Story Title: A Soldier's Honor
Pairing: Grimmjow/Orihime (GrimmHime)
Summary (extended):The war is over. Aizen has won. Lives have been lost, but the fight is not over. Inoue is back in Hueco Mundo, being used for her healing abilities. Grimmjow has a secret that she should know. When things are this miserable, it can bring people together. But will she remember him when she wakes up?
Disclaimer:I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, or plot. I just own my devious imagination!
Individual chapter rating: T for sexual references and language
A/N: Here's the second installment! Szayel fans out there, you might take offense to this. But hey, it was something that had to be done. And to the Grimmjow fans (fellow, Grimmjow fans…), you'll enjoy the end of this chapter, I believe. Starting now, I'm going to put the POV changes in effect. There are no warnings, but it's pretty obvious, and I don't think there will be any confusion between Inoue and Grimmjow's thoughts and actions, haha. I'll stop talking now and let you have it!
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A Soldier's Honor
Written by Illuminate the Shadows
Beta'd by Innocent Sinner in Hell
Chapter Two
Word Count: 2,274
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"Again."
With a soft sigh – the only complaint I dared to utter – I regenerated my yellow sphere. Sensors were hooked up to my temples and chest to monitor my vitals. Still weary from two nights ago, I halfheartedly maintained the orb.
C's return caught my eye. He nodded to his 'brothers'. B smiled.
"Excellent." Turned to Grimmjow, he spoke directly to the Espada. "Aizen-sama wants to see you."
Grimmjow glared, and didn't budge. "Why?"
Szayel B shrugged. "I have no idea. It's Aizen-sama. He must have a reason."
To my alarm, Grimmjow stood up. I caught his eye, and he acknowledged my fear. "I'll be back soon," he growled, speaking more to me than the scientists. His retreating figure disappeared behind the closing door, and the feel of his reiastu faded.
Left alone in the room wit the three Arrancar, I couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling in my stomach. My hands dropped as the sphere faded.
"That will do, Inoue," Szayel murmured. "Let me remove those for you."
"I can do it." My voice was small again, like it seemed to do when I became nervous. Standing up, I unzipped my collar a bit to pull the sensors off. One of the Szayels grabbed my wrists, pinning them behind my back.
"I insist," Szayel smirked, advancing as I struggled. Wide-eyed, I watched in horror, helpless.
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I was pissed. But I had the right to be.
'Damn scientists sent me on a tour of the temple.' Aizen hadn't wanted to see me; he merely was contemplating what to do with Inoue when her abilities were duplicated. My name had been mentioned, but Aizen couldn't tell me why the Szayels thought I was needed in other places. 'A simple misunderstanding, my ass.' Well aware I'd been gone for at least an hour, I hurried back to the laboratory.
Pushing the door open, I found all three of the pink-haired liars gathered together, engaged in conversation. As I approached them, my sensitive sense of smell picked up a strange scent that I couldn't quite place. I wrinkled my nose.
"Where is she?"
The triplets looked up at me, and it was the real Szayel who spoke. "We thought you weren't returning, so C took the liberty of escorting her back to her room."
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And she's there now?"
"Yes."
Leaving without another word, I took the long route to my quarters so I could pass by her room. I knocked on the door.
"Orihime? You in there?"
A few moments of utter silence passes, then I heard her soft reply of 'yes'. She sounded as if she was crying. 'Probably Ichigo again.' Not willing to set eyes on her tearful face, I continued down the hall, satisfied that she was taken care of.
My quarters were cold. But it didn't bother me; they were always that way. Everything was well-kept, but it wasn't my doing. 'I'm messy as fuck.' No, it was because I hardly came here. There was no real reason. Hollows rarely slept, and I was constantly busy with some task Aizen bestowed upon me.
Slipping my jacket and hakama off, I flopped down on my bed. 'Can't even remember the last time I slept. A month? Two?' Rolling onto my stomach, I settled in. 'Whatever. I deserve it.'
And with that, I drifted off.
