Hey y'all! I'm so sorry this has taken so long! hope you enjoy!

Ichigo sighs, rubbing his eyes and the back of his neck. He stares sightlessly into the fire, wondering how it all came to this. He'd been out of the room for five minutes, and now...

This doesn't suit you, does it? He'd asked, smiling then.

No, not really. Grimmjow had laughed, long and loud and unselfconscious of exactly how crazy he sounded, lifting the papers he'd been working on. This bureaucratic shit is really not my thing.

Oh, your thing? Ichigo teased him. It had taken a long time for Grimmjow to pick up on human sayings, but once he'd gotten the hang of them, he used them a lot.

Yeah. Grimmjow had fixed him with a warm look, then. The memory makes Ichigo's heart clench in his chest.

At the very least, the situation they were in now made him look back and realize exactly how much Grimmjow had sacrificed to get to this point, and how much he continued to sacrifice, just so that they could at the very least see each other every day. Ichigo can feel Rukia's eyes on him, piercing and knowing. He doesn't want to see it, though, so he closes his eyes and turns away from her, looking out at the vast cavern they found themselves in.

Ichigo had left for five minutes. Five minutes; which wasn't to say that he and Grimmjow were together 24/7-they weren't-but still. Five minutes. When he'd returned, Grimmjow had been gone. No struggle, no mess, just… gone. He'd thought Grimmjow had left as well, but after Grimmjow did not return that night, or the next morning, Ichigo began to get worried. Grimmjow had always had a fickle disposition, but this wasn't like that. Ichigo had a knack for telling when Grimmjow was in trouble.

A rudimentary search turned up the information that no one had seen Grimmjow at all for quite some time. A more in-depth search proved that he was nowhere within the Seireitei, or the Rukongai, or the whole of Soul Society anywhere. Not a hint of reiatsu, no trail, just…

Gone.

Then came the information from Mayuri and the Science Division that there was some kind of weakness in the barriers between worlds near the Academy, something that they hadn't noticed because it wasn't beyond the realm of the usual fluctuations in the Reiatsu that made up the Seireitei. But with Grimmjow missing… It wasn't hard to put two and two together. It was a week-an agonizingly long time to Ichigo-before they were able to put together some kind of gate that could tear open the weakness safely and keep it stable.

In that time, Ichigo petitioned Kyoraku to take a search party personally to look for his lieutenant. It was a hard discussion.

"You're too close to this, Ichigo." Kyoraku had said, very reasonably.

"I'm the only person close enough!" Ichigo had countered, trying not to bang his fists on Kyoraku's desk. "I am the only person who knows what his reiatsu feels like, down to the littlest detail. Anyone else might mistake it for someone else's, but I won't!" He countered. "Grimmjow doesn't trust anyone here except me anyw-"

"That's the problem, Ichigo." Kyoraku spoke over him, fixing him with a deceptively hard stare. Ichigo had stiffened, his throat closing.

It wasn't really against the law to have a relationship between the different levels of the chain of command, but it also wasn't a very encouraged practice, and he could see that Kyoraku definitely had an opinion on it. For all his flirting, even this wasn't a convention Kyoraku would see broken, and just because Ichigo and Grimmjow kept things behind closed doors and didn't talk about it in public, it didn't mean they were free from the judgement of the Captain of the First Division.

"You are too close. You can't maintain focus on this."

"So let me take others with me. Rukia." Ichigo suggested. Rukia had never been afraid to punch him if he was getting out of line, and certainly wasn't a stranger to trying to stop him from doing something stupid.

Kyoraku seemed to consider it. "You. Rukia. I want you to take Nanao and Hanataro, as well."

Ichigo had not argued. Nanao was going to be Kyoraku's eyes and ears on the mission, and she could afford to leave her post, being a co-lieutenant, that much was clear. Hanataro was one of the best healers in his division, no matter what the nervous shinigami might say to the contrary. It made sense.

