A/N: Quick note, sorry. ^^;

This chapter is coming way the hell out of nowhere, I know. I just suddenly got the inspiration, so here's an extra long chapter as an apology for the lull. As always, this is coming LITERAL YEARS after the previous chapter.

If you're still here, been here since the beginning, you don't know how much that means to me. This chapter is for you. Thank you.

After everything, Ichigo tries to enjoy the peace and quiet. Tries to catch up on everything he missed. It turns out it's summer back home, and so he has nothing to fill his days except enjoying the peace and quiet. He and his friends fought so hard to achieve it, after all.

His friends and… Grimmjow. Whatever they are to each other now.

Grimmjow had not returned with the Shinigami after the battle. He'd been gravely wounded, and said returning to Hueco Mundo would be better. He hadn't even really said goodbye. Just one look over his shoulder after tearing open a Garganta, and that was it. Ichigo didn't blame him. He hadn't really known what to say, either.

It wasn't every night, but Ichigo did make it a point to take late-night walks to the park. Just on the off-chance. But there was never a trace of Grimmjow's reiatsu, never a hint that he was there or had ever stopped there on his way to somewhere else.

The peace and quiet was great. He was finally able to spend time with Chad and Orihime and Uryuu just like they always should have—as friends. As stupid teenagers looking for thrills and laughter, and finding more than they could have ever asked for. There was one memorable Tuesday night that found them running from mall security because Uryuu was just too easy to tease, and of course the situation blew up like it always did, in the best way. Ichigo remembered grabbing Orihime's hand in his and tugging her along, Chad at his other side, and Uryuu bringing up the back. He remembered bursting out of the mall's doors, gasping for breath and laughing, just laughing.

Orihime was nice. Maybe not nice, actually—kind was the better word. Ichigo knew the way she looked at him. She was hardly subtle about it. He didn't know how to tell her no. How do you tell one of your closest friends that not only do you not like her the way she likes you, but you're waiting for an undead monster to give you a sign that he's still alive, and that's why you won't have a relationship with her?

Ichigo supposed he could just say it like that, and damn the consequences, but Orihime deserved better.

Finally, he couldn't stand it. Summer break was only six weeks. They had returned from fighting in the middle of the second week. There were only two weeks left of break, and Grimmjow hadn't been in contact at all. That was his right, of course, he was at least the equivalent of a competent adult. Point was, he could make his own decisions.

So why did Ichigo feel like something was terribly, terribly wrong?

He slept on the feeling, turning it over in his mind. In the morning, he could only come to the conclusion that it was a gut feeling. If he visited Hueco Mundo and nothing was wrong, then he could leave and call himself an idiot and everything would be fine. But if he visited and something was going on—maybe Grimmjow would appreciate a helping hand.

Or maybe not. It was hard to tell.

So this found Ichigo leaving his body once more, and traveling to Hueco Mundo, alone. He didn't want to bother his friends on nothing but a hunch.

It looked the same as ever. Shifting white sands, moon in the sky. The occasional dead tree. Ichigo frowned to himself and took off in what he was pretty sure was the direction of Las Noches. It was probably going to be a good place to start, at least.

He tried not to think during his journey, about what might be happening. Because, truthfully, it might not be happening at all.

At last, Las Noches loomed before him, and Ichigo entered. It had not been repaired since all of the fighting when they were rescuing Orihime, and while some wings of the fortress seemed to be entirely untouched, others were littered with rubble that Ichigo had to pick his way around. He made himself go slowly, so as not to be taken by surprise, and to pick up any indication however small of Grimmjow's presence.

He peeked into every room he passed, but most were bare. That, or their function was long forgotten. Some were filled with clothes. Others, beds. Some only had tables and chairs. Ichigo passed them all by. Working his way slowly towards the center of the fortress, he eventually came on a huge room- Aizen's old throne room, he supposed. Only there was someone sitting on the dias.

"Lose something?"

Ichigo blinked blankly up at her. Harribel seemed casual, almost unconcerned about his presence. She sat on Aizen's throne like it had always been hers.

