"Okay seriously, this is an invasion of privacy," Grimmjow complained when he came back in from the balcony to find the pair staring up at him from the first floor.

"Sorry," Toshiro said bluntly and with no conviction. "We have to talk."

"About what?"

"About the Vandenreich's territory."

"Oh, that." He was actually relieved to have the topic of conversation on something other than the past month. Yachiru bounded up the stairs ahead of Toshiro and began exploring Grimmjow's pseudo apartment. Toshiro's gaze shifted over to the empty bottles and back to Grimmjow.

"Where did you get all that?"

"Where do you think?"

"How did you get out? You didn't leave through the main gate."

"This was my home at one time, you know."

"You must tell us of any other entrances. It's a breach in security."

"It would be a breach to my privacy if I told you."

"Grimmjow—"

"You're not even on active duty kid, so what difference does it make to you?"

"Every difference Grimmjow, when all the people I care about are in this pillar."

Grimmjow watched his hand shift unconsciously over his neck where a long gold chain hung beneath his shirt. Rukia had told him it belonged to his lieutenant.

"I'll let Soifon know," he grumbled in annoyance.

"You shouldn't be leaving without telling anyone either. If something happened we wouldn't know where you were."

This got him angry. "I'll do what the fuck I want. I ain't being your prisoner here."

"Living with us is not a prison sentence. It's your best bet at survival. That's what matters, after all, isn't it?"

"I thought we were here to talk about the Vandenreich. But then again, if you're not on duty, what's it to you?"

"Like I said, it matters greatly to me what happens, no matter my status. And if I didn't come tell you Soifon wanted to see you, she'd have come up here herself."

"Fine. I'll be down."

"Good." But the pair didn't leave right away.

"What?"

"Nothing." Toshiro finally took his cue and left but as Yachiru darted after him to go down the stairs she stopped and looked up at Grimmjow.

"He thinks you're losing it," she chirped with a smile and waved as she left. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes as they disappeared over the ledge into the dark of Las Noches.

"Condescending little twerp. He's the one who's fucked in the head."

He stared after them, a cold settling in on him when silence replaced his echoing curse. He waited another minute or two before following down after the pair, not wanting to give anyone else the opportunity to find him here.

"I hear you used another entrance," Soifon greeted in the main room. He girt his teeth. The kid had ratted him out first chance he got.

"...yeah."

"Show me."

They walked through long, dark corridors, their footsteps echoing off metal and stone. The Soul Reapers had clearly redirected electricity to conserve power, but it was really unnecessary— there was enough juice in here to last a lifetime—and one lifetime was all that mattered now.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Grimmjow asked as they descended to another level.
"What do you mean, you've seen our operations."

"But why bother? What's the point of any of it?"

"Grimmjow your questions are pointless. You know why: to stop the Vandenreich."

"The Vandenreich don't exist anymore! They're just people! You're just people! What difference does it make if they want to rule the fucking world, in a few years we'll all be dead and everything will over anyway."

"I thought you hated the Vandenreich."

"I hate everyone," he grumbled.

"I'm not going to engage in such childish banter."

"Fuck you Soifon." He stabbed his finger in the dark. "There's you fucking doorway, now leave me alone."

She could see the outline in the dark but she caught his arm before he could walk away.

"I didn't call you down here because of this."

"Then what?"

"It's about the intel you've given us on the Vandenreich territory. I needed to review some details."

"Why? You going to wage a war? For what? There ain't nothing in their territory worth fighting over."

"All you've done is fight for four years, so why question me doing the same?"

"Ugh, just ask your damn question."

She inspected the seemingly flawless wall barely visible in the dark before her.

"I need you to look over some things on the screens upstairs. How does this work?"

He made a noise of frustration, punched an innocuous looking panel and with a hiss daylight was revealed to them. She stared out at the woods. They were just three feet from the ground, closer to the base of the mountain.

"Thank you." She turned back to him, his scowl highlighted in the late morning sun.

"Let's just get back."

He spent an hour showing her all the flaws in the holographic representation the soul reapers had been constructing of what he described of the Vandenreich's territory.

Finally he got away from the bustle of soldiers, screens and delusional beings who thought they could make a difference in their doomed world. He dropped onto his bed after a few drinks of something very strong. He stared at the ceiling while taking a long drag on his cigarette.

Then he heard footsteps.

"No fucking way!" he barked out. "Leave me the fuck—" But when he saw the dark head of hair pop up over the stairs he calmed.

"What's wrong with you?" Rukia asked, setting down the case she'd brought with her.

"Nothing," he muttered and lay back, burning up his cigarette in one last go. She frowned and opened the tall windows to the balcony.

"I hate it when you smoke." He said nothing but flicked his butt somewhere on the floor. "And when you're moody.

"I'm not moody," he grumbled when she sat on the bed next to him and stared down on him. "Ichigo said Yuzu was up here earlier."

"Mm."

"How is she doing?"

"Not well."

Rukia nodded knowingly. "Okay, shirt off."

She got up again and retrieved her case. He pulled off his t-shirt and let her take care of the bandages that were left on his scarred torso. He rolled onto his stomach when told. As usual, her fingers lingered over cruel scars, as if she could feel the pain they'd caused him. Then she pulled out a jar of a jelly-like substance she called Vaseline and applied daily in hopes of softening up some of the scar tissue, especially around the still healing skin from the last deep cut he'd received in the glads arena.

