The next two days consisted of Grimmjow forcing Henry to stay off his leg to make sure he healed properly. Even going so far as to put his hand on Henry's chest to keep him from leaving his bed, despite Henry's meek protests to feeling better. Instead of listening and compromising, Grimmjow just gave Henry a look before reminding him that he's not used to people being hurt and still having the injury the very next day. How he saw it hinder Henry's ability to walk and that there was no way he was going to allow him out of his room.

Though Henry had simply sighed at that before telling Grimmjow it was a 'limp' and that he could walk just fine, thank you very much. Not that it helped his case any.

Which leads to now, when Grimmjow turned to enter the bedroom to redress the wound and saw Henry standing by the window.

"What're ya doin'?"

Henry broke his gaze from the people walking outside the apartment and regarded Grimmjow with an exasperated look. "It's been two days, Grimmjow. I'm fine."

"The hell ya are." He pointed at the recently made bed with narrowed eyes. "Get back in bed."

"Grimmjow, I'm fine. Really." Henry shifted his weight onto his right leg and knew it was a mistake the second Grimmjow's face grew stormy. "I was just standing here for a while." He looked back out the window with a frown. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Henry." Grimmjow put the first-aid down on the comforter and started to make his way toward him. "Get yer scrawny ass back in bed 'fore I make ya."

There was a moment of debate on Henry's end before he sighed and slumped his shoulders as he closed his eyes. "Okay." He opened his eyes and cast a glance toward Grimmjow. "I'll go."

Grimmjow crossed his arms and waited as Henry walked toward the bed. Once he sat down, Grimmjow popped open the kit and motioned for Henry to lay back as he dug out what he needed. The bed shifted as Henry propped the pillows up against the headboard and leaned back against them as he rolled up his pant leg for easier access.

"Y'know this would be a lot easier on both of us if ya just did what I told ya." he muttered as he pushed the kit aside and got onto the bed. As he sat down, Grimmjow crossed his legs and gently took hold of Henry's ankle to pull his leg closer. "S'not like I wanna be a pain in yer ass, but I don't wanna risk ya gettin' hurt again 'cause ya did somethin' stupid." He set the supplies down and began unwrapping the bandage.

"I know. I'm just..." Henry furrowed his brow. "I'm going stir crazy. There's nothing to do and most of the electronics don't work."

"I noticed that. Seems like yer radio and microwave are the only things that ain't affected."

"The washer and drier are fine too."

Grimmjow snorted as he placed the soiled bandages aside. "S'not like I do laundry. So it doesn't matter to me."

There was a hum before a comfortable silence took over, the sounds of Grimmjow popping the cap to the ointment and squeezing it onto a cottonball as background noise. He applied it to the bite carefully and made sure he distributed it evenly before he put the used ball by the bandages. Grimmjow reached for the roll of gauze, separating a piece from the rest of it before he started rebandaging Henry's leg.

"Grimmjow?"

"Hnn...?"

"Can you...tell me about Hueco Mundo?"

The fact he asked so tentatively wasn't lost on Grimmjow as he stopped bandaging and looked up. "It ain't a nice place, Henry. Don't think I forgot about how you reacted to the whole 'hollow' thing."

"That was..." Henry bit the corner of his lip and looked down on his hands. "That was before I knew I could trust you. I mean," He huffed a bitter laugh, "you haven't tried to kill or eat me yet."

"'yet,' he says." Grimmjow muttered and returned his focus to wrapping. "I'll have ya know that if I wanted to eat ya," He smirked once Henry nearly jerked his leg away but Grimmjow held on, "I'd make sure it was the pleasurable kind."

"You -"

He heaved a sigh. "Look, just listen to me, wouldja?" Grimmjow flicked his gaze up to Henry's face and a swell of satisfaction rose once he noticed the pink in his cheeks. "Ya ain't a hollow and I ain't into cannibalism of the human sorts. That shit is just nasty. Not to mention messy."

Henry made a face at that and pressed himself back into the pillows. "You're not really helping your case."

