So many emotions flashed in her large round eyes and Ichigo felt guilty for being the cause of her turmoil but Rukia didn't break. She had listened to his story, to his apologies for lying the past few days. But she breezed past any sense of betrayal and just sat down on the bleachers holding a hand over her mouth. Her calculating mind fit all the stories into place, she just nodded as if a jigsaw puzzle had just come together.

Someone scored a goal, parents cheered and Ichigo caught the voice of Yuzu congratulating Karin and clapping. Ichigo and Rukia sat sheltered in the middle of them all, their low voices lost in the cheers and chatter to everyone but themselves.

"That fool." She said finally and there was no question who she was referring to. "He should have known better."

"Rukia-"

"No, Ichigo, it's not your fault. If Renji hadn't sold them guns and made them so arrogant, they wouldn't have gotten to you in the first place. He was a fool to think he could get away with it all. But there was no body. And you said Aizen never openly admitted to Grimmjow that he killed him."

"As far as I know."

"Then I have to believe he's alive. Maybe he's with your father."

Ichigo couldn't really see why they would be kept together, but he just shrugged. "Could be. Rukia, we're being watched, we're essentially prisoners in our own lives. But we have to know where our father is."

"I understand. Leave it to me, Ichigo, I will do everything I can to help you."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you Rukia."

"Of course." She stood up.

"The game is over soon, I can walk you home."

"I'm going to see Uryu. Don't worry, I won't mention anything about you, but I think he's my best chance at getting at his father's intel. I know you two don't really get along, but for some reason Uryu has always been kind to me."

"Because he likes you, obviously."

"Don't be foolish, Ichigo. I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, see ya."

Rukia hopped off the stands and headed for the road. They weren't far from their street and she decided to go home and get something to eat before tracking down Uryu. She cut between houses to reach their road and hurried down the side walk. She heard the wail of an ambulance and a few seconds later it whizzed by. She was almost at her driveway and watched it go down the road but it was slowing. She felt her gut clench as it came to a complete stop. She couldn't quite tell but she was pretty sure it was the Kurosaki clinic.

"Ichigo is on his way." Rukia said as she entered the small curtained area but found Grimmjow's eyes shut. She looked for the doctor but there was no one, it was the ER, no doubt the doctor had already come and gone.

She moved closer and rested her hands on the rail. His bed was completely flat, no pillows, and he was on his stomach, trying to keep hims as comfortable as he could be. His shirt had been cut off of him and she held in her hand the chain that had been pulled from around his neck. On it were two gold rings- his parents' wedding rings. She looked down at her own hand. She wore her mother's, and Byakuya their father's. It was funny how they had both chosen that little golden band as a way to remember their parents.

Like Grimmjow with his mother, Rukia had no memories of her parents. Byakuya had raised her. He had been her everything until she met Ichigo. She had found the orange haired boy by the river, crying. And like her brother had taken care of her, she had wanted to take care of him. It had been the beginning of their friendship, one that had gone both ways over the years- her taking care of him, and him taking care of her. And all that time Grimmjow had been there, sort of off to one side, but she knew him more from Ichigo's stories of him than from their own encounters.

Now she stared down at his bare back, that horrible scar in the definite shape of a six. There was bruise around it too, the paramedics had said something about it looking like he'd fallen when she got there. Her gaze travelled up his back to a smaller scar, just to one side of his spine. The exit wound from a bullet that should have killed him.

"Oh Grimmjow." She whispered softly. His face was turned to one side, hiding those awful scars, and for a moment she forgot them and saw only the handsome boy he had been. One more person Aizen had hurt. He'd taken her parents, her boyfriend, and now he was destroying her best friend's life and he had already destroyed this boy's.

The curtain pulled back and a doctor came in, but it was not the ER doctor who had first examined him. This one moved quickly to grab Grimmjow's chart and check him over.

"Were you with him?"

"No, I just happened to be there when the ambulance came. He's a friend."

"I'm his surgeon." The doctor said, "and a personal friend to doctor Kurosaki. I understand he has moved away?"

"Yes..." She looked away from his eyes. "Are you going to be looking after Grimmjow's case?"

