In This Twilight Chapter 3: Home, a bleach fanfic

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The Downward Spiral

Chapter Three: Home

Grimmjow/Orihime

By Renegade Raine

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Everything is catching up with me

I awake to find I'm not at all where I should be

And it feels I'm getting to the end…

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Grimmjow had lost track of how long they had been running now. He was an arrancar, so his stamina lasted a lot longer than a normal human's did, but even he was starting to get tired, and that pissed him off. However, all they could do was run, because he was sure that the place they needed to get to was still a good distance away. And whatever happened, they had to get there before that asshole Aizen did.

He looked behind him, only to see Orihime struggling to keep up with him. He was a little irritated that she was falling behind him, but since she had insisted on healing everyone she had come across, he could understand why her energy was so slow. Grimmjow continued at his pace for a while, before the pathetic pants from behind him finally got to be too much for him. He stopped for a second, waiting for Orihime to catch up to him. When she finally did, he placed his arms under her body and carried her in his arms as he continued to run.

"If you're gonna take all fuckin' day, I might as well carry you!" Grimmjow grumbled as he moved forward. Startled at first, Orihime got used to the feeling of being carried and placed her arms around his neck. After a few minutes of silence, Orihime looked up at Grimmjow's concentrated face.

"Grimmjow?" Orihime asked.

"What?" Grimmjow said with the slightest hint of annoyance.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Orihime inquired. Grimmjow continued to look forward as he ran, but looked down at her for a brief moment as he responded.

"Does it matter?" Grimmjow answered simply and turned his head forward to concentrate on his passage through the rooms of the temple that they were running through. Orihime looked down at the ground. It was just like him to not answer the questions she had wanted to know the answers to the most. Despite that though, in her time with him, she came to realize that he wasn't anywhere near as bad than she originally thought. Looking back up at Grimmjow's eyes lined in black and blue, she sighed.

"No, I guess not." Orihime responded. Cerulean eyes met her grey ones for a moment, before she witnessed his pupils suddenly grow smaller. It was then when it hit her as well…the all too familiar god-like reiatsu…the one that she had help create. Grimmjow finally stopped and set Orihime down on her feet. Grimmjow only stood silently with his back to Orihime for a moment. Orihime found his behavior peculiar, so she tried to walk toward him, but the sound of his maniac laughter soon echoed through the large, vast room they stood in. Terrified by Grimmjow's sudden change of character, Orihime walked back a few steps. Finally, Grimmjow turned around with a delirious grin and held his hand out in a way that Orihime was all too familiar with.

"This is the end…" Grimmjow said wide-eyed as Orihime stared at him in shock.

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And it's hard to figure out what's real and what's pretend…

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One month before…

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He had told that fucking android Ulquiorra to stay away from his woman, and when he didn't, he died. Then when Noitora took it a step further and tried to claim the woman as his own, not to mention killing the guy Grimmjow himself had sworn to kill…well…he got a sword through his balls before Grimmjow had killed him. But now, now only was Grimmjow free from the command of that dick, Aizen, but he finally also had the woman that he had set his sights on ever since she had healed his arm. He figured that if she could heal his arm, who else knew what the hell else she could do? He'd be damned before he would sit back and let Aizen keep that power for himself. Now that he had her, he'd be able to accomplish anything he damned well please.

However, he first had to get the hell out of the shit hole of a place called Hueco Mundo. He had been running away from Aizen's base with Orihime on his back for a while now, until he suddenly stopped and moved his hand a little. Orihime snapped out of her daze and gave Grimmjow a curious look.

"What are you doing?" Orihime asked.

"If we stay here, Aizen's gonna skull fuck us both." Grimmjow explained. "We need to go to the human world and lay low for a while."

"But my friends are still looking for me!" Orihime exclaimed. "We can't leave them here!"

"I thought we agreed." Grimmjow said, finally turning his head to look at Orihime with a slightly pissed off look. "You're my woman now. Besides, if any of your 'friends' are any good, they'll survive."

Before Orihime could protest any further, Grimmjow had fully opened a portal and stepped through. Defeated, Orihime only sighed as she worried for the sake of those close to her who were still alive. However, she was a little curious to see how everyone was doing in her own world, so despite the trauma she had faced earlier with Noitora, she tried to keep her thoughts positive. As Grimmjow passed through the gate with Orihime though, both instantly knew that something wasn't right. Somehow the world seemed…empty.

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To break from what we're tied to…

God knows how much I've tried to…

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Grimmjow set Orihime down on her feet as he took a few steps into the empty road. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he could not sense any reiatsu forms, aside from his and Orihime's. Orihime too looked around in wonder, although she was far more disturbed by the lack of reiatsu in the world than Grimmjow was.

