Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Negative Space ❯ Arnau Zaldivar ( Chapter 11 )

Being curled against Grimmjow was possibly one of the best sensations I had ever experienced. He was warm, hard in all the right places while soft in others, and the ease that flowed from our bond into me made me want to be a boneless blob of contentment. It was great. I couldn't remember being so at peace before. Ever. I knew it wasn't real, but until it had to end I just wanted to pretend that it was.

I moved in his embrace, searching for a position that would comfortably allow me to look up at him. It had been several minutes, or maybe several hours, since he had taken me to the floor. I couldn't remember exactly because most of that time had been spent in comfortable silence. As soon as the ease had washed over me, I had stopped crying. It had been so terribly embarrassing that I had actually cried, but he hadn't commented on it and I was grateful. I didn't cry. My eyes watered when I got something in them or got injured, but I didn't cry. That stupid sensation of my nose tingling and my chest growing tight had been horrible. I never wanted to feel that again, but I had a feeling that it was always going to be possible so long as I was bound to Grimmjow.

Ugh.

Emotions sucked, especially when I couldn't pick and choose which ones I could feel.

Settling with my head tilted back and resting against his shoulder, I gazed up at him. I was happy that I had a clear view of the unmasked side of his face, allowing me to take in his very male features without anything in the way. He really was worth looking at. Since he had bound me it was like colors were more vibrant in an almost surreal clarity. He was so different from what I did remember of the God Maker that part of me didn't understand how I had been so fooled. But, that was only a small part of me. The rest of me got it.

His gaze flicked down to me for a breath before he returned to looking straight ahead. It took me another moment of contemplating his features to realize that he wasn't just avoiding my gaze, but focused on something else. It made my brows furrow as I turned to follow his eyes to the other side of the room. I didn't see anything in particular that stood out, but clearly he did.

"We've been alone in here for almost an entire day," Grimmjow said in a low tone. "My people are growing restless."

Slowly I turned in his lap, drawing his attention back as my hand slid over his mask and I coaxed him to turn his head. Meeting his eyes again made me want to smile, but I kept the sensation from showing as I said, "I've commandeered their Espada. If I was in their position, I would have busted in here long ago."

"They know better," he said like it was a warning, but it didn't have the effect on me that he was probably intending. I coaxed him to lean further down as I straightened to bring my mouth to his ear. The motion made his hand slip through my hair, the long strands giving just enough resistance to the movement that it made my scalp tingle and a pleased sigh slip from my lips before I could catch it.

"There's knowing better, and then there's protecting someone from themself. If I was in their position, I wouldn't hesitate to barge in here." I began to make motions to get up, but I was a bit tangled on him with the way he had taken me down. It made for a very comfortable embrace, but getting up without his help was challenging. It didn't help that the sense of ease he was still pushing into me made me slow and clumsy. It was annoying, but I couldn't seem to be irritated with him.

"I won't treat you any different from them if you disobey me," he said coolly as he pinned my leg against him, effectively stopping me from getting up. I let out a sigh that didn't sound nearly annoyed enough and let myself plop back down in his lap. I let myself fall into his chest, giving into the urge to be a boneless blob basking in his power.

"If I disobey you, you can be assured its for a good reason. You're my master. There is no higher purpose for me than to see your will executed," I said as I lightly patted his mask as if to reassure him. Even to me my words sounded casual, which hadn't been what I was going for. It made me frown because it didn't sound nearly serious enough to convey how I actually felt.

"No, let me try again," I said as I lifted my gaze to find he hadn't taken his off of me. "I swear to you that I will serve you until the day one of us dies or you grow tired of me. Your will is mine to execute, your battles are mine to fight, and your grief mine to bear. I will be by you. All you need is to call and no matter the distance, I will go to you."

His eyes narrowed in a suspicious manner and I felt the ease that he had been pushing through the bond vanish. It felt like my mind had surfaced from a field of cotton candy to finally become clean and clear. He waited, watching me for a long moment as I pulled myself from the relaxed and careless position I had been holding and moved into a position that gave me some sense of self even as I remained tangled with him.

When I felt like myself again, he must have felt it too because he finally asked, "was that the ease talking, or your true feelings?"

"It's the truth," I said solemnly. He watched me for a long moment, making me feel like he was assessing me.

"Alright then," he said as his hand found my hair again. His fingers threaded through my locks until his hand was resting over my spine again where he stopped. His hand was cooler than my neck, and it made an unstoppable shiver run through me. It seemed to please him because his head tilted slightly to the side and his eyes seemed to relax. "I want to know more about how the bond works."

"I'll teach you, but it takes time to really understand." I dropped my hand from his mask, feeling the smooth sharpness of the teeth before my skin parted with it. Hesitantly I said, "I wouldn't make a bond with your people just yet. Not until you know what you are doing to them."

