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Middle Grounds	By : Sena Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male > Grimmjow/Ichigo Views: 4055 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All characters associated with the series are the property of Tite Kubo and no money/profit is made with this story. I'm just playing with them.

Chapter List
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Memories. Part VI.

Karakura town. 1 week before war.

Ichigo smashed against the trunk of an old oak for the umpteenth time these last minutes. He was fighting poorly, without energy, breathing heavily just to keep his feet.

"What the fuck are you doing Kurosaki?" The arrancar hit him hard with his leg, not bothering to use Pantera, sending Ichigo flying again to land loudly a few meters away. "You're almost as bad as the first time we fought. What's your problem?"

Ichigo rolled over his back and barely managed to sit on his knees, panting heavily and using Zangetsu for support. "I'm exhausted! I told you Inoue was leaving to Soul Society. I've been training the whole day with the vizards, what do you expect?"

"I expect you to be more focused!" He hit him in the ribs and watched annoyed as the boy collapsed to the ground again. "Being tired isn't an excuse not to fight! It's just an opportunity for any foe to kill you!"

This time, Ichigo didn't bother to rise. "This is not a mortal fight! We're supposed to be training!"

Grimmjow kicked him again and forced the shinigami to face him. "If you can't even dodge, what the hell am I suppose to do? Should I beat you to unconsciousness?"

Ichigo stood up slowly. The left parts of his clothes were completely ruined and his right arm was bleeding from a cut close to the elbow. His forearm was completely soaked with blood and the falling red rivulets were staining the hilt of the zanpakuto. His frown deepened as his anger rose at Grimmjow's lack of understanding. He gathered his hardly remaining energy and threw himself to the arrancar.

Grimmjow hadn't expected the boy to rise from the ground, much less to launch an attack, and he was caught completely out of guard. He raised his arm to block the blade but he wasn't fast enough. It had only been a heartbeat too late, but it was enough for Zangetsu to bite deep into the espada's chest, slicing easily through skin and muscle.

Grimmjow groaned painfully at the sudden sharp pain and grabbed the shinigami by the neck. Both were now panting hard, his eyes burning with adrenaline. Ichigo spoke first, his voice rough by the lack of oxygen caused by Grimmjow's grip.

"Am I focused enough, espada?"

"That's more like you, Kurosaki." Grimmjow's dark voice laced with those hungry blue eyes shifted the shinigami's angry mood in an instant.

Ichigo shivered when Grimmjow's hand released his throat and he had to fight the urge to close his eyes when he felt the arrancar's breath approaching the side of his face, the cold mask brushing against his hot flesh. Ichigo bit his lip when a hot tongue licked lazily the soft skin of his collarbone, a cold shiver running down his whole body.

This situation had become quite usual these last days, as Ichigo had finally surrendered to his desires and they didn't waste any chance to ravish each other.

Grimmjow's hand moved down along Ichigo's chest, pulling aside the layers of his kimono to expose the bruised muscles below. When he reached his waist, his fingers slid behind Ichigo's back, grabbing his ass and pressing their bodies closer.

Ichigo shuddered and gripped the arrancar's nape with one hand, crushing their mouths together, eating Grimmjow as if his life depended on it.

Grimmjow smirked when they parted to take a breath and only chuckled faintly before sliding his hand inside Ichigo's hakama, wrapping his already hardening cock. The shinigami hissed at the contact and buried both hands on the curls of messy blue hair, pulling him back into another fierce kiss. The arrancar began to move his hand roughly up and down, while Ichigo moaned shamelessly into the kiss and the sudden friction.

"Fuck…," Ichigo panted. "Move faster."

Grimmjow smirked widely at the flushed shinigami and released his hold to unfasten his own hakama. With a wicked smile, he grabbed Ichigo's hand and forced him to stroke them both, while he slowly pushed the shinigami back until Ichigo was pinned between a tree and his body. Without slowing down, he kissed the boy again and raised his arm to close a firm grip on Ichigo's throat. Before the shinigami could react, he bit roughly his shoulder and noticed Ichigo's whole body tightening.

Ichigo's mind was on fire. He hadn't planned any of this, but he was not going to deny himself that he was strongly turned on. So, he paid no attention to the tight grip chocking him and kept stroking them both, while he moved his free hand to grip Grimmjow's ass. Smirking, the arrancar tightened the hold on the shinigami's neck and licked slowly the fresh blood leaking from his stained shoulder.

