"That idiot," Rukia breathed through blood stained lips.

"What?" Ichigo rapidly wound cloth around Rukia's abdomen where blood issued out in an alarming quantity. One of Cino's men had caught her before she'd been able to finish him.

Now she held the sniper rifle she'd acquired and watched Grimmjow charge a bloody path through the crowd and into the hospital. "Isn't that Cino's base of operations?"

"The hospital?" Ichigo looked over the edge of the stadium. "No, no, no, I told him to wait for me!"

"He didn't listen." Rukia let go of the scope and sagged back against the seats. "Go after him."

"I can't leave you like this."

"You have to. I'm armed, I can protect myself if I have to. You cannot let him get killed when he's the only one with the information we need."

The information, Ichigo had forgotten that was the reason for this mission.

"Hurry," Rukia urged.

"We'll come right back for you," he promised.

"I know you will."

He gave her hand a squeeze before bolting down the steps of the now empty stadium.

Grimmjow went around the back of the hospital, to the entrance Cino had used to transport him in and out unseen. The truck was there, engine still revving. Someone had left it in a hurry. Grimmjow glanced inside. There was no one, but turning the corner to the bay doors, he found a pile of unconscious forms.

"Shit…Yuzu?"

He knew if she'd been brought back, it would have been through this entrance, but the little girl was hardly capable of taking down all these men.

He stepped over a body, it didn't even look to have been shot. Based on their wounds, Grimmjow knew that whomever had taken these people down, had done so with the skill and precision of a trained swordsman.

He gripped his gun tighter, waiting for the attacker to show himself.

But when he rounded the corner that led to the Emergency Ward, he found only a child with bright pink hair and wide, innocent eyes. At her hip was a short sword. In her hands was a bag full of medical supplies.

"What the fuck?"

He didn't see the white haired boy who swung at his back.

"Grimmjow? Grimmjow!" Ichigo stepped past bodies. He could see at once they'd been stabbed and he could only guess it was the espada's work. But now where had he gone? A sign to his right read Emergency Room. What could have brought him back here?

Based on the rumours Ichigo had gleaned, this was Cino's fortress. He supposed Grimmjow had come here for revenge, but he'd been so injured he couldn't possibly think he was in a state to win any sort of show down.

That girl…Ichigo thought, working his way deeper into the hospital. He'd said something about another prisoner. Could Grimmjow Jaggerjaques possibly be inflicted with a streak of heroism?

Ichigo doubted it, and yet, after two weeks in his company, he couldn't entirely discount the idea either.

He found the shelves of a storage room in chaos, as if someone had swept an arm along them and grabbed whatever they could. He shoved a gurney out of the way and entered the prep room to the ER. There was a heavy scent of chemicals in the air and one breath told him he couldn't stay. He knew there were many things that could have been spilled, or even gas that could have been released that he should not inhale. He covered his mouth with his elbow but kept his other hand ever around the hilt of his sword. He expected trouble. When he pushed through the double doors to the ER itself, he found it.

Tall, white canisters with flammable hazard signs on them were hissing with the release of compressed gas. Someone had done this intentionally—and their intention was to blow the hospital sky high.

Ichigo ran—back through the storage room, back through the ambulance bay, over the bodies and past the idling truck. And just before brick and mortar turned to shrapnel—he saw a slender form drop from a window not twenty meters from him. A heavy pack weighed down her shoulder, but she didn't slow, and even as she pushed herself back up and ran, she threw an arm back over her shoulder and aimed a gun back in the direction of a window.

"Rukia…?"

The small dark haired woman fired. The whole world turned to thunder and ash.

"Rukia!"

"Ichigo." His shoulders were caught. He sat gasping in air, Rukia's arm on his shoulder, steadying him. "Just take it easy." Her other hand came up to his face, steadying his gaze. He blinked several times before she was clear, seated before him. Dense foliage filled in the background behind her. Sunlight filtered through trees above, but it was cold. He noticed her face was cut up, her shoulders bare. Her coat had been thrown over him. He pushed it back and found thick bandages around his middle.