"You're afraid I'll kill them?" He asked.

I shook my head, shivering a bit as it made his touch on my mask tingle. "No, not particularly. I was young when I killed my subordinate. You're not young, just new to the understanding of this power. I'm not very smart. I take a long time to learn and change, but I've been alive so long that it's irrelevant now. Back then, it took me many tries to learn something new, especially something as complicated as the bond. You're a lot smarter than me, so I doubt you'll experience the issues that I did."

A loud knocking sound came from the hidden doorway that was in the far wall, drawing Grimmjow's attention. I didn't bother turning my head and instead took in his profile. He had an awfully handsome nose, if noses could be handsome. It was it was straight, unlike what I would have expected on a violent person such at him. I'd have expected it to be crooked with previous breaks or at least have a bump, but it wasn't. My nose was only straight because the last time I had a serious injury I'd cut it clean off so it would heal right.

"I'm going to have to deal with them," he said, probably just thinking out loud. I had a thought to correct him about how he was talking about his people, but he didn't give me a chance to speak as his embrace tightened around me. He lifted me with him as he stood, but I didn't think it was out of caring exactly. It was because we were so tangled together that if he had gotten up, he would have dumped me on the floor in a heap.

Once we were on our feet, Grimmjow brushed past me and headed for his hidden door. On impulse I reached out an caught his hand, stopping his movement and turning him back to me. I kept my eyes down so I didn't have to look at him as I spoke.

"I know I already said thank you so I won't say it again," I started before he could ask me why I had stopped him. "But you should know that this will happen again. My bond with you has given me things I've never had before and the part of me that is Amechania doesn't understand them, nor how to deal with them."

"I unbalanced you," he said, repeating what I had said earlier.

"It's more than that," I said softly. "From Raacharg I gained some emotions and a clearer sense of humanity, but from me he gained power. I don't know what you've gained from me, but from you I have at least gained the ability to feel emotions that I am not otherwise capable of feeling. I know there will be more changes that I will figure out as time passes, you're too strong for there not to be, but until I learn how to handle what you've given me I will be easily overwhelmed."

If I could even learn to handle them, but I didn't voice that thought. He wasn't supposed to have to deal with my shortcomings.

His hand pulled from my grip and unexpectedly lifted. I watched with surprise as his hand ran up to my face, his fingers trailing across my cheek before they slid into my hair. His took his time running his fingers over the rivulets of bone that ran unseen under my hair and along my scalp. It made another stupid shiver run through my body with the feeling, but I hid it as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Cupping the back of my head in his hand, he pulled me toward him until my forehead pressed to his chest.

I felt his breath move my hair just before his mask scraped across my temple as he brought his mouth to my ear. "You just have to tell me what you need, and I will do it."

The booming knock of Grimmjow's people echoed through the large room, sounding like they were about ready to break the door down despite apparently 'knowing better'. His hand tightened in my hair, pulling me closer to him for just a moment before he released me. It was so abrupt that all I could do was watch his back thoughtfully. I wasn't ready for what was about to happen, but I was rarely ready for anything that had happened in my long life. This was going to be the start of building a new family, but it was going to be rough. Luien didn't like me, like, at all. I had stolen Loly's bed so she probably liked me just as much as Luien, and I hadn't met the third one. Unless that freaky meatball thing with toothpick limbs was the other. I didn't think that was the case, but then again, he had said they were misfits.

Shaking myself from that train of thought, I turned my gaze to the rest of the room. I knew where Raacharg was through our bond and started walking in his direction before I found him with my gaze. Bright yellow eyes smiled at me from the lounger that Grimmjow had laid him on before, and I couldn't help but to smile back. Making quick work of crossing the room I went to him, watching in silent amusement as his tail wagged furiously. He was such a dog sometimes.

"Hey," I said, my voice sounding small in the massive room. I sat on the floor beside the couch, placing myself in front of him so he didn't have to turn his head to look at me. It went without saying that I was relieved to see him, and I didn't bother being shy about touching him as I rested my elbow on the couch and covered his paw with my hand.

"Hey Isa," he replied as he shifted, curling his other paw under his chest to better support his position.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I opened myself to the bond between us. For a moment I had a hard time distinguishing between the broken one that was tied to Grimmjow's and the one I had with Raacharg, but quickly sorted them out when the pain of my broken one hit me.

"Weak, but I think that's to be expected," he said with a small, probably embarassed, duck of his head.

"Your strength will come back quickly," I assured him. I leaned to the side just enough to gaze down his injured side. The fur wasn't as matted as it had been while he was unconscious. He'd been trying to clean the blood from his fur, but it hadn't done much good.

"I know, but it's only because you're helping me," he said in a tone that was far too touchy feely for my tastes.

"Don't start getting all soft on me," I lightly chided him. "You're my Adjuchas. It's my job to keep you alive so you can continue to serve me."