"Shit." Ichigo was panting heavily, and he didn't know if it was due to the approaching orgasm or to the lack of oxygen. Whatever it was, he was past caring at this point because he was starting to fell lightheaded.

Ichigo's hand moved faster and harder and his mind shut down completely when his vision faltered and he could only see bright lights dancing in front of him. However, he did felt his body burning, and continued moving his hand at good pace, dwelling shamelessly into that foreign feeling of giddiness. His body almost convulsed when he came, and hardly noticed Grimmjow's own orgasm because his vision had completely blacked out and the force of his own release that had left him drained.

Or it had been the nearly asphyxiation.

Or both.

A few minutes later, they sat relaxed below a cherry tree, talking unusually calm.

"Why are you still training with the vizards?"

Ichigo sighed, avoiding Grimmjow's gaze. "I don't really know."

He was no longer afraid of Shiro and he probably didn't need their help to finish the training with the mask, but he still was reluctant to put all his hopes in the hands of one of Aizen's arrancars. No matter how helpful he was at the moment thing or how close they were becoming. In any case, there wasn't a single explanation or an easy answer to Grimmjow's question.

The arrancar relaxed, smirking softly while he let his gaze drift to the clouds above them. "You're a terrible liar, shinigami."

Ichigo bitted his tongue, hardly refraining himself from jumping at the obvious provocation, and tried to focus the matter on the arrancar. "Why are you still helping me?"

"I'm not helping you. I'm fighting you because it amuses me. Hueco Mundo is deathly boring."

Ichigo didn't buy it for a minute. He stared at his relaxed partner, frowning at his lame excuse.

"What would happen to you if Aizen discovers you escaped?"

Grimmjow only snorted. "I guess it'll cost me more than one arm this time."

The arrancar was half smirking. He had never explained what happened with his arm, but Ichigo had guessed it had something to do with his self assigned incursion, when they fought for the first time.

Ichigo looked at him slightly worried and confused. "Then why do you keep coming here? It's fucking dangerous for you."

Grimmjow's eyes finally met Ichigo's. "Are you afraid for me, Kurosaki?" His voice was half teasing, half serious, but his eyes were shining with an unusual intensity. "Maybe you should be more worried about your friends. What would happen to you if the captains from Seireitei found us? You think they'll be any kinder than Aizen? We're enemies, better remember that, shinigami."

Ichigo's frown deepened, his voice was almost a whisper. "I'm not going to fight you, Grimmjow, no matter what happens."

Grimmjow only chuckled faintly before standing up and opening the Garganta. He turned to face the immobile black figure still seated by the tree. This time, his voice was loud and clear, full of a confidence that left Ichigo speechless. "You will if the chance appears… and it will."

A few days later, Inoue set foot for the first time into Ichigo's bedroom. He was severely injured, but she couldn't risk awakening him. So, she just healed his friend's hand and cried her sadness at the forced separation. When her eyes finally moved to his face, she found two golden eyes shining wildly in Ichigo's face. For a moment she panicked, until the familiar ghostly voice greeted her quietly.

She relaxed slightly when she realized that Ichigo was still sleeping, and only his hollow had been able to sense her presence despite the bracelet Ulquiorra gave her. Smiling tiredly, she squeezed Ichigo's soft hand before it hardened, as Shiro took over his body.

Without a word, both got out of Ichigo's house and walked invisible to the rest of the town, neither the human nor the shinigami able to sense them. They walked in silence until they reach the river bank and sat side by side on the soft green grass.

She considered that she wouldn't be breaking Ulquiorra's commands by speaking with Shiro, as nobody really knew he even existed. So, she explained him her deal with Ulquiorra.

When she stopped talking, both let the silence come between them, neither willing to do the next move. Shiro had seen her crying by Ichigo's side and despite the fact that now she looked quite recovered, he suspected that her current resolve was mostly faked. Carefully, he tilted his head to look at her.

"What do you fear?" Shiro's voice was barely a whisper. She realized he was testing her, inviting her to talk but unsure about how to proceed. She looked back at him and forced herself to answer.

"The uncertainties. I hate not to know." She stilled for a while, fighting with some old memories before continue. "My brother became a hollow and he scared the hell out of me. Since the first day I learnt what a hollow was, that I feared and hated them, for what he had become."