"I thought it was you who got shot," he breathed.

"I did. But you got the worst of it, caught up in that explosion."

Ichigo thought on this a moment, then suddenly the heat of flames and fumes came back to him.

"Ah, Rukia, what happened? I thought…I thought I saw you, setting off the gas."

"What? Ichigo I was in the stadium. I saw the hospital explode from there. I thought you were dead."

He nodded slowly. He'd known it couldn't be her. He'd probably inhaled too many fumes before making his exit.

"Wait…if it exploded…then where's Grimmjow?"
Her face tightened. He reached up and gripped her back. "Rukia, don't tell me he was in there."

"You were the one who chased after him. Did you see and sign of him?"

"There were bodies. They'd been stabbed. He'd been there."

"No…"

"Is there any chance he survived?"

"Not if he was anywhere near that floor. Half the hospital caved in on itself after that. I didn't think I'd ever find you in that dust."

He looked back down again. His pants were filthy. He knew she must have had to drag him here. He rubbed his chest and felt the pain in his ribs.

"Where are we?"

"Not far from the hospital. This is as far as I could get you. You weren't quite out when I found you but I guess you don't remember. We should move deeper into the woods. The city is in chaos after that. If the wrong person finds us we're in trouble. My side is bad and you're a mess."

He looked down at her blood stained shirt. He'd known it wasn't life threatening in the stadium but there had been a lot of blood. She was pale and sweat soaked her hair.

"Put your coat back on." He knew a chill would only add to their problems. "Ah!"

In trying to stand, he felt the true damage. His whole body hurt. There were scrapes all up and down his arms. His knee felt sprained and his back throbbed. "Fuck."

"You're lucky to be alive."

"Mmm." He grunted and got to his feet. His ears were ringing and his head spun. He barely held himself together but he knew how much was at stake. They needed cover, but more they needed answers.

"What if he's still out there?"

"Well, he was also hurt. If he wasn't in that hospital, he probably thought the same as us and headed this way. Once we're able, we'll push on, see if there are any signs of him."

"Okay."

They struggled on, each limping as much as the other. When they found an area sheltered from sight and clearly off the beaten path, they dropped next to one another. Ichigo saw Rukia was shivering, the blood loss must be bad. He put an arm around her shoulders. She did no protest.

"I just need a minute. Then we can start searching," she said through chattering teeth.

"It's okay," he whispered and held her tighter. Within moments she passed out, her shallow breaths on his shoulder.

Ichigo looked down on her, reminded of holding his sisters like this, time and time again over the years.

His sisters.

He froze where he was, his breath catching in his throat, and suddenly he knew who it was he'd seen setting off the explosion at the hospital.

Grimmjow's eyes parted at the shrill shriek. He blinked back a grogginess that was slow to leave him. The screech turned to sobs and he looked around for the young girl.

"Yuzu..." his voice came out startlingly weak and hoarse. He tried to sit up but his body wasn't cooperating. He collapsed back on the cot supporting him. The noises continued, muffled enough he could tell they were coming from another room. He fought with his exhausted body to move, expecting danger or an attack at any moment.

Then he heard another voice, speaking over Yuzu's sobs.

"It's alright, Yuzu, I've got you."

Another girl. He stilled on the bed and realized he wasn't in danger. The building around him was small and flimsy, a shack, possibly from the rukongai. He was alone in this room, but a curtain was all that stood between him and the second room of the shack where the voices came from.

"Was it another nightmare?" the second girl asked.

He heard Yuzu choke out a yes.

"Those fucks. If I'd gotten there sooner I would have—"

"Don't, Karin. You saved me."

"Not soon enough."

"I'll be alright." He heard Yuzyu sniff and that quiet determination returned to her voice. "I knew you'd come for me."

"Always. How's your face?"

"Better."

"Liar."

"Well it will be. It's Grimmjow I'm really worried about."

At this, the other girl's voice changed, taking on stiffer tones. "Yuzu, he's trouble."

"What? He saved me!"

"Shiro doesn't like him."

