After Christmas break a new school term began and and Kyler made the familiar walk with Grimmjow and Ichigo on either side of her. They dropped her off as they usually did right outside the entrance to the school courtyard. She hugged both of them tightly gave each a kiss on the cheek and said I love you before heading inside the building. Ichigo and Grimmjow smiled as they watched her go inside and as they turned to leave little did they know that would be the last time either of them would see their precious little girl…

A Despair Like No Other

The soul society remained it's usual self with new souls coming in to the outer ring while soul reapers continued their duties in the center capital. Ichigo and Grimmjow performed their usual duties inside squad 12's barracks. Ichigo had taken over squad 12 when Shunsui retired and moved to Central 46 along with Ukitake. Most work consisted of filling out paperwork and training new recruits, but they both found time to speak with most of their friends. Renji had been promoted to squad 13's captain with Rukia as his lieutenant, they had been together almost as long as Ichigo and Grimmjow.

Ichigo and Grimmjow walked around the Seireitei enjoying their morning rounds and talking about typical work when they bumped into Renji and Rukia.

"Hey you two love birds what's up?" Ichigo waved at the two as they approached not enjoying the view of their not so discrete displays of affection. Renji had his arm over Rukia's shoulders while she had her arms wrapped around his waste in the form of a sideways hug as they walked. If there wasn't such a height difference between the two they would probably just make out as they walked.

"Oh hey Ichigo, Grimmjow, we're just taking a break before we head to the world of the living to do a check up on some recruits. Apparently there are quite a few hollows giving them fits, and of course they can't seem to handle it." Renji snickered as he scratched the back of his head with the arm that wasn't draped around Rukia. Rukia just did a glaze over both Ichigo and Grimmjow as she let go of Renji to put her hands on her hips.

"And what are you two up to, ignoring your duties as usual I presume. How's Kyler by the way I haven't had the time to stop by and see her, I hope she's still in one piece." A sideways smirk covered her face as she finished her questions just waiting for Grimmjow to snarl back at her that he was the best dad, even Kyler thought so.

"We are actually going to do some training since we are ignoring our work, might as well do something productive while we're at it." Ichigo stated light heartedly as he looked over to Grimmjow who was glaring daggers at Rukia for the last comment she made. Honestly these two never have quite settled their differences, they have learned to tolerate each other, but only because Ichigo would have nothing to do with either of them if they didn't behave, he hated having to see people he cared about argue especially if what they argued over was basically nothing, which it always was. They probably just enjoyed playing with each other's nerves all the time.

"Kyler just so happens to be doing great, she's top of her class without any competition except for one kid, she mentions him as her competition but from what I've seen he's got nothin' on her, right Ichi?" Grimmjow didn't hesitate to pick up right where Ichigo had left off since Rukia had been so nice to ask them about her. He crossed his arms over his chest and put his nose into the air all triumphant trying to play alpha in front of them, until Ichigo elbowed him in the stomach to which he grabbed his right hand to his stomach and put the left on Ichigo's should for support while he made a couple coughs to get his air back.

"What was that for?" he said looking over to Ichigo for some sort of explanation, as Rukia covered her mouth to laugh and Renji just stared at both of them with a mild curiosity. He would never say it, but he was impressed by both of them being able to be parents as well as shinigami, they had a rough start with it, but they learned fast and were now pretty good at finding a balance between the Soul Society and the world of the living.

Meanwhile Ichigo just looked at Grimmjow with a look of slight annoyance. "Oh no reason, just don't want your ego getting any bigger than it already is, whether it comes to you or our daughter." He sighed closing his eyes and turning back to face Rukia and Renji.

"Aww is someone a little jealous I don't brag about him too? Don't worry Ichi everybody knows how powerful you are so my words don't mean anything. Really the only thing everybody doesn't know about you is how good you are in bed." Grimmjow slid his arm around Ichigo's torso and playfully let the words purr into Ichigo's ear making it turn a shade of red. Grimmjow snickered at how easily he could make his berry get all embarrassed, it was always fun. He slid his tongue across Ichigo's ear and down his neck where he planted a small kiss. He would have continued his musings if Renji hadn't coughed trying to get his attention.

"Well if you are quite finished with your display of affection there is something I wanted to ask you, I hadn't heard anything about it and was curious if you guys had." Renji stated matter of factly as he watched Grimmjow remove his arm from Ichigo's torso and stand to full attention.

"Alright pineapple, what do you want to know?" Grimmjow asked obviously annoyed that he had been interrupted from loving on his strawberry. Ichigo just looked at Renji curiously, but slightly relieved that he'd pulled Grimmjow's attention away from him, since he was getting turned on by Grimmjow's playful gesture and had barely contained a small moan from escaping his lips.

