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Chapter 9

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be

(Pink Floyd, Breathe)

-

Kira Sato moved quickly through Las Noches. Grimmjow's reiatsu had flared violently near the human's cell before lulling into a soothed form of macabre pleasure. The girl reached a very large hole in the wall before she reached the door. She paused, stared at it in confusion for a moment, dismissed the obscure gap so close to the official one and moved into the room.

The first thing she saw was the form of the Sexta Espada. The human was flinching away from him as he tied her wrists to a long piece of chain. The second thing Kira saw were the lifeless and twisted bodies of two Arrancar.

"You killed the sluts." The Novena Espada said blankly.

Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder. His expression was non-committal to her and devoted to his pride. "Where is the Shinigami?"
"Which one?"

"You know which one."

"You're hurting her." Kira noted, nodding at the little woman. "Don't damage her pretty skin." Her tone was slightly lilting.

Orihime was watching the pair converse. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a 4x4.

The Novena Espada stepped swiftly over to the sofa that had kept the human company for the past few days and picked up a white pillow. She ripped the fabric off the front of it with her fingernails and handed the square to Grimmjow. The Sexta Espada stared at it blankly. Kira nearly rolled her eyes and took the chain from where it dropped between the Espada and the human.

She looked the girl in the eye as she pulled her bindings off, wrapped the fabric over her hands and re-did the chain. Kira turned to Grimmjow and walked to the door. The real door, not the hole in the wall. She had more sophistication than the determined animal that had blasted the break.

"His reiatsu faded out a short time ago. He's either dead or getting there fast." She said to the Sexta Espada.

"Baka." He growled in reply. "I didn't tell you to give me a report on his health; I asked you where he was."

"I hope the human can bring back the dead." Kira stated flatly. She eyed the red-head up and down. "If she can't...." The statement was left hanging.

Grimmjow felt his insides bubble like hot water. Kurosaki Ichigo was his opponent. The Sexta Espada was the one who would deal his final blow – no one could take that from him. That was why he was stealing the human girl. That was why he had killed the Arrancar. Not even death would stand in the way of the fight between Espada and Shinigami. Not even death had a grip on their need to decide who would live and who would die.

Kira met Grimmjow's eye and nodded once, acknowledging some unspoken agreement. She vanished, leaving Orihime in the hands of the arrogant fortitude of the Sexta Espada. A minute later, the Novena had broken into the sunlight of the main dome of Las Noches. She blinked at the sudden abuse to her eyes before pausing to stare at the endless sand. It was harsh in the day. The desert. It was uglier. One of the red towers that reared its head above the dead-flats had a hole in its top. It was shattered like a broken fingernail. From it seeped the fading aura of the fourth Espada. He had moved on, but he had left a mark of some sort.

Kira used Sonído to make her way to the hole. The Espada had stopped using doors like humans and had started making their own entrances like militants. Inside the gap was a room littered with rubble. Ulquiorra's smell lingered gently at the entrance.

Just inside lay the still form of a Shinigami. He had orange hair and held a sword. He was laying face down, his clothes and body torn. His soul seemingly gone. Kira approached the body as she had approached the female Shinigami earlier that day. She knelt by the man's side and peered at his brokenness.

He was dead.

"Leave Ichigo alone!" A small but rough voice yelled.

Kira lifted her gaze from the Substitute and let it fall on the green head of a little girl. A child. An Arrancar. This surprised the Novena Espada. A child. She didn't know that such beings existed within her world. They were born as they were, not as babes from a womb or results of some union. They were Hollow that had evolved to a point past humanity and into soul-slayer grounds.

"Back off!" The girl roared in a high-pitched tone.

Kira blinked and remained silent.

"Who are you!?" The Arrancar waved desperately.

The Novena Espada noticed that the remains of the child's mask were broken. Cracked. She was damaged goods. Not worthy of her time, no matter how interesting and perplexing her existence was. She existed, the child existed with all that that implied. It was enough. The existence of innocence, ignorance and pure intention was enough to settle some of Kira's arguments. It meant that it was possible for an Arrancar to possess cordial human traits – to possess raw humanity, not just a diluted form of mercy. If that's what you call it.

