A:N: Forgive the chapter title but I was drawing a blank. This chapter is a bit shorter than the usual and I'm still not 100% happy with it. For all that Ichigo and Grimmjow seemed to be looking forward to this damn fight, when we actual got here they're both just like 'meh'. I guess more things have changed about them than first thought...
Fighting Grimmjow is easy.
Well, the fight itself is never easy, the bastard always makes her work for her win, but the act of fighting him is.
With others, fighting all out is no problem, one attacks, the other reacts, and it goes from there. With Grimmjow though, they've known and fought alongside each other enough that they can read one another's moves. It makes it more interesting because they can't just fight blindly, they have to think and strategize, figure out how to trick and trip each other up.
It is already well established that they can't fight all-out, not very often. The damage– not only to them but to the environment and anyone even moderately close to where they are fighting– is too extensive. Whenever they fight, it is with handicaps. Something Ichigo is grateful for now because fighting with the limiter isn't that much different from imposing a handicap.
She grins as Zangetsu and Pantera clash, both swords howling in excitement as they fight for dominance. They break off only to come back together, swords clanging and rebounding before coming back to slash and hack at one another. Grimmjow is grinning just as widely as she is as they crash across the sands and smash through several structures. He's laughing as he aims a knee at her midsection and she brings her leg up to block it, even as her free hand comes up to catch the hand that would've summoned a Cero if she'd waited. Smirking back at him, she uses her hold and their momentum to throw him over her shoulder. Grimmjow lands on his feet, sliding from the force, his sword already up to catch hers again.
Grimmjow is talking shit the entire time and Ichigo indulges him, giving as good as she gets as they continue to fight. He surprises her when he takes a hand off Pantera, the force pushing down on Zangetsu disappearing. Ichigo doesn't have time to shift or react before the hand still holding Pantera gets thrown back, Ichigo spinning from the momentum and leaving her back open to Grimmjow's Cero.
Ichigo curses as she realizes that, at her 'current' level, she doesn't have the ability to neutralize it or the appropriate reflexes or reaction time to avoid it. She takes the full force of the Cero, slamming through and completely leveling a tower. Grimmjow is standing over her in a second, a complete shit-eating grin on his face, and she barely has time to move to avoid a sword to the gut, rolling onto her feet and dodging another swipe, Zangetsu coming up to block Pantera. She wishes she could kick that smug look off his face.
Oh, wait.
Grimmjow tumbles at the force but recovers quickly, shooting her a dark glower as he comes back, a growl rumbling loudly as he shoots a Bala at her. She almost laughs as she steps out of the way, realizing her mistake as soon as she does. Grimmjow's smile is dark as he appears in front of her, energy gathering in his hand. Growling, Ichigo slams a handful of reiatsu into the still-forming Cero. The resulting explosion isn't enough to do anything more than burn their palms, but the force of it sends them both back several feet.
Grimmjow shakes his hand out but his grin is still in place. "I think we've warmed up enough. Time to get serious, Ichi-me."
"Waiting on you, ossan," she retorts. "You wanna see my mask, you gotta earn it."
His grin turns even sharper, his eyes alight with fire. He holds Pantera at an angle, bringing the tips of his fingers to the base of the blade, imbuing the Zanpakuto with energy, his reiatsu rising and swirling around him. He digs his nails in and rakes them down the blade, "Grind, Pantera!"
Reiatsu explodes and while it is nothing compared to what she is used to feeling from Grimmjow, she can tell it is powerful enough. Sand is caught up in the whirling reiatsu, creating a cyclone before it slowly disperses, revealing Grimmjow in his released state. His hair is down to his knees and his mask has shifted from his jaw to a crown-like protrusion at his hairline, his teeth are all pointed and his fangs have lengthened, his ears shifting to a more cat-like appearance, pointed and furry, his markings extending along the bottom of his eyes and to their tips. His body is covered in bone plating, all the way down to his newly formed tail that curls around him, twitching and twisting in excitement, and his hands and feet are full-on claws.
Ichigo has to hold back a smirk. After the first few times, she'd grown to become amused by the sight of Grimmjow's Resurrección. Most would be at least slightly fearful at the sight but Ichigo is used to seeing Grimmjow with pointed claw-like nails and elongated fangs, and his ears are even a bit more pointed than they used to be, so seeing him now, looking like an overgrown cat on two legs, she can't help but remember how she and Nel used to love teasing him about how much like his Hollow he tended to act.
"Time to play, kitty-cat," she smiles.
