Manifest

by Ujon Nocturne

Disclaimer: Bleach and all things related to it found here are owned by Kubo Tite. Any similarities with other creations are unintended and purely coincidental. Plot line, original characters, and everything else non-canonical belongs to me.

Manifest © Ujon 2oo9 - 01/31/09

Author's Notes:

Please excuse me a minute as I just.. ah... ahaha.

No way. Kubo. Just. Made. This. CANON.

Well, sorta. Shoot, that means this isn't my idea anymore?

Man, I seriously stopped breathing for a minute when I saw the new chapter. Aizen just announced the conscience of the Hogyouku exists! (edit: well, it was new when I was first writing this). I suppose you could say that's my way of squealing up and down in complete and utter joy. Looks like Kubo and I had the same idea after all, but would you say I had a head start? Either way, you could say that I'm really happy right now for some reason and I'm determined to continue this fic. It has been a while (edit: reaaally long while), but I'm back.

So without further ado, I give you the fourth chapter.

Chapter Four | Insomnia

CLANG.

"Oi, woman." The man's by now familiar husky voice rang into the night, sounding completely awake. His electric blue hair stood out quite easily in the basically stark white abode, and he just stood there by the doorway with his bandages a constant reminder of his condition peeking from under his shirt, his arms across his chest in a reprimanding stance. He narrowed his eyes at the girl. "What are you doing down here?"

Shizuka turned her gaze down over her shoulder, her hands still reaching up into the cupboards as she stood on tiptoe—basically caught red-handed after making a mess of all the pans and pots on the floor. Both feet planted firmly on the floor, both her hands grasping at whatever she'd taken, she stared at him a moment with that same apathetic look in her crimson eyes. The clutter seemed all but forgotten as she gave her answer in that same monotone manner. "This is my house." That she seemed unconcerned didn't help any.

Grimmjow suppressed his irritation and returned her gaze evenly. "Answer the question."

She turned away from him and walked over to the fridge, pulling the door open and letting its light burst into the room. "Thirsty."

The man criticized the mess of metal the girl had left on the floor quietly. Meanwhile, she listened to the man's footsteps as he approached. She could hear him picking up the metal wares from the tiled floor, imagining how easily he would be replacing them back up into the cupboards she still had trouble reaching alone. She was startled, however, when he spoke. And she realized he was right behind her. His voice was low, controlled. "What?"

Shizuka was still for a moment, before she collected herself and replied. "I'm thirsty." She didn't exactly feel the need to explain herself; that much was obvious from the way she spoke. Then again, that was how she always spoke. With Grimmjow holding the door open from behind her, she reached into the fridge, not even turning to him. "I was just getting some milk."

He grunted, unconvinced. "It's friggin' three in the morning." And at the moment he said this, he easily snatched the bottle from her hands. Closing the fridge, she looked up at him, frowning, and could only watch as the man himself drank the contents of the container. Shizuka was dismayed, but at least he didn't finish it all in one go—like he did last time, about five or ten times. She'd had to lug back a weeks worth of milk from the grocery store on her last trip because of him. And though she never complained, she wasn't particularly used to carrying such heavy things at that kind of distance. That she was upset at the memory seemed obvious enough as Grimmjow peered down at her. Quietly, he put the bottle aside and just watched her expectantly.

The girl looked away, her crimson eyes slightly downcast. It wasn't like that was the only thing bothering her. Not tonight. And though she'd avoid letting him see that, she was aware that the man was already too keen to miss these things. He wanted to know why she was down here. She gave him her reason. He didn't have to voice it to say he didn't believe her. And so he waited. He watched her, the demand in his eyes. Shameful as it was, she couldn't withstand the weight. She walked around him and moved towards the kitchen counter to get herself the glass she'd gone all that trouble to... reach. "I can't sleep."

"Don't give me that." Grimmjow's voice wasn't accusing; he was certain. She hadn't slept at all. He knew it. And she knew he did. Despite this, Shizuka didn't say anything. She didn't turn to meet his eye like she usually would either, and this only irritated Grimmjow even more. "Don't be an idiot, woman." He wore his usual scowl as he spoke, but his voice was not harsh. "Go to sleep."