The woman stood and broke eye contact with the child. Hopefully the little human could restore life. If not, her desire to see the Substitute Shinigami and his unusual power fall to Grimmjow would remain unfulfilled. The loss of the man who could bring her devastation would come to be, but not by the terms agreed to by the fate written out by a personal hand. Individuality determined destiny, not the persuasion of the mind by nature.

The child stared at the Espada with a curious, worried expression. "Are you going to help Ichigo?" She had a lisp. It was annoying. "Are you going to help him?"
Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. "No." Kira replied.

Nel watched urgently as the woman vanished, stirring the air and making a small sound as she went. The young girl felt the tears brim her eyes again as the lifeless body of the Shinigami remained unchanged. Her enemy had become her friend. She had become his friend because he had not judged her by what she was, but by what her heart could do. He had recognised what they all knew somewhere deep down, that every living thing had a heart; every soul had a heart.

The dark haired Arrancar that had vanished had seemed to realise this as she left. A Hollow was guarding a Shinigami – it was obscure and unprecedented. But there they were. Pathetic. Weak. There. Nel thought the woman regal in appearance, like she owned the place but had not built it. Nel thought that the woman knew this sharply and did not deny it. It killed her arrogance but not her ego. It stilled her pride to a controlled flow as opposed to a rushing torrent. It made her aware of the fact that, living does not define life and it made her fight for justification.

The funny thing about death is that it allows sense to those things that make no sense. However, if you are not the one dying, it does not allow you to explain this sense. Only experience it.

-

Ten minutes later, Kira found Grimmjow dragging Orihime towards the dome. She was not fast nor fit nor agile. She was a burden to him until they arrived. The Sexta Espada was no pack mule but she made him feel like he was being held back and he hated that more than anything else.

The Novena Espada seemingly materialised. She told Grimmjow where Ichigo was. "But, I'll let you know now; he's dead."

Grimmjow glanced at the girl and then at the human. "We'll see about that."
"You're not God, Grimmjow. You can't raise the fallen." Kira stated as the man moved off, dragging the red-head with him. She was covered by a white sheet, blinding her, hiding her.

"Weren't you listening?" The Sexta Espada said wickedly. "The woman can reverse acts ordained by God himself."
"Fingers crossed." Came the casual reply.

The man scoffed, hardly amused.

Kira was headed back into Las Noches. "Don't start without me."
"Ha!" Grimmjow actually did smile at this. "Don't be late, brat."

The girl paused and lifted the corners of her mouth. "Don't die."

At this, the Sexta Espada let out a mono-syllabic laugh and moved off, tugging the covered woman with him as he did so. He didn't care where Kira was going, not one bit. Yet, somewhere, he did want her to be there when the fight concluded. It was not something he had thought about or something that had spouted from any feelings for her. He simply knew that they had a simple relationship. They fought together, with each other but never as an enemy. They had become, for lack of a better word, friends. That word implied that they respected the other as a comrade and fighter but trusted them with their 'beyond facade' ID. It wasn't complicated – it never would be. They didn't rely on each other, didn't get in the way of the other, didn't disregard the other. They were just there. Not for each other, but parallel to those who they couldn't seem to escape. It was a way of living and an aspect of lifestyle, yet was in no way definitive.

Kira, on the other hand, had let her mind stray to something rather complicated. Aizen had ordered her to move to the Real World when the time was right. He had requested it of every Espada and their Fracción. Yet, the Espada were falling to the Shinigami. They were running amuck through Las Noches. There was no order except to those who followed Aizen whole heartedly. No one was listening to anyone but themselves. The girl didn't know why this bothered her; it had always been a reality of the Arrancar. Maybe it was the desire for victory that seemed to become unstable.

The Novena Espada found Aizen in his throne room with Gin and Tousen.