"I am." He was back to looking at the chart. He scribbled something at the bottom and put it back in it's tray. "A nurse will be by to give him what I prescribed." He left again. She wanted more information but he was already gone. Shortly someone came in and administered a needle. When Rukia asked what it was she said it was an ant inflammatory and she returned shortly with a cold compress she put on Grimmjow's back. She too left.

Rukia didn't know how much time had passed when she heard the gasp and Grimmjow woke. He seemed very agitated and confused. She knew he didn't see her until she was directly at his side, crouching a bit so he could see her more clearly.

"Where?" He breathed out, she could see he was already in pain.

"The hospital Grimmjow. I saw the ambulance at your house and rode with you, remember? You were awake."

"Right," but he didn't seem any more calm. He moved his arms underneath him and she knew what he was trying to do.

"Stop, you have to lie still."

"I need to get out of here."

"Grimmjow, why, what happened?"

He gave a wail of pain and collapsed back to the bed. Something was really wrong, and Rukia knew it wasn't just the pain. He slammed his fist against the matress and shut his eyes.

"Dammit."

"Grimmjow, please..." he was shaking, muscles on his back trembling, and she was shocked to see a tear seep out of his closed eyes. He didn't speak to her. He didn't burst into tears, he just remained clenched up in that painful position, like something had frozen him that way.

She watched him for a few more seconds before pushing past the curtains and calling for the doctor.

"Rukia!" She spun at Ichigo's call. He and his sisters were hurrying over to her. She was outside the curtains, the doctor had come and tried to calm Grimmjow down but he was beyond reasoning and she'd been asked to leave when two orderlies came to restrain him so the doctor could sedate him. She was shaken. Already she'd been shocked by Ichigo's story, but she had not seen the extent to which Grimmjow's mind had been damaged by all that he had gone through until today.

She found herself reaching out and pulling herself against Ichigo in a tight hug and just stayed that way, wanting to make sure he, at least, wouldn't slip away from her.

"Rukia, what's wrong? What happened?"

"They're sedating him. I don't know what happened, he hurt his back again."

"What?"

"He's really upset, he didn't tell me anything though."

The doctor came out, Rukia pulled away. Ichigo recognized the surgeon who'd been on Grimmjow's case for a while now.

"What's happened?"

"Ichigo." The doctor took stalk of the young man who was still covered in bruises. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just got beat up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it was days ago, I'm alright. What about Grimmjow?"

"Well it appears he took a blow to his back, was he with you during the fight?"

"Um," Ichigo remembered Aizen's man hitting Grimmjow square in the back, "yeah, he did take a hit but he was okay the next day."

"Well he should have been resting, and it appears he was doing the exact opposite. As far as I can tell he's pulled a muscle in the region of his nerve damaged. Combined with further soft tissue damage to that area, the swelling is exerting pressure on those nerves, causing him great pain."

"Is that why he was so upset?" Rukia asked.

"I can't say for sure. Intense pain can make a person highly emotional. But since his therapist is here, I might ask her to stop by. His case it, complex, as you well know." He paused, they were all quiet. "Do you know how he injured himself?" he asked them.

"He's been cleaning up his old house."

The doctor nodded, accepting this as a good answer.

"So he'll be alright?" Ichigo pressed.

"Well, there should be no complications, it is just a pulled muscle, but because it is causing so much pain, I think we should keep him here for a few days."

Rukia noted the worry in Ichigo's face, and the girls'. "Ichigo, let me take Karin and Yuzu back to my place. You can stay with Grimmjow for as long as he needs."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." She turned to the girls. "Come on, I have alot of cool things I can show you. I think you will really like it."

"It's true," Ichigo added, "their house is like a castle." The girls were too smart to have their attentions diverted from the seriousness of the situation, but they were also smart enough to see that this was what their brother needed, so they took Rukia's hands and left with her. Ichigo was thankful to all three girls for doing what he needed and turned back to the doctor.

"Ichigo, what's really going on?"

"Nothing, Dr. Kyro, I promise. It's just been tough with Dad leaving."

"I honestly don't understand it, after everything."

"It was my choice to stay and the girls wanted to as well. We wanted to finish school." He lied.