"Is Grimmjow here?"

Harribel gave him a long, searching look. Finally, she blinked and looked away with a sigh through her nose.

"No, Shinigami. Grimmjow is not here." She stood, apparently with some difficulty. Ichigo recalled she had been captured by Ywach himself. Captured, but not killed. She must still be recovering. "He went out a fortnight ago and has not returned."

She stepped deliberately down from the dais, approaching Ichigo slowly. He wondered if he should prepare himself for a fight, but she didn't look like she was in a fighting mood.

"Do you know where he went?" It looked more and more like his gut feeling was right, and Ichigo tried to stop the panic rising up in his chest.

"No. And he could be anywhere by now." Harribel reminded him. "But I can tell you where he might have gone."

Ichigo tried, very hard, to remain calm.

"Hunting is usually better around caves and large dunes. Weak Hollows like the shelter, you see. The nearest place is in that direction—" She pointed directly to her left. "—If you travel as fast as one of us when you first faced us, it should take you about a minute."

If she said anything else, Ichigo didn't hear it. He couldn't have, because he was already outside Las Noches and on his way, as fast as he could while keeping an eye out for a place like Harribel had described.

It was not difficult to miss. A large gnarled tree next to a huge sand dune. A dune which had one gaping hole at the base. Ichigo shunpo'd to the entrance, casting out his awareness, trying to feel for something.

He almost missed it. He almost left. But there, deep down in the bowels of the cave, there was a flicker of reiatsu. Like a candle flame. A very familiar candle flame.

Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu and held him at the ready, stepping into the cave.

Grimmjow came to awareness in parts. First, he knew he was awake. Then, he knew he had all his limbs. That was good, he definitely considered that a win. But there was pain—from where? He hurriedly began to take stock, checking himself over while trying to move as little as possible. There was some wound high on his forehead, and dried blood crusting the left side of his face. His left arm also wasn't working properly—his shoulder felt like it was on fire. His right knee was being stabbed, sharply and consistently. So, not actually being stabbed, but a wound instead.

He groaned and tried to roll over. He managed it, but it was harder than he'd expected. First, there was a gag in his mouth. Some dirty cloth, it seemed, possibly once part of his own wardrobe at one time. Second, his hands were tied in front of him, so tightly that he could hardly feel his fingers. He swallowed a whine of confusion and pain and tried to look around.

There was a fire, and shapes of Hollows dancing on the walls. Not Arrancar, possibly Adjuchas. He'd rolled to face the wall, like an idiot. It was a risk to let them know he was awake, but Grimmjow threw out his reiatsu anyway, searching. Were there any more of them? Was Harribel nearby?

No, there were no more of them. Nor was Harribel here. But there was someone—someone masking their reiatsu. Grimmjow couldn't feel them, no, but he could scent them, and the fresh air they carried into the cave with them. He held back a groan and closed his eyes, breathing harshly through his nose. His legs were not bound, but Grimmjow couldn't imagine getting up. It wasn't the pain, Grimmjow was very accustomed to pain. It was that his head had begun to spin so that he wasn't sure exactly which direction was up. Safer to stay on the ground until he got his bearings.

He was aware, distantly, of some movement and grunting. Then,

"He's awake." A deep voice, the owner of which sounded dumb as a box of rocks. Grimmjow hoped he was using that phrase right—like that was the worst of his problems.

"Give him more of that stuff, hurry!" A higher-pitched voice, and scratchy-sounding.

More shuffling.

Brain catching up with what was happening, Grimmjow began to thrash wildly, struggling to get his feet underneath himself. He cursed, muffled by the gag, and screamed in fury when he felt a hand close around his throat. There was a sharp pinch under his jaw, and then he was released.