"Well apparently the Seireitei is doing some excavations underneath the capital, I have looked into what it is for but I haven't been met with many answers, there's talk that it is going to be continued wings to Central 46, but as far as I knew they had more than enough room before. I don't know, something there doesn't seem to add up to me, I was just wondering if you guys had heard anything about it." Renji stated casually keeping his tone from getting too serious, in truth he didn't think much of it, but something just didn't add up about it.

"Yeah I've heard that it is going to be some extra barracks and training grounds, but other than that I have not been told a whole lot either, it doesn't seem completely out of the blue, I do think some changes need to be made in the capital and this remodel seems like a good way to start." Ichigo said with mild interest, this was indeed something he had thought needed some upgrades, so when he had heard about it he didn't think too much of it.

"I guess you're right about that." Renji shrugged his shoulders and looked down to Rukia who gave him a small smile as if saying I told you so. He sighed and shook his head from his thoughts as he looked back to Ichigo and Grimmjow who were standing there looking at each other as if having a private conversation. "Well we had better get back to work I guess, and you two better get back to ignoring your duties." He chuckled as he and Rukia began walking again towards the squad 13 barracks.

"Alright see you guys later!" Ichigo turned and waved as they walked on. Him and Grimmjow walked around the capital enjoying the sunlight and the fresh air when another shinigami ran up to them and held out a small scroll to Ichigo. He thanked him and then unravelled the parchment as Grimmjow peered over his shoulder.

"Hmm, looks like Yamamoto wants us to do a check up in Hueco Mundo, I guess we'll be paying Starrk and Ulquiorra a visit." Ichigo peered over his shoulder to see Grimm's reaction to that, he didn't mind going to Hueco Mundo, but it didn't mean he liked it either. Grimmjow just sighed and closed his eyes as he ran a hand through his untamed hair allowing the few strands to fall back in front of his face as his hand traveled down the back of his neck to rest at the base.

"I guess we don't have a choice," but then he opened his eyes as that trademark cocky grin split across his face, "but that also means you and me can have a good fight now." Grimmjow glared as he waited for Ichigo to come up with a response.

"What, you that eager to get your ass handed to you again?" Ichigo gave him a devilish smile of his own as he turned from Grimmjow to open the Garganta. Ichigo had learned to use it years ago and it was easier to use when just him and Grimmjow needed to go places.

"You only win because I let you, can't have your ego breaking, cause then I would have to put up with your pouting." Grimm retorted back as they stepped through and began the run to Hueco Mundo.

XXX

Hueco Mundo hadn't really changed much since the war against Aizen. Now days things returned to usual with hollows killing and eating each other to gain power. The arrancar that were left alive worked with the soul society to keep the number of hollows in check so that the balance between all three realms remained intact. Starrk, Ulquiorra, and Nel kept track of the numbers and monitoring the hollow population, needless to say it wasn't particularly anybody's dream job and that's why the three of them spent more time in the land of the living than in Hueco Mundo, plus with Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Kyler living in Karakura Town that just gave them all the more reason to visit the land of the living. As Grimmjow and Ichigo stepped onto the desert sands, they are met with distant memories of their most famous battle that ultimately bound the two together. They gazed out to the never ending sand dunes reminiscing how so much has changed since then, and who would have thought what would happen to them. Grimmjow let out a long sigh as he continued his gazing over the white sand.

"You know ten years ago, if anybody had told me I was gonna marry you and have a kid, I probably would have killed them for being completely psychotic."

Ichigo chuckled at his statement thinking almost the exact same thing. "Same could be said for me, although I might not have killed them for thinking me and you could get together, but the idea of me having a kid of my own would have thrown me for a loop." He paused as he turned to admire Grimmjow as he stood looking out into the distance somehow completely lost in thought. "You know, I miss you being shirtless underneath that jacket." He said smirking at Grimmjow, a comment like that would certainly pull him from wherever his mind had been wondering off to.

Grimmjow slowly turned to face him with a psychotic smile covering his face as he snickered back, "Oh yeah, well can't have any of the girls staring, I am taken you know, plus I had to get some form of black into my stupid lieutenant outfit otherwise Yamamoto would have tried to kill me on the spot."

"Well you're not wrong." Ichigo laughed as he drew Zangetsu. Grimmjow drew Pantera from his belt, both readied themselves glad that no one was around for miles so they could have at each other without being disturbed.