"Still-"
"Please, can I see Grimmjow?"

"He'll be asleep for a while. I'm going to have him moved to a private room, why don't you get something from the cafeteria while you wait?"

"Alright."

Ichigo wandered the halls, aimless, eating a half stale bagel and sipping at bitter coffee. He felt tired. His own wounds were hardly healed, he was prepared to do all this with Grimmjow at his side, but now all the weight was crashing onto his shoulders and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to support it.

"Ichigo, you don't look too good."

Ichigo looked up at the slender teen that pushed off the wall where he'd been standing. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stepped forward.

"Uryu." Ichigo didn't bother asking him what he was doing here. His father owned the place after all.

"Come on, you better sit down before you fall down." His voice was even, he was being neither friendly nor patronizing. Ichigo just followed him to a set of comfortable chairs among an arrangement of plants and assortment of magazine. A quiet place for family members to take a moment for themselves.

"I heard about Grimmjow."

"Word travels fast, I guess."

"I was trying to get in touch with Rukia. She told me what happened."

"Oh."

"She's trying to find Renji you know."

"I know."

"She's digging into Aizen, and she's not being quiet about it."

"Grimmjow told me she had it out with your dad."

"Our parents were friends, she thinks my dad owes her answers."

"Well, does he know anything?"

The light flashed off Uryu's glasses as he readjusted his gaze. Ichigo met those challenging eyes. "Nothing that could help her."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, Ichigo, she's going about this all wrong, as is my father, and Byakuya. First off, does she really think that a high school kid will have better luck than all of Aizen's enemies? She's a fool, and deep down she knows it. But she's no more a fool than the rest of them. You see, the only thing that could make a difference, is if everyone pooled their knowledge, everyone that's too afraid to speak out, spoke."

Ichigo clenched his fist. There was no doubting the menace in Uryu's eyes. "You, Rukia, Grimmjow, you better reassess your approach."

Ichigo stood, Uryu did too, they eyed each other long and hard. The dark haired teen hadn't admitted to knowing about Isshin, but he must have made his conclusions. Ichigo was torn between wanting to punch him and wanting to beg him for help. He hardly knew the other student, but he was intelligent and calculating- more-so than any of them.

"Then help us." He finally spoke.

"Help you get killed, or end up like Grimmjow? I don't think so."

Ichigo grabbed his arm, but Uryu wrenched free easily. "You need to get your strength back Ichigo." he eyed his arm, well covered under his sweater, but it was like those piercing eyes could see right through. "Your sisters need you. And I think Grimmjow does too."

"Please Uryu."

Uryu watched him in silence fore a moment then sighed. "There isn't one base of operations."

"What?" He was taken aback by the sudden forthcoming.

"I said there is no single strong hold. That would be impractical. Aizen has plenty of warehouses, facilities, fronts- but it's the safe houses where he'd keep anything too important, and safe houses don't show up on the grid. There is no golden key, no secret stock pile of information. There is no way to find what he keeps hidden. Rukia needs to move on. And so do you."

Ichigo let him walk away. He stood there feeling his heart racing, pounding, beating in anger and frustration. He dropped back to the seat and just sat, feeling the full impact of Uryu's words.

When Ichigo finally came back to Grimmjow's room, he found he'd been gone longer than he'd intended. The doctor was standing over Grimmjow giving instructions while he stuck pads on his back.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, good, Ichigo, you can help me see how Grimmjow's doing." Ichigo didn't like the sounds of that and when he came around the side of the bed he saw Grimmjow's eyes fixed adamantly on the window. His arms were wrapped around a pillow, another had been place underneath him, Ichigo guessed it was to get his muscles the way they wanted.

"I'm going to use pulses to make sure the muscles don't stiffen up as they heal. It shouldn't be a problem, but if you see him react, please tell me."

"Okay."

Ichigo sat down and watched Grimmjow's features. "Grimmjow?" he asked, but he knew he would only get silence. The procedure went smoothly, the doctor left, neglecting to say anything about visiting hours being long past, and left Ichigo in charge of swapping out ice packs on Grimmjow's back.

