17: Emotional

(NARRATORS CORNER) After Aizens three espada were defeated, the wall of fire slowly collapsed revealing Aizen, Tousen, and Gin. Ichigo arrived shortly in time for the Captains to all agree that he and Grace were the only two who would be able to defeat Aizen. Ichigo and Grace now stood to the side trying to formulate a plan in their heads. 

Grace's POV

(A/N: The battle between Ichigo and Aizen is going to be different. Basically Ichigo is going to use the last move thing that ended up making his powers deteriorate, but it will essentially appear to have no effect. Grace may or may not defeat Aizen herself.)

Orange top and I were standing there staring at Aizen. The captains were attempting to fight him, but in the end it was Momo who they had been defeating. Ichigo had to stop them. The only question is....how do we defeat Aizen? Ichigo charged at him head on and I wasn't paying attention. No one that I know of knows about my second Zanpakuto...Maybe that's what I should use? I glanced at the fight Ichigo was having with Aizen. He and AIzen were on the ground, and Ichigo was using some new hidden technique of his Zanpakuto. 

I jump down behind Ichigo a couple of feet and watch them. Ichigo holds his Zanpakuto up in the air and uses his getsuga. When he swings it down at Aizen, the power is so strong it almost knocks me off of my feet. I watch as Aizen is blown back in surprise. 

(Skipping whole dramatic scene where Ichigo realizes his last move was a fail)

Ichigo is pretty broken up about this....maybe I should step in now?

Go get em! Akumu cheers inside my head. I sigh at him and unsheathe him. 

Hey...Akumu?I think. I step up walking past Ichigo and facing Aizen. 

Hm? he replies. 

"Scare them half to death, Akumu no Oji,"I say quietly. I keep just walking. Aizen laughs at me. 

"You think you can defeat me?! I know you have a second Zanpakuto! It was my plan to unlock it! Don't even try to go against me,"Aizen laughs crazily. 

With your bankai....I begin. 

Oh! You just have to say bankai and it'll work. Don't worry, the only training for you is maybe controlling it. But I don't think thats going to be a problem at all! Akumu laughs. We'll give Aizen a load of fear! There are three different variations for my power in Bankai. The first is the weakest, its called Kyofu no Kumo! This one can be activated by just calling that out and wrapping the whip around him. This one isn't very effective. If you do it right a small cloud of the gas will be released from the spacers in the whip and can cause him to hallucinate. (A/N: Kyofu no Kumo = Cloud of Fear.)

Ok. The others? I ask.

Right! The next one is semi strong. It's called Kyofu no Wana! This one is activated by swinging the whip around in the air and calling its name out! Akumu tells me. The move really doesn't do much but if used correctly you may be able to wrap the whip around him and stab him with poison spikes that come out of the whip! I'd use the first then this one. (A/N: Kyofu no Wana=Trap of Fear)

All right. The last? I ask him. Aizen is staring me down as I walk towards him.

This one is my favorite its called Akumu no Firudo. Activate it by slapping the whip on the ground! This will create a dome of darkness, similar to Kaname Tousen's this one cuts off all senses of the enemy. You'll be able to slash him with your whip, and the nightmare hallucenogenic gasses will make him die! Akumu tells me cheerfully. (A/N: Akumu no Firudo= Field of Nightmares.)

Die? How? 

Well...you know what my call is! Scare them half to death is kind of my thing! But if I scare him too much, he'll beg for you to end his life! Also. The gas wont work on you at all, so In the bankai final state you can make the dome emit a gas inside of it! This will essentially get to his brain even more. Have fun! Akumu replies. My zanpakuto is so scary....

"Do you think you can defeat me using your Shikai?! You're so stupid!"Aizen shouts at me. I stop about a yard away from him. 

"Bankai,"I say. A mass of black reitsu surrounds me. Aizen steps back. 

"What?!"

"Aizen, there's more to everyone than you might think. Don't laugh at me for attempting to fight you, and don't laugh at Ichigo for failing,"I tell him quietly. I close my eyes and the reitsu is still surrounding me. My two blades combine into one long whip and the black reitsu wraps itself around me creating a cloak. The hood falls on my head and blocks most of my face from view. The reitsu stops. 

"When did you learn bankai?"Aizen growls. 

