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Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 47
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- 49
My Son�s Return

He�d been up since the wee hours of the morning, setting out into the darkness on his assigned patrol after checking in with a yawning Shinigami. As sharp rays of light broke over the eastern horizon, one of Ulquiorra�s hands rose to shield his eyes from the bright glare. Pupils contracting, he gave a small hiss as he felt them water involuntarily. The transition from using his night-vision to coping with sudden daylight always brought about this reaction. Sometimes he missed the ever-present twilight of Las Noches. A patrol conducted in Hueco Mundo didn�t include such irritants as �dawn.�

As much as he disliked it, the stinging in his eyes was a brief distraction from the bleak chill he harboured within him. The Swarm had taken his son well over a week ago and Orihime�s misery knew no bounds. A never-ending torrent of sorrow leaked into him through their bond. The ceaseless exposure to his mate�s distress wore on him as a result, affecting everything he did. Ulquiorra�s impeccable posture now had a decided slump to it and he had to work at keeping from drooping when in the presence of others. At the beginning, he thought Orihime was the lone source of the overwhelming grief. However, he�d noticed that the emotions never truly subsided. They were present while Orihime slept, or while he was on patrol. His Claim upon her, while powerful, did have a limit as far as distance and the potency of the emotions he could feel from her diminished the farther away from her he flew. Therefore, not all of it belonged to her and logic told him the pain could have only one other source.

He�d never lost anything he truly cared for before. If he had lost anything of equivalent importance, he could not recall it. Ulquiorra could count the number of things he truly cared for on one hand, perhaps two if he was honest with himself. His mate and his son numbered among those of course, but in time, he�d added others to this very exclusive list. The years in the Seireitei had changed many of his cohorts and some of the colleagues he had once despised had earned his respect in that time. Meanwhile, others he had once respected had slipped a notch or two in his estimation either thanks to their actions or to his newfound awareness of a more empathic code of conduct.

Aizen Sosuke was chief among those.

The bitterness he could taste in the back of his throat was as much the result of the loss of the admiration he�d once had for �Kami-sama� as it was for the loss of his child. Denying it would be futile and his last, angry conversation with Diaemus would forever be a reminder of it.

The regard he�d had for Aizen had ebbed over the years but the final blow, the thing that had cracked it beyond repair, had been Kami�s cold disregard for the fate of the kidnapped children. The loss of warriors during a prolonged conflict was always an unfortunate possibility. Ulquiorra understood this and could accept that such an outcome might occur. He and his son took that risk every time they engaged the Swarm. The only way to mitigate the danger of not returning home was to be better than the insects they faced. However, the abduction was the first time the Swarm had ever shown an interest in taking prisoners. From a tactical standpoint, such a surprising action warranted further investigation, especially after ten years of repetitive attacks.

On a personal level, he found Aizen�s indifference to his son�s fate a poor �thank you� in light of Ulquiorra�s past steadfastness. If there had ever been a time to reward devotion, it would have come the moment �Kami� had learned of Ajuga and Diaemus�s capture.

�I was under the impression that a god watched over his worshippers.�

The sullen thought festered in his brain, allowing him no peace. There was a corollary to that cynical judgment, one that bordered on a conclusion he might have once considered treasonous. He was indignant enough about how little time Aizen had allotted for a search that he allowed it to make a comfortable home for itself in his psyche.

�If a god chooses not to help a faithful follower in his time of need,� Ulquiorra reasoned �there are only two logical deductions one could infer. Either the follower is not faithful or the god is not a god� and there were none more committed to Aizen-sama than me.�

Suppressing a melancholy sigh, Ulquiorra turned northward and continued to scan the horizon of his assigned patrol route. He absently noted the location of the few Shinigami with whom he shared the area. Most of them were of insignificant strength and thus unworthy of anything more than cursory attention. Their only purpose was to act as lookouts and serve as cannon fodder for the locusts. Then another, somewhat shaky signature pinged against his senses. It was weaker than the signatures belonging to the Shinigami and he almost dismissed it, save that what little reiatsu it did have had an oddly familiar flavour. Ulquiorra, to the best of his knowledge, couldn�t remember ever running into a Shinigami with that little spiritual pressure and wondered why a Taichou would assign an individual like that to a patrol route this far out.

