A.N: I got this chapter out quicker than I expected. As promised, this chapter looks into Grimmjow's history with Benito. I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter 16: The Day He Learned Fear
Flashback: After Ichigo defeated Grimmjow the first time
(Grimmjow Narrating): Everything went downhill for me after Ichigo defeated me back in Las Noches. As I faded in and out of consciousness after Nnoitra almost decapitated me, I watched him beat down Ichigo and then almost get beat by that loud girl. Never would've guessed that kid was an ex Espada. Then, after I watched Nnoitra die at the hands of that Soul Reaper with the bells in his hair, I lost consciousness completely. When I came to, I wasn't in Las Noches anymore. Then he appeared…
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez groaned in both pain and exhaustion as he slowly came to. Based on the darkness above him, he knew that he was not in Las Noches. So where was he? Was he dead? He certainly remembered passing out from the pain and blood loss. Then, in one fast download, he remembered everything that had happened to him up until he passed out.
First, he remembered bringing that woman to heal Ichigo Kurosaki for one final fight with him. Then he remembered the fight he had with Ichigo. He remembered that no matter how many times he knocked Ichigo down, he kept getting back up. No matter how hopeless it looked for him, he was still convinced that he would win against him. The most vexing part was that the fight was never finished. That bastard Nnoitra Gilga just had to get in his way. The bastard decided that he had had enough of watching the fight and would take over. He had no right to take over the fight. Grimmjow knew that he could have won that fight but Nnoitra had ruined everything.
He could still finish it, he knew he could. He just had to get back to Las Noches and track down Ichigo. Grimmjow groaned once more as he tried to sit up and move. It was here, he heard a male voice.
"I wouldn't move if I were you."
Grimmjow turned to the location of the voice. A tall man with jet black hair stood over him. "Who the hell are you?" Grimmjow asked.
The man smiled at him. "I'm the one who saved your life."
Grimmjow scoffed at this. "You saved my life? What a load of crap, I wasn't gonna die." He said arrogantly.
The man chuckled at this. "On the contrary, when I found you, you were near death. If it wasn't for my…unique skills, you would've died for sure."
Grimmjow's eyes widened at this. He then got over his shock and spoke again. "Okay, you saved my life. Where the hell are we? I need to get back to Las Noches. There's someone there I have to kill!"
The man shook his head at this. "There is no one there for you to kill at the moment, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The war is over. You have been unconscious for quite some time."
Grimmjow was shocked again. "So," he said lowly, "did Aizen win?"
The man shook his head once more. "Sōsuke's plan failed. He is currently in prison. As far as I know, you are the only Espada that has been confirmed to be alive."
Yet again, Grimmjow was surprised. He hated the majority of the Espada, but he never thought that they would be defeated. He then remembered Ulquiorra, and how much he wanted to be the one that killed him.
"Ulquiorra…"
It was now the man's turn to be surprised. "Ulquiorra?"
"Who killed Ulquiorra? He was my prey!"
The man paused for a moment. He then answered. "The Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki defeated him in mortal combat. It was quite the fight to watch."
Grimmjow found himself shaking in anger. He wanted to be the one to kill Ulquiorra. Hell, not just Ulquiorra, he wanted to kill Ichigo as well. "That bastard," Grimmjow growled, "why the hell do people keep taking my prey?"
The man sighed sadly. "It was a sad sight, Ulquiorra's death. But then again, I only feel that way because of his loyalty and that I trained him myself. I am both saddened that he's gone, and vexed that someone could actually defeat my student and subordinate."
Grimmjow was confused at the last part. "Subordinate? That guy worshipped Aizen and Aizen alone."
The man laughed hysterically at this. "Did he? Ah, he played his part perfectly then."
"Part? What part? Just who the hell are you?" Grimmjow asked, now curious as to who his savior is.
Benito smiled. "That's right, all this conversation and I still haven't introduced myself to you. I am Benito Muerta, former Espada Infinity and leader of Los Retazos."