"Just now. See...my new zanpakuto...is a bit scary. He scares even me. He's the prince of Nightmares,"I tell Aizen. I jerk my wrist and the whip almost wraps around Aizen. He blocks it with his sword. Damnit i missed!

"Tch. I guess this is what I expect from my new weapon,"Aizen says closing his eyes and narrowing them at me. 

"Your new weapon? Please. I would never serve anyone as vile as you,"I scoff. He laughs and smiles. 

"Yes. You're right. Which is why...I would have to take your chain away,"Aizen dashes at me and attacks with his sword. I quickly unsheathe Tengokuhime and block his blade with her. 

Ow! Tell me when you're going to do that before you do it damn you! she hisses at me. 

Sorry, he caught me by surprise. I reply and I wrap the whip around him earning a wide-eyed look of shock. 

"Kyofu no Kumo,"I say smirking. A cloud of black dust puffs out and before he can stop himself he inhales it. 

"What...what is this?! What happened!?"He shouts confused. I release the whip and he launches backwards. 

"You know...fear is something one should have in battle,"I say quietly. 

"What...what the hell do you mean?! Fear?! I have no fear!"Aizen growls at me. I tilt my head to the side as he stares at me in shock and he suddenly takes a step back. "Wh....what are you?! You're not Grace!" 

"Oh. But I am her,"I reply. I raise the whip up and swing it around fast. "Kyofu no Wana!"I wrap the whip around him again. He makes a choking sound and I see spikes sticking through him in several spaces. Ow....looks painful....

"Wh...what...."He chokes. I pull the whip back releasing him. I smile and he falls back letting out a girlish scream. 

"Oh what's wrong?"I ask him and walk towards him a little. He panics and crawls back, forgetting his sword on the ground. He launches forward and picks it up grimacing in pain. 

"To....to think you....someone like you can actually hit me....at all.....it's unbelievable,"Aizen growls out.

"You should believe it. Because....I'm about to kill you,"I reply. He stares at me in shock. I use the first move again. This time he screamed when he looked at my face. He turned to avoid eye contact. 

Aizen's POV( I wanted to let you know what he was seeing!)

Grace...no not Grace....whatever this thing was advanced towards me. 

"What's the matter Aizen?"The thing with Grace's voice asked me. It had gouged out eyes and everytime it opened its mouth to speak spiders and snakes spewed out. It was disgusting. "Scared of me?"

"N-no!"I growled and stood up swallowing. It took another step towards me and I launched back only to be wrapped around with it's whip again. Another black cloud of dust hit me in the face and I coughed and sputtered. 

"Alright. Do you surrender? Or should I kill you?" Grace-not-Grace asked me. 

"Kill me? As if you could!"I screamed in rage and I launched towards it/her in an attack. 

"Ok. Sorry but.. you'll be dead in a while."

Grace's POV

He seemed pretty angry at me as he attempted to attack me. I slammed the whip to the ground. 

"Akumu no Firudo!"I yelled. He suddenly falled to the ground and a large black space surrounded both of us. He looked around in surprise and worry. 

"Wh...why can't I see?"He said and his voice echoed. 

To eject more gas, just say Eject Akumu! Akumu told me. 

"Eject, Akumu,"I whispered. Aizen can't hear me...but I don't want to kill him. I feel...pity as I see the gas hit him and he lay there on the ground convulsing. 

"Make it stop!"Aizen screamed. I looked at the ground. 

"Eject, Akumu,"I whispered again. I don't want to deal the finishing blow with my own hand...maybe he'll just die of fear. 

"AGH!"Aizen yelled. He clutched his head and I walked to him and stopped in front of him. I looked down at the tormented and ruined man. I used to think he was creepy....but now look at him. In this gross state because of the Hogyoku. Despicable....and terrible....why can't I kill him? 

"Eject. Akumu,"I say quietly. You have to kill him...don't just make him suffer. That's even worse. Aizen sobbed and shook beside me. Was he crying? 

"Make it stop please! Please!"he screamed over and over again. 

"Eject Akumu,"I repeat. Is...this what I've become? Someone who tortures? Aizen rolled on the ground and screamed repeatedly. "Eject, Akumu." Should I just kill him? 

Just...finish him Grace. Tengokuhime whispers to me. 

