Chapter I

Castle in the Sky

do you ever question your life?
do you ever wonder why?
do you ever see in your dreams,
all the castles in the sky...

-Ian Van Dahl

The wind howled across the barren desert, caressing the sands as it swiftly made its way toward the lone figure on the other side of three steel bars.

Dancing through her hair, its fingers swept through the only source of color within the whitewashed room. She closed her eyes as she felt it dissipate and longed to feel once more its soothing touch, or any connection at all to the world outside.

Returning her gaze to the blackened sky she sighed and held her hands against her heart, clasped tightly together and desperately grasping at the threads of hope and strength she risked losing.

"Kurosaki," she whispered, his name flowing off her tongue like the taste of sweet honey.

She prayed with all her soul that he would not despise her for leaving, or mark her as a traitor. She trusted him with her life and she longed to somehow convey to him just how much he meant to her.

She dropped her hands to her sides and then bowed her head to look upon where the light of the moon fell at her feet, bathing the ground in a surreal glow. She smiled and then bent to touch the intangible radiance.

Her hand met only the cold marble of the floor and she shook her head at the silly notion of being able to grasp such an illusion. Her hand remained, however, as if captivated by the play of light upon her skin. It glimmered so magnificently that she felt immediately drawn to the mesmerizing scene.

Lingering but a moment longer, Inoue finally stood and wrapped her arms about her torso as she glanced to the right wall and absently stared at nothing but tricks of shadow.

She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes and she allowed them to suspend but there, forever stilled and denying them the awaited travel down the contours of her cheeks.

Her mind was blank and her heart heavy as her vision began to blur and obscure the sights before her. She hugged herself tighter and held for dear life as she was now the only person in the world with whom she could keep company.

Were the rest of her days to be spent in solitude? To live forever in the world of black and white? Was all color hence absent from her eyes?

'I miss the sun,' she thought as one hand rose to clutch her long tresses, 'I miss the ocean, and the birds and the silly fish.'

She leaned into her own touch, comforted somewhat from the warmth it offered, in such cruel contrast with the chill of her cell.

'I miss cooking and shopping for delicious desserts,' she closed her eyes once more, 'and warm summer days, and cloud gazing, and working hard to defend myself against Tatsuki-chan.'

She bit her lip and desperately fought against the tears that so desired to fall, "Tatsuki-chan…" she inhaled and brought her other hand over her face, hiding the betrayal of her eyes, "Sado-kun, Ishida-kun, Rukia-chan, and…and…," she fought with all her might to not allow his name to break her resolve, "…Kurosaki-kun."

Her mind immediately took her to the moment she had lived just mere hours before her present state, in which she had touched his hand, confessed her love and nearly kissed the man she so admired.

She allowed a finger to trace her lips and wished that she had been brave enough to go through with the act. The chance was now forever denied to her and she doubted it would ever present itself again. She was a prisoner to this realm, denied every manner of pleasant things.

She suddenly shook her head and shoved her tears aside, angry with them for being so against her.

"Stop it," she chastised herself aloud.

Looking to the ceiling, Inoue repeated in her head that what she had done was for the best, and that she had saved her friends lives. In that mindset, she was able to feel a shred of happiness. Anything was worth defending their lives, anything. No punishment was too much a price to pay when she knew they would all be safe.

'I love them all,' she silently concluded within her heart.

Looking to the moon once more, Inoue decided that she was going to try and make the best of things, no matter what. She clenched a fist and thrust it forward, her brows set in a determined way. She nearly chuckled, it was like fighting Tatsuki-chan. Only, this enemy was bigger, stronger, and filled with an overwhelming hatred.

'I will not lose,' she repeated, 'I will not lose,' she repeated in her head over and over before finally releasing her new motto into the expression of voice.

"I will NOT lose!" She exclaimed, raising her fist into the air.

She had missed the soft click of the door closing, and the feeling of a presence within the room aside from her own. Her eyes widened as she watched a shadow spread over and engulf the tantalizing light of the moon bathed across the ground and over her figure. Darkness wafted over her and she slowly turned as her fist softened and collapsed; her hand returning to her side.

Her captor had arrived, his expressionless eyes regarding her with a detached and distant gleam.

Her own eyes quivered at the sight of him, her suppressed negativity being pulled from their depths and threatening to surface and destroy her newfound resolve.

An overwhelming feeling of emptiness immediately seeped through her, as if his look was poison itself, one glance casting a deadly plague into her very core.

"If I may contradict," he began, his voice so calculated and smooth it reminded her of a snake's flesh, "you HAVE already lost, and as to what in particular that might be, then my answer is this…"

He took but one step forward and then leisurely stood just enough distance away to seem imposing and yet close enough to overpower her figure. "Everything. You have already lost everything."

