Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

A Shadow of What Was	By : katami Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 49594 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 39
- 40
- 41
Author's Notes: Probably not the way most of you pictured this going, but I will refer you back to the GMP (Grand Master Plan) and hide.

For those who wonder how I write or why I write the way I do, well, twenty years of practice and a slightly twisted sense of humor help. *Grin* I will say that Shadow grew out of a combination of the first chapter merging with a song fic idea in my head and sort of exploding from there. (And yes, Shadow has a rapidly growing song list on my player - I think they do it to keep me inspired.)

Anyway, many thanks to all those who have read this story and I hope you enjoy this latest offering.

* * *

"We were told to wait in our quarters," murmured Ulquiorra, wondering just why he had followed Grimmjow from their quarters, other than some vague desire to keep the other man out of trouble. He had no desire for Grimmjow's behavior to reflect badly on him. Especially when his dinner with the captain of the Sixth had gone so well.

He almost hoped the other man might offer another invitation. Dinner with someone polite, well-mannered and able to carry on a stimulating conversation had been a rarity in Las Noches. And was also proving to be one here as well. For the last three days he had only had Grimmjow for companionship and Ulquiorra was quickly coming to the opinion that no company would have been better than his. The other man had been ever more restless and irritable as the days dragged on and Urahara remained missing.

"We are waiting, we're just helping them look for the kitten too," murmured Grimmjow, pausing to lift his head and cast around like a cat searching for a scent. He apparently found it because his head went back down and his shoulders slumped and he continued walking.

"Your attachment to the human is foolish, illogical and dangerous," snapped Ulquiorra, not understanding why Grimmjow cared for the human. It was stupid and pointless. Kurosaki didn't like them and he would like them associating with his lover even less. Grimmjow's fascination with the human meant they risked Kuorsaki's ire, something they most assuredly didn't need.

"Shut the fuck up and help me search. They have to have the kitten stashed somewhere in this place," growled Grimmjow with annoyance. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes and wondered once again why he had selected Grimmjow as his accomplice? Or why the other man couldn't have taken after his feline ancestors a bit more? Cats were supposed to quiet animals according to all he had heard. After three days with Grimmjow he would have paid dearly for quiet.

An explosion rocked the entire compound.

Smoke filled the hallway and Grimmjow's head shot up. Reiatsu swept over them, red hot and filled with fury. "Kitten," Ulquoirra thought he heard Grimmjow breathe before taking off toward the source of the explosion using sonido. Against his better judgment he was a step behind the other Arrancar.

They turned a corner and the smoke grew thicker, debris littered the hall and one whole side of the hall was blown out to reveal what had to have once been a lab. The room lay in ruins. Instruments were overturned or smashed completely, glassware littered the floor in various stages of disrepair, and there were scorch marks covering the ceiling and walls. Across from that, slumped against the wall, dazed and charred, lay the captain of the 12th.

Ulquiorra stared as a figure emerged from the smoke filled lab. Reiatsu flowed from him in malevolent waves and a red aura encircled him; but there was no mistaking the boy - Grimmjow's kitten. There was a serene little smile on the boy's lips, as if he hadn't just blown a hole in the wall or nearly killed a man. He was ripping tubes, needles, and patches from his body, letting them fall were they may.

"I told you, you would regret not letting me up," said the boy, his voice blithely unconcerned. "I may not have a sword but I am far from helpless, Kurotshuchi.

"You would do well to remember that," snarled the kitten, stepping onto the captain's wrist and grinding his foot down. The sound of bones breaking and a cry of pain filled the hall. "Touch me again and I will take you apart, Mayuri. We both know I can. Just as we know I don't need Benihime to do it."

From across the now divided corridor Kurosaki stared at the younger man with something Ulquiorra thought might be half wonder and half shock. Behind him was the captain of the 13th and flanking him were Kyouraku and Yoruichi.

"Kisuke! Kisuke, that's enough," cried Ukitake.

The boy turned to look at them for a moment, before turning to regard the man at his feet. "No. No, it really isn't, Jyuushiro. Mayuri needs to remember just who he's dealing with," purred the kitten, and Ulquiorra began to realize just why Aizen had feared this man. He was a force. It took a great deal to rouse him but once he had been stirred it was a monster that lurked inside.

"I stepped out, Mayuri. I didn't step down. You took my seat by default. Come near me again and I will remind you and everyone else just why no one ever took my seat legitimately," hissed the boy, a kidou blast slamming into the prone captain, making him scream again.

"He remembers, Kisuke. You made your point," soothed Yoruichi, inching closer to the boy.

Hard gray eyes flickered to her, freezing her in her tracks and Grimmjow took the chance to move closer to the boy, making Ulquiorra wonder if he had a death wish. "It's okay, Kitten. Just calm down," he soothed softly, reaching out for the boy like he was some sort of wild animal.

The second his eyes moved to Grimmjow Kurosaki was moving, looking worried. "It's okay, Kisuke. You're safe now," he murmured gently.

