Ichirin No Hana

Yuri woke slowly the next morning. She turned and reached over, half-asleep, and felt nothing but the smooth silk sheets of the bed. She opened her eyes and squinted at the bright artificial sunlight pouring in the window then looked around the room. Gin had apparently left her be to sleep in late. She sat up and rubbed her eyes then noticed a pile of clothes left on a nightstand beside her. She picked them up then padded her way across the cold marble floor back toward the door she knew to be the bathroom.

Once there, Yuri set the clothes on the bench she had sat on the previous night the moved over to a nearby sink. As she approached she saw a fresh washcloth and some towels set out to the side and smiled. She thought of how Gin must have anticipated what she would do once she got up and prepared the things she would need ahead of time. She looked into the vanity mirror and contemplated the situation she was in. Things had now been complicated ten fold.

She turned on the faucet and began washing her face. She couldn’t help feeling just a bit frightened as she thought of the events of the previous night. Aizen had now claimed her as his “plaything” and would come for her whenever he pleased. Meanwhile, Gin was forced to stand silently in the wings as he watched over her. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she didn’t know what to do about any of it. What could she do? She also didn’t know for how long she would be able to endure the inevitable. She desperately wanted to stay with Gin, especially since it was apparent she would never be able to leave Hueco Mundo, but she didn’t want to be forced to be Aizen’s lover at the same time. She wanted to leave this place, make a life for herself with Gin someplace else where they could be happy, but it was impossible.

She forced the jumble of thoughts from her mind and finished freshening up. There was no way she could sort through all this now. There was nothing that could be done at the moment. She just wasn’t strong enough to escape from Aizen and Hueco Mundo on her own. Although she could now fend for herself against lower ranking arrancar, she still couldn’t even think about taking on any espada. And even if she could escape from her virtual prison, where would she go and would Gin come with her? She was stuck and until she could figure a way out of her current predicament, she would stay stuck and have to endure it.

Yuri sighed and went back over to the bench to the pile of clothes Gin had left for her. She picked up a piece and unfolded it to reveal a haori that resembled Gin’s. Yuri knew it wasn’t his though. It was much smaller and more petite, plus it had a slightly different cut at the collar. She tried it on and found it was fitted to her exact size. She then removed it again and laid it aside, smiling. She picked up a second piece, which she was sure would be a kosode, but turned out to be a halter top. After putting it on and adjusting it, she picked up the hakama and slide into them. She tied her pale blue obi, threw on her haori once again and chuckled as she looked at herself in a full-length mirror. Her new outfit looked somewhat like a cross between Gin’s and Halibel’s.

Yuri couldn’t help but to giggle loudly. She supposed it was Gin’s way of telling the others that she belonged to him, yet he was teasing them at the same time. She turned this way and that, inspecting how she looked. She was feeling a bit self-conscious in these clothes. She was always rather conservative and never thought to wear something so revealing in public before. The V-neck of the halter plunged low, her new hakama were very loose fitting and the slits in the sides showed much more skin than she probably would ever feel comfortable with. But Gin had these clothes tailored especially for her, so she supposed it wouldn’t hurt for her to wear them for him. Actually, she was feeling kind of liberated in them. She thought of how her last set of clothes was rather constricting and cumbersome. These ones were roomy and showed off her curvy figure. In these, she felt kind of… free.

oOoOoOoOo

Yuri took one last look at herself in the mirror, primped her hair a bit then smoothed out some wrinkles in her haori and walked out of the bathroom. She walked over to the bed and looked at it then scanned the rest of the room. It was then it struck her that no one had come yet to clean it. She supposed Gin’s room was off-limits to everyone but himself and maybe a select few like Aizen. But if that was true then that meant that it was more than likely that he actually cleaned his room himself. She frowned and then began making the bed. If Gin had to clean his room himself then she wasn’t going to leave a mess behind for him to clean up after her, she would clean it herself and return it to the pristine condition it was in when she had first arrived.

