Disclaimer: I don't own the anime or characters that I write about otherwise Ichigo and Grimmjow would have become a mated pair with many cubs to raise and Orihime would have had a harem of arrancar lovers

Chapter 2

My breath halted while my heart beat a mile a minute. Grimmjow stared right at me but something wasn't right. His blue eyes were dull and defeated. His entire body seemed sullen. His shoulders were slouched and slumped, not pulled back proudly to bare his chiseled chest or squared in contempt and arrogance. His skin was whiter than it should be, no sign of the tan that seemed to cover his whole body. He looked thin and sickly. His spiked hair drooped, not sticking up defiantly. Even his blue eyes held none of the fire that had entranced me when I first saw him, long before I loved him. He looked like he had given up. His hands were bound and chained in front of him. He looked away from me and his head hung. He had been broken.

My heart stuttered and beat against my ribs, aching to see him this way. Grimmjow who was so strong and powerful, prideful, now looked sickly, weak, and pathetic. Had he resigned himself to whatever fate the Captains would decide for him?

My body seemed to have a mind of its own as I took a step toward him. I just wanted those eyes to look my way, just once more…

I jumped sky high when I felt someone's hand on my left shoulder. I turned to see Rukia watching me with concerned and reproachful eyes. "Ichigo I know that you want to attack him but you have to wait until after the Squad Captains make their decision."

She couldn't have been more wrong of what I wanted in that moment. Yet to keep suspicions from arising I followed her to an unoccupied corner of the room where we listened to everyone's conversations. About 80% of the soul reapers wanted Grimmjow to be executed or forever tortured for his alliance with Sosuke Aizen, crimes against the Soul Society, and murder of their fellow reapers. It felt like pressure was bearing down on me, making it harder for me to breathe. My hand went to my throat as I tried to swallow. Rukia looked at me with confusion and concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?" I blinked at her before my hand dropped to my side and I nodded. "I'm fine." I choked out the words because I was anything but. Even so, there was no reason to worry her over such things. Rukia didn't notice my lie or chose not to and went back to watching everyone's conversations. I couldn't have said a bigger lie if I tried. It felt like someone was forcing me to swallow a knife and sticking needles into my heart as the conversations went on. Grimmjow, the one I had already lost, had returned to me by some matter of miracle, only to be taken away once again. As the arguments continued, Head Captain Yamamoto called for attention. Everyone fell silent and it saddened me to see that Grimmjow's head still hung, looking down at the floor, his eyes hidden from me.

"We have all come here to decide the fate of arrancar and former Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He was silent for a moment. The tension in the air from all the shinigami felt like it was choking me. "We have yet to hear from Ichigo Kurosaki however and his input is crucial to the decision." Yamamoto paused.

"On what ground?!" Someone from the crowd of reapers had yelled. Captain Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, trying to find the reaper that spoke out without his permission.

"On the grounds of what he has personally gone through and how he has suffered because of the arrancar Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." I winced softly and bit my lower lip. I was going to be the deciding vote on what would happen to Grimmjow. I had to word this carefully and correctly so what I said didn't end up sounding like treason and no one would be any wiser of my feelings for Grimmjow. Grimmjow lifted his head and his eyes found me in the room. I felt some of the old hatred and loathing that I had fallen in love with. I opened my mouth to say something but the words were stuck in my throat under his gaze, choking me. My heart wanted so much to tell him how much I love him and how much I missed him, but my brain knew that I could never do that. "Tch!" Grimmjow said before turning his head away from me. My heart throbbed painfully in my chest, the pain spreading throughout my chest before I breathed in deeply, trying to calm the pain or at least lessen it. I knew that he didn't have a clue of how I felt for him, he was simply reacting to me the way he always had. A part of me was so thrilled and happy that I was able to see him again, see those eyes that I had dreamed about, but another part was torn up because I couldn't tell him or do anything to show my love for him. Looking around I saw that everyone was watching me, waiting for me to speak, to pass my verdict. Licking my lips before clearing my throat I spoke.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez has been the cause of many wounds, pain, and suffering for my friends and I-"

A growl stopped my words and my eyes flicked over to where Grimmjow was chained and saw him turn his head away in arrogance. My jaw clenched as I hoped that he would stay silent and allow me to finish what I had been saying. After all I was trying to help the idiot, not condemn his hollow ass to death like the others wanted!

"Yet, even with all he has done, all that he has caused, I believe that every soul deserves a second chance, one to live and prove themselves, even a soul such as his."

The crowd went silent, even the whispers and mumblings had stopped, making everything seem like time was standing still, eerie even. Though I could tell that time hadn't stopped, seeing them blink from time to time. Looking over at Grimmjow to see what he made of my words I was greeted with the sight of Grimmjow staring at me, shocked, the first time I've ever seen him that way in my life. His stunning blue eyes that seemed dull and lifeless just moments ago had widened and his mouth, his dry and cracked lips were parted, agape. Not a single soul in that room had thought that those words would have come out of my mouth, that I would ever be so forgiving. Though as quickly as all became silent loud voices broke the façade of peace, arguments and yelling could be heard from every corner of the room, so much that Captain Yamamoto had to yell to be heard.

"Silence!"

Abruptly all noise came to an end as he cleared his throat. "Having heard Ichigo's input I will decide on the fate of the arrancar. You are all dismissed and may return in an hour's time. Meeting adjourned."