Exposed!

Exposed

Chapter XIII

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Rukia fought off what seemed like her bazillionth Hollow just as another one popped up from the sand. She sighed and sat down and let Grimmjow take care of it with a Bala blast. She and Renji were pooped out and they hadn’t even reached Las Noches yet.

Grimmjow smoothed imaginary wrinkles in his half-jacket and dusted off his shoulders before coming to stand in front of them wearing his typical mad grin. It had been way too long since he’d been allowed to kill lower-class Hollows; he’d forgotten how much of a breeze and how relaxing it was. His sadistic smile fading, he stretched his back, hearing the satisfying pops of his spine, and motioned to keep on going. The Shinigami nodded and they shunpo-ed/sonido-ed off toward the palace.

‘The thing is so damn huge it doesn’t even look like we’re moving toward it,’ Rukia thought. They had been going all night and all day so far and even though they were tired, the worry for what might be happening to Ichigo kept them going. Normally Ichigo would be a fighter in this situation, Rukia knew, but he had volunteered to give himself up, and with one of his human friends with him he was liable to do anything to keep her safe. Rukia bit her lip and looked at Renji, who was running right beside her. She couldn’t imagine how Grimmjow was feeling.

Renji stole a look at the blue-haired Espada and almost regretted it. He had never seen this particular face on the taller man before; it was like Grimmjow was in deep thought about something that was rather painful to think about, but he, for some reason, needed to keep thinking about it despite the pain it caused.

Renji almost snickered at the idea of thinking causing the Espada pain, but managed to reign in his impulse. Grimmjow caught his eye and growled, telling him silently to ‘shut the fuck up or become forcefully acquainted with Pantera.’ Renji frowned and looked away.

As the three rushed toward the palace that was finally starting to look bigger and more intimidating on the horizon, Grimmjow realized he was glad that Renji had insisted that just the three of them go. He was uncomfortable enough showing emotion to his lover of two years, so he was sure as hell not going to be okay with showing his worry to any of said lover’s friends; for some reason he felt he could trust the two Shinigami at his side better than Ichigo’s other friends. Perhaps that was because they were the two closest to Ichigo and if the boy trusted them, so could he.

Well, whatever the reason for his being able to trust them, he was sure glad that Rukia and Renji could be there to help him out. Not that he would EVER admit that. To anyone. Ever.

Grimmjow felt that insane grin come back to his face as they came upon Las Noches; finally, the real action could begin. Now they only needed to find a way in; he hoped those fools had been hiding their reiatsus like he had been since he’d entered Hueco Mundo. If they had, they might be able to get into the fortress without being noticed too quickly. It was the most he could hope for; he knew Aizen would notice soon enough, but he couldn’t complain if it meant a good fight.

Looking over his shoulder at the two Shinigami following him, he smirked at them and motioned for them to follow. Ichigo had managed to change Grimmjow over the two years they’d been seeing each other. In the beginning, Grimmjow had been totally vicious, taking whatever he wanted, plundering what he labeled as his even when Ichigo didn’t want it. But the more time the Espada spent in the strawberry’s presence, the more Ichigo mellowed him out. That, of course, didn’t mean that Grimmjow or Ichigo had lost their edges and conflict-loving personalities; the two still loved to fight, especially with each other. They just hadn’t gotten the chance to be close like that since Grimmjow had come to the material world. So much craziness had happened. The thought made Grimmjow frown as he tried to work out where best to enter Las Noches.

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Some time later, Ichigo grunted as he tried to wiggle his hands out of the chains. Tatsuki stood in front of him on the off chance that he actually got loose so she could catch him, because his feet weren’t touching the ground (they, too, are in chains). He gave up after a few minutes later because his hands were just too large to slip through the shackles. Below him Tatsuki shook her head; watching Ichigo struggle to dislocate his thumbs was almost amusing for her, only she hoped that if he did it, he wouldn’t crush her when he fell on her. The carrot top had tried everything from letting loose a burst of reiatsu to trying to dislocate his thumbs and so far nothing had worked. He was just thankful that, for whatever reason, the bad guys had left him alone. He snorted at the thought.

Surely they would be back again soon. He was sure he’d had every Espada in there to take a whack at him by then; the most frequent of his visitors being Stark, Ulquiorra, Szayel, Noitra, Yammy… He’d learned their names by now. He wasn’t sure what was going on outside his little torture chamber, but he was thankful for the distraction as it allowed him to gather up strength so that when or if he broke away, he would be able to at least shunpo away with Tatsuki.