"Kira," the leader said in a smooth voice "is everything okay?"
The girl had stopped a few feet short of the Shinigami's chair. "I'm not sure." She replied respectfully. The sight of the dead Substitute had sharpened her awareness of the group. "The Espada are supposed to be leaving with you in a short while, yet they are acting on free will and either falling or falling away."
"Away from who?"

"You, Aizen-sama."

The man smiled lightly. "I appreciate your concern."
"I'm not concerned. I was just wondering something."
"Oh?"
"I was wondering what you intended to do with us when you reach your objective?"

"Like you said, Kira, you are acting on free will."
"As you did when you created the Espada?"

"As I did when I created the Espada."

There was a pause. Kira felt concrete in her sudden disdain for the man in front of her. He had given her life, allowed her to reach her full potential; yet he was not prepared to guide them, appreciate them or respect them in any way. He was god to himself and his world – a god that did not follow a relationship with his followers in order to assure their loyalty. Kira knew that they were all pawns, but the ability to move of their own will had let her slip off the game-board and onto her own objective field. Even so, Aizen would use her until she passed on, then he would use someone else.

Kira remembered the child beside the dead Shinigami. It was possible to ally with someone other than the one who created you. She remembered Grimmjow. It was possible to exist without alliance to anything except yourself. The Novena Espada eyed Aizen and realised that he had tied himself to both and released himself from it all. He was that powerful. That selfish.

"If you are worried, I ask you not to be." Aizen said easily. "I only asked that you followed me. I do not require your trust or your respect, just your feet."

This secured the belief that Aizen used his soldiers as pawns. He needed them, but that was it. He did not need anything from them.

Kira blinked simply and let her gaze stray to the other Shinigami in the room. They were watching her with blank, easy expressions. "So, that would make you a god then?"
Aizen smiled. "That would make me God himself."
There was a short pause. "Okay."
"Okay?" Came the effortless reply.

"I apologise, Aizen-sama. I thought God's were born that way."

A small noise of amusement carried through the room. "You will see the reality of your situation when you come to the Real World with me to fight Soul Society."

Kira remained silent for a moment. She nodded once and turned away from the man. She would be at the battle for Karakura Town. She would be there to see exactly who she was following and to uncover, through that, exactly what she was. However, before that, a certain Orange Haired threat had to fall. The Novena Espada had left the throne room when the short flair of pure lined reiatsu faded back into existence. The smell of the Substitute Shinigami raised the hairs on the back of her neck. The little woman had raised the dead. The little woman had the power of god even though she was not one. She didn't feel like a threat, only a blessing. She had, however, brought back that which had started the shreds of question within the Novena Espada. She had brought back the Shinigami and for that, Kira hated her. Orihime could not create any being, but the ability to bring them back to full power was more than enough. Aizen had created the Espada, but he did not unite them or hand them fulfilment. He knew that they were animals and let them be, he let them justify their own existence. Through the Substitute Shinigami and the presence of Shinigami and Arrancar working together allowed Kira to take a path that would lead her to whatever it was she was looking for. Grimmjow had found it in pride and victory; she would find it in purpose and validation.

-

Kira appeared on a platform overlooking the to-be battlefield. She could feel Grimmjow's reiatsu, it was pacing in anticipation. And then there was the presence of the Shinigami. Kurosaki Ichigo. The Novena Espada had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted to the glare of the daylight off the sand. She did not like the brightness. It was harsh, seething and heated. A spark of excitement threaded its way through the girl's body as she noticed the sudden explosion of spirit power ahead of her. The fight was about to begin. The Shinigami was about to die.

Kira used Sonído to reach a point just off the edge of the core reiatsu presence. She took a place on top of one of the many red pillars that rose out of the sand and peered down, searching for the fight itself. She could sense it acutely; like a tide coming in, like a storm rolling around. It was rising and falling and then catapulting upwards. Grimmjows presence soared haughtily, violently; he was feeling malicious and determined. And then there was Kurosaki. Kira felt her hackles rise against him. His power was unstable but huge. If it fell the wrong way, everyone in its path would undoubtedly fall.