The Espada paused.

�No. None of the Taichou would do such a thing,� he decided.

That meant it might not be a Shinigami at all. Frowning, he scrutinized the forested skyline for the odd, fluctuating energy. It took a few moments to locate it because it was so erratic and so faint, as if it was struggling or damaged in some way. Its feebleness made Ulquiorra wonder if it could be one of the Swarm�s Generals. Szayel had that dead one in his laboratories and Hana had recounted the disastrous run-in with the one who had taken Ajuga and his son. He had yet to encounter one, but it was a possibility and his duties required he investigate.

Ulquiorra honed in on the tiny amount of power he could detect to get a more precise location and went to intercept it.

At first, he thought it was a wounded bird labouring to stay aloft, but as he got closer, he noticed that the shapes of the thing�s wings were all wrong for anything of an avian nature. In addition, it was far larger than any bird he had ever seen, at least in the Soul Society.

He�d also never seen a bird with long, wind-tangled, copper-coloured hair.

Ulquiorra�s green eyes widened in recognition just as the floundering creature finally lost all of its strength and fell as if shot.

He instinctively launched into Sonido. The crackling buzz his movements created drowned out the hammering of the heart he�d once denied having. Reaching out, he captured his son�s falling body in midair, just before Diaemus could collide messily, and probably lethally, with the upper branches of a stand of tall pines. The rescue wasn�t particularly graceful and, burdened with an awkward tangle of wings and limbs, he did his best to get to the ground without injuring either of them. A mixture of elation and terror coursed through him as he gaped down at the boy he thought he�d never see again.

Diaemus�s laboured breaths came too fast and too deep to be healthy and Ulquiorra realized he was beginning to hyperventilate. The black feathery fur on the lower half of his body was soaked with sweat and lather. Those left dried, saltwater streaks on his exposed skin. His chest and back muscles twitched violently against the fabric of Ulquiorra�s uniform, a sign that his child had depleted not only his reserves, but also critical electrolytes along with the sweat. What little reiatsu he had left felt strange, as if something foreign had tainted him. The explanation lay in the traces of blood staining his son�s face. Remnants of it clung to a portion of his lower jaw that his tongue couldn�t reach.

A sniff confirmed the dried blood belonged to Ajuga.

Had Ajuga sustained an injury severe enough that she�d bled on her co-captive? Alternatively, had his son consumed her in order to survive? Grimmjow would fly into a rage if either explanation turned out to be true. Ulquiorra immediately decided that it would be best to find out why his son had potentially incriminating blood on his person before letting Grimmjow know that Diaemus had managed to escape.

Adjusting his grip on his son, he abandoned his patrol and returned to the city, travelling at speeds even he wasn�t aware he could achieve without using his Resurrección. He made a beeline for the 4^th Division, trying to avoid all obstacles to reach its gates, bursting through the front doors and startling everyone in the lobby. The Shinigami at the front desk gaped at him as the papers he�d been in the middle of shuffling went flying in the backwash of air created when Ulquiorra and the boy he carried came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the room. Two attendants and the few waiting patients scattered about raised their hands as it buffeted their hair and clothing.

�Get Unohana-sama,� he ordered the man coldly, marching towards the nearest waiting gurney and depositing his burden on it. For some unfathomable reason, he couldn�t bring himself to let go of his son, keeping a firm grip on one hand.

