Grimmjow felt the presence behind him too late. He grabbed his sword and spun, swinging wide, but his timing was off. He hadn't judged the man's distance correctly so the strike was premature and therefore harmless. His sword struck nothing and the man closed the distance before he could bring it up again. All his attacker had in his hand was a small black object. Grimmjow had no idea what it was, but when it was thrust his way, he instinctively threw a hand up to stop it.
Incredible pain tore into him from his palm where two prongs burned into his skin. His body went rigid, he lost his breath and fell to his knees.
When the assault stopped his muscles were weak and his sword was knocked easily from his hands. He looked up at the man again. He was big: thickset and tall. But even with the size advantage Grimmjow was sure he could take him if he could get his body working again.
Grimmjow got to his feet but the other man was already upon him. He tried to block a strike but his body wasn't working right and that small black object came for his neck.
It got him right under the collar bone, and this time everything let go. Searing pain rippled through every inch of his body and his muscles seized beyond his control. He couldn't even scream past his constricted throat muscles, until finally the man let up when he was writhing on his back in the dirt.
Grimmjow gasped and let out a pain-filled noise. He couldn't speak yet, but his eyes were fixed on the object in the man's hand. Seeing he was subdued, his attacker finally spoke.
"I'm guessing you've never been hit with a Taser before. Picked it up off that guy in there, along with this." He now produced the gun that had been missing from the dead man in the shop. "And now I find a prize like you, it must be my lucky day."
Grimmjow rolled to his side and pressed a hand in the ground, trying to right himself. When he finally managed to sit up, he was eye level with the man who had crouched down right next to him.
"What do want?" Grimmjow managed.
"What do you think?" The man looked down at Grimmjow's undone belt and open fly. The espada went rigid before reacting, throwing a fist toward the man.
Ichigo rounded the corner just as the taser came down on Grimmjow again, stinging into the back of his neck and paralysing him once more. He once again collapsed against the ground and Ichigo's screams at the man to stop were all but lost to him.
"I said stop!" Ichigo raised his sword. The pain abruptly left Grimmjow but the cold barrel of the gun pressed tight into his shoulder.
"You come any closer, and I'll shoot him."
Grimmjow was still trying to get his breath. His eyes were watering. His vision blurred. Ichigo stood his ground but didn't advance, wary of the gun. There wasn't much he could do when the man grabbed Grimmjow's collar and forced him back against the cement wall of the convenience store. He sagged where he sat, blinking, then he saw the look on the man's face and lurched forward.
The man caught his punch then stuck him across the face with the butt of the gun. The gun came back to his shoulder as a hand fell against his hip.
"I'll shoot you, and do it anyway, so you might as well cooperate."
"Don't touch him," Ichigo warned.
"Same for you. I'll shoot you after I shoot him. Just leave us alone for an hour and I'll let you both go free."
"Fuck you." Grimmjow finally got out past the chest constricting pain. "Kill him, kid."
"I'll shoot before that sword gets anywhere near me." The man leaned in and his hand reached to Grimmjow's fly.
"KILL HIM!"
Ichigo advanced.
"STOP!" The man screamed. Ichigo halted when the gun moved to Grimmjow's temple. The wounded espada was shaking violently where he was trapped, rage in his eyes like Ichigo had never seen. Ichigo himself was shaking, trapped where he was. It would be easier if the gun was pointed on him, he could take the risk, try to dodge, but there was nothing he or Grimmjow could do to stop the point blank range.
Well, that was what Ichigo thought before Grimmjow reached up and grabbed the main's wrist at his temple.
"Lower your hand or I'll kill you," The man warned.
"Then kill me, you fuck," Grimmjow growled, fingers clenching even tighter over the man's wrist, "because I'll die before I let you do that to me."
Then in one, swift motion, Grimmjow snapped the bones of the man's wrist.
And he pulled the trigger.
Ichigo screamed out in dismay, waiting to see brain matter spray back on the cement wall and the last espada to go limp where he sat.
But nothing happened.
The gun fell on the ground and the man reeled back in pain. He pulled his broken wrist against his chest but with his other hand he brought up the taser once more. It caught Grimmjow under the ribs, lighting him up in agony.
The man's mistake was ignoring Ichigo.
It only took one swipe, deep and clean through the man's back, across his spine. He gurgled on blood, his body went unnaturally slack and he spewed out one last blood filled breath.
Ichigo stared at the body of his victim for a long moment before Grimmjow's pained noises reminded him of the urgency.
"Oh shit, Grimmjow."