Grimmjow looks up at her, his smirk cocky as hell, and disappears. Ichigo is ready to meet him with a Getsuga Tenshō but he surprises her by coming up on her side and firing a fully charged Gran Rey Cero. She is ready to dodge– she knows she has enough time– before she realizes that he's come up on her left instead of her right. Her right, where Orihime and Nel are; if she dodges, they'll be in the line of fire and with Grimmjow in his released state, Orihime's shield won't hold.
"You asshole," she snarls.
Ichigo releases her hold on Shiro at the same time she physically manifests the mask. She unleashes a Getsuga Tenshō to cancel out the Cero, following closely on its tail and bursting through the cloud of dust and residual reiatsu. Grimmjow is expecting her, deflecting Zangetsu with practiced ease, following through with a kick aimed for her head. She ducks and swings around, bringing Zangetsu up and slashing.
She can sense the other Espada watching, feel as their reiatsu reaches out and pokes at hers, evaluating her even as they evaluate her fights. She really does hope some of them can be turned. She'd hate to have to kill them or, worse, to have them fall into Kurotsuchi's hands again.
Ichigo and Grimmjow battle back and forth, dancing around and swiping at each other before clashing and rebounding off and crashing through more towers. Ichigo is reminded of when Shiro came back and completely leveled Las Noches with the help of her friends. When Grimmjow purposely redirects them from an open landing to crash into another tower, she silently wonders if he is remembering razing the palace as well. The area around them is practically leveled, the tower Orihime and Nel are standing in is about the only one still standing.
She has to dive to the side to avoid his damn projectiles and Grimmjow comes racing at her on all fours, tackling her hard and sending them rolling. They're fighting with their fists at this point, Zangetsu knocked aside during their roll. For all that Shiro's grumbling, she knows he doesn't really mind. The form Zangetsu is limited to now isn't right, not anymore, and none of them mind her not using them.
Grimmjow growls and tries swiping at her with his claws but she deflects, landing a solid punch to his jaw and knocking him to the ground. She brings an arm up to block his clawed hand, barely blinking when the claws bite into her flesh. His other is posed to strike and she's quick to dive out of the way. She holds a hand out to recall Zangetsu, catching the hilt with ease and deflecting Grimmjow's claws once more. She's expecting him to try coming at her with his other hand, maybe another Cero, not to send her flying with a kick.
They're both beat to hell by this point, while few of his claws or her sword have found purchase, their fists have landed plenty and neither have been pulling their punches. It's almost a surprise when Grimmjow's claws finally do find purchase, piercing her stomach. She gasps in surprise, backing off. Grimmjow is smiling widely, a laugh bubbling up when he feels her surprise, bringing his hand up to lick at her blood as it drips down.
Orihime's own surprise and fear and stringent worry has been heavy in the air, her reiatsu wavering as she watched the battle, but now it suddenly snaps tight, belief strengthening while the fear and worry start to diminish. Ichigo knows she should've tried lessening Orihime's fear, it is only natural for the girl to fear any Hollow, even Ichigo's, but she'd learned that sometimes talking did very little. When it comes to reassuring people in regards to the Visored and Arrancar, actions are better suited.
When she finally hears Orihime calling out in support, Ichigo isn't the only one relieved. She can practically feel Grimmjow's exhalation and Zangetsu gives their own sighs of relief. Hearing Orihime telling her not to die, telling her she doesn't have to win, doesn't have to try so hard, but to just stop getting hurt, for her to survive... it is like coming home again. It is also a sign that it is time they finish this.
She and Grimmjow exchange glances because they both know that this is the last stretch. His claws start glowing as he charges them and Ichigo tightens her hold on Zangetsu in preparation for his Desgarrón. He releases both at once and the moment she shatters the first, she can feel that he imbued a little more reiatsu than he should of. She growls, putting more force into her blade, her teeth gritting at the resistance she meets, forcing Zangetsu to cut through and shatter the Desgarrón.
"I told you before, even if I could afford to lose, I won't," she growls at him. "I'm going to defeat you and Ulquiorra and then I'm going to ensure all of my friends get out of here while I bring Aizen to his damn knees."
She feels a small pang when Zangetsu slices through Grimmjow's bone plating and sinks into his chest, but they both know that she can't afford to let him off easy. Aizen and his lackeys will be watching the footage from this fight and if it looks like Grimmjow went down too easy or that Ichigo didn't fight hard enough, they'll question everything. Their gazes meet for a split second, acceptance and encouragement in his and reluctance and grief in hers. This isn't the right conclusion to one of their battles, but they can't keep going and it can only end one way.
"Getsuga Tenshō," she whispers.