"Where are you going Inoue?" Orihime flinched. She'd been noticed.

She turned to look at the speaker, Rukia.

"I'm going to see if anybody else needs my help." She'd healed all of her friends, as well as the captains.

Rukia tilted her head in confusion. "There is no one else."

Orihime looked off to the side, seeming guilty to her friend.

Rukia searched the girl's face, ending on the thin vial clasped tightly in her fist.

"What's that?" The soul reaper asked tentatively, sensing something suspicious.

Orihime brought it up to her chest protectively, and met Rukia's deep blue eyes with her own grey ones.

"Come with me and I'll tell you." Was her mystic answer.

Rukia narrowed her eyes, but nodded agreement.

She followed Orihime up the steps of the lab, where they had been for a while, and emerged to the ruined room.

Orihime held the door open for her, then closed it quietly, not wanting the others to know that they had left.

Leading Rukia to a far corner of the room she paused suddenly.

"Don't try to talk me out of this Kuchiki-san." She stated, staring straight ahead, not meeting her friend's eyes. "You might think it's crazy, but I know it's good."

Rukia's mouth opened to ask questions, but Orihime plowed ahead before they could be voiced. She caught up to the human as she knelt before something crumpled along with the rubble.

"Orihime..."

The soul reaper stared in astonishment at the corpse of the eighth espada. The human's hand reached out towards Szayel...

Rukia moved lightning fast, slapping the hand away from the espada.

"Do you know who that was?!" She exploded at Orihime. "That right there is the corpse of the eighth espa-"

"I know." Orihime interrupted, still sitting unperturbed. Her grey eyes looked at Rukia as if to say so what?

Rukia gaped.

"He's a psychopath! He wanted to fight Renji and experiment on him! Ishida too!"

Orihime returned her calm gaze to the dead face of the hollow.

"Maybe here he's a psychopath."

Confused, Rukia said nothing, continuing to stare at her friend.

Orihime's head whipped around, this time her eyes glittering with hope.

"Don't you see? They acted as they had to! To survive, to fit in, to live here. That's why.." She bent and pulled a handful of hair from the espada's head, gently working it from his scalp.

"If I can bring them to my world, I can give them another chance to evolve to a real life, one not dependant on serving Aizen, or killing."

She pulled a vial from the sleeve of her hollow uniform, and dropped Szayel's pink hair into it, carefully corking it and then putting it back.

"I will take them all with me," she whispered.

"And give them another chance at life."

Rukia could do nothing but stare at her auburn haired friend.

"Orihime.." She whispered as the girl stood, sparing Rukia not a glance as she turned and headed towards an exit.

Rukia shook herself out of her daze and ran to catch up, walking silently beside her. Orihime was surprised.

"Aren't you going to try and talk me out of this?" Rukia didn't look up.

"You told me not to."

Orihime slowly smiled, and they both continued ahead.

Led by the fading reiatsu and Orihime's memory, they trekked across the desert outside of Las Noches.

"He should be out around here..." Orihime remarked, turning her head constantly to take in the familiar marks of battle destruction.

Rukia observed it all as well, picking up Ichigo's reiatsu.

This espada must've been his kill.

They approached the lump that sprawled out on the sand, that as they got closer formed into a body. Just a few feet away Rukia jolted to a stop.

Orihime looked behind her to see her friend's blue eyes widen.

"No... you can't mean to bring him back as well?" Orihime simply nodded, and turned to continue towards the fallen espada. She knelt at his side.

Rukia slowly stepped to return to Orihime's side, and looked scornfully down at the espada.

"You saw him. He tried to kill Ichigo so many times, and nearly succeeded." Orihime didn't move her gaze.

"I know. I saw." She reached out to grasp a shock of his blue hair.

"But..."

She slowly and carefully tugged it from it's roots.

"I think Grimmjow-san was the closest to having a heart."

Rukia opened her mouth to protest, but Orihime would hear nothing of it.

"He was battle hungry, he wanted revenge. He wanted to be the best. He seemed so much like what a hollow should be."

This is for my arm. He had said over Menoly's corpse. I'm repaying you.

But hollows don't remember debts owed.

A/N: Thank you again! Also, I've combined some shorter chapters. :)