"Everyone here…is dead?" Orihime asked. Grimmjow didn't respond, but a few seconds later, Orihime saw a child's lifeless form lying on the ground. Without a second thought, Orihime ran toward the body in an attempt to use her powers to bring him back to life. Before she could reach the corpse though, two familiar looking females intercepted her. One with pigtails and the other that eerily looked like what would happen if Grimmjow got in touch with his feminine side…even if the very idea disturbed Orihime to no end. Upon seeing Orihime being confronted, Grimmjow took out his zanpakuto and rushed toward the two arrancar females.

"As you might have seen, with his new powers, Aizen has already wiped out this entire town." Menoly said. "And now, Aizen has dispatched the both of us to rid of you two as well, since you have both served your purpose."

"Served my purpose…?" Orihime wondered out loud. "But didn't I destroy the Hougyoku?"

"You stupid twat!" Lolly exclaimed. "Since you never made that thing exist in the first place, Aizen inherited all of its power! Thanks to you, Aizen will create a world in only which us arrancar will reside in!"

"No…" Orihime muttered as she fell to her knees. "And I suppose he's killed all of my friends by now as well…"

"Pfft, probably." Lolly said with a shrug. "Doesn't matter though, since you're about to die anyways. Let's go, Menoly! Let's finish this so we can go back to Aizen-sama!"

Menoly did not reply, but she still unsheathed her sword and ran toward Grimmjow. Lolly mirrored her actions as Grimmjow snorted and gave an apathetic look. As the two approached him, Grimmjow finally made his move as he blocked both of the girls' attacks with his sword. Lolly broke away and sped toward Orihime, who was still on her knees in the street. If Aizen had killed everyone in town, then it must have meant that he had killed Chizuru, Keigo, Hirako, Hiyori, and the rest of Ichigo's family too. Orihime knew that Lolly was going toward her, but at this point, she didn't care if she died or not. Before Lolly could strike though, Grimmjow slashed through her from behind. After Lolly fell to the ground in a wide-eyed stupor, Grimmjow briefly gave Orihime an agitated look.

"What the fuck are you doin', woman?" Grimmjow yelled at her. "Protect yourself for fuck's sake!"

"It doesn't matter now if I live or die." Orihime muttered. Grimmjow gave her a slightly incredulous look, which left him open for an attack from Menoly. Pissed off at being hit, Grimmjow momentarily took his attention off of Orihime to mercilessly slaughter Menoly, successfully chopping her to bits with his zanpakuto. Grimmjow stood for a moment just staring at the mangled bits of Menoly on the ground before he turned to see Orihime making her way toward the dead child.

"Even if you are my woman, I don't wanna start a family." Grimmjow said to her, but Orihime didn't seem to pay him any attention. "Listen, if you bring that brat back to life, he's only gonna bitch about his real mom not being around."

Even if what Grimmjow said was rather insensitive, Orihime realized that he was right. It would be cruel to bring the child back to life if she didn't first find his family and bring every member back to life. Knowing that she was helpless to the situation in her town, Orihime stood up, leaned against a nearby building, and cried. She was so caught up in her misery that she didn't even notice the rain pouring down on her.

"Hey, missy." Grimmjow called out to her. "That bitch fucked up my shoulder while I was tryin' to make sure she didn't kill you. I think ya owe it to me to heal it."

Orihime didn't seem to hear him as she continued to mope by the building. The bitch was too wrapped up in herself. Rolling her eyes and giving an agitated groan, there was only one thing Grimmjow could do as he walked toward her.

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And I am still inside you…

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When Grimmjow had reached the point where Orihime was standing at, he used the arm, which still had blood trickling down it from the blow to his shoulder, to slam against the wall inches from Orihime's head. When she still didn't look up at him, he used his other hand to forcibly lift up Orihime's rain-moistened chin. Quickly, Grimmjow lowered his head, letting a few drops of rain from his hair drop onto her forehead before hovering his lips over hers. He captured her lips with his own as he tightly gripped her chin, so she could not move her face away. Orihime finally snapped out of her miserable daze and gasped out of surprise. The gasp didn't help her any, as Grimmjow took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth, using it to explore everywhere within. Unlike Noitora though, he didn't nearly choke her by trying to slam his tongue down her throat.

After a moment, Orihime used her arms to slightly turn Grimmjow's face as the side of his face with the mask started to irritate her face. Finally pulling away, Grimmjow raised an eyebrow with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Now that I got your attention, could ya fix my fuckin' shoulder?" Grimmjow said with a mildly exasperated voice.

"Yeah…" Orihime said in a flustered voice. "But can we go back to my house first?"

"Yeah, fine." Grimmjow said with a grunt. "Lead the way."