Diaemus hadn�t stirred, even though the noise of a suddenly busy room ought to have put the boy�s instincts on alert. The hand resting in Ulquiorra�s grasp remained limp and unresponsive. If it weren�t for the very faint traces of reiatsu and the rapid rise and fall of his chest, the Espada would have believed his son was dead. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and a pressure that continued to rise every second his son continued to suffer. What made it worse was the knowledge that he could do nothing about it. The shorter of the two lobby attendants, a young woman with dark hair and a nervous, rabbit-like manner, disappeared, presumably to find her Taichou. Her taller male counterpart warily approached Ulquiorra and the gurney he guarded. The Arrancar absently realized the winces on the remaining faces were due to the amount of distress he radiated and reeled in his reiatsu before Unohana arrived and kicked him from her Division for unwittingly endangering her patients with his lack of self-control.

However, Unohana-Taichou was not the one who arrived first. Apparently, the woman wasn�t at the 4^thDivision now. Instead, Orihime was the one who flew through the doors in a state of panic, wide-eyed and clenching her own chest with one hand. Her gray eyes went right to him, tears streaming from their corners before she spotted their son.

�Diaemus-kun!� she shrieked and she rushed to the gurney�s side, summoning her golden shield as she did so. The small trickle of tears turned into a torrent of weeping in short order as the woman promptly forgot her mate and concentrated solely on her unconscious child.

Her piercing outburst caused everyone in the room to cover their ears and draw back from the display of maternal hysteria, including the remaining attendant. The healing Kido in his hands sputtered and died out, but Ulquiorra let the man withdraw now that his mate was here. The 4^th Division healers knew when to back off and give those associated with Aizen�s inner circle room to do what was necessary. They also knew not to get in the way of the Fourth Espada�s mate and her powers. The attendant Shinigami wisely retreated and saw to the rest of those souls cringing in the lobby�s chairs instead.

Ulquiorra allowed himself to relax a bit once Orihime�s Soten Kisshun began to do its work. Diaemus�s breathing eased, even if his reiatsu remained horrifyingly low. Only then did he realize how hard he had clamped down on the Claim he held over Orihime. He�d summoned her in a blind panic, an instinctive reaction that he might have once expected out of a lesser being. He immediately loosened his grip on her. The pain in Orihime�s expression subsequently eased, though the look of fear for their son remained.

Mortification at his uncharacteristic lack of restraint washed over him. He�d broken his word and used the Claim against her when he had promised her he wouldn�t do so. Ulquiorra could feel the physical pain he�d caused her, as well as a great deal of relief as Diaemus slowly regained some color. His reiatsu, unfortunately, was almost nonexistent. His son had obviously overexerted himself, had pushed his body to the limits in order to escape and return to the city. Pride at his son�s achievement wedged its way between the disgrace he felt over his misuse of his Claim and the anxiety caused by Diaemus�s condition.

�My apologies,� he muttered to his Mate.

�It�s alright,� she said softly. �You had a good reason and it got me here faster than trying to hunt me down.� Ulquiorra had the feeling that she would have laid one hand on his arm to drive the point home if she wasn�t busy maintaining the healing shield above their son�s body. �I would probably have been upset with you if you hadn�t summoned me.�

�That is still no excuse for me to have hurt you with it. A gentle pull would have been sufficient.�

She didn�t argue with him. Either she chose to drop the matter, or more likely, she chose to focus on healing their son. Ulquiorra had done what he�d done and it he couldn�t go back and change it now. He knew from personal experience how forgiving she could be and under the circumstances, she might have written off his actions as those of a terrified father.

�Diaemus? Come on sweetie, wake up and speak to me,� she begged, sniffling and brushing strands of his hair from his face. The golden shield faded away, her fairies fluttering about her in concern as she pulled a still limp Diaemus to her chest. Ulquiorra saw that his son was still no closer to consciousness than before.

A few more of the 4^th Division healers had made it to the lobby, but aside from that first attendant, none of them had dared to venture closer. They did not know him well enough to trust how he would react to an intrusion into his personal space. He would have to compliment Unohana-Taichou for her well-trained staff. Given his earlier lapse with Orihime, he was glad that the rest of Unohana�s people had the presence of mind to keep their distance.

Now that his mate had done what she could, he could see that Diaemus�s situation was no longer life threatening, at least from a physical standpoint. Unfortunately, his spiritual pressure was still of grave concern to his father.

