/* Hi all! So so sorry this is almost a week behind. I was out of power and internet for the last five days and finally today everything is up and running again. To make it up to you, this chapter is about twice as long as those before it. Just a forewarning, this chapter does jump around in perspective a lot (sorry!) so hopefully it's not too confusing. Alright, with that let's get back to it. Thank you too all those that are still following along with Haruka's story. It means a lot that others enjoy my fanfictions as much as I enjoy writing them. */
Chapter 6 -
"Mutated Vasto Lordes?" Halibel's disbelief was palpable, but even she knew it was no lie. Nel would never lie to her, not about this.
"Yes. Hundreds, if not thousands." Her pretty green hair was tangled, caked with blood and sand. She was hunched over with her hand pressed against a deep gash. Her fraccion, though resistant, eventually backed down from their original panic and were both kneeling behind her.
"And what of Zev?" Halibel's voice was calm and collected as it always was despite the underlying concern in the pit of her stomach.
Nel's jade stare averted to her feet, shame filling her. "He took me down with a single swing."
Halibel's eyes narrowed, the first sign of true worry from the Arrancar warrior. Nel's gaze remained averted and silence followed for several long moments up until the doors swung open with furious speed. "Halibel-sama!" Appaci, one of Halibel's fraccion, rushed in. "You need to see this!"
Her gaze shifted to her fraccion, observing her frantic posture. She glanced back at Nel, whose shocked expression spoke of the horrors coming their way that very moment. Regardless, Halibel followed Appaci at a leisurely pace out to the wall protecting Las Noches.
There, as far as her eyes could see, was a sea of faceless ivory masks moving towards them. "It's begun." Nel's strained voice mentioned.
"Will this war between our own kind ever end?" The exasperated tone of Sung-sun joined them.
"I never wish to resort to war, but my hesitancy in the past has resulted in dire consequences for those I wish to protect." Halibel replied solemnly, watching the waves of death slowly approach. "If we wish for peace, then it appears we must fight for it. It is a sacrifice that we must make."
"We are with you Halibel-sama." Her fraccion replied in unison.
"Then go. Prepare the other Arrancar for what is to come. This does not look to be an easy fight."
Smoke filtered into the air from several different buildings. Las Noches was under attack. "Grimmjow…" Her voice conveyed her concern, the numerous loud screeching noises only emphasizing the situation.
"We end Zev, and then they'll disperse. They can't follow without a leader." He replied.
"Are you sure?" She asked, uncertain.
He tilted his head slightly, doubt flitting across his features.
"We don't have a choice either way, right?" She mentioned before he could respond. "We have to take him down."
"Yea." He nodded, yet still his voice sounded unmotivated. He wasn't prepared for this and it was so unlike him.
She stood up in full view, her body twisting as she looked around.
"Ruka, get the fuck down before they see you!" He shouted on a harsh whisper.
"This isn't right." She said as she continued to observe her surroundings. "No, this hasn't happened yet. We aren't here yet." She kept telling herself.
"Are you fucking stupid!?" He wrenched her arm, attempting to pull her out of sight and that's when she felt it; a sharp, painful sensation that penetrated her back and exited her chest. She looked down, seeing a long sharp sword going from her chest and into Grimmjow's.
"G-grimm-jow…?" She felt the blood pooling at the back of her throat, her stomach forcing it out the only way it knew how. Grimmjow looked similar, blood trickling from the entry wound and to the sandy surface beneath his feet.
"Ruka…"
She felt her life draining, ending; her senses dulled, her world shattering. And then, she remembered.
"No, this isn't it!" She declared. Then the world vanished around her. Her senses returned and her body livened. "Grimmjow?" He appeared beside her in the darkness, close and confident; strong like a king.
"This is our army." He was staring out ahead of him and it persuaded her to do the same. Then they appeared, one by one, a horde of Hollows, all of various levels of strength standing before them and all bowing.
"Our army?"
She startled out of her sleep as she came back to her present. "What's wrong?" His voice was soothing and welcoming. It had been so long since she had last woken up to the sound of it.
She pushed herself so she was sitting straight, still straddling his hips from their previous engagement. "I-I just had a dream." She dismissed.