"Probably not, but..." He brushed his thumb over Henry's leg, trying to soothe the tense nerves beneath his hand. "I'm not gonna eat ya. Not unless you want me to." Grimmjow smirked as Henry ducked his head in response. "Anyway..." He looked down and resumed his task. "Hueco Mundo. Lemme see...well, guess I'll start with the basics."

Grimmjow reached for the scissors once he felt the bandaging was sufficient enough and snipped the end off.

"It's kinda like a hollow breeding ground. They stay there unless they feel like headin' to the 'World of the Living,' as the Soul Reapers like to call it, to feed on human souls." He grabbed the bind to keep the gauze in place and hooked it on. "To get stronger, they feed on other hollow souls. It's like a fucked up version of 'survival of the fittest.' Though I'm sure you got animals that fuck each other over to survive." Grimmjow flexed his jaw as he took one hand away from Henry's leg but kept hold of his ankle in a loose grip. "'least, that's how it was before Aizen showed up. The Grande weren't considered the most dangerous after he showed up with the Hōgyoku."

"What is the Ho...Hog-"

"Hōgyoku."

"Yeah. That."

Grimmjow fell silent as he furrowed his brow. He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat before he shook his head. "I don't really know what the fuck it is. Just that it turned me into what I am now and that it did the same to others." He sighed. "Though it didn't work so favorably for others. That's not somethin' ya ever wanna see again after you do the first time."

"So it gave you a new life?"

"I guess you could call it that." he grit out as he clenched his teeth. "Point is, Aizen and his galpals made themselves at home in Hueco Mundo. Soul Reapers in a hollows nesting grounds. Forget the whole 'traitors' part of it. What the fuck possessed them to come into a place where hollows reign supreme and then act like they're better than us? Just 'cause they have a stupid, magical, whatever the fuck it is that could change our forms at will -"

"G...Grimmjow!"

The way Henry's tone was colored in slight panic and pain had Grimmjow freeze once he realized he'd been squeezing Henry's ankle while his temper had been raising. "Shit. Fuckin' shit." Quickly releasing his hold, Grimmjow jerked his hand away with guilt bleeding through his angry expression. It made his heart lurch the moment he saw the handprint and crescents from his nails on Henry's skin. "Fuck! I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay." Henry propped himself up and placed his hand on Grimmjow's shoulder. "Soul Reapers and this 'Aizen' person are a sore spot, aren't they?"

"I don't care about the Soul Reapers, honestly. They're fun to play with when they're strong and can last longer than a few minutes." Grimmjow tisked and let his hands drop into his lap when Henry brought his leg back to his side. "That bastard is a whole other story though."

"Then we won't talk about him." Henry squeezed Grimmjow's shoulder reassuringly before he pulled his hand away. "But if it's filled with hollows how could you live there?" When Grimmjow looked up with a raised brow, Henry pursed his lips. "You said you were changed so I assumed you were different before."

"Hit the nail on the head there." He shrugged. "They had us build them a stupid castle in the middle of the desert. That's where we live. Most of us are numbered and are considered Arrancar or Espada." Grimmjow rose a hand and jabbed his thumb behind himself. "I got a six on my back and as long as I got anythin' to say about it, it's stayin' there."

Henry lowered his gaze as he furrowed his brows. "So what you're saying is that Hueco Mundo is your home."

"If ya wanna put it that way, sure. It's more of a place than anythin'." Grimmjow leaned back with a thoughtful look. "I guess you could call it my 'hometown-of-sorts.'"

He cocked his head as he looked up. "Don't you want to go back?"

Grimmjow flicked his hand to the side with a scoff. "Hell no! If I go back I'll end up killed or something worse than that. Aizen can be a real bastard and I fancy keeping my head on my shoulders since it looks better there." He dropped his hand and grimaced as he glanced over to the window. "Actually...I'm surprised he hasn't shown up to drag me back yet. Szayel's a lot of things, but he ain't useless when it comes to things like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Szayel is what you'd call a 'mad scientist.' As the name implies, if Aizen ordered him to, he'd find a way to locate me no matter what or who he had to destroy to do it." He crossed his arms as he bowed his head with a grumble.