He lay there, breathing harshly. He was now turned to see the rest of the cave, and his gaze darted between his captors as he fought to catch his breath. One was tall, only just shy of being Menos height, and its limbs were as thin as literal sticks. Its mask made up for the lack of mass, being absolutely huge. The size of a human car. The other was short and squat, and had a tongue that it couldn't seem to keep stuffed in its own mouth. There was a third that Grimmjow suspected was the leader, sitting on the other side of the cave beyond a small campfire. It was shaped like a bird, and its mask gleamed like bone in the light.

He could feel something happening, deep in his gut. A burning sensation. Grimmjow twisted, now preoccupied with this new thing. He'd ask what they'd done to him, but he spotted the source of the pinch and knew. Several of Szayel's syringes lay abandoned on the floor. This must not be the first time they injected him, but with fuck knew what. Szayel had always been working on something, more often than not having the results be labeled as a failure. The burning was spreading, out into his limbs and up his throat. It consumed all other feeling, all other perception as it went. Grimmjow could no longer feel the rough stone floor, or the grit of sand in his clothes. Only the burning.

They must have raided the failures, because anything of use had been destroyed. Grimmjow had seen personally to that. He didn't understand Szayel's experiments, but he understood that in the wrong hands they'd be devastating, and he didn't want that weird-ass Shinigami Captain to get ahold of any of it. There was something painful, too, about having a comrade's weapon used against him after that comrade no longer had a say in the matter. Grimmjow wouldn't say he'd been close to Szayel in any way, and the pain was not significant, really, but it was still something curious his mind turned over and over as the burning crept up his cheeks, into his eyes, into his brain.

Grimmjow screamed.

Ichigo did not arrive in the chamber unnoticed. He had to stop and take stock of the situation. Three Hollows besides Grimmjow, a small campfire. One of the Hollows was holding Grimmjow and a syringe, looking at Ichigo with fear. It was less the expression, mostly because Hollows as a general rule lacked expressions, but more the feeling of the creature's reiatsu.

"Let me leave here with him, and I'll leave you with your lives." Ichigo held out the hand that wasn't holding Zangetsu, palm up and open.

"We have no reason to trust that." The Hollow shaped like a bird hopped forward, beak clicking.

"I have no reason to trust you." Ichigo said calmly.

Grimmjow was writhing desperately, but he didn't seem to be in control of his own limbs, really. Whatever was in that syringe, Ichigo could see empty ones scattered all around, maybe ten of them. Things started to make sense. These Hollows weren't particularly strong, they'd simply somehow gotten the drop on Grimmjow.

"Just let him go." Ichigo said again.

The bird Hollow clicked its beak thoughtfully, assessing Ichigo. Ichigo tried to be patient and ignore how Grimmjow was screaming when everything in him was demanding he just go grab him. He was reluctant to engage in more killing, he had to at least give these guys a chance.

The bird finally nodded and hopped back, correctly assessing Ichigo's power.

"Take him."

The Hollow holding Grimmjow abruptly let him go and stepped away, and the trio cleared to one side of the cavern, well out of Ichigo's way. Ichigo shunpo'd to Grimmjow's side immediately, sheathing Zangetsu and putting an arm around Grimmjow's shoulders to lever him up.

"Grimmjow?" He tried softly, doing his best to clean away the clotted blood from the Arrancar's face. The gag, he should remove the gag—

Grimmjow opened his eyes, and Ichigo was struck once more with the electric blue he'd gotten so used to. Usually those eyes were shielded, either showing nothing at all or showing only annoyance or anger. Now, though, Grimmjow was unguarded, and Ichigo still couldn't read the emotion he was seeing there.

Finally, Ichigo's fingers found the knot on the gag and loosened it enough that it fell away easily. There was still cloth stuffed in Grimmjow's mouth, so Ichigo pulled that out as well. Grimmjow worked his jaw in silence, smacking his lips as he tried to get moisture back. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo." Ichigo was surprised enough that he had to give Grimmjow's body a long, searching look. He was still twitching with the after effects of the drug, whatever it was. His words must be the same. Grimmjow never apologized. It just wasn't a thing.

"What do you mean, you're sorry?" Ichigo smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way, trying to mask his worry.