"You don't sound so sure." He mentioned as he tossed a lock of her hair out of her face. Her eyes were searching, wondering, and trying to comprehend if what Dairokkan had said was really true. What if the Sight was real? And what if she did have it?
"I'm not sure." She confirmed. He tilted his head curiously, holding back his mean retort, and waited for an explanation. She sighed, seeing the look in his face and knowing exactly what he was thinking. "I'm not crazy." She pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
He snorted in response, "I wasn't saying nothing." He teased.
She frowned before averting her gaze, attempting to muster up the courage to continue. Would he even believe something as crazy as the Sight?
"Do you believe in foresight?" She asked suddenly.
"Foresight? What like seeing into the future?" There was a hint of disbelief in his voice and her confidence wavered. But then her eyes fell upon her silent weapon.
"Sort of." She nodded while reaching down to grab her zanpakuto. "It can be anything from a feeling in the pit of your stomach that something is wrong, to having a vision of what can come in the future. The S4G called it the Sight. It was thought to be a powerful ability that those who suffered a heavy subtraction from their lives would gain in return. And they called those that had it Seers." She explained carefully. "Dairokkan told me I had it." Her eyes flickered back towards his to gauge his reaction.
"And what is it that you saw?" He asked, his tone completely lacking any judgement or disdain which surprised her.
"I saw us fighting Zev alone and dying." She said at first. He watched her carefully, taking in everything she was telling him. "And then I knew it wasn't right. I felt that something was wrong. And then it changed to us standing before an army of Hollows cheering you."
He remained quiet, trying to process what she was saying or at least allowing her to attempt to process it.
"This isn't the first time this has happened. Back when he was holding me hostage, I had a dream that I was being cut apart by Vasto Lordes. And then it happened…" She whispered. His grip around her arm tightened as his jaw clenched. "I know I'm not crazy, but if this is real…If I'm seeing things that could potentially happen…I think it's a warning."
"A warning…" His voice rumbled, urging her to continue her train of thought.
"Yes. I think it's a warning that if we do this alone, then we are going to die." Her hand clenched around the hilt of Dairokkan to the point it was shaking.
Grimmjow grabbed it with his free fist, steadying it with his powerful grip. "What do you suggest we do then?" He asked as his sapphire gaze bore into her.
"Do you know how to get to the Forest of Menos?"
A grin suddenly split his face, "Sure, Kitten."
The air was getting louder. Even through the thick walls of the palace, she could hear it; the vibrating, screeching sounds those things made with their reiatsu. She knew they wouldn't have much time left.
"All finished, Neliel-sama!" Pesche declared as he watched the medic finish healing Nel's injuries.
"Pesche, Dondochakka…" She began, pausing as her fraccion looked her way. "Please be careful."
The two stared for a moment at their melancholy leader. She could not hold their gaze, her pained expression off to the side. It was unlike what they were used to. "Don't worry about us, Nel-sama! Pesche and me are always good at taking care of ourselves!" Dondochakka announced as tears started forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Don't start crying you big oaf! You'll worry her!" Pesche yelled while slamming his fist down onto Dondachakka's head.
"I can't help it Pesche! I hate seeing Nel-sama so worried!" He replied while sprinting away from Pesche.
"I said stop it!" Pesche continued to chase the goofy Arrancar around the room as Nel remained where she was, a small smile pulling at her lips at their antics.
"Whatever happens, I'll always take care of you two." She thought to herself before getting to a stand, causing her two fraccion to freeze in place. "It's time to go."
They immediately straightened, saluting Nel simultaneously, and called out, "Yes, Nel-sama!"
The three joined the hordes of other Arrancar situated at the front gate. Halibel's fraccion had placed themselves on the wall, watching the incoming horde of Vasto Lordes and updating those waiting for the inevitable.
It wasn't long before Halibel was joining them, her elegance a calming reminder of who was leading them. "We have spent a lifetime in constant war. We have endured more than any soul imaginable. And we have survived. This will be no exception. We will fight for the little we have gained here. We will fight for our peace. We will fight for an end to our suffering." She announced to her small but powerful army.
"We are with you, Halibel-sama!" The warriors announced in unison, all bowing to her.