XXX

Ichigo had Grimmjow laying flat in the sands barely holding him off with Pantera blocking Zangetsu as both of their breaths came eratic and exhausted. Their chests heaved trying to fill with oxygen to supply their cramping muscles. Neither had fought this hard in a long time, sure they had fought each other on occasion but never truly tested the limits of their new abilities as they've continued to grow and get stronger. Sweat covered their bodies from the strain, who would win this fight, sure Ichigo had the upper hand, but he was just as exhausted as Grimmjow and he knew it. As they both stared at the other panting, their determination to win unwavering, Grimmjow chose that moment to play his final card to ensure his victory. He brought his left hand to the back of Ichigo's head and pulled him down into a searing kiss. It was sloppy, sweaty, and probably one of the best kisses he'd shared with the man. Ichigo's resolve faltered just enough that Grimmjow maneuvered his sword to fling both Pantera and Zangetsu into the sand where Ichigo's smaller blade had already fallen. Ichigo moaned and pulled away from Grimmjow's kiss and looked down into Grimmjow's cocky smile.

"That's cheating," he breathed out harshly, but what was done was done and Ichigo was going to make the most of Grimmjow's idea to play dirty.

"Yeah, but you don't seem to mind." Grimmjow chuckled. Ichigo planted another kiss onto Grimmjow's lips and used the lower half of his body to slowly grind against Grimmjow's. The adrenaline and excitement from fighting had already made both of them rock hard, now it was just a matter of taking care of it. They both let out moans at the connection between their groins and Grimmjow moved his right hand to release both of their arousals from confinement. Ichigo let out an excited breath as his dick sprung free first, leaking with precum and just begging to be touched. Not even two second later Grimmjow's arousal sprung free leaking it's own precum and slid across Ichigo's. A shiver went all the way down Ichigo's spine from the unintended friction as he moved from playing with Grimmjow's tongue to licking and kissing the sweaty skin of Grimmjow's face and neck. He worked his way down and had just gotten to the base of his neck when Grimm grabbed both their erections and slid his hand up and down both. Ichigo's immediate reaction was to bite his lip, but since he was busy enjoying Grimmjow's neck he ended up biting down harshly on the man resulting in an appreciatively sexy growl from the blue haired sex god.

Grimmjow's hand slid up and down both their dicks causing both of them to buck their hips into each other at the shear amount of pleasure both of them were feeling. As if their erratic breathing could be strained any more, now they were moaning and growling with sharp intakes of breathe that only turned the other on even more on. Their leaking erections made Grimmjow's hand slide easily across their lengths, Grimm's slightly larger than Ichigo's but no more harder and as Ichigo came back up to kiss Grimmjow's lips their tongues dancing in between the hot caverns. Grimm squeezed harder as he pulled across them causing both to go over the edge squirting all over their stomachs. Ichigo's arms spasmed refusing to hold him on top of Grimmjow any longer.

He let out a moan of exhaustion and rolled over collapsing beside Grimmjow breathing all that more ragged as he laid in the desert sand. Grimmjow's breathing wasn't any better and he held his eyes closed trying to gain some form of control over his body.

"Well…should I count this as my win…or maybe…a tie?" He managed to get out through several breathes.

"Ha…you…wish…you cheated, asshole." Ichigo whispered unable to muster any real force behind the words as he laid there staring up at a starless sky. After several minutes of both of them trying to recover enough to move, Grimmjow removed his black shirt and they both used it to wipe themselves clean before standing up and walking towards the destroyed canopy of Las Noches.

XXX

Las Noches had almost been completely destroyed after Aizen's defeat, but the remaining Arrancar in the end had decided to simply destroy the caste and rebuild for their own needs leaving the canopy completely intact. Starrk and Ulquiorra hadn't been particularly picky, basically just asking for a place Ulquiorra could bring books back he found in the world of the living and very comfortable furniture so Starrk could sleep no matter where they decided to meet. Nel was doing her best to accommodate for them while she went crazy in the design and build of a small castle that would perfectly fit them. Although they were still building, the main areas had been finished to allow the soul reapers a place to discuss matters whenever they came to check in. She had even worked with Urahara on a device that could sense and count hollows from great distances making their jobs even easier.