The Novena Espada glanced around and spotted a familiar orange glow atop one of the other pillars. Behind it stood two figures, one human the other unprecedented. The girl was torn from this view when something exploded through her senses. It felt like she had been assaulted by freezing salt water, but it tasted like Hollow. It tasted familiar. Kira searched the direction the force had come from and found the Shinigami, masked with a face akin to her own. He was wearing a Hollow mask and a Shinigami robe. She was wearing Shinigami powers and a Hollow persona. The similarity was unnerving. However, comfort was found in a laugh.

Kira felt herself smile as she spotted Grimmjow far below. He had his sword at the ready, his hand on the steel and his grin plastered on by pleasure. He was going to win. The fight had barely begun, but he was going to win. In his mind, in his style, in his purpose; Kurosaki had no chance against that sort of force. Not unless he possessed something similar, but everyone knew that no two things are exactly alike.

There was a deafening silence and then the words "Grind, Pantera!"

The assault of Grimmjow's release threw the sand around him into a torrent. It flew upwards, hiding him for a moment before wavering to reveal his true form. The Blue Haired Espada screamed as he completed the transformation and hit everything with a penetrating soundwave. Kira lifted an arm over her eyes to stop the sand from getting into them. Her jacket shifted around her and her hair nearly came loose from the force of the yell. When she lowered her hand, she saw the definite feline form of Grimmjow. She had walked near it for years before it became human and tried to avoid it for decades whenever it unveiled itself again. In his released form, Grimmjow was exceptionally fast, agile and sly but he also contained a brute force that allowed him to last longer than the Novena Espada could in her released state.

The man stood upright on inverted knees, he had claws for fingers and toes and a tail for balance. His hair was longer, his teeth sharper, his body more streamlined. He was a predator and the Shinigami had become his prey.

Kira watched as Grimmjow leapt into the air, appearing right in the face of his opponent. He stuck with a force that threw Kurosaki into the air. The Espada chased the man and hit him again and again and again, throwing him into pillars and driving him back. Kira flinched when Grimmjow hit the Shinigami and forced him, headlong, into the ground.

The Blue Haired Espada laughed in delight. "Is that all you got, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

He threw himself from the air and plummeted towards the Shinigami. The Hollow-Masked man responded by slicing the air with his sword and hitting his opponent in the shoulder. He dug the tip in and moved forward, dragging the blade down Grimmjow's arm and settling a few feet away. Both men turned upon each other sharply and struck.

Kira lost them for a minute as the sand flurried upwards around them. She took the opportunity to sight the other human. Orihime Inoue was watching, her hands clutched to her chest and her expression pitiful. Kira wondered what she looked like perched up high. She wondered what sort of expression she sported.

All this thought disappeared when the sand dissolved again. Grimmjow and Ichigo were fighting each other. They were as quick as each other and just as skilled with their weapons of choice. Constantly they attacked, latched together, broke apart, lunged and attacked again. And then, in a moment, Grimmjow took the upper hand and kicked his opponent across the jaw sending him sprawling backwards. The Shinigami hardly responded in time before being driven back against a pillar. Defeat was imminent.

Or so Kira thought moments before the battle arrived on her doorstep. She had leapt off her place a few seconds before it crumbled due to the force of Kurosaki's impact. It was vaguely amusing, being removed by the battle she had inevitably caused. If it hadn't been for her letting Grimmjow know about the unusual power of the Shinigami, he wouldn't have been so determined to explore battle with the man.

Kira used her Sonído to land on one of the few pillars left. The rest had become part of the landscape. She paused a moment as she realised just where she arrived. Orihime and the child didn't even notice her arrive, they were watching the fallen and the dust that settled around him. The Novena Espada remained silent and decided not to move – she would miss the final stages of battle if she did.

