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 intense situations and vague gore
A/N: Cliffy… Haha well I'm famous for that. I know this whole Zanpakuto thing might be a bit confusing, so I think I'll clear it up now for everyone. Orihime's Zanpakuto's name is Rakuyo, which translates to "Fallen Leaves". Like Zangetsu, her figure is almost entirely human. Rakuyo's release command is "Teisei", which means "Whisper" and her bankai "Furoto ten ni", which is "Float to the heavens". For now, I've only designed her to have two special abilities, one of which appears in this chapter: "Sai seisei" which means "Regenerate". The other I won't bother with until it appears. I apologize if any of you are Japanese or know it well and the translations are wrong – I got them off of Google Translator, so blame it lol. Anyway, I'll let you get reading now. R&R please!
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A Soldier's Honor
Written by Illuminate the Shadows
Beta'd by Innocent Sinner in Hell
Chapter Six
Word Count: 2,008
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It was chaos. People ran. Swords clashed. Screams of the innocent dwellers of Seireitei echoed in the evening air. I knew I should run and take cover. That's what the other academy students were doing. But instead, I unsheathed Rakuyo.
'We've got a job to do, Rakuyo. People to protect.'
The cool, tranquil feeling pumped through my veins once again as I gripped her hilt. Trying to get a grip on what was happening, I looked around.
These newcomers seemed to be wearing all white; the opposite of our Shinigami's apparel. In my ceremonial white robe, I blended in with the enemies. I saw other beings – what I knew to be hollows – attacking my fellow classmates. Panic welled up inside me.
'Calm, young one.'
The whispery voice inside my conscious mind slowed my breathing and eased my mind. I was not alone. A little girl's frail scream caught my attention, and I turned my head. She was running from a smaller hollow; one that was shaped somewhat like a duck. Gripping Rakuyo with both hands, I went at it, a newborn rage flowing in my veins.
Being such a small soul, it didn't supply much resistance, but it still satisfied me greatly to slice Rakuyo's blade through it's neck. The little girl gave me a grateful glance before hurrying off to safety. I turned, frantically trying to make sense out of the disorder that was unfolding in the clearing. I saw Rukia and Renji fighting together against one of the Shinigami-like enemies. Upon closer inspection of the fight, I realized they, too, had Zanpakutos. 'Some sort of Shinigami-gone-bad? What the hell is going on here?'
Kuchiki-taichou was battling another one alone, fairing fine without the likes of my untrained self. Desperate to be of some use, I kept searching. The clang of swords raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck – not because I had never heard the sound before, but because I knew it meant death, this time.
Looking into the mass of people, I caught sight of familiar faces. Kira, Shuuhei, Yachiru-fukutaichou, Rangiku, even Yamamoto-taichou. With no time to waste staring in awe at his experienced skills, I swept my gaze in the other direction. Past swords swinging, kimonos flying, hair whipping, blood dripping. Then there was something blue.
Time seemed to slow down to an unbelievably slow pace. All grew strangely silent; even my breath sounded abnormally loud. The blue disappeared, to reveal equally blue eyes, the colour of the clear sky. They met mine. The connection delivered a punch right to my stomach. I was suddenly out of breath.
I was aware of Rukia yelling, of her grabbing my hand and pulling me away to safety. But I was lost in memories. It was as if I had come across a pool of everything I couldn't recall, and was abruptly submerged in it. Hueco Mundo, the first time I'd been captured. Ichigo, rescuing me. The war between Arrancar and Shinigami. I remembered getting the news that Ichigo had been killed. I remembered watching Ulquiorra fall to his death during his fight with Kuchiki-taichou. I saw myself captured once again, after Aizen had won the war. Locked away in Hueco Mundo, violated by the multiple Szayels.
Then there was nothing else, but Grimmjow. I closed my eyes, remembering his voice. The way he carried himself. The way he carried me, that night when I had been overworked by Szayel and his clones. I remembered him and I in the showers that day. I saw him, lying there, nearly dead after Nel had hit him with a cero. And I remembered the last few moments of my own life, after saving him had left me incredibly weak and lifeless.
I remembered how I felt about him.
"ORIHIME!"
Blinking rapidly, everything came back in a sharp second. The sounds of battle, happening just around the corner of the building Rukia had dragged me behind. Her dark blue eyes bore into mine.
"Are you okay?"
Nodding quickly, I smiled. "Rukia, I remember! I remember everything!"
"That's great, Orihime, but we have other problems here!" Glancing around the white brick, she winced. "We're losing. No one was expecting this surprise attack. Aizen must have known we'd be caught off guard."
'Aizen.' Now clearly able to remember the creepy man who betrayed the Shinigami himself, I nodded. "What do we do?"
"Well, we need to get to–"
"Rukia, you're bleeding!"
Staring with wide eyes at the small girl before me, I reached out to touch her skin. The fabric was ripped, exposing her wounded shoulder. It looked deep.
"It's nothing, it'll heal…"
'I can help.'
Blinking, I mindlessly echoed Rakuyo's words. "I can help…"
Rukia turned to stare at me. "Orihime, you had healing capabilities in the past, but I don't think you can do that anymore."
But I wasn't listening to her anymore. Concentrating on the words Rakuyo was uttering, I stood up, adjusting the grip on the golden hilt. "Teisei, Rakuyo." My voice was soft.
A flash of silver light momentarily blinded the both of us, and then died down. Newfound power flowed through my body, and I struggled to steady it.
"Orihime! Are you in release?" Rukia stared with unbelieving eyes. "Stop! That is NOT safe for someone who just received her Zanpakuto!"
Rakuyo egged me on. 'I am fine, I will steady you.' Drawing in a shaky breath, I lowered the tip of the blade to rest on Rukia's wounded shoulder lightly.