"Here they come!" Sung-sun yelled just before the first crash against the wall was heard. Then subsequent smashing and crunching followed. "They are throwing themselves into the wall…" She said, horrified.
"Zev has no regard for any life except his own." Halibel responded. "Much like Aizen." She added quietly.
Nel kept her eyes trained on the wall with her sword extended. Each thud brought with it the expectation of the wall's destruction. Above her, Halibel and her fraccion had begun attacking from afar. "Cascada!" Halibel shouted, pulling whatever little moisture this world had and flinging it in an oceanic-sized wave on top of their enemy. The thudding had paused for several minutes before beginning again.
"They are relentless." Sung-sun breathed.
"They are mindless." Apacci corrected.
Eventually, Nel grew tired of waiting. "Pesche, Dondochakka, stay here." She said to her fraccion before leaping onto the wall beside Halibel and her fraccion. "Halibel, we need to keep them from breaking through the wall." She announced before her eyes reached the sandy reaches beyond; except wherever sand should be stood one of those faceless beings.
"It would be throwing them to a slaughter." Halibel stated as Nel's eyes absorbed the terrible sight.
"Halibel…" Nel looked over to Hueco Mundo's proclaimed queen who had paused in her assault to witness the coming destruction. "What are we going to do?"
It was a tiny pang of wetness hitting her cheek that drew her attention to the sky. "Rain?" Up until that point she had been counting boulders while perched on Grimmjow's back as he carried her through the Hueco Mundo desert. She was up to forty-two.
"It ain't rain. It's Halibel's Cascada." Grimmjow mentioned as his grip on her legs tightened slightly. Haruka grew quiet, knowing exactly what it meant. Her hands tightened their hold on his shoulders, silently urging him to hurry.
His pace increased. He was betting everything on Haruka's instincts now, but even he knew it would all be for nothing if they returned to Las Noches and everyone was dead. He had to trust she knew what she was doing. "Ruka!"
"Yea?"
"Hold on tight." Before she could even register what he had said, he was blasting through a soft spot in the sands.
"Grimmjow!" Her screeching was quickly snuffed out by the engulfing sands around them. He felt her arms clinging around his neck. Her face buried into his back, shielding her eyes from the stinging sands. It took a little longer than usual and just when he thought he might have made a mistake, they were bursting through the ceiling of the forest.
Her quiet gasps were all he heard as he landed on the forest floor. It was as he remembered it, large trees of quartz reaching for sandy skies above. It brought back memories of a time he spent navigating this place, devouring those that came before him. It wasn't as it should be.
"This is it?" She whispered in awe as her eyes finally peered out from his shoulder.
"Yea. This is it." He said in return while releasing her to the ground.
"Where are all the Hollows?" Her eyes scanned the entire area, her body twisting as she looked.
"Hiding; probably from the moment they sensed my reishi coming." He remarked.
"Great. How are we going to draw them out?" She asked in a near pout.
Grimmjow looked around while briefly feeling out for any signs of reiatsu. When he didn't sense anything spectacular, his gaze settled onto his violet-haired Shinigami. "I think I might have an idea."
"Bring me the next subject." The tall, scary Arrancar commanded.
"You won't get away with this Zev." Neliel returned. She was forced up the stairs leading to the throne by several Vasto Lordes. Her injuries were extensive. After Halibel had been subdued, it was only a matter of time before the rest of them were forced to the same fate.
"Place her here." Zev pointed to a spot to the left, between two other white cocoons.
Neliel struggled as she was moved to the location. "I will never be your slave!" She shouted.
"We shall see." He smiled as he brought his open palm up to her chest, revealing a small white orb. In an instant, it exploded around her, consuming her entirely in a white shell just like the others.
"It will take some time for the transformation on these Arrancars to complete. They will resist. Alert me if you sense that brute coming this way." Zev mentioned idly while taking a seat in the broken throne.
"Nel-sama." A quivering voice came from a door on the side of the room, one that Zev did not notice.
"Keep quiet, Dondochakka! They'll hear us!" Pesche hissed to the trembling Arrancar beside him. The door was cracked open in front of them, allowing just enough light in for them to see one another bathed in shadow. On the opposite side of the door stood one of those faceless things. Its head moved from side to side as if searching, a low vibrating noise similar to a growl filling whatever silence there was.