"I was… weak." Grimmjow looked like he was going to be sick.

Before Ichigo could reply, Grimmjow had twisted away from him and vomited. There wasn't much that came up, only a clear fluid that stank. But it was a familiar smell, one Ichigo remembered from some particularly hard nights in the clinic. It was bile. There was nothing in Grimmjow's stomach, nothing at all.

Ichigo swallowed and steeled himself. This was going to be hard.

Grimmjow coughed and swallowed, rolling back onto his back and forgetting that that meant also rolling back into Ichigo. He forced himself to meet Ichigo's eyes, because he wasn't a coward. He'd take this as standing up as he could.

"I'm sorry." He repeated softly, unable to stop himself from shaking. He couldn't tell if it was the drug or the fear. He didn't know if the other Hollows were still here, he couldn't spare them a thought, but he knew that if they were still present he didn't want them to hear a damn thing. "Please give me another chance."

Grimmjow was not one to beg, from anyone. But Ichigo had shown him time and again that he wasn't just anyone. They had—they were—Grimmjow was pretty sure that what they had was important to humans, too. He'd certainly never felt the same sort of things for another Hollow, but he'd heard of it happening before. Of two Hollows of similar power forming a sort of partnership. Staying together, fighting for one another. He hadn't known much about it, but then he'd investigated Szayel's workshop.

In the aforementioned Purge of Szayel's Dangerous Things, Grimmjow hadn't been able to help it. The urge to snoop was just too strong. Getting passed Szayel's defenses was fun—maybe he'd been hoping that he'd uncover something that would lead him to more. What he found instead were tomes and journals of research, all filled by Szayel himself, and all in some kind of cipher. He'd certainly been paranoid, but applying enough time and determination, Grimmjow had been able to crack it.

He must have liked puzzles, in some other life. There was an inherent enjoyment he found he had of them. Szayel hadn't made it easy. He didn't use any small words like 'a' or 'the' or 'it' to give Grimmjow any hints. It had been slow going, at first, but the more Grimmjow got used to Szayel's method, the more he'd been able to read.

Szayel had been researching and experimenting with the bond, wondering if he could make stronger minions for himself, or perhaps wondering if he should approach another one of the Espada with a proposal in order to make them both stronger. He'd eventually dismissed the idea, it seemed, because it was not in a Hollow's nature to form any sort of bond. It was miracle enough that Aizen had managed to rope together so much volatile power in the first place. No, the bond had to come from something else, something he hadn't been able to or had no interest in pinpointing before his death.

Grimmjow didn't think he'd been overstepping any bounds in coming to the conclusion that he and Ichigo shared such a bond. After all, there was a small amount of Hollow in Ichigo. Perhaps just enough. The bond wasn't sealed like Szayel's notes said it should be, whatever that meant, but Grimmjow could feel that it could be. Ichigo was a worthy bondmate, and Grimmjow had put a lot of thought into what ruling alone might mean.

He'd spent a lot of time, sitting on a table in Szayel's dark lab, tattered journal in his hands. Grimmjow had never thought himself a sentimental type, but he couldn't deny that there was something there, inside of him. Something that made him ache, vaguely, when he thought of his Fraccion. Something that made him lose his breath when he thought of Ichigo. Something that made him start to think that winning was great and always had been, but returning alive meant nothing if you had no one and nowhere to return to.

And now, here he was, proving that he was weak. These Hollows were nothing compared to him, and still he'd let them get this far. If Ichigo never came, they would have killed him, and that would have been the end of the line for him. Grimmjow had kept his scars for this exact reason, both Ichigo's and Nnoitra's. He couldn't afford to underestimate anyone, nor be taken by surprise. And still, it had happened again.

