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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
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Author's Notes: Let's call this my attempt to earn a little good karma. Either that or I hope to bring a smile to someone's face. Those have been in too short supply this week (at least for me).

Once again, if you like the story, please review. If you don't like this story, why the hell have you read this far? Go bother someone who isn't being tortured by her muse and a certain blonde menace while she's suppose to working on her thesis.

* * *

Ulquoirra watched the screen with his usual cool detachment, his amazement not showing anywhere in his face or bearing. He was amazed however. Few humans could survive a tangle with a hollow, fewer still could kill one. And none could use kidou. "Fetch Aizen-sama immediately," he told Yami, knowing that his master would want to know about this.

He frowned slightly and froze the image of the human on the screen, studying the creature. There was something odd about the boy. Familiar. But he was sure had never seen this human before. The boy was too young for him to have ever encountered. He had not been back into the human world since Urahara's death. It was too dangerous. Kurosaki Ichigo wanted his and Aizen's heads with a ferocity that bordered on madness.

That meant he couldn't know this boy, and yet as he studied him Ulquoirra could still feel the nagging sensation that he should recognize the boy. He frowned faintly, really nothing more than a tiny twist of his lips downward, but continued to try and place the boy and his odd familiarity.

Within minutes Aizen Sousuke was arriving; Ichimaru and Tousen at his heels. Even after all these years serving him, Ulquoirra still felt a wave of awe rise up inside him at the sight of the man. The sheer magnitude of his presence was humbling; coupled with his charm and easy charisma it made Aizen Sousuke more than a force. It made him seem like the god he aspired to become.

"What was so important that it required my immediate attention, Ulquoirra?" asked the man, a cup of tea in his hand.

Ulquoirra quickly played the surveillance of the last hollow attack, knowing he had done the right thing when Aizen grew still and tense. He sensed the vibrating energy in his master, the eagerness; the laughter that came as the boy defeated the hollow was unexpected. "Ah, Kisuke, who would have guessed that even you could succumb to vanity," he chuckled.

"Aizen-sama?" murmured Ichimaru, clearly puzzled.

"Ah, I forgot, Gin, you never saw Kisuke in his early days. That body he wears looks exactly as he did when he was a student at the academy. Our dear friend Kisuke has a streak of vanity," laughed Aizen, studying the boy. Once it had been pointed out, the resemblance to Urahara Kisuke was unmistakable, the tousled ash blonde hair, the sweeping cheekbones, the stubborn pointed chin, that serene little twist of the lips, and the sparkle in the grey eyes - all classic Urahara. He was younger, thinner, untouched by heartache or hardship but the trickster captain still peeked out from time to time, slumbering perhaps, but not forgotten. Ulquoirra wondered how he could have missed it before, it seemed so obvious once it was mentioned.

"Take whoever you need and retrieve him, Gin. If Urahara has come back we must have him; he's the only one with the knowledge to make Hougyoku function stably. Find him and bring him back here."

"Of course, Aizen-sama," purred the former 3rd Division captain, the gleam in his eyes promising mayhem and his delight at the chance to cause it.

Aizen nodded and turned to him, Ulquoirra felt himself drawing up tall and straight under the scrutiny, unable to help himself. "Take Yami, Grimmjow and the rest of the second Espada and begin an attack here before Gin begins his mission," ordered Aizen.

Ulquoirra stared at the map and the spot Aizen-sama had indicated. The spot three blocks from the Kurosaki clinic. The spot Kurosaki Ichigo would be sure to respond to. He was being sent to the slaughter so that Gin could capture the boy. Something in him, long quieted by his awe of Aizen awoke and screamed, rebelled at the idea of being so callously wasted, but he nodded his understanding and stood to gather the few remaining members of the second Espada.

* * *

"No fucking way!" snarled Grimmjow, slamming his fist into the wall, accomplishing nothing but leaving a very large dent and possibly hurting his hand. Ulquoirra didn't ask about the latter, he frankly didn't care. What he cared about was that they were all going to be dead in less than an hour. Dying with Yami and Grimmjow and the few remaining members of their original Espada was not high on his list of activities. The only problem was there didn't seem to be an alternative.