But that's...worse than watching him like this....I reply quietly. Aizen convulses and he coughs and gags. If he throws up I might too....

He wont. He is just dry heaving...but seriously. Grace, I understand you're not like me. You don't like fear or pain, but you have to end this. Or it may mentally damage you worse than it is to him. Akumu tells me. I swallow and unsheathe Tengokuhime again. It's ok...no one will think less of you. Just end his suffering. He's begging for it. I look down at the sobbing Aizen. 

"Please,"He sobs. I raise the sword and stab him. He falls dead with several last tears streaming down his face. 

I sheathe Akumu no Oji and the black barrier falls. Outside it I see Kisuke and a small group of people staring at the two of us. I wonder...what they think? Aizen dead on the ground...and me not a single scratch but holding two Zanpakuto? I stare at Aizens deteriorating body and I feel myself begin to cry. I walk towards them with my head down. I look at my hands. I just killed someone. I made them suffer and then I killed them....

Grace...it's no big deal he deserved to die. Tengokuhime says to me. I look at her blade and see Aizens blood glittering there, mocking me. I stop walking and just stand still. 

No one...no one deserves death, no one deserves the suffering I just forced on him. I reply. I look up to see everyone running over to me. 

"Grace! Are you ok?"Orihime shouts at me. I stare at her. Oh...Orihime made it out? Does that mean all the espada are dead? Ulquiorra and Grimmjow too? 

Are you really getting sappy about monsters Aizen created? Remember the horrible things they did! Tengokuhime shouts at me. 

But...they were just following orders from someone else. They didn't mean anything by it they had to do what they were told. I whispered to her. 

"Grace?"says another voice. My eyes trail over and it's Rukia. She glances behind me to the deteriorating body of Aizen. "Are you...ok?" Ok? Am I? How do I respond? Am I ok? Or do I not know? Why am I so numb right now? I feel a hand clap onto my shoulder and glance to see Kisuke. The tears that I hadn't notice that had stopped, start flowing again. Kisuke stares at me with confused eyes. I look down at Tengokuhime's blade and wipe the blood off of it with my hand. Aizen's blood.... I sheather her and stare at the red that was now staining my hand. I don't answer anyone asking if I'm ok. I notice Ichigo walking up and he stands in front of me, towering over me. 

"She's not ok, so don't keep asking her that,"He tells everyone and they all look at him in surprise. He...how does he know? "She's in shock from just killing someone. It's not that she believed he was innocent. No. She knows that he did a lot of wrong things." I stay silent. "But she also knows that no matter how bad the things are that anyone's done...no one deserves death by anothers hand." At this point i feel myself smile. 

"Thank...you...."I whisper and then the world goes dark. 

Toshiro's POV

Grace had been gone for a while when I glanced to where they were battling Aizen. There was a large black dome standing around the area. I tried to sit up but the Squad 4 member who was tending to me shoved me back down. 

"Captain,  please don't move until I finish treatment,"they told me. I stared at the area and watched the dome collapse in on itself. What happened? Who made that dome? 

A little while more passed when I saw a group of people running towards the area where everyone was being healed. In Kisuke Urahara's arms lay Grace's body. I attempted to move but was shoved back again. 

"Captain-"

"No! That's Grace he's carrying!"I shouted and ended up having to be held down. They carried Grace over and laid her down a little ways away from me. I stared as the Squad 4 members who were available rushed to her. "Grace!" 

"Captain, we're almost finished just sit still for a moment more!"one of the relief members insisted. I stayed and when they released me I immediately jumped up and ran to her. 

"Grace!"I shouted. She'd better not be dead. I noticed her wings...and I was shocked. One of her wings was completely black and the other was white. 

"Captain, your Third Seat is ok, we were just checking on her to make sure. You may sit with her if you like, but I advise against awakening her,"an attendant told me. I nodded once and sat beside her. So...she's just sleeping. Haha....I was so worried about her....and she only turned out to be asleep. It's kind of annoying to me. I noticed she had one extra blade beside her. Like her wings, both sheaths were different. one black (the one I recognized) and one white. How strange.... two Zanpakuto. I wanted to grab her hand and found mine inching closer to hers by itself. I stopped it and turned a little red. 

