Rosario + Vampire/Bleach – Cold and Empty

…

The dying breath of fresh desert night air.

The numb feeling of cold crescent moonlight.

The blinding sight of midnight blackness.

The loud whispers of dry ashy winds.

And that flat taste of blood and void.

Those feelings were so empty—so meaningless. The senses of one who has succumb to nothingness—to the inevitable abyss that everyone is thrown into—an endless chasm—an eternity of limbo. Nothingness. Emptiness. Cold and Numb. Despair and Surreal Incarnate.

He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. Couldn't anything. He had become ash after all. But for some reason, he sensed that even this empty hell would not last for much longer. He was coming back to his senses…

It was like someone had suddenly lit a candle in maws of dark night—illuminating what had previously been unseen like a fire of creation, shaping what was shapeless.

Nothingness took shape and he could feel the ashes of his body stir. There was pain—agony beyond any he had experienced. A spasm of shock. And suddenly he found himself laid sprawled on the desert sands of Hueco Mundo, gasping. Cold sweat trickled down from his forehead as he lay there spread-eagled, stunned.

Staggering to his feet, he surveyed the lonely white desert. He glanced down at himself. He was battered and bleeding, but whole and alive at the very least. His clothes were in rags and tatters but he'd find new ones in Las Noches.

And his sword…his hand went to his side, grasping for Murcielago in reassurance. But met empty space.

It wasn't there.

He looked around him. But there was nothing. Only white sand and skeletal trees. His sword was gone...his sword...Despair threatened to take him again. He almost felt as if he were what he had been before Lord Aizen came—a lone soul searching for the end.

He remembered very clearly the emptiness. The enemies that used to swarm him and fall at his power. He remembered clearly the feeling that nothing mattered—that feeling that was surfacing right now. He remembered...He remembered his encounter with that enchanted tree. He remembered his "death" very clearly. That bitter taste of defeat and worthlessness. That feeling of shame and shaken pride.

It wasn't a pleasant memory to behold but for some reason the scenes kept flashing through his mind's eye.

For a long time, he stood there, dazed. Remembering…When he came to, the ruins of Las Noches caught his eyes and he blinked. He began to make his way toward the broken walls of the white fortress. It was in a depressing state. But it wasn't deserted. Some Arrancars roamed the place, walking in a trance as if they weren't really seeing what was in front of them. Others just sat there, faces blank, eyes downcast. What was going on?

He walked up to one of them. "What has happened here?" his voice sounded hoarse to him, strained. Strange. "Why isn't everyone attending to their business?"

"You haven't heard?" the Arrancar replied kicking at a piece of rubble. "Aizen's fallen. It's over." he laughed hollowly. "The war is finally over...And we've lost."

The news hit him like the whole desert's ocean of sand had come crashing down upon him. They had lost. Even the full might of Hueco Mundo was not enough. He gathered himself. "Who's in charge now?"

"Lady Halibel. She crushed the power insurrection the moment she returned from the Human World. Took the throne no problem. Said Aizen was a traitor and we'd best forget about him."

So it was over. Everything. Aizen was gone. The Soul Reapers had won.

For some reason, he didn't feel angry about it. He didn't really think anything of it. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Except for finding his sword and surviving through the aftermath of such a costly war.

He made his way toward the throne room, thinking. The fact that the Soul Reapers had not come invading from Soul Society was probably because they didn't consider there to be any threats left. Or maybe Halibel had pleaded against it. And if she was now the Queen of Las Noches, then Stark and Barragan were dead. Who else survived? He wondered as he walked the white corridors of the broken fortress.

"Ah, you're alive after all, Ulquiorra." Tia Halibel's voice snapped him from his thoughts. She was standing in the middle of the room with her three Fracciones. Grimmjow sat to the side, battered and torn, looking sullen. Nelliel was there, too, playing with her two Fracciones. "We are all that's left of the Espada."

So this was it. The survivors of the War.

He inclined his head, politely. He himself would have attempted to seize power but without his sword he didn't like his chances. They all stood there staring at one another. There was something in the third Espada's eyes, he thought. It looked like gratitude. Even Grimmjow looked out of sorts.

"Aizen betrayed us all in the end, you know. We were only tools to him." He nodded. She blinked, surprised at his apathy.

"Aizen is a bad guy!" Nelliel exclaimed.

"Tch, I hated the bastard for as long as I can remember so I really don't care." Grimmjow snarled, fist clenched as he bared his teeth.

"That no longer matters to me either." Ulquiorra paused. "What happens now...?"

"I don't know." Halibel replied. She surveyed the room. "Though I was thinking of rebuilding Las Noches and starting anew." She waved a hand at a passing Arrancar. "Get Ulquiorra a change of clothes please." She turned to him. "I see that you've lost your sword."

He stared at his hands. "It wasn't with me when I came to."

"That sucks for you." Grimmjow said. A half-hearted taunt.

Halibel ignored the Sexta Espada. "You have any idea where it is?"

"No." He leaned against the wall. "I'll search, and if I can't find Murcielago then…I'll just live without it." He was still strong even without his release form. It was just that...his sword was a huge source of his power as a Vasto Lorde. It almost felt like he was missing some part of himself as he was now. And it bothered him...

There was silence.

"Sir, your change of clothes."

Ulquiorra nodded to Halibel as he departed. "I'll take my leave."

Maybe finally Las Noches will have its time of peace. But he doubted it. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. The life of Arrancars and Hollows was a never-ending game of survival. It was a constant battle to stay alive. Aizen had freed them all from that nightmarish cycle if only for a brief time.