Shizuka stood firm, her fingers slipping off the glass as she placed it back on the counter. "No." Wha—? The man's eyes widened by a fraction, obviously startled by the uncharacteristic reply. The girl turned her head to the side, but her eyes, beneath the platinum of her hair, eluded him. She parted her lips. "I don't want to." A nerve popped on the man's forehead, and she started to leave. She didn't once turn back to acknowledge him again. "I won't." That's it. Grimmjow gritted his teeth. The urge to break something practically ate at his very bones, but he just watched as she disappeared beyond the doorway, her little steps quiet as she turned down the hall. As much as he owed the girl, she was just so damn stubborn.

She hadn't been this way before, but her attitude had steadily begun changing. For a while now, too, that even he would notice. It was for the worse. He didn't like it one bit. But he couldn't exactly blame the girl. And he couldn't do anything about it either. The blue-haired man grunted a curse to himself, shoving his hands into his pockets, taking a deep breath and following after her.

It started a few nights ago.

Shizuka woke up from bed, screaming her heart out with her hands pressed hard against the sides of her head. Blood. There was so much blood. Her room was dark, and she could tell that it was only a few hours after midnight. Swiftly, she pushed her sheets off of her and bolted off the bed, pulling her door open in an uncharacteristically violent manner. She continued running down the halls thoughtlessly, her feet making muffled thumping sounds across the carpet. But she suddenly stopped as her hands wrapped around the silver doorknob, she finally noticed the tears running down her face, and she realized what she was doing.

On that account, she realized even she didn't know what she was doing.

"Grimm…jow…?" Her already small voice was even smaller now, as the tears in her eyes continued to blur her vision. Drops of moisture rolled down her cheek and dripped to her quivering hands beneath. She closed her eyes momentarily, her fingers slowly grasping the knob tighter, her muscles slightly tense as she just stood there. Wordlessly, she continued to tell herself that it was all just a dream, wiping the tears away with the heels of her wrists. It was all just a very disturbingly vivid, violent, bloody, alarmingly familiar dream. None of it was real. He was safe. He was here, alive, with her. It was all just one long, horrible nightmare.

But that didn't change the fact that it scared the living lights out of her.

With a hesitant gulp, Shizuka opened her eyes and twisted the knob, gently pushing the door open. A chill breeze greeted her, like a soft kiss to her face, before she was met by the peaceful scene of a dim-lit room bathed in moonlight, onyx drapes fluttering lightly in the midnight air. There was no rain tonight. There were no clouds. Only the stars and the wind and the moon in the velvet night sky. She took one step into the room, any sound muffled by the plush carpet at her feet, as her head popped through the small opening timidly while her hands on the door held her weight. "Grimmjow," she whispered meekly, "are you awake?"

At first, there was silence. And then, a slight shuffle of sheets. Finally, his low, controlled voice. "What do you want?"

The girl stared at his figure for a while, her brilliant ruby eyes carefully studying his face. Though there was a heavy crease between his brows, that ever-lasting scowl, he appeared rather peaceful. He was less vulnerable now than he was a few weeks ago, but he still wasn't healed completely. Nevertheless, she knew he was fine. There had been nothing to worry about from the start. With an inward sigh of content, she shook her head, though his closed eyes forbade him to see. She hadn't realized she'd ventured a few steps into the room already, no longer behind her hiding-place of a door. "Nothing," she whispered quietly, turning away slowly. "Please, forgive me."

"Oi." She stopped midway, then pulled back and turned her head to look at his silhouette against the moonlight. He was seated upright on his bed, his large form outlined in a silvery glow, his unruly electric-blue hair alight with the moon. His features were hidden in his shadow, but what he wore on his shadowed expression she could hear in his voice. "I said what do you want?"

She clenched her fists. "Nothing," she insisted sternly, her words now toneless. "I apologize for bothering you." She began pulling the door closed. "Good night."

Like he'd fall for that now. He had to resist rolling his eyes. "You were screaming."

At that, her heart skipped a beat, and she froze. He'd heard her? It was that loud? "This wasn't the first time." Now her heart threatened to burst. She was lead to believe he was a heavy sleeper, because he was most of the time. She dreaded the mere memory of her nightly terrors. But now that he was there to confirm it, it only made them real. So she stood there for a while, her big red eyes swimming in shame, and yet at the same time, they were almost blank. What inner turmoil she was cooking for herself in that hard head of hers, Grimmjow could only imagine, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Oi." The sound of the man's voice brought Shizuka back from her thoughts, as if reminding her of his presence. "What was it?"