Slowly, Orihime walked in the rain, while trying to keep herself warm in the ragged jacket that had been given to her. Grimmjow followed behind her as she made her way through the abandoned streets to her house. When they finally arrived at Orihime's house, Orihime went into her living room and sat on her couch. Grimmjow looked around at the simple house before he finally went by the couch and knelt down. Touching her hairpins, Orihime summoned her Shun Shun Rikka. Grimmjow noticed the tiny creatures pop out of nowhere and blinked to make sure he was seeing what he just thought he had witnessed.

"Soten Kisshun…I reject!" she exclaimed as Ayame and Shun'o rushed to heal Grimmjow's shoulder. Grimmjow narrowed his eyebrows out of confusion and when the healing process was done, Orihime noticed his expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked, fearing that Grimmjow detected someone else coming to try to kill them.

"Did…" Grimmjow started. "…a fucking fairy just heal my arm?!"

"Hey asshole, we're not fairies!" Tsubaki exclaimed as he flew in front of Grimmjow's face. Looking down at Tsubaki, Grimmjow narrowed his eyes.

"Pfft, you look like a fucking fairy to me." Grimmjow muttered. This angered Tsubaki, which brought the two into a heated argument. At first, Orihime was worried for Tsubaki's sake, but as she watched both Tsubaki and Grimmjow argue with each other, she couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculousness of the situation in front of her. She immediately stopped though as both gave her a death glare.

"Jackass." Tsubaki muttered at the arrancar.

"Fuckin' fairy." Grimmjow countered. Orihime then summoned the Shun Shun Rikka back into her hairpins, as she was truly afraid that Grimmjow would destroy everything in her house if he interacted with Tsubaki any longer. She then turned to go to her bathroom.

"Is it alright if I take a shower?" Orihime asked. Grimmjow looked at Orihime, who still had a little blood on her chest from Noitora's blood, despite the rain washing most of it off.

"Go ahead." Grimmjow responded as he laid back on her couch. Orihime nodded her head before running to her room to get some actual clothes and going into the bathroom to clean herself off. Grimmjow entertained the idea of going in and ravishing her in the shower briefly, but as he laid back on the couch, he dismissed that idea, as he didn't have the energy to do it at the moment. Not to mention that fucking fairy had totally ruined his mood.

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And I am still inside you…

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After Orihime had taken her shower, she had gone into the kitchen to fix something that looked so unappetizing that even if Grimmjow had to eat, he doubted he would even look at it a second time if it were presented to him. After she had finished eating, she had stated that she would go to bed. Grimmjow shrugged, as he never felt the need to sleep. As he wandered around the house bored though, he heard a noise coming from her room. He paused for a second, before figuring out that she was crying. Fucking hell, she was STILL crying over her loss? Giving a frustrated groan, he kicked Orihime's door open, and sure as hell, she had her head buried in her pillow in a pathetic attempt to suppress her sobs. Giving a slight hiss, Grimmjow bent down and turned her face toward his. Orihime opened her mouth, but before she could ask what he was doing, Grimmjow slid his tongue past her lips and massaged the whole inside of her mouth. After a short while, Grimmjow tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

After a few minutes, Grimmjow pulled his head back to travel down to her neck. He bit hard near her collarbone and ignored her yelp of pain. His teeth caused a tiny bit of blood to come from the mark, it didn't matter though as he ran his tongue across the wound. Orihime then tried to move his head with her hands, but Grimmjow pinned both hands down with one of his own. A short amount of time later, Grimmjow had removed (or in the case of Orihime's clothes, tore) the clothing off of both of their bodies and he claimed what was so rightfully his. She cried out in pain, but Grimmjow figured it was better than crying about the jackasses she called friends. He just merely swallowed her cries in his mouth until they were no more.

Although Orihime was caught up in what Grimmjow was doing to her body during most of the act, she looked up at one point, only to see his eyes burn into hers, causing the already present blush on her face to intensify in color. It was not long until before Orihime was crying yet again. However, instead for her friends, she cried for Grimmjow. Satisfied by her reaction, Grimmjow pounded harder, causing her to grip the edge of the hole in his abdomen with one hand and dug her nails in his back with the other. He didn't pay attention to the stinging sensation on his back as his sweat-covered body continued his synchronized movements with hers. The room was already filled with Orihime's moans of pleasure, so when Grimmjow growled lowly, it was barely audible.

When Grimmjow finished her off, only a few minutes later, he simply pulled away from her, and leaned his head down to Orihime's ear.

"Never forget that yer mine." Grimmjow said in a low voice. "Every time I hear you cry for the dead, I'll make you cry for me. Ye understand?"

Orihime only nodded in response, not wanting to find out what Grimmjow would do if she showed the least bit of resistance. Grimmjow grunted a little and gathered his clothes before he looked at her again.

"We're leaving in the morning, so get some sleep." Grimmjow told her. "I don't wanna hafta carry ya all the way."

"Where are we going?" Orihime asked.

