Story Title: A Soldier's Honor

Pairing: Grimmjow/Orihime (GrimmHime)

Summary (extended):The war is over. Aizen has won. Lives have been lost, but the fight is not over. Inoue is back in Hueco Mundo, being used for her healing abilities. Grimmjow has a secret that she should know. When things are this miserable, it can bring people together. But will she remember him when she wakes up?

Disclaimer:I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, or plot. I just own my devious imagination!

Individual chapter rating: T for descriptions of gore and language

A/N: So, here's chapter eleven. This includes their escape… I decided not to draw it out over more than one chapter. I'm walking on shaky ground from here on out, 'cause I don't have an exact game plan anymore… Not sure how much longer this will be! After another M chapter and I smooth everything out, I might wind it down. But for now, here's some fighting action!

ALSO … There has been some distress about the similarities between this story and another GrimmHime called Unfinished Business. I've addressed this issue before, but I'll say it again… There ARE similarities, such as cloned Szayels, Orihime being trapped in Hueco Mundo, etc. But there are also large differences. That is besides the point; I began writing this story a long time ago, and I believe I had just uploaded chapter four of this story when I stumbled upon Unfinished Business. I didn't copy that author, nor did they copy me. Yes, it is strange that we have similarities such as those in our stories. But hey, great minds think alike.

Now, if anyone has any more to say about this, I'd appreciate it if they messaged me directly. Otherwise, I'd like to dismiss this issue and give you chapter eleven =)

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A Soldier's Honor

Written by Illuminate the Shadows

Beta'd by Innocent Sinner in Hell

Chapter Eleven

Word Count: 2,024

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"You're here."

I smiled at the sight of Zay standing in the laboratory. He held Fornicaras in one hand, prepared to leave. There was a tense aura about the room, yet I felt confident in Grimmjow's plan, whatever it was.

"I've checked the rooms for senses of reiatsu. Aizen is in the Grand Hall. Ichimaru is supervising the adolescent Arrancars' sparring. No other Espada are near here. We should be safe for the time being."

Grimmjow nodded curtly, glancing around the giant room. His hand rested on the small of my back, as if he was ready to protect me at any sense of danger. I watched them converse with large gray eyes.

"Then let's get goin'."

"Where are we going, exactly?" Zay inquired, coming closer to us.

"Seireitei."

Surprised, I turned to look at Grimmjow with widened eyes. 'He never mentioned that…' He turned his blue gaze on me, wincing a bit at my shock.

"We got nowhere else to go. They gotta accept us if we surrender and you're with us, right?" he murmured.

With a sigh, I shrugged. "I would think so. I don't know if Yamamoto-soutaichou will accept you, just like that. But we can try." The prospect of seeing everyone after my countless number of days here excited me. 'How long has it even been…? Months, at least…' Pondering over the thought of returning to the shinigami brought something to my attention, and I gasped softly, looking from Grimmjow to Zay in alarm.

"What about Rakuyo…?"

Zay chuckled, and I looked at him incredulously; why did he think this was funny?

"Relax, dear. She's right here."

To my surprise, he pulled a separate sword that had been tucked into his obi; I hadn't noticed it there before. With an overjoyed squeal, I stepped forward and took the golden-orange hilt in my hands. She was still safely tucked into the orange and red sheathe, seemingly unharmed or tampered with. "However were you able to get it back?"

The pink-haired man tilted his head. "To put it short, I asked Aizen if I could do some experiments on it. I told him it might have something to do with your healing ability, and he just let me have it." Zay smirked. "He trusts me too much."

"Alright, enough'a this. Let's get going." Grimmjow turned to me. "You know exactly where we're going, right Inoue? 'Cause if one of us sonido's, we might end up somewhere we don't wanna be."

Nodding, I sheathed Rakuyo in my obi. "I'll put us just outside of the Division halls. Hopefully I can sneak inside and tell one of the captains what's going on first. Here, hold my hands." Extending my arms, Grimmjow's fingers laced through mine. He smiled a sort of affectionate smirk at me as Zay took my other hand. "Alright, here we go." Closing my eyes, I felt my reiatsu spike as I shunpo'ed.