Shiro said nothing, so she went on.

"Those days everything was easier. The shinigami were the good guys, and the hollows the evil creatures that had to be destroyed. But then, Ichigo started to become a hollow."

Shiro was about to protest but Inoue cut him off. "Or at least that was what we all thought. He didn't want to explain what his problem was, so we were really scared."

"And then the arracars appeared, and our simple world full of senseless hollows started to fell apart." She finally raised her head to look at him. "And lastly - you."

Shiro snorted softly. She was looking at him with illegible eyes, and he was clueless about her thoughts. "Why did you make it so difficult?"

Shiro's gaze hardened, as he hadn't expected this reaction from her. He pulled up one leg and folded an arm across it, resting his chin on his knee. He felt the tension coil in his body as he fought to admit the fact that she hadn't quite accepted him as easily as she had pretended. His voice didn't hide the deception. "I didn't choose to be born."

"I wasn't talking about that." She raised her hand tentatively to draw a finger over his nape in a soothing motion. "Why didn't you just come out to talk to us?" She saw his muscles relaxing, although when he turned to face her, his eyes kept an icy edge. She continued with the same calm voice. "You were scaring the hell out of Ichigo, he thought he was losing his mind."

Shiro sighed and let his body relax, leaning on his arms and stretching both legs in front of him. Slowly, he let his gaze drift to the stars and remained silent for a while. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded oddly sad. "And what could I possibly tell to you? Or to a shinigami? That he had a hollow in his soul?" He paused for a moment before turning his eyes to Inoue. "He already knew that. He was so fucking scared that he didn't even attempt to go to his inner world."

Inoue pulled her legs up and folded both arms across her knees, angling her head to look at him with weary eyes. "He's not used to ask for help. Even when the vizards came to the school, he was reluctant to admit he had a problem."

Shiro's eyes darkened at the thought of the vizards."Don't mention them. They almost managed to convince him that he needed to get rid of me."

She studied his face for a moment. She wanted to understand him, but Ichigo hadn't explained much of the story and she was still unsure about what had really happened. "What changed? Was it Grimmjow?"

Shiro stared at her for a long time before answering. He perfectly knew why Ichigo hadn't explained it and he didn't want to break Gin's trust either, but she deserved more than that.

"Sort of. The first time Grimmjow came, he wasn't alone. There was also another shinigami. That shinigami convinced Ichigo to talk to me." He let his gaze drift back to the stars. "In a way, I owe him my life."

She let the information sank in her mind. Another shinigami with the arrancar could only mean two people. She was conscious that Shiro had already revealed too much, so she didn't push the matter. Instead, she changed slightly the topic to ease the hollow's mind.

"So, Ichigo was going to kill you?"

Shiro looked back at her, not hiding the relieve he felt as she didn't question him further. "Not exactly. He was going to cage me into his soul, so he could have used part of my power without my interference. That's what vizards do."

"Oh, I see." Inoue moved slightly to find a better position, crossing her legs and turning around to face him better. "So he let you be free, but can't he use your power now?"

Shiro smirked slightly. "He can still use it. We tricked the vizards and they think Ichigo is like them." His eyes hardened at the thought.

Inoue raised her hand carefully and brushed his cheek with the back of her palm, slowly caressing the white skin. Shiro closed his eyes for an instant, letting himself dwell into the soft touch. When he looked back at her, his eyes shined bright again. "We could go much further if he trusted me. But he's still reluctant."

She leaned forward, approaching her face to speak softly over Shiro's shoulder. "It's too soon. You know that he'll realize eventually."

Shiro caught her hand and brought it back to his face, covering it with his own. When he spoke, his voice sounded more serious than she had ever heard. "Maybe. But it'll be too late. We are all running out of time. War is here and he isn't ready."

"Can you take care of him?"

"It's not so easy. Ichigo's loyalty is crashing down. He'll hate me because I'm going to let you go and he'll feel that Grimmjow has also betrayed him. Soul Society isn't going to help either, so he'll be left alone."

She shivered at the bitterness of Shiro's words. Suddenly, she felt the guilt wash over her, as she realized that Shiro's fate would be her fault. "What will he do to you?"

He saw the worry on her face and smiled hesitantly. "Nothing. He doesn't need to fight me to obey. I'll be locked up for quite a while, though. I just expect he has the sense to ask for help when he needs it."