She would miss the moment Kurosaki Ichigo died.

The young man was breathing hard, his mask was nearly gone. He still managed to glare at Grimmjow as if he still had a chance at victory.

"It's over, Kurosaki." The Espada stated carefully. His expression was nearly merciful and almost fulfilled.

It was over.

Kira swallowed in anticipation and tasted something bitter in her throat. The young boy with orange hair was going to die. The human was going to die. She had wanted this; the elimination of a threat. She had wanted it. Yet, the child, the little Arrancar child with the green hair...she did not see the Shinigami as a threat. Rather, as a friend. There had been alternatives. For the first time in her lengthy life, Kira realised that existing and being alive were totally separate and both priceless. She had killed many, many souls in her time – erased them. Yet, she had never saved one. Not one. She hadn't thought that she could possess something like that, but now, she wasn't so sure. The expression on Grimmjow's face made this insecurity even more concrete.

"Don't die."

Kira stiffened.

"Don't die, Kurosaki-kun!" The human girl cried.

The orange haired boy turned around and stared over the remnants of the pillar he had taken down on impact. The red stand behind it was the platform upon which his friend stood. He didn't seem to see anyone but her or hear anything except her words.

"You don't have to win." She was saying. "You don't have to keep trying. Just don't get hurt anymore."

She was crying.

Kira stared at the woman, perplexed. She had called out in the middle of a fight to tell her friend not to die. She told him that he didn't have to even try. The Novena Espada straightened her posture and peered down at the two men. Would she have done the same for her comrade? What was the difference between them? Of course she didn't want Grimmjow to die, but she didn't want him to stop trying. She didn't want him to get hurt, but she did want him to win. She wanted him to survive and continue surviving. Not for herself, she could live without him, but for him. So that walking alone wouldn't be so lonely. So that there would be something parallel to her, reminding her that something existed beyond the stretch of time and sand and isolation. Even solitary creatures cannot live completely alone. If you put a man in solitary confinement, his mind locks down and he loses the ability to complete some social tasks like driving in a busy street. His mind runs out of this to process and begins to imagine what is not there. Men will create what they need, even if there is nothing to build with. Men need company and if they deny this, their mind will create it for them even if it is slowing down and disintegrating. They may lose or slow the functions of part of their mind, but they will never lose the need to be in the presence of more than themselves and to hear more than the sound of their own breath. Men; beings with souls.

The Novena Espada breathed steadily as the Shinigami turned back to Grimmjow and told him, quite frankly, that he could not get hurt anymore. He was determined. Kira felt something in the atmosphere change and her assurance slipped. She turned her face to the human and held back a low growl. Orihime seemed surprised for a moment to see the Espada standing so close, but she did not tense up or take a defensive stance. She did something unprecedented. She smiled.

Kira frowned. She fingered the hilt of her blade and turned away. There was no desire to attack the girl, but there was a desire to rip her apart and uncover just what she was thinking at that moment in time.

The sky lit up a violent blue. The fight was still going. Kira snapped back to the task at hand and felt her own smile silently into her features. Grimmjow was wielding Desgarron, his greatest technique. Laceration. He hadn't even used it near her, somehow implying that the Novena Espada was not disposable. The Sexta Espada's claws emanated the blue light, breaking the sky with ten lines of power that would cut through any soul in a single swipe. It was time for the final stroke and nothing could go against Grimmjow's.

Kira watched as the Espada threw a hands worth of attack at the Shinigami. Ichigo managed to block with his sword but was thrown back. The Shinigami fought for balance as he realised the power of the technique. He lost his footing and stumbled under the force, letting it crash near the base of his friends pillar. Orihime was safe behind her shield but Kira had to raise her arm to deflect the small pieces of wood and sand that got thrown in her direction.

"You're finished, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow cried in victory.

He was finished. The Novena Espada dropped her arm and stood rigid with anticipation. She leant forwards slightly, waiting for the Shinigami to die. To hell with the value of life; Kurosaki would take the life of Grimmjow if something wasn't done about it. To hell with it all. He needed to be taken down and he would be.