Something was wrong.

I experienced a dizzying wave of crushing force, and then stumbled as my feet seemingly touched back down on the ground. I felt strong arms steady me. Zay said something in an urgent voice. Opening my eyes, uneasiness settled in my gut.

We were still in the laboratory.

"What happened…?" I cried.

"Shit," Grimmjow uttered, looking around wildly. "Fuck! Aizen must'a put some sorta kidou on this building…!"

Zay's hazel eyes were wide. "What about the desert?"

Grimmjow met his eyes, and then nodded. "Yeah. C'mon!"

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me out of the lab and into the hallway. Zay followed close behind; I could hear his running footsteps.

"The monitors!"

Grimmjow growled. "They already know from Inoue's reiatsu spike! We gotta get outta here now!"

Turning the corner, I recognized the large doors Nel had taken me through to see the moon during Grimmjow's absence. We burst through them and into the soft orange glow of the setting sun. I would have labeled it beautiful, if I hadn't been literally running for my life. 'Isn't the desert dangerous at night…?'

"Let's get away from the building. Maybe it'll work if we get far enough away from his kidou," Grimmjow yelled, his hand still securely in mine. We ran, and I stumbled in the soft sand. I glanced over my shoulder at the building; all seemed unusually calm. Gathering a false sense of security, I was startled when Grimmjow halted abruptly, and I nearly fell over. Turning my gaze back ahead of us, my breath caught in my throat.

"'Ey there."

A foxy grin greeted us. 'Ichimaru.' The man's arms were tucked away in his long sleeves, and his knowing smile unsettled me.

Slowly, a low growl emerged from Grimmjow's throat. Extending an arm out in front of me, he turned his head halfway to the side, his eyes never straying from the threatening silver-haired man.

"Protect Orihime, Zay."

Zay pulled me back from Grimmjow's side as he unsheathed his sword. Having only seen him in his released state twice, I couldn't take my eyes from him. 'Be careful, please…I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt trying to save me!'

"Look out!"

Spinning around, I caught sight of the blade mere milliseconds before I ducked and it whizzed past my face. Unsheathing Rakuyo, I caught sight of it's wielder; yards away. 'Ichimaru?' Chancing a glance behind me, I saw the now released Grimmjow battling with the other Gin.

"Aizen's illusions!" Zay yelled. I switched my gaze to him, only to see him battling a third Arrancar in the form of Gin. "Which one is the real Ichimaru?"

"Fuckin' beats me!" Grimmjow shouted, his voice feral.

Returning my attention to the Ichimaru before me, I studied him. Unable to see any flaw in his appearance, I wasn't sure if he was the real one or not.

'Take him down nonetheless.'

Rakuyo's voice within me invigorated me, and I raised my blade so it was centered with my body.

"Teisei, Rakuyo."

A wave of air blew the man's silver hair back from his face as Rakuyo was released. Gripping her hilt tightly under the protective umbrella of leaves, I glared at him, daring him to move.

In less than the time it took me to blink, his sword had extended and was mere inches from my abdomen. With a cry, I twisted Rakuyo to the side, stopping the sword from impaling me. The tip of the blade sliced into my midsection nonetheless, and I winced.

'Get closer.'

Shunpo'ing multiple times in a zigzag motion toward him, I saw him struggling to keep up with my enhanced speed. Swinging my sword at his arm, I almost shuddered when I heard the crack of bone. With a cry of pain, he looked up at me with wide, bright blue eyes before whisking away in a thin fog.

"Fake!" I cried, turning around. Zay was still battling, as was Grimmjow. Raising Rakuyo, I ran to Grimmjow's aid, but the fight was over before I got there. Wincing, I turned my head from the gruesome sight of the Sexta's sword impaling the man through his eye. The wispy fog released his sword from the body. Bleeding from a cut on his thigh, the blue-haired man turned back to me, the instinct to maim clear in his eyes. I repressed a shudder. 'So feral… No time to be attracted to him, Orihime!'