She immediately snapped out of her little reverie, her eyes slightly crinkled with unease. Nightmare, she wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. She didn't want to concern him about trivial matters, and this was trivial, so she wouldn't. "It is of no importance," she said instead.

"Tell me what it was." His demand came in a low, dangerous voice that they both knew she could not ignore. Ashamed, the girl turned her head down to one side, unable to look at even his form. Yes, she had proven herself to be quiet a stubborn girl. But she knew when she'd already lost, and there was no more point in fighting it.

"I had a bad dream." The man did not show any signs of surprise, and had just turned to face the window, though she could properly glimpse his features now. She looked up at him, noted how much more stoic and cold he looked, and so she turned her eyes to the floor. Her soft voice, she forced to harden, swallowing back the uneasy feeling building from within her. The fear, the pain, but not the memory.

"You were in it."

Shizuka didn't sleep in any of the nights that followed. Grimmjow had been subtly aware of her moving around the house in the wee hours of the morning; and he didn't exactly feel like falling asleep either. However, exhaustion easily took hold of his still healing body. There were still many wounds that needed mending. At least while he was in that state, he didn't exactly have complete control over it.

Things stayed relatively the same otherwise. Whenever he woke up, his meals would be prepared on the glass table in the middle of the room for him. The only thing different was the fact that, well, the girl didn't wake up waiting for him to eat anymore. She'd just laid there, asleep, across the room from him. And she'd usually wake up when the sun was already down.

She rarely spoke at all after that night. Steadily, the girl had turned into something like a machine. Having come from where he had, it wasn't exactly something the man could be appreciative of.

In fact,

It was getting on Grimmjow's nerves.

"Where do you think you're going?" Grimmjow growled, his eyes on the girl's form as she stood by the door, slipping her arms into a black coat and picking up an umbrella from against the wall. Shizuka didn't treat him any differently from earlier, and basically ignored him as she slipped into her boots and afterwards reached for the doorknob, pulling the door open. A cool breeze blew in. Snow danced lightly outside, and the open doorway didn't look so different from a frame to a pretty picture. The silver moonlight was bright against the snow. You could just imagine the platinum-haired girl disappearing into such a scene so easily. Were it not for her coat, that is.

"I'm going for a walk," she told him softly, stepping through as she opened her umbrella.

That was just it for Grimmjow. Was this girl stupid or what? He might not have been alive very long, but he at least knew that letting a girl walk the city streets all by herself in the dead of night was still pretty much idiotic. With a grimace, he marched over. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier?" he hissed beneath his breath, reaching out and grasping her shoulder. "It's three in the morning." It was cold out, and his bandages wouldn't be enough to keep him warm outside under this weather, but his voice was firm. "You're not going out."

"I'm not a child," she answered, almost too quickly. Shizuka still didn't look at him, even as she gingerly pulled the man's bandaged hand off her shoulder. And she started walking away. "I can do as I like."

… That was it?

That was the reason—?

The man growled a low, dangerous growl. He's had just about enough of this ridiculous charade. He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut. It was taking everything in his power to restrain himself from punching a hole in the wall. Or in this case, break every bone in his arm for just trying. Grunting, he slammed his hand against the doorframe and started towards the girl. "Oi, wo—!

He stopped, his eyes wide open as his whole body froze up on the spot.

Grimmjow stood by the foot of door, wide-eyed. What the? He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There were Hollows ripping into the living world's dimension. Here. Now. And they were doing so right above the red-eyed girl that was just… standing there.

Shizuka finally turned around, a slight frown in her eyes as she looked at the man, oblivious to the brewing danger literally hanging over her head. Her eyes were softened then, apologetic again. She was happy to see the man standing, walking, well. He looked stronger now. And she was happy to know that he wouldn't break so easily again. But she was ashamed that she'd have to cause him this kind of trouble over something so trivial now.

It had taken her a while to notice the alarm in his ever frequent frown or the unnerving tension in his presence. It was… different. Something was off. Her frown shifted slightly, and her eyes narrowed in confusion. Only then did she realize that the man wasn't even looking at her, so she followed his gaze.

No way.