He was weak. The thought had continued to ring through his mind, and at first there was rage to accompany it. Now, however, there was something like fear. If he was weak, would Ichigo lose interest in him? There were certain things Grimmjow could handle and certain things he couldn't. For example, he could handle losing Ichigo's touch. He knew he could survive that. But if Ichigo simply forgot about him…

To be a Hollow meant to hunger. There was a void to be filled. Grimmjow had once, as an Adjuchas, thought the solution would be to rule. To be at the top would be to fill the void. As an Arrancar, Grimmjow had learned the void would never be filled. Not by anything. He'd come to accept that. And then Ichigo came along, bringing hope with him. It was something Grimmjow had once thought of with a sneer of disgust or a scoff.

But now, looking up at Ichigo's concerned eyes, Grimmjow found he was helpless. There was so much to say, and yet only one thing kept coming to his mind.

"Please, give me another chance." He would cling to hope with everything he had. He didn't have any other choice.

"Grimmjow, what are you talking about?" Ichigo was working on his bonds furiously, trying not to hurt him, and Grimmjow almost smiled. Since when did someone like Grimmjow warrant such care?

"I messed up. It won't—I'm not weak. I'm not."

"I know you're not." Ichigo didn't sound mocking, simply matter-of-fact.

"Does that mean…? Be clear with me, Shinigami, I can't—not right now."

"Grimmjow. There is no second chance to give." Ichigo sighed, exasperated. "Don't you remember? I'm not walking away. Ever."

Grimmjow nodded. There was something in his throat he couldn't seem to unstick, and he pushed Ichigo away as he tried to gain his feet. His knees wobbled, and his leg screamed in protest, but the pain only served as fuel. Whatever they'd injected him with made his reiatsu difficult to control, his connection to it wavering in a strange way. There was no doubt in his mind, however, that it would come back to him. And he didn't need his reiatsu to kill.

Ichigo stood beside him, hands outstretched but not touching, apparently ready to catch him should he stumble. One hand on the wall, Grimmjow took his first good look around the cave. The other Hollows were not here. They must have left at some point. He put a hand to his hip, feeling for Pantera's hilt. He found it, and felt a knot in his chest relax.

Grimmjow looked back at Ichigo, unsure now.

"You came for me." He stated. Saying it out loud made it real.

"Yes." Ichigo nodded. "I felt like something was wrong. You—" He paused, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "You would have come to visit me by now." Ichigo shot him a half-smile that said something like I was worried and I'm a dork all at once.

Grimmjow swallowed. The silence stretched and hung. Finally,

"Thank you."

Ichigo nodded once, knowing that was about all Grimmjow could stand to talk about it. He came forward, sliding himself under Grimmjow's arm and wrapping his own around Grimmjow's waist. His other hand held Grimmjow's wrist. Supporting half of Grimmjow's weight on his bad side, together they limped out of the cave.

Ichigo watched Grimmjow's chest rise and fall in easy, even movements. Together, they had made it to Las Noches. They washed Grimmjow down and freed him of the blood, sweat, and sand that had clung to him. After that they'd treated his wounds, working around each other easily the whole way. Bandages in place, Grimmjow had decided to try for some sleep and finally achieved it about an hour ago.

Ichigo couldn't stop watching Grimmjow's breath. Couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened if he hadn't listened to his gut. If Grimmjow had…

"Ichigo."

Ichigo jumped. "Y-yeah?" He managed.

"I want you to kill me."

"…What."

"You heard me."

"Why?"

Grimmjow opened his eyes, levering himself up on his good arm to give Ichigo a long, searching look. Finally, he tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"The way I see it, when you die, you have a damn good chance at becoming a Shinigami Captain." Grimmjow started. "I'll never be welcomed in the Soul Society." He glanced at Ichigo before continuing. "Not as I am. If you kill me with Zangetsu, I have a chance to become a Plus in the Seireitei." Now he looked at Ichigo plainly. Grimmjow looked very sure.

"You have a chance." Ichigo repeated flatly.

Grimmjow nodded.

"There's no guarantee." Grimmjow half-shrugged. "It's a theory, really."

"No guarantee." Ichigo didn't know why he couldn't catch the fuck up here.

Grimmjow nodded again. When the silence stretched out, he kept talking.

