Refuge

It was deathly quiet as the General stood in the entranceway, forced to look upon the damage that was inflicted on Ichigo.

On his Ichigo.

A rage boiled inside as he found it nearly impossible to contain. Words could not describe the moment as Nelliel entered in from behind Grimmjow and gasped at the scene. The General quickly took notice of the assistant holding the implement that nearly battered the orangenette's skin as he quickly grasped upon his gun and fired a shot into the man's head, the assistant falling instantly to the ground dead.

"Detain that bastard," he further ordered as the General's men quickly went over and roughed up Szayel a bit before he was forced to kneel upon the ground, his arms held behind him. Meanwhile the two General's quickly went up to Ichigo as Nelliel cut him loose from the top, letting the boy fall into Grimmjow's arms with a near dead weight. Kneeling upon the ground, Grimmjow held Ichigo gently in his arms. The boy was shivering and winced and moaned with each movement, barely conscious.

"G-Grim—"

"—don't talk. It'll zap your strength."

Nelliel left momentarily as she quickly returned with a blanket, helping the General wrap the boy within the soft and much warmer fabric, finally giving his body the warmth it needed, but it would still take a considerable amount of time before his body would return to normal temperature and it would have to be done slowly otherwise anything warmer then the room's temperature itself would burn like fire on the boy's skin. Grimmjow gently shifted Ichigo over into Nelliel's arms as he commanded in a low growl.

"Take him."

Nelliel did as told without question as she now held the young orangenette within her arms. There was no doubt now in the Lieutenant's mind. Ichigo was indeed the same boy she knew so many years ago when they went to school together for a short period of time. He protected her from the bullying when the kids would make fun of the strange mark on her face. She held him close to herself, feeling the boy's shivers that made him shake relentlessly. Grimmjow stood to his feet as he turned and faced Szayel who seemed to be grinning with a mild chuckle.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"It seems you care for the boy after all. How touching."

With clenched fists, Grimmjow approached the doctor, pulled back his arm and swung it so hard that it nearly cracked the man's jaw out of its joint, hitting a few teeth as Szayel spat them out, mixed with a glob of blood as it splattered upon the ground. Despite the throbbing in his face, the doctor still continued to smile a devious grin as he slowly turned his head back towards the General, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Heh, heh, I meant no offense General. I simply find it fascinating with this turn of events."

With a near matching grin the General replied, "You know what's also fascinating…" aiming his gun as he held it at Szayel's head, point blank range and ready to fire "…watching your blood splatter on the walls."

"D-DON'T KILL HIM!"

Grimmjow paused in shock as everyone seemed to be in awe of the voice that cried out. It was Ichigo, pleading to the General in shivering stammers. The General turned slightly towards the direction of the plight, his gun still aimed and ready to fire, but his heart open to anything the boy had to say no matter how badly he wanted to just shoot the doctor dead. However, he knew that if he kept the doctor alive that it would only mean trouble for them all.

"You have no idea what kind of sick freak this guy is—"

"—actually I-I do. When I was at the b-bar I heard a group of officers t-t-talking about someone nicknamed the Angel of Death. They talked a-about the kind of experiments he would do on countless Jews, but he did none of these things to me. What he did to me in comparison to the others was n-n-nnngh…n-nothing. It was almost as if he…h-h-he was waiting for you…t-to come find me, k-k-knowing that you would."

Grimmjow gasped lightly as he turned his attention back to the doctor who continued to smile even with a gun at his head. "Is this true?" He demanded to know with little patience in his tone.

"You should know by now General that my subjects are left in much worse condition than that boy over there not to mention that boy is still alive."

A paused silence fell upon the stale cold air as Grimmjow contemplated his decision. He wasn't ready just yet to just let this go. He wanted retribution...no…he wanted vengeance for what the doctor did, but shooting the man could cause him just as much trouble. Even if he bribed or killed the rest of the assistants in the bunker, that still wouldn't take him off the hook.

"I'll cut you some slack General since I have no personal beef with you—"

"—bullshit! If you have no issue with me then why the hell did you take him? What the fuck has you so interested?"

"Well firstly, if I hadn't made a move then Ulquiorra would have gotten to him first."

"Ul…quiorra? What are you talking about?"

"He was at the beer hall the night that boy entered in."

"You're lying."