"Why? Wait…does he know him? Who is he?"

But the question was interrupted by more voices. They must have entered from an exterior door.

"What's the news?" The girl asked.

"The Market is over," this was the voice of a boy, "terrible damage to the city, especially the hospital." There seemed to be criticism in his voice.

"It was necessary," the girl defended, "with Cino's people and those Vandenreich assholes after us, we needed a distraction."

Wait, Vandenreich? Who the fuck were these people? Why would the Vandenreich care about them? Grimmjow shut his eyes a moment. His head was throbbing, he didn't want to think but the wheels were already turning. Unfortunately there were grinding and groaning and behind his eyes he saw flashes of light. He was concussed, bad enough he couldn't see straight. Shit, he was in trouble, he doubted he'd be able to walk and it didn't take much shifting to feel the extent of his other injuries, including his sliced back and broken forearm.

"Perhaps it paid off, we weren't followed." The boy went on. "But no more reckless decisions like that, Karin."

"I was only doing what I thought was best," she defended, but after a moment, he heard her quiet concession.

"And Jaggerjaques? Is he still alive?" The boy pressed.

"I was just going to check on him," Yuzu piped up. Grimmjow waited. The curtain pulled back and he was introduced to the strange cast of characters who had somehow rescued Yuzu and brought him back here.

The girl next to Yuzu was the same height as her but her body was tighter, rigid with apprehension and she looked ready to fight at any minute. Her eyes were dark and hard, her jaw sharp and set. She reminded him a lot of Rukia. Next to her was the boy. His hair was stark white and wild, his eyes cold and an unnatural shade. He must have been a child from the rukongai, just like the little pink haired girl beside him. She couldn't have been older than ten, her face bright and round despite the scars on her lips and cheek and her missing teeth. She was even missing a finger. And the boy, who looked to be a few years younger than Yuzu, was also scarred at the wrists and more scars poked up from beneath his collar at his neck. Grimmjow would have guessed the pair had been tortured at some point, but he couldn't see why anyone would torture children.

"You're awake!" Yuzu broke into a smile and moved over to him. Her face was blotched with bruises from the fight. It looked wrong on her open, innocent features. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," he muttered. "Where are we?"

"Don't answer," the boy interrupted.

"What's your fucking problem?" Grimmjow tried to sound menacing but his voice was just a rasp. He wondered how long he'd been asleep.

"Your reputation precedes you." This kid did not sound like a twelve year old, and the way the older girl kept looking at him suggesting she was taking her leads from him, despite being his senior. Something messed up was going on with this group.

"You're famous!" The smallest girl chimed in, throwing her fists in the air and imitating a fight. She seemed to rather like it. "Best killer this side of the Pacific!" she said it as if it was quote. For all Grimmjow knew, it might have been a slogan used by Cino to reel in more spectators.

"Chiru, that's enough," the boy scolded. "Jaggerjaques, you are not welcome here. When your wounds heal, we want you gone."

"Shiro!"

"It's for all our safety, Yuzu, he can't be trusted."

"You don't know him!"

But the ways his eyes cut at her, suggested he did. Who the hell was he? Grimmjow was starting to think it wasn't by reputation alone the boy knew him.

"It doesn't matter," Grimmjow finally said to calm Yuzu, "I'll go when I can."

"Grimmjow—"

"I don't think that's gonna be any time soon though."

She touched his shoulder and gave him a sad smile. The dark haired girl, Karin, glared at Grimmjow over Yuzu's shoulder. It was clear she did not like Yuzu having a soft spot for him.

"As long as we're clear," the boy concluded. He nodded to the others and they left, through the other room, and by the sounds of it, to the outside. Yuzu remained next to Grimmjow.

"How long have I been out?" Grimmjow asked as she got him something to drink.

"A day. Shiro hit you over the head before I could stop him. He thought you were an enemy,"

"Looks like he still does." Grimmjow drank deep.

"You didn't lose consciousness until you stopped moving. You made it back here anyway."

"And where is here?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Why aren't you telling me? Because they told you not too?"

She nodded.

