Chapter 5

"Bankai again?" Grimmjow taunts, cool, calm and collected even though he's missing one arm. I watch the fighting men wearily from where I sit, ready to duck out of the way at a moment's notice as they go at it. I'm in no mood to be hit by a strike gone wide. "Did you forget? Your Bankai couldn't even touch me"

"Oh really," Ichigo taunts back, equally as calm. "Then who put that scar on your chest?"

I only stop my laugh by sheer force of will, though a few giggles escape. I'm sure I look absolutely insane by this point. At least to anyone who can't see Grimmjow and Ichigo. Which would be humans. I'm pretty sure that, to them, I'm just a weird girl, dressed in equally weird clothing, sitting on the sidewalk, and staring up towards the clouds like a loon.

"I've got just one question before we start, Grimmjow," Ichigo says, confusion beginning to color his words as he gives Grimmjow an appraising look. "What happened to your arm?"

"I figured I could beat you with one arm tied behind my back," Grimmjow says, still calm, hand in his pocket, though a smirk soon slithers across his lips. "So I threw it away before I got here but it seems like I should have thrown them both out."

"Bullshit!" I yell and crackle madly when he throws a glare my way. Ichigo also turns to look at me, one brow quirked. "Tōsen cut that shit off because Grimmjow was being a very bad Kitty Kat and launching unapproved attacks."

"I will kill you slowly," Grimmjow promises from his spot in the air and I just shrug, shit eating grin firmly planted on my face.

"I won't go easy on you," Ichigo says, bring Grimmjow's attention back to their fight and away from me. His hand goes up then, reaching the top of his head before pulling down just as a wave of black spiritual energy shoots forward.

"What the hell is that?"

The surprise on Grimmjow's face is genuine and I'm sure Ichigo is smirking behind his mask.

"Sorry," he says, golden eyes focused on Grimmjow just as he shoots forward "But I don't have time to explain."

The fight begins in earnest then and I have no hope of keeping track of them. They move too fast, swinging and dodging and attacking before my eyes can focus on them. Ceros and blasts of spiritual energy block them from view more often than not as they fight.

It's only as a particularly strong one swallows Grimmjow up that they pause. Ichigo stops attacking as he waits for the blast to clearly up and to see if his opponent is even still alive. Grimmjow emerges from it still standing.

Though, extremely worse for wear in my opinion.

"This…power," he chokes out in between the pants tumbling form his lips. Blood flows down in streams from various open cuts but he's still got a harsh grip on his Zanpakuto. He's still willing to fight. "Is not a Shinigami's power…you bastard…Just what the fuck were you doing this path month?"

"I told you," Ichigo says as he launches into another attack. He holds nothing back as he sends a wave of spiritual pressure Grimmjow's way, distracting him long enough to move behind him. "I don't have time to explain."

They begin to move too fast again. The last thing I can make out is Grimmjow releasing a Cero as he plummets towards the ground. It hits Ichigo dead center, pushing him away enough for Grimmjow to gain some ground back but it's too late.

Ichigo has him beat…at least until his mask breaks.

The smirk on my face is all cruel and vindictive as I hear Ichigo's yell of, 'My mask?'

With both of them more or less back on even ground, Grimmjow redoubles his efforts. They clash again and, at some point, the fight moves to the ground.

Ichigo goes skittering past me, smashing harshly against the ground as Grimmjow knocks him down from the sky. Grimmjow, for his part, stands on the ground, once again calm and collected as he watches Ichigo struggle to stand.

He makes one last ditch effort to release his mask before Grimmjow attacks again but it doesn't do him any good. The masks breaks almost as soon as he releases it and Grimmjow's on him before he can figure out why that could be. The sound of Grimmjow's foot connecting with his stomach is sickening and makes my own stomach clench in sympathy.

"So it seems like that mask can't be used again once it's broken, huh?" Grimmjow asks as he towers over Ichigo. "Could it be because you took too much damage? Or because you used too much Reiryoku? Or does it have a limited amount of uses?" Grimmjow asks as he begins to stalk towards him, not that he's actually expecting an answer. "I have no clue what the reason could be but that's okay. You see, the point is, at this moment you can't bring it out."