Finally able to summon enough inner calm, he managed to dislocate his thumb, though it was rather painful, and slip his left hand from its confinement. He examined it for a few moments and cringed when he saw the raw reddish-pink color of his skin and the dried and fresh blood flowing over his hand. With help from his left hand he managed to do the same to his right and fell forward on top of Tatsuki, who tried her hardest to catch him but failed rather miserably. He would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire; he had finally got his wrists free! Now all that was left were his feet, which would prove to be a much bigger obstacle. There was really only one way to do that and he was rather reluctant…

Sinking inside himself, he called for his Hollow, nicknamed Shiro, who had been strangely silent since the whole ordeal had begun.

‘Shiro.’

‘Yes, King?’ Hichigo replied snidely.

‘I need to make a deal with you. I desperately need to get out of these chains, otherwise Aizen will find me and surely he would kill me.’ Seeing the bloodlust in Shiro’s eyes, he sternly reminded the Hollow that if he died, so would Shiro. Shiro seemed to take a moment to register this before nodding.

‘I assume you want your position back when I’m done, King?’

‘Of course. If you don’t agree to this, I’ll just have to beat you again.’

Frowning, Shiro took a few moments to think this over. He wasn’t afraid of a fight; however, his body really hurt, mirroring Ichigo’s pains, and he decided that now wouldn’t be the ideal time to retake what he thought was rightfully his, so he agreed. Ichigo allowed himself to sink further down as Shiro came to the surface and smashed the shackles using the brute strength of a Hollow. After a sufficient amount of time, Ichigo forced his way to the surface and broke free, surveying his Hollow’s handiwork.

Iron shackles in pieces on the floor. Perfect.

Ichigo looked up at Tatsuki and grinned at her, showing excitement that he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in case this hadn’t worked. She stared at him for a moment before he gave her a pointed look that said ‘I’ll explain everything later,’ so she nodded and tried the door to find it unlocked. The two shared a look of confusion and suspicion before easing the door open and glancing down the white hallway.

Nothing.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and slipped out the door. He closed his eyes to try to remember which way they had turned to come toward the chamber when they had first gotten there and decided on going left down the hallway. He looked back at Tatsuki to grab her hand and began to shunpo away from the chamber they had been locked in for God knows how long.

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About twenty minutes later Ichigo was panting for breath, standing with Tatsuki in yet another white hallway. He had no idea where the fuck he was going and was getting tired of white. He sighed and ran a hand through his orange locks before turning to look at the spiky-haired girl.

“Honey, couldn’t you have just stopped and asked for directions?” Tatsuki quipped. Ichigo grinned despite the rather desperate situation and started walking, turning the corner and abruptly running into a solid mass of something.

‘Damn,’ Ichigo thought as he rubbed his sore ass. He looked up to see what had knocked him down and his mouth dropped open. “Grimmjow!”

Grimmjow’s mouth was also hanging open and he was staring at Ichigo like he was an alien. Which he very well could have been; the strawberry had no idea what he looked like since there seemed to be no mirrors or windows in this God forsaken place. “Ichigo? How the fuck did you get out?! God damn, you look terrible. How could you let yourself be beaten up like that, you weak-ass pansy?”

Ichigo grinned and said, “Shut the hell up, fucktard. At least I got out.” Renji and Rukia stared at him from behind Grimmjow and Ichigo waved at them, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Hey, it’s nice running into you, but don’t you think we should get going? Pretty sure they’ll notice shit’s not right soon enough.”

The Shinigami closed their mouths, both thinking that this was the luckiest rescue they’d ever conducted, and Renji grabbed Tatsuki in order to shunpo the hell out of there. Rukia followed him. Ichigo was about to take off as well when Grimmjow stopped him.

“Ichi, you look terrible as fuck.”

“Gee, thanks Grimm,” Ichigo replied sarcastically. “Being chained up here for however many days can do that to you. Besides, I didn’t get a chance to make myself presentable before I escaped.”

Grimmjow frowned at him, reminded that Ichigo had been hurt here; the expanse of skin showing because of the absence of his gi was proof enough of that. The Espada sighed and offered Ichigo a hand since the boy looked so tired. Ichigo just stared at him a moment before taking the offered help and allowing himself to be swung up piggy-back style and sonido-ed away. He was stiff against Grimmjow’s back for the first few strides but slowly began to relax against him, gingerly wrapping his aching arms around his neck and whispering a soft ‘thank you’ in his ear. Grimmjow grinned. He secretly loved it when Ichigo showed his softer side – the side that was reserved just for him.

