They sat in a long room with high windows and empty pots where plants had once decorated the corners. Ichigo and Yuzu stood at the window, staring out on familiar streets. The clinic was not in sight here, all the way across town where it had often been the first stop for trauma victims before they'd been rushed here. But they could see their schools, the shops, the bridge over a now still river where their mother had lost her life.
Grimmjow sat in a chair, finger tapping on the glossy wood table, eyes narrowed and watching the door. His edginess grew by the second until the Kurosakis could no longer ignore it and turned back from the view to address him.
"What?" Ichigo prompted.
Grimmjow shrugged, but his face was a deep scowl.
"Just say it."
"I don't like this."
"You made that clear earlier."
"I mean this—this room—this whole pretending like we're not his prisoners."
"If we agree to what he wants, I don't think we will be."
"If?" Grimmjow scraped his chair back and moved over to them, grabbing Ichigo's shoulder in one hand and Yuzu's in the other, closing them off and lowering his voice. "Remember he's gonna play on your weaknesses. Whatever he tells you, you can't believe it."
"We know that, Grimmjow," Ichigo hissed back, "but you also have to consider that it's possible these people know more than we do. It's possible they have no reason to hide the truth anymore."
Grimmjow set his jaw. He glanced at Yuzu and then nodded back to the window. "Give us a sec, will ya?"
She relented, backing away from the pair. Grimmjow took Ichigo by both shoulders now and leaned until his voice was only a breath in Ichigo's ear, impossible to be overheard.
"You know we have to get her out of here right? Whatever is happening, they're keeping us in the dark for a reason. Yuzu's who they're gonna use against us, and they ain't gonna let us all stay together, it'd be too risky."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying if you see a way out, take it. Whatever they're up to, they need you and I both alive. If not, I'd be dead now and we both know it. So you need to take her and go if you get the opportunity."
Ichigo drew back, starting to shake his head, but Grimmjow gave him a critical stare, and he stopped protesting, because no matter what their bond, he had to put Yuzu first.
"That goes both ways," Ichigo said, breaking away from Grimmjow's hold. If Grimmjow got a chance he expected him to take it too.
"Obviously."
Grimmjow took his seat again and the door at the far end of the room opened. Hashwald entered with a number of lackeys. Ichigo could feel an added weight and looked between them. Did one of them have spiritual pressure?
His question was answered almost at once. Hashwald introduced the scientists with him, the last of which had been in Karakura at the time of the Clash. Because she remained within the bubble, she had not been affected. She was one of very few with spiritual pressure.
"Where are the others?" Ichigo asked.
"Several left, believing their strength would hold in the outside world."
"And what happened to them?"
"They did not return."
"Were there any soul reapers?"
"Yes, many."
"And now?"
"Those who remained work for me now. They agree with my cause."
Yuzu's eyes shot to Ichigo, gauging his reaction. Ichigo knew she was looking for hope as much as him. He instead watched Grimmjow, but the espada's face was set. He was simply waiting for whatever information Hashwald would divulge.
"Then can you tell me what this plan is, to put things back?"
"Of course. Simply put, we have spent the last years pooling our knowledge of soul reaper, quincy and even hollow spells. There was much I learned and studied under his master."
Grimmjow made a noise at the mention of Yhwach but he refrained from interrupting. They were all hushed, waiting for the big reveal.
"We have devised a system of spells to be used in conjunction with Urahara's old devices to open Soul Society and Hueco Mundo."
"You can't open them, they were destroyed, there's nothing outside of this dimension," Grimmjow argued.
"That, is where you are wrong, espada. There exists a sliver of each of the worlds—more precisely, each world has been reduced to the exact size of Karakura Town."
Ichigo looked out the window at this, seeing that glowing blue shield around the city.
"Because of that?"
"Yes. It took me a while to figure out how it survived the Clash, but it seemed Kisuke Urahara long planned and prepared for this eventuality. He or his companions must have reinforced the barriers the soul reapers erected. The design is flawless, a tapestry of ancient spell work and knowledge. But it's not just that, Karakura has long been a nexus of spiritual power, the point where the world of the living and the worlds of the spirits come closest to touching. By saving Karakura, the seeds of these other worlds were also saved."