"I can't help it Pesche!" Dondochakka replied a little too loudly. "I'm scared!"
The creature turned violently, the low growl becoming a high pitched screech. "Run for it, Dondochakka!" Pesche screeched as he clung to Dondochakka's back; who subsequently burst through the door and into the main hall.
"Fools." Zev muttered as he lazily observed the two fleeing Arrancars charge through his minions unscathed. "They are so weak that I did not even notice their pathetic reiatsu." Zev pressed his chin to his palm, his expression bored. "Don't bother. I don't need to waste my resources on those two…things."
He waved his hand at them just before they burst through the main doors and sprinted away from Las Noches.
She had to admit, this was a decent idea. She was a little jealous she didn't think of it first. "I must be rubbing off on him." She smirked to herself as she walked leisurely through the quartz forest. She knew he was watching her from somewhere, despite not being able to feel his reishi. As good as she was at sensing spirit energy, he was even better at hiding it; a testament to his true predatory nature.
Regardless of the fact that she was being closely watched, she was still sure to keep her senses clear. It was still dangerous, especially for a wandering lone Shinigami. "Well, well, well- what do we have here?" A snake-like voice hissed in her direction. Her gaze immediately trained to the direction it came, falling on a large slithering Hollow.
"An Adjuchas." Haruka stated. "Perfect."
"What's a little Shinigami like you doing in a place like this?" His voice was filled with sleek satisfaction as he crawled slowly towards her.
"Looking to help you." She replied.
The Hollow released a guttural laugh. "Help me? Oh I know how you can help me."
"By killing Zev." She said stone-faced.
The Adjuchas paused in his movements, his obvious amusement fleeing him. "How do you know Zev?"
"He's been kidnapping Adjuchas, hasn't he? He has to be creating his mutated Vasto Lordes somehow." She mentioned casually. "Is that why you were hiding?"
"I wasn't hiding." He hissed bitterly. "And I don't like Shinigami butting into Adjuchas affairs."
"It won't matter much once you get scooped up by him and his minions." She prodded.
"I'll show you, Shinigami, exactly where you stand!" He shouted just before charging her.
Her clothes fluttered from the sheer force of her lover's quick arrival. With a single forearm he stopped the attacking Adjuchas, doing all he could to practice restraint from ripping the thing in two. With complete terror, the Hollow instantly realized its error. "G-grimmjow-sama?" He stuttered out while immediately slithering back.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, freezing the creature in place just with words.
"This Shinigami is yours?" He asked, obviously startled at his own realization.
"You have a problem with that?" Grimmjow snapped in return.
"No, no of course not!" The Hollow stammered before bowing. "P-please, Grimmjow-sama, I beg your forgiveness."
"You want my forgiveness? Then go into these woods and gather every last fucking Hollow you can find and bring them back to that gorge over there. You have one hour."
"B-but, what do you want with us?" He asked nervously.
"I think my Shinigami made that clear." He growled. "Your clock already started ticking, snake. Now go."
"Ah, yes, Grimmjow-sama!" He screeched before turning to rush off in a cloud of dust.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Haruka asked.
"Who knows?"
"Really reassuring, babe."
He cocked his head to the side, regarding her endearing term for a brief moment, before turning completely to view their agreed meeting spot. It was perfect, really. A flattened area that had been cleared of any structures and was big enough to hold a large number of Hollows. A high cliff surrounded more than half of the area opposite to them, a perfect place to perch themselves for all to view…safely.
"So what do we do while we wait?" She asked suddenly. He glanced over at her, instantly noticing her anxiety. As much as she tried to preach patience, he knew she hated waiting. It made her uneasy and there were only two ways he could think to ease that.
"I can think of a couple things, Kitten." He mentioned. A warm blush flourished her cheeks and he had to stifle his smirk. "So easy." He thought, his ego purring at the images he evoked in her at even the slightest suggestion. But even he knew now wasn't the time for that.
He pulled his sword free and turned to face her. "But I think we need to work on you."
Her face sullied as her eyes drifted to the hilt of her own weapon. "Yea." She replied half-heartedly.
"Ruka, you ain't going to get her back by ignoring her." He said as he approached her. His large, calloused palm dropped to her shoulder, bringing her attention back to him. "Ain't that how the bond broke to begin with?"