Inoue sighed. It was a lie and both knew it. Ichigo would die before admitting he needed someone. She only hoped that Shiro had enough surviving instincts for both of them.

Slowly, she shifted her body and turned around to look at the river. She let her gaze get lost in the flowing water and they rested there for a while in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When she turned to him, her voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm scared."

"I know." Shiro's eyes stared at her with dreadful intensity. She knew Ichigo would try desperately to convince her not to go, but he understood her better. The hollow comprehended that she had already taken the decision to save her friends and she couldn't take it back. She was going there, and arguing her decision would only make everything more difficult.

An unspoken understanding flew between them and Shiro watched as the sorrow danced free on her eyes, too scared to keep the composed mask any longer. He slowly raised one arm to caress her cheek, moving one finger to collect the tears that started to run down her face.

When she made no move to stop him, Shiro fell on his back to the grass and dragged her with him, bracing her body as she struggled to make herself comfortable on top of the hard rock muscles. Sobbing slightly, she buried her face on the crock of his neck and let the tears run down.

They lay there for a long time, his hand stroking her hair in a calming motion, until the tension started to dissipate from her shoulders. He waited patiently until her sobs ceased completely, never stopping his soft massage. After a while, she started to move, trying to find a comfortable position but no matter where she tried to accommodate her body, she felt like she was lying on a bed of rocks. Sighing, she tried again, angling her shoulder to fit on Shiro's collarbone, but she was as uncomfortable as before.

Shiro finally snorted and tilted his head to look at her with an amused expression.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She couldn't help but smile slightly at his voice. "What do you think I'm doing? You are damn uncomfortable. Your body is too fucking hard."

Shiro smirked, trying to hold on the light mood. "If you keep moving like this, you'll make me harder."

She chuckled, grateful for the easy conversation. Smiling, she followed the game, forcing her mind to focus on Shiro's teasing words.

"I can't see why it might be a problem."

Shiro grinned wickedly and licked her neck, biting softly on her earlobe. She gasped and braced him harder, holding on his body in almost a desperate gesture.

Shiro pushed her slowly away, keeping her in front of him. Carefully, he brushed a finger along her lips, his eyes sparkling with fierce intensity. She smiled tiredly and tiled her head before talking playfully again.

"I thought you were more into guys."

Shiro grinned wickedly. "Generally, I am. You got a problem with that?"

She snorted. "Not at all."

She removed from his embrace and moved to the ground, settling on his side looking at him, resting on one elbow and using her other hand to caress his black lips. When he looked at her eyes, Shiro recognized the fear half hidden below the playful attitude.

Catching her hand, he forced her to look at him. His ghostly voice was surprisingly soft, not holding anything back. "What can I do for you, princess?"

She smiled tiredly and only squeezed his hand. Her head fell back to the grass and she let her gaze drift once more to the sky as she put some distance between them. "You don't have to do anything. I'm fine."

"Like hell you're fine." He rolled to her side, raising his body to let it rest on one arm, and looked at her face. Stretching one hand, he washed away another tear from her closing eyes.

Inoue caught his hand and smiled tired. "You don't have to do anything." She repeated, squeezing his hand briefly, while another tear rolled down her cheek. "But thanks anyway."

"Silly girl." Shiro released his hand from her grip and moved it to her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I've been refraining myself to touch you only because Ichigo would be really mad at me if I even try, not because I didn't want to." He moved to straddle Inoue's waist and leaned forward to kiss her, pressing her to the ground with the weight of his body.

Inoue's arms closed around his back holding him in place as if she was afraid he might leave. She kissed him deeply; devouring him as if there was no tomorrow.

Panting, Shiro stopped and tried to put some space between them, afraid to allow himself to go too far, but Inoue's hold kept him close. "You should stop. I'm not actually made of stone, you know?"

She smirked slightly before a sad smile spread over her face. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Shiro brushed a hand over her flushed cheek. "I won't let you be alone."

"I don't want to feel alone." She tightened her grip on his body and Shiro felt his own temperature rise. Reluctantly, he moved upward to sit on his knees, still straddling her waist.

He caught her hand and brought it to his chest, forcing her to caress his torso under the white clothes. She shivered slightly at the alien feeling of his inhuman skin.

