"You look refreshed."

Ichigo stood before Valkin's desk in the study. They were in a beautifully furnished manor that had stood up to the Clash and must have since been protected by these people.

"I feel better," Ichigo said without conviction. Valkin must have understood because he didn't question Ichigo's dismal tone of voice. He motioned for him to sit. Ichigo did.

"Can you please tell me anything you know about my sisters?" Ichigo began.

"Of course. We have been keeping an eye on our former masters since the Clash. It is difficult to do so as their main forces are in the North, but we have gathered they are after you."

"Of course, they want to kill me."

"Actually, only their rogue soldiers have attempted to kill you. Anyone still loyal to Hashwald would try to capture you."

The King had died in the war—Ichigo had made sure of that—but it had still been too late. On the same day of his death, when so many had believed in their victory—the balance had tipped and the worlds collided. Their day of victory had turned into the greatest loss they could have imagined.

"Why?" he asked bewildered. He could think of one or two circumstances where the enemy had not aimed to kill but he'd escaped and not questioned it. "What could they possibly want with me now?"

"Your soul, it seems."

"What?"

"It's unclear to us exactly what they want, but it seems they still think you might hold some power. You are the only being in the universe who has a soul containing all four of the Clashing worlds. It makes sense that they think you may yet be of some use."

"What really? Do you think they could be right?"

"No," Valkin dismissed the idea immediately. "It doesn't matter what your soul is made of or what power you once possessed as this world is now without power. There is no undoing that."

Ichigo sagged, the prospect of helping the situation leaving him.

"But they still think so."

"So it seems."

"And they'll use my sisters to lure me out."

"Yes. Or else they think your sisters possess your same unique qualities."

Ichigo mulled this over. He wasn't sure what part of his soul may be in them as well. It made sense they might also have the same powers—except now those powers were gone. He stood.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Where are you going?"

"I still have to find them, no matter if the Vandenreich are after me."

"But you are here now. We owe you our lives. This is our village—we stop anyone who gets near. No one will ever find you here, you'll be safe and comfortable."

"But I won't find my sisters."

"No," Valkin consented. "But you may never find them."

"I can't give up, especially now that I know they are alive."

"I suspected as much."

"Please, will you let me go?"

"Of course. We will even help you on your way, but know that we are here, when you are ready for shelter and safety."

Ichigo nodded. "Thank you. Now we really must go."

"We?"

"Yes, my companion and I."

"You mean Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, the espada." Ichigo watched Valkin's expression turn dangerous. He felt a sudden rush of anxiety. In all of the commotion regarding his siblings, he'd forgotten the sixth espada.

"Please don't tell me you've hurt him."

"What use could you possibly have for a vermin like him?"

"He's helping me."

"Unbelievable."

"He is! He's travelling with me to help find them!"

"Leave him behind. You are better on your own."

"I'm not, I swear." Ichigo was starting to feel panicked. "You haven't done something to him, have you?"

Valkin narrowed his eyes. Ichigo gripped the back of his chair. "Take me to him now!"

"Kurosaki—"

"NOW!"

Valkin stared him down, but Ichigo was unrelenting. "Fine."

Ichigo rushed past Valkin when the door to the electrical room was opened. He felt the hot wash of air and instantly was struck with guilt and horror when he realized Grimmjow had been left in this room the entire time. It had been hours since he'd passed out, cleaned up, eaten and talked with Valkin. And all that time Grimmjow had been in this sweltering room, hanging from his wrists.

He was limp when Ichigo reached him, overwhelmed by the heat. His clothes were soaked through with sweat but his face was dry of it. Ichigo knew that was a bad sign.

"GRIMMJOW!" Ichigo shook him. A minimal response came from the espada whose eyes were still covered.

"I advise against travelling with such a man."

"Just let him down!" Ichigo demanded.

Valkin hesitated, but eventually nodded. Men moved to undo the cuffs and Ichigo took Grimmjow's weight as he fell free. The espada came too at the rough motion. He didn't have the strength to do much or the liquid in his throat to speak but Ichigo held him up and backed out of the room.

They collapsed in the hallway beyond the electrical room and Grimmjow immediately reacted to the cool air. He shook violently and Ichigo knew he was extremely dehydrated. He peeled back his jacket and shirt to help him cool but that wouldn't be enough.

"Water, please," he asked the cold faces around him. No one had sympathy for Grimmjow. They may have been practical saviours to Ichigo but they were unforgiving to the espada.