He let her do her work in silence, eyes drooping as he lay with his head on the pillow, her soothing touches running over his back.

"You need to start sleeping at night," she commented when she finished and saw him just about out. He was awake enough to roll and grab her arm, pulling her onto the bed with him.

"Grimmjow it's midday, I'm still working!" she protested when he wrapped his good arm around her.

"Screw Soifon" he muttered into the back of her shoulder where his head now rested. His fingers slid under her shirt and touched the scar in her side. "Besides, you got hurt too."

She sighed. "I'm fine, and what we're doing is important, whether you agree or not."

"Mm." It was a pointless argument most of the time and now she was losing him to sleep.

"Grimmjow?"

He was already asleep.

Ichigo could feel the cold air and smell the cigarettes as he took one step after the other toward Grimmjow's loft.

He didn't come here often. Most of his interactions with Grimmjow occurred on the main level, when he came down to do some actual work and not hide away up here. Ichigo seemed to be one of the few people who didn't automatically piss Grimmjow off upon sight. Another one of those people was now laying on Grimmjow's bed, body tensed even in sleep.

He sighed long at the sight, tear streaks still drying on her face. She must have exhausted herself.

Ichigo wanted to wake her up, hold her, tell her it was okay, but for whatever reason, Yuzu did not seek his comfort. She hadn't told him or Karin anything but the bare minimum of her experience.

He left her where she was for the moment and moved over to the open window. When he saw Grimmjow, he paused, not sure he should disturb him.

He must have just showered. He had nothing but his jeans on, every scar on his torso lit up under the sun. He sat against the stone side of the balcony staring out at the treetops through the rails beside him. One hand held his head where he sat, the other drew a cigarette up to his mouth.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked when he finally decided to approach him. He shut the glass doors behind him, not wanting to wake Yuzu.

All he got was a nod. He sighed and sat on the other side of the balcony.

"Has Yuzu been here for long?"

"A couple hours."

"I'm sorry Grimmjow. I know she's not your responsibility."

"But she is."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because she ended up in that ring because of me."

Ichigo watched him. He had been just as obstinate about discussing the glads as Yuzu—until now that is.

"Grimmjow, please tell me what happened. What did they do to my sister?"

Grimmjow drew back on his cigarette and turned to face Ichigo dead on.

"They brought her to me, after my first fight. Obviously, we both knew why."

Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Don't worry, I didn't touch her. And as far as she told me, no one else did either."

Ichigo absorbed this and just nodded.

"Any injuries I got that weren't too bad were for her to heal. That was her job. That was all."

"So then what happened?"

"Then I pissed them off. And they decided to make Yuzu pay for it. They put her in the ring with me, Ichigo. They chained us together. She was supposed to die. Cino had it all planned out. She got hit a few times but I actually don't think that's what bothers her now. I think it's what she saw. What those men did to the other women, to each other. But really, what she saw me do to them."

They both took a long breath.

"That was right before we got to you?"

"Yeah." Grimmjow threw away his butt and watched it fall until it was out of sight. "They beat the shit out of me, as you know."

"And what did they do to her?"

The espada looked back to him just briefly, then his eyes darted back to the forest. "Hauled her away. The crowd woulda been pissed if she'd been killed. Karin and the kid soul reapers are probably the only reason she's still alive."

Ichigo leaned forward and gripped Grimmjow's shoulder, forcing him to look him straight on again.

"And you, Grimmjow. You saved her."

He just shook his head in silent disagreement. "It doesn't matter. She's alive. You got what you wanted, Kurosaki. Yuzu's shaken, but she'll be fine."

Ichigo let him go and sank back against the rails. "I know. But I...I'm her older brother, and she hasn't once come to me about any of this."

"You can't blame her for that, kid. It was a fucked up situation, it doesn't bear reliving."

"Grimmjow?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you do, to piss Cino off?"

Grimmjow looked at him, then back out to the forest. "Like I said, it isn't worth reliving."

Ichigo waited but it seemed he'd get nothing more from the espada.

"Okay. Thank you Grimmjow. Don't tell her I was here."

"I won't."

But when he went back through the doors, she was sitting up, rubbing her swollen eyes. He knew she'd been avoiding him seeing her this way, but instead of recoiling, she held out her hand to him.

"Yuzu, I'm sorry." he wasn't even sure why he was apologizing but he sat next to her on the bed and wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry too, that I couldn't be the one to tell you." She must have been listening.

"It's alright, I understand."

"Grimmjow's the same. He told you what happened to me—but he didn't say what they did to him."

Ichigo looked at her.

"I'm worried about him, brother."

"Worried about him?" He stared at her incredulously before pulling her against his chest and leaning into her chestnut locks. "Yuzu I've been worried about you since we got back."

"I know." she felt him trembling, his hold on her tight. "I'm sorry Ichigo. I know you love me, you want to help but..."

"He was the one who was there for you."

"No. He was the one there with me. And now I just want to help him."

"Yuzu he'll be fine."

"Then you don't know him."

Ichigo pulled back, stared in those bright brown eyes—so knowing, and piercing.

"Then tell me."

She stared right back until her eyes shifted over his shoulder and he knew she was considering her next words an act of betrayal.

"Alright. I'll tell you everything."

Happy Holidays!

-Riza