Ichigo and Grimmjow arrived an hour after their fight giving themselves plenty of time to recover and look somewhat presentable in front of the three. They entered a grand atrium with a twenty foot ceiling and corinthian styled pillars spaced at every 10 feet. There were 5 foot tall clear windows all around the top half of the walls allowing for plenty of light into the space. The ceiling formed a ribbed vault style that created a sort of organized spider webbing that created different forms of refracted light around the room. It was immaculate to behold and Nel thoroughly enjoyed everyone's open mouthed gaping whenever they stepped into the room. Off of the main atrium beginning at 25 feet were sets of archways that led to different corridors that held either smaller meeting rooms or each Arrancar's own private suites. Unfortunately none of them had been willing to show anyone what each looked like, but if they were all as well designed as the main entryway then they were certainly something to admire.

Grimmjow and Ichigo stood in the entryway for a good 15 minutes before Nel came running from one of the suites near the back of the atrium.

"ICHIGO!" She screamed as she ran jumping on him almost completely knocking him to the ground, luckily he had braced himself just in time to catch her before they could tumble to the black marble floor. She squeezed him tightly before letting go and taking a step back to admire him and chance a sideways glance to Grimmjow who was standing off to the side with a bored expression on his face. "Hey Grimm nice to see you too." She stated casually clearly not nearly as interested in seeing him as she was Ichigo.

"Hey Nel, how've you been? We've been sent by Yamamoto to check in with you guys." Ichigo said happily, glad that she had been the one to great them and not Starrk or Ulquiorra. Neither of them would have been happy to see them much less give them the information they needed quickly so they could get out of there and head home to pick up Kyler.

"We've all been great here thanks for asking Ichi," she gave him a small smile before gesturing for them to follow her. "Yamamoto sent you huh, well there really isn't much to report from a month ago when he sent the last group, just same old, same old…we have had a slight influx of new hollows coming in but nothing that seems report worthy." She stated as they walked to the room at the end of the atrium that housed the device that kept track of hollows, it was a computer like device laid out across several feet of table top buttons with an equally long screen that acted like sonar plotting current location as well as the location of other hollows. Urahara really knew what he was doing, had to give him credit for that.

"Yeah I didn't think there would be much to report, but orders are orders so we had to come by. By the way where is Starrk and Ulquiorra?" Ichigo asked looking around the space for any sign of them. Grimmjow just kept the same bored expression he had since they first walked into the building, of course now that he'd gotten what he wanted from coming here, he was just counting down the seconds until they got to head back home.

"Oh those two, well Starrk is sleeping in his suite, as usual, and Ulquiorra is often hunting hollows, he was bored out of his mind hanging out around here." She giggled and then handed them a few parchments with the hollow count on them to take back to the soul society. "You know you could stand to visit us a lot more Ichi," she said crossing her arms and shifting her wait to one foot.

"I'm sorry Nel, but I am kept plenty busy with the soul society and Kyler. I will try to make a point to visit more often." He said with a smile on his face as he started to itch for the chance to get out of there, drop off these notes, and head on home. He stared at her unwavering gaze just waiting for him to falter when the badge in his pocket began to vibrate and ring like some red alert alarm. He fished it as his pocket as both Grimmjow and Nel stared at him with an interested curiousness covering their features. He held out the badge and pushed a small button Urahara had installed on the device to be able to communicate with him from the world of the living no matter which realm Ichigo himself was in.

"What's up hat and clogs, you never contact me on here?" Ichigo stated wondering what in the world could be going on that Urahara would have to contact him on this device.

"Ichigo is Grimmjow with you?" He asked a weird seriousness to his tone that Ichigo had never heard from the man before.

"Yeah he's here with me, why, what's going on?" Ichigo's voice was becoming more concerned by the second. This better not be some stupid prank, I'll drag his hat wearing ass all the way to hell.

"It's Kyler's school…Ichigo, it's on fire…and I haven't found her yet."

Ichigo felt his heart completely stop. What? I don't understand. What? He stood frozen in place as Urahara continued to talk from the badge.

"Ichigo you guys need to hurry. I'm not even sure what's going on." Urahara stated then the device went completely silent.

It was Grimmjow who was the first to grab Ichigo and pull him from the terrible thoughts that were swirling through his head.

"ICHIGO COME ON, WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" He had already opened the Garganta and was flying as fast he could with Ichigo barely conscious behind him.

Oh whatever gods are out there…please…oh please…let her be alright…don't let the worst things I'm thinking come to pass…Ichigo's mind was racing through all the things that could have happened, but when the Garganta opened to world of the living all of those thoughts completely vanished. The only thing that matters right now is finding her. Put those thoughts aside and focus on the things you can do. Ichigo prepared himself as they stepped out into the world of the living. Neither one of them stopped at the shop for their bodies simply flying as fast as possible towards the huge plume of black smoke that could be seen even from the distance they were at. What could have possibly happened?

