Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in anyway but am inspired by the work created by Tite Kubo.
Waking Up – Chapter 29 – "Change the Game"
It had been a few weeks since Renji and Orihime had gone into deep hiding. Grimmjow had been given reign over a legion of demons as well as his Arrancar and put them to work seeking out the shinigami and healer. However, the strong house lived up to its name and the occupants deep within were undetectable.
Soul Society had been busy in its own right with training increasing as every able bodied soul reaper was prepped and tested as fast but thoroughly as possible. Fourth Division had gained more ranks as everyone felt something big was coming.
Chad had been training with Rukia at Kisuke's shop and even Isshin had joined them from time to time. Uryu made time in his exceptionally busy schedule to train on his own while remaining in Tokyo. They were determined to not have a repeat of Aizen so everyone was doing all they could.
Orihime and Renji were training as well though he did not want her in the fight should it reach them. She of course felt incredibly guilty as she believed everyone's efforts were her fault.
"Hime, why do you always blame yourself? You've done nothing wrong! It's a good thing you exist! Many of us would be dead without you. Crazy bastards are always going to be grabbing for whatever power they can get. Please, stop apologizing for other people's decisions," he said sternly during one of their many late night conversations.
Deep in her heart she knew he was right but at the same time she felt guilty because she had partially healed Grimmjow before they left Hueco Mundo though why still eluded her. The only reason she could come up with was she felt indebted to him for his odd protection of her during some of her time in during her captivity. That and she just couldn't stand by when someone was wounded. When she had confessed this to Renji he'd furrowed his brows, mostly in confusion rather than anger.
And when she explained her reasoning he said, "Love, you are literally the most tender hearted person I've ever met but you need to understand, you cannot do that anymore. You cannot heal enemies, no matter how bad you feel for them."
"I know Renji, that's part of my past now. I understand where my foolishness has led and that is why I feel guilty about all of this," she'd replied eyes downcast. For all the confidence and empowerment she'd acquired in the almost year they'd spent together Renji knew they still had a long way to go before she really believed in herself. There were years and years of constant berating (mainly from herself) to overcome. But he vowed to be there every step of the way with her.
He'd stood then and walked over to where she sat at the table to kneel down in front of her. When she'd met her eyes to his he offered a smile small of encouragement, "Hime that is all past now. Remember what you said to me our first night here? We're on a path which means we need to move forward on it. I don't blame you for any of this and neither does anyone else. So let's focus on the here and now and what we can do to get ready for the future as best we can, ok?"
Back in Hueco Mundo Ichigo's Hollow was getting more and more impatient. All this waiting around drove him insane! He wanted to get out there and look for the queen himself but had been forbidden to leave until ordered. His reiatsu was too noticeable, as was Grimmjow's, which was why the lower level Arrancars and demons were doing the searching.
During a quiet moment of the seemingly endless day the Hollow felt Ichigo stirring. It was the first he'd noticed any movement in him for days.
"Oi you bastard, get in here!" he heard him scream but the Hollow smirked to himself.
"No way Ki..er…Ichigo," he said his tongue almost slipping out the old familiar mockery, "You're going to stay locked up nice and tight. Can't have my plans for the queen spoiled now, can I?"
"And what exactly do you plan on doing with her once you get her? Huh?"
"Everything you want to but are too chicken to do!" he spat out.
Ichigo cringed and cursed himself for reigning himself in better. Because of his recklessness in how he thought about Orihime he'd riled up his Hollow to be willing to take her by force. He would never do that so the fact that even one small part of him was entertaining those thoughts made him sick to his stomach. During his forced imprisonment he'd wandered further and further into his inner world. All he'd ever known was the sky with clouds (which were raging black but for some reason there was no rain at the moment), the lopsided buildings and his spirits. Zangetsu had been strangely absent during this time and Ichigo wondered if because the Hollow was in full control he'd been sequestered for the moment.
He was glad to be able to move again. That first day in Hueco Mundo when the Hollow had eaten and drank those awful concoctions a wave of black, burning sludge had coursed through his world making him immobile and sapping his strength at the same time. So when he had been able to move he did some exploring of his own world. It was during this time that his theory about why his Hollow was obsessed with Orihime had formulated.