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The bland room was comforting, for once. I was alone, and that was what I wanted. I desperately prayed; hoping that Aizen or a male Arrancar or especially one of the Szayels wouldn't come in.
Grimmjow… I wasn't sure how I felt about him. I knew the Szayels sent him away on purpose. If Grimmjow hadn't left, none of this would have happened.
My untouched plate of food sat where the servant had left it. And I sat on my bed, knees curled up to my body, where Szayel C had pushed me. Still lying where I had fallen, trying to ignore my aching body. I knew I had a bruise just under my eye; I could feel it. I saw the bruises on my arms and hips when I had halfheartedly examined myself this morning.
When the door finally began to inch open, I couldn't bring myself to look. Moments passed, and I knew whomever had come in was standing nearby, waiting.
'Waiting for what?'
"Orihime?"
Relief washed over me; it was Grimmjow. The lesser of the evils.
"Alright, what's wrong with you?"
I didn't dare move. I assumed it would be painful, and was too afraid of Grimmjow's cerulean gaze.
I felt a pressure on my shoulder that was apparently his hand. At my cringe, he removed it quickly.
"Did they work you too hard yesterday?"
At his ironic words, tears welled up in my eyes. 'He would never believe me.'
I felt my bed shift; he had sat down beside me. A few minutes passed, agonizingly slow.
"Inoue?"
At the amount of concern in his voice combined with the use of my name, I lost it. Pushing myself up, the tears fell heavily at the physical and emotional pain. I collapsed into his chest, tears falling onto his skin. My entire body trembled.
I entirely expected him to push me away, or maybe even injure me. So when his arms came around me lightly after a pause, my crying actually ceased out of surprise.
We remained like that for quite awhile, his arms creating a protective barrier between my fragile mind and the monsters beyond the room. The silence was thick, like a blanket, and it startled me when he spoke, even if it was only a soft murmur.
"They hurt you, didn't they."
It was more of a statement than a question. Ashamed, I nodded.
"They didn't do what I think they did?"
I could nearly feel my heart pounding out of my chest. My voice shook as I replied.
"Yes."
I felt Grimmjow's body shaking beneath me. Curious as to why, I pulled back to examine his face. I discovered that it was anger that fuelled his trembling.
"I'll kill 'em," he growled.
My eyes growing slightly wide at his response, I began to shake my head. "Aizen would kill you."
Grimmjow removed himself from me, standing to cross the room. "I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me." He turned the doorknob, eyes leaving my face.
Pushing myself off the bed, I stood, my voice reaching an almost hysterical level. "I am!" My knees buckled at the pain of standing, and I shut my eyes. But before I hit the ground, I found myself in his arms again. His gaze was a mixture of tenderness and irritation, as if he couldn't make up his mind.
"You need to stop making it worse. You'll never heal if you don't rest." Lying my body down on the bed, he sat beside me.
"Will you stay?"
He sighed. "If it'll keep you in bed, yeah."
Turning my face into the pillow but still watching him out of the corner of my gray eyes, I said softly, "Promise?"
His head turned the slightest bit so his blue eyes could rest on me. Reaching out a hand, he touched the bruise beneath my eye. His eyebrows furrowed, and for a moment, he looked confused. Then, he murmured one single word.
"Promise."
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Despite what they had done, Aizen ordered me to continue working with them. After consulting with Gin, he agreed to have Szayel B executed, since he was the one who had done the most… Damage. It seemed Aizen-sama was serious when he'd said he didn't want me hurt; he killed one of his beloved Espada for me. Or actually, he didn't kill B. After much debating, Grimmjow received the honor. I spent quite a few nights awake, trying not to picture the man I'd become so comfortable around brutally murdering one of his own.
And so the work in the laboratory continued. It took much more of a toll on me now; I experienced both intense fear and severe hate for the two remaining Szayels. Each lesson left me trembling afterwards, and I could see Grimmjow burning a hole through the pink-haired scientists with his glare the entire time.
