Lesser Evil- Chapter 20

By: Raicheru

Grimmjow lay on the floor of the throne room, a layer of crushing spiritual pressure pressing him into the ground. It was so heavy, he could barely breathe. Only painfully short gasps of air made it into his lungs. If it didn't let up soon, the blackness creeping into the edge of his vision would make him pass out. This wasn't the first time this had happened since he'd returned. Aizen seemed to enjoy coming up with excuses to punish him. Sometimes there was an audience, other times they were alone. But each and every occurrence was painful and humiliating.

Lesser hollows who wouldn't have dared provoke him in the past seemed to take this new situation as a personal challenge. The kept trying to come up with new ways to goad him into a confrontation. Punishment wouldn't necessarily come because he gave in and went after them. Sometimes the rebuke was received when he gave no response at all. Grimmjow could feel his anger rising even as his consciousness faded. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

He'd tried repeatedly to open a doorway to take him out of Hueco Mundo, but Aizen seemed to have come up with something that blocked the ability of everyone except those he specifically allowed to travel. At least it didn't seem to be aimed directly at him even though he was most likely the root cause of it. The pressure was suddenly released and he sucked in a coughing breath. Resting his forehead against the cool floor for a moment, he pulled in a few deep breaths before standing. Which apparently was a bad idea.

"I did not give you permission to stand." Grimmjow closed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable blow that followed such a reprimand. There didn't seem to be any pattern to the expectations placed on him. No matter what he did, it was always a mistake. He suspected that all of his actions and words would be considered worthy of punishment. He cursed inwardly knowing that he had brought it on himself. But he didn't regret it. Not really. Getting close to Ichigo had been worth it. There was nothing that could compare to the short time they'd been together.

His eyes snapped open as a vicious kick threw him across the room to crash into the wall. The dust settled to show Ulquiorra walking calmly toward him. His dull tone lacked inflection, but knowing him better than nearly everyone else, Grimmjow knew he was loving this.

"You know better than to ignore Lord Aizen." The Cuarta espada had never denied the fact that he disliked Grimmjow. And he seemed to be enjoying his downfall. He wasn't often part of the punishments, seemingly content to be a mute witness. Grimmjow tried to stand but felt the weight of a familiar raietsu holding him down in the rubble. Aizen's voice echoed across the large space.

"You still seem to be having trouble learning." Grimmjow forced himself not to fight against the hold on his body. There was no pattern or logic he could find in any of this. Maybe there was none to be found. He only knew that he was dying by inches and it was only a matter of time before Aizen grew tired of this latest game, or one of the others got a lucky shot in and ended it all. "Ulquiorra, please have him taken to his room and make sure he stays there. When you are finished, return here. I have an assignment for you."

Grimmjow couldn't restrain the grunt of pain as a nameless hollow gripped his ankle with bruising force and dragged him carelessly out of the room. Ulquiorra trailed not far behind. The jagged chunks of rubble scraped and bit into his back painfully as his body was pulled across them. He still found that he couldn't move and he clenched his jaw to keep himself from saying anything stupid. All he could do was glare at Ulquiorra as he was dragged away.

* * *

Ichigo lay sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling. One of the worst things about this was being cooped up in this room. There wasn't even anything to do. Renji and Rukia had come to see him a couple of times, but there hadn't been much to say. Apparently, no charges were being placed against him, but he was still being held in custody. Renji had nearly punched a hole in the wall on his last visit.

"If they think you're that much of a danger, they should be training you to control your powers, not holding you prisoner." Ichigo didn't have the energy to agree. Apparently, a side effect of the suppression cuffs was an overwhelming feeling of lethargy that left him tired and wiped out. He'd been alone for a while now and he couldn't bring himself to care. Throwing his arm over his eyes, he tried to sleep. It was all he had left to do.

A shaking crash shook the room and he sat up suddenly. He could hear shouting and the sound of running feet. Somewhere in the distance, the clacking sound of the alarm echoed. Before he could go over to the window to look, the door blew inward pushing him back against the far wall. Through the haze of dust, a figure appeared in the cracked opening. Ichigo's jaw dropped as Grimmjow stepped into the room. He had shed the gigai and stood wearing his white uniform with Zangetsu braced against his shoulder. Ichigo snapped himself out of his shock to yell at him.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm here to rescue you." The tone of his voice implied that it should be obvious.

"You can't do that!" Blue brows raised in mild surprise.

"You want to stay locked in this room?"

"No, but you can't let them catch you here. Things are bad enough as it is. This will only make it worse."

"You still think you owe them loyalty? They've done nothing but berate and dismiss you since the beginning. They even tried to kill one of your friends." Ichigo glared.

"That last one was Aizen's fault."

"But even though the situation was unusual, none of them questioned it. Is that his fault as well?"