She finished straightening up the room then glanced around once again. It was getting late and she needed to find her way back to the main hall so that she could meet with Tousen-sama for her daily training session. There were a couple more doors stashed away in far corners of the room that she hadn’t noticed before. The room was far larger than she’d initially thought it was, so one of them must be the exit. She moved to the nearest one, which was opposite and diagonal from the bathroom door. She opened it then frowned slightly. It turned out to be a humongous walk-in closet.

Curiosity got the better of her and she stepped lightly inside then flicked on the light. She took a slightly sharp intake of breath as she looked around amazed. It was filled with row after row of clothing. She had never seen so many clothes that belonged to a single person. She slowly passed by a row of immaculately pressed haori, brushing them lightly with a hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled the air. She could smell the remnants of Gin’s scent. It was somewhat heavy and musky, like that of a wild animal that roamed a forest. It calmed her mind and made her feel at ease. She felt as if he left behind his aura to cloak her, protecting her. She began to think that perhaps things wouldn’t be as bad as she feared they would be. If she could continue to keep Aizen happy and Gin would be there as her guardian, then maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so impossible to get out of here one day.

Yuri opened her eyes again and took one last glance around the closet before shutting out the light and exiting it. She closed the door tightly then turned toward the other door she’d spied earlier. She moved toward it quickly then opened it up to reveal another chamber. Yuri frowned again then entered the room. It appeared to be some kind of study or perhaps a library. She stepped inside and passed through the room, glancing here and there, taking note of the rich furnishings and massive book collections. She saw a single door on the opposite side of the room and immediate headed towards it. As she got close, she reached out and turned the knob, praying that this door would lead her out into a hallway.

To her dismay, Yuri stepped beyond the next threshold to find herself standing in a somewhat smaller room, which appeared to be a sitting room or parlor of some kind. She looked around once again, trying not to panic, then saw yet another door. This one was different than the others, as it was actually a set of large double doors similar to the ones which lead to Aizen’s room that Gin had lead her to the night before, and she immediately began feeling relieved. Perhaps she wouldn’t be too late after all and Tousen-sama would forgive her her tardiness.

She dashed through the parlor toward the double doors and flung them open. To her surprise, she was greeted on the other side by a rather small and timid-looking arrancar. The arrancar bowed low then looked up at Yuri with great respect.

oOoOoOoOo

“Ohayou gozaimasu, Sasaki-sama. I am Chiyo. Ichimaru-sama has instructed me to attend to your needs.”

Yuri stared at the little arrancar, blinking several times. It took her a moment before she recovered her composure from the sudden and unexpected appearance of her, apparently, new attendant. She discreetly closed the set of double doors behind her as she noticed the little arrancar trying to sneak peeks into the room, trying to view its contents. It was obvious she had never been beyond this hallway and Yuri wasn’t going to allow her access she was clearly not entitled to. She then cleared her throat and spoke to the waiting arrancar.

“Ohayou gozaimasu, Chiyo-san. I am late for my training session with Tousen-sama. Would you kindly show me the way to the main hall from here?”

Chiyo looked up at Yuri with her eyes brimming with tears. No one in Hueco Mundo had ever treated her with such kindness or respect before. She thought for sure that this human would be no different than any of the shinigami that had ever been here that she‘d met, but she was wrong. This human was different than the other beings here. This human was polite to her, called her by her proper name, noticed her… “Hai, hai! Chiyo will make a garganta for Sasaki-sama and get her there right away!!!”

Chiyo waved one of her tiny little arms and opened a garganta for Yuri. She stepped into it and waved excitedly for Yuri to follow. Yuri, in turn, followed behind Chiyo and entered the garganta hesitantly. The last couple of times she had been in one, she’d been in a daze and hadn’t really known what was going on around her. Stepping into the void was a bit frightening and she really didn’t know what to expect. Chiyo looked up at her in surprise then giggled and grabbed her hand.

“No need to be afraid Sasaki-sama. Chiyo knows the way! Chiyo will get you there safe!”

“Hai. I trust you Chiyo-san. Now please, take me to Tousen-sama.”