Ichigo let the silence continue on for a long time, more than an hour. His own heart was full to breaking but he needed to hold it together. He had to believe he could. And if he'd thought on it long enough, he would have realized that when his friends or family were at stake, he always withheld, endured, fought through.

Eventually something broke. Ichigo almost felt it before he heard Grimmjow shift, pulling his face into the pillow, and his body shook with sobs. His once muscular arms bunched around the pillow, and Ichigo almost feared he'd suffocate himself he was so tightly shut off, but he kept breathing, so he just let him be.

It had been his father who had comforted Grimmjow in the beginning. His father had taken on that responsibility and Grimmjow had been able to break in front of him because he was an adult, because he had taken care of Grimmjow and he had stepped into a role that desperately needed filling. Ichigo was still his friend, his peer. There was just something different, Grimmjow never really wanted him to know how damaged he was. He wanted their friendship to remain untouched by all the insanity around him. But there was no hiding anything anymore. They were both living the insanity now.

It was a long time before Grimmjow calmed down. Ichigo could see his laboured breaths, he was in pain again and exhausted. Ichigo got him a glass of water and a straw, it was a bit awkward at his angle but he drank it down, leaning on his elbows, and then just hung his head, letting the air dry his face.

"Grimmjow, what happened?"

"I found something."

Ichigo immediately tensed. "What was it?"

"You'll see when you find it. I need you to go back to the house and get it in case Aizen's guys take a look around."

"Why would they be-"

"Because they're the ones who found me and called the ambulance."

Ichigo felt sick. He didn't speak, he just had to wait for what Grimmjow said.

"They heard me screaming I guess. Came in, thought I fell off a chair and hurt myself. They didn't see anything, don't suspect anything either, as far as I know."

"Why were you screaming?"

Blue eyes struck him, red and raw, but a violent fury boiling under the surface. The strength of his emotions hit Ichigo for a second before Grimmjow turned his face away, staring down at the sheets again.

"You'll understand when you find them. Pictures. I stuffed them under the pile of clothes before Aizen's people got there. Go, Ichigo, now. And don't come back here."

"What?"

"I'll be fine, Ichigo, you need to look after the girls, and not be bothered with me."

"Grimmjow, it doesn't work like that."

"Sure it does."

"Grimmjow-"

"Okay, let me put it this way- I need some time. I'll call you when they let me out."

Ichigo watched him, not sure what was actually behind his words, but he guessed he'd figure that out when he saw what was at Grimmjow's house.

"Call if you need anything."

"Thanks."

Ichigo called Rukia but when he found out the girls were already asleep he decided to leave them there for the night. In fact, he rather liked the idea of them being secure in a mansion surrounded by gates and security cameras and busy staff. And Byakuya Kuchki was no one to mess with either. Hot shot lawyer was only his day job. Ichigo knew he had trained extensively in martial arts and even Kendo, and had won several national medals. So he left them there but declined Rukia's invitation for him to join them. He needed to clean up at Grimmjow's and he didn't know what he might find. He too, might need some alone time after.

The door was unlocked, he was glad, it gave him the pretence of just checking things out if anyone was watching him, which seemed highly likely if they had come so quickly when Grimmjow was screaming. Of all the things in the story, that may have been the most disturbing.

He moved up the stairs, it was dark, he couldn't say he himself was entirely over the events that had taken place in this house. He'd never liked coming here as a child because he feared Grimmjow's father. And tonight was the first time he'd returned since the night of Grimmjow's torture. He thought about his friend, his brother really, back in the hospital, the way he'd broken down, those scars on his bared back to remind him of what he'd already suffered. What could there be left to torture him so?

It was really too dark in the house to properly examine the photos. There was no hydro, no lights, so by the light of his cell phone Ichigo pulled the photos and file folder from the pile of clothes, and slid them inside his jacket without looking at them. He needed to face this head on, not in half light and uncertainty.

He locked the house behind him and returned to his own home. It was so empty, he turned on every light nearby just to keep the darkness at bay and turned on the tv to shut out the silence. It was near midnight. He sat on the couch and then changed his mind, not knowing where they might be watched and thinking perhaps he should go to the bedroom where shutting the blinds would seem less suspicious. But when he stood he heard a knock at the door and nearly jumped out of his skin. He still had the folder of photos under his jacket, and took a second to shove them in a kitchen cupboard before answering.