"How long was I gone?" He asked.

"Two days," I answered. Meeting his gaze I let my expression become serious before I asked, "what the hell were you doing in the world of the living anyway? I didn't even think you could open a garganta on your own."

"I can open one when I draw on your power," he said as his head ducked again but he didn't drop my gaze. "I was going to surprise you with that ugly bedspread you wanted, but didn't take back to your rock after we were attacked by Luien."

I blinked, unable to come up with words due to my surprise. He went back to the world of the living, all to get that stupid bedspread? That's why he left Hueco Mundo? Raacharg…

"Well then, where is it?" I asked, hiding the sudden warmth in my chest by teasing him.

"What?"

"The bedspread, where is it? You went to get it. Do I need to drag you back to the world of the living so we can finish what you started?"

"I-I had it!" he tried to defend himself.

"What stopped you from bringing it back?"

His mouth opened as if to tell me, but no words came out. He tried again but a puzzled look in his eye told me he wasn't going to come up with words no matter how hard he thought about it. I let out a soft sigh and turned away from him.

"It's fine, Raacharg," I said, patting his paw. "Just don't go to the World of the Living without me again. Not until you're an Arrancar in your own rights."

"I'm sorry, Isa," he said so quietly I was certain that only I was supposed to hear it. I glanced back at him to see an incredibly guilty expression hidden by his boney mask.

"For what? You did nothing wrong."

"The price of saving me was for you to bind yourself to Grimmjow."

I rolled my eyes and turned, removing my hand from his paw as I moved to sit with my back against the couch instead of my side. "That was the price of my stupidity, not the price of saving you. I was an idiot and got myself injured in a way that I couldn't heal, and his price for helping me was to serve him. I'm the one who made him bond me."

"But still, you wouldn't have-"

"It's fine," I interrupted him. "You were worth it."

Silence fell between us, but it was a comfortable silence filled with mutual understanding. I wasn't mad at him like he had thought, and that relief in him was clear. It baffled me how he could even think I had the capacity to be mad at him. Whatever had taken him over hadn't been his fault. He was just an Adjuchas. I wouldn't blame him for not being stronger than someone else.

"She's supposed to be one of us now?"

It was the unfamiliar male voice that drew my attention. It must have been one of Grimmjow's people.

"She's just a Privaron Espada. What can she possibly do that we can't?"

"She might as well be one of them. How the hell do you expect her to actually follow orders?"

"You're one to talk. Just a few days ago you went and did the exact opposite of what Grimmjow wanted."

"I did it to stop something like this from happening."

"And she kicked your ass. Wasn't she the one who almost tore your mask off?"

Yay, Espada politics were the best.

Not.

"Are you well enough to move on your own?" I asked as I rolled forward and got to my feet.

"Just don't ask me to run a marathon, and I should be fine," he answered.

"Come on then," I said as I turned to him and moved to pluck my jacket from under him. He got up, though his movement was slow and stiff. I couldn't blame him. His wound was healed, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt still. When he had enough energy to handle me opening him up again, I'd get rid of the scar and remove my feather from his flesh. He was too young to have a scar like that on him forever.

"What are you going to do?" He asked as I slipped my jacket on only to get blasted with the scent of old blood. This jacket would be going in the trash when we got back.

"You and I are going to meet Grimmjow's Fraccion, then I am taking you back home so you can recover and I can reassemble my spine."

"Does it bother you?" He asked.

I nodded and turned so I could kneel beside the couch with my back presented to him. I felt his front paws tentatively rest on my shoulders before his back feet found purchase on my hip bones and his weight rested solely on me. I quickly brought my arms under his back legs to support him and stood. His claws flexed into my jacket, bringing with them the edge of pain that I usually complained about. I stayed quiet this time though, knowing he would never admit that he needed to hold on like that in his weakened state.

Sucking in a steeling breath, I made to navigate around the furniture in the room and towards Grimmjow and the three people who stood before him. As I came up beside him he turned to look at me. His expression was bored with half lidded eyes, which was a lot different than how I had gotten used to seeing him. Normally his face was a lot more animate than it was now, but with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders somewhat slouched I could only guess that this was how he behaved around his people.

As I stopped I made it clear that I was speaking only to Grimmjow and ignoring the others by mostly facing him, but not entirely so as to keep my body between the three and Raacharg. I didn't think would even consider attacking us, not here in Grimmjow's presence, but I couldn't help but to be overprotective of him.

"With your permission, I'll be taking my Adjuchas' back to my territory to finish recovering." I was trying to be formal, which he clearly hadn't expected as his brow rose curiously.

"I did say you could keep it, didn't I?" he mused as his head tilted to the side slightly.

I hadn't been going that direction, but I could work with where he was steering our conversation. "You did."