He'd found a dark area far away from the buildings that seemed to hold boxes. When he'd opened one he was shocked to see if contained a painful memory. The next one held another painful memory. The third was filled with a fantasy he'd had of kissing Orihime while they were still in high school. The images of him suddenly pushing her against the wall in an alcove of the stairs and kissing her played out in front of him. At the time of the though he'd been stunned and pushed it away like so many others. And it was then he realized when he'd been in pain or trying to not think about something his subconscious had literally put it in a box and pushed it the shadows of his mind. His Hollow had found the boxes and looked through all of them. He was sure of it. That was part of how he knew his weaknesses so thoroughly and also why his mutated desire of Orihime manifested.
Ichigo cursed and slammed the lid down on the box so pissed at himself he could scream. It was his fault again that she was in danger; that she had to put her life on hold and go into hiding. All his fault!
"DAMN IT!" he screamed and hurled the box he'd been holding. He was breathing heavily and sunk back down again to his knees, head held in his hands. "How can I fix this? What can I do?" he said out loud.
"There's not a damn thing you can do about it Ichigo, so just sit back and enjoy the ride," the Hollow laughed.
It was a week later when Grimmjow had also grown tired of waiting. He wanted to get moving with the next phase of the plan but hesitated as he'd prefer to have all the spirits in the blade. The ones he had now protested loudly against him but they were compelled to follow his orders through the power of the ring and blade. The ring had been a transportation device to get them back to the blade as well as something akin to a dog collar. No matter how much they bitched about it the spirits had to do as he ordered.
Lucifer had summoned him to discuss their next plan of action.
"I feel it is time to move forward, this waiting has grown tiresome," he said and Grimmjow nodded his agreement.
"I believe it is time to change the game. No doubt the cat and mouse chase has been enjoyable for you I am sure but now the real entertainment will begin. I am inclined to believe that once word reaches the dear healer that her friends and comrades are dropping like flies she will come out and in her haste to help them give us what we want," he continued and again the sexta Espada nodded.
Grimmjow came to the room where Ichigo's Hollow was and said, "It's time to get moving on our next steps. You will lead the demons and I the Arrancars. The lower level Hollows will stay here for now," he explained coolly.
"And what exactly are the next steps?" the Hollow countered.
Grimmjow donned a feral grin as he said, "Utter destruction and conquering of Soul Society and the Living World. Do you have a tight hold of the leash on Kurosaki?"
The Hollow could feel his counterpart stirring as he listened to Grimmjow's words but he was still in no condition to fight his way out, not yet.
"Yeah, no problem," he retorted and the two headed to meet with their troops.
Grimmjow gripped the hilt of the Shun Shun Rikka blade tightly as he walked the lines of his army. There were many Arrancar but far more demons since the war waged by Aizen had cost many their lives. Truth be told he felt nothing for the loss other than irritation that it had cost him soldiers now. The plan was to attack in the world of the living to draw out the shinigamis and barrel through their spirit gate once it had opened. Preparations were brief, all had their weapons ready and so Grimmjow opened a large garganta leading his army through with the Hollow and his close behind.
They had arrived in Tokyo as it was Orihime's last known location. Uryu felt their overwhelming presence immediately and his eyes widened when he looked to the sky and saw hundreds of being standing in the air. He spotted Grimmjow effortlessly and gritted his teeth at Ichigo's form next to him. He called Kisuke right away on his cell phone, "I don't know what you can do but you need to get to Tokyo NOW," he said before he slammed the phone shut and quickly manifested his bow.
Grimmjow saw him and flash stepped in front of him, Ichigo's form following close behind. The armies stood awaiting command.
"Oi, you can avoid a lot of bloodshed if you just tell us where the princess is," Grimmjow told the Quincy.
Ishida's response was to release an arrow directly at his head. He dodged it and the next and the next as Ishida kept firing. He was fairly sure he was going to die here knowing he couldn't hold off Grimmjow by himself for long. Plus with Ichigo's Hollow in control there was no telling how bad this could get and quickly. He sent a silent prayer that Ichigo would regain control and join the battle on their side.
Before he could fire a fourth arrow Grimmjow had him by the throat and was lifting him in the air.
"So, you're going to do this the hard way, eh?" he asked mockingly as he squeezed tighter. Ishida gurgled as he tried to breath but knew it was useless. His eyes grew hazy as grey flicked the sides and soon he'd passed out. Grimmjow dropped him and moved. Ichigo was screaming from within for Ishida to wake up but the Hollow moved away before he'd been able to see if his comrade was still breathing.