That didn't mean Ichigo had to like it.

They'd assembled early that morning to enter the portal. Ichigo had been the first one there, impatient and ready. When Mayuri opened it, he had been the first one through it.

The world on the other side was like nothing Ichigo had ever seen. They seemed to have stepped into some kind of large cave, a yawning cavern deeper and higher than any Ichigo had ever even imagined before. The stone was a deep red, and while there were some scraggly dead weeds here and there, for the most part it was dark and barren. The caverns were lit by some kind of yellow glowing fungus that grew on the ceiling, and it was enough to see by that you wouldn't bump into a wall while walking, but it wasn't nearly enough to, say, read by.

The first thing they'd all done was to fling out their reiatsu awareness, trying to feel for Grimmjow's aura. It was nowhere to be found, which didn't mean anything, Ichigo reminded himself. Maybe Grimmjow was hiding it, having escaped from whoever took him. Maybe he hadn't escaped, and it was being repressed somehow. It didn't mean he was dead.

Ichigo had to keep repeating that to himself. It didn't mean Grimmjow was dead. It didn't mean anything except that they would have to look the old-fashioned way, with their eyes.

The inhabitants of this place were Yokai, that was clear. Mutated by this land, perhaps, or simply this was their place of origin. There was an Akabeko, which mooed at them from a patch of dead grass but did not approach them when they passed. There was a man, which, when questioned about whether or not he'd seen anyone matching Grimmjow's description, turned around to reveal he had no face. Ichigo guided the group far away from that one.

Some of the yokai were indifferent to the group, uncaring about their passing. Some, like the Shikome, attacked the group and had to be killed. There was once, even, a dog-like yokai that followed the group, panting and wagging its tail innocently every time someone glanced at it. At some point, though, Nanao started to cough and get ill, and the dog had to be chased away.

Ichigo turns his stare to the fire again, letting it hypnotise him a little. They'd find Grimmjow. He had to believe that. No matter how long it took.

The second week of searching brought them to a small village that seemed to have been carved out of the cave wall. This world was just an endless system of caverns, and it seemed that these few peaceful yokai had banded together for some amount of safety, and found it in numbers. Their children laughed and screamed as they played and chased one another, without fear. It felt like they'd been searching without rest for far too long, and it was Hanataro who suggested they speak with the village elders and try to secure a place to stay here, if only for a few nights.

Ichigo couldn't help but agree, and Rukia was nearly dead on her feet, so after a little bit of asking around they found out where the village elders usually gathered to make decisions, and were told to wait while they were summoned. It was a smaller cave off of the main chamber, its ceiling scorched by the oft-lit fire in the center, and there was some kind of incense in the air.

When the elders appeared, there were only two. An old man who had too many eyes and several lizard's tails, and a woman who looked very young but had enough kitsune tails to let Ichigo know she was much older than she appeared.

"We don't mean to intrude," Ichigo started. "But we're looking for our friend. We were wondering if we could rest here before continuing with our journey."

"By all means." The old man held out a welcoming hand and smiled, his eyes blinking independently of one another. "We are a peaceful village. You are welcome as long as you keep the peace."

"Have you maybe seen our friend? He's a little taller than Ichigo here." Rukia asked hopefully. "He has blue hair, a bad temper. He's a shinigami, like us. Really stands out."

The elders looked at one another, considering, before shaking their heads. "No, we haven't seen anyone like that." The kitsune says. Her voice is coy and seductive, but she doesn't seem like she's trying to make it that way. "But he could be dead, did you consider that?"

"Why would he be dead?" Ichigo asks, on edge.

"Well, time is different here." The kitsune blinks at him like it should be obvious. "I've been to the Rukongai before." She winks at the old man, like they're sharing a joke. "And the human world. One second in the human world is like an hour in the Rukongai, right? Well two hours in the Rukongai is like…" She counted on her fingers, looking up at the ceiling. "Two hours there is like a year here!" She nodded cheerfully. "No one really ages here, but some of us do like to fight…"

Ichigo doesn't remember making polite farewells. He only remembers being outside, needing the wider space, the "fresh" air.