Man, he sure likes to talk a lot.

I'm about ready to tune them both out. Knowing how this fight is going to go, I don't really find it all that interesting, which it's why I'm the first one to spot her.

She appears quietly. Trying not to draw attention to herself as she attempts to read the situation and come up with the best course of action. She stands a little ways down the street, eyes flicking from Grimmjow to Ichigo before finally landing on me.

The narrow down to slits when she catches me watching her but she does nothing to me. She doesn't have a chance to attack me. Her attention is drawn back to Grimmjow just as he raises his hand, Cero charging. Ichigo can't defend himself, his hands are trapped, pinned by Grimmjow's Zanpakuto, so Rukia intervenes.

"First dance."

Ice forms around Grimmjow's hand, cutting off his charging Cero. He starts, pulling his hand up in confusion at the unexpected turn of events until Rukia speaks again.

"The Next Dance," she says, dropping into a battle stance just as Grimmjow turns towards her. "Hakuren."

"Uh-oh," I mumble, scrambling to my feet as Grimmjow's encased in ice. Right, I forgot about that. For a second I'm worried Rukia will turn her sights on me but she doesn't spare me a glance. Her full attention is on Ichigo as she races towards him.

"What an awesome power," Ichigo mumbles as Rukia kneels down next to him. "But when did you…"

"Don't talk," Rukia tells him as she begins to work Grimmjow's Zanpakuto out of the ground so she can free Ichigo's sleeves. "It's already going to be hard enough to get you out of here. We don't have much time to waste with that," she mumbles eyes turning my way and I shuffle nervously.

She won't attack me will she?

"Besides, it looks like you're the one who used an incredible amount of power," she says, turning back to him and I use her distraction as a way to make my escape. I begin to shuffle backwards, keeping them in my line of sight. "You're shaking."

"Shut up," Ichigo mumbles, pants tumbling from his lips just as I back into something.

"Ichigo—," Rukia begins but she's caught off by Grimmjow breaking out from the ice. Not that I see it, I just know that that's what happens. I only miss it because the thing I backed into pulls my attention from them.

My back is pressed against something warm and hard but with the slightest give. Standing in the middle of someone's grassy yard, I know it can be nothing else but a person. Carefully, slowly, I turn towards the person who's stopped my escape and find myself face to face—chest really 'cause he's really tall—with Shinji.

"Well, I'm fucked," I mumble as I find him staring back at me, one eyebrow raised in question and one hand resting on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

He keeps staring at me, eyes locked with mine even as he stops Grimmjow from killing Rukia with a blast of something. I try to back away then, hands going up in a show of surrender but I don't get far. One hand goes to wrap around my upper arm while the other unsheathes his Zanpakuto.

"I swear, I don't really like getting' involved in Shinigami fights," he drawls, gathering everyone's attention as he yanks me towards him, spinning me around as he does so that my back is once again connected to his chest. "But when you hear fighting so close by, you just can't ignore it," he drawls, raising his Zanpakuto so that it rest lightly against my neck. "Stand down or I'll kill her."

My heart pounds against my chest, my throat goes dry, and Grimmjow? Grimmjow laughs. Roars with laughter at Shinji's demand. So much so that he's clutching at his stomach as he laughs his head off. It goes on for a long time, winds down only for him to look at me and start all over again. He's breathless by the end of it.

"Wait…wait," he chokes out between his laughter, hand still clutching at his stomach. "You…you actually think I care about this runt?" he asks dissolves back into laughter when he realizes that Shinji really does think that. "Go ahead. Kill the bitch," he says, eyes wide with excitement as he all but bounces in place. "Make my day."

"You asshole!"

"Hey, you wanted to come along, babe. It's not my fault you can't protect yourself," he says as he slams his Zanpakuto into the ground, once again embedding it into the ground, and leans against it. "Come on already! What are you waiting for?"