�Let me see him,� he instructed his mate, moving once more to his son�s side.

Reluctantly, Orihime set Diaemus back down on the gurney and stepped away, her face glistening from the tears trickling down her cheeks. She�d healed Diaemus�s body and he couldn�t fault her for that. Unfortunately, the boy�s body wasn�t the only problem.

His son could move at ridiculously swift speeds when he desired. Ulquiorra had once overheard Hana explaining to a disgruntled Ajuga that his ability to do so was the result of some sort of high-level technique he�d mastered. Such techniques required a great deal of reiatsu from the user. If Diaemus had used such a technique for long periods, it would explain his current condition. He had obviously flown past the point of endurance and it was a wonder he hadn�t killed himself in the process, drained of reiatsu as he was.

Fortunately, Ulquiorra could do something about this. He rolled up his jacket�s sleeve.

Without hesitation, he drew Murcielago and slid his wrist along the edge of the blade, much to the shocked gasps of those around him, including his mate. He sheathed the weapon just as quickly as he�d drawn it and swiftly moved the fingers of his right hand to Diaemus� mouth. Then he forced his son�s lips apart, placed his bleeding wrist over his child�s tongue and let the blood flow freely.

At first, nothing happened and Ulquiorra, feeling some frustration, pressed his wrist deeper into Diaemus�s open jaw. That proved to be the trigger.

Diaemus surged forward, going from laying limply on the gurney to feeding ravenously in less than a second. Two hands reached up and latched desperately onto Ulquiorra�s forearm. At the same time, he could feel Diaemus�s teeth sink into the flesh around the open wound and his son began drinking greedily from both the wound he�d made and the new ones created by the bite. Ulquiorra almost swooned as his reiatsu poured from the wound and he felt a brief rush of vertigo. He had fed his son this way before, when Diaemus was still a young child. He�d only required a tiny trickle of blood to obtain the energy he�d needed back in those days.

Now Diaemus was doing his best to drink him dry. It was a sign as to how little reiatsu his son had left and any doubts he might have had about his progeny�s potential strength vanished. He tried to pry Diaemus� mouth from his wrist before his son could consume any more of his energy and possibly put him at a disadvantage. The mouth that had latched onto his arm like a lamprey proved surprisingly difficult to dislodge. Diaemus�s embedded fangs tore at the skin around them when Ulquiorra tried to get him to disengage. Instead, the hands on his forearm tightened. Diaemus kept guzzling blood and reiatsu from him, completely oblivious to the fact he was not only mindlessly feeding from his sire but that he had begun to take too much.

�How long did he fly before he reached home?� Ulquiorra wondered, before attempting to free his arm again, to no avail. He doubted his boy was capable of anything more than assuaging his hunger. He was beyond reason and the Espada knew if he didn�t find a way to stop his son�s feeding frenzy soon, Diaemus would consume him. The graying around the edges of his vision told him that he was already in serious trouble.

Orihime cried out both of their names and move to help, but a sharp look from him kept her at arm�s length. He did not want their son to turn on her in his crazed state. Then he felt a presence quickly move in behind him and with a tap of a finger to Diaemus�s copper-haired head, the boy�s fangs finally let go. His son fell back onto the bed, his chin, throat, chest and mouth drenched in his father�s blood. He was still unconscious, but he�d lost the unhealthy pallor as his body used his father�s blood and power to repair itself.

�Teenage boys are well known for their voracious appetites,� Unohana stated calmly. Then she took his profusely bleeding wrist in hand to examine the damage. The petite woman didn�t seem to care about whether or not he bled on her, but he supposed that she would be used to that kind of thing in her line of work.

�Hmm. I�ve seen much worse.�

Blood still flowed from his mangled arm, both sets of wounds held open by the anti-coagulant his son�s fangs had injected into his flesh the moment he began to feed. Thankfully, everything from his elbow down to his fingertips was numb, a secondary side effect of Diaemus�s saliva. Otherwise, he�d be in agony as well as light-headed from the blood loss. Unohana took a hard look at the damage, turning his wrist this way and that while pressing against the wound with her fingertips. Reluctantly, she turned to look at his mate.