"I don't know." Grimmjow replied as he tied the sash around his hakama. "But if we stay here, he's gonna find us."

Before she could ask any other question, Grimmjow left the room to go outside of the house to stare at the moon. Orihime, in the meantime wondered if she was really better off with Grimmjow than she was at Hueco Mundo. He had just pretty much raped her…but then she didn't exactly try to fend him off either, so she wasn't really sure what to think. However, she was exhausted from the events that had just taken place and fell into a deep sleep soon after Grimmjow had left her room. It would be the last time she ever slept in her own bed.

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I escape every now and then.

And to think…

I'd find myself back here again…and again.

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The next morning, Orihime awoke to find Grimmjow waiting impatiently for her in the living room.

"It's about damned time." Grimmjow muttered as she made her way into the room. "Let's get movin'."

"But aren't we going to be found no matter where we go?" Orihime asked. "It seems like we're the only people who are still alive."

"Nah, even that prick Aizen hasn't killed everyone yet. I don't know what the hell I sensed, but I sensed last night that something's still alive. The least we can do is find out what the fuck it is and hide our reiatsu amongst it when we do."

"But what if it's more arrancar?" Orihime asked. Grimmjow looked at her and gave a slight shrug.

"Then I'll kill em' all." Grimmjow replied. Before giving Orihime the chance to point out that he probably couldn't beat all the arrancar by himself, he walked to the outside of the house. Orihime followed him to find that he was already walking down the street.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we drove a car?" Orihime asked.

"Do you know how to drive one?" Grimmjow replied, not bothering to turn around.

"No…" Orihime said.

"Then we're walking." Grimmjow said bluntly as he trailed ahead of Orihime. She only sighed a little before jogging a short distance to catch up with him. For days upon end, the two walked a long distance, only stopping when Orihime's feet could no longer move and when even Grimmjow's body was too fatigued to carry her. Despite Orihime's protests, Grimmjow made a point of camping out at the most expensive-looking houses. She didn't like having to do it, but she changed her clothes at every house, as she didn't want to wear the same, stinky and sweaty clothes every day. Every night when she went to bed though, she would forget about Grimmjow's warning and would cry for her friends when she thought she was alone. However, he heard her every time and would fuck the misery out of her. At first, she hated herself for not resisting him, but after a couple of weeks, she came to embrace their encounters that would allow her to forget her pain, even if just for a little bit.

Then every morning after Orihime would awake and eat something, they'd continue their journey toward the reiatsu source Grimmjow sensed from afar. At first, Orihime didn't like traveling with him, as he seemingly got annoyed by anything she would say to him, but after a while, she found comfort in his presence, because in a weird way, he sort of reminded her of Kurosaki-kun with the pissed off expression he always seemed to convey. Granted, Ichigo had morals and his hair color was the exact opposite color of Grimmjow's (a fact that she had learned from her art class in high school so long ago), but nobody was perfect…right?

Every once in a while, they'd run into an arrancar or two, but for some reason, it was always the weaker ones. With Orihime's assistance, Grimmjow would easily demolish their opponents with minor to zero injuries. When she did have to heal him though, she made sure that Tsubaki didn't come out, as Grimmjow seemingly got the most pissed when he had to deal with him.

In a strange way, Orihime kind of liked being on the journey with Grimmjow, as it reminded her of all the epic quests from her very favorite movies, even if the very thought of Grimmjow wearing a lion suit while she wore shiny ruby slippers was a terrifying thought for even her. Sometimes if Grimmjow was in a good mood (or as about of a good mood as he could get into), he'd wait for her in the street as she excitedly went through all the stores in the area. Even if the journey was a fun one for her though, she often wondered how long the two of them would be running. She felt useless to the dire situation at hand. She had since gotten used to seeing the corpses of people in the streets, but a wave of sadness still passed through her every time she passed through a new town. All she could do though was hope for the best, and hope that at least some of her friends were still alive.

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I used to know who I was until you came along.

I return to the only place I've ever felt that I belonged.

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Every day, he could feel the two of them getting closer and closer to the reiatsu he had sensed from his woman's house. He lost track of how long the two had been walking, but he knew it had been too damned long. During their pilgrimage, Grimmjow had started to regret going in the first place, as even with the few arrancar attacks he had run across, he got really fucking bored walking all day. So it was no wonder that when the night came around, and she cried like she always did, he would enter her room and screw her senseless. Sometimes he would simply take what he wanted and he would leave. Other nights, he would over load her body with pleasure as he would twist their bodies in countless positions.

When she fell asleep immediately afterwards (and she always did), he would go outside and wander out in the streets. The thought of running off on his own constantly crossed his mind, as what he always wanted was complete freedom. He never strayed too far from whatever house they were staying at though, and he wasn't quite sure why. One night, he had come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to get laid if he abandoned her, and stuck by that reason.