"I'm not Ichigo."

"I know."

Shiro's eyes were shining with conflicted emotions. Inoue knew that she was asking too much, that she was forcing him to break Ichigo's trust, but she couldn't bring herself to face the next hours alone with her thoughts.

"I can't be as gently as Ichigo, even if I wanted."

"I know." She repeated softly, moving both hands to his jacket, pushing the fabric aside to reveal his white shoulders. Carefully, she brushed a finger along his hollow hole, keeping her eyes locked on his.

He could read the emotions raging in her eyes. The fear and sorrow were obviously there, but he could also see that it was the loneliness that was tearing her apart. She had no family, nor many close friends. She had tasted for the last weeks how her life could have been if things had been different. Ichigo had filled her usually empty house with such vitality and intensity as she hadn't felt since her brother was killed, and now it was too late to come back.

She knew she had been living in borrow times, that the war would reach them eventually, but she was not prepared. It had been just a few weeks, but her world had changed forever.

Now, she was forced to be alone again. Forced to renounce to the life she had just tasted, for a new unknown future. When her brother died, she embraced her friends, now there would be nobody to hold on.

He understood what she couldn't bring herself to ask, and saw the relief in her eyes as he finally surrendered. He removed completely his jacket and leaned forward, kissing her softly, caressing her shoulders with delicate elegance.

A slightly coy smile spread on her face as she slowly ran her hands over Shiro's arms. "I don't expect you to be that gentle. I just want to feel alive." She tilted her head to look at his eyes. "Can you make me forget, please?"

Shiro's restrain faded completely under her imploring eyes. Ichigo would be really mad at him, but he was beyond caring at this point. If he was going to be caged anyway, at least he could make it worth.

"You wouldn't believe what I can make you feel, princess."

She smirked faintly and let her body at his hands, trying her best not to think that those were her last hours in the Living World. Locking at all the gloomy thoughts deep into her soul, she looked boldly at the golden eyes, not bothering to hide her raising need.

Once Shiro had taken the decision, his desire unlashed free and he started to ravish her body, not caring about the many bruises that were starting to appear all over her torso.

Inoue was panting below him, lost in her own pleasure. Her world had narrowed to the powerful creature devouring her, and her mind had completely shut down.

Shiro took her right there, and when her pleasure spiked, he felt his own release fill her body. It had been quick, too quick for the adrenaline to dissolve, and he didn't stop. Without letting her mind having time to recover, he took her two more times, until he felt her body collapse exhausted to the ground.

Inoue was so drained that she didn't attempt to move for a long while. However, Shiro's wild sex had washed away her worries and her mind was as calm as it could be despite the situation.

They lay on the grass for the last part of the night, chatting lightly until the sunrise found them kissing languidly on the riverside.

When they finally parted, Shiro reminded her that Ichigo will come to rescue her and before leaving, he left her with the weirdest words of the night.

"Even if you cannot see me in the surface, remember that I'll always be a part of Ichigo's soul."

He knew he had gone too far and had broken the deal he had with Ichigo. He was resigned to spend a long time in his inner world once Ichigo found out this intercourse. And he would know soon enough, as Shiro had no intentions to hide it from him.

Ichigo woke up back at his home. He had been severely wounded at Grimmjow's hands during the arrancar attack the day before, and everything only went worse when he realized that Inoue had been kidnapped and she was left alone by Soul Society under Yamamoto explicit command.

Not knowing what to expect anymore, he crawled to the park where he had been training with the espada for the last month. The same espada than had almost killed Rukia the day before. Again. If not for Shinji, they could both be dead now. He felt like a fool to have put his trust in Grimmjow instead of Shinji. He could rely on the vizards, but it had been a terrible mistake to consider the arrancar an ally.

Ichigo's mind was spinning with a lot of scattered thoughts, each of them stirring a different kind of guilt. How could he have forgotten that Grimmjow had almost killed Rukia the first time they met? He had been a fool to consider him a friend. He had trust the arrancar and that blind confidence had almost cost him not only his life, but Rukia's.

He met Grimmjow in the park. He was completely healed and his arm was there again, a crystal clear proof of Inoue's presence in Hueco Mundo.

"Where's Inoue?" Icigo's voice was icy cold.

"Obviously there." His usual teasing tone ripped through Ichigo's calm dangerously. "I beat your ass, shinigami." His proud smile didn't help either to appease the boy's temper.

