He was able to put some distance between himself and the others as the battle escalated. Earth shattering reiatsus were being released, one of which he did not recognize, but it definitely had an Arrancar's signature. Grimmjow had barely managed to escape Nnoitora's attention as the idiot failed to follow through in eliminating him. This would prove to be a grievous error on the Fifth Espada's part if Ichigo could not kill him and should Grimmjow ever get his hands on him.
The Sixth Espada continued to crawl down a hallway; he forgot where he was going, he just knew that until he could find a safe place to properly heal at, fighting in his current state would be a fruitless effort. He had stolen a small vial with a regenerative formula in it from Zaelapollo awhile back that the Eighth Espada used in genetically altering his Faccion so that they would heal him if he ate them. Grimmjow was not sure if it would regenerate him or mutate him, but he was willing to take the risk for his revenge, plus that Inoue girl could always reverse the damage later if that orange-haired Shinigami failed to save her.
A groan sounded from down the hall he was traversing and the Arrancar froze where he was, wondering what new mishap he had stumbled upon. The sound of whoever was approaching became louder, echoing off the barren walls. Their reiatsu was all but diminished, though, he was sure it was familiar. It was no Espada, that much he knew; it had the feel of a Shinigami, but which one? The Sixth Espada struggled to pull himself behind a corner as he waited for his opponent to come into view.
Their breathing was heavy and ragged, and there was the sound of metal sliding across the floor; they must be dragging their sword, he thought. After a few moments, she came into view. It was the raven-haired Death Goddess who tried to freeze him last time they met. The first impression he received from the sight of her was blood, it was everywhere. A stream of blood followed in her wake as she painfully dragged herself through the hall and dripped from her pale pink lips. From the look of her, it appears as though she had been stabbed somewhere in her mid-section. Her already pallid complexion was on the verge of a stark white that would make the moon seem dark by comparison. She was dying.
Grimmjow debated for a few moments what he should do until the Shinigami paused and glanced in his direction. Could she sense his presence in such a weakened state? The Espada's reiatsu would be almost as depleted as her own, so it would be extremely difficult for her to sense him, unless she was highly attuned to spiritual particles. Purple eyes narrowed as she scanned the hallway and tried to sit up, her faltering grip on her Zanpakto tightened enough so she could lift it from the floor. Obviously she knew she was not alone, but there was little she would be able to do with her life seeping away; there was little he could do, with his life doing the same. They were at a stalemate, but he had the upper hand in knowing who his opponent was and the power gap between them.
"Show yourself!" she demanded.
He figured there was no point in hiding, neither were in the position to fight and he had the regenerative formula, so he had the greater advantage. Grimmjow peered around the corner and allowed himself the feeling of brief satisfaction from the fear in her eyes as she realized who he was.
"Long time no see, Shinigami," he smiled, taunting her.
"You bastard," she snarled, her grip on her sword tightening to the point her palm and fingers were turning even whiter, if it was possible.
"You look like shit," he remarked casually.
"I could say the same about you."
"Well, I am in better shape than your boyfriend."
As he expected, that statement struck a cord. The Espada had suspected she shared a close relationship with Ichigo as she had been with him the first two times they fought, and she had followed him into Hueco Mundo. While she maybe able to sense Grimmjow's reiatsu, Ichigo was pretty humble shape when he left and even further away, so she should be having problems sensing him more so than she had the Arrancar.
"Where is he?" her eyes pleaded.
"Tch," he sneered. What a pathetic look. Is she seriously a Shinigami? She appears no more fit for battle than Aizen-sama's human pet. "He is fighting with Nnoitora." The look on her face asked 'Nnoitora?'. "The Fifth Espada."
Her eyes widened in panic and she struggled to continue moving through the hall towards the battle.
"Where do you think you're going?" Grimmjow quarked an eyebrow. "You do not think you can help him in this condition."
"I have to try. If he has Inoue there, she can heal me so I can fight," she commented absently, not paying the Espada's statement much mind. The determination burned in her violet eyes, but Grimmjow sensed that it was not just concern for Ichigo that fueled her stubborn attempt to influence a war between giants compared to her stature as well as her spiritual power.
"You're gonna get yourself killed," he added, though she would probably brush that off too, her mind was on a single track and he doubted his words would have any significant impact.
"What would you suggest?" She didn't even bother to look at him as she barely crawled past him. "I will not sit around and wait to die while my friends fight."
"You sound just like him."