Every time they passed through a new country, Orihime would try his patience as she blabbered about facts of the country she had learned through studying mixed in with tidbits of her own imagination. He usually ignored her, although he had grown accustomed to the noise of her voice filling the silence around them.

About three weeks later, the day finally came when even Orihime could sense the reiatsu forms that Grimmjow had sensed so long ago. As they approached a town in France, Grimmjow turned around to Orihime.

"The reiatsu forms are hiding in this town somewhere. They might be humans and they might be fuckin' Espada. But no matter what, don't get yerself kidnapped."

"I know." Orihime said with a nod and continued to walk cautiously down the fog-covered street with Grimmjow. All seemed fine at first with their first few steps, but with their next couple of steps, both of them felt an immensely powerful reiatsu in front of them. Both stopped, as they tried to figure out what to do. They didn't have to speculate too much, as the silhouette started to form amongst the fog in the street. Orihime took a few steps back as Grimmjow gripped his zanpakuto.

The fog started to clear as the figure slowly walked closer and closer to the two nomads in the street. Although Orihime had retreated behind Grimmjow, she still kept her gaze focused on the figure and gasped a little as she realized who it was.

"I'm sorry," a familiar, feminine voice droned, as she grabbed the large sword behind her back. "But I cannot let you two go any further."

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To break from what we're tied to…

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"Heh, it's about damned time I had a challenge!" Grimmjow said with a manic grin. "Ye better not disappoint me, other wise that fuckin' prick, Aizen is even more of an idiot than I thought if he ranks you above me!"

"You picked a bad time to betray Aizen-sama." The female Espada simply noted as she readied her zanpakuto. "He's only a few steps away from eliminating the rest of the humans, along with the Soul Society and create a world in which only us perfect beings, the arrancar, exist."

"Tch. Like I'd wanna live with you dumbasses the rest of my life." Grimmjow said with an eye roll.

"It has unfortunately gotten to the point where Aizen-sama has ordered me to kill the both of you." She informed him as her eyes narrowed. "And I intend to carry out his orders."

In a flash, she struck Grimmjow in a speed so blindingly fast, that Grimmjow only moved fast enough to get struck on the side of his chest. If he hadn't moved at all, there was no doubt that it would have gone straight through his heart. He sneered at the pain first, but his mouth quickly turned into a wide grin as he laughed loudly.

"So you DID deserve your rank after all!" he exclaimed. "Ain't that some exciting shit!"

The female espada didn't seem affected by Grimmjow's crude words as she continued her assault on Grimmjow. However, he was now able to block her attacks. He put in a few attacks of his own, but she managed to block them all. The battle raged on, as the two fought each other with such speed, that even Orihime had trouble watching them with her eyes. Debris flew and windows shattered from the buildings they fought by as the two continued their assaults on each other. Although the match was mostly even, it appeared that the woman had the upper hand, as Grimmjow's body sported a few minor cuts, and she only had two scratches on her exposed abdomen.

As time passed by, Grimmjow grew weaker as he endured more damage by the Espada. Finally, the woman managed to knock Grimmjow on the ground and she slowly walked toward him. Fearing for his life, Orihime rushed and formed a shield in front of him just before the Espada was able to land the fatal blow to him. In response, the Espada tilted her head, before she turned to look at Orihime.

"Just between you and I…I didn't want it to have to come to this." the Espada spoke. "However, I must kill you as well."

Knowing that Grimmjow wouldn't be able to threaten her much in the state he was in, the Espada ran toward Orihime with her zanpakuto. A few seconds before she could strike though, she sensed two more reiatsu forms enter the scene.

"Bankai!" one masculine voice called out. "Hihio Zabimaru!"

"First dance, white moon!" another, more feminine voice cried out. Orihime turned her head and let her face fill with shock as she saw the forms of Renji and Rukia enter the scene. Rukia's command had effectively frozen the Espada in place, which allowed Renji's attack to hit her directly. Although it left a good wound on her, the Espada quickly recovered as she sized up her opposition.

"So there are still a few of you left," she noted. "However, Aizen-sama told me to eliminate all opposition, so I am afraid that this will be your demise."

With that, the battle began with the two new challengers. Even if the match was handicapped though, the Espada still managed to hold her on in the fight. Even if Orihime was concerned for the well-being of Renji and Rukia, she made her way to the injured Grimmjow and healed his wounds. She knew that if she just left him to die, then she could be free from the unwritten contract of being his "woman". However, with all that he had done for her, she felt obligated to at least heal him. Grimmjow looked a bit confused as well, but pushed it to the back of his mind as his injuries were quickly healed. Without hesitating even one moment, he rushed off to the scene of the fight before Orihime could protest.