�I believe that your powers will address this far more efficiently than Kido. Would you be so kind as to tend to your mate while I see to your son, Orihime-san?� Unohana asked politely.

�Of course!�

Two of her fairies fluttered from where they rested on her left shoulder to tend to his mangled wrist. The familiar, soothing energy surrounded him and he gave in to it gladly. In minutes, the flesh was once again smooth and pale and the numbness gone.

Meanwhile, Unohana examined their boy with her usual efficiency, her expression serene as she rolled him so that he lay on his right side, his back to her. Ulquiorra noticed her eyes roving up and down both wings, looking for hidden injuries. By the time Orihime finished with his wrist, the Taichou had pushed up and latched the gurney's rails in place. She cleared her throat, getting their attention before moving around the other side of the gurney and taking a position on one of the ends. A significant look sent to the attendant who first approached brought him about to the foot of the gurney, mostly to provide aid in steering the thing, as well as making sure that Diaemus�s wings didn�t catch on anything in the corridors.

Still a little disoriented from the loss of so much reiatsu, Ulquiorra accepted Orihime�s stealthy offer of assistance when she ducked under his right arm and he tightened it about her shoulders. While he truly didn�t care what anyone else might think of him at present, her gesture would keep him on his feet long enough to find a convenient chair and save him from a pride killing encounter with the floor. Unohana personally pushed their son down a series of mazelike hallways. They quickly followed behind the Taichou. Orihime seemed to know where they were going and for that, Ulquiorra was grateful. After the first three turns, he admitted to himself he was lost. They finally came to a door that looked no different from the thirty others they�d passed in the long, confusing maze of corridors. The attendant at the foot of Diaemus�s gurney quickly opened it, letting Unohana push the gurney inside. Ulquiorra ducked his head inside to see a somewhat bland-looking room with two chairs, a hospital bed and a long, low set of cabinets on the far wall.

Ulquiorra had to give the Shinigami Taichou some credit. For all of her petite size, she did an admirable job of moving his son�s unresponsive body to the bed and making sure his wings were clear of the bedding. The lobby attendant waited to see if his superior had any further use for him and when no additional instructions came his way, bowed and exited the room, taking the gurney with him.

�Physically, he is fine, aside from the exhaustion and dehydration. The reiatsu deprivation seems to be the greatest problem. Orihime-san, did you see any signs of physical trauma before you began healing him?� Unohana asked of his mate.

�It looked as if someone had damaged his wings and then healed that damage, before I used my powers,� Orihime replied carefully. �All of his muscles were strained and he wasn�t moving much, other than breathing.�

The healer�s gaze slid to Ulquiorra next and for some reason, he had the urge to straighten up and answer quickly.

�I found him on the northern edges of my patrol�s boundaries and managed to catch him before he could��

The way his mate tensed in his arms made him pause and he swallowed what he was going to say. �He was hyperventilating and suffering from heavy muscle spasms, which are why he might have fallen,� Ulquiorra said instead.

Unohana nodded her head and finally pulled the drapes aside to let the morning light shine into the room. As she turned back to face them, Ulquiorra thought he caught a glimpse of profound relief on her features, before she covered it with her usual professional demeanour. Evidently, she�d been worried about Ajuga and Diaemus too. He found that surprisingly endearing.

�He should recover quickly then. However, to be on the safe side, I am still going to put an IV in his arm and give him some fluids. He�s certainly dehydrated and it looks as if he hasn�t eaten in some time. I also want to get some nutrients into him� preferably some actual food.�

Ulquiorra�s hand twitched a little as she gave him a look that told him she knew exactly what he�d tried to accomplish in the lobby and one of her eyebrows rose. Her next words were crisp and delivered in a way that said she would hear no arguments.