That made her pause and she glanced at the Arrancar as if reconsidering him. What? Did the bitch think he was oblivious to everything except killing? Typical, ignorant Shinigami stereotype. While he did care little for anything in life aside from the struggle to attain more power that all Hollows are born with, that did not mean that he was blindly ruled by the instincts that possessed him as a lowly Menos Grande. Being able to read the enemy and know how they think and act was an important part of learning how to defeat that enemy.
"How would you know what Ichigo is like? And how dare you presume to know what I am like."
"But you didn't say I was wrong. You fight to save your little friend just like he does. Pathetic."
"Of course I don't expect the likes of you to understand what it means to protect life, you only know how to destroy it," she accused as she pressed on down the hall.
"You tell me not to presume to know you, but you make assumptions about me and my kind simply because you have hunted Hollows and think we are all the same. You Shinigami are so predictable. You think you know everything there is to know about Hollows and you apply it to an Arrancar. Dumbass." He knew it would push her buttons; she seemed like the type that did not like to be contradicted, especially by an enemy.
The Shinigami's body stopped and went rigid, her messy, obsidian hair began to stand on edge. Grimmjow felt himself smirk, enjoying the reaction he had insighted from her. When the Death Goddess turned around to face him, if fire could be shot from those eyes, the whole of Las Noches would be engulfed in a dark lavender inferno.
"Shut up!" she barked. "You are just like a Hollow. You have no conscience, you only know instinct; the only thing that has evolved is your power and form. You kill and consume innocent souls to gain more power with no consideration for your victims. Hollows and Arrancar are the same monsters and must be destroyed."
"Such a common Shinigami attitude. You act like Hollows and Arrancar have a choice. If we do not consume souls, we suffer and die. Like any creature, we have the drive to survive, just as the Shinigami do. If a Hollow goes to consume you, you will attack and kill it to protect yourself, not to save the soul. And a Hollow will try to consume the Shinigami that hunt it down because it wants to live and satisfy its hunger. The desire for power is a way to ensure our survival. I am sure you can understand it. Don't you fight for a higher rank among in the Soul Society? Don't you work to gain more spiritual power so you can defeat greater enemies and opponents?"
"I fight for power so I can protect the people I love and defend the innocent. Do not compare me to the likes of you," she spat, her inner fury feeding the fire that was giving her the energy to retort despite her terrible condition.
"Bullshit!" he snapped. She was starting to sound more and more like Ichigo, and it was pissing him off. "No one is so pure that they can only think of others and not themselves. Fighting for power may give you the ability to protect, but do not tell me that you don't love being able to defeat your enemy and earn a higher rank among your comrades."
"It is beyond you to comprehend the desire to protect, isn't it?"
"You are making assumptions again," he growled. "I chose not to give a fuck about anyone else. In Hueco Mundo, there is no such thing as love and kindness or any of that shit, only the satisfaction of driving down the maddening hunger and gaining power. Friends do not exist, only temporary allies who will turn on you if it means getting ahead. If you are not strong enough, you will be consumed by a stronger opponent, so we spend our entire existence fighting to survive from both the Shinigami and our own kind. The only thing I protect is my reputation because with it, I have less opponents willing to challenge my authority and it makes my fight for power easier. So, don't assume you know anything about me or my kind when you have not lived in our world, and know nothing of our struggles."
She fell silent, and her face became unfocused for a moment, as if she were rolling over what he had said, but then something caught. Those eyes that reminded him of the eternal night that hung in Hueco Mundo slowly turned from thoughtful to mournful, then the anger returned. The Sixth Espada found her reaction curious; one moment, it seemed like she might be willing to concede to his point, but there was something in her mind, maybe some memory that would not let her drop her guard.
"What happened?" he asked, nonchalantly, wondering what had caused her to change so drastically. He suspected that with all the contact she must have had with Hollows, there were undoubtedly experiences and losses that have probably given her cause not just to hunt his kind, but to hate them.
"You are all monsters and I will fight until the day I die to see your kind destroyed."
"You can never destroy us all, dumbass. As long as there is suffering, there will be Hollows." He found his own attitude returning as well.
"I can try." The Shinigami girl decided the conversation would end there as she went back to pulling her failing body towards Ichigo's reiatsu, but Grimmjow wasn't finished with her.
He took a swig of the formula from his small vial, but left half of it in there. The Arrancar felt his muscles begin to repair, the blood flow from his wounds slowed, and his reiatsu began building back up. She must have sensed the sudden change because he found those deep purple eyes staring in shock at his body as it quickly healed. Grimmjow stood from the floor and flexed his hands, getting a feel for his power again.
"Impossible," she muttered.
