Grimmjow finished washing up in the bathroom. His hands were still shaking and he felt like he might throw up. There were dark circles under and around his eyes and his face was the colour of the white tile around him.
Hashwald opened the door.
"Better?" He passed Grimmjow a bundle of clothes.
"Yeah, I'm great. I love having my heart stopped and pissing myself," he muttered but accepted the clean clothes. He struggled to dress himself and nearly fell. Hashwald took his arm and helped him into the private room where Grimmjow had woken about an hour ago, unrestrained. He half collapsed on the bed when Hashwald let him go. He got himself sitting, but was out of breath.
"Of course the process was a strain on your body, but you will recover."
"What the fuck was all that?"
"A test of your soul. You are in fact human, Grimmjow, but the spirit energy deep inside you remains hollow. If I'd continued to pull on your soul chain, you would have become a monster again—perhaps even an espada, I have no way of telling."
"So that's the plan? You gonna rip off my soul chain?"
"No. I would prefer to keep your soul in your body when we open up the worlds. Your vessel may serve to protect your soul from getting torn to pieces."
"Somehow I have a hard time believing you care what happens to my soul."
"Ah, but I care immensely. You are as essential as Kurosaki in making this work. Your soul and its stored energy must go to Hueco Mundo."
Grimmjow stiffened at this. "WHAT? That's not what you said earlier."
"And just like you predicted, I was lying. You will have to return to your home world, Grimmjow. Without a soul to occupy it, it won't have a reason to exist once the barrier is gone. Just like Soul Society. It will disappear forever without a purpose, an anchor."
"If you send me to Hueco Mundo as a human, I'll die and it will disappear anyway."
"You won't die right away. You just need to stay alive long enough for the worlds to stabilize. Besides, when you do die, you'll become hollow immediately because you are in that world. It's not a bad offer, Grimmjow. You'll become who you were before all of this."
"Not likely. If I use up all my soul's energy remaking Hueco Mundo, I won't have the power of an espada anymore. I'll become a mindless beast."
"You were once before."
"I'm not reverting to that. I'm not going back to that wasteland."
"You prefer this wasteland?"
"Yes."
"Well, then I made the right choice."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's you, Grimmjow. You're the only reason I've had to go to such lengths, drawing you here, trying to coax you to our side. If it was just Kurosaki, I could have convinced him, I know."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You're the reason I shot Karin Kurosaki. You're the reason I dragged Yuzu here. Ichigo has been willing to give his life for this world from the very start. But you—the only thing you've ever cared about was your own survival. For all these years, of all the souls I encountered—you have fought the hardest and most desperately to save your own life. And your life is the one thing I need from you. So to convince you, I had them shoot Karin. In order to make you see I won't hesitate to do the same thing to Yuzu."
"She ain't my sister. If you shoot her it's Kurosaki you'll hurt."
"Don't play dumb, it's unbecoming. Ichigo and Yuzu are the only people I think you might give your life for, and since I can't kill him, it will have to be her."
"If you kill me and Kurosaki, she'll be left alone here anyway. I won't die just to leave her alone in this world with you."
"If you don't die I won't just kill her, Jaggerjaques. I'll torture her, in every depraved way you can imagine, for the rest of her existence, or until you break and do what I want."
Grimmjow was silenced. He stared at Hashwald, hating him more than he had hated even Cino.
"If you need me to die, then why not just kill me? Why does it matter what I want anyway?"
"Because you will have to step through to Hueco Mundo yourself. I won't be able to force you. In that storm of power, it will be just you and Ichigo and the soul reapers. You will all have to do what is needed of your own free will."
"You won't be part of it will you? The quincies had no homeworld. You have no sacrifice to make."
"No."
"So you'll get to live, while we die."
"Yes."
"I'm gonna fucking kill you."
"You can hardly stand. You can do nothing to stop me. But you can do something to save Yuzu. When they come back, you will not tell them what I have said. Ichigo will have to endure the same test as you. Assuming it is as successful, we will proceed with our plans tomorrow."
"You expect me to lie to them about what's going to happen? Not tell Ichgio you're going to kill him tomorrow."
"No. I never said Ichigo would die. He does not have to cross to another world. He just needs to open them. He'll be staying here. He will live."
"…he'll live…"
"Yes. It's just you, Grimmjow, who won't survive. Yuzu can live, her brother will still be here to watch over her. And even Karin, once the spiritual pressure of this world is returned, might be able to find the strength to pull through. They could all live and be happy, Grimmjow, but only if you will do this for them."
"You're a liar. I can't trust anything you say."
"And you're a murderer, Grimmjow. I can hardly trust you to do what it will take the save the world, but I must."
Grimmjow stared at him, at a loss. There was no winning in this situation. Whatever he said, he'd lose.
"If agree not to tell them, what will you do?"
"Well I can't trust you to just keep your word. I will let you see them, but only under supervision. And if you change your mind, I'll ruin Yuzu."
He gripped the sheets in anger. "Then don't bother. I won't lie to them. Not about this."
"Then you'll have to remain here until it's time."
"No. I mean tell them. Tell them yourself how it is. And tell them I'll do it. I'll die for them."
"Ichigo—"
"Ichigo wants to save this world. He'll accept it as long as I say I'm willing. I am. I'll do it, you just have to tell them the truth."
"Really?"
"Really."
Hashwald smiled. "Fine. I'll send them in when I've told them."
"Okay."
Hashwald left. Grimmjow listened to the door lock from the outside. He sat a moment longer on the bed, collecting himself.
He was still weak from the after-effects of dying and being brought back to life, but he stood up again and looked around the room for anything he could use.
He wasn't about to let that asshole talk him or Ichigo into killing themselves. For all he knew, Hashwald was playing him—at least he had to hope Hashwald was playing him, because otherwise he really was in trouble.
Because of all the things Hashwald had said to him, he did know one thing was true: as much as every fiber of his being screamed against it—he knew he would die for them.
"Fuck." He swore to the empty room. "Being human sucks ass." It had made him weak, made him soft. But being human was all he had now, and he wouldn't give that up easily.
So like I thought, shorter than usual chapter this time, but action and excitement to come! See you next time!
Riza