"I don't remember my human life. I could have been a criminal, I suppose, or committed other sins. In that case, the gates of Hell will appear, right?" Ichigo nodded woodenly, and Grimmjow nodded to himself as confirmation before continuing. "Right. And I suppose if I do become a Plus, I might not be myself anymore. Gillians are made up of many Hollows, and while I reigned and came out on top, it might mean that killing me as I am now separates me. Makes me… I don't know. The Hollow—person, I mean, I was before Gillian-class."

"And if you do become a Plus? Say you keep all of your memories, everything?" Ichigo prompted.

"Then I'll still be strong. I'll be able to become a Shinigami myself. If you become Captain, I can join your division, or whatever they are. I'll be your Segundo." Grimmjow gave him a toothy grin, one that Ichigo remembered very, very well. "It's a step up from Sexta, after all."

Ichigo was silent.

"I figure that if you kill me now, I'll be able to rise in the ranks to meet you by the time you die." Grimmjow's grin faded as he became serious, searching Ichigo's face for some kind of response.

"But there's no guarantee, Grimmjow." Ichigo couldn't speak above a whisper. "What if nothing happens? No Hell, no Seireitei, what if you just disappear?"

Grimmjow took a deep breath, looking down at his lap. Finally, he looked up.

"Then that's the risk I'm gonna take." Grimmjow leaned forward, reaching out and taking Ichigo's wrist, demanding that they lock eyes. When Ichigo finally did meet his gaze, Grimmjow growled out, "I want it to be you."

Ichigo swallowed.

"Okay. Okay, just… Give me—I need—" He sighed, digging the heel of his free hand into his eye.

Grimmjow let go of him and laid back, and Ichigo crawled up beside him, careful not to jostle his injuries, and rested his head on Grimmjow's chest. No heart beat there. He touched the edge of Grimmjow's Hollow hole, making the Arrancar shiver.

"I am afraid, Ichigo. Don't think I'm not." Grimmjow murmured, his fingers tangling in the hairs at Ichigo's nape. "But I can't… Not like this. Not like I am now, I can't keep… being what we are. Not forever. You will become a Captain, Ichigo, and when you do, you can't come to Hueco Mundo like this. I won't be able to come into the Seireitei, no matter what's happened in the past." He pressed his face to the top of Ichigo's head, inhaling deeply.

Ichigo stroked his hand over Grimmjow's chest in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. He was afraid too, but he understood all the same. There was a part of him that was convinced, too, that they'd been hurtling toward this all along.

"Okay. When do you want to…?"

"Whenever you're ready." Grimmjow rumbled. "You're the one has to do it, after all."

Ichigo nodded.

"Let's just do it now. Yeah?" Ichigo asked. "Because I'll never be ready. No point putting it off."

Ichigo carefully got up, helping Grimmjow to stand, too. It was strange to face him, and know that not only was this not really a defeat, but this ending was not coming after a fight. He unsheathed Zangetsu as Grimmjow put a hand on the wall to steady himself.

"Make sure you hit the mask." Grimmjow reminded, cocking his head at just the right angle.

"Yeah." Ichigo took Zangetsu in both hands.

"I…" Grimmjow swallowed hard; Ichigo watched his Adam's apple bob. He looked like he was struggling to say something, but the words were escaping him.

"Grimmjow." Ichigo stopped him. "It's okay. Me, too." He tried to smile, but it faded too fast.

"See you on the other side, then."

"On the other side."

Ichigo raised Zangetsu. Grimmjow closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ichigo gathered his reiatsu around him, because Grimmjow deserved nothing less than this. He released his shikai, and moved his blades into position.

"Getsuga…"

Grimmjow held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut more tightly.

"Tenshō."

A/N: Thank you for reading! You'll find this continued on my AO3 account, ConniptionCrazy. /users/ConniptionCrazy/works

This fic is my baby, really. It's been with me through a lot, I think about it all the time, and I'm glad it's finally going somewhere new. Thank you so much to everyone who decided to put a watch on this story, it means a lot.