Soon they were out of Las Noches and he could see Rukia and Renji up ahead, fighting off a few minor Hollows. A sound off to the side diverted his attention and he was only mildly surprised to find Ulquiorra sonido-ing along side him. He dropped Ichigo on his ass as Ulquiorra struck out at him and the strawberry groaned as he rolled to a stop, barely able to find the strength to stand up as his wounds opened and began to bleed all over again. Ulquiorra turned back and went for Ichigo, but the kid pulled out Zangetsu and managed to block Ulquiorra’s weaponless attack. Ichigo groaned again at the strain put on his sword and his efforts to keep the green-eyed Espada at bay. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rukia and Tatsuki go through the gate and he sighed in relief.

Grimmjow growled and jumped at Ulquiorra from behind to distract him and to allow Ichigo to recover. Ulquiorra simply threw him off, however, and refocused on the Substitute, grabbing the teen around the throat and effortlessly tossing him away. Ichigo coughed and tried to stand but let himself fall back. He brought Zangetsu up over his heart to protect himself as Ulquiorra appeared in front of him. Before he knew it, though, Grimmjow grabbed the Cuarto Espada around the waist and hurled him off of his lover.

Ulquiorra twisted in midair to land on his feet and pushed off the ground, trying to attack Grimmjow in the air. Ichigo tried to get up to run to where Rukia and Renji were coming toward him, but he ended up 

half crawling and half limping as fast as he could, trying to get away from the dogfight in the air. The two Shinigami grabbed him by sash of his hakama and helped tug him toward the gate that Renji had opened earlier. He glanced back at Grimmjow as if asking permission to leave. He really wanted to stay and help his lover fight off Ulquiorra and take revenge for all the pain the emotionless Espada had caused him, but he was injured, exhausted, and would only get in the way.

Grimmjow glanced over at him and met his eyes then, and Ichigo could see the worry in them, even when he knew his lover would never admit it. He watched Grimmjow block a Cero with his hand as he turned and shouted, “Go!”

That was the only encouragement Renji needed as he hefted Ichigo up onto his back and jumped through the gate after Rukia. Ichigo felt his throat tightening as he fought the urge to cry ‘no!’ He didn’t really understand the need to go back and make sure his lover was alright; Grimmjow could always take care of himself. He was just glad that Rukia had Tatsuki and that she was alright.

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In Soul Society, a small party of Shinigami and humans were awaiting the return of their comrades. They had been waiting less than a day (ever since Rukia, Renji and Grimmjow left) but their nerves, especially those of Keigo and Mizuiro, were so frazzled that it felt much longer. When the gate they had been gathered around began to open and Rukia and Tatsuki stepped out, relatively unharmed, a collective breath was released. The Fourth Division gathered around her to heal their wounds, though they were minor injuries. There was some rejoicing, but mostly they were waiting to make sure Ichigo, Renji and Grimmjow got back okay.

After fifteen minutes, Ichigo’s friends were beginning to get antsy and even more nervous.

“I thought he was right behind you?” Mizuiro whispered to Tatsuki.

“No, while I was leaving he and Grimmjow were being attacked by an Espada. I’m sure they’re okay though, no worries right?” The three friends looked at each other, their worry and anxiety increasing every minute that their childhood friend wasn’t appearing.

Five more minutes passed in silence and then the gate opened once more. The Shinigami captains and vice-captains tensed, ready to defend against Hollows or Espada in case they came through instead of their friends. However, Renji came staggering through instead, with Ichigo stumbling behind him. A very hurt, beat up, and bleeding Ichigo. The strawberry managed to get through the gate before falling to his knees, too tired to keep going any further. Ichigo groaned and allowed himself to fall the rest of the way to the ground as he passed out.

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Inoue and the Fourth rushed forward to take care of Ichigo and Renji’s injuries. Inoue had Ichigo laying on his back on the ground and was just beginning to heal him when the gate opened a third time and Grimmjow literally fell through it, unable to stand further. Ichigo opened his eyes, relieved to see his lover alive and well, and, seeing that all the other experienced healers were busy, asked Inoue to heal Grimmjow instead.

“No, Kurosaki-kun, I couldn’t –“

“Inoue, please.”

Inoue looked into Ichigo’s brown eyes for a long moment before nodding and moving to Grimmjow to start her healing on him. Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes, laying there on the ground of Seireitei, surrounded by safety and all of his friends and feeling safe for the first time in days.


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