Grimmjow looked at Benito. "Los Retazos? Never heard of them."
"As I've mentioned to many, we're a rather shadowy organization." Said Benito.
Grimmjow then remembered something else in Benito's previous statement. "Espada Infinity? That's impossible, no Espada has ever reached that rank!"
"I understand that you are skeptical. You did join the Espada after I left the organization."
Grimmjow glared at how smart-mouthed this man was. "Okay," he growled at Benito, "since I'm not in a position to disprove your statement, I'll take your word for it. But answer this at least, what 'part' concerning Ulquiorra were you talking about?"
"Ulquiorra was my loyal Fracción," Benito replied, "When I left the Espada, I placed him there as a spy. As far as Sōsuke and everyone else knew, Ulquiorra worshipped Sōsuke and I was dead to him as a master. However, in reality, Ulquiorra would fight and die for me a hundred times before he would ever die for Sōsuke."
Grimmjow found himself unable to speak upon hearing this revelation. Damn, for an emotionless piece of crap he's a good actor, Grimmjow thought, referring to Ulquiorra.
The former Espada decided to get to his next question. "Okay, where are we at the moment?" Grimmjow asked.
"We're in one of Los Retazos hideouts. However, I'm thinking of moving us all to Las Noches very soon."
"And Aizen, he won't come back?" Grimmjow kept up his questioning.
Benito shook his head. "When Ichigo Kurosaki defeated Sōsuke, he lost most of the power given to him by the Hōgyoku. He has been imprisoned. He won't come back. Even if he does, he is of no threat to us."
Grimmjow's shock returned. Ichigo beat Aizen? Dammit, I wanted to kill him too!
"Just…one last question," said Grimmjow, "why the hell did you save me?"
Benito grinned. "I figured you'd ask that question soon."
"Well, what's the reason?"
"You have skills I desire Grimmjow," said Benito, "and I have power you desire. Swear your allegiance to me and I will give you more than Sōsuke ever could."
Grimmjow was surprised by Benito's offer. However, he simply smirked at him after thinking it over.
"Do you think that I'd take your offer?" Grimmjow asked arrogantly. "With Aizen gone, I'm a free man! I don't need anyone ordering me around anymore."
Benito frowned at the blue-haired Arrancar. "Your talents should not be wasted, Grimmjow. Join Los Retazos and you will have power."
"I've got power, enough to defeat you, oh great Espada Infinity. Which I still think is a fake rank by the way."
Benito sighed at this. "I wanted to do this diplomatically, but you…you just had to make this difficult didn't you?"
Grimmjow grinned. "Yeah, what're you gonna do about it?"
Benito thought it over. "If you doubt my power, than I shall simply have to show you," he decided, "you will have made a full recovery by tomorrow. Face me than. If you win, you're free to go. If not, you will join me."
Grimmjow laughed. "You got a deal, Beni'! I'll kick your ass and walk out of this place a free man."
(Grimmjow narrating): Had I known what he really was…I wouldn't have gone through with that fight. I would've just taken off at night and hoped that he never found me. But, like an idiot I chose to stay and fight him. What happened to me next…I'll never forget it. What he did to me is etched into my mind forever.
Grimmjow and Benito stood thirty feet away from one another, staring each other down. On the side, Benito's five Fracciónes along with Nnoitra's former Fracción, Tesla Lindocruz (who had just been healed by Benito as well), sat and waited for the fight to unfold.
"Master Muerta shouldn't waste his time with this guy." Palmira Halibel said disdainfully.
She turned to Fielhombre Guardia. "You should fight in his place, Fielhombre."
Fielhombre shook his head. "It is not my place to question Master Muerta's judgement. Lets just see what he has in store for Jaegerjaquez."
"I'll bet you this battle is over in five minutes," said Pastor Olegario, "Master's probably gonna get a feel for his strength and then whoop his ass instantly."