XXX

When they arrived among the clouds of smoke looking down to the 4 fire trucks trying desperately to put out the fire. There were still children pouring out of the building each one a little more covered with smoke and coughing as if at any point they might just cough up a lung. Grimmjow looked at Ichigo for a brief second concern on both their faces.

"You go check all around the building and among the kids, I'll look inside. GO!" He yelled as he flew through one of the upper level windows crashing into the building. Ichigo didn't even get a chance to nod before he too was flying down to the ground desperately searching through the crowds. He went through every single face among the crowds, around the building, within the ambulances that were being taken to the hospitals, but there was no sign of Kyler anywhere.

Ichigo was going into full blown panic at how things were going, he could only hope that Grimmjow had found her within the building, and saved her from the flames that had now engulfed the entirety of the building. The flames flickered with more life despite the firemen's best attempts to control the flames. The fire cackled with each floor it engulfed, like a child getting to steal an extra cookie from the cookie jar. There was nothing that could be done to save the building the best the people could do was prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings, and try to evacuate the area for when the building would come crashing down as the fire devoured the supports of the lower floors. Ichigo looked on helplessly waiting for any sign of Grimmjow to come out of the building.

Finally, Grimmjow exploded from the first floor mere second before the building came tumbling down, unable to withstand that wrath of the flames any longer. Ichigo ran towards Grimmjow looking for any sign of his daughter within his arms. As he reached him his worst nightmare was coming true, Grimmjow turned to him with shear horror in his eyes as he looked at Ichigo.

"I…I couldn't…I couldn't find her anywhere!" He yelled grabbing onto Ichigo's shoulders with both hands, his grip nearly crushing Ichigo's shoulders. "Please tell me you found her…that she's safe…that she's gonna be ok…please Ichi…tell me Kyler is ok." He whispered looking to Ichigo for any positive sign that Kyler had been found, but to his dismay neither of them could tell the other the news they so desperately wanted to hear. "No…" was all he whispered before shutting his eyes tight, his whole body began to shake uncontrollably. Something was constricting his chest, he couldn't breathe, his entire chest hurt, he had to force himself to heave large breathes just to keep himself standing up, but even those hurt to accomplish. His chest tightened even more, now he truly couldn't breathe. He let go of Ichi, and without looking turned and continued his search around the building, somebody, someone must have seen her.

Ichigo had stood there frozen in place. He had never seen that kind of reaction from Grimmjow, never a look of such concern, such pain, such worry, such…desperation. It made Ichigo's heart ache even more than it already was. His eyes were beginning to blur, but the feeling in his body was completely empty. There was nothing but a void, an endless void, it was a shear agony that could never be completely described. His entire being had been robbed of feeling, he stood there completely numb in place. He knew as soon as this void ran it's course, his body would completely crash, he would have no sense of control, his brain would shut down and when that happened, he would have to make sure there was not a soul around him to get hurt. For now though, while his body was numb, he needed to continue his search.

The hours ticked by and as the evening settled and the flames dulled, there was still no sign of Kyler. The firemen had asked all the people to go home so they could continue their jobs and start searches among the destruction. Urahara had brought Grimmjow and Ichigo's bodies to them a couple hours ago and they had continued their searching on foot, they asked teachers, students, parents, even at the hospital, no one had seen her.

And so they stood…behind the caution tape…just gazing at a building that not 24 hours ago had they watched their little girl run into for another fun day of learning. Things could not possibly end like that for her, she was only 7! How could a life so young be destroyed so quickly? Neither Ichigo or Grimmjow looked at the other, they were both in their own minds spinning every thought, every question, every reason why something so awful could happen to a life so innocent.

Grimmjow's body had not stopped shaking and he was barely holding himself together, the constriction around his chest hadn't ceased and now it even felt like knives had dug their way deep into his skin making any movement unbearable. He wouldn't show tears though…not here…not in front of these people…not in front of Ichigo. He wouldn't allow himself to cry until they had confirmed their worst nightmare. His breathing was ragged and shallow trying to choke back sobs as he watched the firemen begin to dig through what was left of the charred building. His heart dropped into his stomach when he saw 3 firemen dig a small corpse from the ashes. Completely black and hardly resembling any form of a child, Grimmjow watched unblinking as they placed the charred corpse onto a stretcher and carried it to the ambulance for an examination.