She felt shame churning in her stomach. "Probably." She answered while averting her gaze.
"Why don't you trust her?" He asked. His question shocked her, her wide-eyed stare coming back to meet his solid sapphire gaze.
"It's just-" She paused, trying to gather her explanation in a way that made sense to her. "She's every doubt I've ever had; every hatred and every sorrow and every fear. I feel like I've put every negative thing I've ever experienced into her. She echoes every terrible thing that could happen and I never listen. I never listen."
He watched her carefully, considering the way her eyes wandered and searched. However, the answer isn't what enlightens, but the question.
"How can I trust an entity that doesn't trust me?" She whispered. "I'm tired of feeling guilty. I'm tired of blaming myself for getting my zanpakuto sealed away. I did the best I could under the circumstances and I cannot change the past. If Dairokkan is going to judge everything I do based on what I did in the past, then I don't think I'm ever going to be able to repair this."
"Ruka, maybe you just need to let go." He mentioned while moving towards the open gorge.
"Let go?" Confusion lined her brow as she followed him, unsheathing her zanpakuto in the process.
"For all the preaching you do that our pasts don't define us, yours sure does weigh heavy on you." He pointed out while facing her, motioning for her to drop into stance. "It all influences us in a way, right? It's just how we come out of it in the end."
She swallowed hard as she contemplated his words. Maybe she was clinging to her past. Maybe that's why Dairokkan was still silent, complacent as it was back then. "Void, Dairokkan." She said as her reiatsu swirled around her. She pushed it all into waking her weapon, but got nothing in return.
She shifted her body, her heels scraping against the sand as she took off in a flash of shunpo. Her sword collided with his, the two scraping against one another as she pushed her body weight into him. His muscles bulged as he held her in place, his toes digging into the dust.
"Raito o keshimasu!" She shouted as she pushed with all her might. Her sword ground against his, sliding as he deflected it up and to the side. Deflated, she hopped back while staring at the powerless weapon. "Nothing." She muttered.
"That ain't a reason to stop trying!" He declared as he suddenly appeared above her. His sword came crashing down towards her, forcing her to raise Dairokkan to the sky. With a grunt, she held the weight of his weapon, one had gripped tight around the hilt and the other pressed firmly against the blade. She rolled swiftly to the side before sending a kick into his ribs. He caught her ankle with his free hand and tugged, sending her to the ground. "You ain't even trying." He accused.
"Fuck you!" She kicked her ankle free before rolling backwards and leaping to her feet. Again, she charged him in a flurry of swipes aimed at his head. He dodged and parried effortlessly causing her to have to mix in punches and kicks in an attempt to catch him off guard. It was all a futile effort for a man as quick and nimble as Grimmjow.
With an aggravated cry, she charged him full strength, pushing every last ounce of reiatsu she could into the attack. With one swift shift, he slid around her and used her own forward energy to push her into the rocky cliff beside them. He pinned her body in place with his own, his strong grip holding her weapon at bay until she voluntarily dropped it. The thud reverberated through the gorge, ripping at the after silence.
Anger and frustration caused her limbs to fight and struggle against their hold. "This is bullshit!" She cried. "How can I be so fucking powerless without this stupid sword!?" She managed to free her leg enough to send a forceful kick into her zanpakuto, sending it skittering across the sands.
"Enough, Haruka." He returned firmly, holding her in place as her fury slowly morphed into utter sorrow.
"How can I fight by your side when I can't even fight for myself?"
He loosened his grip, allowing her to lean forward into his embrace. She buried her face against his shoulder, taking comfort in him accepting her exactly how she was.
"We have to accept our faults, our doubts, our fears as something that is a part of us. It is something that makes us who we are, Haruka. Do not reject them. Embrace them. Let all the beautiful parts of you work together in glorious harmony."
The thought flickered across her mind so quickly that it brought a sense of shock. It wasn't so much the thought as it was the memory of who had said it. It was a person who had left her life long, long ago and one she had not thought about in eons.
