Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over the IP or associated articles of such contained within this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction, and any characters or events that resemble persons or events, living or dead, current or previous, are either coincidental or are intended in a parodic or satirical fashion.
A/N: Lots of love to my amazing beta reader, Ziggygebs777. His stories are cool, if not exactly door-stoppers :3
Blue
Chapter 1, Part 1: Blue
My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjack, and I have been through hell. I started out a Hollow, powerful even back then as I easily ascended through the hierarchy of power, my body becoming smaller and more concentrated in its ability over time as I consumed opponents too weak to bite into my flesh. I met others like me, and through combat and feeding gained their power. My name was known through the area, and I fancied myself without peer. Then I fell, and to the hands of an old man nonetheless. Some geezer sitting on his throne, barely worthy of my consideration if not for his massive power.
He defeated me easily, and for a time I was the unwilling vassal of Barragan Rizenbarn, held in check only by the constant threat of destruction if I deviated from his iron command. It was humiliating, and even then I resolved that I would never bend knee to another Hollow again. My servitude lasted for longer than I care to remember, but in time Barragan himself fell to a newcomer, a Shinigami. Lord Aizen and his fellow Shinigami marked the end of my service to Barragan with their arrival, though for a time I went unrecognized among the newly-created Arrancar.
The process of Shinigamification was agonizing, a feeling like having part of my organs ripped away from me, and I was glad once it ended that I wouldn't feel such a sensation every time I released my Pantera. The separation left me incomplete, though, a feeling of irritation always in the back of my head unless I had my sword unsheathed. I became angry, reckless, the hotheaded Numeros (and, in good time, Espada). I wasn't the top predator in the pack by any stretch of the imagination, but under Lord Aizen I was afforded more power and autonomy than Barragan would ever have dreamed of giving me. And then came the mission to the human world.
It was supposed to be simple. Get in, find and kill a few humans that had caused Yammy some tiny amount of trouble, and get out again. We didn't expect to find a Shinigami, let alone one so powerful. Looking back now, I can see easily where Lord Aizen would have known that Kurosaki was there, but back then it seemed to be just one strange mistake among a fiasco. I lost my arm and my position as a consequence of the mission, and though in time I had the girl restore both of them to me I knew that I was still seen as a disgraced Privaron that Lord Aizen had decided to let back into the ranks. The only chance at proving my strength again, so far as I saw it, was to kill the Shinigami that had tarnished that perception in the first place.
I lost again, and all but died. It took me days to wake up, I think, and when I did it was painfully obvious that I wasn't as strong as before. Pantera was ruined, and even with my natural healing and the regular infusions of reishi I gained from eating weaker Hollows it took me the better part of two months to properly heal. I gained an appreciation in the process for my own mortality, and my outlook on life has somewhat changed as a result of my experiences. I'm calmer now, less prone to fits of rage and displays of temper.
Recently, a rumor has reached me from the few Fraccion that remained active in Las Noches after Aizen left. Barragan is dead, rather than hiding. I suspected as such, since his throne sat empty for so long, but I never thought that I would find out who managed to kill him. I'll have to find this Soi-Fong and make her pay for depriving me of the revenge I was due for my humiliation. First, though, I feel hunger pains. I'll need to find a Menos somewhere.
As I exit the former stronghold of Las Noches, now being reclaimed by the sand, I notice a winged shape in the distance. Ulquiorra Schiffer, my fellow Arrancar and the only other survivor of Lord Aizen's ill-planned invasion that I've found in Las Noches, apparently has the same hunger pangs that I do. I turn to walk in a different direction, not wanting to get in his way. He's become more savage since his return, and civil conversation is a burden at the best of times.
Chapter 1, Part 2: Gold
My name is Soi-Fong (Shaolin Fong in the long form, though it's seldom used except on paperwork), and I've explained my story to people often enough that pretty much everyone knows it, though there are always embellishments and exaggerations that creep in. My supposed infatuation with Lady Yoruichi, for example. One could as accurately claim knowledge of my sexual attraction to my own mother. No, I'm not remotely attracted to my mother. I admit, there are... dalliances I've had in the past, but always with men and always discreet. You'll never guess who, and I'll never tell, so we can stop that line of questioning there.
I rise from my seat and perform the same routine that I have for the past seventeen months, flexing my repaired arm and working it out more strenuously than my 'original' arm during my morning workout in an attempt to even up my muscle tone again. Despite the 4th Division's work on repairing my body, I still feel the difference some mornings.
After the noon bells ring, I pause in my exercises and wind down, my expression changing from one of concentration to one of introspection as I think back on events. Lieutenant Sasakibe was killed yesterday, though how and by whom isn't known. No-one was seen entering his room, nor was any method of entering or leaving the Soul Society detected by my men or the Science Division's sensors. His assassination remains a mystery, though one I hope to solve after his funeral.
I get myself dressed in formal robes, my haori over my shoulders as I walk towards the 1st Division. There are few Shinigami out at this time of the day, most either hard at work or on the patrol for the assassin or assassins who killed Chojiro. All the current Captains are in attendance at the funeral, though, and the short service begins once I take my place.
After Lieutenant Sasakibe's remains are laid to rest, I walk back towards my Division to get started on afternoon paperwork, only to have Captain Zaraki fall in step with me. We exchange pleasantries for a few very brief moments before he declares his intent to send me to the Medical Corps on a stretcher in the near future. This usual declaration draws a thin smile from me, and I resolve to stay on my guard for when he comes by for our irregular sparring session.
A/N: This first chapter should be the only chapter written in first-person present tense, though I may switch over to it in a later chapter if this gets long enough. Please R&R, your reviews are my brain-food!