A split second after I realized who was fighting the real Ichimaru, Zay's pained cry echoed in my ears. Whipping around, I stared with wide eyes at the pink-haired Arrancar.

He stood only a few feet from me. Blood trickled from his mouth. He lowered his head to stare at the blade that protruded a foot or so from his torso. His hands came to the silver sword and he raised his head again. Blood bubbled from his mouth as he spoke urgently.

"Go!"

I heard a Gargantua being ripped behind me, but the zipping noise wasn't enough to distract my attention from Zay.

"I won't leave you, Zay!"

Ichimaru's sword retracted, and Zay fell to his knees in the sand, blood staining his white kimono crimson. His eyes were dulling as he fixed his gaze on me. I felt Grimmjow's claws on my arm as he tried to drag me away, but my eyes were set on the Octava Espada.

"It was a pleasure knowing you, Orihime," he choked out. "I'd gladly sacrifice my life for yours. Don't waste your time…! Go…"

"C'mon, Inoue!"

A single tear traced down my cheek as Grimmjow pulled me away. I never took my eyes off of the pink-haired man, until blackness enveloped my senses and I could no longer see him or the sandy desert.

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I stumbled on what felt like cobblestone flooring, but I felt arms securing me. After the slight wave of dizziness subsided, I opened my eyes to find myself looking right into Grimmjow's. He was no longer in release, and his hollow jaw had returned to his face.

"You alright?"

Nodding, I raised a hand to wipe my cheek where the tear had trailed. "Zay…"

Grimmjow nodded slightly. "He wanted you to get outta there safely. That was his objective the whole time."

Finally taking my eyes from his, I looked around. "Where are we?"

Grimmjow stood up straight, glancing around warily. "I dunno, I didn't really pay attention to where I linked us. I just went. We're somewhere in Seireitei."

We were in a darkened alley, strangely enough, and we were completely out of sight of any random stranger or shinigami. A dumpster against the brick wall indicated a restaurant to the right.

"You're bleedin'."

Blinking, I looked down at my stomach. The front of my robe was soaked with blood. 'I didn't realize how badly he cut me…' Remembering Grimmjow's wound as well, I adverted my eyes to his leg. His hakama wasn't ripped, but blood was beginning to show through. Recognizing that I was still in subtle release, I gripped Rakuyo in one hand.

"Rip your pant leg open…" Grimmjow gave me a strange look, but did as I said, exposing the slice on his skin. "Sai seisei," I whispered. Rakuyo's blade scattered, the little leaves attaching themselves to his wounded flesh. Drawing in a deep breath, I felt his eyes on me as I concentrated on healing him.

"So this's the new way you heal people…"

Nodding slightly, I began to smile, but the slight upward turn of my lips was interrupted as the leaves left his leg and floated to my stomach. They settled there, and I felt the tingle of healing. My reiatsu was weakening.

"You're weak. We'd better find your shinigami friends," Grimmjow murmured, his azure eyes following the little leaves as they returned to the form of a blade. Allowing Rakuyo to come down from her heightened shikai, I nodded, slumping slightly.

"I think we're in Rukongai. We need to get over to the Divisions." Standing up, I leaned against him, comforted by his presence for a moment. He recognized my affectionate gesture and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me against his body for a moment.

"It's over now. Everything's gonna be okay," he murmured into my hair. Breathing in his scent, I nodded, gathering strength from his own willpower. "And I'm gonna stay with you." Raising my head to look up at him, he smirked. "Maybe I'll be a shinigami."

I giggled. "I can't imagine you wearing a shinigami kimono!"

He shrugged, finally releasing me, and I stepped back slightly. "Maybe I'd look good in black." Amused by his reasoning, I smiled. His fingers tapped under my chin as he leaned down to capture my lips in a quick kiss. "Let's get going."

Gazing up into his eyes for a moment longer, I felt contentment wrap around me like a blanket. 'It's his reiatsu.' The warm feeling rendered me at ease, despite everything that had just occurred minutes ago.

"Orihime?"

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned toward the entrance of the alleyway. My eyes widened in shock.

'It can't be.'