As predicted, once their reiatsu had been detected, two Senkaimon's opened and out poured many shinigami. There weren't as many as the army they faced but they were well versed in the art of multiple enemy combat. Grimmjow flicked his wrist at them and the Arrancar army took off to engage them. Ichigo's hand made a similar movement and off went the demons to fight. The clash and clang of metal filled the night sky as the battle raged.
There were so many demons that the shinigamis couldn't hold them back and they began to pour into Soul Society.
Lucifer stepped out into the world of the living and surveyed the battles with a satisfied grin. They were already beating back the shinigamis with their overwhelming forces. Bodies were falling quickly as his demons mercilessly cut them down. He strolled to a Senkaimon and into Soul Society where panic had grown to immense proportions. People were scrambling to get away but there was nowhere to run.
Yamamoto released his bankai at Lucifer but the demon merely laughed and held it at bay. His power was astronomical and all felt the crushing weight of despair at seeing their strongest so easily countered. Yamamoto was not giving up and continued to engage in battle against Lucifer but he was not gaining ground. He took one hit and then another before Shunsui and Ukitake could reach him. Uonhana had arrived to treat their head captain's wounds while the two captains waged their own battle against the king of Hell.
The captains and lieutenants had split themselves between Soul Society and the world of the living. While they were able to cut down many enemies many more swarmed in their place. It had become a massacre on both sides.
Then Grimmjow stepped up and using Koten Zanshun he decimated buildings in Soul Society, killing many in one blow. It was terrifying, there was nothing to stop him and he knew it. His eyes practically glowed with the wealth of power he was feeling. Though his own reiatsu was what generated this power the spirits had some of their own to offer through the blade thus making his attacks that much more devastating.
His use of Santen Kesshun was flawless. Because of the boost in power it was no longer a one-sided shield but an all encompassing sphere blocking all attacks. Neither kido nor bankai could penetrate it though Zaraki was giving it his all, going so far as to remove his reiatsu suppressor from his eye but even that did not allow him to get through.
"Zaraki! Do not waste your energy on a losing battle, focus your attacks to the soldiers," yelled Byakuya as he sliced through another demon. Kenpachi grunted his disapproval but did what he was told and flew after another Arrancar.
Deep in the underground, though it was encased in some of the most advanced reiatsu blocking materials available, both Renji and Orihime could sense the battle raging above them because of the wealth of powers present.
"We need to get out there, we need to help!" Orihime cried running for the door towards the car.
Renji caught up to her and held her to himself tightly, "Hime, we can't! The whole point of you being here is so they can't get you so we can't go!"
She struggled against his hold, crying, "No, no, no! I can feel people dying, our friends Renji! They are dying and we have to help them!"
He spun her around and held her head in his hands staring into her eyes, "Orihime, please listen to me. If we go out there all that will happen is Grimmjow or Ichigo will take you and in one way or another get you to release your final power. My sole job now is to protect you, so no matter how much this makes you hate me I cannot let you go out there. Do you think I want to stay while my friends and comrades are dying? I want to leave as much as you but we can't." His tone was fierce, he knew he was hurting her but he couldn't make her understand any other way. They simply could not leave.
Her eyes burned with fury and pain, tears streaming down her cheeks as she returned his gaze. In a surprisingly controlled voice she said as she placed her hands over his which held her face, "Renji, I know what will happen. It's all been leading to this but…we cannot let our friends just die. I cannot stand by and let this happen. Even if it means our peril we need to fight! What good am I just staying in hiding? Obviously what Grimmjow had planned was larger than anyone thought. Staying here is no longer an option, we have to go, we have to!"
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead to hers, both breathing heavily from the weight of their emotions. He wanted to scream with frustration because he knew she was right. Even if they could hold out until the battle was over what then? The moment they left to get supplies they would be found. And what would they find? All of their friends dead? Their worlds destroyed? No, he knew neither of them would be able to live with themselves if they stayed. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, breathing in her scent.
When he released her he took her hands in his and said, "Ok, we most likely are heading to our deaths but we will die fighting, not hiding."
She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly as she said, "I love you, I've loved every single moment with you, the good and the bad."
He squeezed her back, hating that it seemed most likely this was their final moment together. Once they were out in the open all bets were off. He could try to keep her close to him but while engaging the enemy in battle that was a farfetched idea.
"I love you too, I will love you for all the remainder of my days, be they just one more or eternity," he said softly.