"Ulquiorra will be pissed," I warn him but Grimmjow just laughs again. I squirm in Shinji's hold at the sound of it. I'm careful not to push against the Zanpakuto but Shinji presses into my skin as a silent threat to keep still. Rukia and Ichigo stare at us in bewildered confusion as the strange turn of events and I'm sure the same look is on Shinji's face.

"Like I care."

"Aizen—,"

"Doesn't give two shits about you either and we both know it," he drawls as he begins to pick at his nails in boredom. "Look, are you going to kill her or not? I would very much like to get back to this fight before time's up so if you're not then move aside and I'll do it. Fair warning, though, I will be blaming her death on you."

"Grimmjow!"

"Sorry, babe, but you've overstayed your welcome," he says as he pulls his Zanpakuto from the ground. "Can't say I'll miss you and I'm sure I won't be the only one glad that you'll be gone," he mumbles as he stalks towards us.

"Wait, wait, wait," I plead as I push back into Shinji's chest in an attempt to get as far away from the deranged Espada as possible. "Think about what you're about to do there, bud. Tōsen already cut off one arm, you wouldn't want him to cut off the other now, would you."

"It'll be worth it."

I don't know if he's serious or not. I don't get the chance to find out as he disappears from sight, only to reappear behind Shinji and disarm him. Shinji's Zanpakuto goes flying, knocked out of his hand by a move too fast for me to see.

I'm no too sure what happens next, either.

One second I'm in Shinji's arms and, the next, I'm on the floor. Knocked to the side and away from harm as two Cero's collide. The resulting explosion shakes the ground, rocks me back and forth as I curl into a ball to avoid serious damage.

I don't uncurl until the ground stops shaking, until I'm completely positive the last of the Ceros are gone. Though, when I do, the scene I find is unsettling, confusing, throws everything off kilter because Grimmjow's standing in front of me. Battered and bleeding more than before, he stands between the Shinigami and me.

"Shit," he curses, blood dripping from his mouth and splashing on the ground as he leans forward. He's standing on his last leg, so close to being brought down but he doesn't let him stop him. Even half dead he keeps going. "Damn it…"

"You minimized the damage by hitting my Cero with your own," Shinji says, mask in place as he gives Grimmjow an appraising look. "Not bad."

"Fuck you," Grimmjow coughs out through blood stained lips. Shinji regards him, then with something akin to pity. He's no doubt already thought of just exactly how he's going to deliver the final blow. But Grimmjow, never one to give up even when things look bleak, isn't about to give him the satisfaction of killing him. "Grind—"

Ulquiorra makes his appearance then.

"Ulqui…Ulquiorra!"

Right on time and it makes me wonder if, perhaps, he hadn't been watching us for some time.

"Mission accomplished," he says, gaze lazily taking in the battlefield before landing on me. I'm still on the floor, battered and bruised but, thankfully still alive. He holds his hand out to me, then, beckoning me forward while he keeps Grimmjow from releasing his Zanpakuto. I get to my feet carefully, but quickly, and move to his side before he can say, "Negación."

A bright, golden light engulfs us. Protecting us from any attacks as it lifts us up and towards the opening Garganta.

"There's some traces of you Reiatsu," Ulquiorra says now that we're safe from harm. He takes his hand off Grimmjow then and lets the other one drop. Slowly, calmly, he puts them both in his pockets. "It seems that you've acquired a new power but is that the extent of it?"

Ichigo glares up at us with those words and I shuffle carefully behind Ulquiorra. Not that they can attack us, of course, but I'm feeling weary after the day I've had.

"It's all over," Ulquiorra says as we finally reach the Garganta and he ushers us into it. "You no longer have a chance. The sun has already set in our hands."

With those last words the Garganta closes, shutting us away from the Shinigami and I heave a relieved breath. That, that was seriously too close for comfort and it's left me shaken. So much so that I lean forward, hands on my knees, and desperately try to ground myself.

Being held hostage is not a fun experience.

Especially when your partners rooting for them to kill you.

"You bastard," I gasp, one hand coming up to lie on my chest. My heart beats a fast tempo under it and I take long, deep breathes in the hopes of evening it out. "You were going to let them kill me?"