She pushed herself up and away from him slightly despite his continued embrace. Her eyes looked over to her zanpakuto that rested in the sands, seemingly waiting for someone to come. With a bit more force, she broke free of Grimmjow's hold. He silently watched as she walked calmly over to her weapon and kneeled beside it. Her palms pressed against her knees as her eyes slid shut, her focus falling to her sword. Grimmjow took a few steps towards her before sitting leisurely beside them, his gaze focused on the entrance to the gorge for any incoming Hollows.
She was going to need some time to get this right.
It was as open as a desert, an endless sandy field drenched in purple dusk. Her eyes strained to see ahead of her, though there wasn't much to take in. It was a vast emptiness void of everything she was. She traveled it, listening and patiently searching in hopes to find what it was she lost. It was almost funny that after all this time she now finally realized what it was her mother had been talking about.
"Do you know what a zanpakuto really is, Haruka?" Her mother's soft voice had asked. It felt like it was worlds away; that her mind was slipping back a thousand years just to hear that terrific sound.
"A weapon?" She, in all her childhood naivety, asked.
"It is the embodiment of the Shinigami's power, but it is also a separation. If the zanpakuto and the Shinigami are not in perfect harmony with one another, then their bond will break and a zanpakuto will be nothing more than a flimsy old sword."
"It must be hard to be in perfect harmony with something that is separate from yourself." An inquisitive thought from such a small child made her mother all the more proud.
"Indeed. Shinigami spend so much time trying to figure out how to separate their power into a weapon when they should be trying to figure out how to unite the two." Her mother had criticized.
Haruka attempted to shake the memory from her mind, but it sat there replaying over and over. That in and of itself told her the significance it held over her disconnected part. "Dairokkan?"
It had felt like years had passed before she finally found that tiny voice locked in on itself.
"You forgot all about her." A bitter sounding noise accused.
"I did." Haruka affirmed as she approached a crouched figure. "I was always told we didn't have parents."
"I didn't forget." She mocked.
"I know." She replied as the being stood and turned to face her. She was cloaked in shadow, but it wasn't enough to hide the fact the other person looked exactly like Haruka.
"Are you finally going to stop viewing me as nothing more than a gate to your abilities?" The tone was harsh, but also filled with hurt.
"Is that what you really think?" She asked, sympathetic.
"Everything I've said was to your benefit yet you constantly disregard me. You use me for your agenda and then toss me aside when I am an inconvenience." She accused, anger and fury rolling off of her.
"I'm sorry…"
"It isn't good enough, Har-"
"But you need to trust me, too. You doubt everything that I am, everything I do. You don't trust me with your power and I need to prove to you otherwise. I need to prove to you that we are one being." Haruka's voice was filled with determination.
Dairokkan took a step back as her brow furrowed. "Very well. Show me that you're as powerful as everyone claimed you were."
"Get ready, then." Haruka declared just before charging. The two got lost in a flurry of limbs as each one attempted to get a hit on the other. Haruka aimed for her head, her fist connecting with Dairokkan's palm before she sent her foot into her chest and sent her skidding backwards.
"You won't win this." Dairokkan declared as a sword fell from the sky above, landing point-down in the sand in front of her. She gripped the hilt and pulled it free. Haruka glanced around, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. "You need me to fight. I am your power. How do you expect to beat me when you are so pathetic on your own?" She sneered.
"You're forgetting one important detail, Dairokkan."
"We all argue with ourselves from time to time, Haruka. We all suffer from indecision, from doubt. But what is important to remember is that even after all that self-reflection, we are still who we were meant to be. We are still one complete soul."
"And what's that, Haruka?"
"And even if we lose ourselves or lose our way, we can always get it back. Forgiveness isn't just for others. It is for our own self as well."
"No matter what happens, we are still one." Haruka declared. As soon as the last word left her lips, she reached her hands forwards, her grasp coming around the hilt of a forming sword. Inch by inch, the weapon formed until it was complete; a perfect match to the one in Dairokkan's hand.
"Tch." Dairokkan spat. The two stared at one another for several minutes, a gentle wind blowing violet sand across the space in front of them. Then, simultaneously they struck, both charging one another. "Raito o keshimasu!"