"Who's side are you on?" Grimmjow huffed a breath and looked briefly out the window. The shouting was getting closer.

"We don't have time to debate this." He held out his hand. "Come with me." Ichigo stared at his outstretched fingers. Freedom was so close he could taste it. Was he really getting anything done here? It didn't matter who he pissed off by leaving. They never seemed to like him anyway and he could figure it out once they got home. He reached out tentatively and grasped Grimmjow's hand in his own. It was odd. He usually felt some hint of his presence without even looking. But right now there was noting. It was probably because of the cuffs on his wrists. They were screwing with everything. "Hold on, this will only work once." Grimmjow pulled a small crystal out of his pocket and held it up.

A wavering portal opened in the air. It wasn't a Garganta or one of the doors the Soul Reapers used. It was probably something the Urahara had come up with. If it got him out, he would deal with it. Everything shifted and Grimmjow put his arm around Ichigo's waist to steady him as he stumbled. When it was over, he leaned forward and braced his hands on his knees. His stomach was trying to decide whether it was going to give back what he'd eaten earlier. Ichigo took a deep breath and it passed. But when he stood up, he didn't see the interior of the shop or the training room. It wasn't even an empty street somewhere in the human world. Pale white walls stretched away from him. Again, he felt the urge to be sick but it had nothing to do with vertigo. They were back in Las Noches. He turned and stepped away from Grimmjow.

"What are you doing? Why did you. . .?" An amused voice from above cut him off.

"Welcome back Kurosaki-kun. It's so nice to see you again." Looking up into Grimmjow's empty eyes, Ichigo searched for anything that would lead to some sort of explanation. He let his anger push away some of the panic. He whirled toward the dais where Aizen sat watching them.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" That had to be it. That bastard had done something to change him. The alternative was not an option in his mind.

"Nothing unusual, I assure you."

"Liar." Ichigo quickly glanced at Grimmjow before glaring back up at the former captain. "Something's not right. I can tell."

"Interesting." Aizen spoke almost to himself, ignoring Ichigo's outburst. Looking at Grimmjow he made a small motion. "Would you please show our guest to his quarters." Grimmjow grasped Ichigo's wrist before he could pull away.

"Don't touch me!" It hurt. Not the tight grip on his arm, but something inside he couldn't identify. There was obviously something wrong, but it was still painful. The sick feeling of betrayal gnawed at Ichigo's gut as an arm was wrapped around his shoulders and he clutched at it weakly. Grimmjow's embrace had become so familiar while they'd been together, but it felt like a stranger held him. He didn't have the strength to resist as he was led away. His thoughts started to whirl, making him dizzy but he couldn't help it. This wasn't happening. It was a nightmare. It had to be. There was no way Grimmjow would do this to him. He hated Aizen more than Ichigo did.

They stopped in front of a door like all the rest and he was taken inside. The person with Grimmjow's face practically threw him down on the bed and Ichigo just lay there, unable to do anything but breathe. He flinched when the mattress dipped under the added weight of the other man. Ichigo had to force himself to think of him as a stranger. This wasn't his Grimmjow. Instinctively, he just knew. But even knowing, he couldn't look at him. He pressed his face into the pillow, letting out a small distressed sound as he felt a hand on his back.

"Why are you afraid of me?" Turning his face enough to speak, Ichigo swore at him.

"I'm not afraid of you, shithead." The tension in the room rose as the figure above him stiffened. His next words were cold and made Ichigo shiver.

"I can change that." Ichigo couldn't stop himself from crying out as his shihakusho was ripped open. The fabric made a horrible tearing sound in the quiet room. He tried to crawl away, but he was pinned to the bed from behind. His hakama was torn away just as easily and the cool air washed over his skin. He lay nearly paralyzed as he tried desperately not to think about what was happening. His hips were jerked up roughly. It was quick and painful as he was mounted mercilessly from behind. He buried his cries in the pillow, nearly choking on one last tearing scream as teeth bit into his shoulder and drew blood. And then everything was still. Ichigo's pulse thundered in his ears and he almost didn't hear the quiet words. "I still don't understand."

The weight on top of him lifted and he was left alone in the room. Ichigo wasn't sure how long he lay there. His heart rate had slowed and the sweat that beaded on his skin made him shiver. He could feel muscles spasm in uncomfortable places but he stood slowly. He felt so dirty at the moment and all he wanted was to be clean. Pulling the soiled blanket from the bed, he discarded it in the corner. Moving numbly into the bathroom, he took a long, scalding shower and scrubbed himself nearly raw. He knew that the heat of the water should be painful, but nothing seemed to hurt anymore. It was almost like he couldn't feel anything at all. When he was finished, he lay back down on the bed and wrapped himself in the sheet.