"Oh he was there. You can ask him yourself. Most of the higher ranking officers go into the beer hall for a cool drink, including Ulquiorra, but he was sitting all the way on the other side and didn't notice the boy until the last second just before Ichigo left the hall and naturally Ulquiorra wanted to follow him. Aaroniero caught sight of Ichigo first however and followed him as well, but keeping his distance so that Ulquiorra would not notice. Both parties listened in on your officer's conversation with the boy so I had to set up a plan that would intercept the meeting before Ulquiorra had a chance to step in and of course the plan worked perfectly. Secondly, you think the boy would have been in better hands had Ulquiorra got a hold of him?"

"Honestly? Jah. He might have been detained, but Ulquiorra doesn't have the same sickening tastes that you do. He simply follows orders without taking liberties."

"Oh come now, General. If Ulquiorra had gotten a hold of him he would have immediately taken the boy to the Fuhrer and probably shot dead. Besides, you think I would have kept him here under good pretenses? Everything comes at a price; isn't that what you usually say?"

Grimmjow nearly let out a hissing growl as he cocked the trigger back into its full position, only but a hair trigger away from killing the doctor out of rage.

"I tell you what. Since both you and the boy have been such a good sport about all this, I'll do you a favor—"

"—last time you did a favor was when Nnoitra asked for your help to set Nelliel up for a fake treason that nearly got her killed. So why the hell would I accept help from you now?"

"Because Nnoitra is exactly the reason. Ironically enough you and him are nearly in the exact same position, only he gets to reap the higher benefits without ramifications to his actions since he's the highest rank to the Fuhrer with no one to question what he does let alone stand in his way. Consider it payback for his arrogant cheekiness of turning me down after practically handing Nelliel into his hands. He refuses to share equally since I did most of the work so I'll simply return the same sentiment."

"Yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

"It's simple. Are you aware of the younger Nazi that follows him around?"

Grimmjow's eyebrows furrowed, his anger calming just a notch as he replied, "Tesra? Jah, what of him?"

"Well it seems that boy is a lot more than meets the eye, just like your dear Sergeant in disguise. Tesra is indeed Jewish, about a little over half way in his blood, but enough to get him killed especially if anyone found out. Nnoitra didn't know this about Tesra at first since the boy didn't know himself, having been orphaned at a young age. He beat the boy senseless of course when discovering this tid bit of information, but for whatever reason he decided to keep Tesra around probably for the same reasons I could imagine that you keep that Jew around yourself."

"And you have proof of this?"

"Yes. Written proof that was supposed to be thrown away and burned from existence so that intruding eyes, like my own, do not fall upon it, but thanks to a little digging around, I managed to get my hands on those papers. I can give it to you if you so wish to use it as a shield. It may not be enough to stop everyone from questioning your intentions with the boy, but it will more or less keep Nnoitra off your back; a big advantage for you considering you'll be meeting him any day now since he's coming for a visit to Munich again. He'll get wind of that boy eventually so I suggest maybe posing him off as a Nazi collaborator and a traitor to his own kind, or better yet have him working in the Jewish Police since posing him as a Sergeant isn't going to work for long in this city, but you already knew this, am I right?"

As much as Grimmjow hated making a fine lined decision, he couldn't deny the information Szayel had given him, but at what costs? What catch was there that was hidden behind smooth words?

Still, he wondered himself for a while about Tesra, but didn't give much thought on the matter. And it was true; posing Ichigo as a Sergeant would only work as long as he was outside the main cities, but now that he's directly in Nazi territory he'd have to reinvent everything he's been doing to keep the boy safe and mostly out of the wrong hands. He also knew that he would have to answer to Aizen eventually so it was only natural that everything would boil down to this. In a strange turn of events, it was good that Szayel got to the boy before Ulquiorra or everything would have been let out of the bag too soon. Now that he has the boy finally back in his hands, he can prepare new plans for the next stepping stones; surviving the Nazi take over.

However, despite everything, he didn't once regret meeting Ichigo at the store in Nuremberg. He didn't regret the pleasures he had sought and was still seeking and he most of all did not regret growing fond of the boy and becoming closer to him than he himself could imagine let alone actually admitting it. The only thing he did regret was subjecting Ichigo to these risks, but that was the boy's decision to get involved, so he didn't blame himself. It was probably the most difficult decision he had to make, but the General decided to draw back his weapon, placing it reluctantly in its holster.

"What will this cost me?"

The doctor smiled as he was finally released from his hold, standing up slowly as he dusted himself off, licking the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"No cost really. In a way the boy already paid your cost."