Ichigo's body was wearing down and he knew he couldn't keep up this cool facade for much longer. This endless void of emotion was beginning to wear off, and his body was beginning to boil with shear anguish. He knew a similar emotion when his mother had died, but this was stronger…much stronger. He had watched the firemen pull the burnt corpse from the building, his heart had already sunk from seeing Grimmjow's initial reaction, now it just felt like the thing had completely shattered sending the shards to pierce the rest of his body to share the pain. He couldn't do it…he just couldn't…he needed to stay…to see them pull Kyler's body from the ashes…but he just couldn't…he would completely break…and when he did…he wanted to be alone. He slowly turned and began to walk towards their home. He put his hands in his pockets and raised the hood to the black sweatshirt he was wearing. At least there he could be alone for a while, not worry what other people thought. As he walked away, he didn't notice Grimmjow grip onto the weightless caution tape in front of him…gripping it so tightly his hands began to bleed. Ichigo didn't see…see the streaks…the tracks of tears run down Grimmjow's face…the drops soaking the ground as he died inside.

XXX

Ichigo's walk home had been a true test of how long his control would hold, how strong was his will to never let anyone see him cry. As he reached their home, he walked up the sidewalk past the front white fence gate, and as he reached for the keys a small glimmer of hope entered his mind that maybe…perhaps she'd be here…somehow she had gotten out and run to the security of their home…just maybe. He turned the key and entered the completely black house. He didn't bother to turn the lights on…he didn't need them. He slowly walked up the steps past the first door on the left, past the second, he opened the door to the third and peered inside. What he saw broke him…the room was empty…she wasn't there. Ichigo closed the door gently and walked back to their room, the first door. He opened it and slowly closed the door behind him…he looked at the ceiling…his emotions finally caught up to him, he couldn't hold it any longer, he let out one long sob, wail, scream then his body took over shutting his mind off as the room before him was torn completely apart.

His next conscious thought didn't come until several hours later as he sat in a corner of the room his knees curled up underneath his crossed arms as he let out sobs, and ragged breathes as tears pooled onto the wood floor beneath him. He was shaking uncontrollably, he couldn't open his eyes, they stung whenever he tried. His chest heaving as he choked on sob after sob. It hurt…it hurt everywhere…a pain indescribable…it was like the world came crashing down on him and he was completely alone to let it crush him. His knuckles were bleeding from punching into the walls so many times he has sure several bones had been broken, but those broken bones had no weight to the turmoil raging within his body. He was exhausted, but he knew he couldn't sleep…wouldn't sleep…it would be impossible…his body would not allow it.

Ichigo was so lost in trying to hold himself somewhat together on the floor that he didn't hear the front door open…or hear it close. He didn't here the slow footsteps trek up the steps and stop in front of his door. He did hear that door open though, but he couldn't move. There was no way he could pick himself up…no way he could attempt to put words together to explain what had happened to the room. He just continued sobbing silently hoping that the person would just go away and let his world continue to crumble around him. He felt someone slide down the wall to sit beside him. He felt Grimmjow's arm slide around him and pull him into a hug…Grimm pulled him into his lap and held him tightly. He didn't say a word…he couldn't…what could he possibly say. Neither said a word…they just gripped the other as tight as they could. Ichigo didn't even look at Grimmjow…it was a good thing…he wouldn't see the blood red eyes…the tear stained tracks down his face…Ichigo didn't know…he wasn't there, but Grimmjow had left after they had pulled the 5th body from the building. He couldn't do it any more, he had left for Hueco Mundo,and he had torn apart everything he could get his hands on from building ruble to hollows…he'd done it all and almost completely emptied his spirit energy…he was just as helpless as Ichigo…and neither of them would ever speak of this…they both died that night, so there was nothing more to do, but sit in the dark and mourn the loss of their most beloved treasure. They stayed there all night and most of the morning, never moving, too broken to even care.

XXX

The next day Ichigo and Grimmjow managed to put on enough of a calm and collected facade to go to the hospital to see all the names of the victims of the fire that had completely destroyed their lives. They walked without saying a word, both completely drained of being up all night and they both knew that neither would sleep again tonight. They walked without touching, for there was no comfort that either could do for the other, they couldn't stop what had happened and they would just have to find a way to keep going, no matter what. They arrived at the hospital a little after 10 wearing nothing but sweatshirts and sweatpants not caring what other people thought of them, they wouldn't understand. They walked to the front desk and it was Grimmjow to be the one to ask where they should go to receive the information.

"Excuse me miss…where do we go to find out the victims of the elementary school fire?" His voice was completely hoarse and it took all his strength to make his voice intelligible for the staff lady. She looked up to answer his question and upon seeing both of them her face filled with sympathy as she looked at two sets of eyes swollen and blood shot with dark circles underneath. She gently nodded, grabbed a portfolio and handed it to him.