His gaze shifted thoughtfully to Raacharg whose head was just to my left before his gaze ran down my body. I probably looked pretty rough after everything that had happened, even if I didn't feel that way.

"Do I have to send someone to bring you back when I want you?" He asked slowly. It took me a second to get that he was asking if he could just use the bond.

"No, I will come when you call. Just make sure it's loud enough for me to hear." Cryptic was never a word that someone would describe me by, but I think that was a pretty good shot at it.

"Alright then," he answered with a curt nod.

I nodded back and finally turned my gaze to the three Arrancar I had been pointedly ignoring.

"These are your Fraccion?" I asked as I met Luien's eyes only for him to drop my gaze with an angry huff. It made me smile. Just a little.

"Yeah, these are them. Loly Aivirrne, Luien Baras and Tesra Lindocruz."

My gaze wandered over all three of them before I settled on the one I hadn't met before. Tesra was a bit taller than Luien, but it wasn't such a difference as Grimmjow's height was. Just looking at him gave me a sense that he was a lot more even tempered than the other two, and I hadn't even spoken to him yet. His expression was neutral as he met my gaze, which was something I appreciated after the instant dislike the other two had presented me with. The harsh feelings may have been well deserved when considering what I had done to them, but still. It was refreshing to not be instantly disliked.

Taking in his blonde hair, one brown eye and the blue mark across his face made me even more certain that he was far more mellow than the other two. I just knew that he should be the first one Grimmjow bound to him when the time came.

"We need to get going, sir," Luien said formally, drawing my attention away from Tesra as he began turning toward the door. "As amusing as our new pet is, we are expected."

Pet…?

"Are we now?" Grimmjow asked, his voice holding irritation as he turned away from me. "That's right. I suppose it is that time. Go home, Isa. I'll call for you tomorrow."

My eye twitched in annoyance, but before I could inform them of my irritation Grimmjow vanished with his sonido, quickly followed by Loly and Luien leaving me alone with Tesra. I watched the spaces where Loly and Luien has been for a long moment before I swapped my gaze back to Tesra. I looked him up and down, taking in his Aizen inspired uniform and the long top that resembled a trench coat. Or maybe it was more like a lab coat. I didn't know what, but at least it didn't look like the stupid shihakusho that most of them wore. He'd even gone another step and decorated with several medal like objects across his chest and several more atop his shoulders.

"Is it true that you almost tore Luien's mask off?" He asked, drawing my attention back to his face.

"Yeah," I answered. "I would have, but Grimmjow stopped me. Grimmjow and I made a deal, and Luien broke it."

He smiled to himself as he turned away from me, heading for the still open doorway. "It's about time someone put him in his place."

Yep, I liked this guy.

"I serve Grimmjow now, just like you and the rest of your people do. But unlike you all, I run off of beliefs that are older than anything currently in existence. I won't tolerate someone threatening what's mine."

He glanced back at me, his gaze flicking from me to Raacharg. "He's your Fracciones, isn't he?"

"He's my Adjuchas," I corrected.

He seemed confused by my answer, but didn't ask for clarification before he turned and stepped through the doorway. I watched his back until he turned right and left my line of sight. I shifted my balance from foot to foot as I waited anxiously to see if he was going to return.

"I think that means we are free to leave," Raacharg murmured.

"Yeah, I suppose," I answered with a slight shrug.

Shifting Raacharg a little higher I tucked my arms tighter against my back to keep him steady. I was pretty sure it was just my imagination, but he somehow felt lighter than he usually did. I tried not to think about it as I turned and walked out the still open doorway and into the unlit hallway. I followed the same path we had taken to get in here until we came upon the large door that opened up to the top of the wall. I found it odd that they just left the door open and unguarded, but who was I to critique their defenses? My rock just had an open stairwell. It was a lot better hidden than this monstrous door, but there was nothing to stop someone from entering aside from my residual spiritual pressure scaring them off.

Thinking about it made something seem wrong. I didn't know what, but it was a sense of foreboding that I had never experienced before. I frowned and stopped. I had never felt something like that before, but I also hadn't been bound to someone so powerful before. It was like having spidey senses that really did tingle.

"Do you know where they went?" I asked Raacharg as I took several steps out into the sun. The heat of the morning rays made my skin tingle in a way that was oddly pleasurable as I turned and let my gaze roam across the sand outside of Los Noches. I could feel Grimmjow still, but he was far enough away that I couldn't tell just what direction. Had it been through him I had felt that, or was it something else?

"Inside that big building," Raacharg said as he shifted so his snout was over my other shoulder, allowing him to look in the direction he was talking about. I followed his gaze, finding the palace we had built for Aizen standing tall in the center of Los Noches' grounds.

"The palace," I said aloud so Raacharg would know what it was. "Can you tell how many people are there?"

