have me believe hated me, saved me."
Aizen's brow rose. "Little good it seems to have done them, but you have been quite a disappointment lately."
Gin's hand was suddenly on her shoulder as she prepared to lunge at the smirking brown haired man across from her. "Now, now, why don't we all just calm down."
Shaking Gin's hand off of her shoulder, she stepped up to Aizen. "Disappointment or not, don't think you'll have me, because you won't." She made to turn and walk away but her wrist was grabbed in a crushing grasp and she was pulled around and forced against Aizen's chest.
Leaning down so that his breath could splash across her neck, Aizen whispered into her ear. "I don't need to think, Sayomi, because I know I will have you." Releasing her wrist, he smiled down at her. "You must be hungry. Gin, why don't you have the food brought in now."
Gin bowed, his grin frozen in place as he turned to do Aizen's biding. Grimmjow followed after the grinning man, he knew he wasn't wanted on the balcony anymore and he had no desire to be there either.
"I admire your stubbornness, but you will either agree to be my queen or it won't be you that suffers, but everyone you have ever cared about," Aizen told her.
"You will never touch me," she hissed.
Aizen smiled at her again, nodding to Grimmjow who had gone to stand by the door. Sayomi's eyes widened when Grimmjow opened the door and Orihime was pulled roughly inside the door by Ulquiorra. The young teenager was frightened as she looked around the room and was brought to stand in front of Sayomi and Aizen.
"Hello, Orihime. Sorry to have disturbed you, but I'm afraid-"
Sayomi growled, her spiritual pressure sky rocketing suddenly as she turned to Aizen. She tried to call out Fuyukaze, but nothing happened. Her bracelet remained on her wrist. There was a chill that went up her arm as if Fuyukaze was protesting against not being released, about not being able to help her, to protect her. She didn't even have time to be confused as her spiritual pressure suddenly disappeared and she was left standing wide eyed and shocked at Aizen's side.
"Your powers will do you no good anywhere in Los Noches. Szayel was able to study your unique spiritual energy when you fought against me and was then able to program every room in the entirety of Los Noches to reject it," Aizen explained to her. "That was another reason I chose to have you see me kill Gin, I needed you to display your powers for me."
All Sayomi could do was gape at him and then blink down at Fuyukaze. She was utterly powerless and she in no way liked the feeling that left her with.
"You know what you have to do, Sayomi," Aizen said, leaning over her shoulder and brushing some of her hair from her face. "Or would you rather watch your friend die? She'll only be the first, I wonder who should be second?"
It was at the moment as Aizen mused over who he would kill after Orihime that the very foundations of Los Noches were shaken by several intense spiritual pressures. Both Orihime and Sayomi looked out over the endless night of Hueco Muendo, both knowing that the spirit pressures belonged to none other than Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad.
"Well, it seems I'll have plenty of people to chose from. Sorry about this, Orihime, it's nothing personal," Aizen told the girl that was now shaking with fear as he drew his sword.
Sayomi couldn't move or even speak as she watched Aizen lash out at Orihime. There was a sound like cloth tearing as his sword ripped through her friend's neck and blood stained the white tiles. Choking on a sob as she watched Orihime's body slowly fall to the ground, Sayomi moved to catch her, but was stopped when Aizen grabbed her arm.
"Let me go, you bastard," she yelled, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the innocent girl whose death she had caused.
"No, you will watch her die and you will know that you could have prevented it, but didn't."
"Orihime, I'm so sorry," Sayomi said, raising a hand to her mouth. She felt sick, weak, and helpless as she stared down at the beautiful life she was responsible for ending.
"Sorry, for what?"
Sayomi's head snapped up and the bloody mess on the floor was gone, Orihime stood confused and frightened beside Ulquiorra, watching her with unease.
"That was a warning, Sayomi. I'll give you one last chance before I kill the girl for real," Aizen leaned over her to say, his hands on her shaking shoulders.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you die," Sayomi growled shakily, refusing to give into the rising panic within her. Roughly pulling her shoulder from Aizen's grasp, she stepped away from him and glared defiantly at him. "You can keep me here as long as you want. You can make me witness all of the deaths you want, but they will do nothing but make me hate you more. Hate is a very powerful thing, Aizen. So go ahead and start destroying everything I love. It will only make me more determined to see you die, preferably at the end of my sword. You will never have me. You will never touch me."
Sayomi bit back a cry of pain and motioned for Orihime to stay put, the red head girl had stepped forward when Aizen had wrapped his hand around Sayomi's throat and pushed her harshly into the wall behind her. Meeting Aizen's eyes coolly Sayomi remained at ease as his hand tightened around her throat.