"These are all the names we have accounted for so far. There are still a few who are missing and their names are listed at the bottom. I'm so very sorry." She said gently and sat back down at the desk to answer a phone call. "Oh please, when you are done tell me the name and return the portfolio." She quickly stated before talking into the phone.

Ichigo followed Grimmjow to a waiting area and they both sat down beside each other. Grimm held the blue portfolio in his hand but as he went to open it, his hand began to shake making it impossible for him to even grip the folder, let alone open it. He sat there looking at his hand trying to calm himself enough to open it, when Ichigo's hand slid up to cover his. Grimmjow looked at Ichigo surprised at how calm he was being. Ichigo just looked at him, made a deep breath gesture and looked back to the portfolio. Grimmjow did the same, he closed his eyes and took a deep breathe, he released the air not feeling any better, but it was good enough that he could open the portfolio.

They both peered down the list of names and read the column next to the names labeled Deceased. There were 110 names on the list ranging from student, to teacher, to staff, but they did not find Kyler's name on any of them. They peered over all the pages double checking to make sure before turning to the last page.

Under the title of Missing Persons the very first name to appear: Kyler Kurosaki-Jaguerjaquez

XXX

There had been a mixture of emotions after they had read that name. There was a small glimmer of hope that just maybe she was still alive, so they had continued their searching nonstop. For two weeks the two searched every place they could think of, they even decided to search the soul society as well as Hueco Mundo because if she had died in the fire maybe somehow she had managed to make it to the next world without them noticing. Everybody in the soul society desperately tried to help, scouring the realms in search of Kyler, but to no avail. She was nowhere to be found. Ichigo and Grimmjow were in a complete stage of despair that nobody could pull them from, despite their attempts to comfort them the two only found solace in getting to destroy ruble in the sands of Hueco Mundo.

What came to hurt them the most was the not knowing what happened to her. Neither of them could truly cope since they had no idea whether to mourn or to keep searching, so it ended up being both constantly gnawing on their insides. Every night was the same, they would come in at separate times, sit next to each other, and just wait for the sun to come back up so they could start again. What little sleep they did get was filled with images of Kyler, and just imagining the worst things imaginable happening to her while they had been gone. Both of them were completely drained from their emotions, and became more zombie like in their day to day activities.

After two months of searching and not finding so much as a clue to what happened to Kyler, Ichigo and Grimmjow decided that it was time to let it rest. They chose to have a small funeral with an empty casket, since they had found no sign of Kyler anywhere. By no means were they giving up on some small hope that just maybe she was still alive some how, but they had to let others know that it was time to move on.

It was a small funeral on the edge of Karakura Town at the town cemetery, everyone they knew came to pay their respects. Members of the soul society came along with the remaining arrancar, Isshin and the girls came as well, but all of them went unnoticed to Ichigo and Grimmjow. The two stood at the foot of the empty casket dressed in fine black suits, just staring as if in a trance. They wouldn't cry, their bodies were completely empty of shedding any more tears. Neither ever acknowledged any of the faces that came and paid their respects, and once everyone had left they still stood, completely unmoving. The sun began to set in front of them, and the site would have looked serene if the atmosphere hadn't been so morbid and devoid of any life. The couple stood and just barely visible between the two, one could see Grimmjow's shaking hand holding tightly with Ichigo's as they each said their goodbyes, promising to never give up on finding out the truth behind her disappearance. The promised that even though every day would never be the same…they wouldn't give up…they wouldn't stop living, no matter how hard things got. It was a solemn vow…one they knew would hold each other accountable…and although they knew the other would never stop being reckless…it was a promise to never make the other feel this way again…and for that matter, have to deal with it alone.

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It was a slow process, getting either of them to open up again after that, but as time went by they came back around. Neither of them ever became the same person they were before the accident, but they tried their best to appear as normal as possible. Head Captain Yamamoto had told them personally to take as much time they needed before returning to their official duties, because once they did, he would take no excuses for them not fulfilling their duties.

The Soul Society went back to it's same old routine, and things finally seemed to be getting better when the head captain called a captain's meeting.

They all stood before him in their two rows with their lieutenants off to the side behind them as well. Each captain peering around the room as to any sign of why such a meeting had been called. No one had the slightest idea of what could be happening, as far as they knew things were perfectly fine. Yamamoto sat at the front of the room his cain held in front of him, as his usual passive glare scanned the length of the room for any intruders listening in on this meeting. When he decided to speak, he gave a low cough in his throat to signal all the captains to listen closely.