Henry's eyes widened at the implications and he slumped back against the pillows. "That's..."

There was a flash of Aizen standing before one of Grimmjow's pack members, a splotch of blood decorating his cheek and his hand was soaked in it. His eyes half-lidded as he gazed impassively upon the deceased before he turned to regard Grimmjow. How the sick, twisted, venomous smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he told Grimmjow that they hadn't survived the process. That it was all a means to an end with the unsatisfactory results.

Before it hadn't affected Grimmjow how he'd lose people along the way. All he'd been focused on was being the strongest and if those in his 'pack' couldn't keep up then so be it. They wouldn't be able to keep up and the chances of them dragging him down had Grimmjow figure their loss wouldn't matter much when it came down to it.

However, now, he knew that line of thinking was going to end up with him on the chopping block.

Grimmjow lifted his head with a distant look in his eyes as he said, "Basically, 'Everything is a means to an end.'"


Henry shifted on the bed to try and get comfortable while he ran his eyes over the text in the book Grimmjow had left for him earlier. He fidgetted again when the movement hadn't helped him any. Though if he had to be honest, it had been hard to relax after Grimmjow told him about Szayel, the other Espada and he delved a little into the Hōgyoku. Or what he figured was relevant to it.

From what he could gather, the Hōgyoku was some form of instrument that was capable of helping Aizen create his own army alongside giving him the power to dominate the world if he so desired. Even though Grimmjow mentioned something about a 'barrier' that prevented it from its potential. For now.

It was a lot to swallow, not to mention digest.

Henry closed the book with a sigh after rereading the same paragraph a few times. There was no way he could focus on the story with all these thoughts chasing one another in his head. Dancing about in circles with no real rhyme or reason to them and only confusing him further. Especially when it got jumbled with everything else Henry had been exposed to for the past week or so.

All the deaths of people he'd just met.

Deaths that Grimmjow has told him about.

All the numbers carved into their skin.

Numbers that mark rank for the Arrancar and Espada.

All the newspaper clippings and files about a serial killer that was responsible for the deaths.

Horrifying and devastating facts that Grimmjow informed him of because he asked.

It was all a gigantic mess.

Henry twisted around and put his book down on the nightstand. He let his hand rest on top of the cover for a moment as he furrowed his brow. His whole being itched to get up and move, to use up the restless energy that's been building up over the past forty-eight hours. But he'd promised Grimmjow he would try to stay in bed until he was fully healed. Although Henry knew Grimmjow meant well, it was easier said than done.

With all this free time and nothing to busy himself with, Henry knew it was asking for trouble. It gave him time to think and the possibilities of falling into darker matters was inevitable. Which was something he desperately wanted to avoid but they only seemed to stop when Grimmjow was around. Whether it be his presence in general or just his company, it staved off Henry's pessimistic thoughts.

The kind that involved the deaths and horrors beyond the hole.

Yet, in the oddest way, Grimmjow could understand such burdens. Even if he carried them in an altogether different fashion than Henry himself. It was admirable. Though he was sure Grimmjow would tell him that it's the exact opposite if Henry said such.

He cast a glance toward the doorway and sighed. "Come on." Henry slouched back on the bed as he closed his eyes, raising his hands to cover them with a grimace. "You can do it. Don't think about it."

Henry took his time with simply breathing, trying to rid himself of the memories creeping back from the depths and uncovering themselves with a vengeance.

He could remember every detail of the first death. How Cynthia's make-up was scattered on the floor outside of the room and how there was so much blood on the window. Though the window didn't even compare to what was inside. What was the worst was the 'squelch' of the blood as he knelt down to hold Cynthia while she rasped her final breaths. The fear was clear in her eyes and she trembled, even as she tried reassuring herself it was all a dream. Her strength waning the longer she spoke and Henry was positive that even he hadn't helped her believe she'd wake up.