The Espada was too concentrated in her fight with the two Shinigami, so she didn't notice that Grimmjow struck her in the back until the deed was already done. The Espada's eyes went wide in a mixture of pain and shock before she sunk to the ground. Witnessing the scene, Renji and Rukia did not ease their posture as they laid their eyes on the notorious Sexta Espada. Before either of their attacks could hit him though, Orihime formed yet another shield in front of him. The stupor on both of the shinigamis face was very apparent as their minds tried to analyze their situation.

"Wh…what the hell?" Renji stuttered.

"Orihime, what are you doing?" Rukia exclaimed. "Please don't tell me that you're on Aizen's side too!"

"Of course I'm not!' Orihime explained. "But if it wasn't for Grimmjow, then I probably wouldn't still be alive."

Both Rukia and Renji kept the incredulous look on their faces as they kept their zanpakutos aimed at Grimmjow, who grinned smugly.

"The girl's right." Grimmjow added. "She's my woman after all, and like hell I'm gonna let Aizen or any of those other stupid fuckers have her."

Renji and Rukia now looked dumbfounded as their gaze went from the wide grin of Grimmjow to the form of Orihime behind him.

"Orihime…" Rukia said in a sympathetic tone. "…is this true?"

Orihime only blushed and looked to the side out of embarrassment from the response. But as she looked to the side, she saw the Espada on the street, as she appeared to be grasping onto the last threads of her life. Feeling suddenly sympathetic, she walked and kneeled by her body. After a couple of moments of thought, she started to reach for her hair pins to heal the woman.

"Don't." the espada said as she turned her head. "I'd rather die following my orders to the very end than to be healed by the enemy."

Orihime stared down at her before breathing a sigh and putting her hands back down on her knees. Orihime then had a flashback as she remembered seeing the Espada lean over Noitora's body before she had escaped with Grimmjow.

"Do you hate me?" Orihime asked, causing the Espada to give her a somewhat puzzled look.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Noitora…" Orihime said. "…you loved him…didn't you?"

The Espada blinked once before chuckling a little. Her laughter didn't last long though, as she coughed up some blood.

"Things such as 'love' are meaningless to us arrancar. Besides, that man was a fool and deserved his death." the Espada replied coldly.

"What if you were both human and you didn't feel obligated to serve Aizen?" Orihime asked. "Would you have loved him then?"

"I don't know." she replied after a long pause and turned her head to the side to cough up more blood. "My time here is almost at an end though, so in exchange for everything you've had to go through, I'll give you a hint if you want to defeat Aizen. There is a portal that only you can access if you wish for it. It will take you to a place called the Temple of Eternity, in which powerful beings such as yourself can claim the powers of God himself. What Aizen plans to do is kill God with his newfound powers and become God himself. So if you wish to save your kind from extinction…you must stop him before he can summon God."

"I see…I understand." Orihime said as she soaked the information in.

"One last thing…" the Espada said. "If you are too late…the only thing you can do is give the greatest sacrifice of all."

"The greatest sacrifice?" Orihime asked. "And what's that?"

After she had asked the question though, she noticed that the reiatsu radiating from the Espada was now gone. Orihime gave a brief mourning glance before she stood up and turned toward Renji, Rukia, and Grimmjow who overheard their conversation.

"We must stop him." Orihime said. "Otherwise we will all die. And the deaths of Sado-kun, Tatsuki-chan, Kurosaki-kun, and anyone else who has died for my sake will have been for nothing. And even in their death, I can't betray them."

Renji slightly smiled as Rukia looked moved by her speech. Grimmjow, however, didn't look affected at all as he shrugged.

"As if I'd let that asshole become God while I'm still alive." Grimmjow said with a sneer. "Let's get movin' and kick his ass."

"Yes…we should go as soon as possible." Orihime nodded and turned to Rukia. "I'm just curious…did Aizen kill everybody?"

"Unfortunately, he did kill a lot of people." Rukia responded. "Although with the woman down, the Espada is now terminated, with the exception of Grimmjow, we have lost far more in this battle. However, a few managed to survive. The only people you know though are Yoruichi, Urahara, Yuzu, Karin, and to my surprise, Keigo. As for us in the Soul Society, the number is a little greater, but our numbers are dwindling as well."

"That's good to hear that a few people are still alive, at least. How about Rangiku-chan, is she still alive?" Orihime asked, as she considered her one of her greatest friends.

"She was killed by Aizen after Gin's attempts to save her failed." Rukia reported.

"I see." Orihime said as a sorrowful look passed through her face. "I'll have to avenge her too then."

"And Ishida-kun?" Orihime asked.

"Him we don't know about." Rukia replied. "We haven't seen or heard any reports that he was killed, but no one has seen him for a long time either."

"He must still be alive." Orihime said with a slight smile. "He always was a loner."

"Are we goin' or not?" Grimmjow said impatiently. "You can have your fuckin' reunion or whatever afterwards!"