"You disgust me!" Grimmjow continued. "You're gonna lose to me! I am the king!"

Ichigo, at the end of this statement, drove his feet into the ground and took an offensive stance. "You're not the only one who wants to win."

He leapt forward, swinging his blade as he went. Grimmjow threw his Desgarron. Both men were damaged. Both sported wounds, cuts, bruises – both men knew that the final moments of their fight had arrived and both wanted to win with an equal determination. However, determination won't win a fight – reason will.

Pride and desire seemed to crumble below the need to protect and defend.

"I can't afford to lose to you, Grimmjow!" The Shinigami yelled, digging his sword into the blue light and shattering it like glass.

Kira froze. The difference between the opponents was simple; Ichigo had someone to fight for and something to take home, Grimmjow had himself. It appeared that the Sexta Espada realised this a half moment before the blade of Kurosaki Ichigo sank into the flesh of his chest. The blue light disappeared revealing pure daylight. The Novena Espada felt the smell of blood burn her instincts. The smell of Grimmjow's blood. The man stood still, his face shocked as he stared at the black steel settled in his body. The Shinigami was silent and motionless, waiting for victory to arrive fully.

It was over. Kurosaki would die one day, but he had lived to deal the final blow on Grimmjow. It was over. It was finished.

Kira felt her breathing increase as Grimmjow slipped backwards off the sword of his enemy and begin to fall to the ground, unable to move, unable to fight, unable to live. There was a continued silence as the Shinigami caught the wrist of the Espada as he lost to gravity. Grimmjow hung in the man's grip, his eyes closed, his body quiet.

No. Was the word that reverberated through the Novena Espada's mind. No. She watched as the body of her comrade was settled on the sand of Las Noches. She watched as the Shinigami stared at his opponent, unvoiced in his victory. She watched as the black robed man turned away, his mask gone. No.

Orihime turned to the woman only to find her gone. She had vanished. Her presence was completely forgotten the moment the serious face of Kurosaki Ichigo wafted back into her mind. Even the green-haired child forgot the Novena Espada in the tail end of victory. What the Shinigami had come to do, they had done. It was over. Nothing else mattered.

Kira stood over Grimmjow's body, unseen by anything except the sky. He was composed of a soul. It had not moved on yet. The Substitute had not killed him to win. The girl, acknowledging this but choosing not to dwell on it, knelt down beside her friend like she had beside Kuchiki, beside Kurosaki.

The only difference was, this time, she touched the body. She slid her fingers under Grimmjows chin and turned his face up to her own.

"You're not dead yet." She said smoothly as she steadied her breathing.

A pair of blue eyes locked onto hers in an instant.

"You promised." Kira held the gaze.

Grimmjow growled. He was obviously in a lot of pain. He was obviously clinging to life.

"I won't give you the speech that caused the Shinigami to win, but I'll let you know that I won't let you die. I'll make you keep that promise."

Something in the Sexta Espada changed. He was going to live, even if he had lost. No. He had not lost. Not yet. Not while he still had breath in him. Kira rocked backwards as the man struggled up. She didn't touch him again. She didn't speak again. She simply continued to watch as the battle raged. His battle. The Novena Espada slipped away as the man stood to his feet and found his balance. His breathing was rough, his body tarnished. Victory was not in his grasp, but losing was not in his nature.

The Shinigami and his friends had arrived on the sand and were about to head off when they heard the ragged gasp of effort that flowed from the Sexta Espada. Their faces reflected shock. He shouldn't have even been able to move.

Kira saw Grimmjow's posture drop as he moved forwards. Even without her, he would have pushed himself to the point he was at. Even without her, he would have gotten up and gripped firm to his pride and purpose.

The Sexta Espada shed his released form and returned it to the form of a blade. His human body panted for rest, air and life. "I don't lose..." blood pooled beneath his still feet "I...I'll never go down ...to someone like you." He struggled to speak.