He looked through the peep hole, he didn't recognize the man.

"It's Stark." The man said through the door, guessing his hesitation. Ichigo had been unconscious for his first visit, but Grimmjow had told him about it. He had no choice, and stepped back as he let the man in. He was alone, and slouched in casually as if they were old friends.

"What do you want?"

"To check on you. I was on my way to see you when I heard Grimmjow screaming in that house over there. Good timing I guess."

"You mean you were watching the house."

"No, the other guys were, grunt work, I'm above that. But since you did just get shot, I thought I should make sure there were no complications, but I guess there were some we didn't expect."

"Your man hit Grimmjow right where he was stabbed. He's going to be in the hospital for a few days."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Fortunately for you, Miss Kuchki seems to have stepped in."

"Don't tell me you have a problem with the girls staying there."

"None at all. Remember, all you are supposed to do is go on living your normal lives."
Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, cause that's possible."
Stark had no comment. He didn't seem to care too much one way or the other, he was just doing his job.

"What was Grimmjow doing over there?"

"Cleaning up. He needs to, to try to get past...stuff." It felt so wrong to discuss anything personal with one of Aizen's men.

"Does he plan to return to school?"

"Doubt it now. It's so late in the year, I'm not sure how he could manage it anyhow."

"Alright." They hadn't made it much past the threshold. "Thanks for your time."

Ichigo almost questioned him, saying, 'that's it?' or something equally banal, but then realized he just wanted the man gone and shut the door behind him with a barely audible good night. He locked it and went to the kitchen, took the folder from the cupboard and ran to the master bed room.

Ichigo didn't know how long he'd been staring at the horrific photos, or the words on the back of one. He did his best the remember what he knew about Mr. Jaggerjaques' life before the alcohol and gambling addictions. He tried to remember what Grimmjow had told him about his mother and fathers' work, or anything about his parents.

But in the end he came up with just about the same story Grimmjow had pieced together. He understood why Grimmjow had broken down, why he might want to put some time and space between himself and this place, and even Ichigo once he knew the truth.

His hatred for Grimmjow's father only grew. He almost ripped the pictures apart himself but he didn't. He stared at her angelic features, her face untouched by the brutality of Aizen, though her body clearly had been. He didn't know if Grimmjow suspected it or not, but by the state of her clothes in that photo with the blood around her head, it certainly looked like she'd been raped. What more could that monster possibly have done to Grimmjow- oh wait, he had taken Isshin and nearly broken the last hope at family Grimmjow had left.

Ichigo began putting the pictures back in the file folder, but paused over the family photo. He'd never seen it before, and Grimmjow had shown him all the photos of his mother he had. He wondered if this picture was also new to Grimmjow. He looked at his father, he was repulsive to Ichigo, and yet he saw Grimmjow's looks in him. Seventeen years before all the drinking and lazing had soften his body and hardened his features, he could see that same strong jawline, those broad shoulders and lean build and a smile with just the smallest edge to it Ichigo could never define.

But their eyes were completely different. His were cold and grey and sunk into his skull. Grimmjow's were so brilliant, bright with intelligence that may not have been exploited in school but was evident in every other aspect of his life. They could be so fierce, even frightening, or so pain-filled they could break your heart. His eyes always showed his true feelings, and that was why he hardly ever looked at people straight on when he was hurting or upset.

Grimmjow's mother had the same eyes. And in the photo of her on the floor, even if she was dead, those pale blue orbs still held those last emotions. That horror and fear. Ichigo was familiar with it. It was the look that he'd seen on his own mother's face before she'd drowned saving him. It had haunted him these many years, and now these eyes would haunt Grimmjow.

He shut the file and slid it into the nightstand. But he left the lights on, feelings so alone, and so repulsed by humanity as he pulled the blankets up. He knew he couldn't sleep, and most of all, he knew he couldn't stand the lonely dark and silence after everything he'd learned.

Sorry for a slow update but here you go, thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts with me!

Riza