He tilted his head, the cruelty of his gaze piercing into her soul, "you are nothing, and have nothing. Everything you were and are now belongs to Aizen."

Inoue's mouth had parted and her eyes were unable to look away from the figure that continued to torture her feelings of hope. She could not speak, could not move, could not even think. She felt akin to a caged animal, at the mercy of a powerful and unfeeling beast.

He simply watched her, his eyes unflinching and instilling a threatening despair. Inoue's mantra faded into the blackness and she felt her own heart waver beneath the weight of a suffocating force.

"You will do as I say, when I say. There will be no objections, complaints or opinions. All your thoughts and feelings no longer hold any meaning; your will is at the hand of Aizen. Do you understand?"

Awaiting her answer, Inoue could see neither impatience nor ease within his expression. She forced a nod, unable to completely comprehend all that was being said to her.

He regarded her but a moment longer, his eyes sweeping over the school uniform she still wore, before turning to leave. He said nothing more, simply faded like a shadow into the hall beyond her door.

Inoue released the breath she hadn't realized was being held and then finally tore her gaze from the vacancy of the space her captor had occupied. She lifted her eyes to the moon, as if pleading for some reprieve. 'Help me,' she thought to herself, 'help me to be strong enough for everyone.'

Realizing that her thoughts were becoming her greatest enemy, Inoue desperately tried to find something to distract her from the reality of what was to be her life.

Casting her glance about the room, Inoue begged inspiration to present itself. Save for a single sofa, a small table and chair, and a large area rug, there was nothing within her cell. Sitting slowly upon the floor, she wrapped her legs beneath her and then let her head rest within her palm.

What could she do? Anything at all would suffice; anything that would alleviate the lingering feeling of the Espada's sovereignty over her.

His voice echoed throughout her head but she refused to dwell upon it. Such despairing words would only harm and damage what self-resilience she still held.

It was the only thing she had left, the only thing she alone had any control over. Closing her eyes she reasoned that her memories, also, were still her own.

'I am thankful,' Inoue thought with a sad smile, 'I am thankful for all the happy times.'

"Aah!" Inoue exclaimed, her eyes opening wide, 'I'm thinking again.'

She then decided to try and make up a story, she liked to create stories. She remembered how she and Tatsuki-chan would always have contests to see who could form the best fantasy.

'Right!' Inoue stated, determined before leaning back against the couch and looking up to the moon as she gave way to the creative side of her brain.

"Once upon a time," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.

'It always has to begin with once upon a time,' she thought with a soft giggle.

"There was a castle in the sky, it was so grand and magnificent that all the other castle's kings were jealous and wished to have it for themselves."

She closed her eyes, "it was a castle made entirely of mirrors, and so its color changed with the colors of the sky; pink in the morning, blue in the day, orange in the evening and filled with stars in the night. It was most beautiful in the night though, as all the lights made it shine so much more exquisitely then the moon itself. The moon was also jealous, wishing it could shine like the castle."

Sighing, Inoue settled herself more comfortably against the sofa, completely lost to her own imagination.

"The castle was lonely, however, lonelier than anything else in the world for, its halls were empty and it had no king with whom it could befriend.

Even the birds could not reach the castle; it was so high in the air. The jealous kings had no way of getting to it either, since it was a very long time ago and airplanes had not been invented.

The rain was the castle's tears, pouring to the earth and wishing someone could find a way to reach it and make it not feel so lonely anymore.

Despite being the most beautiful castle ever, no one could share that beauty. 'Why was I created?' the castle wondered, 'what point is there in being so beautiful if I am to be alone forever? Who even created me?'

Then, one evening, as the sun and moon were meeting along the horizon, something flew towards the castle. It was a dragon prince, looking for the palace he had inherited.

He had asked the kings of the earth if they knew where his castle was but they would not even answer him. They would not talk to a dragon because dragons were supposed to be evil. He was a nice dragon though, he wasn't like the others. They did not understand and so he was lonely too, with no one left to befriend him.

He was the only dragon left in the world and when he finally saw the sparkling towers of his beloved castle he was happier than he had ever been. He had finally found his home, his search was over. The castle too was filled with delight, for it had found its master, its prince. They each found their true friend and the castle shone more beautifully that night than any other…

Her voice faded and Inoue drifted to sleep, her mind filled with dreams of the world she had just created.

Unaware of everything was she. Unaware of the sound of the wind, the cold of the air and of the figure who was still standing just beyond the door.

Unaware that he had heard every word of her fantasy about the castle in the sky and of the lonesome dragon prince…