On the battlefield, Grimmjow placed his hand on his blade. "I'm gonna enjoy kicking your ass, Benito! Grind, Pantera!"
Benito simply watched as Grimmjow transformed into his Resurreción. "Going all out already, eh?" Benito asked. "Fine, I'll do the same."
Unbeknownst to Grimmjow, the eyes of all five Fracciónes that served under Benito widened in shock. "He's using it against him?" Palmira asked.
"I'll say it again, it is not our place to question his judgement." Fielhombre said firmly.
"Ascend from the depths of Hell, Segador!"
Benito transformed into his own Resurreción: A pale-skinned Grim Reaper. Grimmjow grinned upon seeing it.
"That's the power of Espada Infinity, huh?"
"No," Benito replied, "this is."
Grimmjow suddenly gasped as he felt himself forced to the floor by an insane amount of spiritual pressure. Holy crap, he thought, this is worse than Aizen's.
"Get up, Grimmjow, I thought you wanted to walk out of here a free man." Benito said, pulling back on his spiritual pressure.
Grimmjow got to his feet and glared at Benito. "Hell yeah I do, don't you look down on me!" He shouted, charging in a fit of rage.
As Grimmjow charged Benito, Fielhombre looked at Pastor. "This won't take five minutes, Pastor." Fielhombre told him.
Pastor nodded in agreement. "Yep, it's gonna be even shorter."
"Desgarrón!" Grimmjow shouted, unleashing his ultimate attack right off the bat.
He swung his right extended claw downwards, intending to slash Benito into ribbons. However, upon making contact, the claw shattered from Benito's Hierro. Benito sighed, clearly disappointed.
"So much potential not being tapped into at the moment…how sad."
Benito grabbed Grimmjow's arm and pulled him in. The former Espada Infinity raised the end of his scythe and lunged it straight into Grimmjow's abdomen. Grimmjow gasped and coughed up blood from the sheer force of his attack. Benito then pulled him downwards, sending his face straight into his knee.
Grimmjow cried out as he was sent flying backwards from the force of the two attacks. After landing, his chest started to heave in pain.
"Damn, he's so strong." Grimmjow muttered.
The former Sixth Espada was suddenly forced to his feet by Benito. The leader of Los Retazos held him by the neck, face to face. "Do you understand why you need my help now Grimmjow? Do you yield?"
Grimmjow responded by spitting blood onto Benito's face…big mistake. Benito sighed at this.
"You leave me no choice. It's clear I have to break you even more."
Time seemed to freeze, the temperature seemed to drop. "Look upon my form and fear me, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Fear me and my power."
Grimmjow took one look at Benito. A couple seconds passed. Suddenly, the hardened Arrancar started to scream in absolute terror.
On the side, Pastor shook his head. "Master can really go overboard sometimes. To think he'd use that technique on someone who had no chance at winning to begin with."
"Jaegerjaquez needed to understand the position he's in. Master Muerta is making Jaegerjaquez understand why he needs him." Explained Fielhombre.
Pastor looked at Fielhombre. "Say what you want, Man, but even I get freaked out by what he does to people when he uses that technique. You remember that guy that wanted to take over the organization himself after Lady Alondra died?"
"There's no need to speak of that incident, Pastor." Fielhombre reprimanded his comrade.
"I know that. But still, that guy's nothing but a shell now. I don't know what he saw when Master used that technique on him, and frankly I don't want to know. That poor bastard got the full force of it. I just hope Jaegerjaquez didn't."
Benito dropped Grimmjow to the ground. The panther-Arrancar kept screaming and shaking in terror.
"You have potential Grimmjow. Potential that is being wasted. I can help you reach that potential, but there are certain things you need to understand." Said Benito.
"Once you have recovered, you will be a General of Los Retazos. And you will learn to be loyal to our cause…loyal to me. Only when you find it in yourself to be a part of something bigger than you, such as our cause, will you tap into your full potential." Benito continued.
End Flashback
"I don't understand," Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez looked at his rival, "why aren't you finishing me off?"