He knelt next to him. Grimmjow was in a state, soaked in sweat and shaking from head to toe. The taser was in the dirt. Ichigo shoved it away and got his arms under Grimmjow.
He was a wreck. His eyes watered from the pain, his body shook in the trauma of the electric volts. He seemed to be fighting not to throw up when Ichigo got him sitting. He couldn't stay up on his own. Ichigo leaned back on the wall and pulled Grimmjow against him.
"Just breathe," he instructed, not knowing what else to say. Grimmjow let himself be supported like this but as soon as his hands were working his did his best to do up his fly again. Ichigo watched his fingers shake violently.
"What was that?" Grimmjow managed finally. He let himself go limp against Ichigo's shoulder as he tried to even out his breathing.
"A stun gun, a weapon to subdue people. It should wear off, you should be fine."
"How long?"
"I don't know. You should close your eyes, try to sleep it off."
"Sleep?" he let out a half laugh but it didn't have any of the arrogance of normal. "I can't sleep after that."
"Well you need to get inside. Can you try to stand?"
He just got a nod. Ichigo squeezed his shoulders to help get him up, then he got an arm around his waist. Grimmjow couldn't even lift his head. He let himself be guided inside the store. Ichigo dropped him on the makeshift bed he found in the back room. He peeled back Grimmjow's collar to inspect the puncture wounds. There was minimal blood. The barrel of the gun however, had cut open Grimmjow's face. He'd worry about that later, though, right now he tried to coax the other to pass out.
"I just need a minute," Grimmjow strained out, as if he would have the strength to move again in a minute. "We shouldn't stay here."
Ichigo couldn't argue this—people would soon be by here again and once they saw it was no longer in operation there could be all sorts of problems. But there was nowhere to take Grimmjow while he was in this state.
"I'll keep watch."
"No. Get the gun."
"What?"
"Check under the cash for bullets."
"Grimmjow—"
"Just do it."
Ichigo obeyed but only because it might put Grimmjow at ease. He first checked under the cash. It took some digging but he unearthed a box of bullets hidden in the carved out center of a book. He sighed, because now he had to go outside and face the body of the man he'd slaughtered.
He stood over it, not wanting to reach under the man for the gun he'd fallen on in death. When he finally got the stomach to do so, he looked at the wall the whole time, feeling under the mass of dead weight until his hand closed over the shaft of the gun. He shuddered and stepped away, but he couldn't help take one last look at the man he'd killed.
He didn't feel guilty.
He returned to Grimmjow.
"I got the gun."
He got no response. Carefully he knelt down next to the pile of pillows and blankets that had been gathered to make the bed. Grimmjow's breathing was steady. He was just sleeping. Ichigo locked the door to the back room and loaded the gun. Then he set to work cleaning up the small punctures where the man had driven the stun gun cruelly into Grimmjow's skin.
There wasn't much he could do for the rising bruise and cut on his face but clean off the blood. He sat back next to the bed when he was done, gun in hand, prepared to stay awake until Grimmjow was recovered.
"Here drink this." Ichigo held the bottle out to Grimmjow but he didn't lift his head from where it was clasped between his hands.
"Did you find Asprin?"
"No."
"Fuck."
"Come on, drink this, you need electrolytes."
"What the fuck are electrolytes?" He took the bottle of sports drink and eyed it.
"Just drink it."
He uncapped the bottle with unsteady hands but downed the liquid without further argument. He'd been slow moving since waking up just before dawn. Now the sun was above the horizon and he wanted to leave but his head and muscles ached to the point he'd actually admitted it to Ichigo. He took a long breath where he sat on the bed, waiting to see if the hydration would make him feel any better.
"Why don't you lay down for a while. No one has bothered us so far."
"I slept too long already." He set down the empty bottle. Ichigo gave him a hand up. He wavered and held back to the young man.
"Easy."
"I fucking know." Grimmjow's eyes were shut, he was clearly in pain. Ichigo just kept him steady while it passed.
"Come on, this is stupid, let's stay a while longer."
"I can manage."
"Grimmjow—"
"I don't want to stay here." Ichigo watched him for a moment, then consented.
"Then let me take the bags at least."
"I'm taking my sword."
"Of course."
They left the convenience store behind. They hadn't spoken about the incident yet, and Ichigo almost let it slide, but when he saw Grimmjow take a last glance back as if he expected to see someone following them, Ichigo spoke.
"Are you—"
"Shut up."
Ichigo huffed out a breath. He should have known that would be the response. "Fine. But one thing, how did you know the gun was empty when you broke his wrist?"