“Hai, hai! This way! Follow Chiyo!”

Yuri smiled at the little child-like arrancar and allowed her to lead the way holding her hand while the opening closed rapidly behind them. The path through the garganta seemed to last forever, but after a few minutes it opened up again and Yuri was stepping out into the dimly lit hallway of the main hall. She looked around, scanning for Tousen but didn’t see him. Chiyo then began tugging at the pant leg of her hakama. She looked down to see her pointing over at a tall pillar. Yuri moved her eyes in the direction Chiyo was pointing to and saw the person she was looking for. Tousen was standing there speaking to a set of exequias, apparently issuing orders. Quickly, she dashed toward him before he disappeared on her. She was already late and didn’t want to disappoint him farther by missing her session completely.

oOoOoOoOo

As Yuri reached Tousen, he turned toward her and stared blankly with his blind eyes. She was feeling self-conscious in her new clothes, as people were staring at her already. And although Tousen was completely blind, Yuri felt like he could see exactly what she was wearing and didn’t approve. She stopped in front of him, bowing, and spoke slightly winded from her sprint.

“Sumimasen kudasai, Tousen-sama. I am late!”

“Late? Late for what?”

Yuri faltered a moment as she was completely stunned that Tousen would forget their training session. Slowly, she rose from her bow and looked at him in disbelief. Eerily, he addressed her as if he could see the face she was making.

“What’s wrong Yuri-chan? You act as if you didn’t know your session today was cancelled.”

“Cancelled? Ano…Eto…Who cancelled it?”

“Aizen-dono. He said you were up late attending to something for him last night and you probably wouldn’t be able to keep our appointment. He also said not to bother you today.”

“I-I see.” Yuri said bowing again quickly, “I hadn’t realized that Aizen-dono would inform you of that and I thought I should still come to train with you.”

A grin tugged at Tousen’s lips as he responded. “There is no need to sound so apologetic Yuri-chan. It’s just a matter of miscommunication. Hmm… I have a few things to do that will probably keep me until the afternoon sometime. If you still wish to train today then we can resume after I’ve finished my duties. We can meet back here at say…. 12:30.”
“Hai Tousen-sama. I would like that very much.”

“Then it’s settled. If you’ll excuse me…”

Tousen inclined his head toward Yuri then began walking away. Meanwhile Yuri looked after him in a daze. It would figure that her day would get thrown off. Now what was she supposed to do? She looked down at the ground in thought and then felt a familiar tug to her pant leg. She looked down at Chiyo who was grinning up at her excitedly. She’d almost forgotten about the little arrancar as she had kept discreet and quiet the whole time Yuri had spoken to Tousen.

“If Sasaki-sama has nothing to do, Chiyo can help occupy her time till she needs to come back for training!”

Yuri smiled softly. It appeared that the little arracar was trying to cheer her up. She was so different from all the others she’d met. She was actually quite surprised that an arrancar with this personality really existed. Most of them were so…. arrogant and violent.

“Alright Chiyo-san. What would you like to do?”

“Ooooooooohhhhhh…. Tee hee hee! Chiyo can take Sasaki-sama to her favorite place. It’s nice and not like here. Here is very dry with almost no life but Chiyo’s favorite place is like the human world. It’s green and wet and fun!”

Yuri raised her eyebrows at Chiyo’s statement. Green? Fun? Wet!?! Where the hell could she be talking about? To her knowledge, Hueco Mundo was a world entirely made of desert sands. Where could there be a place with plant life and abundant water? There was only one way to find out and that was to go with Chiyo and see for herself what she was talking about.

“Come Sasaki-sama! Let’s go and have some fun!” Chiyo said as she grabbed her hand and began tugging her forward. Yuri chuckled lightly as the child-like arrancar persisted in leading her away to some destination only she knew. She zigzagged this way and that, going in between and around jostling crowds and Yuri laughed despite herself. She was actually having fun with her little attendant. Everything seemed like it was going wonderfully until Chiyo made the mistake of turning to speak to Yuri then crashing into one of the worst people she could.