He remembers, years ago, in another life, assuring Grimmjow that he would never leave Grimmjow alone. He would never abandon him.

As long as I'm here, you never have to worry. Ichigo remembers pulling his fingers through Grimmjow's hair, messing it up but loving the purr that came from Grimmjow's throat as a result.

What if you're not always here? Grimmjow had asked. You can't promise that.

I can. Ichigo had said, firmly. I can promise that.

I admire that about you. Grimmjow had told him, voice soft and warm and unguarded. You stand your ground, Ichigo.

So do you. Ichigo had pointed out.

No. Grimmjow had smiled ruefully. No, I destroy everything I have, until even the ground I stand on crumbles.

Ichigo thinks of Grimmjow, bleeding out in the sand. Left there to die. At the end of the war with the Quincies. Again and again, left to die. It's been years for Grimmjow-would he have given up? Cut his loses and tried to make a life for himself here once he realized he couldn't get back out? Did he even believe rescue was coming for him, anymore?

Or was he dead, like these yokai were suggesting? Like the evidence (or, lack thereof, really) said he probably was?

Ichigo's heart clenches, and he tries to remember how to breathe.

They ask the villagers, but none of them have seen a tall man with blue hair. Some of them have speculations for them, but the places they talk about don't make any sense. When the villagers try to explain where these places are, the explanations don't make any sense either.

There are a few villagers they don't bother asking. The more animalistic ones which cannot speak, for one. The children, also, don't really seem to have a clue. An old woman, hunched and bent and bandaged like a leper so that only her nose is visible also seems to be a good person to avoid. There's also a tree that grows at the edge of the village, with fruit that look like upside-down human heads, which freaks out everyone in the group.

In the end, after they've rested for a few days, Ichigo can't take being stationary anymore. He leads them on, with warnings ringing in their ears.

The elders had wanted them to stay. It was safer, they said. They had to be careful, they said. There was a yokai out there who was crueler than the rest, who didn't necessarily rule but certainly could get away with doing anything he wanted, simply through fear. A yokai that liked to do things just to watch the chaos unfold, after.

Ichigo can't help but add to his theory. Maybe Grimmjow hadn't given up at all. Maybe he'd just sunk down to the level he had been at before, destroying everything within reach simply because he could, wanting to rise in vain to the top. He doesn't want to believe it; he thinks more of Grimmjow than that, but he can't deny it's at least a possibility.

They roam, searching every crack and crevice that they can make the excuse to check.

The dog yokai comes back and has to be chased out again. Ichigo feels bad, because it looks like a sweet animal that just wants some attention, but it makes the group get sick, and Hanataro only brought so many supplies.

It's one such occasion, making camp, where it's Ichigo's turn to chase it away again. He runs at it, halfhearted and trying to look more threatening than he really plans on being, when he realizes the dog has led him behind a stone column.

The old woman from the village is there. She bends to greet the dog, patting it with a withered hand covered in bandages that shakes violently. She's covered herself in a shawl, and her bent and hunched form shakes just as bad as her hand. She doesn't seem to realize Ichigo is there, and he frowns, backing away. All of these Yokai are able to do unpredictable things, and Ichigo isn't willing to die here. Not when Grimmjow still needs finding.

Just as he's about to go back to camp, the old woman shuffles forward, her head bobbing this way and that, as if she's trying to look for him. Like she knows he's there. He swallows, taking another careful step back. She follows, shuffling forward.

He gives up and goes back to camp anyway, sure that his friends will have something to say about it, and they can all come up with a plan together.

When he gets there, Nanao gasps at the sight of the woman, dropping her bundle of wooden sticks.

"What is she doing here?!" she demands in a voice that is probably supposed to be lower than it is.