"Do not remove his blindfold," Valkin warned Ichigo. "He is not welcome here, and we will not expose ourselves to him."

Ichigo just nodded as he splashed water over Grimmjow's head and face then held a canteen up to Grimmjow's lips. The other sputtered then sucked back desperately.

It was a mistake. Ichigo should have fed him small sips instead of one big dose because next thing Grimmjow was vomiting it back up. Ichigo held onto his shoulder until he collapsed, still conscious but immensely sick.

"Here, give him this." Valkin handed Ichigo another bottle. Ichigo obliged, feeding it in smaller doses this time. Grimmjow only had a few mouthfuls before he went limp. Ichigo looked at the bottle suspiciously, then back to Valkin.

"What did you do? Did you drug him?"

"Like I said, I don't want him to know anything about us. If you insist on taking him with you, then it will have to be like that."

"How am I supposed to carry him like this?"

"We didn't say anything about you carrying him."

Ichigo sat bewildered in the back of the canvas covered truck. He'd stood in awe before it for a long time before they'd coaxed him inside with their bags, boots, swords and Grimmjow's limp form. He held onto the espada for the entire journey so his head wouldn't strike the hard ground. It must have been an old military vehicle, made for shipping soldiers and driving over rough terrain. Now Ichigo watched the city disappear behind them as they drove up and over steep banks of sand.

"...kid?"

Grimmjow came awake part way through their journey. Ichigo caught Valkin's frown but gave Grimmjow's shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"We're alright," he whispered. Valkin had ordered Grimmjow's hands to be cuffed behind his back again and his eyes were still tightly bound. "They're going to let us go."

"Bullshit, they'll kill us," Grimmjow croaked.

"They won't. It's alright, I'll explain later. Here, drink some water." Ichigo propped him up against him and spent the rest of the journey trying to rehydrate his companion. Eventually Grimmjow gave into his body's exhaustion and fell asleep with his head against Ichigo's chest. Ichigo held him there, afraid if he let him go Valkin might decide to do him in.

They came to a stop hours later. Ichigo couldn't guess where they might be on the map. They may have lost time being captured, but they'd certainly made it back and more in this car ride. Valkin disembarked with Ichigo. His men carried Grimmjow out. They said they wouldn't leave Ichigo on his own until Grimmjow woke. Ichigo wasn't sure how he felt about the whole thing. Yes, these people had helped him immensely but they would surely kill Grimmjow or any soul reaper without hesitation.

Fortunately Grimmjow came too before he had to spend too much more time with them. Valkin prepared to leave, indicated where the highway was and shook hands with Ichigo.

"We will be in your debt forever if you do not return."

"Well, I might not, so do this for me please: if ever you see my sisters, give them this kindness. Protect them, take them in. I'll check in with you every time I'm near."

"Of course. Farewell, Ichigo Kurosaki."

The last thing they did before loading back into the truck was to undo Grimmjow's cuffs and unbind his eyes. They were gone before the espada ever pushed himself back out of the sand.

"Racist bastards," he swore when Ichigo finished explaining the situation to him. "I never fucking went after them."

"But did you ever avoid them when fighting the vandenreich soldiers?"

Grimmjow had no answer.

"Exactly, and neither did the soul reapers, so they are not exactly your fan."

"Whatever." Grimmjow still held his stomach. Ichigo knew dehydration could make a person really sick, not to mention Grimmjow had been hanging by his wrists all day. They were cut up and Ichigo pulled out their dwindling medical supplies to treat them. Grimmjow seemed half pissed at Ichigo himself, but at the same time too sick to do much about it so he lay back and let Ichigo take care of the cuts.

"I really am sorry they did that to you, Grimmjow."

Grimmjow said nothing. Ichigo had explained his shock over news of his sister, but he thought it too much to hope that Grimmjow would understand his emotions. When he was done, he dug in his bag for juice they'd given him.

"Here, you need this, water isn't enough."

Ichigo helped Grimmjow sit and hold the container.

"I'm not a weakling," Grimmjow protested.

"Can you pretend you are just for tonight?" Ichigo asked with less sympathy in his voice than intended. He actually cared a great deal for Grimmjow's current state but the upset over his sisters had hardened his voice. It may have been for the best, however, because Grimmjow was more responsive to the harsher tone.

"Fuck you, just give me the drink."

Ichigo still kept one hand on the container but Grimmjow drank it all. When he was done, he looked ready to sleep again.