"You son of a—"

"—I would hate for the information I gave you to go to waste. Please do use it wisely and don't worry, I won't reveal your little secret, not that it really matters. Our dear Fuhrer will find out eventually, not from my mouth of course, but it will happen and you will have to explain yourself to him. Knowing you, you could probably weasel your way out of this, I mean it's not like you're plotting to assassinate the Fuhrer since so many have already tried and failed. You're simply playing around with curious desires—"

"—Halt's Maul. That may be what it would appear at face value to someone like you, but it's a lot more than you could ever understand, so don't even try!"

Ichigo's eyes were shut, his head nuzzled into Nelliel's chest, but he heard every word being spoken and he couldn't help but to be awe struck by Grimmjow's statement. When he first met the man he could have easily agreed that what Grimmjow was doing with him would appear as some misplaced, misunderstood lustful action, but now…now it was different. It had turned into something so much more and knowing how far they had both made it, knowing the sacrifices Grimmjow made and went out of his way to help him, it would be wrong to say that all of this was just for curious desires. It wasn't just curious desires, it was a longing void that needed to be filled with something to keep sane, something to hold on to when there was nothing else left, but this something couldn't just be anything. It had to be something very specific and meaningful that could last more than just a simple moment in time.

"The papers you mentioned?"

"Locked away and kept safe. I'll get them to you first thing in the morning to your main office. Until then I suggest keeping the boy blanketed and hydrated. He's gone a very long time without food or water, but make sure the water is room temperature before letting him drink."

As informative as the doctor's words were, he spoke like the slithering of a snake, not truly able to tell if the information could be trusted, but Grimmjow had no choice.

"Noted," Grimmojw replied in a gruff manner.

He didn't want to spend another second looking at the doctor's face. It sickened him, but now he could focus on Ichigo, walking over to Nelliel as he kneeled down and picked the boy up in his arms. He stood for a moment, looking down at the orangenette. At first the boy had his eyes shut, exhausted and tired, fading in and out of consciousness, but then he opened them ever so slightly as a blurry faded visual of the General cleared to a crisp refreshing sight for sore eyes. Opening his mouth just a gap he spoke in a near whisper.

"Uryuu—"

"—he's fine, waiting at my office until my men are given orders to move him."

"A-And…you?"

The General's breathing flinched. Of all the things the boy could be asking, the orangenette could only think of to ask if Grimmjow himself was okay. The General didn't quite understand why the boy was asking in this moment as he felt he was the one that should be asking Ichigo that very question, but the question struck a chord as he knew it was Ichigo's way of saying that he too worried about the General's well being. Without long winded explanations, it was the boy's way of showing that he understood the amount of stress and worry Grimmjow was under upon waiting to hear news of the Sergeant's return to him. One could only imagine what it must have been like for the General; a day never going by without thinking about the boy, memories flashing in his mind that he had shared with the orangenette, sleepless nights, wondering if he had prepared the boy enough to make it back to him, wondering if the boy would be alive upon arrival into the city or if he would be forever lost.

It was a maddening.

The moment however was cut short by painful bodily convulsions. Ichigo was dehydrated and starving, both of which added to the discomfort he was still undergoing from trying to recover from horrible beatings in such cold temperatures. His hand clenched upon the General's jacket as he dug his face into the man's chest, the General's scent bringing at least a small shred of console to him. Without further interruptions, Grimmjow began to carry Ichigo out of the bunker, followed by Nelliel and then his men as they exited outside into the evening dim light.

They had to pile into the back, but nothing that was too big of a deal. Yylfordt went first, sitting on the far left seat as Grimmjow eased his way into the middle, careful to not move Ichigo too much since it seemed that every jerk or unintended budge brought pain to the orangenette from freshly made welts and bruises that were all over his body, not to mention very delicate areas, minus the face. Nelliel went in last as she gently lifted Ichigo's legs and placed them on top of her thighs so that Grimmjow could hold him comfortably in the back seating as they were driven away from the hidden lab.

"It would probably be best for now if you kept the boy at my house to avoid anymore unwanted attention from the other officers that could very likely still get involved with this situation. You're welcome anytime you wish since I'm rarely there to begin with. An extra key is hidden inside a fake rock that sits on the top part of the soil to a potted plant I have sitting by the front entrance. It's the third rock from the right."

There was a moment of silence as Grimmjow let out a long sigh through his nostrils, but then he turned his head slightly in Nelliel's direction as he stated yet again like before, "Danke." It was extremely rare that Grimmjow ever thanked anyone for really anything seeing as he wasn't exactly a man that dripped of gratitude or appreciation, but this was one of those rare times where he truly was thankful for the extra bit of help especially since he was rather disliking of the idea of taking the boy to his own personal estate.