"Grimmjow, Loly, Luien," he said their names surely, but his voice trailed off as he focused harder. "There's five distinct other presences, and a lot of lesser ones."

"Lesser ones? Like Adjuchas?"

"No, it's more than that. They all feel similar, like you and I."

I went still as I considered his words. They felt the same, like we did. Like a troupe of bonded individuals.

"There has to be one that's in charge there. Can you find them?"

"Yeah, they're one of the five," Raacharg answered with a lifted tone, expressing his curiosity.

"What do they feel like? Describe it," I said as I turned back to face the palace. Anger made my blood hot as I stalked towards the inner edge of the wall and glared at the white monstrosity in the distance. If it was Gantenbainne, I was going to make him regret having bound so many to him. I had taught him better than that.

"It's a dark presence," Raacharg said slowly. "It's different from yours. This feels like looking into a hole and having the urge to fall into it."

"Like something is pulling you in," I said softly, knowing before he agreed with me that I was right.

"Yeah," he answered, his voice distant like he was thinking too hard. Or rather, like he was distracted. That wasn't good.

"Think of me," I said quickly as I reacted and pushed power into our bond. I was already touching him, allowing me to do more than I could if I was separated from him. I knelt like I would have if I was going to let him go but didn't drop my arms, choosing to keep him touching me rather than making it so I could look at him. I closed my eyes and concentrated on our bond, taking it firmly as if I had grasped my zanpakuto. He sucked in a breath, feeling my hold in his own way.

"He's supposed to be dead," I said softly as I closed my eyes and intentionally dove into my past in my head. Images of events long over flashed through my mind, but I didn't try to grasp them until I found the memory of that very presence washed over me. I pushed the sensation through my bond, sharing it with Raacharg for only a moment.

"What is this?" Raacharg asked, his voice breathy. I had never shared a memory with him before, but I had forgotten that in my haste. Swearing under my breath at myself I bowed my head as if to hide my expression from him.

"Is that what you felt?" I asked.

"Yes, that's it," he answered. Upon his confirmation I pulled the memory back and crushed it with my own spiritual pressure. The less exposure he had to that spiritual pressure, the better.

I didn't think my swearing could cover how bad that was, but I tried anyway. "I thought I killed that fart sucker ages ago. How the shit biscuits is he alive? His corpse was with the rest. I lit those manic piss drinkers corpses on fire myself. Fucking shit balls, Raacharg. If he's still alive, those fakes are in some serious shit."

"Who is he?" Raacharg asked. I glanced back at his muzzle and swallowed the new lump in my throat.

"Arnau, one of the God Maker's direct progeny like myself."

I ground my teeth together and made a decision I was hoping I wouldn't regret. I launched off the wall in a sonido fast enough to rival even one of the fakes. If they didn't know what they were dealing with they were screwed. The God Maker had kept Arnau under his thumb with the bond, but once he had died it had been balls to the walls crazy. I had killed him to stop him from taking control of anything lesser than him. I'd have to keep Raacharg close to keep him from falling under his spell. I wasn't willing to leave Raacharg alone after having just gotten him back, even if taking him with me was riskier.

"Suppress yourself," I ordered as I did the same, feeling our presences vanish together.

"What are you going to do, Isa?"

"Kill him again," I answered like it was a casual statement.

Raacharg didn't respond to me and I thought it just as well. Being suppressed was enough of a surprise, but as I came up to the palace I began to feel them. Grimmjow was like a beacon in my head, and I used his presence as my guide as I used the reishi in the air to climb higher. The roof of the palace was riddled with holes from fights long past, and I used one like a doorway into the heart of the building. Moving as fast as I was, I knew they wouldn't see me until I stopped but it gave me little time to think about what was happening. As I arrived at the ground level I saw Grimmjow first, and went to him.

"Stay here," I ordered Raacharg as I dropped my arms and pulled his claws from my shoulders, effectively removing him from my back in less than a second. No longer connected to my movement he dropped from my sonido behind the line of Arrancar that Grimmjow was standing with while I continued on. I saw Grimmjow turn to follow my movement, but I didn't try to stop and explain as my attention went to Arnau. My attention focused solely on him, so much so that I didn't see anything but him as I moved. He hadn't noticed me, and I knew I would need the element of surprise to take him down quickly.

With my hands no longer busy holding Raacharg I pulled my zanpakuto from its sheath and darted toward Arnau. I was close enough now that I could feel him. There was no question in my mind that it was him as I extended my zanpakuto into a spear and went for him. I knew the sparks that my zanpakuto's shift created had given me away when his deep green eyes flicked to me and whatever he had been saying was interrupted. Not bothering to be sneaky anymore I let a power yell rip from my mouth as I dropped my sonido and I swung my zanpakuto down in him.