"Fuck," he swore when Ichigo helped him lay back, using his pack as a pillow. He clenched his fist to try to stop it from shaking.

"It was a shock to your system. You'll be okay after you sleep," Ichigo reasoned.

"I've slept too much already," Grimmjow complained, even though he seemed to be fighting to stay awake now.

"Just shut up and go to sleep." Ichigo argued, settling in next to him with a pack beneath his head, a full view of the stars above.

There was no more arguing. Grimmjow' breath evened out in seconds. Ichigo tried to use Grimmjow's rythmic breaths to help himself find peace, but his mind raced and when he slept the dreams came worse than usual.

He woke with Grimmjow's hands around his shoulders, shaking him.

"Snap the fuck out of it!" Grimmjow was screaming at him.

Ichigo realized his hands had been knotted in Grimmjow's collar. He slowly let go of him and Grimmjow did the same.

"Shit kid, you're really messed up in there," he pointed to his head. Ichigo said nothing. He was startled to find himself shaking in the aftermath of the nightmare. It was still dark, maybe an hour before dawn, but Grimmjow looked recovered and he was already digging in their bag for something to eat. Ichigo took nothing as he had eaten a full meal back in manor.

"So did your new best friends tell you where we are?"

"No." Ichigo answered. "But they said the highway is that way." He pointed over a sand dune.

"Great." Grimmjow was clearly still pissed about the whole incident. Ichigo couldn't blame him. He decided it was best not to ask Grimmjow how he was feeling. "Let's go."

It only took a few feet for them to stop dead again. Ichigo stared out at the unreal scenery, the growing light just touching the white tip of the mountain in the distance, bridge arching through the massive city that sprawled where it rose up out of the sand.

"No way..." he breathed. "Mt. Iwate...we're in Morioka."

"No fucking way," Grimmjow seemed to agree. "We can't be here already."

"We drove for a long time."

"But that puts us just 2 days from Hirosaki City, where the market is."
"Two days...can we get to the Soul Reaper base in that time?"

"Yeah, they're on Iwarki Mountain in the ruins of Las Noches. It's maybe a four hour walk from the city centre."

"I can't believe it." Ichigo was still staring at Iwate looming up before them. Not far on the other side were his friends, and his best hope in finding his sisters. He wondered if Rukia might have found them, or the girls themselves spotted a soul reaper they recognized. He found himself thinking about them with hope for the first time in so long. What would they look like now? They'd been just children when he'd last seen them, but four years later they'd be young women, seventeen years old—the same age he'd been when the world had ended.

"I can't wait," he said it out loud before he could stop himself. Grimmjow didn't seem to notice.

"I'll have plenty of time to register for the Market now. I'll go with you to the mountain first. I'd like to see Rukia's face when I show up with you."

Right, Ichigo had almost forgotten Grimmjow and Rukia had spent two weeks together. They'd never really gotten along in the war, he wondered how they had fared together for two weeks. He almost asked Grimmjow about it but then the sun struck the city in full and he lost his breath to the sight of the mountain, the lit up waterways and arching bridges over them. He forgot how beautiful the city of Morioka was. Though he could see many broken buildings it still stood a brilliant spectre on the horizon.

"Well, let's get going then," Grimmjow interrupted the moment and started down the bank.

They cut straight through the city to get to an expressway. They stopped to replenish their water supplies. Grimmjow got recognized by a number of people and he sent a message with one man who approached that he'd be game for a fight on his way back from the Market. It was perhaps his fame that allowed them to pass through without any trouble. They even got a hot meal that wasn't half bad. They crossed the waterways and passed by one devastated part of the city where a jet plane lay smashed among the ruins of buildings. It wasn't uncommon to find things from the sky that had crashed back to earth. Ichigo had once inspected a piece of crumpled metal out in the desert with an American flag painted on one panel. It had taken him a long while to realize it was a fallen satellite.

Grimjow was fascinated by the concept of flight. Ichigo did his best to explain how planes worked though he didn't know alot of the details. Most of all, his explanation of space exploration had completely baffled the espada.

They followed train tracks past the most beautified part of the city and by the time they got to the expressway they were back in what looked like slums from the Rukon district. They climbed the bank and dropped down onto the enclosed road. Many of the expressways in Japan were half sheltered like this, with high banks on either side of the road. It wasn't ideal for their method of travel as they couldn't see things beyond the road and they also couldn't see if thieves were waiting behind the bank to jump them.

