~As always, I only own the plot. I don't own the characters or series so don't sue me.
Chapter 21 – Shit! It Was a Trap!
Grimmjow narrowly jumped back in time to miss Ulquiorra's strike that would have certainly removed his head. The blunet panted, a bit worn down from trying to make the other move away from the door. It had been useless so far. Any attempt he made was quickly thwarted by the cuarto. The Espada had yet to take a single step.
The sexta had known this would be difficult, but not quite to this extent. His mind screamed at him to hurry. To get past his opponent and grab the brat. Grimmjow did his best to ignore those thoughts and urges. He needed to focus on his fight. Even after Ulquiorra was dealt with, there was still Aizen to worry about. He wouldn't carelessly leave the brat by himself for Grimmjow to take back.
Unless of course he was up to something.
"I told you." Ulquiorra's cold green eyes stared at the panting blunet. "It's pointless."
Blue eyes darkened at the other as Grimmjow released a low growl in response. This was the downside to fighting someone that you had spent a lot of time with, unwilling or otherwise. They knew your attacks and could easily parry them. Such as Ulquiorra was doing right now with Grimmjow's next brilliant idea. It wasn't amazing or anything. Just charge straight in and see if he could hit the bastard. Simple as that.
A bit too simple. Ulquiorra easily dodged each slash of Pantera. But he seemed to be growing bored with this pattern. Grimmjow would attack, he'd dodge, and then the other would pull back after a moment. The cuarto decided he'd help the other in his temporary retreat. Ulquiorra suddenly grabbed Pantera, halting all of the blunet's movements. Cyan eyes widened as Ulquiorra's fist suddenly connected with his solar plexus. Painfully so.
Grimmjow found himself sprawled out on the cold tiled floor, Ulquiorra still blocking the door a small distance away. The sexta coughed a bit, blood seeping into his mouth. He knew the other hit hard, but it had been a while since he'd been on the receiving end. However, this wasn't enough to deter Grimmjow. A moment later and he was back at it again, doing all he could to either make Ulquiorra move away from the door or kill him. Whichever happened first.
The cuarto however seemed to be done with playing nice. He dodged the first few pathetic attempts to hit him before striking back once again. This time with knee to the gut quickly followed up by a solid right hook to Grimmjow's face. The blunet coughed up more blood from his abdomen receiving another harsh blow. The punch forced him back quite a bit. He was back where he started. At least he managed to stay upright after this assault.
He grit his teeth painfully as he noticed the bored look on Ulquiorra's face. To anyone else, the stronger Espada simply held the same blank expression as always. But Grimmjow could tell the difference. It was the minute lowering of his brows that indicated his boredom. The blunet intended to relieve that soon enough.
Another careless charge, combined with a sudden sonido, was Grimmjow's weak attempt at surprise. However Ulquiorra had obviously seen it coming. Before the blunet could even attack, let alone react, the cuarto unleashed a powerful, open palm, punch to the sexta's chest. The loud cracking alerted everyone in the vicinity to his breaking ribs.
"Shit," Grimmjow wheezed as he flew backward toward the witch.
Yeah he had regenerative powers and what not, but it would take a few minutes to mend the busted bones. More time that he didn't have. He kept his balance, despite the strong attack. But due to his newest wound, he was forced to his knees from the pain. Hands in his pockets, Ulquiorra appeared to be ready to finish this farce of a fight. His shoes clacked ominously along the tiled floor as he approached the wounded Grimmjow.
Just when he was within striking distance of the blunet once more, an orange wall of energy suddenly appeared before the cuarto. This only seemed to stop him for a moment.
"Your efforts are wasted," Ulquiorra sighed.
That moment was all Grimmjow needed. He quickly fired off a cero, destroying Orihime's shield. Smoke quickly surrounded the pair. The blunet used the smoke to get around Ulquiorra undetected. Or so he thought anyway. The debris clearing all too quickly forced the sexta to peer over his shoulder. Time seemed to slow down as Ulqiorra fired off a cero at the blunet's back. Thinking quickly, Grimmjow turned just enough to fire his own cero at the cuarto's. The two attacks collided sending a forceful shock wave throughout the hall.
The force of the blasts sent Grimmjow flying through the large doors of the main hall. Finally! He may have been busted up and sprawled out on the cold floor, but he was finally within reach of the oranget. A single glance upward and he could see him playing with Gin. Their gazes seemed to fixate on him as he struggled a bit to get to his feet.
