"They aren't separating us by race."
Ichigo was just waking. It was five days after the burning and no more prisoners had come through yet. The exodus, however, continued each day and soon it would have to be their turn.
"When they take them, they examine them, then divide them up—those who stay and those who go. The only ones who stay are the ones who are sick or injured."
"What? I hadn't noticed." Ichigo didn't have Grimmjow's iron will to constantly watch the goings on near the gate. He found hunger and other discomforts distracting him.
"So they won't separate us based on me being an espada and you being whaterver the fuck you are." Grimmjow had listened once to Ichigo's attempted explanation about the composition of his soul. He settled with human-soul reaper, but now that Ichigo was powerless in soul form, neither really knew what he was—was he currently a soul reaper or a human? And what would the guards think when they examined him? Would they have a way to tell he was a soul and not the human Satoru Yoshida whom he was pretending to be?
Then something else occurred to Ichigo.
"Oh shit, your arm."
"I know." Grimmjow bit out. He must have been dwelling on this for a long time. Whereas Ichigo's worst injury had been the breaking of his sword along with the ensuing beat down—he'd broken no bones and once he was past the exhaustion, his body had mended itself. Grimmjow's arm, however, was a much longer-term issue.
"I just have to get through that exam."
"You think you can?"
"Depends what they need us to do."
"Yeah I guess. What if they don't take us at the same time?"
"They seem to just be gathering up clusters of people—whoever's already grouped together. So long as we stay together we should be okay."
"Okay."
There was nothing more to say after that. They returned to watching the process of selection, rejection and exodus. Still they saw no weak point they could exploit once those gates were open.
When they hit the three week mark, and Ichigo leaned against the hard rock wall while Grimmjow slept, he considered which he feared more: being selected or staying in this place much longer. His waist had shrunken considerably. The burn of hunger ate away at him every hour of every day, even though there were less prisoners now to fight for food. The cold was starting to get to him as well. With no roof over their heads there was nothing protecting them from the elements save the high walls. He saw some people huddle together at night but Grimmjow certainly wasn't about to do that with him. Besides, they never slept at the same time anyway, which was in itself, exhausting.
"Do you think the next place will be better or worse?" he asked Grimmjow when he woke.
"Not sure. Based on the fact they seem to be selecting healthy people to move on, I'm guessing they have do labour. But that might also mean more food and better shelter."
"Oh."
Grimmjow turned to him. He was calm, as he always was. Nothing about their situation seemed to faze him much. He patiently watched the guards and routines every day, looking for his chance to escape. Ichigo tried to be like him but found it hard. He was constantly worrying about what might happen next—when they would be selected, where they would go.
"Our best chance of escape will be in transition from here to there," Grimmjow went on. Ichigo was sure the espada could see his emotional turmoil but he never addressed it. "Once we get through those gates, keep your eyes peeled for signs of where we are and where we might go if we did get free. Also take note of the guards and their weapons. Between us we should be able take account of any weak points in their system."
"And what if we don't?"
"Don't panic. I'll be damned if I let myself get done in by a fuckin' bullet. But those damn things will cut us down no matter how powerful we were out there. So whatever we do, we play this smart."
Again, Ichigo was surprised Grimmjow hadn't lost his cool by now and done something violent and reckless. But then it occurred to him that Grimmjow only had one thing to lose in all of this—and that was his life. He didn't have a single ally left out there in the universe—not counting Ichigo. But once the war was over, they too would go their separate ways. Grimmjow had no friends, family or home to get back to. So he could afford be patient and bide his time. Ichigo, however, had a lot of faces he wanted to see again, and he was worried about what might happen without him there to help protect them. Still, he understood the value of Grimmjow's strategy.
"If it is a labour camp, that means a lot of movement and access to tools. We'll be able to find a way out."
"You sound pretty confident."
"What, you think these assholes are going to keep me caged for long?"
Ichigo nodded. "No I don't."
"Exactly."
It was mere hours after this conversation that armed guards moved their way and they were roped into the next group to line up for inspection.
Grimmjow had ditched his sling the moment he saw them coming. He gritted his teeth and never gave a hint that he was injured. They were interviewed separately. Ichigo gave up the wallet upon their demand and was officially recorded as Satoru Yoshida next to the picture they snapped of him. He noticed that they carefully copied down information found in the wallet and asked him to confirm certain details (which he had memorised). He wondered how extensively they would check to make sure he was who he said. He supposed this system was in place to prevent him doing exactly what he was doing—hiding his identity as the teen soul reaper who had the potential to face Yhwach himself.
They forced him to strip to his underwear, checked his clothes and body for weapons and then let him redress. When they were finished, they took his wrist and used a device that looked like a gun to implant something beneath the skin.