There was nothing pathetic about it. Nothing weak. Stupid, maybe, but Grimmjow had become a strong man standing on the brink of eternity. The Sexta Espada threw himself at Ichigo. Surprisingly, the Shinigami threw his own sword aside and responded to the attack by catching Grimmjow by the wrist, hovering his enemy's blade in the air above his shoulder. He had stopped the Espada.

"That's enough, Grimmjow." He said easily. "You've lost. I don't care if you're a king or not. But cutting through everyone you don't like and becoming a king with no one to rule....what's the point of it all? If you loathe me so much, I'll fight you whenever you want. So let it go for now."

From her place in the background, Kira was presented with the possibility of options again. Of preserving life even in loss. It was not something that came naturally to her, but it was something that made sense. She hadn't even thought to tell Grimmjow 'enough'. It hadn't occurred to her. All that she had known was survival, and that is what she presented. It wasn't the same thing, but it was the thing that kept them alive. If that was what it took to keep them alive, then so be it; but it was nice to know that there was another way too. It was comforting to know that some enemies didn't want to win by cutting out life, they won by cutting out loss.

Grimmjow did not agree with Ichigo. The moment his wrist was released was the moment he lunged at the man again. He wasn't going to let it go, even though he had thought about it for a second.

Kira suddenly wished she had been paying more attention to the world around the fight. Nnoitra, hungry for his own battle, threw his weapon and eliminated the man who stood in the way of his victory over the Shinigami. It was so sudden, so unprecedented. Kira realised that against the blow delivered by the newcomer, Grimmjow wouldn't be able to keep his side of the bargain. Espada do not think like Shinigami – creating loss is their way of creating life.

The Blue Haired Espada crumbled to the ground. Kira took off towards him and checked herself. She stopped abruptly and skidded along the sand, staring angrily across the gap between herself and the Fifth Espada. He would kill her too if he noticed her, and then no one would be able to keep their word.

"Damn, you're a sore loser." The sick voice of Nnoitra stated sadistically. "Just die already." He swung his half moon blade down and advanced. "He's mine now."

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, shocked by the swift change of events.

Kira felt her entire body relax when she heard Grimmjow's voice. "Nnoitra...you son of a..." his voice was cracked and nearly gone. His body immobile for real. He should be dead. He really should be dead. Kira was relieved that he wasn't.

"Woah, you're still alive?" The Fifth Espada mused. He leapt into the air, over the head of the Shinigami, determined to erase the Sixth.

Kira drew her sword out of instinct and watched as the Shinigami saved the life of her friend. As her enemy saved the life of his enemy. Nothing made sense that day. Not life, not death, not winning, not losing. All that really mattered was keeping one's self alive and willpower seemed to be all that was left to ensure that.

The Shinigami stood over his opponent, his sword blocking the attack of his new enemy.

"What the hell're you doing?" Nnoitra mentioned casually in confusion.

"That's my line." Ichigo was defiant. "Why are you attacking someone who can't even move?" He was protecting Grimmjow.

Kira let the tip of her blade drop. The Shinigami was protecting Grimmjow. The Shinigami was saving his life. The life of the man who had wanted only to kill him. The man she wanted to see dead was saving the man she wanted alive.

"HA!" Nnoitra broke the defence and separated himself from Kurosaki. He turned to Grimmjow. "The hell this shit, Grimmjow? First the enemy kicks your ass, then you let him save your life?" He glanced sideways, aware of the Novena Espada. "Not even your little whore went that far."

Kira was a little happy that someone was just as confused as she was but very much insulted at she had received a new title. Ichigo stared at the girl for a moment, she had not once attacked him or gotten in the way. She had not once interfered, even if it meant the death of the one thing close to her. It reminded him of the eleventh squad and the strong bond its members held and the strong honour they possessed. Everything was torn back to reality as a new fight began. Grimmjow was forgotten. Kira was forgotten. Everything moved on without them. Even Orihime had moved her attention to the new battle.