It was a lot to take in. No one spoke as they sifted through all that Hashwald said, trying to make sense of it. In the end, it was Yuzu who spoke first.
"So how do Grimmjow and my brother come into it? What do you need from them?"
"That is perhaps the most complicated piece of the puzzle. Until recently we didn't think we needed anything more but the spiritual power that remains in this world. It turns out we do need more, though. We need a connection to the other worlds—a deep one."
"You mean soul deep?" Grimmjow cut in, his hand clenched into a fist on the table. "We ain't got any powers left so that's all you can take from us, our souls, right?"
"That is all anyone has left, Jaggerjaques," Hashwald continued calmly. "We can't even really call ourselves human if our souls have nowhere to go when we die. Despite the conversion we all underwent after the Clash, we have hopes that there is residual spirit energy inside of you from your home-world that will help spark the rebirth of it."
"What? So you want to make a new Hueco Mundo? You want hollows?"
"We need Hueco Mundo. Eventually souls will turn and they will need to go there."
"And it's still there, but it's basically circling the drain or something, so you want my soul to give it a boost?"
"More or less. We need something to trigger the dimensions into reforming completely. The energy of a soul from that dimension should be enough."
"So you're going to kill me?" Came Grimmjow's final conclusion.
"No. You we will simply siphon off whatever energy we can and that's it."
"Bullshit! There is no way in Hell it's that easy or you would have done it already! Besides, what the hell do you need with Kurosaki? If you've got reapers who didn't get converted then they are obviously the ones you want to use."
"The soul reapers working with me have gladly volunteered to help, but it will take one person to trigger the spell and that one person has to be able to connect with all three dimensions. It is the only way to ensure the worlds are reactivated at precisely the same moment and equilibrium maintained. Kurosaki is the only one who can do this."
"So in order to convince him to come here and do this, you shot his sister in the fucking gut? Kurosaki has wanted some miracle like this all along! If you knew anything about him you'd know that, so why the game? Why trick us into coming here when he probably would have come here regardless? You're obviously not telling us everything."
"Espada, if you're not going to contribute anything helpful to the conversation I'll have you removed."
"Yeah 'cause I'm fucking right, aren't I?"
"Grimmjow stop," Ichigo looked to him, his face tight. It was clear he was restraining himself from joining in Grimmjow's protestations. But he knew getting information out of Hashwald was more important. "What do you need me, or us, to do?"
"First, we need to run some tests."
"What kind of tests?"
"Ones to determine if you do indeed possess residual spiritual energy. It would have been completely dormant outside of the city, but now that you are here, your souls will hopefully have at least enough to make the connections to the other worlds."
"But not enough that we could use our powers again?"
"No. Your souls are unified again, which means you have no zanpakutos, you are just souls like the rest of us, but those souls still came from somewhere. They are still uniquely composed. One might compare it to DNA."
"I see," Ichigo eased back. "And what are these tests like?"
"Just some samples, a few scans. The sooner we can start, the better."
Ichigo looked to Grimmjow. The espada shook his head.
"I ain't letting them touch me."
"It's the only way to advance the plan," Hashwald pressed.
"Fuck this plan. I ain't doing anything until you tell me just what the real cost in all of this is."
"This is pointless." Hashwald made a motion toward the guards. Grimmjow stood but got no further.
"Hashwald!" Ichigo stood too but the stern ritter raised his hand.
"Easy. Just remove him. We cannot have a real conversation with him in the room."
"Kurosaki, don't fucking trust him," Grimmjow shouted as he was forced out of the room.
Ichigo watched him. He wasn't stupid, he didn't trust Hashwald, but he couldn't defy him openly like Grimmjow. He had to find out more, and the only way to do that, was to give in, let him think he was compliant.
"Shall we go then? Do the tests? We can talk more once I have results."
"Alright. But don't hurt Grimmjow."
"There's not point doing anything to him, I simply want him contained."
"Fine, then let's go."
They didn't see Grimmjow until much later, and when they did, he was in no mood to talk. It was clear when Ichigo and Yuzu were taken to his cell that he'd undergone the tests against his will. It didn't look like he'd been hurt, but his hair and clothes were dishevelled, his coat missing and a few red marks on his arm. He had his back to them and made no move to turn around and face them.