It was her startled gasp that had his attention on her once again. Blood had started trickling from the corner of her mouth. He grimaced while pushing himself to a stand. With two leisurely strides, he was in front of her. He dropped to his knees slowly before wiping his thumb to where the blood was. "You can do this, Ruka." He said quietly. "If anyone believes in you, it's me. And you can tell that to your dumb sword too." He added. "You're not supposed to give up on those you care about."
His mind wandered briefly to the events leading up to now. He wondered what kind of crazy declaration she made just before jumping into a garganta to come back to this shit hole. He remembered asking her why the fuck she would do something so stupid. Now the answer seemed simple. "Because you don't give up on those you care about. No matter how stupid it is."
He grumbled while turning back towards the opening in the gorge, stretching his legs out while waiting rather impatiently for those Hollows to show. As much as he hated to admit it, without a decent number of allies to fend off the hordes of Vasto Lordes, they didn't stand a chance. They were going to need all their attention on Zev.
And he already knew Halibel had failed. He knew the minute he felt her Cascada. They were dead in the water.
Just how long had they been sitting out here anyway? He had told the snake to be back in an hour, but really how the hell did he know when an hour passed? He had assumed the bastard would run out, grab a few of his friends and come stumbling back.
Or maybe not.
Really it was just a shot in the dark, one he was betting on Haruka's instincts. What other choice did they have at this point?
His head fell back as his eyes moved to the sandy sky. "Fucking Hollows; they ain't ever reliable."
A pained cry echoed across the empty desert as the stinging metal sliced into Haruka's forearm. It had felt like hours had passed since they started this endless battle, though the environment was stuck in time. The moon still remained a bright crescent directly above them, glistening the fresh red wounds that adorned both of them.
They stood facing one another, both breathless. "What will it take for you to trust me?" Haruka bellowed.
Dairokkan sneered. "Maybe stop ruining our life over and over again for starters. Start protecting yourself from manipulative people. Stop trusting everyone you see!" She charged again, her sword bright like a storm. Haruka blocked the incoming attack with her own blade, a cloud exploding around them.
"I am not ruining our life." She argued while jumping back, gaining some distance.
"Every decision you have made has brought us suffering. We have lost everything we cared about and just when we think we finally have some peace, you bring more chaos into it!" Again she charged, her weapon slashing at Haruka's head.
"And you'd rather we isolate ourselves, turn our back on those in need and be alone forever?" Haruka screamed back, their swords pressed against one another in a battle of equal strength. One last final blast of reiatsu had them both skidding back in the sand.
Dairokkan paused, her sword dipping to her side momentarily, "we were never alone. We always had each other. You don't remember. You never remember. From the moment Mother died, we promised each other that we would always have one another."
"From that moment on we got pulled into one chaotic situation after another. We were placed with the S4G at such a young age that it became your only world. I was just your weapon that you used to fight off all your fears, your doubts, and your hate."
Haruka remained pinned in place, listening to her zanpakuto retell a time she did her best to forget.
"I became your enemy." She accused.
"That's not true!" Haruka shouted back.
"We were enemies before I was even sealed away. You hated me."
"It's nothing but lies. I never hated you."
"That's why you looked to these other people to protect you, to guide you. You never felt you could stand on your own feet no matter how many times I leant myself to you. You followed martyrs, you followed traitors, and now you follow murderers. I can't trust you, Haruka, because you don't trust yourself."
The statement stunned her into silence. Her throat was completely dry, her tongue getting stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her sword quivered in her shaky grip.
"The world is not easy, Haruka. We will suffer, we will feel pain, and we will know tragedy. But, we will also know good, we will see joy, and we will experience wonder. It is called balance and it is something we all must learn. Perfect balance means perfect harmony."
"She always used to lecture us." Haruka said quietly, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "She lectured us because she knew she wasn't going to be there for very long. When she died, I pushed her out. I pushed everything she tried to teach me away because all of it was just a bad memory. I ended up splitting myself in two. You and me."
"She had the Sight." Dairokkan replied. "And she saw what we would become. She attempted to stop it. But not everything is a variable. Some things are just constants."
"But remembering now, seeing everything like this…" Haruka dropped her weapon, the lifeless sword slowly twisting through the air as it fell. She burst forth in a wave of shunpo, approaching her separated self. Before Dairokkan could even make a move, Haruka was colliding with her, her arms wrapping around her neck and her face burying in her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
"Perhaps there is still a chance to change our path." Her zanpakuto mentioned as her weapon fell from limp fingers, the two swords hitting the ground simultaneously.