�I�ll put in an order for a meal for him once he awakens, which might happen in an hour or so if we�re lucky. He will probably be extremely hungry. Make sure he doesn�t eat too much too quickly or the food might make him sick. I�m also going to send a message to Grantz-san to come by and look at him, just to make sure he has no foreign bodies or tracking devices in him.�

�Alright,� Orihime easily agreed, taking the chair next to their son and pulling a hand into her own.

�I am required to report in as I abandoned my patrol,� he told his mate softly, truly not wanting to leave their side. Duty called however, especially now that his son was stable and safe. While he doubted that Aizen would harm him for seeing Diaemus to the 4^th Division rather than completing his patrol, he decided it would be best if he at least checked in and prevented the deployment of an unneeded search party.

Turning to go, he found Unohana blocking his way. Both her stance and that implacable look on her face told him he wasn�t going anywhere. He would have shouldered any other impediment out of his way, but Kami�s wife was a different matter entirely.

�I would like you to take these with you and consume at least three of these before you leave this room.�

She held out her hands and deposited four small, somewhat squishy-feeling silver packets in his hand. He had no idea what they were. She must have seen his confusion as he stared down at them.

�The members of my Division often work very long hours, under less-than ideal conditions. My predecessor and one of his colleagues developed these for the purpose of quick reiatsu replenishment. It�s a gel, infused with enough reiatsu to keep an average member of the 4^th Division supplied with the necessary energy to get his or her work done for an hour,� she explained, her voice betraying a small amount of wistfulness at the mention of the one she�d succeeded. �They�re a temporary solution to help avoid reiatsu depletion, until the healer in question can obtain a decent meal and a proper night�s sleep. However, I find that in these times, having a steady supply on hand helps in other ways. Please tear off the side indicated on the packaging and squeeze the contents into your mouth.�

They looked entirely unappetizing, but she was correct in that Diaemus wasn�t the only one suffering from a lack of reiatsu. He did as she told him and took as much of the cloyingly sweet stuff onto his tongue as he could manage without gagging. While the taste was less than pleasant, he had to acknowledge their usefulness when the dizzy feeling that hounded him disappeared after swallowing the second packet. By the time that he finished off the fourth, his body felt much better and he was no longer swaying on his feet. His mouth, on the other hand, wanted to find the nearest glass of water to wash the sickly-sweet stuff coating his teeth and his palate out of his mouth. He did his best not to give into the urge to gag.

Unohana�s expression was sympathetic.

�I apologize for the taste. They�re a treatment, not a snack,� she said and took the empty packets from him, tossing them into the wastebasket at the end of the cabinets. Orihime looked at him while his did his best to summon up some saliva to mitigate the gel�s horrid taste.

�You will be right back?�

The worry in her voice brought his attention back to his family.

�As quickly as I can,� he replied.

�Okay,� she murmured, looking back down at their son.

He departed the 4^th Division after finding a washroom and repeatedly rinsing out his mouth in lieu of brushing his teeth. Then he made for the 1^st Division, his mind racing as he tried to envision all of the possible scenarios that might have led to his son�s escape. Hana had reported that the General had broken Diaemus�s wings in several places and yet both appeared whole and sound. Healing them on his own would have taken so much energy that the boy wouldn�t have had the strength to fly to the point of exhaustion within their patrol range. He could say many things about Szayel Apporo Grantz, but the scientist hadn�t been lying when he said the children were out of range of his sensors. The strain of prolonged flight on Diaemus�s body and the condition in which Ulquiorra found him confirmed that. Therefore, he�d received healing from an outside source rather than regenerating on his own.

There were the traces of Ajuga�s blood on his son�s face to consider as well and he didn�t like what those implied. Until his son woke up and could report, they would have no idea what had happened to the two after Hana had lost sight of them. He didn�t see any overt signs of torture or experimentation on his son, but that didn�t mean it hadn�t happened. Szayel could take a person apart and put them back together again without any discernible evidence of tampering. There was no real reason to think the Swarm might not be able to do so as well.