They were attacked a few kilometres out from the city. Grimmjow gave an annoyed sigh and hauled the gun from inside his jacket. Ichigo had almost forgotten about it. The men scattered, Grimmjow put it back with a mutter that it was no fun and next time he'd use his sword.

They travelled the rest of the day in peace and continued walking for half the night. Both of them were getting pumped up about reaching their destination soon.

"You shouldn't go anywhere near the Market," Grimmjow said the next morning as he rung out his shirt where he'd soaked it in the river. They were in Kazuno and there were many small streams that crossed the roadway. They'd left the expressway for a while to cut across the land as the crow would fly and had stopped to clean up a bit. Ichigo had showered the other day so he kept watch as Grimmjow bathed and washed out one set of his clothes.

"Those bastards back there recognized you even with your hair dyed so it's too dangerous."

"Yeah, I know. I hate markets anyway."

"We'll go up to the mountain first. Rukia described how to get to their base."

"I wonder how many survivors there are."

"Dunno." He heard Grimmjow redressing. "We'll find out tomorrow, I guess."
He was dressed and he left his cleaned clothes hanging over his pack so they could dry as they walked.

Ichigo rose and they set off again. They cut back toward the highway at noon and their walk was hot with the sun reflecting off the blacktop. They saw many more people on the road ahead and behind than what they were used to.

"Are they all going to the Market?" Ichigo asked Grimmjow.

"No doubt."

"The only thing I wouldn't mind having there is an apple. Did you know Hirosaki is famous for its apples?"

Of course Grimmjow didn't but he was in a good mood as they were so close to the end so he let Ichigo prattle on about taking a very long, hot drive with his dad and the twins one day and how the fresh apples at the end of their road trip were the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.

They walked up an overpass that arched over rail lines, then the edge of the pavement broke away abruptly and they were left staring at a giant gap. Grimmjow sighed in annoyance and they were forced to backtrack and get around. They followed the rail line for a while until it became blocked with a mile's length of smashed up cars. They walked along beside it, seeing many old corpses. Even now there was a strong stench from their still decaying forms. They veered away from this as well.

When they crossed into Aomori Prefecture, they had their choice of what to follow. The rail, the highway, expressway and the river would all take them where they wanted to go. They stuck to the rail line just because they could see that most travellers were on the roads. Seeing the signs for Aomori got their legs pumping faster, knowing they were so close, and both of them hoped to get there by nightfall.

The hope turned out to be unrealistic. Darkness fell on them just as they were getting to the outskirts of Hirosaki. They were going to avoid anything near the market and Grimmjow said they really shouldn't stop to rest because there would be far too many scavengers in these parts.

In the high moon, Ichigo could see the cherry trees. They were skeletons of their former glory, but some were still in bloom and he caught a hint of their scent, taking him back to another time and place.

They could see the lights. Just like in Junction city there were flood lights and neon all over the place. He could see spotlights in some areas too. They kept their eyes set on Mt. Iwarki but at some point during the night they heard a boom in the sky and saw a brilliant display of light. Grimmjow stopped dead and grabbed Ichigo's arm, prepared to run, and it took the young man a second to realize Grimmjow didn't know what they were.

"It's okay, they're fireworks."

"What?"

"They're just for show, for fun. They aren't dangerous."

They stopped and watched the brief display. It was no doubt a vendor showing off his wares or perhaps it was a signal the market was open for business. Even if the fights didn't start for couple more days, the rest of the debauchery could begin.

"Alright, let's make it to the foothills, we'll find your friends in the morning."

Ichigo wanted to argue to push on, but it soon became so dark he understood there would be no finding a secret base until morning. They neared the outskirts of town where it became flat the land still divided into old feudal fiefdoms, now just farm land but evidence of the castle town's history. After another two hours they came to the base of the mountain, the land covered in dense forest.

The trees were enormous and they walked far enough into their shelter not to be easy picking for anyone else who might live in here. They were sure many others must take advantage of the nearby park and the large root systems of the trees for shelter. That's precisely what they did. They each found a groove among the twisting roots of one particularly enormous tree and took turns sleeping for the few hours they had left.

In the morning, their journey would be over. And soon after that, they'd go their separate ways.

Pretty quiet chapter this time, a few shake-ups next time! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

PS, KenzieFF, I saw your review on PB and because I knew you were looking for a new chapter I had to update this one as well, so hope you enjoy.

Riza