OCs (c) Me

Sakura Kinoshita, zanpakuto (c) TheTroublesomeZorua AKA C-chanLovesGamingX3

Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

The Bleached Chronicles

Chapter 36

"Stupid Yammy! What's he trying to do, blow the place up?" Grimmjow growled as he sonidoed down the hallway, the walls shaking as slabs of concrete and rock fell all around. He was currently running through the treca's building, trying to get to where Yammy was.

The earthquakes had been increasing in both strength and tempo, and if the fighting were to go on for much longer, the whole palace would collapse and Chihiro would get caught up in the destruction. He had to end this, and now.

"Damn it! If this keeps up, Chihiro will-" he didn't want to finish the thought. He knew she couldn't survive a complete collapse, she was only human. Her body would just get crushed under the wreckage, not even her bones remaining intact if this were to occur. He passed by a large hole in the wall and caught a glimpse of Yammy. He quickly veered back and jumped through the hole, landing on the sand below.

He looked up and saw the large oaf towering over the castle of Las Noches, before chuckling darkly.

"Ha, this is gonna be good…" he chuckled as he sped up, adrenaline rushing through his veins at the thought of being able to fight full force against his fellow espada. Suddenly, Chihiro's words echoed in his head, causing him to slow back down.

"Okay. Will you promise to come back?" her question echoed. He felt a pang of guilt inside his chest, he couldn't guarantee that he was going to come back at all. He was going to where the shinigami were most likely gathered, and they were his natural enemy. They would probably kill him on the spot the second they spotted him. So he didn't really know if he was gonna make it back or not, but he did promise her.

And he was a man of his word.

"Don't worry Chihiro, I'll come back."

-Chihiro-

"Grimmjow…" Chihiro said softly as she stood out on Grimmjow's balcony, staring out over the expanse of Hueco Mundo. She held her hands tightly over her chest as she looked on, waiting.

For Grimmjow to come back.

But was that all she could do? Wait?

She felt the earthquakes start up again and stumbled, falling against the railing for support as she tried to remain on her feet.

"Milady, you must focus on keeping yourself safe. Even I cannot do anything in this state, so you must keep focusing on your footing and safety. Grimmjow will be fine." Hoshiookami scolded from where she rested on her master's hip, her thoughts flowing through their mental connection. Chihiro nodded as she got back on her feet, just as the earthquake ended. She heaved a soft sigh of relief before looking at the sword on her hip.

"I know, Hoshiookami. I know. But… I've got a bad feeling about this. Grimmjow's going after Yammy, and he's where everyone is gathered. If the shinigami see him…" she thought before trailing off. She didn't want to finish the thought, it was painful to even think about.

"Orihime is there, she would defend him. As well as Sae and her sisters, they are there as well. Please, don't worry about it. Just focus on yourself, as Grimmjow said." the zanpakuto cooed soothingly, trying to ease the girl's fears. Chihiro was silent before closing her eyes and praying.

"Please, oh please… don't let him die. Don't let him die…"

-Sakura, Hanataro, Sae, Triplets-

"Wow…" everyone said in awe as they stood on one of the large pillars that surrounded Las Noches. The group had gathered after Ichigo and Retsu Unohana took off to face Aizen in Mayuri's garganta, leaving them behind to finish off the rest of the enemy.

No doubt the boy was trying to keep his friends away from the major fighting between Aizen and their comrades in the human world, and they didn't question his intentions. Instead they stared at Yammy's large form in amazement as Sakura focused more on the two shinigami Taicho's that were fighting him.

"Go Zaraki-Taicho! You can do it!" she cheered, jumping up and down as she pumped her fists into the air. Hanataro shook with fright as he cowered behind her, covering his eyes with his hands.

"G-G-Go K-K-Kuchiki T-Taicho!" he stammered, causing her to turn and glare at him for cheering for the stuck-up Taicho of the sixth division instead of her awesome, kick-ass Taicho of the eleventh. Sae and her sisters watched in silence, they were more worried about Chihiro and Grimmjow than focusing on the fight. Mayuri, Nemu, Renji, Rukia, Chad, Yachiru, Orihime, and Uryu were a few feet behind them, talking amongst themselves.

"This is…" Orihime said softly, clasping her hands together as she shook a little with fright. Rukia growled loudly.

"This is taking too long! Ichigo needs our help, he might-"

"He'll be facing Aizen. There'd be no point in going after them, we'll only be a distraction." Sae said curtly, cutting her off and causing the amethyst-eyed shinigami to glare at her in response. Chad nodded in agreement.

"It's something only Ichigo can do." he mumbled. Rae growled loudly as she watched the fight, her blood boiling was she watched the two sides clash. Mae and Tae shook with fright as they watched on, they have had enough of this. All the two wanted was to find Chihiro and go home.

"I wanna go home, Sae…" Mae sobbed as she buried her face under Tae's muzzle, keeping her gaze away from the fight. Sae shushed her sister as she nuzzled her, taking over for Tae as she tried to comfort their younger sister.

"It's okay Mae, we'll go home soon. When all of this is over…" she soothed. Tae nodded as she patted her shoulder.

"Yeah Mae, and soon we'll be able to see Hiro-sama again, and eat food and candy, sip drinks, play, eat ice-cream…" she babbled as she remembered all of the fun things they used to do when they were in the living world. Uryu was silent as he looked at them, before focusing back on the fight.

"This will take some time…"

-Grimmjow-

"Ha! I'm almost there!" he growled in excitement as he sonidoed across the desert landscape, he could see Yammy in the distance and could make out two small figures running around him. The two sides were locked in combat, making him all the more excited to get involved and literally beat the living shit out of the gargantuan. Suddenly, one of them sliced across Yammy's torso, sending the giant to the ground.