His eyes went wide and he moved in a flash of speed, drawing his zanpakuto just in time to redirect my swing from coming straight down on him to skewing sideways. My spear jarred to the side when it hit the handguard of his zanpakuto, but my movement was too controlled to change directions and my blade went through his sleeve. I landed on the ground before him, but didn't let my landing jar me as I rolled and ended on my feet. I hadn't gotten flesh when I'd gone through his sleeve, and that knowledge fueled my sense of urgency.

Finding traction I launched at him again, giving him no time to set up for me as thrust at him. He parried my thrust, but it put him off balance and I used the opportunity he'd given me. Kicking off one planted foot I flipped over, bringing my heel down on him. His arm was abruptly there to take the hit instead of his head, but the force of it had him grunting with the effort to keep his arm up.

I fell back, unable to recover from the unexpected block. Knowing from experience that he would chase me down if I gave him the chance I rebounded and got to my feet only to block his swing as he came after me. I bared my teeth in a silent snarl as I dodged his next swing then blocked the next. I needed to end this before it started.

"Pacify, Amechania," I snarled. The ringing of the metal was more than enough to ignite my resurreccion and my armor flowed into place around me, tearing my jacket from my right arm and shoulder as my shoulder pauldron formed in its place.

"It is you!" Arnau cheered almost gleefully.

That ticked me off even more and without thinking, my shield formed on my left arm. I used it to block his next thrust, then charged into him, using my shield to plough into him. He let out a grunt as I forced him across the platform that had once been made for Aizen's throne. I saw his zanpakuto lift, the rapier shaped metal glinting in the light that cascaded down from the holes in the roof. I moved to pull back, but he'd grabbed the edge of my shield, throwing me off as he struck.

I felt my shoulder pauldron shift under the blow just before his blade slipped inward and clipped my neck before I could get my zanpakuto between it and my flesh. I turned under his grip, kicking at his knee to make him release my shield before I darted back. Keeping my shield up where it would do the most good, I shifted my stance so I could effectively use my zanpakuto with one hand. My shield was like a curved disk, but on the top a crescent dip broke the circle of it's edge. My zanpakuto found its place in this dip allowing me to steady it for when I would again attack. I was breathing hard, but it was from anger rather than exertion.

"Isabellia Vaccio," Arnau said like he was pleased to see me. "I thought you were dead after all this time."

"Funny, because I thought I killed you a thousand years ago," I said snidely.

I charged at him, using my shield to keep him from even looking at my center as I thrust my zanpakuto at him in quick jabs. His sword was a thin thing that moved so quickly that it was hard to track the blade, but I knew how he fought and I used that knowledge to keep him busy as I waited for an opening. It only took a moment to find one as I made to stab at his face. I took it, using my shield to lash out and smack his sword hand before spinning my feet and setting myself up for a sweeping kick. Just as I was about to connect with his calf he vanished, making me swear as my force of movement spun me around and he reappeared on the other side of raised platform. I quickly sank back into my defensive stance behind my shield and settled my zanpakuto in the crescent made for it.

Now that I had been forced to pause due to the distance between us, I let myself take in his appearance. He looked just like he did all those years ago and was even wearing a similar outfit. A grey, seamless overcoat hung from his shoulders in a long swath of silken fabric. It almost looked like a robe in it's cut, but small clasps ran down the center of his chest to hold it snuggly to his body. There were no sleeves to his jacket, leaving his muscular arms exposed down to his wrists where fingerless gloves of the same material interrupted the sight of his honey colored skin. The length of his overcoat stopped just above his knees to transition into pants made of the same material. They were so baggy that it almost looked like a skirt that ran down to his feet.

White bone lined his jaw looking like a piece of metal rather than a bone. It was roughly an inch wide band that spiked up in places to accentuate his features underneath. Two higher spikes looked like they were inline with his bottom canines, giving him a predatory look. With frothy blonde hair that was the same color of Hueco Mundo's sand and green eyes that shade of fresh cut grass, he didn't look like the violent man that I knew he was.

"You honestly thought you killed me along with all the other Arrancar who were bound to Aether when he died?" He asked. The way he put it made me sound like the villian, but I didn't care what he thought. I knew what I had done all those years ago. I had acted out the God Maker's will, which had been known only to me.

"I burned your body with the rest," I said, confirming his accusations. "How are you still alive?"

"I didn't feel like dying that day," he said with a fierce grin. "The Soul King had killed enough of us as it was. Then you went and killed the rest."

"I only killed those who needed to die," I said sharply. "The rest of them became mine."

"And how many was that? Four? Five?" He laughed, but it wasn't a nice laugh. It was bitter and full resentment. "Aether had dozens of people bound to him, where you refused to have more than a handful. Tell me, did you kill your own people so you could take the stronger servants that Aether possessed?"

I didn't answer him as anger rose like wild fire in my chest. Of course he would see it like that. He thought I was just like him, when really I couldn't have cared less at the time. The person I was now was not even close to what I had been then.