Before leaving he grabbed the sword she had been training with, handed it to her and they headed to the car. Driving to the entrance they both exited it and headed to the door. Renji extracted himself from his gigai before opening the door and they stepped out. Over Tokyo they could see the battle raging and widened both their eyes at the horror of it. A blast of red was seen followed by a loud explosion and Orihime gasped.
"That was Tsubaki," she said in a hoarse whisper, tearing sliding down her cheeks. Renji stepped up beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"It's faster to get there if I use shunpo. I would leave you here but I know you'd follow anyway so I'm going to try to keep you with me if I can. Do not hesitate to use that sword properly, you hear me?" he said looking deep into her eyes. She nodded and a moment later he'd flash stepped up into the sky. They were moving at tremendous speed and soon were near the edges of the battle.
Their presence had drawn the attention of Ichigo's Hollow who suddenly appeared before them. Orihime's heart wrenched seeing him like this. She'd hoped and prayed Ichigo would have regained control by now.
"I believe you have something of mine," sneered the spirit looking at Orihime. She couldn't stop her flinch at his words and clung tighter to Renji.
"I have to put you down in order to fight him love," he whispered to her. She nodded and he moved again fast to the ground releasing her. The Hollow had moved with them but Renji swung Zambimaru forward meeting him to Zangetsu. He pushed Ichigo back away from Orihime and engaged him again higher in the air. Orihime clung to her sword as she watched the battle but kept her eyes moving for any other enemies headed their way. She didn't feel she could do much but she would try.
She sensed some of the demons headed their way and squared into a fighting stance. At the first impact of her sword to another she winced but she held firm. Her training kicked in and she was able to defend herself fairly well, though she knew eventually they would gang up on her and she'd be lost. Suddenly blue arrows flew by her and pierced two of the demons in front of her. Another sailed by catching a third above her head. Turning she saw a very bloody Ishida firing his weapon, his eyes as hard as steel. The immediate danger averted she ran to him and flung her arms around him, partly to hug him and partly to help him not fall. He was exhausted from blood loss.
"Let me heal you," she said setting him down gently on his knees but he grabbed the wrist of the hand she held on his shoulder and said, "No, Inoue, you cannot do that."
"Grimmjow is not here, I don't sense him, let me heal you while we have time," she said strongly and before he could protest again she uttered, "Soten Kishun." Her dome settled over him and his wounds began to close, blood circulating better and his breathing sounded even. She'd been training to heal faster so this time it did not take as long as it would have previously. Within two minutes he was ready to go again, better than before. He stood, strong and tall, hugged her and place a chaste kiss on the top of her head.
"Thank you Inoue," he said and flitted back to the battle.
During her time of healing, Renji's fight with Ichigo's Hollow had been going badly. The spirit was so strong and fast it made keeping up with him difficult. Renji was bleeding profusely and breathing hard.
"I have to win, I have to! I can't leave Orihime!" he thought clashing his sword to Ichigo's again. Part of the problem with fighting the Hollow is he was extremely unpredictable in his movements. Suddenly he saw him look down at Orihime and then bolt directly for her. Renji intercepted him again but the hit took a large toll on his body. The next instance he felt Grimmjow's reiatsu and knew they were in deep trouble.
Looking over at Orihime he screamed, "RUN!" He knew she wouldn't make it far but he had to try to give her time to get away. She'd started moving and he could see Grimmjow coming their direction. The Hollow had started his pursuit of her so Renji engaged Grimmjow seeing him as the bigger threat. He hoped and prayed that somewhere within Ichigo's body the man within would gain the upper hand to protect the woman they both loved.
Orihime was running as fast she could but she knew she'd never outrun shunpo. She could feel Ichigo's raging reiatsu barreling down on her. Just when she thought he would reach her she heard a crash and looked back. Kisuke and Rukia had intercepted the Hollow and were fighting him back.
"Keep running Orihime!" Rukia shouted but before she could turn back around Zangetsu had run through her!
"RUKIA!" screamed Orihime as she watched in horror while her friend fell to the ground. She made no further movement and the healer knew she was dead. Kisuke was still fighting to keep the Hollow away from Orihime. He was enraged but knew he had to reign in his emotions otherwise he would be beaten.
Orihime couldn't move, so traumatized by seeing her friend killed by the form of Ichigo. She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and looked up into the face of Kenpachi Zaraki.
"Come on girl, we need to get you away from here," he said gruffly and shunpo'd away. Orihime was numb, she couldn't even cry.
Ichigo's Hollow said to Kisuke, "I've been waiting to give you some pay back Hat n' Clogs!"