"That's your identity now," they informed him. "And don't think of trying to take it out—you'll kill yourself if you do."
With that, they shoved him through the doors and a guard grabbed his arm steering him toward a group of men waiting under gunpoint near the door.
He was unbelievably relieved when Grimmjow was forced into the same group as him. They waited in silence. They watched an elderly man get shoved back toward the rest of the camp. Not long after a younger man with a limp joined him. Ichigo turned to Grimmjow. His face was set. No doubt the implantation had significantly hurt due to his broken arm but he hid it well.
"Did they say anything about you being a hollow?"
"Dumb humans didn't know I was an espada. They recorded my description so eventually someone might catch on but as far as I know they didn't know who I was, just a freak to them—didn't even want my fuckin' name."
Ichigo supposed hollows' names would be meaningless as there were no records to check them against.
"Anyway, soon as we're out that gate it's our best chance, don't forget."
"Of course." They stood another twenty minutes or so but they'd been near the end and as soon as everyone was in single file they escorted them to the gates. Ichigo was behind Grimmjow, a fact that gave him some comfort as he would be able to watch the espada and see when he chose to make his move.
The gates opened. He saw Grimmjow's entire body tense and then a soft curse drop from his lips.
"What—" but Ichigo moved just enough to see. At the entrance to the gate, fit so tight there was no getting around it, was the open end of a box car on a transport truck. Grimmjow probably didn't know what it was in detail, but he knew enough to see they had no opportunity to get away.
"It's a vehicle," Ichigo whispered. They weren't supposed to talk so Grimmjow didn't respond but he looked from side to side, clearly assessing their options.
There were none. With guns trained on them from all sides, they were forced to march ahead and up the ramp into the back of the truck like cattle. They were made to push in all the way and make room for everyone. Then someone hit a release, the back door slammed down and total darkness enveloped them.
"Fuck." Grimmjow groped out and grabbed Ichigo's arm to make sure they stayed close. "What the hell is this thing?"
"A transport truck. They must have brought this through."
"Unless this is the world of the living after all."
"Maybe it's a shadow universe, like the ones the Vandenreich made in soul society…but now we won't know where we're going. We won't know how to get back here."
"Great, 'cause as far as we know, the only gateway to this place is through that camp."
They quieted after this and managed to sit. The road jostled them and they bumped into the other souls around them. Someone began to shout, panicking in the dark and the unknown that awaited them. After a while, someone else shut him up. Ichigo tensed but there was nothing he could do. Besides, he wanted the man to be quiet too.
They travelled for hours in the dark. Some people were sick from the motion and the truck began to reek with the stench of stomach acid. Ichigo began to feel his own stomach turn. Then he felt something else next to him.
"Ah shit!" He stood and bumped into the man who decided to relieve himself right next to Ichigo. The man grabbed him around the throat and not only did more piss get on Ichigo but he got a punch to the face. He fell into someone else who caught him and then he was pressed against the side of the truck where he heard the man gasp out in pain. There was a thud and then quiet.
"Grimmjow?"
"Shit you stink. Move." He felt a shove and moved down the wall, bumping into others but distancing himself from the urine.
In the end, most of them were sick, including Ichigo and Grimmjow who became just as overwhelmed as everyone else by the disorienting dark and endless motion combined with the overpowering stench.
When the truck stopped and the doors opened, everyone pushed to be first out. This resulted in several people falling from the truck lip and consequently being booted by the guards waiting for them. The rest were ordered to come out single file while at gun point.
Ichigo stood outside the truck, breathing in fresh air. It was night time and cold but he could still see the structure before him. It was large—high walls just like the last one, and he couldn't tell what kind of conditions they would find inside.
"Single file through the doors." The order was barked. They followed the guards in the door where they were made to stand while further instructions were delivered. "You sons of bitches lucked out." The guard began, a burley man in his forties. He looked like he might have been former military of some sort, or maybe he'd just always wanted to have a gun and a uniform and order people around.
"You got chosen to be in one of the finest camps. Good food. Good accommodations. So long as you do what you're told. There's work and lots of it. Obey and work hard and you'll survive.
I'm the Captain of this establishment. Call me Captain Yota. You will be permitted into a bunker tonight but only after you clean the filth from yourselves."
He motioned to the wall. "Line up."
Grimmjow and Ichigo looked at one another. They were both resistant as they knew what was coming but they didn't have a choice. Someone gave Grimmjow a rough shove and he was forced forward against the wall. Ichigo followed, facing the stone.
"Strip."
"Fuck," he whispered. He didn't move at first. Neither did Grimmjow or the others. "STRIP!" The shot cracked through the air and once again it was Grimmjow who got the brunt of the anger. Someone grabbed him by the hair and pinned him face first while another pressed the still hot tip of his rifle against his temple.