Blue eyes never left the road ahead. "I didn't."
There was nothing more to say after that. It was a long, slow morning of walking, the air was hazed and as they came upon noon, the sun was almost completely blocked by thick, black air.
"Fire?" Ichigo guessed.
"Looks like."
It became apparent something big was burning the farther they walked. Smoke became thick in the air, their eyes stung and Ichigo halted. Grimmjow didn't argue. They squinted through the dense coverage trying to see what it could be.
"Fuck," Grimmjow finally clued in. "It must be the whole fucking city."
"What? What city?" Ichigo wasn't sure how far along they were.
"Dunno, just everything. There were alot of slums up a head, from the Rukon, but alot of the cities were left too."
"Shit, all those people."
"Explains why no one bothered us at the store. This fire could be huge. Since we just had rain we probably won't for a while."
"It could spread for miles."
"Until it gets to desert."
"Dammit."
They stood there a while longer but it was clear there was no moving forward. Ichigo forced himself to stop thinking about the people in the city and how helpless he was to do anything for them. Eventually Grimmjow called his attention back to themselves.
"We can go east. It's desert, it can't burn."
"Okay." They had no other choice. Ichigo followed Grimmjow off the highway and out into the silver dust. It was even slower going this way, as the sand dragged at their feet. They had to climb up banks of it, and Ichigo knew that this was one of the places where Heuco Mundo had devoured the land and beneath them a whole city would be buried, just like Karakura had been.
It took a long time to get out of the smoke. Even when they were clear of it their eyes were still watering and their clothes were full of the stench of ash. They could only see one black cloud hanging over the area now. It stretched so far that it was impossible to tell just what was burning.
"Breather," Ichigo called, half for himself but mostly because Grimmjow was really slowing down. The other halted without protest and Ichigo produced their water bottles. They sat in the sand for a while, taking a small amount of their water to wash the ash from their faces and clear their eyes.
Grimmjow winced when he ran his hand over the swollen cut on his cheek.
"How are you feeling?"
"How do you think?" Grimmjow growled out. Ichigo regretted asking but then the espada's eyes shifted sideways, staring at nothing but sand, and he spoke in a stiff, unfamiliar tone. "But I uh...I owe you for back there."
Ichigo stiffened. "No you don't, Grimmjow."
"I—"
"I said you, don't, Grimmjow, okay? Just leave it."
At this the espada did turn back to face him. After a moment of silent stare down, he nodded.
They returned to their walk.
It was closing in on evening when Ichigo spotted the spire in the sand. He watched it rise up for some distance, and asked Grimmjow if it was part of Hueco Mundo.
"No, that's from here." When they got closer it became clear the tower was in fact from Earth. Ichigo knew they had climbed up several banks of sand but he was still surprised they were this high up.
"It can't be...is that the top of a building?"
"Looks like. See, there are more." Grimmjow pointed to several triangular shapes sticking out of the sand, some higher than others. It must have just been the tallest of the buildings in whatever city had been buried.
"I can't believe its all under there, under the sand."
"I think Japan got it the worst," Grimmjow commented. "I heard way out east there is no sand."
"Huh. I wonder what happened to North America. Have you ever heard?"
"I don't think anyone knows." At one time Grimmjow wouldn't have known of the continent but since the Clash he'd learned the map of this world well. "I bet they're over there wondering the same thing about us."
"Probably," Ichigo agreed. "You know I always wanted to go there. It's strange—I travelled to two different universes but I never even left my own country before the Clash. Life is funny that way."
"If by funny you mean totally fucking messed up, I agree."
Ichigo laughed out loud. The sound caught him off guard and he cut it off short. Grimmjow looked at him.
"You know just because the world has gone to shit doesn't mean you have to feel like shit all the time."
"I know but..." Icihgo came to a halt. Grimmjow stopped ahead of him and waited for him to finish. "I just feel—" His words cut short when something shook the sand beneath them and they both went silent, listening to the deep rumble that groaned out from far below.
"Grimmjow...what was that?"
The espada never had a chance to answer. Ichigo locked eyes with him just before he felt the shudder in the sand beneath him and then the ground beneath him gave.
He knew he was going to die, when he fell through crumbling glass and understood what had happened.
They'd been walking atop buildings long covered by sand. They should have considered this eventuality, really, but they hadn't. They'd walked without care over the top of countless buildings who at their top had been designed for aesthetic value. Glass, for example, had crowned many buildings or even been the main component. Ichigo had wrongly assumed these buildings must have been crushed or filled in, but when he fell through the skylight of this one, he realized that in the Clash, maybe the sand had landed in such a way it hadn't broken glass, hadn't devoured buildings.