They were alone. Kira sheathed her sword and dropped down to her knees beside Grimmjow. He was staring upwards, his expression a little lost but continually strong. The girl surveyed the damage. It was severe. It caught in her throat. "Shit."

Grimmjow didn't even move. His breathing was shallow and nearly indistinguishable. But he was awake.

Everything was sharply worse since Nnoitra arrived. He had interrupted an incomplete battle. Or, a battle that was incomplete to the Espada. Kira didn't care about the survival of the Substitute now; he had shown her that he was not going to gain victory through death. He would not destroy them completely, he would change them. Kira cared now about the survival of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

The girl noted that his left side was significantly worse than his right and somehow managed to haul the healthier arm of the man over her shoulder. She stumbled forward as she lifted his weight against her back. He was taller, heavier and less helpful than she had anticipated. Kira hissed in effort and felt the need to get away from the front line heighten as the warmth of Grimmjow's blood seeped through the back of her jacket. The girl felt the man's head against her neck and gained assurance of his life through the nearly-breathing that brushed down her throat.

The sight must have been an odd one. An Espada bearing another. A woman trying to hold up a man. Grimmjow's feet dragged on the ground as his wrist was gripped down across the girl's chest, securing him in place. She was leaning forward from the weight. The man was unable to move or speak and thus unable to help himself or protest. In fact, he was soon unconscious, his forehead resting over the shoulder of the woman and finding a place near her collarbone. His face was turned across her body and a gash on his forehead ensured that his blood got on the front and back of her clothes.

Kira used Sonído to get far away quickly. Or as quickly as she could go. She wouldn't go as far as fast with Grimmjow on her back, but she had to go. She had to move forward. Everywhere the atmosphere tingled. Shinigami were going up against Espada and Shinigami were defeating them. Arrancar were dying. No one was stopping to save them, not even their enemies. There was no one like Kurosaki Ichigo.

Kira Sato struggled towards another destroyed building. The pillars in the section of dome she had reached were mostly intact – mostly except for one. It had lost its top completely. The girl realised that it was the same tower in which she had found Kuchiki Rukia. The little Shinigami had been nearly as far gone as the Espada on her back. It seemed that someone had avenged her. The smell of Zommari lingered, but his reiatsu was gone.

Kira stopped trudging forward for a moment. She looked up at the topless pillar. Her sharp gaze met the eyes of a tall, dark haired man with grey eyes. He had a white something in his hair. It looked a little like the white something Kira had on her face, only his meant that he was head of his household, not that he was a Hollow. He watched her, seeing only a woman under the dead body of a man. She was breathing heavily under the burden, her hair was escaping and drifting down her face, sticking to the sweat and blood on her neck and getting stuck in the drying red that seeped from the Espada she bore. She was carrying death and because of it, was resembling it. Death was determined. Death was sure. Death was steadfast. Death was victorious.

The girl inhaled, forcing herself to be steady in the intake. She blinked and broke the gaze of the man. She was gone.

-

Is this the end of everything we know?
This is the end of everything I am?
Broken hearts like promises, are left for lesser knows
From a lesser known.
I'm here and there's hope.
There's hope.

(Anberlin, Hello Alone)

-

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And so we are brought to the last known sighting of Grimmjow. I personally think he is alive as Tite Kubo (the creator of Bleach) has continually presented character deaths with solid proof – they are always seen dead, never dying. Grimmjow was dying, not dead. So, until a confirmation as to his passing is made, I consider him alive and am waiting for him to appear in the manga/anime.

From here on in, the plot will be my own. I will go to the Karakura Town Battle in the next chapter and then onto more. I apologise if the content has been heavy, I expect it to get lighter in coming chapters. All the information has been gathered, all that is left is to conclude it and continue the story with that.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought. I value your input and find it exceptionally helpful in the continuation of the story. So, if you're reading, be reviewing.

Constructive Criticism welcome.

Blessings,

Peterpauper.