"She followed us. Actually, I think she might have followed the dog, who followed us." Ichigo grimaces.

"The villagers told me about her." Rukia mumbles, watching as the old woman stops well short of the camp. She'd be staring at them if there weren't bandages covering her face. "That yokai we were warned about? She escaped from him. He blinded her, deafened her, and muted her, all at once. She can't communicate at all. They were harboring her, trying to keep her safe."

"That's horrible." Ichigo murmurs, looking over his shoulder at the old woman.

He doesn't have the heart to chase her, and nothing bad has happened yet, so they make camp and sleep, taking turns on watch. On Ichigo's turn, late into the night, the old woman is still there, sitting down now, and unmoving so that she might be a statue. She just sits, facing the fire. Ichigo closes his eyes.

A memory of Grimmjow, exhausted, staring into the flame of a candle late at night. Ichigo had come up behind him, gently spreading his hands over Grimmjow's shoulders. Grimmjow had looked up at him, then, eyes far away and vague.

I want to hunt, Ichigo. He'd murmured. I want to kill. I want to eat.

Ichigo had kneaded his neck and shoulders, unable to find the words, then.

Ichigo, I don't belong here. Grimmjow had whispered.

You do. Ichigo had murmured.

No. I only belong wherever you are. For now, that's here. Grimmjow had gone back to staring into the fire, until Ichigo had dragged him off to bed.

Ichigo swallows the guilt. What had he forced Grimmjow into? No, that wasn't right. He hadn't forced Grimmjow into anything. Grimmjow had made the choice, had asked him, a whole other life ago. Ichigo puts his head in his hands and tries to sleep.

At some point, Hanataro just stops. In his tracks. Ichigo feels like he's been clotheslined, but he skids to a halt and looks back, inquisitively. Rukia notices, and Nanao, and they stop too.

"What's up, Hanataro?" Ichigo prompts, when the little Shinigami doesn't say anything.

"I can't remember how long we've been here." Hanataro says, voice soft but confident.

Ichigo tries to think back, to remember. It's been days, but… A week? Two? ...Maybe even three? He feels a cold like ice water down his spine, and looks to the girls. They also have troubled faces.

"We should check in." Rukia says, and the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes says she knows Ichigo won't like it. "If we can't remember, we need to make sure…"

Ichigo doesn't like it, but he also can't deny that she's right. He nods shortly. Nanao has been keeping track of where they went and where the portal was, and she easily pulls out the map she'd been making and begins to lay out the route they should take to get back. Route agreed, Ichigo leads back the way they'd come. They pass the little old lady, who stops shuffling after them at an achingly slow pace to turn around and start shuffling after them the other way.

Ichigo wishes he could spare a moment to tell her goodbye, to direct her back to the village that harbored her, but he can't. It's time to go, and hopefully they can be back very, very soon. Or Grimmjow would have to wait longer. Ichigo couldn't bear that.

I'm catching up! Grimmjow would yell at him.

The games of tag they used to play. For the right to spar, for the right to fuck. The chase had made everything more exhilarating. They hadn't done it always; sometimes there were quiet nights of making love, or the need to work out anger and frustration with blows. But the nights of the chase were the best. Ichigo can still feel the way Grimmjow would trip him-hooking his foot around Ichigo's ankle and stopping short, until Ichigo was on the ground and caught and they would work out whatever they had to.

Ichigo remembers, and it hurts.

Though they've been searching for so long, it feels like it takes no time at all to find the portal again, looming before them. In reality, they've camped twice since deciding to turn around, and now that he's faced with the exit, Ichigo turns, unwilling to leave. Grimmjow is still here, somewhere. He knows it. But the cavern with the portal is empty and vast, and Ichigo closes his eyes.

There's a shuffle, cloth scraping stone. Ichigo opens his eyes.