"Bitte. It's the least I can do. Besides I've never told anyone of the location of my home, for obvious reasons so you will be the first to see it amongst the other officers."

"Gut. It'll be ideal for now until we can get this all sorted out."

-Odelschwanck Estate-

The home was a good distance outside of Munich and sat idly in an open country like plain. Just like the General, Nelliel had no family of any kind aside from a mother and father so she only needed a home to accommodate as such. However, her two officers under her command; Pesche and Dondochakka, lived in the home along with her. The house was a three bedroom, two bath, one kitchen, one dining room, and one living room sized home. It was a basic square shaped floor plan on the outside except for the entrance way that started out triangular at the top and ended vertically in a rectangular fashion. The top had a single window that could be viewed into the attic while below it sat a row of 4 windows; all of which were paneled with a row of two small square shaped windows in each row of 6 that were sectioned off by white lining. The doors were painted a dark green while the rest of the house was a dark brown brick, the roof being of reed that appeared in a dark grey that surrounded a small chimney at the top.

It sat upon a green fine cut lawn with a pathway to the entrance that was lined with cobblestone and pavement and out in front of the house was a small patio area with wooden chairs that surrounded a table for eating and or chatting outside. The atmosphere of the home was nothing short of cozy and welcoming as the car was parked and the officers piled out; first the Generals and then Grimmjow's men. Pesche and Dondochakka were sitting at the patio table as they saw the officers approach. They quickly stood to their feet and saluted their Lieutenant.

"Sir Nelliel! Welcome home!"

They chanted in near playful unison, always happy to see their Lieutenant returning home in one piece. They were both Grenadiers, or known as Privates, neither with much talent to give and only really useful to Nelliel, but nonetheless they were good men with good intentions like their Lieutenant and unlike other Nazi officers they had a gentle respect to all human beings. Pesche stood at an easy 5 foot 1 inch with a thin slender body adorned with medium length blonde hair while Dondochakka stood at a daunting 6 foot 3 inch with a broad large body that was neither fat nor form fitting as it was just big boned and adorned with slicked back red hair.

"Privates, please stay out here along with Grimmjow's men until given further notice," Nelliel commanded as they nodded their heads without question.

Grimmjow's men did as told as it was only the two Generals that now entered inside the home. When first entering you stepped foot inside a small hallway that ended as a T-section of another hallway, facing directly to a wall that had a full body mirror with a fancy silver metal frame. This made it more welcoming so that when you stepped inside, you could see right behind you but also to reflect the outside light to give a calm illumination to the small hallway. There was a closet door on the left and an entrance to the kitchen on the right. Further down the small hall was another entrance on the right that led into the large living room, accommodated with many paneled windows that let in natural light. Curving around further on the right side was connected to the dining room that led in a circular fashion back into the kitchen. However, on the left side of the living room entrance at the T-section was the connecting hallway that led to the other rooms.

Going down the connecting hallway you were met with various portraits on the wall, both of family and also of won awards for military performance and or medical performance considering Nelliel was a nurse. The hallway was much wider than the other so it didn't give as much of a claustrophobic feeling. On the right side was two corresponding entrance ways to two small rooms that were connected to each other at the same size and same length and only separated by a simple wall. These rooms were for Pesche and Dondachakka. On the right side of the hallway was an entrance to a small bathroom that the two soldiers also shared, but at the end of the hallway was an entrance to the master bedroom and upon opening the door revealed a rather large and spacious area. In the middle of the room was a king size bed with beautifully hand crafted dark wooden framing with pastel sheets and covers in the colors of gold and light pale green striping, matched with floral embroidery on the pillows.

On both sides of the bed sat night stands in identical wooden coloring topped with a sheen surface as well as a rectangular foot rest in front of the bed. Three pictures sat on the wall above the bed; the middle picture of Nelliel as a young teen, the right picture of her mother and the left picture of her father. She was the only child. On the far right side of the room was the entrance to its personal bathroom that was lavished in white marble interior with a bathtub that could easily fit two people and a stand in shower with crystal see through door and walling, the faucets layered in a metallic gold accompanied by a few small curved shaped windows that sat at the top to let in natural light, but high enough so that outsiders could not peep in.

On the far left side of the room was a cushioned sitting area built into the wall and connected to a very large paneled window, covered by dark gold curtains that touched basis with a pale cream colored carpeted flooring. It was a gorgeous home, handed down to her and filled with nick knacks from years of collecting. This was far more than what the General had for himself since he was just a single man and only filled his home with what was needed. This all made Grimmjow feel more at ease with having the boy here to be surrounded by a comforting atmosphere while he healed.

