The orange cat was lying on his stomach on the soft green summer grass, just lazing around in the sun. He really loved summer, when he could stay out for the whole day without needing to care about anything at all. He could just stay out until he got hungry, go home and eat, and then head straight out again. His human would smile at him every time he entered or left the house, knowing how much he loved the freedom and the feeling of the warm sun on his fur. His human, and very strange man named Kisuke Urahara, who probably had more than a few screws loose, had found Ichigo by the side of the road as a kitten and had immediately brought him home to his house, and the rest was history. It could get a bit lonely with just the two of them though. His human didn't have a mate or any kits, and he almost never invited his friends over. Ichigo did know a few other cats, one of their neighbors had two midnight black cats, one of which possessed a certain 'holier than thou' attitude that the orange tabby wasn't too fond of. The much smaller sister was nice to talk to though, but could be very annoying if provoked. Ichigo had talked to her on a few occasions and the two had developed a friendship, which her older brother reluctantly accepted, if only to avoid her constant complaints when they couldn't meet.
But they were never at home during the summer, making Ichigo almost completely alone during the three warmest months. He could always go to the river and try to catch the small fish that always swam too close to the shore, but that would only be entertaining for a few minutes. And laying in the sun was very nice…
Wait, where did the sun go?
The tabby cat thought and crinkled his nose in confusion. Suddenly he heard something rustle and felt a presence right in front of him, making him look up. He was met by a pair of shockingly blue slitted eyes, framed by a fluffy mane of bright blue fur. The cat that stood in front of him was just a bit larger than Ichigo himself, and seemed a bit more muscled and wild. His fur was tousled, though not unkempt, and his eyes had a certain glint in them that just screamed 'wild'. He was looking down at the tabby with a challenging grin that showed of his long, sharp canines and he had his claws out, as if ready to attack at any moment. "Hiya there." He said, and his voice had a rich, raspy tone to it that Ichigo found strangely attractive, and he quietly mused that it suited the other very well. "Enjoying tha' sun?" The bright blue tom said with a mischievous grin, making Ichigo frown in annoyance. "Yes, I was." The tabby said and shot the other cat a sharp look. "So would you kindly stop blocking it?" He hissed out, only making the other cat grin even wider. "Sure babe, don't get yer' pretty little tail in a twist." The bigger cat said and laid down right next to Ichigo, a bit too close for comfort. Said cat shot him an annoyed look and growled. "I'm not a girl, thank you." He hissed out, but the other just laughed. "I know ya aren't, it's just a word, jeez." Ichigo let out a low 'hmpf' and turned away from the other. "Whatever." He said and stretched, deciding that it was time to leave.
The orange cat slowly rose to his feet and stretched one more time with a yawn, and then started walking away, although with no real destination in mind. He turned his head when he heard something rustle behind him and saw that the other tom had rose again, and was walking straight towards him. "Hey, wait up." The blue cat said and trotted over to him, ignoring Ichigo's raised eyebrow. "I just wanna talk, is that so wrong?" He said and grinned again, a bit softer this time. Ichigo frowned and slowed his steps, falling into a slow walk next to the other cat. "I just don't appreciate being looked down upon." The tabby said and looked forward again, missing the others small frown. "I never said that I look down on ya'." The blue cat mumbled, nudging Ichigo's side as a small form of apology. "I just think it fits ya'." He added, making the orange cat puff up again. "I said that I'm not a girl!" He growled out, effectively making the blue cat growl too. "I didn't say you were!" He hissed and his bright blue fur puffed up in anger. "It's a fucking compliment!" He shouted and Ichigo stiffened slightly in alarm, staring up at him with wide, confused eyes. "Compliment…?" He said, frowning in confusion. "What do you mean compliment?"
"I mean it as a compliment, as in, I think yer' hot. Get it?"
The blue cat said and stopped right in front of Ichigo, staring down at him with an intense look in his eyes. Said tabby cat stared back at him with wide, shocked eyes, fur still a bit puffy with excitement. "But… I'm still a guy you know…" He said and his ears twitched in confusion. "Yeah, I kinda know that already." The other cat said with a grin, sitting himself down in front of Ichigo. "But I'm not too inta' girls, they whine too much about me being a brute. And having kits would'a been too much work. Annoying little pricks." Ichigo continued to stare at him with a slightly bewildered expression, slowly sitting down too. "You've never had any kits?" He asked, interested in how such an attractive tom never had sired any kittens. "Nah, never felt like it. I've been with girls but I always made sure ta' look for the ones who can't have any kits, to avoid tha' risk." Ichigo blinked, almost not believing what he was hearing. "Well, you're an… interesting guy." He said, tilting his head slightly as his ears twitched in interest.
"And you? Have you got any kits then?"
The other asked while absentmindedly scratching behind his ear. Ichigo tensed up and looked away, his tail twitching nervously. "Ah, well… not really…" He mumbled out, glancing over to the other cat as he suddenly stopped his scratching. He was met by a shit-eating grin and his fur immediately puffed up again. "Don't laugh at me!" He hissed and his ears folded back in embarrassment. "I just never felt like it!" He added and turned around, walking away from the other again. "Hey!" He heard and the blue cat popped up in front of him, and Ichigo noticed that his grin had softened a bit. "So, you've never done it with a girl?" He asked and the tabby looked away, mumbling quietly. "No… and don't you dare laugh at me…"
"Wouldn't dream of it." The other cat said and sat himself down again, forcing Ichigo to stop in his tracks. "So, what's yer name?" He asked and the orange cat stared at him with a surprised expression before saying. "Ichigo." "Strawberry eh? Well, I'm Grimmjow. Nice ta' meet ya'." The blue cat said with a grin.