"So nice to see you all, wondering what I have called you all here for hmm." He stated in his usual husky tone. All the captains and lieutenants stood at attention waiting patiently for him to continue.

"There has been an accident of some sort in Australia. There is an immense number of new souls in an immediate area, and our typical scouts are just not equipped well enough to handle it. I will need to send two squads to survey what happened as well as take care of the souls there. I need Squad 7 Captain Kuchiki and Squad 11 Captain Zaraki to head there as soon as possible." He announced peering at each captain as he said their names. Both simply nodded their agreement to the task, while everyone else nodded their acknowledgement. They were all dismissed and the chosen captain headed out through the Senkaimon, while the rest mingled about.

It wasn't until a week later that Kuchiki and Zaraki returned. They met with the head captain about everything that they had seen, and what little they could make of it.

"Captain, the entire area for 30 square miles was completely destroyed of life. Hundreds had suddenly broken out with the Ebola virus, killing every single person in the area." Kuchiki spoke with his usual monotone voice, he glanced over at Zaraki still not really understanding everything that he saw. "It was odd, once the virus had spread to that 30 square mile area, it almost seemed like it vanished, there were no cases of the virus outside the area, even to people who had gone in and out mere days before the initial attack. It appears to be some human form of military experimentation, or that is the only conclusion I can think of, but I did not know the humans had such extensive control over a level 5 virus." His tone unwavering even though his thoughts seemed to go on a tangent. Zaraki never said a word just nodded his agreement, and when they were finished with their report he headed out looking for a fight. A week of guiding souls to the soul society had been extremely boring and his muscles tensed at the thought of finally getting to fight.

Kuchiki lingered a little longer waiting for Yamamoto to answer his questions or let him know his job was finished.

"Hmm, that does seem unusual, but if the virus is not spreading there is really not much else we can do, just keep your eyes and ears open for another incident, if something like this happens again the humans responsible will need to be dealt with as soon as possible." Yamamoto husked out the words to Kuchiki ushering his dismissal, he sat alone in his barracks thoughts swirling in his mind trying to piece together information that didn't seem to add up. None of it really made any since so he sighed and went to discuss matters at Central 46.

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Over the course of several years there were many incidents all around the world for which the soul society could not piece together what was happening. A bombing in central Europe, a tsunami devastating the southern half of Japan, a war in Africa only to be abandoned 6 months later. The seemingly random events didn't stop until every continent had experienced their own form of disaster. The amount of humans lives destroyed was unheard of and the soul society gained hundreds of new souls each day. The same could be said in Hueco Mundo, the arrancars struggled to keep the number of hollows in check and were constantly out working. Ichigo and Grimmjow helped out as often as the soul society allowed and kept themselves busy.

After a weird seven years of soul society almost breaking at the seams with the number of souls, things again began to settle down and return to normal. Things were quiet, a little too quiet if you asked around. The soul society was never so boring, and little did anyone know things were about to take a sudden turn. Three years of shear boredom were about to swept from underneath everyone's feet, but for today Ichigo and Grimmjow didn't care. Today was the anniversary and they had gone every year to spend the evening with their daughter. They still had found no clues to what had happened that day, but it had sure been the beginning to a long list of unexplainable instances. All of them too random to be coincidence, but any time they tried to put two and two together they wound up with more questions than answers.

They performed their usual routine going to their house, which they just didn't have the heart to sell even though they rarely came back any more, cleaning up then heading to the flower shop before walking out to the cemetery. They walked in utter silence not taking the time to acknowledge anyone as they passed. The site was just ahead and up on the hill just in front of Kyler's grave, unknown to Ichigo and Grimmjow stood a figure. A pair of dark navy jeans that hugged the small figure without becoming too tight to make movement a struggle. A black loose fitting hoodie covered her arms and torso. The hood was covering the head hiding the identity of the figure as they stood paying their respects. The grass was soft and moist beneath bare feet and just as Ichigo and Grimmjow entered the cemetery the figure disappeared without either of them having a chance to see it.

Standing before the grave brought back all the emotions both had experienced over the years. A sadness they both held, the disappointment of failing to protect the one thing they held most dear to them. They each had their moment to share their thoughts with her and let her know how they were doing. As the sun set in front of them they bid their goodbyes until next time. The spring breeze blowing across the graves with a quiet whisper. They returned home for a sleepless night unprepared for the fight that lay ahead.

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Hi everyone thanks for reading! I know this chapter is rather depressing but things will certainly pick up from here. Please take some time to write a review let me know your thoughts they really do help. Thanks again for reading and I will upload the next chapter as soon as I can.