"That's alright though. Bartolome, Melandria and I know what you did. Your actions will never be forgotten, but we can forgive them if you join us. You see, we're about to go to war with these pretenders. If you join us, we'll forgive your little murder spree."

…

"What?"

His eye twitched, most likely in irritation.

"Gods, I knew you were slow, but really?" He ran his hand down his face in an exasperated gesture. "It's no matter. You have good timing as we were just concluding our business here. Bartolome?"

I didn't even sense the movement behind me until it was so close there was no way I could avoid it. I only had enough time to think about calling my heiro before someone's leg connected with my lower back, right where the missing section of my spine left my back exposed. I fell forward as pain roared through my mind, my nerves lit on fire and my entire body seized.

I hit the ground, managing to stay on my hands and knees as my body shook with my efforts to fight the pain. Fucking cheeseballs. I had been so wrapped up in Arnau that I hadn't paid any attention to the rest of the room, or to what he had been saying. It was a rookie mistake to not gauge a fight before entering it, but I had been so hasty. He needed to die. Gods, no one knew better than I just how much he needed to die.

"I apologize for the interruption," Arnau said as I continued to struggle with myself. Even as a hand brushed my back I couldn't seem to move as I fought with myself, the pain from my back having made my body seize.

"As I was saying, either vacate Los Noches or we will remove you by force."

I felt the hand on my back slide around my waist and lift me, taking me off my hands and knees. I could do nothing to stop him, even as I felt myself being secured against someone's side.

"I don't think so," Grimmjow's voice was clear in my head, and through the bond I felt him just before the man holding me lurched and his hold on me broke. I fell the to the ground, landing hard enough that it jarred my entire body and my seized muscles finally gave. I shrank in on myself, finding just enough control over my arm to deposit my shield over my back, the metal securing on the upper portion of my spine that still remained to protect my back like a shell.

"She's one of ours," Arnau stated like it was an undeniable fact.

"No, Isa is mine," Grimmjow said fiercely, his spiritual pressure rising within me like the statement was more than just words.

Arnau didn't respond right away, and I managed to lift my head to allow myself to see him. His own green eyes flicked between me and wherever Grimmjow must have been, and his expression slowly morphed from confidence to disgust.

"You allowed yourself to become the slave of one of these pretenders?" He said, his voice soft despite is clear outrage.

I managed a grin that made his expression darken further.

"I swear to you Isabellia, if you teach these pretenders how the bond works I will make you join Aether in his grave."

My grin deepened and I managed to growl out, "he didn't have a grave. I took his spirit with me so you fucks couldn't drag him down to hell with you."

"Crafty bitch," he snarled, but it was more of a comment intended for himself. "Bartolome, let's go."

Spiritual pressures I hadn't been paying attention to vanished, quickly joined by Arnau and his flunky from behind me. Knowing that Grimmjow was standing over me even though I wasn't looking at him, I let myself slump down on the floor. My armor scraped against the stone with my movement, but I didn't care how noisy I was being as I laid flat and let the pain I was still feeling roll through me. Gods, I should have replaced my spine before I left to find Raacharg. I was a damned idiot for having not.

"Who's this?" An unfamiliar female voice asked as footsteps approached me.

"Isa Vaccio," Grimmjow answered for me. "She's one of the Privaron Espada."

I was a little annoyed that he had given this random person my name, but I was too distracted by the pain to care enough to do anything about it.

"I've never heard of her," the woman said in a flat tone.

"I hadn't as well before we found her living on the outskirts of my territory."

"Isa?" Raacharg's soft voice came over the their conversation just as I saw a black nose pass into my line of sight.

"I'm fine," I grumbled.

"What happened?" He asked as his cold nose pressed against my cheek, urging eme to get up. "I've never seen you react like that to one hit."

I gave him a grunt of acknowledgement but said nothing. My body wasn't quite ready to function normally yet, and I didn't want to admit such a fatal weakness in front of stangers.

I shook my head and slowly pulled my arms back to my body, dragging my zanpakuto to me in the same struggling movement. I didn't want to admit to a fatal weakness, especially not in front of strangers. I hadn't thought anyone was still alive that knew my weaknesses like that, though they probably hadn't expected it to hit me as hard as it had. In the past, I only took my spine off when I absolutely had to. Believing that no one would ever get close enough to learn my weaknesses, I had grown complacent. Damn it, I was a fucking idiot.

"He needs to die," I growled out as I intentionally hit the butt of my zanpakuto on the ground to make the metal ring and dropped my resurreccion. The pain dulled with the loss of my armor, but it was only enough that I was able to move without flinching. I stiffly got to my feet, using my zanpakuto to help me as I move. Bending my back wasn't possible at the moment, so it took a lot more effort. I looked far more pathetic that I wanted to, but it was better than staying on the floor.