"Do it now!'
Ichigo watched his jaw clench. He was using every ounce of his reserve to hold himself together. If he lost his grip now and attacked these men, he'd be mowed down by ten others.
Slowly he drew his hands up and began to pull off his coat.
"You too!" Someone yanked Ichigo's jacket from his shoulders and let it fall to the ground. He took over after that, baring his chest.
Everyone complied after that until they were naked in a line. Then the water hit—freezing cold and harsh. Ichigo had seen this in movies about prison so he'd expected it. Some small part of him was glad to get some of the filth off his body but the rest of him reeled at the ice cold spray and the humiliation of being hosed down like an animal.
"Clothes!" Ichigo understood eventually and held up their clothes. He hoped this was just the initial way to wash them and that there would be a better means once routines were established. The hose blasted through the fabric and took away most of the dirt and piss in them. When it was done they were all gasping but they were not permitted inside yet. The Captain took a long slow walk before them, looking them up and down without shame.
He paused at Ichigo for a moment. Ichigo didn't know what that meant. Then he stopped before Grimmjow.
"They sent me a fuckin' hollow." He eyed the hole in Grimmjow's midriff. "You're disgusting."
Blue eyes narrowed but he never said a word. The captain smiled. "Ah, so a little more intelligent than your predecessors…the other hollows in this place did not last long. We'll see if you can hold out a bit longer."
He moved on. Ichigo looked at Grimmjow. Neither fully understood the captain's words but they were unsettling. When he finally finished his inspection, they were guided inside one of the bunk houses. It was large and long and all that Ichigo could see for the moment were rows and rows of bunk beds.
"Choose a bunk. Dry your clothes. Work begins in the morning."
"This way," Grimmjow ordered Ichigo at once and while the rest were still looking befuddled he claimed one of the few bunks near a window.
"Why here?"
"So we can watch the movement of the guards at night," he said as if Ichigo was thick. The teen couldn't believe how quickly Grimmjow could process what they needed to do, despite the shock and humiliation they'd just gone through.
"Hang up your clothes."
"Are we just supposed to hang around naked?"
"Naked is the least of our problems kid." He dressed the bed frame with his soaking clothes. Ichigo eventually did the same. Everyone else was finally getting out of their trances and doing likewise.
"Grimmjow, how are you so calm?"
Grimmjow finished hanging his shirt and turned to him. "Because I have to be. And so do you."
"Yeah I know but—"
"No buts, Kurosaki. You hold it together or we're both fucked, you hear me?"
Ichigo watched the hostility in blue eyes. He just nodded.
"Good, now take the fuckin' top bunk and go to sleep."
"You taking first watch?"
"I'll do tonight. I want to get a feel for this place."
"If you're sure."
Ichigo didn't bother arguing. Grimmjow knew his limits. If he wanted to sit up all night watching the guards' movements Ichigo would let him. He was much better at memorising their patterns anyway.
He climbed up the bunk and lay down on a bed for the first time in weeks. The mattress was so thin he could feel the rungs beneath him and the pillow and blanket were equally thin and uncomfortable. But he had his own space, for the first time since arriving. He didn't have to feel strangers bumping next to him in the night, even Grimmjow's constant presence at his side.
But at the same time the noises in this place were different. It was quiet in a way that suggested everyone in the room was too exhausted to worry or fight. It shouldn't be that way. They had all just done what they were told because they had no choice while the guns were on them. Now though, they could have at least talked, even in the boxcar they could have worked as a group and made plans to escape.
But they didn't because Grimmjow was right. In here, it was every man for himself. They weren't even united by race or homeworld. They were such a mix of humans, soul reapers and hollows who had all gotten captured for different reasons. They didn't all fight for the same cause.
Maybe that's how the Vandenreich had crushed them so completely.
Ichigo felt a rush of heat behind his eyes. No, he wouldn't do it. Grimmjow would hear him and think he was weak and if Grimmjow ever decided he was better off without the teen, Ichigo didn't know what he'd do. His body might be able to endure just as much as the espada's but he wasn't sure his heart and mind could handle doing all of this alone.
He shut his eyes, finally, and tried to rest before he had to face the troubles of a new day.
Thanks so much for reviewing the first chapter. It's always great to know there is interest in a story! To answer some of your questions:
Yes I am drawing on some historical details I've read in the accounts of prisoners of war or learned about in history class. I really wanted this story to feel "real" in a way, but still cannon.
And yes Grimmjow's hollow hole and mask are there.
No, this will not be a romance between the boys, but a very close friendship.
Thanks again,
Riza