Nelliel quickly led the two to the master bedroom as she tossed aside the decorative pillows and pulled back the clean cover and sheets out from under the mattress as she moved aside to allow the General to lay the boy upon the bed. Doing so however made the boy yelp since some of the areas he was struck in were still highly sensitive to movement or touch, but Grimmjow did his best to not further discomfort Ichigo as the orangenette was finally able to start recuperating.

"Do you have anything he could wear?" the General asked, knowing a man needs at least a little coverage for his pride, not to mention modesty, and Ichigo was very prideful.

"He might be able to fit in my father's clothing. They seem about the same size, but right now we need to get him into a lukewarm bath. Ice is usually used to reduce swelling of any kind, but since he was already in a cold environment, the welts he has are quickly beginning to size down so now we need to concentrate on heat to increase circulation as well as to get him warm."

"What about something to kill the pain?"

"No. Pain relievers thin the blood and if we want the welts and bruises to fade fast we have to avoid pain relievers, but that's for Ichigo to deci—"

"—j-j-just…g-g…g-get the bath going…please."

Ichigo interrupted in a stammer from his body still shaking either from shock or from still feeling like his insides were frozen even though his skin had gained back a good amount of warmth from the blanket and the car ride. A lukewarm bath sounded more enticing to him at this moment than anything else, but the pain he was still feeling was a never ending reminder of what he had just experienced. Not only that, but the images of Dordoni being shot and left to die in the alleyway was still fresh in his mind. He twisted over on his right side as he leaned upon the bed with his forearms planted and his head leaned over downwards into the sheets, his upper body showing while his lower body was still covered. He tensed in anger, clutching the sheets in his hands as a mix of various emotions swirled in him. He didn't blame himself for Dordoni's death, but part of him still felt at fault. He kept wondering the different scenarios of what he could have done that might have avoided getting caught or getting Dordoni shot, but no matter what thoughts came into his mind, the images refused to vanish. Most of all he could not get the visual of Szayel's jeering grin out of his head.

As Nelliel was preparing the bath, she nearly dropped the box of Epsom salt when hearing a sudden yell, filled with rage and wracked with distraught that was muffled as she looked up towards the bedroom. At first she thought something was horribly wrong, but upon looking at the bedside where Grimmjow sat next to the boy, she realized it was just Ichigo releasing his inner frustration that had built up over time and escalated by recent events. The boy didn't know how else to release it as it rang from his lungs and into the bed with his face buried and his fists clenching. Grimmjow didn't say a word however. He understood exactly what the boy was going through and he knew that it was best to just say nothing. He watched the boy in silence as he leaned over Ichigo and rested on one hand as the other was placed gently upon Ichigo's shoulder. He could feel the trembles and the muscle tension, but it only took a moment before Ichigo turned his head towards the General, revealing that a few tears had indeed been shed.

The orangenette had not been broken, but he had definitely been fractured.

"Ichigo…what do you want me to do?"

The boy nearly gasped at the question. The General was asking permission to do something? This notion of genuine respect for Ichigo's space proved yet again that he really was more to the General then just a play thing for pass time. He was a connection that had boundaries that the General was more than willing to respect in circumstances such as this. However, he had also remembered that Grimmjow too had been tortured before with a nasty scar to prove it and now the two had another way to relate to each other. Wiping the fresh tears he had shed, Ichigo looked away as he answered in confusion, "I…I d-don't know. Just…just…" but his words trailed off, not being able to truly answer or collect his thoughts rationally.

"The bath is ready. It has Epsom salt in it to help relax the muscles and also reduce the pain. I'll prepare some clothes and leave it on the bedside. When he's done with the bath, come get me so we can get some food in his system. There's a clean glass on the sink by a pitcher of water. Make sure he drinks at least a full glass. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

And without further interruption Nelliel left the master bedroom to respect the two's space.

[[Once again I've underestimated the length of moments that I had the ideas fleshed out for, but extended longer than expected, but that just leaves the next chapter to have ALL THE ROOM IMAGINABLE for GrimmIchi times. So yes, another cliff hanger, but every chapter has a cliffhanger if you think about it XD lol :P Poor Ichigo :( Also for really technical Bleach fans, just so you know, in my story I've cut out the brother relationship of Szayel and Yylfordt. I know they're brothers in the Bleach universe, but I don't see the point of that in my story so they're unrelated in my story.]]