"Bullshit. You tell me where we are right now, Yuzu."

She didn't like withholding the truth from him, he could see it in her eyes, but she was loyal to her friends. "In the woods," she answered vaguely, "where most people don't come."

"Is this a part of the Rukongai?"

She nodded. "There are some other people who have settled here too. People like us, who just want to stay safe."

That, at least, made sense. Four children wouldn't get very far in the outside world—however they had managed to blow up the hospital and save Yuzu.

"So where were these friends of yours a week ago?"

Her face tightened. "They didn't know where I was. They started searching other places in the Market. It's a fluke they caught up to me when they did."

"A fluke…" that's what he could call Ichigo's timing. The kid certainly had a knack for showing up at just the right moment. He wondered if he was still out there, searching, or if he and Rukia had high-tailed it back to the reapers. That's where he needed to go, now that he'd been discredited by Cino. Even if the crowd adored him, they wanted to see him in the glads now. His days in the bare-knuckle ring were over. Fuck. He did not want to have to show up at the pillar and admit he needed help.

However, taking the help of these children was even more degrading.

"How long until I'm mobile?" he asked her.

"Days, Grimmjow, your back is bad. And your left arm is fractured. You can't fight."

"I can use my other hand."

"Grimmjow."

"What?"

"You can't leave. I mean, where would you go?"

He considered her. When he left, would he invite her to come?

"I know a place," he started but they were interrupted by shouts from outside. Yuzu ran to the window. "What is it?"

"A fight. Outsiders."

"What kind of outsiders?"

"I don't know. Maybe from the Market."

"Well who's fighting them?"

"Karin."

The girl? She looked way to skinny to hold up in a fight, though he knew another slender woman who could hold her own. He watched Yuzu's face, seeing her flinch and wince a few times, then she leaned back and he knew it was over.

"She win?"

"Yeah…"

"Who is she? Who are any of them?"

She shrugged but didn't meet his eyes and he knew she was following orders again. "Just people. We met up, after the Clash."

He didn't buy it one bit. The way the other girl had been talking to her earlier, comforting her—they were blood.

"Yuzu!" The dark haired girl came back in, chest heaving, blood on her knuckles. "You okay? No one came this way, did they?"

"No. We're fine. Who were they?"

"Men from the Market. They were looking for trouble. You better stay in here, until things calm down."

"Okay."

She hovered at the door and glanced between them. "Hey, why don't you help me prepare dinner."

Yuzu nodded and withdrew from Grimmjow. "You should sleep."

The pair left him alone in the room. He listened to them decide what to cook from their meager supplies. And had no intention of drifting off, but his body had other plans, and within minutes, he was asleep.

"Ichigo stop! This is madness. How could it have been Karin?"

Ichigo shoved through the thicket without heed for how the branches cut up his arms. He came through into a clearing and stopped, looking for signs of life.

"It was her," he reaffirmed as Rukia struggled out behind him. "My sister's alive. I know it."

"Why would Karin blow up the hospital?"

"I don't know. But it must have been her…it had to have been…"

He continued on several paces, before he realized she wasn't following.

"Rukia?" He turned. She was on her knees, hand on her side. "Shit, Rukia!"

"I'm fine," she lied and he could see her wound had reopened as she chased after him in his mad pursuit of his sister.

"Dammit, I'm sorry."

"Ichigo, how certain are you."

"Rukia just sit back, let me look."

"No." Her hand closed over his forearm. He paused, watching her. "How certain are you that was Karin?"

"It was her. I know it."

She let him go. "Then you have to find her. I'm slowing you down."

"What?"

"Ichigo, I promised you I'd help you find them. Now I'm only hindering you."

Hindering him? She'd been the one to find him after the explosion. He was hardly standing as it was. He shook his head.

"No way, we aren't splitting up."

"I'm sorry. I can't keep going like this."

"I'll carry you."

"Ichigo you can't."

"I can. I'm not leaving you." He leaned into her, closed his arms around her back, and then froze. They both heard it: breaking branches, others coming through the thicket not ten meters down. Ichigo remained still, holding Rukia, her shaking breaths muffled against his shoulder. Neither dared move, waiting to see who came through.