"Cut this game. Why the fuck have you kidnapped her?" his eyes were half closed with hardly contained rage.

He shrugged. "Aizen's orders. He wanted her."

"What for?"

"Do I look like someone Aizen will be telling his plans to? I've no fucking idea about his thinking. I was just following instructions."

Ichigo chucked sadly. "And you never hesitated in comply… even knowing what she means to me."

Grimmjow snorted before answer bitterly. "Do you think I'm going to risk my life more than I'm already doing for a human girl I hardly know? You must be joking, Kurosaki."

"I've been a fool." His stare was hard and hurt. "I can't believe that you were also going to kill Rukia." His eyes were almost watery when he raised his head to meet Grimmjow's. "And me."

"Keep something in mind, shinigami. There's a war going on, and we're playing our acts by different sides. Maybe I haveve my reasons to betray Aizen, maybe not, but I'm not going to throw away the role I've been playing the last years for such a pussy reason."

"Inoue's life is a perfect good reason to me." Ichigo's voice was icy cold.

"Inoue's life is not in danger. Aizen wants her for something, so she's currently safe."

"For how long?"

"Who knows! You should hurry up, if your plan is to rescue her." He smirked slightly at the abashed shinigami. "Stop howling and just do something."

"You are not going to help me?" Ichigo started to feel a cold calm, as the realization sank slowly into him.

"Of course not! You have your goals and I have mine. But I can make you an offer." He gave him an absolutely wicked smile, which sent a chill down Ichigo's spine.

"What kind of offer could possibly interest me, besides your help in her rescue?"

"Well, I could keep her safe."

"And why would you do this?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'll do it if you give me a real fight there." Grimmjow's face shined with his usual evil grin.

"Why should I give you anything? You almost killed one of my best friends yesterday. And it was the second fucking time! Why should I trust you at all?" Despite his efforts to keep the calm, Ichigo found himself raising his voice, as Grimmjow's playful attitude was fraying badly his temper.

"I don't give a shit if you trust me or not. Just make sure that you find me when you come."

"I swear that I'm going to find you. And this time I'm going to fucking kill you if I find her hurt." Ichigo's voice didn't rise this time, but it contained all the impotence and rage that he considered an obvious betrayal.

When the Garganta opened, Grimmjow hesitated for a moment. He turned to face Ichigo.

"The first time we met, that shinigami girl killed an arrancar. And the rest of your friends killed another three. You knew that they were acting under my command. Have you ever considered that they might have been also my friends?" He lowered his gaze to look absently to his recently recovered hand and reflexed the fingers, for a moment lost in some silent thought. "It's true that I almost killed your little friend twice… but as far as we both know, she's still alive while mine are dead. And you're perfectly fine with that. I haven't complained and never will, this is a war and people die." He met Ichigo's eyes again. "And as long as Soul Society and Hueco Mundo are enemies, so will we be. You should better get used to it, as this is just the beginning, Kurosaki."

Grimmjow's voice sounded oddly sad and his eyes showed a sorrow tinge Ichigo could never think being possible to find that in the arrancar's gaze. He turned and walked away before Ichigo could say a word.

Grimmjow's deception had been hard to accept but Shiro's betrayal hurt even more. The moment Ichigo set foot in his inner world, he knew something was wrong. There was a soft rain and a dense fog covering everything, and his nemesis was seating awfully quiet on a window's ledge. The image of a Shiro so calm, so tamed, disturbed him more than any threat the hollow had ever made.

Ichigo was still unsure about what to say when Shiro's utterly quiet voice broke the silence first.

"I met her yesterday night."

Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise but couldn't say a word as all the memories of the previous night were reviled under Shiro's silent command.

After comprehending Inoue's decision to save their lives, Ichigo was absolutely furious with Shiro. He was extremely furious because he took over his body without his consent, breaking their deal wantonly, and what was even worst, he had let her go. And all that time, Shiro had been acting as if her life was not at the stake.

Ichigo was so mad at him that he hadn't any regret about his blatant forbiddance to surface again. He locked Shiro into his inner world and threw away the key without any second thought.

Shiro's voice kept the collected soft tone, it was almost a whisper while Ichigo's presence was leaving. "Call me when you need me, king."

Ichigo departed so angry that almost missed Shiro's last words.