"Heh," he grinned and strolled up to her. She tried to swing at him with her Zanpakto, but he caught it easily and grabbed the front of her kimono, raising her from the floor, and pushing her up against the wall. A pain-filled cry escaped her stoic face as she fought to maintain a brave front, but her panting hardly made her look threatening. "What happened?" he commanded.
"Bastard, you are just going to kill me. Why should I tell you anything?" There was no fear of death in her gaze, only resolve. He had misjudged her, she was nothing like that woman Aizen had kidnapped.
"Because I can heal you with this." He held up the vial so she could see it, but nothing in her expression changed.
"Liar," she was barely able to murmur through her heavy breathing. The Espada felt his lips tug but resisted the urge to grin.
"Well, you have two options. If you think I am going to kill you, what do you have to lose? I'll leave you here to die on the floor and return to the battle for my revenge. But if I am telling the truth, then I can heal you and you can go help your boyfriend."
"Why would a Hollow want to heal me so I could help defeat his own kind?"
"Like I said before, temporary allies. The Espada have accepted Aizen's help, so if I accept help from other Shinigami, it is no worse than they have already done. If your friends manage to kill the other Espada, then I move up the ranks and you can rescue that annoying girl. I do not care what it is Aizen is planning, the only reason I follow him is because he promised me power, but I am nothing more than a disposable servant to him. If I become the most powerful Arrancar in Hueco Mundo, then all that stands in my way is Aizen, who is your enemy, so we have a common opponent. If we take him out, then I am free to rule as king in Hueco Mundo. At that point, you will become my enemy once again, but you have a better chance surviving my way than your way."
"Why do you trust me to help you?"
"I never said I trusted you, Shinigami, but I know that you are aware of the power gap between us and I can help you get your friends from out of here. Will you turn down the opportunity to save your friends because of your hatred for my kind?"
"My name isn't Shinigami," she remarked off handedly.
"And mine isn't bastard."
Their eyes locked, neither willing to back down. When he was sure she would never tell him what he wanted to know, she finally spoke. "Your kind killed Kaien-dono." The accusation in her tone was unmistakable, as if he had done it himself.
"That's it? One death was all it took for you to decide to hate us, not the countless other souls we have consumed?"
"No," she grumbled, her voice was low, almost inaudible. "It was the Hollow that killed his wife by taking control of her body from the inside, forcing her to kill her comrades who cared for her and trusted her. It took control of his body as well and when I was forced to kill him, the Hollow brought his body back to Hueco Mundo and your Ninth Espada consumed him, used his face against me. He was my leader and my nakama, and that Hollow made him suff..." her words fell away and she gasp.
The Shinigami dropped her Zanpakto and grabbed his hand that was holding her up as the agony became apparent on her face. More blood spilled from her lips as she coughed violently and her eyes lost their focus. Grimmjow reacted by snatching her face to open her mouth, and pouring in the remaining formula down her throat. She gagged at first, sputtering blood from her lips, then there was a noticeable change in her demeanor. Where her back was hunched over suddenly straightened up, some color restored her pale complexion, there was a luster to her dull locks once more, and a renewed determination filled her eyes.
The Arrancar released her so she could stand on her own feet. The bleeding had stopped and she carefully tied off the torn edges of her kimono so hide her exposed stomach. Her stance screamed dignity as she pulled her shoulders back and easily met Grimmjow's gaze. There was no shame in the fact that she spilled a dark secret of her past to her enemy nor that she accepted his help. After being forced to comply with Aizen's wishes like a fucking lap dog, the Espada felt a twinge of jealousy at her ability not to back down, even in the face of a more powerful enemy.
A long, uncomfortable quiet followed as she eyed him suspiciously, but instead of trying to attack him, as he had come to believe she would, a tired sigh filled the hall. She looked exhausted and not from any physical hindrance, it was something no regenerative power could heal. Her body slackened a bit from it's defensive stance. Now it was Grimmjow's turn to eye her suspiciously.
"Why did you let you guard down?" he questioned in an accusatory manner, as no warrior should ever let their defense slip in the presence of the enemy.
"If you wanted me dead, you would not have saved me. I am confused, it is my job to kill you, not to help you. It goes against everything I was taught and believe in, but I cannot sully my honor by attacking you after you kept your word."
"Dumbass," he said, but a big grin broke out across his face.
For a moment, her brow furrowed in anger, but when she saw his grin, it lost it's harsh edge and she gave him a small smirk.
"I told you when this is all over, we will be enemies again," he reminded.
"Deal," she said as she reached over and picked up her Zanpakto. For the first time, a Shinigami and an Espada speedily made their way down the halls of Las Noches as allies rather than enemies.