It was five men. Their clothes were nothing special, heavy boots and good quality coats, but their formation is what gave them away. There were enough trees and leaves between them Ichigo remained unseen for the moment. He watched them through the foliage as they scanned the area, weapons in hand. One had a machete, a pair of them had swords, but what made Ichigo decide to hide rather than fight, was the gun in their leader's hand. He was pretty sure their rear-guard also had one in the back of his pants.

"Sir?" One asked, waiting for instruction.

"We keep moving. That settlement must be nearby."

"What if we don't find it?"

"It's our only lead to them. If we can't find those little bitches, we'll never be able to face the commander."

"Yes sir."

The men moved on. Ichigo pulled back, eyes wide. He met Rukia's brown gaze.

"Follow them," she hissed.

He nodded. "Hold on." Without another word he hoisted her up, onto his back. His pains from the explosion were forgotten. He had someone to chase, and from the sounds of it, they were after the two people he most loved in this world.

"You should not be standing."

"You don't have to tell me that," Grimmjow groaned into the wall where he leaned heavily. It was as far as he'd gotten from the bed, but at least it was farther than he'd expected after the room spun and he felt like vomiting. Everything hurt, from the cut on his back to the break in his arm, even his face throbbed, bruised and swollen as it was. Fuck, he felt weak.

He felt those ice cold eyes on him and he didn't need to turn to know the boy was pissed. What was his fucking problem?

"You won't get better if you keep moving around while your wounds are healing," he pressed. When Grimmjwo did manage to turn around and face him, he found his arms crossed over his chest and a look on his face like Aizen might have made if Grimmjow had done something particularly stupid.

"Fuck you. I need to piss."

With that he pushed off from the wall and miraculously managed to stay standing. He stumbled through the curtain and the other room, which he hadn't yet seen. There were a couple of pots of water and some food. Other than that and some bags it was empty. He staggered when the sun struck him. It made him wince, his head hurting twice as much. He caught the edge of the door and steadied himself.

He'd been asleep for hours—again. He couldn't believe how much the fight and the concussion had taken out of him. He swallowed hard, thinking he might just lose his stomach after all.

"You should have stayed in bed," Shiro chided seeing him swallow convulsively. When Grimmjow got his gag reflex under control, he did his best to glare.

"And piss myself?"

This only got a sigh and a finger pointing in the direction of the woods. It was an upsetting distance away—a whole ten feet or more—but Grimmjow couldn't let the kid have the satisfaction. He somehow managed to get himself that far and made no effort to hide what he was doing when he let loose.

A sigh left him. He'd needed to do that for some time. It felt good, but he really did think he needed to lay down again.

"Hurry up," Shiro called to him, as if he was a prison guard or something. The way the kid spoke to him, he might as well be.

"I'll take as long as—"

The scream came from his left. He spun, the world tilting with the harsh movement. He grabbed a tree and when things were back in focus he saw a man with a dagger in hand, standing over a woman. He wasn't alone. There were others at his back—run of the mill thugs looking to take what they could from the quiet, secluded village. Grimmjow had gotten the impression this was a regular thing around here, but people like Karin kept it under control. He caught movement next to him and winced when the boy pulled on his wounded arm.

"Inside, now."

Too late. Another man had spotted him. It was clear they recognized him from the glads by the way they all stiffened, then smiled and reached for other weapons.

"Guess I'm probably worth something," he muttered, putting a hand against the boy's chest. "You better run, kid."

The boy gave a short laugh. Grimmjow turned back to him, caught off guard by the noise from the serious child. His eyes were dancing with energy, his hand reaching over his shoulder for the over-sized blade he kept there. And beneath Grimmjow's palm, his heart beat was completely steady.

"That's my line."

He pushed Grimmjow's hand aside and walked toward the men. Grimmjow stood stunned, sure he was about to watch the boy get slaughtered.

"Not without me!" Someone rushed past Grimmjow. It was the little girl, Chiru.