It hadn't been a dream. His clothes and hands were stained an incriminating red when he woke up on his bed. Lukewarm and damning.

Jasper's death, while revolting and horrifying, hadn't been something Henry had expected the moment he entered the orphanage. He'd been so focused on the child he saw in the graveyard. Wondering how the child got there and why he was all alone. Henry was sure that the boy would've responded to him after gathering up the courage if Jasper hadn't gone on a rant about how 'something amazing was going to happen.'

He could say with the utmost certainty, though, that he'll never forget what burning flesh smells like.

Andrew was the only one of the three to look like he'd seen a ghost when the child seemed to greet him in the hall leading to the surveillance rooms. Henry had never seen someone so petrified at the sight of a kid but as Andrew stuttered his way through an explanation as to how he knew the child, Walter, it only served to confuse Henry more. How did Walter get from the orphanage all the way to a screwed up prison? What was he doing there?

More importantly, what type of occultism did that orphanage expose him to?

It wasn't even thirty minutes after Walter ran away that Henry stumbled into the kitchen's back room and found Andrew floating lifelessly in the water. Bloodied numbers emphasized by how his body began to bloat. Numbers just like Cynthia and Jasper but the 'Walter Sullivan' that he heard from his radio after Jasper's death couldn't be the same as the child.

So who was this 'he' they kept talking about?

"Hurry, hurry! It's him! He's coming!"

"I finally met him! The one the nosy guy talked about...the Devil!"

"Help me! Get me out of here! He's going to kill me!"

The 'what if's had slammed into him hard and fast.

If he'd been faster, could he have saved Cynthia? The odds would have been higher, surely. They would have been in their favor if he'd just gone into the women's room to check on her instead of standing outside like anyone would do in a normal situation. But there was nothing remotely normal about what had been going on and he was to fault for failing to see that. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say, but he felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

If he'd checked on Jasper sooner or locked the door behind him, Jasper might have had a chance at surviving.

If Henry had suggested Andrew come with him to find an exit, maybe Andrew wouldn't have run into this 'he' while defenseless. Henry could have fought whoever it was off and, if worse came to worst, he had his pistol at his disposal. If he hadn't been concerned about finding some food -

Breathe.

Henry curled his fingers, clutching at strands of his hair as he sucked in a deep breath. He shook his head and grit his teeth with a low sound of distress.

Breathe. Don't think about it. You can't do anything about it now.

The only useful bit of information he got was that the Walter Sullivan case sounded like it was about to be reopened. Which was disconcerting because Henry knows that the child's name is Walter Sullivan. However, the boy was too young to pull such things off and looked so confused both times Henry saw him. Confused and lost. They shared the same name but it was possible that someone who approved of the ten murders that Walter committed named their own child after him. Or it was a coincidence.

It had to be. Walter Sullivan's suicide was all over the news and he died at age of thirty. He even carved '11121' into himself beforehand.

Henry's breath hitched as he removed his hands from his face and he snapped his eyes open wide. He grabbed at his shirt with one hand as he pushed himself up with his other. Henry glanced around his room, brief but quick looks. His desk to the photo he took of Silent Hill's church to the door.

The numbers didn't add up. There was something wrong about the order in how they went up. The twenty-one always remained while the first two changed. 16121, 17121 and 18121. Not to mention the bloody handprints that were in direct line of sight just outside his door's peephole. Handprints that only he could see and they had three new additions to the fifteen dried ones.

It didn't make sense. Unless...

"Eighteen out of twenty-one."

He whipped his head toward the side of his closet, in the approximate location of the hole in his living room wall that connected to Eileen's bedroom. The note beside it mentioned her, about how she never noticed and didn't seem to know.

Henry's voice shook as he breathed out, "Oh no..."


Assassination's Note: So aside from getting the sudden urge to replay a few of the Silent Hill games, my friend mentioned something about a Bleach movie. However, my first thoughts to this was, 'Shit. I have to update my fic.' before anything else. On another note, I thought of changing this chapter's ending after contemplating a few scenarios but decided not to.