Grimmjow Jagerjaquez was one of the worst tempered arrancar in existence and the 6th ranking espada to boot. He was in an especially bad mood today due to him sulking over the fact that his arm was recently removed and his rank stripped from him. He narrowed his eyes at the cringing little form before him then moved his line of sight to Yuri, who was standing there in shock.

“The fuck do you two want? …… Eh? Answer the goddamned question and be quick about it. I got better things to do than deal with the likes of you!”

“G-G-Gomen nasai Grimmjow-sama! I-I-I-It was an accident! Chiyo didn’t mean to bump into you!!!”

“Fuck that! You were looking to start something with me. Is that it!?! You think cause you’re Ichimaru’s little pet and that you’re Aizen’s little whore you can walk all over me!?! I’ll fucking show you that just cause I ain’t got no arm no more that I ain’t weak!!!”

Yuri began to get furious with Grimmjow. He was pointing his finger in their faces and getting absurdly loud. It was an accident after all, why was he getting so huffy about it? She furrowed her brows and pulled Chiyo back, behind her, shielding her. She knew the little arrancar was no match for the likes of an espada, not that she was either really but she figured that maybe being in Aizen’s favor would have an influence over his actions; at least she was praying it would. She looked the espada dead in his eyes then began to speak with an authoritive tone.

“What is your problem? You have no right to speak to us like this. She said it was an accident and it was! Why don’t you just leave it well enough alone?!”

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes even more. He hissed lightly from between clenched teeth then hauled off and slapped Yuri across her face. “Fucking little bitch!!! I’ll teach you not to oppose me!” For the second time since she’d been in Las Noches, she’d gotten slapped and hard. Grimmjow’s slap not only jerked her head to the side but knocked Yuri completely onto the floor. Chiyo looked from Yuri to Grimmjow and back again horrified. Other arrancar began to gather around the three to watch. Soon they were completely surrounded. Yuri sat up and glared at Grimmjow while holding a hand to her burning cheek. She was beyond furious now. As she picked herself up and stood, her reiatsu began to flare tremendously.

The gathering crowd backed away a bit from Yuri. Her reiatsu continued to erupt and flow from her like lava from a volcano. Grimmjow just grinned and waited. He didn’t care if she had grown stronger or not, she was still no match for a king like himself. Yuri’s blood was boiling. Her anger continued to rise as her reiastu did. She moved in front of Grimmjow and spat in his face. “You’re a fool if you think you’re going to get away with that…”

“Tch! Little fuck!!! You just spit in my fucking face! You…. You are dead!!!” Grimmjow said as he wiped her spit from his face. Yuri had done it now. He could’ve walked away with just the slap but now she’d humiliated him in front of everyone gathered. He wasn’t about to let her get away with that, Aizen’s whore or not. Grimmjow loured then reached out to grab Yuri about her throat. He was quite surprised when instead of soft flesh he felt nothing but thin air.

As Grimmjow was about to commence his attack, a loud roar could be heard and blur of flesh seen as another arrancar leaped over him and onto Yuri. Yuri’s eyes widened as she fell backward and was pinned beneath an enraged Kamisuke. From somewhere in the crowd, Chiyo could be heard yelping in terror as Grimmjow’s subordinate pinned her mistress beneath him and hissed in her face, fangs bore. “Get the hell off me you damned bastard!” Yuri choked out as she struggled to get from beneath Kamisuke’s weight. Things were really looking bad now. Grimmjow blinked several times at his fracción then began to laugh. Soon he was laughing so hard that his laughter rang through the main hall. Meanwhile, Yuri was still struggling to break free of Kamisuke.

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~Author's Note~

Some more translations for you. ^-^

1. Ohayou gozaimasu - This means 'Good morning'

2. Sumimasen kudasai - This basically translates to 'Please pardon me.'

3. Ano/Eto - These two phrases are equivalent to saying 'umm' or 'err'

4. Gomen nasai - This means 'I'm sorry.'