The boy spun to stare at him, stiffening slightly before he seemed to recognize the other man and deflate, the tension leaving him. "Ichigo?" he whispered, his legs trembling and his voice filled with a strange longing. Ulquiorra had never heard anyone infuse such emotion into another's name and wondered for the briefest moment what it might be like to care for another so much. It was a foolish of course. Caring that much was a liability - it made a person weak and exploitable.

Seeing that longing on the boy�s face though, he couldn�t entirely suppress his curiosity about what it would be like to trust so completely. Trust had been a dangerous thing in Las Noches, viewed more as a sign of weakness than an asset. He thought of the battle and Kuchiki at his back and wondered what it might be like to always know that someone would be there.

Kurosaki nodded, offering a reassuring smile to the kitten and moving carefully closer to him. "It's alright, Kisuke. It's alright."

"He wanted to hurt me," whispered the boy, some of the steel leaving his eyes and the strange red aura around him dimming. A shiver passed through his frame and Grimmjow inched still closer as Kurosaki eased his captain's haori around the younger man's shoulders.

Shinigami hand met Arrancar on the boy's back and for a moment Ulquiorra thought there might be more violence in the corridor. An instant later the tension was gone as both stared at the figure between them, somehow wordlessly finding common ground. Although they did both growl. One arm, Kurosaki's, went around the kitten's shoulders as Grimmjow's slid around his waist.

"He won't be makin' that mistake again, Kitten. Come on, ya must be cold," pressed Grimmjow, carefully and skillfully steering the boy off the prone captain. Ulquiorra caught the hint of hatred lurking in the other Arrancar's eyes for the man on the floor and the small, swift kick to the head he landed while leading the boy away.

"I want some clothes," whispered the boy, his voice growing less confident and weaker as the rage slowly left the boy and Urahara retreated.

"We'll get them for you," promised Kurosaki soothingly, something sickeningly close to adoration on his face.

"Ones that fit. Not like that crap Ulquiorra got for us," promised Grimmjow as more and more Shinigami fill the hallway to see what the commotion was. Abarai and the Quincy slipped in next to him and Ulquiorra slid a few steps away. He had never seriously harmed either man, but he had been fighting both for nearly a quarter of a century and had no desire to court disaster by bringing himself to their attention.

The kitten was glancing around at all the faces, growing more nervous, his reiatsu fluttering over them. Kurosaki wrapped his reiatsu around the younger man, both soothing him and sheltering the others from him. The human jumped as he felt Kurosaki�s reiatsu close around him, looking panicked for a moment, until it became clear that Kurosaki was not going to push the contact. Once he understood that, the human almost sagged against the Shinigami captain, looking young and lost and frightened.

�Do you want some robes or do you want to try to find something more normal?� asked Kurosaki carefully.

�Renji and I will take him and get him something normal,� murmured Ishida, stepping forward. For a moment Kurosaki looked like he wanted to argue, but a cocked brow from the Quincy silenced him and Ulquiorra wondered what had passed between them.

�Kisuke, these are..."

�Ishida Uryuu and the redhead from the school,� interrupted the blonde. �I might not be Urahara but I�m still a genius,� he went on when pinned with several curious looks. Kurosaki chuckled, giving the young man a gentle squeeze.

�Abarai Renji, Captain of the Third,� Uryuu told him with a small smile.

�We'll handle him, Ichigo," murmured the redhead, stepping close and slinging an arm around the blonde's shoulders, drawing him away from Kurosaki and Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra sighed as a low rumble rose from Grimmjow's throat, wondering if he would be forced to step in. Grimmjow did not seem inclined to let go of the kitten. "If everyone would calm down," came a soft, smooth voice, laced with command. It cut through the noise and drew all eyes. Kuchiki Byakuya.

The crowd of lower ranking Shinigami that had gathered scattered before him and the captain of the 6th glanced around. "Abarai, Ishida, take Mizuno-kun and the Arrancar to find the some clothing and then to their rooms.

"Shihouin, could you see to the clean up here?"

Yoruichi nodded, glancing around at the mess, clearly figuring out what would have to be done.

"Jyuushiro and I will make sure Mayuri makes it to the medical ward and have a word with him about bothering Kisuke," Shunsui volunteered with a lazy smile. Something about that smile made Ulquiorra think that sharp pointy objects might very quickly become involved if the captain of the 12th didn't heed their advice.

"Thank you, Kyouraku-taichou."

"Kurosaki, if you could call off the search and see to returning your people to their proper schedules," murmured Byakuya, and Ulquiorra could here the subtle insistence in the request. Kurosaki glowered darkly but nodded and took one last look at the kitten before sighing and marching off to see to his duties, the lower ranking Shinigami scrambling to follow him before they became drafted for Yoruchi's clean up.

Ulquiorra glanced over at Byakuya, catching the noble's eyes and giving him a faint nod of greeting. "May I have a word with you, Ulquiorra-san?" came the soft request in that cultured voice.

"Of course, Kuchiki-taichou," he murmured, moving to stand beside the other man and giving him the smallest of smiles.
- 39
- 40
- 41
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Shadow of What Was