�Oi, who lit your tail on fire?� Grimmjow called out to him, the Sixth�s obnoxiously loud voice sounding as if he was right at Ulquiorra�s elbow.

His son�s return must have affected him more than he realized, for he had nearly run headlong into the other Espada as he marched through the main entranceway of the 1^st Division. Blinking, he abandoned thinking about his son and refocused on the world around him.

His initial assessment of Grimmjow�s location was only off by a foot. The blue-haired Arrancar scowled at him from a spot close enough to him that Ulquiorra considered it a violation of his personal space. It appeared that his fellow Espada was about ready to depart for his own round of patrols, and that he was in a foul mood as well. The Sixth had been extremely touchy and somewhat �in-your-face� with others since the loss of his daughter.

For a moment Ulquiorra remained silent, trying to determine whether or not sharing the news that his son had escaped while Ajuga remained a captive was a good idea. Was it prudent, he wondered, to bring up the blood? Would finding out now cause more damage than letting Grimmjow find out about Diaemus�s return later? Stronger Hollows often ate the weaker ones around them when their survival was at stake. In addition, he had no proof that the blood was from anything more than an injury Ajuga may have sustained. That would have to wait until Diaemus woke up.

Weighing his options, he decided to be truthful. His mate spent a great deal of time at the 4^th Division. There was a chance that Orihime would come across at least one of her many friends there shortly. She might have even informed them already. �Shit would really hit the fan�, an expression that Grimmjow favoured, if the Sixth learned Ulquiorra had hidden this from him. He had no desire to fend off a furious fellow Espada and he didn�t trust Unohana�s nasty-tasting gel packets to give him enough energy to do so.

�Honesty it is then�� he thought and opened his mouth.

�I found Diaemus this morning, while patrolling to the north. I am on my way to report the incident to Kami-sama. Unohana-sama and his mother are tending to him now. He�s unconscious, unfortunately.�

He had never seen hope blossom on an Arrancar�s face before, least of all an Espada�s, but there it was, glimmering in Grimmjow�s blue eyes. His posture changed as well, going from a dejected slouch to standing ramrod straight and squaring his shoulders. He could almost see the millions of questions racing through Grimmjow�s mind, and braced himself for a violent outburst at the very least.

It never happened. With visible effort, Grimmjow kept his body still and his hands to himself. A mere decade ago, Grimmjow would have buried his claws in the fabric of the Fourth�s jacket while he swore and demanded answers. Taking a deep breath, Grimmjow let it out slowly before speaking. The display of composure bolstered the Fourth�s opinion that he�d done the right thing.

�I am coming with you,� Grimmjow declared, looking Ulquiorra dead in the eye in much the same way that Unohana had done not twenty minutes earlier. He found it uncanny and somewhat disturbing. Perhaps he�d been taking lessons from the petite healer.

It wasn�t an unreasonable, nor unexpected request, so Ulquiorra nodded, granting him permission to tag along. In truth, he couldn�t have stopped the other even if he�d wanted to, so he resigned himself to some short-term companionship. Grimmjow fell in next to him and they walked towards Aizen�s office side by side, a united front of parental concern.

Huge hugs an thank you for all of the reviews. I got six seconds to breath here, so I can finally answer some backlogged questions.

Harribel will give birth to live young as we chose a blue shark for her base creature. If the species we chose had laid eggs, she would have laid eggs, etc.

Vindula�s ability will be seen near the end. No more on that for now.

So I have had stomach cramps and nausea for the last week and a half. Despite the drugs he has given me, none of them seem to be working. All he did tell me when I saw him Friday was that there where white blood cells in the sample I gave him, so he ordered more samples and blood work to go with it this time. I will, hopefully, get the results next Thursday.

Next Chapter: Diaemus wakes up.

This weeks Question: Do you feel like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra have changed considerably since the start of POV1, and if so, was the change so gradual that you hardly noticed it until one day you were just like, �holly shit have these two changed!�?
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2