Only a few days later, Ichigo was forced to admit that Grimmjow did keep his promise and took care of Inoue. So, the shinigami also kept his and fought the arrancar with all his new acquired powers as a vizard, which happened to be enough to win the arrogant espada.

Unfortunately, everything had spiraled out of control the last minute when Noitra appeared. One moment Inoue was healing Grimmjow while Nel fought Noitra and the next one another espada took her away. Again. He let Noitra fighting Kenpachi, and Nel dolling over Grimmjow to rush after her.

However, his rage at Shiro's actions hadn't dissolved yet, and he stubbornly refused to let him out. And he was now finally in front of the sum of all his nightmares. With his mask, he had been able to fight at the same level that the quarta espada, but it had been just an illusion, as Ulquiorra was still in his sealed state, while Ichigo had nothing else under the sleeve.

Looking at the amazing figure of the released espada, he was painfully aware that Ulquiorra was overwhelmingly more powerful than him. His only hope fell into Shiro, but even when he was ready to swallow his pride and ask him for help, another issue came to his mind. Ishida was close by and he was suddenly afraid about how the quincy would react if he saw him becoming a hollow.

When they broke Las Noches ceiling to fight under the moon light, Ichigo reconsidered his options. Now they were finally alone. Nobody could see them fighting outside Aizen's fortress and there were so many fights all over the place, that Shiro's dark reiatsu will probably go unnoticed. Unfortunately, when he had lost any hope to fight back and was finally ready to let Shiro a chance, his friends joined him on the upper part of the tower.

Ichigo hesitated for a moment when he saw them there, and his brief indecision didn't go unnoticed. It was a careless slip from his part and he realized a heartbeat too late. He desperately hardened his reiatsu to stop the green flow of energy approaching, but it wasn't nearly enough. The world faded to black after the last attack from Ulquiorra's hands, as the powerful cero pierced easily through his chest.

Shiro was really furious. Ichigo was so stubborn than he had chosen to die instead of allowing him to fight. At that moment, the hollow didn't know if he was angrier with the arrancar he was fighting, or with Ichigo who was apparently unable to trust him.

When he was going to smash the arrancar's skull, the quincy decided to interfere again, and not only jumping between him and his prey, but also choosing the worst possible words at that moment.

"That's enough, stop it. If you keep this up, you won't be human anymore."

Shiro's mind was burning with rage. "To hell with humanity. It almost killed Ichigo. That fucking useless self control." Ishida's words made him even more furious. Shiro stabbed him without a second thought. "Fuck control, fuck Ichigo."

He was turning back to eviscerate the arrancar when something hit him from the side, with enough strength to make him loose his balance. In no time, a blur of blue hair and black paws was on him, straddling his waist and effectively pinning his arms over his head.

With a fast and powerful stroke, the arrancar's tail displaced Shiro's mask to the upper part of his head, revealing a pair of golden eyes sparkling with mad rage.

"It seems that you got slightly carried away, Shiro."

"Shut the fuck up, Grimmjow. I'm not in the mood now."

Grimmjow smirked coyly, but he was panting heavily and his reiatsu was clearly unstable. "Good, because I'm not in the shape, either."

"Why the hell are you here?" Shiro's eyes were still angry, but the outburst of anger was slowly fading.

"Well, that piece of trash here happens to be one of my closest friends. So I decided to come here." Grimmjow's grin turned into a predatory snarl, his voice low and husky in the hollow's ear. "To beg you for mercy."

Shiro couldn't help but laugh, his anger completely gone. He looked closer at the arrancar. His released form was amazing, but he had no energy left. He was having troubles even to maintain it.

"You've a wicked sense of what beg means. You kick me and keep me helpless here, and you beg me snarling at my throat?" Shiro was smirking amused. "What the fuck are you thinking?"

Grimmjow's teeth grazed the skin of Shiro's neck, which ripped easily under the sharp canines. The arrancar licked lazily the leaking blood, winning a low groan from the hollow beneath him, who made no move to free himself.

"I've thought plenty of better things to do to his fucking amazing form you have here, but we aren't alone." He slowly released Shiro's arms "And even though I don't give a shit if we have an audience, I don't want to see your shinigami too pissed at us."

Shiro punched Grimmjow away, making him loose his released form and he reversed positions, straddling the espada and closing his iron grip on Grimmjow's throat.