He certainly came to that conclusion as he hung suspended over the penthouse suite of this building, as untouched as the day the sand had buried.
"Fuck!" The curse above him explained why he hadn't fallen and broken his legs or maybe even died on the floor of the penthouse. He hung in the straps of one of the bags, Grimmjow's hand clenched around the back of it.
"Grimmjow!"
"Just grab something." The desperate voice dropped down on him. He looked up and saw a support beam between panels of glass. He grabbed the iron and took some of the weight from Girmmjow.
"Come on, help me out," Grimmjow pressed, clearly strained by trying to hold Ichigo up.
"Sorry," he grunted out, getting hold off the beam with both hands. With a heave from Grimmjow, he was able to get a grip around the outside of the beam and help draw himself out. He was half way up when a slew of sand slid past him and knocked him down again. Grimmjow had shifted his grip and now scrambled to catch him for the second time. Ichigo swung low into the room, only held up by Grimmjow's vice grip around his wrist. The espada barely managed to keep hold this time as his ribs slammed into the exposed metal bar.
"Shit." Ichigo got his other hand up so he could cling back. He swung in open space, knowing the drop was too much for his bones and body.
"Stop moving!" Grimmjow hollered down. "You're gonna break my fucking arm." Ichigo looked up at him. The way his arm and shoulder angled over the beam he was probably right. If Ichigo swung too much and applied too much pressure against the iron beam Grimmjow's arm would snap.
"Sorry," he said again. "I think I can get up if you help."
He stretched as high as he could and got hold of the beam again. With Grimmjow pulling he worked his way up. It was still an exhausting, precarious task. When he finally breached the surface Grimmjow gave a strong pull and got him clear of the deadly hole. They collapsed back in the sand. Ichigo breathed into Grimmjow's chest where his head had fallen. Grimmjow's hand was still locked around his wrist. Neither spoke or moved for several long seconds while they regained their composure and their breath.
It was when they sat that they realized they had no time for breathers.
"Oh shit," Grimmjow uttered the unanimous sentiment when he saw the sand draining into the hole before them and felt the rumble beneath their feet. The building had stood here all this time, not a drop of sand inside of it, but now that silver dust was cascading to its interior and the weight was crushing the floor beneath the penthouse. The floor would crumble, then the next below that. Sand would fill countless stories, sucking down from the desert above—and sucking in anything that got in its path.
"RUN!" Grimmjow hauled them up and they were running just as the rest of the glass ceiling gave way beneath them. Sand rushed past their feet like they were running against a current. The slow tide became a whirlpool at their backs and to their horror they realized it wouldn't just stop with that building. One by one, buildings that had maintained their integrity all this time gave to the pressure of the shifting sand. The silver desert became a deadly churning mass both before and behind them.
There was nowhere to run. They would be sucked down into sandy graves in moments.
"Shit!" Grimmjow halted them when the sand before them caved completely, dropping sharply into a black hole of a building. It caught them up and threatened to drag them to their dooms.
"This way!" Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow's hand. Ichigo fought against the sand with everything he had and aimed for the one stable place he could see in this treacherous landscape: It was a flat roof—the only one left exposed. There was no guarantee it wouldn't sink with everything else but by what Ichigo could see of the roof he guessed it was a brick building, made more solidly than those made of gaudy glass. So he ran with all he had for that one landmark in this tumultuous sea.
They made it just as the swirling mass of silver grains dropped violently, sucking down into what might have been a casino or maybe a sports complex—something with a broad, long glass roof that gave all at once and filled with a waterfall of sand.
They collapsed on the hard brick top. Sand still filled much of the roof but an old stairwell poked up and Ichigo guessed it had once been an apartment building. When they caught their breath, they sat up and watched the sea of sand drain around them, filling into countless buildings that had been untouchable until the two of them upset that delicate balance. It was like sitting in the middle of a flushing toilet and there was no guarantee their building wouldn't fall along with the rest.
But Ichigo's guess—or hope—had been right, and as the sand drained around them, their building remained firm, brick holding up against the swirling onslaught.
The world clamed again. They stared out on a completely new landscape, now five stories up from the surface sand.
"Well I'll be damned." Grimmjow finally breathed and gave a whistle. They'd both thought it was there end, but now he let out a laugh so relieved it was the most genuine sound in the world. "FUCK!" He clapped Ichigo on the shoulder with a smile. "How many assholes can say they survived something like that, huh?"