Kisuke merely grunted and clashed swords again. Suddenly the Hollow flew into the air only to zip down again as he fiercely called out, "Getsuga Tensho!"
Kisuke knew he could not block it nor get out of the way fast enough and was hit full force with the attack. He fell to the ground bleeding heavily and knew he was done. His last breath was drawn looking into the smiling face of one of his greatest pupils.
Zaraki had simply kept moving with Orihime in one arm, his zanpakuto in the other fending off the demons and Arrancars that pursued them. As they were moving Orihime reached out with her senses, looking for spiritual pressures. She was horrified to realize Kisuke's had left him. He was dead too after his encounter with Ichigo's Hollow. Next she looked for Renji and found he was near Grimmjow but was not doing well. The next moment she felt Ichigo's Hollow near them as well and he was being double teamed by the frightening pair.
"Zaraki-taichou, please, you need to help Renji. He can't take them both on by himself," Orihime pleaded.
"Our orders are to protect you, Inoue Orihime, I'm not taking you into the thick of that fight no matter how much I want to kick that orange-haired punk's ass!" he said fiercely.
"Zaraki-taichou, efforts to save me are futile now, there is so much already lost. Please, I can't let them take him too," she pleaded.
Sighing heavily he relented, his thirst for blood against his most formidable opponent winning the day. They turned direction and headed towards the fight. Orihime could see Renji come into view, badly beaten but still standing. Kenpachi set her down on the ground before rapidly ascending to reach Ichigo and engage him in battle. Grimmjow had knocked Renji down to the ground and then settled his eyes on Orihime. He grinned as he flash stepped to her and grabbed her wrist.
"Finally got you princess!" he growled, "Now then, release your last powers!"
Orihime stood still looking at him for a moment before she replied, "I will release them but only if you allow them to heal Renji first."
"Tch, so typical a request, let me save my love first! What do you think will happen after you heal him? He'll merely be beaten to a bloody pulp again!" He reared his other hand back and smacked her hard.
Her face stung and her head was ringing but Orihime stood firm, "Should you kill me you will never get them. Let me heal him."
Renji had seen the strike and bellowed in anger, racing over to them and crashing Zambimaru against Pantera. But he was so weakened Grimmjow was able to push him back with little effort even while holding onto Orihime's wrist. He fell again, breathing hard.
"Fine girl, there he is, heal him up and then say goodbye to all your sprites, they're mine now!"
He released her and she ran to Renji's side. "No, Hime, no, you can't do this," he said through gasping breaths. She didn't bother to respond but merely said, "Soten Kishun." Renji healed quickly but before Shuno and Ayame could return to her hairpins Grimmjow had already trapped them using the Shun Shun Rikka ring. They were deposited into the blade with their fellow spirits and the captures had been completed.
The next moment Grimmjow was next to the pair, yanking Orihime back and thrusting Pantera forward. Renji blocked it only to be hit from the side by Ichigo's Hollow. Zaraki lay on the ground, breathing but barely alive. Renji and the Hollow fought furiously but Renji kept trying to get past him to Orihime. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" she shouted, worried that he would be so focused on her he'd let his guard down. He saw that she really was alright and turned his attention back to his fight with the Hollow.
Lucifer had made his way back over to the world of the living and stood by Grimmjow watching the battle between the shinigami and the Hollow. Orihime's eyes grew wide when she saw Lucifer and he turned his piercing eyes to her. Floating down he stood before her and said, "So, this is the woman who held the power of fate? What a meek little creature to hold such power." His voice made her skin crawl with fear.
"Who are you," she asked shakily.
"The King of Hell little one, and I'm expanding my kingdom," he answered icily.
"What? I mean..." she began but trailed off before she formed her question.
"Hmmm?" he inquired bending down closer to her and she shrank away.
Swallowing hard Orihime was shocked to find her voice, "How…how can you expand your kingdom? Aren't you part of keeping the balance of souls?"
He smirked and leaned even closer, "What a funny little brain you have. My dominion over Hell was earned not appointed. I do as I please. For a millennia my realm was sealed against exit. Souls could come in but none could get out. I finally broke the seal and have been traveling the cosmos looking for the Shun Shun Rikka."
While Grimmjow had been watching Renji's fight with Ichigo a thought occurred to him that spread a wide feral grin across his face. He rose closer to them and uttered, "Santen Kesshun," encasing the fighters in his shield prison. He was about to change the game again.