Ichigo glanced at his sister, about to ask her to give them a minute, but before he could she knelt down and put her arms through the bar, holding his shoulder.
Grimmjow let out a long sigh, then turned his head slightly.
"Any chance you can get me out of here?"
She nodded and went to speak to the guard. She knew them by name, since she'd been with them for days now. After a moment he returned and said Grimmjow would be allowed to stay with them for the night.
They were taken to a room painted in bright colours with cartoon characters here and there over the walls. Black letters above the door read pediatrics. Yuzu pointed to a room and Grimmjow disappeared there. Running water could be heard shortly after.
"Cino used to use sedatives to control him," Yuzu said to her brother as she rearranged the room she'd been staying in to accommodate three people. There were two couches but enough mattresses and pillows from a play bin for her to make a third bed.
"I suppose all this must be frighteningly similar to that time."
"Yes, it's probably bothering him."
"I meant you, Yuzu. They've had you prisoner for days."
"I told you, they didn't do anything to me."
"Yuzu."
She stopped smoothing out the blanket and stood to face him.
"Brother, it's not me they want to use in this spell. It's not me Cino tortured. It's not me Hashwald had shot. I'm fine. I'm just scared of what's going to happen to everyone else I love."
Her voice trembled but her eyes remained hard, more like Karin's than they ever had been. He shook his head, not wanting to see that in her, not wanting her to have to take on both roles now, because he had failed to save her sister.
He opened his mouth, searching for the right words, but the door opened and Grimmjow let it bang against the wall. He didn't even acknowledge them as he dropped on one couch and held his head with one hand.
Yuzu stared her brother down a moment longer before moving over to him. She leaned in and lightly touched his shoulder.
"Did they drug you?"
He nodded.
"Why don't you sleep it off?"
"No." He sat back, clearly still trying to fight off what he'd been injected with. "We should be looking for a way out of here."
Ichigo went to the window but there was only a vertical drop from this room—quite possibly why it had been chosen for them. He returned to the couch and knelt before Grimmjow, looking in his eyes.
"Sedatives. Yuzu's right, you need to sleep this off."
"No." Grimmjow gripped Ichigo's shoulder. "Kurosaki you believe them, don't you?"
"No. What you said was right, Grimmjow. They must know I'd do whatever it took to save this world, so there must be something they aren't telling me. We'll find out what it is, I promise."
"We're running out of time."
"What do you mean?"
"You told me Soifon sent soldiers. They will be here in days. Hashwald won't wait for that confrontation. He's going to do whatever it is he's planning to do before they get here—whether we agree or not."
Ichigo stared at him. He was right, again.
"Okay. I'll keep working on an escape plan then. You sleep."
Grimmjow's hand slid from Ichigo. He didn't look like he wanted to give in, but his face was drawn with exhaustion.
"Okay…"
He lay back when Yuzu rose. She sank next to her brother, curling her hand over his and watching their sleeping companion.
"Brother."
"Yes?"
"Don't let them kill you, please."
"Yuzu," he took a breath, "If it means saving Karin, I'll do whatever I have to."
"And what if it means killing Grimmjow too?"
Her eyes were piercing, her voice cold and hard in a way he never wanted to hear it. She said he was like Grimmjow—well all he could see looking at her now were those unforgiving blue eyes.
She was more willing to face the truth than Ichigo. He dropped his gaze. "I don't know."
"Brother."
"Yuzu."
"I love you."
He turned back to her. "I love you too, Yuzu."
"I know. I know you'll do your best. I just wanted to say it, in case."
"Yuzu, I'm not going to let them hurt you. And I won't die—not unless it's for Karin"
"I know you'll try. But I'm not sure this time, you can win."
His breath caught. "Why?"
"Because I'm not so sure Hashwald has a hidden agenda. I'm not so sure he doesn't just want to save existence." He watched her carefully. "I think we're going to have to do whatever he asks."
Ichigo had no words. She leaned against him, and they didn't speak again, but in his heart, he feared with everything he had, that she was right.
Thanks for continuing to read and review,
Riza