With that his reiastu dissipated almost instantly, and Grimmjow felt the heavy weight leave his back and shoulders. He growled loudly in anger, Yammy was dead. The shinigamis had done him in, and he didn't get to land a single blow to the mother fuckin' bastard.

"Dammit! Why couldn't the bastard last until I got there? I wanted to finish his sorry ass off." He swore loudly as he bounded over the sandy landscape. He quickly sped up as he kicked up sand behind him, sensing some life left in the big guy. Within minutes he was standing in front of Yammy's enormous body: it was covered in blood as the red liquid pooled out onto the sand and stained it crimson. He was about to walk over and nudge him with his foot to see if he was still alive or not until he felt a sword at his throat.

"So, there was one still alive, eh?" a stony voice spoke. Grimmjow growled as he glared to the right side of him, to see a man with black hair in a shihakusho holding the blade to his neck. In seconds another appeared behind him, this one with spiky hair and a muscular chest as his shihakusho clung to his body in tatters.

"Now come on Byakuya, can't I kill him? You've been having all of the fun…" the man chuckled as he looked over the newcomer, eager to fight. This one seemed more powerful than the giant they had just got done killing, and wanted to have some entertainment before they were forced back to the soul society to get another lecture from Yamamoto.

"No stop! Grimmjow-sama's a friend, he's our friend!" four voices cried in unison from behind, causing the three to turn. They turned to see Sae and the triplets flying towards them, eyes wide at the sight of the blade aimed for Grimmjow's jugular. Rae quickly pulled the blade away from his throat as the four hovered in front of him protectively, fangs bared and glistening.

"What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya asked calmly as he stared levelly at the four, confused on why they would protect the enemy. The others came from behind the two Taichos as they stared at the four tiny dragons in confusion, all except for Orihime and Sakura, who knew the true circumstances. Tae looked back and forth among the shinigami and humans, before focusing on the elder Kuchiki.

"Grimmjow-sama is our friend, he has done nothing wrong! He saved Chihiro and Sakura-sama, that should prove it!" she explained as she pointed to said Kinoshita. Kenpachi chuckled at this, glancing at his only female sixth-seated member besides Yachiru before looking back to her.

"He did, did he? Well… can't really kill an ally-"

"No arrancar is an ally to us. Stand aside, or pay the consequences." Byakuya interrupted, his eyes narrowed at them as he took a step forward. Orihime was quick to speak up as she rushed to their side, joining them in defending the man.

"Wait! You can't! He means a lot to Chihiro-chan!" she protested. Renji, Rukia, Uryu, and Chad looked at her in confusion, as well as the shinigamis. The younger Kuchiki stared at her, the young woman's eyes confused as she stared.

"Why would he mean a lot to her, Inoue?" Rukia asked as she stared at her friend. Orihime was silent, she wasn't sure if she should tell them or not. It was Chihiro and Grimmjow's business, no one else's. Sakura spoke up at Orihime's hesitation, not at all bothered that she may be getting into someone else's business.

"She's his girlfriend, duh. She… means a lot to him." She growled as she crossed her arms. Grimmjow growled at the girl, absolutely despising her at the moment. She had told his greatest weakness to a bunch of damn shinigami, and that left both him and his mate in potential danger.

"Shut up! That's none of your fucking business!" he spat. She growled loudly at him before Renji spoke up, completely taken aback at the new information.

"Wait, he's… she's… huh?" he stammered, his face flushing slightly. Rae growled as she glared at the red-head.

"They're in love, as in L-O-V-E, dumbass! What part of that didn't you understand?" She growled, causing the man to glare at her in return. Everyone began to murmur to each other about this new revelation, mostly Mayuri because now he was even more curious about the arrancar species. Grimmjow was silent as they talked to each other before Uryu spoke up.

"I see… that is a problem. Can he be trusted?" he asked as he pushed his glasses up to his face. Grimmjow scoffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets, a bit insulted by the quincy's words.

"What's not to trust? Sure, I'm an Espada, but I do have a promise to keep." Grimmjow said coldly as he looked off to the side. Everyone stared at each other uncomfortably, should they trust him? Orihime was silent as she stared at the espada, a few things running through her mind.

"Maybe they'll let him live, but what about Chihiro-chan? If the rest of the taichos and fukutaichos find out about this… she could get killed. She could even be branded a traitor and taken away again." she thought as she stared at the sexta espada. They would both be killed or imprisoned, so there had to be a way to prevent that…

"Grimmjow-san… please. Let Chihiro-chan go." she asked softly. Grimmjow immediately turned to her, feeling every cell in his body react in protest to her words, and he stiffened.

"Wha…what?" he growled as he narrowed his eyes at her, completely confused. Let her go? The young woman took a deep breath.

"Please, you have to let her go. She can't… stay here. And you both might get killed if the others see you together, or she could be taken away again. You can't just do that, she has a family back home. Hiro-chan, Kururugi-san… please…" she tried to explain, but he wasn't having it. He shook his head angrily at her words, his stomach twisting into knots at the thought of letting her go.

He couldn't do it, no matter how right she was. Chihiro couldn't stay in Hueco Mundo, and he couldn't take a step outside without getting executed by the shinigami. If he did, she would be branded as a traitor and they would both be killed on the spot. No matter how right she was, he couldn't do it. She was precious to him and he had no intentions of letting that disappear.

"No! I won't do it! The rest of you can go and screw yourselves, but Chihiro's staying with me!" he roared, taking a step towards them as he gnashed his teeth together. Before anyone could retort, Byakuya stepped forward and drew his sword.

"There's no more to discuss, you have made your choice. Goodbye, Espada." with that, the sound of a sword hitting flesh was heard, and then there was nothing more than a deadly silence.

Oh noes! Why Byakuya, whhyyy?