"Yeah…we're all going, right?" Orihime asked as she looked over at Rukia and Renji. Rukia nodded and smiled slightly at her.

"Of course, Aizen has to be stopped at all costs." Rukia replied. "I'll do anything I can to help you."

"And I'll go wherever Rukia goes." Renji added.

"Thanks guys…" Orihime said before holding her hands to her hair pins and twisted her face in a concentrated expression. Her Shun Shun Rikka soon appeared, awaiting Orihime's instructions. "Uh…I know this is a weird request, even coming from me, but can you guys open the gate to the Temple of Eternity?"

The six fairy-like creatures stared at each other for a moment before they formed in front of Orihime and combined their power to slowly create a portal. All six were so concentrated that even when Grimmjow swore at them for being so slow, not even Tsubaki replied to him. Eventually, after about an hour, the gate was complete and the Shun Shun Rikka disappeared back into Orihime's hair pins. Before the four of them could walk through the portal though, they were confronted by an approaching army of arrancars. Orihime stared in fear, as she was sure that there was no way that they'd be able to take down that many arrancar and live to tell about it. Rukia, however, stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Inoue, but I'm afraid I have to break the promise I made with you." Rukia stated. "I'll stay and keep them distracted…you three go on without me."

"But Rukia-" Orihime protested, but was cut off by Renji's yelling.

"What are you, stupid?!" Renji screamed at her. "Like hell I'm leaving without you!"

"Renji, I can take care of these guys myself." Rukia deadpanned. "Go on without me."

"Idiot! I just told you that I won't leave without you!" Renji yelled and looked to the side. "I'm never leaving without you again."

Startled, Rukia looked over at Renji, who was still looking off to the side. She breathed a sigh before looking over to Orihime.

"My apologies, but it looks like Renji's staying behind too." Rukia said with a slight smile.

"We'll catch up with ya later." Renji said with a cocky smirk. "There's no way we can lose to these guys!"

"In that case…I'll see you later." Orihime responded, with a wistful look. She didn't like Renji and Rukia's odds in the fight, but she knew that there was nothing she could say to them to change their mind. They were both the most stubborn people she knew. They suited each other.

Orihime gave them one last look before she walked through the portal with Grimmjow close behind. The army of arrancar, in the meantime completely surrounded Renji and Rukia and were closing in on them.

"There's no way we can win this battle…is there?" Rukia commented.

"What are you talking about? Of course we're gonna win!" Renji replied with a goofy grin.

"Don't be stupid." Rukia scolded and Renji sighed.

"In that case, our chances don't look good." Renji said as he watched the army come closer and closer to them. "But I'm glad I can spend my final moments with you."

"I feel the same way." Rukia said as she turned her head from the incoming enemy to give Renji a warm smile. "Let's go out in style."

Both Renji and Rukia drew out their zanpakutos again as they both ran into the horde of arrancars. Neither knew of a better way to leave the world. All they could do now is hope that Orihime could save the last of the human race. Perhaps in their next lives, they'd be born together. And in that life, they would never abandon each other even once.

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God knows how much I tried to…

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"Grimmjow?" Orihime asked.

"What?" Grimmjow said with the slightest hint of annoyance.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Orihime inquired. Grimmjow continued to look forward as he ran, but looked down at her for a brief moment as he responded.

"This is the end…" Grimmjow said wide-eyed as Orihime stared at him in shock. He then raised his hand straight in the air and instantly changed his manic grin into an eerily calm one. "…for me."

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And I am still inside you…

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Before Orihime could comprehend what he was doing, he fired a cero at the ceiling, causing huge chunks of stone to fall in front of her, effectively setting a barrier between the two of them.

"What are you doing?" Orihime exclaimed.

"I'll fend that stupid fucker off, but you can't die before then." Grimmjow proclaimed. "Then when I do, you get your ass to that alter in front of me and become the new God."

"But I'm afraid that won't be possible." An annoyingly paternal sounding voice said in front of him. Grimmjow looked ahead to see Aizen over flowing with reiatsu energy. The energy around him was so impressive, that it nearly blinded Grimmjow just to look at him. "The God you were all accustomed with has died by my hand. All that's left for me to do is claim my spot and mold the world how I see fit. If you bow down to me now, I'll go easy on you."

"Fuck that!" Grimmjow spat out. "The day I bow down to you is the same day I rip my own dick out with my bare hands!"

"I see." Aizen commented. "Then do not be offended when I show you no mercy."

Without a moment of hesitation, Grimmjow called out the release of his zanpakuto and faced Aizen with his usual, sadistic grin. In the meantime, Orihime could only listen to the fight as she struggled to remove the barrier of rubble in front of her. She had also called out her Shun Shun Rikka, whom helped her the best they could, although they were all still tired from opening the portal minutes ago. She had no sure way of telling who was winning in the fight, as all she could hear was the sound of swords clashing, an occasional comment peppered with profanity from Grimmjow, and Grimmjow's constant laughter during the fight.