"I promise. I will be strong for both of us." Haruka declared quietly.
"Then do it." Dairokkan replied before wrapping her arms around Haruka. Her body slowly melded into her, bringing Haruka's reiatsu to life with burning force. A ragged cry tore from her lips as pain consumed her into darkness.
A burst of explosive reiatsu erupted around Haruka. He was on his feet in an instant, watching as the purple energy seemingly enveloped her. Her eyes shot open and an agonizing scream left her lungs.
"Ruka!" He shouted while attempting to approach, but the energy literally burned him. He watched in horror as her muscles clenched painfully, her back arching and teeth clenching. Then as quickly as it came, the energy vanished. Haruka collapsed forward and he was there instantly to catch her. "Ruka."
Her breathing came in long desperate gasps. "I did it." She sputtered out.
He sighed before grinning. "Of course you did. You ain't allowed to lose." He teased while running his hand through her hair.
She choked out a sarcastic laugh. Her hand reached over and grasped the hilt of her zanpakuto, regarding it warmly before pushing it back to its sheath.
"Grimmjow-sama?" An interrupting voice had Grimmjow's head spinning to the gorge entrance. There stood a horde of Hollows, regarding the two of them cautiously. "What kind of power was that?"
"One that you're going to want on your side." He answered simply. He grabbed Haruka and took off in a blast of sonido until he was situated at the top of the gorge and looking down over the numerous Hollow that had assembled. Haruka stood beside him, taking in the view and comparing it to her dream. The similarities were unsettling.
"You always said you wanted to be king. Now is the time to give it a shot." Haruka half-joked.
Grimmjow glanced over to her, his look meaningful. "You sure you want to be queen of this lot?"
She snorted. "I could be queen of the pond toads and it would be a step up from my current status of 'ex-Shinigami hiding in the World of the Living'." He rolled his eyes and she grew serious. "This will probably be our only chance. Let's do this right."
"Yea." He affirmed before finally giving the group below his attention. They had moved into the gorge, an action that showed substantial trust as they were all very much trapped in that little valley. "You're all living in hiding down here, scraping together some kind of existence." He started.
"We aren't all as fortunate as you, Espada-sama." One of the Adjuchas hissed. The others looked at him horrified and subsequently backed away.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You all think I got a free ticket to luxury. I ain't here to kill you. And I ain't here to gloat in your faces."
"Then why are you here?" Another grumbled.
"To give you a chance to fight for a home and maybe a little bit of normalcy." He offered.
Talk exploded throughout the crowd, which sounded more like angry snarls and growls to Haruka. But, at the very least, it had gotten their attention. "You all know what's happening. The strongest of you are vanishing practically out of thin air to go serve a man who gives you nothing in return. Zev."
More angry noises erupted from the crowd of Hollows. "I didn't think they'd be receptive to rational thought." Haruka whispered.
"There are two things all Hollows want, Ruka, and that's to be a little less hungry and a little less miserable. They have fears like any other soul. At the end of the day, they don't want to die either." He mumbled back while waiting for the crowd to die down.
"And what do you want from us?" One of them questioned.
"I need you to fight with me. I need an army to take on his army so I can get my hands on his throat." He practically snarled and the crowd cheered. "After that, if we succeed, you can live in Las Noches. And you won't have to hide and starve anymore."
The cheering continued. "Anyone who wants in can march with me. The rest of you can rot in the forest."
Only a handful of Hollows broke from the group and meandered back into the trees. "Cowards." Grimmjow thought to himself. If they couldn't fight for their own freedom, then they didn't deserve it. He glanced over to Haruka, whose eyes were still locked on the horde below them. She fought with everything she had no matter how many times she suffered for it. She deserved freedom from her past. But only she would be able to do that. He couldn't provide that for her.
"I guess this is our army." He mentioned idly.
She glanced up at him, a small contented smile pulling at her lips. "Our army…"
And so it was. A horde of Adjuchas and Gillian marched with Grimmjow and Haruka out of the dreaded Forest of Menos and towards the city of Las Noches.