"My shinigami is always pissed, why should I care now?"

Grimmjow laugh loudly this time. "You got me there."

Not far from them, Ulquiorra was already wandering why Grimmjow was still alive. The sexta espada was no match at all to that monster and they were just laughing as if they were two kids in a battle play. Curiosity took the best of him.

"Guys, what's going on here?"

The blue-haired arrancar smirked to the paler one. "Isn't it obvious? I've beaten his ass to save yours."

"You've a twisted sense of reality, Grimm. Isn't his grip choking you?"

"Sort of… but at least I hadn't let him trick me with my own tactic." Grimmjow smiled at the faint surprise in Ulquiorra's eyes. "He could have taken another of your lanza del diablo, maybe even two, but not more. You've fallen by his pretended berserk behavior. I've seen countless enemies fall into your despair, but I never imagined I'd see you drowning in it."

Shiro released the arrancar with a wining grin, and stood up to approach Ulquiorra. "I don't think I could have taken more than another one. You are too fucking powerful for me."

Inoue almost saw the ghost of a smile in the dark lips of his former captor, but it was gone the moment he spoke. "I have to admit that I haven't anticipated this. And I guess you're the reason he disappeared every evening to the Living World."

Shiro's silence was enough answer. Ulquiorra had sensed Grimmjow leave since the first time that he went there with Gin, but neither the shinigami nor the espada had told him a word. And he knew better than ask, although he had been curious about what could possibly require so much constancy from the usually unsteady arrancar. However, this was neither the time nor the place to draw any further questions. So, he gave one final smirk at the two obviously friends and moved to Ishida, who was still stabbed by Ichigo's zanpakuto.

He took Zangetsu by the hilt and sent it flying to Shiro, who caught it easily. The espada turned again to kick Ishida, sending him rolling unceremoniously to Inoue. "Heal him, woman."

Inoue hurried to place her shield over the quincy to stop the bleeding. There wasn't much damage despite how bad it looked. Ishida hadn't lost consciousness and was looking incredulously towards the three hollows interact. A few minutes ago, they had been almost killing each other savagely, and now they were chatting as if nothing happened.

Ulquiorra went to his sealed state, and so did Shiro. Ishida was now incredulously facing a completely white copy of Ichigo. They looked exactly the same but the face. His fierce grin and the reversed black-yellow eyes gave him a creepy and disturbing appearance.

After exchanging a few words with Ichigo's hollow, both espadas left, leaving him alone with the two humans. Shiro turned around to approach them and dropped down close to Inoue. He had no idea about how she would react after witnessing what his darkest power could do. He had let his mind surrender to the blind rage and he wasn't proud. However, Ulquiorra was so strong that there had been no room for mercy.

In a feeble attempt to ease his mind, he looked carefully at her face, keeping a collected tone despite the adrenaline still burning in his veins.

"Have I scared you, princess?"

Inoue shifted uncomfortably, her voice barely a whisper and her eyes downcast. "N.. no, it's ok."

Shiro chuckled. Ok, if she wanted to play the pussy girl in front of his friend, he could perfectly live with it by now. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. He turned to Ishida. "Sorry about that, quincy. I got carried away."

Ishida looked at Shiro's face. His voice didn't sound the least bit sorry or ashamed. He was simply pointing a fact. Ishida arranged his glasses before answering.

"You saved our asses, so no complains. How is Ichigo?"

Inoue and Ishida looked the white figure, not sure about what had happened, as both had seen Ichigo's chest ripped open.

"He'll be really pissed at me, but he's fine. Make him a favor and don't tell a word about this to any fucking body until you talked with him, ok?"

"No problem, hollow" Ishida smirked widely to Shiro "As far as we know, Ichigo has defeated Ulquiorra and saved us."

Shiro smirked him back, clearly relieved by the lack of concern in Ishida's eyes. "See ya, quincy."

With a blurry swirl of black reiatsu, Ichigo came back to his body. He was so confused that he couldn't face his friends at that moment. Quickly realizing Rukia was in trouble, he rushed to help her, running away from the questions his friends hadn't even asked.

He knew that at some point he should have to explain a lot of things, but he couldn't deal with that at the moment. The fear to not be understood sent him running away, hoping the action will keep his mind from thinking.
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Middle Grounds