When Orihime had finally removed enough debris to allow herself to climb over, all she saw was Grimmjow lying on the ground, with blood pouring out from several major wounds on his body. When he saw Orihime make his way over to him, he laughed weakly.

"I told ya I'd fend that stupid fucker off, didn't I?" Grimmjow commented.

"Aizen is really…gone?" Orihime asked, impressed.

"No…but he did run away with his tail between his legs like the pussy he is." Grimmjow replied as he laughed, which only made his wounds worse. Orihime quickly knelt down by him and tried to heal Grimmjow, but her Shun Shun Rikka would not appear.

"Why…?" Orihime asked, trying desperately to summon her power.

"You used them to move the rocks, didn't ya?" Grimmjow asked. Orihime put her head down and nodded. "You've exhausted the bastards, which isn't good, since I know Aizen's gonna come back."

"Grimmjow…I'm sorry…" Orihime muttered as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry I can't save you."

"Heh, it's about damned time you cried for me." Grimmjow commented with a weak smirk. "Just tell me one thing…"

"What is it?" Orihime asked.

"If I was born a human…would you have loved me?" Grimmjow said, realizing the stupidity in the statement as he said it. But who the fuck cared? He was about to die anyways.

"I…I don't know." Orihime said with a slight blush. In an extremely twisted way, Grimmjow sort of was her first boyfriend, but then again, how could she know what would happen if he were human? Grimmjow snorted at her answer and gave her an annoyed look.

"I'm gonna die for saving your life, for fuck's sake. The least you could do is lie to me, woman!" Grimmjow growled at her.

Orihime was a little taken back by the return of the personality she was used to from him, but she smiled a little as she picked up his head and allowed it to rest against her bent knees. She then put a hand against the non-masked side of his face and ran her other hand through his hair.

"Then in that case…I wouldn't have." Orihime stated. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and nearly yelled at her again, but she cut him off. "You told me to lie, didn't you?"

Grimmjow realized what she meant and laughed as much as he could in his weak state. As Orihime stroked through his hair, Grimmjow finally felt at peace for the first time in his life. For a couple of minutes, he just laid in silence as he took in the tranquility of the scene. But as he felt the last bit of life drain out of him, he had to say one last thing.

"…I hate being the god damned hero." He muttered as he closed his eyes. When Orihime felt the last bit of reiatsu leave him, she put arms over his shoulders and cried into his hair.

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And I am still inside you…

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She continued to cry until she felt the massive reiatsu form return in front of her. Setting his body down gently, she wiped away her tears and stood to face Aizen straight in the eye.

"It's all over for you." Aizen stated. "I have claimed my position as God, and I have effectively killed every last human being and Shinigami in existence. The only person left is you."

Despite having her power out of commission, Orihime did not waiver at his words. Instead, she looked upon him with intense anger. Aizen looked amused at her expression as he slowly made his way toward her. Orihime only readied her stance in a fighting position. Even if her attacks wouldn't hit him, there was no way she would just stand there and let him kill her so easily.

Just before Aizen reached her though, he quickly moved to the side as a large arrow shaped energy zipped past him and hit a nearby wall. Orihime gasped as she looked past Aizen to her savior in the doorway. Following her lead, Aizen slowly turned as well, but didn't look nearly as impressed as Orihime did.

"You're wrong, you didn't kill everyone." he said and narrowed his eyes in anger. 'And because of that, I, Uryuu Ishida, the last of the Quincy, swear to kill you for all that you've done."

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Sorry for taking so long to update, but I was really fretting on just how much sex I should put into this chapter. Before, I got WAYYY too detailed and didn't notice how much it took away from the story until I got about half ways through it and decided to split it off from this story. So whenever I get bored, I'll make a porn without plot featuring the two of them in either Livejournal, Deviantart, or AFF. .

And seriously…Kubo needs to reveal the name of the female Espada. It's bugging the hell out of me, because she seems like a REALLY cool character from the little I've seen of her.

As always, the song featured is by Nine Inch Nails, and as you might guess is titled 'Home". To the reader who inquired about the use of "Burn", it won't be featured in this story, but I will consider using it for other stories, as I did use it in a RP of sorts a REALLY long time ago and it worked pretty well then. And for those of you curious, the song I decided to use for the next chapter after a lot of thought is "Beside You in Time".

Anyways, the next chapter will feature an Ishida/Orihime pairing. Despite it being my favorite Orihime pairing though, it won't be nearly as shippy as this chapter was, but a little more shippy than the first chapter. Either way though, I think I can fairly say that the ending will definitely be one of the more interesting ones in fanfiction.