The old woman has followed them even here, and the little dog again too. She hobbles forward, and Ichigo frowns. She must have walked all through the nights to catch up with them, and then some.

"C'mon, Ichigo." Nanao urges softly.

Ichigo half turns, and then there is a restricting sensation around his waist, and the ground isn't where he left it anymore.

"My little seed!" A high-pitched, shrill, excited voice exclaims.

Ichigo twists, struggling, and finds himself face-to-face..s… with a huge yokai. It looked like a tree, maybe with pears, but all of the fruit were human heads. All of them were speaking in tandem, and licking their lips, and Ichigo feels a kind of disgust and a kind of panic rise up in his chest, but he forces it down. The tree has wrapped a vine or root around his waist, and it must have poor eyesight because it has to hold him close and all of the faces squint at him.

His friends, below, have launched an attack, but the many vines are more than enough to keep them busy.

"You're not my little seed." The yokai grumbles, using a deeper voice now, and the effect is wholly unsettling.

All of a sudden, the little old woman is there. With a sword. And Ichigo is falling to the ground and thinking I should have known.

They fight. The yokai doesn't seem to be about to die any time soon, and none of them would know how to kill it even if it were, so one by one they escape through the portal. Ichigo goes last, and before he gets through, he grabs the old woman's robes and pulls her through as well. It takes more strength than he would have thought for her size.

Once through, the portal snaps shut, and Ichigo leans over with his hands on his knees to take a breath. He can feel the reiatsu of a low-level shinigami, running away, probably to alert that they had returned. He can't really bring himself to care about that at this moment, though.

"Ichigo you brought her with us?!" Rukia, as expected, is flabbergasted.

Ichigo makes a motion for her to hold on and approaches the old woman. Immediately, and with startling accuracy, the old woman points her Zanpakuto at Ichigo's throat. Ichigo lets it be there for a long moment before gently and steadily pushing it aside with the back of his hand on the flat of the blade. He slides the hand down until he can touch the hilt and carefully ply one of the hands off of it. He wants to leave her the security of having one hand still there, in case she decides she does want to maim him after all.

The bandaged hand shakes in his grasp, but he holds it anyway. He brings it up, up, up, to his cheek, and presses the raggedy palm to his cheek. Ichigo lets the fingers trip over his cheekbones, his chin, under his jaw, over his brow, along his nose. The Zanpakuto drops to the ground with a clang, and the other hand comes up to touch his face, skate down his throat. Ichigo does not flinch-these hands have been over his throat many times without killing him before.

Instead, Ichigo knocks the hood off of the woman's head, and picks at a bandage until it comes undone. He begins unwrapping them, as carefully as he can. He takes away the third layer of bandages and a tuft of bright blue hair jumps out. Ichigo tries to hurry.

By now the others are watching avidly, and another audience has arrived. Kyoraku, Isane, and Mayuri have all arrived.

More and more of Grimmjow's features are revealed, until Ichigo's got his whole head uncovered. Ichigo wants to hold him, but instead grabs his hand and holds on tight as the relief makes his knees weak.

Ichigo leads Grimmjow to Isane's division and does not stray as she looks him over. He has a few more scars, but no immediate injuries. More pressing, instead, are the runes that cover his eyelids and lips, that trace his hands and his spine, that curl around his ears. Grimmjow cannot see, hear, speak, or even move very well. Isane summons Mayuri, who is mildly familiar with this kind of binding, and who tells Ichigo he's surprised Grimmjow was able to walk at all such is the strength of the bind. It explains the shaking-Grimmjow had been straining to move.

Mayuri says it is a problem easily solved, and Ichigo doesn't like it but he'll have to trust him on it.

Isane gives Grimmjow an otherwise clean bill of health, and releases him to Ichigo's care, to be on bed rest until they can figure out the runes. Grimmjow holds on to Ichigo's elbow, which it becomes apparent is necessary for his balance, and together they walk slowly back to the division's barracks.

There is more coming!