The Sexta Espada must have taken notice to my precarious state of mind, because he began to attempt to take my mind off of the subject. Instead of sitting in my room for most of my down time, I was asked to accompany him on his tasks. I curiously accepted, and although watching Grimmjow train with the young hollows wasn't exactly my idea of fun, it was a hell of a lot better than sitting in my cell, agonizing over the loss of my innocence.
One particular day after watching him train with the adolescent warriors, I somehow found the courage to touch Pantera while he was having a conversation with Nel. Although I expected the blue and white sword to have some sort of reaction, she stood rock-still, her tip in the dirt allowing her to stand upright. Curious, I wrapped my fingers around the handle and lifted her. She was heavier than I had anticipated. Struggling to lift it so the blade was as high as my face, I nearly fell in the sand. Strong hands steadied me, and the sword suddenly became lighter.
"You're gonna hurt yourself," he murmured from somewhere above my head. My cheeks heated up in embarrassment, but he only chuckled. "Besides, this is my Zanpakuto. You can't use it efficiently."
"I just wanted to know what it felt like to hold one," I said softly, letting go and ducking out from under him, so he stood holding Pantera.
He sheathed her, and then examined me. "C'mon. If you're good, maybe I'll let you shower." I wrinkled my nose and followed him. 'What's so great about showering? I get to do that every other day anyway…'
"And I don't mean those crappy showers you usually use. I mean the ones only high-ranking Espada use. With warm water and soap."
Suddenly all too eager to get where we were going, I ran, slipping in the sand, to catch up with him as he took large strides. "Wait up!"
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The showers were pristine. Clean, white porcelain, and separated stalls. Upon entering, I was enveloped in a clean scent that none of the other showers I'd been in possessed. It was heavenly, in a sense.
"You go first. It's you who's not supposed to be showering here. I gotta keep watch," he murmured. He reached up on a shelf to grab a white towel that I would've never been able to get to, and held it out to me. "Here. Turn the water on. I'll get you some clothes to wear after." Before I could blink, he was gone from my sight.
I had just figured out how to turn the shower head on when he returned. Hanging the clothes on a rack just inside the stall where the water wouldn't reach, he glanced at me.
"Well get to it. The longer we're in here, the more of a chance we'll get caught."
Blushing, I waited until his figure disappeared from the open end of the stall before undressing. From what I could tell, he was somewhere by the door. I left my clothes on the floor by the open end and stepped into the spray.
It was divine. The hot water seared my skin, but it felt wonderful. Every droplet that traced my skin washed away the tainted presence that wasn't mine. I scrubbed my skin raw until I was satisfied that the Szayels' touch was gone forever. I chose a fruity shampoo and lathered my hair with it, then began to rinse. Every once in awhile, I could hear him move outside of my stall.
"Grimmjow?"
"Huh?"
A smile formed on my lips at his off-guarded answer. Rinsing the white suds out of my orange hair, I spoke.
"Will you tell me now?"
There was a pause. I knew he was well aware of what I was talking about. After a long moment where I finished rinsing my hair, he spoke in a gruff tone.
"No. Some other time."
'Will that other time ever come?' Shutting the water off, I dried myself off with the towel, then examined the clothes he'd brought me. Searching through them, I was highly embarrassed to find that he hadn't given me any panties. I hesitated for a long moment, then decided it wasn't that big of a deal and didn't bother to ask him.
"You done?"
"Yeah," I said softly, wrapping my hair up in the towel and gathering my clothes. I tip-toed out of my stall and faced him. He scrutinized me for a moment.
"Wait here while I go. Then I'll take you back to your room. Unless…" He smirked. "You'd rather walk there by yourself?" Paling, I shook my head quickly. He laughed, and then moved to where I couldn't see him. "Didn't think so."
The sound of running water soon told me he was washing himself. Both uncomfortable and extremely interested, I tried to convince myself to move. 'Just one foot in front of the other. Go over there really fast. He wouldn't even notice.' I bit my lower lip, pushing my body off of the wall. 'Just a peek.'
Taking one small step toward the shower stall in which the man I'd secretly desired for months was naked, I felt as if someone else had taken over my body.
'I must be mental.'