"Tsk," he scoffs, wiping his hand across his lips in an attempt to get rid of the blood smearing it. "If he was going to kill you he would have done it before I'd even realized he was there. Hollows care for no one but themselves, anyone familiar with us knows that. He knew using you as bait would have gotten him nowhere."

"Then why did he do it?" I ask, incredulous as I look up at him. He gives me a long look as he takes what remains of his top and uses it to clean the blood off his face.

"So he wouldn't have to kill you," he says, extremely nonchalant for him, as he tosses his top to the side. He walks forward without another word, striding by an emotionless Ulquiorra before he can being to ask his own questions.

Our walk back to Hueco Mundo is quiet then. No one's in the mood to talk or interact with each other. We just go quietly, Grimmjow leaving a slight trail of blood and Ulquiorra not looking the least bit concern about it.

Me? Well, I struggle to understand Grimmjow's actions as I stare after him. Was it my imagination or did he save me?

No.

He couldn't have, could he?

He said he wanted me dead, promised to kill me himself, and even urged Shinji on when the man had a Zanpakuto to my throat. So who tossed me aside? Who knocked me down and away from the colliding ceros?

Hell, had Grimmjow ending up between us simply been a coincident?

I don't get to find out.

We arrive back in Las Noches before I can find the answer to all my questions. The Garganta opens up right in the middle of the planning room. We aren't the only ones to arrive, either. The rest of our team spills out of another Garganta at the same time, all a little worse for wear.

But no one looks as bad as Luppi.

Not even Grimmjow does. Though that could because most of his wounds are superficial. They're cuts and scarps while Luppi's obviously go deeper. He staggers into the room reaching, around blindly so he won't fall to a heap in the floor.

He only just manages to catch himself on the white table to keep that from being a very real possibility.

"All those in need of medical attention are to seek it," Ulquiorra says while giving Luppi a blank stare. It would have been one full of pity if he weren't so emotionless. "I will inform Lord Aizen of our success," he says, moving to exit the room. "Trixy, come."

Am I a dog?

I follow after him obediently even though my knees threaten to buckle. It's been a long, adrenaline filled, pain laden day but I manage to keep on my feet as we make our way towards Aizen. I can fill the tremors building in my limbs as we go. I'm not used to this, having my life threatened and being expected to pretend like nothing happened.

Sure, I had been all calm, cool, and collected when it happened been Grimmjow doing it but…actually I don't know why exactly that had been. Still, having Grimmjow threaten to kill me just seemed different than when Shinji did it.

He hadn't used a weapon, hadn't promise me any pain, just death.

Sweet, blissful death while Shinji had promised to slit my throat. To have me choke on my own blood while I struggled to breathe. Somehow, that has me more traumatized then Grimmjow's attempt on my life. Even though, honestly, they'd both promised to end me where I stood.

"You've returned," Aizen says, eyeing us as we move to stand before him. He sits on his throne, looking bored as can be as he regards us with disinterest. "Was your mission as success?"

"Orihime Inoue should be here be nightfall," Ulquiorra tells him and Aizen nods, pleased.

"Excellent," he mutters almost distractedly as his eyes stay locked on me. On my neck for that matter and I curse the fact that I can't pull the zipper on this damn top all the way up. He's no doubt eyeing the bruises there. He says nothing about them though. Just waves us off and goes back to what had been doing before we'd interrupted him.

We exit the room just as quietly as when we entered it. I don't know what the plan is now. I have no idea what Ulquiorra expects of me so I just follow after him silently, feet beginning to drag bit by bit. Sure, I'd only woken up a few hours ago but it's been a long day already.

"Stay here," Ulquiorra says suddenly, bring me out of my blank staring as he stops before an unmarked door. "I have things to tend to so you will stay here and await my return," he orders as he opens the door and ushers me into his room.

At least I think it's his room since it looks exactly the same as the one I woke up in. I don't bother to ask though, or to tag along. I simply nod my head and dive into the bed before he can change his mind.

I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow.