Ichigo sidestepped to avoid getting impaled by his own sword, but then surged forward again, putting all his strength behind a punch to Grimmjow's face. The blue-haired espada stumbled under the hit, but laughed in Ichigo's face and swung Zangetsu straight at him.
"I didn't know ya'd gotten your strength back! This is lookin' even better than I thought!" he shouted gleefully.
Ichigo managed to evade several more of the wild swings Grimmjow directed at him before backing into a wall. For a moment, the swift fight had made him forget that he was trapped inside a relatively small room with the espada. That one mistake was enough.
Grimmjow immediately thrust his stolen sword with both hands through Ichigo's shoulder and into the wall, pinning him. The espada laughed as the teen in front of him let out a small groan of pain, then frowned as he heard a whimper behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the human girl, Orihime, trembling; from what, he didn't know, nor did he care to know.
He appeared in front of her instantaneously, a hand raised to knock the annoying little thing out of consciousness. Before he could even come an inch closer, a hand closed bruisingly around his wrist.
"This is our fight," Ichigo growled, swinging his reclaimed Zangetsu. "You leave Orihime out of it!" And then they were swinging at each other again, swords, fists, and feet all seeking to do the most damage possible to their opponent. Eventually, it occurred to Ichigo that Grimmjow hadn't entered into his final released state. Even though they were both bleeding and bruised heavily, neither had entered into a stronger state of release; Ichigo because Orihime was still in the room, but Grimmjow...? What purpose would staying in his current form serve him?
Ichigo shook his head, wincing as Grimmjow's fist found its way into his stomach. Whatever the reason, Ichigo wanted to end this fight as quickly as possible. He grabbed Grimmjow's arm, twisted, threw the espada into a wall, and called, "Orihime!"
The girl was shaken out of her intense fear to pay attention to Ichigo's words.
"Orihime, go into the washroom and stay there. The walls are proofed against damage so you'll be safe." He grunted as he parried another of Grimmjow's kicks with his forearm. He was satisfied to see her figure nodding and then retreating in his peripheral vision.
"Why'd ya send the bitch away, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked cunningly while blocking a punch. "Afraid she'd see what I'm about to do to ya?"
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat, but he recovered quickly; fear fueled his speed, and with a strike not even Grimmjow could see coming, sunk Zangetsu deep into the espada's ribs.
"Lucky shot," he choked out, blood rising to his lips. Ichigo nearly grinned at the damage he'd caused, but his good mood fell as he saw a smirk form on Grimmjow's face. "Too bad ya just lost."
"Wha-"
Too late, he saw the cero in each of Grimmjow's hands. Ichigo lifted Zangetsu to block the huge masses of energy, but Grimmjow loosed them in a split second and Ichigo only had time to close his eyes before he was hit and lost consciousness in a haze of red.
Seconds later, Ichigo regained consciousness with a scream. Grimmjow had just broken his arm, and he smiled cunningly as the red haired boy looked at him through a haze of pain.
"Well, seems like ya woke up just in time for the fun, shinigami," Grimmjow laughed cruelly. As she stepped closer to the bathroom doorway, Orihime called out, "Ichigo-kun! Ichigo-kun, are you alright?"
"And your girlfriend, too," Grimmjow added. With a sense of horror and panic that left every hair on his body raised, Ichigo saw that his hakama were no longer tied securely to his hips; neither were Grimmjow's. The twisted grin he sent Ichigo's way as he lay contorted in pain on the floor told him exactly what the arrancar had in mind.
Ichigo began, "Orihime, don't come any closer!" and just as she stepped from the safety of the bathroom, Grimmjow flipped him over, broken arm colliding painfully with the floor as he tried to break his fall, and plunged his length into Ichigo.
Ichigo barely heard the gasp from his human friend, he was in such shock.
I can't believe this is happening.
Not only was he suffering this humiliation again, someone he knew, someone from his everyday life was seeing it happen. And not just anyone, Orihime. Innocent, faithful, sweet Orihime was witnessing this ultimate shame. He was broken, defeated; and he had let her down.
He heard a breathy little shriek, followed by the thud of her knees colliding with the floor. "Ichigo-kun..."
Ichigo wouldn't look at her. Above him, Grimmjow laughed, still pumping into Ichigo's ass. With sick grin, the espada grabbed Ichigo by his hair and delivered a swift blow to his face, leaving Ichigo tasting blood.
"Idiot girl," he spat scornfully. "Can't even help ya, can she? What a worthless waste 'a space."
"Ichigo-kun," Orihime whispered again, trembling. She didn't know what to do. She could barely even comprehend what was happening to Ichigo; her brave, strong, Ichigo. What was she to do? She was no match against Grimmjow, but she had to stop this... this rape. There was simply no chance that Orihime would allow him to hurt Ichigo anymore, not when he'd been so brave and protecting ever since she became involved with the spirit world. She had to return the favor to her friend; to the man she loved. But what could she do?
With a sense of empowerment and new hope, she held her hands out to where Grimmjow kneeled next to her Ichigo, and yelled, "Shiten michi o sokyaku (four sacred paths of rejection)!"
Even though she had never used the attack before, the words simply having presented themselves to her, she knew what she did was going to work. Tsubaki, surrounded by Hinagiku, Lily, and Baigon, formed in the shape of a large spear, and shot like a pistol for Grimmjow. It took a moment for her to realize, after her shun shun rikka had returned to her, that what she'd done had indeed hit the arrancar.
Grimmjow stared at her with an enraged expression on his face; she'd dared to attack him? That useless little brat? She looked back at him, frozen with a sudden fear.
Had it not worked? How? She was so sure... Then his look turned into one of shock and he twisted his torso around to see what he'd not noticed at first; Orihime had blasted a perfect circle straight through his chest, destroying heart, lungs, and other vital organs.
With one last look at her, he swore. "Dumb bitch."
And then he fell.
Barely aware of what was going on around him, having retreated to his inner world to escape the hell of reality, Ichigo only vaguely noticed that Grimmjow's body was gone from his. Still, he kept his eyes closed until he felt warm, timid fingers on his shoulders.
"Ichigo-kun." He opened his eyes; Orihime.
"Ichigo-kun, it's over," she whispered. "It's alright now."
His brown eyes gazed back at hers uncomprehendingly.
"Oh, Ichigo-kun," she sighed sadly, near to tears. "You're safe now. He's gone; Grimmjow is gone, he's never coming back. You're safe."
For some reason, he knew it was true; Orihime would never lie to him. Grimmjow was dead; he really was safe. Suddenly, loud words boomed throughout the air.
"Attention: Shinigami have infiltrated Las Noches. All able arrancar are to mobilize immediately. I repeat, the shinigami have entered Hueco Mundo and Las Noches, all units to mobilize immediately."
Ichigo smiled, started laughing, and then began to cry.
Orihime held him, brushing gentle fingers through his orange shock of hair, and let his tears soak into her clothes.
Ichigo was a mess. The top of his shihakushou has been burnt away by Grimmjow's cero; the skin was red and blistering, some areas even bleeding sluggishly. His broken arm was twisted grotesquely, lying limply by his side. Bruises littered his arms, back, face, ribs; literally everywhere he could have been hit. What bothered Orihime most was the sight of Ichigo's bared buttocks and thighs; she could only keep seeing what Grimmjow had been doing, replaying it over and over in her head. She wondered if it had happened before...
No, she thought with a shake of her head, she didn't have time to think about that now. She needed to cover Ichigo up and start healing him. As she pulled Ichigo's hakama back over his hips and retied them; as she activated her shun shun rikka yet again, this time for healing, she lamented that she could heal only physical wounds. It would take time and understanding for Ichigo to heal mentally from what had been done to him. They didn't have that time here and now; but it hardly mattered. They would have the time later. The seireitei had not abandoned them.
They were saved.
He hadn't moved from the spot all day.
Sitting on the windowsill in his room, back propped up against the window frame, one leg swinging off the outside, Ichigo stared into the sky.
It had been a month since he and Orihime had been rescued from Las Noches. One month since he'd returned to Karakura Town. One month since he'd begun ignoring his substitute shinigami duties. One month since he'd begun ignoring anyone who wasn't Orihime.
Only she knew what had happened in Las Noches, and that was the way he wanted to keep it. Only Orihime could understand the reason why he acted like he did. Why he didn't let anyone but her near him.
Ichigo sat on a bed in Squad Four's infirmary. Captain Unohana had just taken a blood sample to make sure all his body functions were working correctly. While she trusted Orihime's healing abilities, she just wanted to make sure that staying in Las Noches had had no lasting effects that the girl couldn't heal.
After he'd been sure the captain had left, he put his arm down from the upright position it was meant to be held in, and lifted the cotton ball to see if the bleeding had stopped; it had. He shrugged and threw it in a garbage bin.
As he was contemplating going to find what room they'd put Orihime in, he heard loud voices outside his room. He couldn't decipher what they were saying, but it seemed a man and woman were yelling at each other; he grinned a bit and bet himself that it was Rukia and Renji. The sounds of a scuffle and more yelling ensued before the door finally opened.
"Fighting again?" Ichigo asked teasingly. Renji looked away with slight embarrassment, a hand going back to rub the top of his head. Rukia simply smiled and bound forward to give him a hug. Ichigo stiffened slightly, but restrained himself from pushing her away. Luckily, she pulled from the hug quickly to look at him.
"I'm so glad you're alright, Ichigo! I don't know if anyone told you," she said, eyebrows furrowed, "but you were there for nearly a month!"
"Yeah," he said, looking askance of her face; he didn't want her to look into his eyes. It was irrational, he knew, but he thought that if anyone looked into his eyes they'd be able to tell what had happened. He wanted to appear just as normal as he'd been before he left. "Byakuya told me."
An awkward silence settled between the three. Rukia was slightly worried that Ichigo seemed even less talkative than usual. He was never very conversational, but he seemed even less inclined to speak now. Renji was torn between asking his friend how he'd been, but then realized that would be stupid; he'd been held hostage at Las Noches, he obviously hadn't been doing that great. Finally, he decided to just stay silent for fear of saying something totally moronic, like he was sometimes apt to do. Ichigo just looked at the two, avoiding Rukia's eyes, which were focused on his face, slightly slouched on the hospital bed.
Finally, he decided that he would really like to find Orihime. He felt nervous, but he didn't know why. It's Rukia and Renji! he thought to himself. They'd never do anything to hurt him, he knew. Still....
Just as he was getting up to go, Rukia said, "Oh!" and he froze, looking at her. Had she figured it out somehow? Did she know? But how could she? He panicked slightly, and waited for the words he had been dreading to just come out of her mouth; "You were raped."
But it didn't happen. She pointed at Renji, accusing. "You didn't even give Ichigo a hug!"
Immediately, Ichigo relaxed into the light atmosphere. He grinned ruefully as Renji put up his hands in protest.
"Rukia! How many times have I told you that men don't hug? That shit's for girls!"
"Nonsense!" she proclaimed, glaring at him. "Go over there and give Ichigo a hug!" On the word hug, Rukia shunpo'd behind Renji and pushed him forward. Caught completely off guard, Renji gave a very unmanly yip before falling right into Ichigo. The force of the shove and his weight pushed Ichigo flat on the hospital bed with Renji right on top of him.
For a moment, his chest wouldn't cooperate with him; he couldn't breathe. All Ichigo knew was that the body on top of his felt like Grimmjow's – weight, height, muscle, build – and without a thought, he reacted.
He pulled an arm back and punched the face of the person on top of him with all the strength he could muster. The force of the blow lifted the person off of him, but that wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough. He kicked out at him, and the bed screeched on the floor as he pushed it back to get further away. All the time, he'd been screaming, "Get the fuck away from me! Get the fuckaway!" and any other variation that came to his mind. He just had to get away, far away, that was all he knew.
Ichigo was left panting, pale and sweaty with fear; he reeked of it. His muscles twitched and trembled with the adrenaline running through his body. His eyes darted between the shocked faces of his two friends, Renji wiping away a trickle of blood falling from his split lip. He shut his eyes tight, holding onto the bed for support, back hunched. He couldn't take the look in their eyes; he had just had an episode in front of them – hell, he'd punched Renji, all because of a little physical contact. He wasn't fit to be around them.
He needed Orihime.
Without a word, Ichigo ran from the room, looking distressingly like a hunted animal, ignoring the shout from Rukia to stay, and the stunned look Renji still had on his face.
Ichigo didn't want to risk another incident like that. He knew Orihime was safe for him, so she was the only person he would let near him. He hadn't even talked to his family since he'd been back but for a brief conversation telling them he was alright, but he was feeling unwell and wanted to be left alone. Ichigo knew he was hurting his sisters' feelings, but he didn't want to scare them by witnessing one of his episodes. He wouldn't be able to handle that. Surprisingly, his dad seemed to understand his need for privacy, and honored his wishes to not be bothered. Kon took some convincing, but he was now staying at the Urahara Shouten.
And so he was left alone, just as he wanted
Right now, Ichigo was waiting for Orihime to return from buying take-out at a local restaurant. She'd gone out immediately at his request, but he hadn't realized how lonely he would be without her. When he saw her figure returning down the street, his heart leapt in his chest. He felt like jumping down from his window to greet her, but that would mean going back up through the house where his family was. It was already awkward enough when he bumped into them on his way to the bathroom. So he settled for waiting impatiently until she came up to his room.
They ate in silence, undisturbed by anything else. At least, Ichigo was undisturbed. He couldn't feel it, but Orihime was worried, tense, and frustrated.
She knew that helping Ichigo in his self-isolation was not doing him any favors. Actually, she thought it might have been hindering his recovery. But who was she to order him around? If Ichigo thought that what he was doing was best, she would support him. Still...
When they were done with their meal, Orihime laid a gentle hand on Ichigo's forearm. He looked up to her.
"Ichigo... please listen. I know that you're worried about what others will think about what happened... in Las Noches." She could feel his muscles stiffen beneath her touch, but she barreled on. "But I'm really worried about you. You spend all your time alone or with me, and it's not good for you. Ichigo, please, could you just open up? You need to talk about what happened to you. It won't be easy, I know, but maybe if you talked to someone, like Urahara-san for example-"
"No." Ichigo stood up quietly and retreated to his window seat, fine tremors racking his body.
"But Ichigo, you need-"
"No!" He turned on his heel to glare at her. "I said no, I don't want to talk about it, I don't need to talk about. I'm fine."
He paused and turned away again.
"Please leave."
"Ichigo..."
"Get out!"
Orihime jumped at the vehemence in his words, and without another word left, shutting Ichigo's bedroom door softly behind her. He turned his back on the window when he saw her leave the house, instead pacing back and forth in his room.
He was frustrated. Why did she have to go and bring it up? He was functioning well enough; life wasn't perfect, everyone knew that. This was just another bump in the road. He would get over it on his own. He didn't need anyone else to know what had been done to him, least of all old Hat-and-Clogs.
He bit his thumb, stopping in the middle of the room.
But even if he didn't want Urahara to know, that was no reason for him to blow up at Orihime. He choked back regret at having forced her to leave. He wanted her with him; he just didn't want her to bring up Las Noches. Was that too much to ask?
After a few more minutes of pacing, he made up his mind. Orihime wouldn't have gone anywhere but home this late; it was dark out by now, the moon already risen in the sky.
Before he could change his mind, Ichigo leapt from his window and landed on the pavement outside the house. Quickly, he walked along the darkened streets to Orihime's apartment.
About halfway there, Ichigo started to get the feeling he was being watched. However, he could sense no reiatsu, and so he ignored the feeling. A voice in his head nastily told him he was probably just being overly paranoid. Still, he began to walk faster unconsciously, trying to get to Orihime; his rock, his safe haven.
His mood visibly lightened when her apartment came into view. His face lost some of its scowl, and his steps felt lighter. A figure was standing in the shadows of the staircase.
He called out, "Orihime!"
The figure didn't move.
He mentally kicked himself. She was probably fed up with him, and his yelling at her had been the last straw.
"Orihime... I'm sorry." He took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to yell, I just- I just got carried away. Can you forgive me?"
"I'm sorry, Ichigo." The voice that answered him was not Orihime's. He froze as Rukia came out of the shadows.
"Rukia... What are you doing here? Where's Orihime?" Ichigo looked past her to try and find Orihime's brightly colored hair, but instead Tessai came from the depths of shadows.
"What are you-"
"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Binding spell sixty-one!"
Immediately, he was frozen, trapped by six beams of light around his torso. He watched with growing anxiety as Rukia approached him. "I am sorry."
In one swift movement, she brought the hilt of her sword down on Ichigo's temple and he was knocked into unconsciousness.