"There is a breaking point for all things, Sayomi, that includes you," Aizen said.
"Maybe so, but what good is a broken woman to a man who wants to rule in a throne that sits upon the heavens?" Sayomi countered.
Gin chose that moment to walk back into the room followed by several servants pushing trays of food. He cocked his head at the people on the balcony and watched as Aizen released Sayomi from his grasp. The woman staggered, but stayed standing, holding herself upright with as much of a stubborn sense of pride and nobility as her ragged breaths would allow. Sighing, Gin motioned for the servants to leave the food and walked to Sayomi.
"This just won't do," he said reprovingly, tilting her chin up to see the bruises that were already beginning to form on the pale skin of her throat. "Look at her, she's a mess. I'll take her to her room and have some food brought there for her. She should be resting, after all, not causing trouble even though she is good at it."
"That's a good idea, Gin. She's had a very trying week," Aizen agreed.
Sayomi let Gin begin to lead her away, but paused when Aizen said her name.
"If something is broken, it can be fixed and altered to better suit its purpose."
There was no point in replying, she had said all she had wanted to say, so she let him have the last word as Gin continued to lead her out of the room.
When they reached her room Sayomi turned to Gin and sighed. "I remembered. The story you told me as a kid. You only ever told me the one."
Gin shrugged. "It was the only one I knew."
Plopping down on to the couch, she placed her hand lightly against her neck. Her palm was cool against the hot, painful flesh. "Did you figure out the ending? There wasn't one when I was a kid. At least not a very satisfying one. Kids like happy endings where everyone lives happily ever after, you should have ended it like that."
"But happy endings aren't always realistic. You were an impressionable kid, I didn't want to put ideas in your head," Gin replied, ruffling her hair as he sat beside her on the couch. "I didn't want you thinking every little girl grew up to be a princess that married the handsome prince after he swept her off her feet. The real world doesn't usually work that way."
"Sometimes it does," she said softly. "I was adopted by a noble family and engaged to a handsome noble. I may not be a real princess and he may not be a real prince, but still.. Sometimes the unexpected happens and sometimes that prince does come and sweep his princess off her feet."
"It's not impossible," Gin conceded. "But what would the big brother do then?"
Sayomi glanced over at him thoughtfully for a moment. Finally she sighed and smiled gently. "He'll always be the big brother, she'll never forget that. She'll know she's never alone, just like he won't ever be alone. They'll always help each other and work together to make their dreams come true. Isn't that how fairytales work?"
"Maybe it is, but this is no fairytale," Gin sighed.
They both fell silent, Sayomi leaning her head against Gin's shoulder. There was no telling how the next several days would play out. No knowing if Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad would survive their trip into Hueco Muendo, the odds were stacked heavily against them after all. Orihime's fate was uncertain if she wasn't rescued by Ichigo and the others, there was no telling what Aizen would do with her. Her abilities were useful, but that didn't ensure her survival.
Then there was herself. Sayomi's brazen, defiant, and very dangerous refusal to be Aizen's pet queen left her with no idea what to do next. If the man tried to break her, killed those she loved in front of her, could she really not break? Could she keep her sanity and her pride while knowing she was responsible for their deaths?
Aizen wasn't her only concern. She was living in his domain alongside his minions who would kill her for less than simply talking back to their high and mighty leader. Without being able to release Fuyukaze she was practically defenseless while inside of Los Noches. While her brother would protect her as best he could, there was only so much he could truly protect her from without causing himself more trouble than necessary. She was walking on coals and with each defiant act they were only going to get hotter until they destroyed her.
"What should I do, Gin?" She inquired quietly.
"You're not a kid anymore, Sayomi," he replied, patting her head gently. "That's something you need to decide on your own."
"How helpful," she muttered.
"Hey, it's not like you'd listen to me anyways."
She gave a small shrug. "Probably true. I just walked myself right into a corner, though, and now I'm stuck there. I don't want to be the reason my friends are hurt and I'd like to have faith in them, but.. Things aren't like they are in the fairytales. The heroes don't always win. The prince doesn't always rescue his princess from the villain... I can't leave things like they are, Gin. I need to do something."
~A/N~
Hello hello. This chapter didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to, but it works. I wanted it longer, but I also wanted it to end where, and how, it did. I'm hoping to get this story finished up pretty quickly, but it's finals week and I'm, hopefully, going to be starting a new job here soon so my free time might go from sparing to nonexistent. We'll see.
Anywho, in other news I have created a Facebook page under the name of Rukia Twenty-Three (typed in just like so), I'll be attempting to keep updates and little insights on there if anyone is interested in "liking" said page. As always thank you all for your support!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my dear readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers. You are awesomeness.
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