"It's 'One who protects', NOT strawberry!" Ichigo hissed out, but only succeeded in making the other laugh. "Okay okay, calm down tiger. I'm not trying to offend ya.'" Grimmjow said, ignoring the other cats annoyed frown. "Okay, now that we know eachotha', wanna hang out? I know a good place where we can get some free food if you're interested." "I dunno." Ichigo mumbled and looked to the side. "I need to get back to my human soon…" Grimmjow perked up. "Your human?" He said with a curious glint in his eyes. "You have a human?" "Yeah, didn't you notice the collar?" Ichigo said and raised his head, showing off his black leather collar, decorated with a small silver plate that said 'Ichigo'. Grimmjow stared at the shining piece of metal with interested eyes. "It looks very fancy. Is yer' human rich or somethin'?" The blue cat asked and the other answered with a sheepish smile, folding his ears back slightly. "Well… he's made a lot of stuff that he sells to many other humans…" "So he's loaded." Grimmjow said, matter-of-factly. "Ah… well, yeah I guess…" Ichigo mumbled, his ears twitching slightly. "And what about yours? How's your human?" Ichigo asked to try to steer away all the focus from himself. "Dun' have one." Grimmjow said and scratched behind his ear. "I've been on my own since I was a kitten, my humans threw me out when me and my siblings were born." "I'm sorry…" Ichigo mumbled with a small frown, but Grimmjow just grinned. "Eh, it's fine, I don't mind being a stray. The food can be somewhat of a problem tho." He mumbled a bit absentmindedly. "Whatever, let's stop talking about me. Weren't you going home?" The blue cat said and Ichigo yawned. "Yeah, I probably should." He mumbled and set off towards the direction of his human's house. He looked back to say goodbye to the other cat, but when he did, he was met by a mischievous grin. "Thought I'd follow ya' and see what this human of yours is like." Ichigo's fur puffed up in annoyance again.
"I can't just bring home a random stray!"
He hissed out but Grimmjow just laughed. "Random stray? You hurt my feeling's Ichi'." He said, making Ichigo frown. "Fine, you can come, but not inside, okay?"
"Anything for ya' babe." Grimmjow said with a shit-eating grin. The tabby's fur puffed up even more, his tail swishing in annoyance. "I told you not to call me that!" He hissed up and walked faster, but the blue cat easily kept up with him. "It's a compliment!" The other cat said again, grin still wide as ever. It took them roughly ten minutes of 'playful' bickering and talking before they reached Ichigo's house. Grimmjow looked up at the beautiful white building and whistled. "Yup, totally loaded." He said and Ichigo scratched behind his ear. "Yeah… I guess…" He mumbled, jumping up the stairs to the front door. He raised his paw and patted the dark wooden door, making sure to not scratch it with his claws.
Grimmjow quietly walked up and stood right next to him, looking up at the door as he heard footsteps approaching. The door slowly opened to reveal a man with messy blonde hair and grey eyes, clad in a plain green shirt and some grey sweatpants. He looked down at the two cats and smiled. "Ichigo! There you are, I was starting to wonder if you'd been run over!" He said with a big grin on his face. Grimmjow stared at the man and then glanced over to Ichigo. "Your human seems crazy." He said, causing said humans eyes to turn to him. "And you brought a friend! Is it a little girlfriend perhaps?" He said, grin widening slightly. The blue cat hissed at the words, tail swishing in anger.
"Do I look like a girl to you?!" He growled out, glaring up at the man. "Oh! Maybe not then!" The man said and moved back a bit with a now nervous smile on his face. "Is it a boyfriend then?" He said jokingly, making the blue cat calm down somewhat. Grimmjow sent the fuming tabby a mischievous grin and nudged his head with his own. Ichigo jumped and meowed in protest, but didn't feel like actually hurting the blue cat. The blonde human laughed at their silly interactions and opened the door more, urging them inside. "C'mon now, let's not stand in the doorway the whole afternoon." He said and lightly nudged Ichigo to move inside, keeping the door open to see if the blue cat would follow. Grimmjow looked up at the man with his bright blue eyes. "He seems nice enough…" He mumbled and slowly walked inside the house, looking around curiously at all the new things and smells. He looked over at Ichigo and was met with a raised eyebrow, to which he grinned and let out a small chuckle. "Well, this sure is more fancy than my home." He said and followed Ichigo into the living room, where the orange cat settled down in a basket filled with soft blankets and fluffy pillows. Ichigo wasn't really sure what to answer so he settled for a small grunt of acknowledgement. The blue cat looked over at him with slightly tilted head before trotting over and climbing in next to him. "Hey!" Ichigo said and moved slightly when the other walked around him, laying down behind the smaller cat. "What the hell are you doing!" The tabby said and looked back at Grimmjow, who just grinned back. "I'm getting comfortable, duh." He said and curled up around Ichigo, laying as close as he possibly could. "Stop that." Ichigo mumbled with a slight frown, but didn't move away. The other cat just kept grinning and gave Ichigo's cheek a small lick. "Nope." He purred and nudged the others head with his again, pushing him down to a more comfortable position. "Not a girl…" Ichigo mumbled and Grimmjow closed his eyes with a low hum. "I know, and I like it." He mumbled and curled his body almost fully around the smaller cat, purring contentedly. The other cat mumbled out something close to "Stupid idiot face…" But soon settled down again, closing his eyes to rest.
When Kisuke entered his living room later that afternoon, dinner plate in hand, he was met by a purring bundle of orange and blue fur. He looked down at the basket and was once again met by bright blue eyes, staring up at him with a calculating gaze. "Well." He said and sat down by the table in front of the television. "I guess I have two cats now." The blue cat seemed to be content with the answer to his silent question and laid down next to his new mate again, nuzzling his nose against the soft orange fur.