"Grace, you idiot. Going and getting kidnapped, only to return like this,"I whispered to her shaking my head and closing my eyes. I sighed. I felt someone grab my hand and opened my eyes to see Grace holding it. She was still asleep. Such a total idiot....both of us. Me loving you like this...its shameful. I'm a soul reaper I shouldn't be plagued by petty emotions like this. And yet.....She squeezed my hand and I felt my heart tighten. And yet I'm still crazy about you.  

(Now they're back in Soul Society, it's been three days and Grace hasn't woke up yet)

Grace's POV

I felt darkness all around me. And for some reason....I couldn't open my eyes. I had heard Toshiro's voice a while ago. But....I can't remember how long that was. What happened? Where am I? Why can't I open my eyes? 

What can I remember?

Grace.....

What's going on? Who's there?

It's me....it's Akumu. Sorry...I shouldn't have let you use so much of my power at one time....

Akumu? Who's that? Oh...right....I have two Zanpakuto....

Listen....if this happened to you with only one gate of power...I don't want you to use me and open another one....just train more before you do ok? Promise me that?

...if what happened? What happened? An image of a dead Aizen flashed through my mind. Oh...right....that is what you're talking about?

Yeah. Now! Come on and wake up ok? That cute boy is waiting for you!

Cute...Toshiro is waiting for me?

Mhmmmm. He hasn't left your side for two days. He had to on the first...you know what with returning to Soul SOciety and giving squad orders and junk. 

Squad....OH SHIT I'M HIS THIRD SEAT AND I'VE BEEN OUT FOR THREE DAYS!?

Hey...it's ok he doesn't mind it. He just...really misses you. I can hear his Hyorinmaru you know, and Hyorinmaru always talks about how much his master misses you. He says it's kind of funny. 

Oh...wait. How can you hear...?

Well I am a Zanpakuto. When Toshiro falls asleep by you, I can enter into his inner world. It's fun actually, other than his inner world is so cold. There is one portion though thats   nice and warm. I think that's because you left such a big impact on him! 

Sh-Shut up! I'm waking up now stupid! 

Ok! Have fun with Toshi-chan! I open my eyes slowly. The light almost hurts them but it doesn't really. I glance around the room and slowly sit up holding my head. 

"Ow," I mutter. I feel something warm by my hand and glance down to see Toshiro resting his cheek on my hand. He's kind of cute when he sleeps.... He stirred and his eyes open slowly. He blinks and sits up. He stares at me for a second. 

"GRACE!"He screams and he immediately wraps his arms around me. I turn bright red. 

"Uh...hello..."I stutter embarrassed. He squeezes me.

 You should confess, Gracie! Akumu tells me. 

Wh..what no!

You really should. He's waited for you, Tengokuhime agrees. I swallow. Toshiro releases me. 

"I missed you. They didn't do anything to you did they?!"He demands. I shake my head. 

"Ah...no...they didn't,"I reply. He smiles and his face softens.

"Oh, good. I thought I might have to go out and bring them back to kill them again,"Toshiro says jokingly. I smile and laugh slightly. 

"Ah...listen, Captain Hitsugaya,"I begin. 

"Nope. Toshiro,"He corrects. I sigh. We're back to THAT again are we?

"Ok fine. Toshiro, I have something to say,"I swallow. I pull my legs cross legged under me and he stares at me. 

"What is it?"He asks. 

"I...."I say and then close my mouth. 

"Hm?"

"I....uh....I"M SORRY FOR SLACKING ON MY DUTIES AS YOUR THIRD SEAT!"I shout at him. He smiles and then bursts out laughing. That isn't what I wanted to say! DAMN IT!

"It's ok, you can get to work after you have one more day, ok?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Me: Geez Grace it isn't hard to say! We know he wont reject you!

Grace: I'M SORRY I PANICKED OK!

Toshiro: Reject who? Say what? 

Grace: NOTHING NO ONE ZERO NADA 

Toshiro:....um ok? That's enough answers.....

All The Captains: You are oblivious.....

Rangiku: He's just a little new at this is all, Captains. 

Byakuya: And I was new with Hisana...but i never messed up this bad. Anyways it is really Grace's fault in all honesty. 

Grace: WHAT?!

Me: He's kinda right....well hope you enjoyed!