Their original Espada was down from ten to a mere five. The raid to rescue Inoue, the war and rivalries within the ranks had thinned their number considerably. Of the five, there was only himself, Grimmjow, Yami, Halibel, and Wonderwice. Yami didn't have the brains to think his way out of paper sack, Grimmjow was a hot-headed lunatic, he didn't trust Halibel further than he could throw her, and Wonderwice was Tousen's pet. He was not overburdened in his choice for allies. He had made his choice however and was forced to stick with it.

"We are to be sacrificed, there is nothing we can do to stop it. And raging about it will not change it."

"The fuck it won't! I'll rip his fuckin' head off, that'll change somethin'," snarled the former 6th Espada, slamming another fist into the wall.

"You cannot challenge him and hope to win; stopping being foolish. Time is short, the others will be here soon and we must be ready to leave by then. We cannot challenge Aizen Sousuke but that does not mean we must obey him either," murmured Ulquoirra. the words coming surprisingly easily once he realized that he had resolved himself to his current course. He wasn't ready to die yet - even for Aizen.

"He'd kill us. He'd hunt us down and kill us where we stood, dumb ass. We can't hide anywhere in Hueco Mundo and we wouldn't last a fucking week in the human realm."

"Shut up and listen!" snapped Ulquoirra, losing patience with his volatile companion. Why had he chosen Grimmjow again? Ah yes, no other options. His plan required help and he had nowhere to look for it but among his companions. Grimmjow was volatile but he was also cunning and very interested in his own continued survival. Both of which were traits Ulquoirra could appreciate and use. The former 6th Espada could also be trusted to hold to his code, slim as it may be, which was more than could be said for the others. "No, we couldn't survive in the human world, but Hueco Mundo is not the only place with an abundance of spirit particles. Soul Society is also comprised of them."

"And they're just dying to let us in there," growled Grimmjow. "Hell, we can't even open a fucking gate to get there."

"We can't, but they can. They can open a gate and take us across, they can offer us sanctuary from Aizen," he explained softly. The plan was not entirely fool proof, but it was serviceable and their only real chance.

Grimmjow was looking at him with a newfound respect, watching him with his bright blue eyes, suspicion and curiosity in his gaze. "Why the hell would they do that? That fuckin' brat Kurosaki hates us and he's a fuckin' captain. The Shinigami would skin us the second we got close to 'em."

"Unless we offered them something they want more than us, something even Kurosaki would be willing to treat with us for."

"The kid? The one Aizen wants so bad?" breathed Grimmjow, his eyes widening in awe.

Ulquoirra nodded. "If he really is who Aizen suspects he is, then even Kurosaki would be willing to give us asylum to get him back."

"Why tell me this?" Ulquoirra could see the wheels turning in the other Espada's head, looking for holes and flaws in his plan, looking for the betrayal.

"For my plan to work it requires two people; you are the most trustworthy of our companions, loathsome as that may be," murmured Ulquoirra. He quickly outlined the rough plan that had been spinning in his head ever since realizing Aizen planned to get them killed. Grimmjow nodded his approval and murmured soft questions from time to time but he wasn't objecting or rushing off to tell Aizen.

"It might just work. Are you sure you'll be able to disengage from Kusosaki. Little bastard's damn stubborn and he wants to kill ya."

"It should be fine."

"What should be fine?" demanded Halibel, her green eyes watching them closely, not surprising since they rarely exchanged more than two words to each other and those words were never civil.

"Just talkin' 'bout the mission," drawled Grimmjow easily. "Wanted to see if emo boy was gonna be ready to face Kurosaki or if he wanted any help." As he watched Grimmjow steered her away, covering their earlier conversation with a web of taunting lies, Ulquoirra was certain he had made the right choice in allies.
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A Shadow of What Was