But now…things were back as they were. The security Las Noches had offered in the past was gone. Halibel was trying to gather the remnants of their fallen army and stop that nightmare again but Ulquiorra had his doubts as to their success.

And even if peace were returned. He doubted it would last. They had been weakened greatly. They were now more vulnerable to attack than ever before.

He stepped into his room and stood there, looking around. The Espada's palace hadn't suffered much from the destruction of Las Noches it seemed. His room looked the same as it always has. Cold and Empty. White and Dark. He stared outside at the view of barren white sand and skeleton trees. Back then, he couldn't understand why that woman had been so infatuated with looking out at the deserts of Hueco Mundo and the crescent moon that overlooked it. There was nothing special either. But now...

He could see why the openness of the lonely desert looked so tantalizing to a caged bird.

Suddenly a chill ran down his spine as one might feel when being watched by a predator. He heard something flutter to the ground behind him. He turned. A folded piece of paper lay at his feet. He stared at it, contemplating. Had it been there all along? No, that couldn't have been. He remembered there being nothing lying around when he had entered. But he didn't sense anyone's reiatsu with his pesqisas though.

He unfolded it. It was a message…for him.

If you want your sword back, drop by my shop. I might know its whereabouts. —Urahara Kisuke

…

"I'm glad that you could drop by, Ulquiorra-san!" The shopkeeper exclaimed as Ulquiorra exited the Garganta. "I've been expecting you."

"I received the letter."

"Ah, come on in," Urahara grinned, gesturing for the Espada to follow him. "It just so happens that our interests meet this time. There's this job that I want you to take."

He blinked, blankly. "I never said anything about a job. I just want my sword back."

"Nothing's free in this world. You'll have to repay me."

"Yes."

"Then how about taking on this mission for me!" Urahara repeated, hiding his face behind his fan. Ulquiorra murmured a consent, reluctantly. "I believe your sword has fallen into the wrong hands."

"Wrong hands…?"

"There's a group of troublemakers, Fairy Tale, that's been giving an acquaintance of mine a lot of problems. Recently some of my sources have picked up on some info that Murcielago might be in their possession."

"What are they?" Ulquiorra asked. "Soul Reapers?"

"No, nothing of the sort. They don't actually know anything about our world." Urahara sighed, eyes focused on a space to his side. "But what they do know is that your sword is a source of power. And they're thinking of using it against my associate and his…students."

"How can I take back what is mine?"

"That's really simple!" Urahara chuckled conspiratorially. "My friend has asked for some assistance at his school. Fairy Tale has been targeting his academy for a while now so he needs some outside help. What I'm thinking is that you go and stay for a term or so as a student. Help against the attacks and all. You might be able to come face to face with the organization and take back your sword that way." The shopkeeper closed his fan with a snap. "So what do you say?"

"This matter doesn't concern me. Tell me where my sword is. I don't need to waste my time here." He paused. "I'll think of some way to repay you." This little matter was beneath him. He needed to return to Las Noches soon and assist Halibel in restoring the system of power.

Urahara narrowed his eyes, studying him. "If it were that simple you would've found your sword lying in your room and not a letter." He paused, staring at the ceiling. A red-headed boy came in, carrying a tea set. "Ah, thanks, Jinta." the boy nodded before exiting. He continued. "There are complications."

Ulquiorra waited patiently as the former Captain of the 12th Division sipped his tea. "This might not have concerned you in the beginning. But now it does since your sword has fallen into these people's hands." The shopkeeper spoke up at last.

"We don't really know where your sword is. Fairy Tale is a really big cult. It's got a lot of bases. So there's no telling where to look. It might not even be at any one of their little hideouts at all." The man turned to him. "The only way for you to get back your sword is to wait until Fairy Tale attacks the school. They'll want to test out their new toy so they'd definitely bring it with them."

The Espada stared down at is cup of tea, thinking about it. It seemed like he wouldn't be getting his sword back anytime soon. He didn't exactly know what kind of organization this Fairy Tale was. But it couldn't possibly be any regular human group. If they could see his sword and somehow find a way to harness Murcielago's power then he wasn't dealing with some simple thieves. "You make it sound like it's a war."

Urahara looked over at him, steadily. "It is a war. But it doesn't concern us Soul Reapers. Even so, its impact on the world will be pretty heavy depending on which side wins."

"I'm not all that concerned about this Human World."

"You don't see the domino effect. This very conflict may inflict indirect harm to all of us. If things were to go the enemy's way, very few souls cross over."

There was a brief silence as the Espada thought over what the man had just said. "What exactly am I dealing with?" Was there some other supernatural group out there?

"Monsters." Urahara yawned, stretching. "There are only a few that rival the power of an Arrancar. But the vast majority are as weak as regular Hollows." He turned as a little girl stepped into the room. "Ah, we're closing up the shop, Ururu?" the girl nodded. "Okay, I'll go shopping for groceries soon. Tell Tessai to start making dinner for Yoruichi. You know how much she eats." the girl nodded and left. "I don't think there's too much to worry about if things go our way."

"If not…?"

"Fairy Tale turns this entire world into a haven of soulless monsters. The human population would dwindle resulting in less and less souls crossing." Urahara pulled his hat further down his face, covering half his face in shadow. "In other words, the balance between the World of the Living and the Worlds of the Dead will crumble."

Ulquiorra took that in with a bemused expression. "What is this school...?"

"So you're going to accept the job offer?" there was a mad glint in the eyes of the shopkeeper that disturbed him slightly.

The Espada sighed. "Just tell me."

"Yokai Academy, School for Monsters.