She didn't see it. She didn't hear it. She didn't feel the pressure of its mere presence even as it drew back a clawed arm, poised to strike. The hollow preparing to end her life right then and there. It roared, and though she didn't hear it, she faintly heard the sound of Grimmjow's coarse voice echoing at the back of her skull as she turned her eyes back to what she vaguely registered to be a shock of blue charging swiftly right at her. The faint sound of an empty roar; the distinct clatter of her umbrella against the ground. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the large man's body crashed against her smaller frame, and for a few moments she could distinctly hear her heart and her blood pulsing loudly in her skull. Shizuka's eyes were open wide. She didn't understand what was happening, but the panic was apparently contagious. She could feel the man's heart hammering against his chest, and against her own.

But it wasn't as if she had time to ponder on this.

Not with the man howling in pain right beside her ear.

Not with the crimson rain painting the world before her eyes.

Grimmjow grimaced as he hit the ground, grinding his teeth together as he held the girl tighter against him, and he cursed beneath his breath. Shizuka couldn't see much, but she had been able to catch a glimpse of what no doubt was blood. His blood. The rusty scent was familiar to her senses, but she wasn't exactly fond of it all the same. Pulled against the man's chest by his strong arms, there wasn't really much the young woman could do. She could only listen to the increasing labor to his breathing, and she didn't like it one bit. Unconsciously, her fingers grasped at the fabric of his shirt—and she froze for a minute as she felt the dampness of his blood—but in a voice as steady as she could muster, she spoke. "Grimm—?"

"—Shut up a minute." His voice was not harsh, nor was it kind. But it was enough to imply the need for alarm. Though perhaps the girl would not understand, he knew she'd do what he needed her to. Shizuka complied, not making another sound, her hold on his shirt just tightening. Was she scared? Yes. Why? Even she didn't know. But for now, that would be enough.

Great. Grimmjow had to be honest. He had been itching for a fight from the moment he woke up, but now that he was human, it was all rather pointless. This body was strong, but it wasn't strong enough. And as if that wasn't bad enough, it was damaged. Healing, sure, but still damaged. To be crippled by a blow from such a low-level hollow—him, Grimmjow Jeaguerjaques for kami's sake—was beyond humiliating.

The hollow howled again behind him, and the ex-Espada cursed for the nth time.

How very nasty, that old man.

It was that same. It was the watcher with that cold, lying presence. It carried in its words a certain familiarity to that of whom he spoke. And by the sound of his smile, there was no mistake about it—he was amused. A bit disappointed, perhaps, but amused nonetheless.

The stranger crossed his arms over his chest and shook his bowed head.

Pulling tricks like this on me now, is he?

He laughed, a sinister but controlled laughter in the dark. He was decided. Raising a long sleeved arm into the air, a muted glint came alight against what were no doubt the razor-sharp tips of a lethal edge. One could almost see the malice in his menacing grin as he brought the blade down against the door… and a light burst before his eyes. An ethereal, violet glow roared—a mute scream against his form—sending his short, colorless hair flying in wisps about his head beneath the light of the moon.

He stepped back, bringing the deadly blade to his lips, and with a smile he licked the trickling blood from its edge.

That'll show him.

Then, with a somewhat disappointed sigh, he turned on his heel and began walking. When he stopped midway, and turned his gaze over his shoulder towards the door. A frown lined his lips, but it was not grave so much as it was upset. Normally, one would expect much more from him. The male grinned, and with a nonchalant shrug to himself, started to leave.

Each step, each sound, each click of his heels against the ground… there came with the ominous echo of a rip, of a groan, of a tear in the fabric of reality. The light of the moon glowed about his contours, until a thick darkness weighted around his form, and the man was swallowed by the unearthly howls of the night.

And in its wake, the scream of a girl.

That night, her nightmare, that sound that woke Grimmjow way before Shizuka had begun screaming. He'd heard it. It was too familiar to him to not recognize it. Hollows. He'd known what it meant, but he didn't want to believe it then. He'd also known that there would be no avoiding it.

That they'd been targeted. And that they'd been found.

Author's Notes:

And from here I hope to get the plot back on track.

I am so terribly sorry it took this long for the update! You guys are awesome and you deserve so much better. I promise, I will make it up to you guys soon. Besides, this fic is too important to me for me to abandon it. Just needed some time and a little space, I guess… what with all that's happening in the manga. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this one, even if for only a little bit. I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming from here on out.

Oh, and about the sequence of events—really sorry if I'm confusing anyone. I hope what I've got is okay so far. I'll do everything I can to make it better in the next chapters, I promise!

To you guys that are still there, even after all this time, thank you so much.

If it's not too much to ask, please R&R?

Your authoress,

Ujon Nocturne