"Wait!" He called after her. What was wrong with these children? They were fucking insane.

Or perhaps he was—perhaps he'd lost his mind completely back in that hospital, because instead of seeing the two children ripped apart by men more than twice their size, he saw the opposite. The boy never lost his cool, hands tight around the hilt of the blade and wielding it with the ease of master swordsman. His height and weight became an advantage rather than a disadvantage as he smoothly curved his body around theirs, swiped cleanly though flesh and muscles, dodged wild, uncalculated blows. His strikes were precise, clean. No wasted movements, everything purposeful and calm.

He was no child, and neither was the little devil defying physics above him. She jumped off shoulders, rolled under feet and came up smiling every time, despite the rain of blood that sloshed into her face after she dragged her short sword over the chest of one man. Her pink hair turned red. Shiro cut through another enemy and splattered her in the face. She merely ran a sleeve over her face as if she was wiping a runny nose and continued on.

It was over in seconds. The men hadn't stood a chance. The two children stood in the aftermath, calmly cleaning their swords and checking to make sure no one was a threat anymore.

"Fuck." Grimmjow's knees hit dirt. The pair looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" Chiru asked him when they returned to his side.

"I..." he was still staring at them, as if seeing them for the first time. He took in her round face, her unnatural hair and eyes. Then he turned to the boy—the stark white hair and those strike eyes so knowing—so much older than they should be.

"Chiru and Shiro..." he began, "Vice Captain of squad eleven Yachiru Kusajishi and the tenth squad's boy captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya." He remembered the well rehearsed names Aizen had taught them all. He'd never met them, even in the war, but he'd seen their photos back in his days at Las Noches. They'd aged four years in that time, but now that he'd made the connection, there was no doubting it was them.

"Dammit," the boy cracked his knuckles, "so much for him not recognizing us."

The girl frowned. "So do we kill him now?"

"No, Yachiru, we aren't going to kill him," the boy almost sounded tired, like this was something he had to tell her often, "but we do need to get him back inside, and talk this out."

"Fuck you, soul reaper. Why didn't you just tell me who you were? And why are you hanging out with a couple of teenage girls? What interest would soul reapers have in—"

Grimmjow stopped talking, he almost stopped breathing. He stopped hearing Toshiro and Yachiru as his mind played back over the past day, the conversations, the need to conceal every detail from Grimmjow. He thought back to hospital, her face, her uncanny understanding of him. And he thought back to the boy who'd dropped out those stands and set him free.

The girls came running when they saw the scene of the fight and Grimmjow on his knees.

Yuzu dropped before him, gripping his shoulders, calling him name, panic lit in her eyes—not understanding what was wrong. Karin hovered behind her, even her face tight, no one understood, they couldn't understand the force of what had just hit him.

"Yuzu…" he finally found his voice. He put a hand up against her face, but looked to Karin. "You're sisters, aren't you?" No one spoke, but their eyes confirmed it. "Your family name…its Kurosaki, isn't it?"

Yuzu gasped, but he didn't even need this much of a reaction to confirm it. He knew, in the deepest part of his soul, who these two girls were: it was more outwardly evident in Karin, her hard, warrior eyes, her strength and bravado. But then he turned to Yuzu, who held none of her brother's looks save those knowing eyes that looked right through his bullshit—that knew him better than he ever intended to be known.

"Grimmjow how did you know that?"

He shook his head and leaned back from her, covering his face with on hand and letting out a short, dark laugh.

"It's a joke." His laugh turned to strained breaths. The toll of his injuries was catching up to him but right now he just seemed overwhelmed by his realization. "It's a fucking joke!"

"Grimmjow," Yuzu pressed, taking his hand and pulling it from his face, "what is it?"

"You, and him...and this damned dying world playing one last joke on me."

"What joke?"

"Yuzu," and as he watched her a bit of the maniacal edge dropped from his voice. "That guy I told you about—the one I travelled here with—was your brother."

There it is, finally everyone is on the same page! But they are not "out of the woods" yet! Much action coming up!

Riza