"Sai seisei…"
Rakuyo's blade separated into little leaves, all different colours, and soon I was holding a hilt with nothing more to it. The little leaves seemed to glue themselves to her wound, glowing a soft yellow. The both of us stared, and I felt my reiatsu wobbling off the path it needed to be. 'Calm.' Nodding to the voice, unheard to Rukia's ears, I forced myself to remain in control.
The leaves were gone, and the blade back in its place. Trembling, I felt the power drain from my body and leave completely; even Rakuyo's presence dwindled to but a barely flickering flame within me. But Rukia's shoulder was healed. There was blood, but no source. Awed, she raised her eyes to me.
"Orihime, what the hell just happened?"
"Um…" Breathless, I managed an innocent smile. "I think I just released Rakuyo and she healed you…"
Rukia shook her head. "Incredible. You just revealed your Zanpakuto, yet you can already use her in release form?" Standing up, she looked uncertain. "No time to worry about that now. The Arrancar are back, and they want something."
"We do, indeed."
The voice caught us both off-guard, and my eyes met his figure the moment it registered in my head. Aizen stood in the alley, a mere few feet from us. His face and body shadowed, it was impossible to even see his damaged side. Rukia unsheathed Sode no Shirayuki, drawing her in an angle in front of us.
"Aizen. You won. What reason do you have to attack us again? Your Espada have killed innocent civilians!"
Aizen took a step forward, his gruesomely burnt face apparent in the light. His smile remained on his face; similar to Ichimaru's constant smirk. "I have lost something very precious to me, and I'm simply here to retrieve her."
The moment the word fell from his lips, I knew what he wanted. 'Me. He's here for me.' Straightening behind Rukia and looking over the shorter girl's shoulder, I watched Aizen carefully. He made no move toward us.
"You can't have Orihime! She's a Shinigami now. She belongs here!"
Aizen seemed to contemplate this for a moment, and during the time he hesitated, Rukia reached behind me to touch my wrist with small fingers. A split second before she shunpo'ed us, her intentions occurred to me.
We didn't get far. Aizen must have intercepted us, because we merely made it out into the open square where the main fight was still raging on. I saw bodies lying on the pavement; some moving, some not. A sick feeling overtook my stomach as I stood up, gripping Rakuyo in case any Arrancar came at me. To my surprise, they ceased fighting. I caught sight of Halibel nearby. She regarded me with wary eyes. My mouth was dry as I searched for Rukia.
There she was – getting to her feet slowly, a few meters away from me. She appeared fine. Returning my attention to the people around me, I found myself being subtly circled by the Arrancar. Most of them I didn't recognize; there were countless numbers in Hueco Mundo that Aizen must have brought with him. Baring my teeth, I rose Rakuyo in front of me, eyes shifting to make sure none of them caught me off guard.
I heard Aizen's overly-amused laugh. He stood, near the fountain, flanked by none other than Ichimaru and Tousen. "Relax, brothers, sisters." The Arrancar obediently shifted away from me. "She is ours now."
"NO!" Rukia ran at him, Zanpakuto in hand. Careless, Aizen raised his hand, palm facing her, and a bolt of purple lightning flew.
"Rukia!" My cry was lost as she was hit directly in the chest, flying back. Only hoping someone had caught her before she became more injured, I returned my gaze to Aizen. He smirked, satisfied with himself. Something was building within me.
'He is ruthless, worthless, rubbish.'
"You bastard…" I whispered. Something snapped, and I raced at him with Rakuyo. "Sai seisei, Rakuyo!"
Everything grew quieter, like before I'd caught a glimpse of Grimmjow. Everything was slower, yet I was still fast. Even Aizen didn't react quite in time to block my blade. I sliced, seconds before Gin grabbed my forearm and threw me away.
Landing heavily on the stone, I winced at the sharp pain that shot up my spine. Rakuyo clattered to the ground, losing her release the moment my fingertips parted from her hilt. Pushing myself up onto my elbows to frantically search for Aizen, my eyes settled on him. He brought his finger to his neck, and it came back with spots of blood. He smiled, seemingly amused and impressed, even. Turning, he revealed the thin cut on his jugular. Nowhere deep enough to do any damage. 'Just her tip. Her tip got him.'
"It's been a long time since I've seen my own blood, especially at the hands of a Shinigami." He wiped the blood on his kimono. Helped to my feet by a nearby Shinigami, I stood and snatched Rakuyo from the ground. Aizen glared at me, his eyes projecting intense abhorrence, yet his smile all-too friendly.
"Unarm her, Primera, Noveno, "
Arms came around my body, locking my own arms at my sides, and a brown-haired man whom I knew was Coyote Stark took Rakuyo. Struggling against the other man, I watched helplessly as she was taken from me and given to Aizen. Smirking, he ran his finger along the tip, wiping his own blood free of my blade. He tucked her away in his hakama.
"Grimmjow may guide her back. After all, he is her keeper, yes?" Released from the man's hold, I stumbled slightly, only to be steadied by strong arms. The familiar scent drifted into my nose, though it offered little comfort. Raising my eyes, I heard the ripping of Gargantuas. The Arrancar filed into them, having completed their objective. Fearfully, I searched for a recognizable face in the crowd. I found Renji; his light brown eyes were anxious. Furrowing his brow, he took on a look of determination. I understood. 'They'll come for me.' Gripping my arm tightly, Grimmjow pulled me up as he ripped a black hole in the air before us. Fright gripping me, I held his gaze until I could no more. Blackness overtook me as I shut my eyes tight. Almost instantly, heat surrounded me, and the scent of sand filled my nose.
'But at what cost?'