Ichigo Kurosaki shook his head. "What's the point in killing someone who's lost himself."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Grimmjow asked.
"That time we fought in Las Noches, you fought me because you had something to prove. This time was no different. You had something prove this time as well. However, what you had to prove in Las Noches and what you had to prove this time were completely different." Explained Ichigo.
Grimmjow looked at Ichigo in confusion. "Grimmjow, I don't know what happened to you in the past two years, but this time, you didn't fight me because you wanted to prove you were better than me. You fought me because you wanted to prove something else, what was it?"
Grimmjow paused for a moment. He then decided to answer. "You don't know Benito," he said lowly, "the guy's a monster."
"Benito? You wanted to prove something to Benito?"
Grimmjow nodded. "I wanted to prove that I didn't need him. That I didn't have to be afraid of him. The only way I could do that was by doing the one thing he couldn't: Kill you. And now that I failed in that…I don't want to think about what's going to happen to me."
Ichigo chuckled. "Well geez, it's no wonder you lost."
Grimmjow looked at Ichigo in confusion again. "Grimmjow, your strength came because of your desire to be the best. You fought me this time because you were afraid of so many things. You were afraid of Benito, afraid of losing, afraid of inferiority. You let your fear consume you, Grimmjow. When you did that, you lost yourself."
"Grimmjow, you always said that you are some kind of king. Well what kind of king lets someone else rule over him. You let Benito rule over you by making you afraid of him. That's not the Grimmjow I fought in Las Noches."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Grimmjow asked.
"Because I said I'll fight you any time you want," said Ichigo, "but I refuse to fight you from here on out when you no longer fight because of your desire to be the king. Like I said, you've lost yourself."
"So find yourself again Grimmjow," continued Ichigo, "and seek me out when you do."
"Captain Kurosaki!"
Isane Kotetsu had ran out from the entrance to La Torre. "Isane," said Ichigo, "heal his life threatening injuries."
Isane looked at him like he was crazy. "Just do it, Isane," said Ichigo, "now is not the time for him to die."
Isane, deciding that it was her duty as a medic to heal those near dead, ran over to Grimmjow and readied her healing Kidō.
"What are you going to do now, Sir?" Isane asked.
"I'm going back to the top," said Ichigo, "if my hunch is right, the throne room is on the floor below that cannon."
With that, Ichigo flew to the top. Grimmjow watched as his hated rival flew into the air. He then found himself musing over Ichigo's lecture.
I've lost myself, huh? He thought, damn I hate that guy so much. But still, can I really say I'm the king when I'm not fighting to be the best?
When Ichigo reached the top, he was immediately greeted by the presence of someone else. He groaned in annoyance and in worry when he recognized who it was.
A buxom woman with tanned skin and bleach blonde hair looked around, musing at the damage Ichigo and Grimmjow had caused. Tia Halibel then turned to Ichigo and spoke in her usual calm demeanor.
"It's been awhile, Ichigo Kurosaki."
A.N: What does Halibel want with Ichigo? Will Grimmjow overcome his fear of Benito and find himself again? And what's going to happen now that three of the Generals of Los Retazos have been defeated? Those questions will be answered later.
So, here's the thing, I know Grimmjow seemed a bit OOC, but I did this solely to show off how strong Benito is. If he's strong enough to make the normally arrogant Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez quiver in fear, than, besides me, who knows what he's capable of. Also, here's the thing with Ichigo's speech to Grimmjow. The way I've always seen it is that people have an inherent desire to be the best. When they lose that desire and start pushing themselves for all the wrong reasons, they lose themselves. That was the point behind the speech.
Yes, Benito's technique is similar to Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi. However, let me explain something, when Itachi uses Tsukuyomi he torments people in a variety of ways of his choosing. It's much more versatile than Benito's currently unnamed technique (I will reveal the name later). When Benito uses it, the victim experiences one certain thing. I will also reveal that later.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. ND2014, signing off.