Unfortunately there was no time for a heart felt reunion. Not that Grimmjow would have done as such. No heart, no feelings. Supposedly anyway... He was given no time to recover before a strong kick to his back sent Grimmjow hurtling towards the closet wall.
"Kitty!" He could hear the frantic desperation in the kid's voice.
The blunet narrowly dodged Ulquiorra's follow up attack leaving the cuarto crashing into the already cracked wall. He turned to face the toddler, intent to grab him and get the hell out, but he wasn't given the chance. Grimmjow was forced to dodge another of the cuarto's strikes, putting more distance between the toddler and himself.
"Kitty!" Ichigo cried out again. This time, he made to move, but was quickly blocked by an oddly smiling Aizen.
"Ah ah," he tutted. "You might get hurt if you interrupt a fight between my Espada."
Ichigo tried his best to get around the brunet, but his size didn't exactly make that easy. He soon gave up, shouting out to the blunet instead of trying to reach him. Grimmjow turned to look at the oranget again upon hearing that stupid nickname of his. His blood ran cold and his gaze darkened as he saw Aizen much too close to what was his.
"Aizen!" Grimmjow growled loudly.
The sexta was unable to do more than that before Ulquiorra swatted him away effortlessly with yet another vicious kick. This one connected with his back allowing Grimmjow the chance to brace for impact. Something about this whole fight was off... Something the blue haired arrancar just couldn't quite put his finger on. But he had more important matters to focus on. Such as getting that bastard away from his prey.
Once he collided quite roughly with the floor, Grimmjow rolled over just as Ulquiorra struck the spot he had been sprawled out on a moment prior. Climbing to his feet, he ignored the brat calling out to him again as he blocked the cuarto's follow up with Pantera. Grimmjow managed to knock Ulquiorra away for a moment and that's when everything suddenly clicked in his mind.
Ulquiorra was intentionally delaying his attacks. Waiting so that Grimmjow could either block, counter, or get out of the way. So he could survive. A single glance at Aizen's smirking lips was all the confirmation he needed.
This was an elaborate trap. And like the single minded idiot Grimmjow tended to be, he waltzed right into it.
"Ulquiorra," Aizen simply said.
It was clearly a silent command for him to wrap it up. Even if Grimmjow saw the Espada's next attack coming, he knew he wouldn't have been able defend against it. The blunet found himself pinned firmly against the wall by his throat. His hands instinctively flew up to pry at Ulquiorra's pale arm, but the cuarto was much too strong. The hand around his neck was tight enough to cause pain and limit his breathing, but not enough to kill him. They were still up to something.
"Kitty!"
Cyan eyes shifted to the side to see the oranget making his way toward him, Aizen seemingly standing harmlessly aside. Those same blue eyes slowly widened as he realized what the former captain had been trying to do. That flaring, but rapidly stabilizing reiatsu was all the indication he needed. Aizen was trying to get the brat to revert back to his normal form by using Grimmjow.
And it had worked. Grimmjow had played his unintentional part flawlessly.
"Run kid!" the sexta shouted, but it was much too late.
Ichigo's energy was still rising, his urge to protect preparing his body to shift back. There was no stopping it now. Ichigo didn't make it very far before he suddenly gave a surprised cry as he was lifted by the collar from behind.
Grimmjow did his best to glare darkly at Aizen. "Don't touch him!" he shouted. "The kid is mine!"
His words only stopped Aizen for a brief moment, the brunet chuckling at the outburst. It seemed Grimmjow was more attached to his prey than he realized. He likely wouldn't even kill the boy if given the chance anymore. Not that it mattered of course. Grimmjow would be dealt with soon enough.
"Aizen!" the sexta shouted again.
And that's when the brunet struck. Ichigo's energy had stopped rising and was quickly becoming stable. He was changing back. But it wouldn't happen. Grimmjow watched in horror as Aizen's hand suddenly burst through the toddler's chest. Ichigo gave a muted cry as blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. His once vibrant amber eyes instantly dulled and lost all life to them.
"Kid!" Grimmjow cried out. Using strength he didn't know he had, he shoved Ulquiorra off to charge at the smirking bastard still holding the limp body of the oranget by the collar.