"I never would have guessed," Grimmjow commented disparagingly.

His words ticked me off, but I held back the angered retort that wanted to come out as I made a quick glance to take in the remaining people. It was just Grimmjow's people and two other women I hadn't met before, so I didn't bother worrying about them as I turned back to Grimmjow.

"He needs to die," I said firmly. "I killed him a thousand years ago, or thought I did. Clearly he's been alive this whole time, and that is a very bad thing. I need to kill him, and I need to do it now. He's going to form an army as soon as he gets the chance. His spiritual pressure is like an addiction to those who aren't strong enough to resist. He will turn anyone that he can to his side and bind them, using them like fuel for his fire."

"We know."

"No, you don't!" I protested as I smacked the butt of my zanpakuto in the ground as if to emphasize my words. The ring of metal echoed through the room for a long moment, and I waited for it to stop before I continued. "He is almost as old as I am, but he doesn't have the same morals. The God Maker kept him bound to control him, not because he was a trusted subordinate. The God Maker never liked killing those who could achieve our level of power unless he had to. With no one to keep him under thumb, Arnau will build an army and he will use them to take control of Hueco Mundo. I can kill him, I just need to get the rest of my armor and-"

"Isa," Grimmjow said sharply, interrupting me. "We know what Arnau is because we are already at war with him."

I blinked.

I blinked again.

"How... How the hell did he start a war and I..." I had no idea. I had isolated myself so thoroughly that I had no idea. Gods, I was an idiot. I was such an idiot that it was a wonder I had ever been an Espada in the first place. "How long?"

I looked up, meeting Grimmjow gaze as I stepped to him and took his sleeve in my hand as if I was trying to force his attention to stay on me. "How long has this war been going on?"

"About five minutes now."

My hand fell from Grimmjow's sleeve and I drew back from him. Shock was a mild word for what I was feeling right now, but I didn't have the words to describe it right. I couldn't seem to think as I tried to comprehend just how far up shit creek we were. This changed everything, but I was so hung up on the fact that I had failed all those years ago that I couldn't make my brain go in another direction. Gods…

"I suppose we should start planning on how to defend Los Noches," one of the women said, starting up a conversation that I wouldn't be apart of.

"We can't defend the walls, nor the interior. It's too much ground for us to cover," the other woman said.

"I'd think that was really fucking obvious with them in the heart of our territory," Grimmjow snapped.

"We set the place."

"Yeah, but did anyone actually feel or see them coming? We set the damn place so we could gauge their numbers, not so they could wander in undetected."

"Mila Rose, Sung-sun and Apacci are outside. They should have gotten a count as they left."

"That doesn't change that we didn't see them coming, and we even knew when they would be here."

"It's Bartolome," I said in a small voice, but they kept talking like I hadn't said anything. It was probably just as well.

"We need more people."

"Ya think?"

"What about Rudbornn?"

"He's been less than useless since Yammy broke his mask."

"Maybe Keisuke could do something for him? He made it so I can remain an adult."

"I am not asking him for another goddamn favor. I'm still paying for the last one."

"Then we need to recruit our own army."

"And who would be apart of that army? A bunch of Menos Grande? He has at least a dozen Arrancar, and that's just what we've seen. They're clearly weaker than us, but what they lack in power they more than make up for in numbers." Grimmjow's voice grew soft at the last part of his sentence and I felt him turn to look at me before I lifted my gaze to meet his. His expression was a bit surprised, but his eyes were assessing. My shoulders slowly slumped under his scrutinization, but I couldn't seem to guess what he was thinking. It was like my brain had turned off. I felt dumb in this moment and all it made me want to do was back away.

So, I did.

"Raacharg, let's go," I said as I spun on my heel. He had remained standing by where I had gone down, so I was able to cross the distance quickly even with my throbbing back.

"Isa," Grimmow called after me. There was power in his words, but he hadn't actually given me an order so I kept walking. Shrinking my zanpakuto I slid it into its sheath and knelt in front of Raacharg. It hurt, but knowing I was being watched I made it look effortless. Raacharg made quick work of climbing up onto my back, and I stood as I secured his back legs with my arms.

"Wait."

And that was an order. Fan-freaking-tastic.

"You know what I am and you know what I can do. Discussing strategies is not something I can contribute to." I turned my gaze to the ceiling, gauging which one I would exit through. He had said wait, he hadn't said to stay. "I defeated him once, I can do it again. If you don't come up with some sort of plan before I have recovered, I will hunt him down myself. "

"You expect to be able to take him alone?" Grimmjow asked, clearly amused.

"My Negative Space doesn't care who you are. We are all equal inside it's boundaries."

Before he could order me to do something else I shoved off the ground, springing up with my sonido and through one of the large holes in the palace's roof.