Ichigo stared back at him, still trying to register the fact he was alive. Then, for the first time in who knows how long, he smiled.
"Not many," he consented and surveyed the new-born landscape feeling a powerful surge of adrenaline.
"Fucking right." Grimmjow stepped to the edge of the building, clearly exhilarated from the near death experience. Ichigo joined him on the precipice. They stared out on the setting sun, both breathing hard, filled with the energy of being alive.
"Thanks for the save," Ichigo finally broke the silence. Grimmjow turned to him. He seemed about to say something, then stopped himself and looked back to the horizon.
"Suppose we're even."
"I didn't know we were keeping score."
Grimmjow shrugged. "Damn. I could use a drink after all that."
"Yeah, me too. Come on, we should get out of here before nightfall."
"Yeah."
They climbed down the fire escape still attached to the side of the building and then made their way at double their original pace across the sand. They didn't want to get caught in something like that a second time so they walked well into the night until they hit a slope of sand and slid all the way back to solid ground. The moon was high and cast the world around them in a cold light. They should have been tired but the excitement of the day kept them going for hours still.
They walked onward, now on solid ground in a place in Japan untouched by Hueco Mundo's sand. There was no sign of life, but that might just be because of the night. Still, most inhabited places were along the main highways and places further out had been abandoned so it was possible they really were alone in this untouched town.
They passed by a cathedral. Its spire wound up and reached for the moon. Beyond it graves rose up in perfect, endless rows. They kept going down the street. It was a town Ichigo had never visited. He wasn't sure where they were now and none of the street signs gave him a clue.
They passed through a residential area. Grimmjow kept his guard up but they saw no sign of life. This would be the perfect place to live, Ichigo thought, away from the passing travellers and danger of the rest of the world, so long as one could find a source of food, which was the main problem with staying anywhere but the major occupied areas.
When they passed through the main part of the city or town, they came to a giant shape that gave Grimmjow pause. He stared up at the great oval with many signs still plastered to its side and eventually gave into his question.
"A gladiator ring?"
"A sports stadium," Ichigo corrected and led him past the ticket booth and security gate. They walked through the cement tunnel and came out on the firs level of rows and rows of seating and a wide expanse of unnaturally short grass. Grimmjow walked beyond the bleachers to the field and bent to touch the grass.
"It's not real," he said, mystified.
"It's called turf. It's easier to maintain."
"What is it for?"
"Sports. Football and soccer mainly. People would pay to watch games here."
Grimmjows scanned the bleachers all around. "Like the glads." This would have made a perfect stadium for the glads—in fact, Grimmjow had only seen such places used for gladiator fighting but Ichigo shook his head.
"That's not what they were used for. They were games people played on teams."
"What kind of games?"
"Sports." Ichigo realized how foreign a concept this might be for Grimmjow so he backed up and started from the beginning. He used the lines of the field to help his explanation of soccer. He talked at length about positions and roles of players then told of going to see a professional game with his father and sisters when he was young. Grimmjow listened to it all, fascinated by the whole concept.
"Now they've become glad rings, but it's really an insult for what they were supposed to be." Ichigo concluded.
"It's strange to see one so empty and clean like this."
"Do you go to the glads, Grimmjow?"
"No, too many people are interested in my participation—one way or another." There were two ways to fight in the glads—one as a slave, where you had no choice and little hope of survival and another as a volunteer, who entered the ring well fed and the odds stacked in his favour. If he walked out again, he would get a cut of the money made off the show.
"Good."
Grimmjow looked at him. "Why, would it bother you if I did?"
"Yes," Ichigo answered bluntly. Grimmjow looked of half a mind to make an argument but something got the better of him because he didn't. Maybe he also hated the glads. Ichigo didn't know. What he did know was that they should have gone to sleep hours ago and he was exhausted. This was as good as any a place to make their camp.
"We can go up to the VIP booths and be sheltered." Ichigo pointed up the rows of seats.
"Okay." Grimmjow must have been tired after the events of yesterday. "We need to make better time tomorrow so we'll leave at dawn," he announced.
"Yeah okay," Ichigo agreed, winded when they reached the top step. They got inside the luxury booth and were thrilled to find a pair of couches.
"Good call," Grimmjow complimented, dropping heavily onto leather cushions. He was snoring before Ichigo even settled down.
"Thanks," he sighed long and settled in, wishing for all the world he could look out that window and see the lights one, a soccer game playing and hear his sisters cheering for their favourite team.
Fewf, rollercoaster ride of a chapter, hope you liked it!
Riza