Grimmjow cursed under his breath as he stepped out form the massive black rift behind him, a Garganta. The pathway that linked the dimensions that separated the worlds between Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society and the human realm. It had been a while since Grimmjow had felt the need to leave his home, Hueco Mundo had gone through so many changes since the fall of Aizen's plan, and even more after the end of the war with the Quincy.

It had been a bit of a bitter pill for the male to swallow, being ruled over someone else again. Deep down, Grimmjow still felt like a king, yet, it seemed his actual status was lower than his egotistical view of himself. Harribel was stronger; it only made sense for her to rule. Grimmjow sighed heavily as the black rift behind him swirled closed, leaving him alone in a world he wasn't supposed to be in; the human realm was supposed to be off limits to the Espada.

Feeling the ever present sense of restlessness that had been plaguing him, Grimmjow stepped forward down the dark street. He knew he was in the human realm, but nothing looked familiar to him. He was sure this wasn't Karakura Town. Grimmjow allowed himself a slight smile; he didn't even think he was anywhere near Tokyo, which meant he wouldn't be on the radar of any of the soul reapers. Grimmjow wasn't stupid enough to think that meant they didn't patrol here, but it would be less likely to run into any trouble in an area not known for hollow sightings.

"Just the place I've been looking for, a place I can be invisible for a while…" Grimmjow smiled fully as he turned down a dimly lit road. The smell of rain in the air a pleasant change from the normal dry dessert he was used to.

Grimmjow couldn't place it, but for reason the Espada and been feeling a little out of place, not having any action, no fighting, just dull days surrounded by never ending sand dunes had begun to take its toll on his mind. Grimmjow was craving something different, some excitement. Shaking his head, the Espada turned down the main road inside the small city, as the people walked by, completely oblivious of his presence, he noticed the way they spoke, a thick accent making their words sound almost exotic to him, but he understood the language perfectly. It wouldn't matter what area of the human world he went to, he would always understand the language; one of the gifts of being an Espada, the ability to acclimate to his surroundings on every level; something even the soul reapers could do.

Grimmjow kept his eyes focused in front of him as he walked down the main road of the city, cars passing by sloshing the wet sludge from the side of the road from the rain. Grimmjow didn't even care when the side of his pants ended up being splattered, something that would normally tick him off pretty badly. Instead, he simply kept walking, ignoring the damp spots on his black pants.

"I'm missing something, I've felt this way ever since I came back from helping Kurotsuchi…" Grimmjow sighed not liking the restless feeling in the pit of his gut; it was almost like he was longing for something, something he didn't even know the first thing about and being surrounded by a bunch of crazy female Espada had not helped the situation.

Grimmjow knew it was time to take a break when he found himself eyeing the women around him a little bit differently, while he could see the beauty in front of him, the personalities left a sour taste in his mouth—when did I start craving this kind of life? Is there a female out there who could handle being with a man like me?

Karina Reiko stomped her foot as agitation filled her; her morning had not been the best and it seemed like it had caused the whole day to spiral down around her, all day long; nothing but annoyances. First she'd dropped her coffee on her way out the door, already running late for her class. Her professor had reprimanded her in front of all the other students, going as far as to tell her she was lazy, all because she'd missed the first ten minutes of his stupid lecture—such a dick!

Pausing on the sidewalk in the middle of town, Karina bent down; wiping the muddy water from the side of her jeans, the car that had passed by hadn't even bothered to slow down, spraying her with the nearby slush that had pooled on the side of the road only adding to her shitty mood. Karina stood upright after realizing she was only spreading the mud around on her jeans, and to make it worse, now her hand was covered with the filth.

Sighing heavily, Karina looked around and spotted a small take out place she had frequented a time or two—they had good chips! Deciding some fried food and a break from the shoddy weather would do her some good, Karina made a b-line for the doors to the restaurant. Karina pulled the heavy wooden door and stepped inside the dimly lit pub, the smell of fried fish and chips filling the air as she made her way by the other customers and down the small hall to the ladies room.

Once inside she paused, taking a look at herself in the mirror, her bleach blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders, her purple bangs a little askew and damp from the misting rain outside. Her chocolate brown eyes looked a bit bloodshot, due to her difficultly sleeping the previous night, Karina couldn't put her finger on it, but, as she laid there trying to sleep an overwhelming sense of unease had claimed her, almost like she had forgotten to do something important; it had taken her almost three hours to fall asleep—so strange, I still feel like I've forgotten something!

Karina reached out, pulling a wad of paper towels from the dispenser, she raised her leg up on the counter and blotted the mud from the side of her right leg, once she felt satisfied enough she dropped her leg back down, allowing the heel of her boot to hit the cheap linoleum floor before turning and tossing the mess into the trash bin.

The door the restroom opened as another woman entered to use the facilities. She smiled softly over at Karina seeming to look sympathetic as she took in the state of Karina's clothes. The woman didn't bother to speak to her and Karina knew it was most likely due to the blaring rock music escaping her headphones. Music had always been a release for Karina, when emotions ran high, it was one of the only things that could set her right again—so why wasn't it working today? No matter what she listened to, she still felt restless and irritated.

Stealing another glace in the mirror Karina lowered her hands into the sink, allowing the luke-warm water to wash the mess from her hands before pulling another wad of paper towels to dry them. With another sigh Karina turned back to the door and pushed it open stepping back out into the hall, she followed it back out into the dining room of the pub. Karina chewed on her bottom lip as she looked up at the menu, for some reason she was craving something a bit more substantial and decided on a burger and chips. Karina pulled the ear bud from her left ear as she stepped up to the take away counter as the barkeep behind the mahogany counter smiled at her.

"What can I get ya, love?" he asked her.

Karina eyed the guy, her brow furrowing as she tried to determine whether he was just being polite, or if he were trying to flirt with her. Deciding to ignore her own foolish thoughts she stated her order and shoved her hand into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling the small billfold that held her spending money.

Karina listened to the barkeep call out her order to the kitchen behind him before he stepped forward to fill up the take-away cup with some pop she had requested to go with her meal; the long afternoon of classes she had made it difficult to get in a decent meal and most days she had to settle for the local crap on campus, but today, she felt like splurging a little, even if it wasn't the best thing for her.

"Order up." The barkeep called out after about ten minutes of waiting. Karina stepped forward and accepted the red tray from his hands, making sure to keep a decent grip on the tray that held her food and drink as she looked around the rather crowded dining room. It was half passed four in the afternoon, but with the cloud filled skies outside it felt a lot later in the day.

Karina managed to find an empty seat in the back of the pub next to the window that overlooked the sidewalk and took a seat. Without much thought Karina pushed the ear bud back in her left ear before lifting the burger and taking a large bite; she wasn't in the mood to save face, she was hungry and she really didn't care if anyone was watching her enjoy her meal with vigor.

Karina paused as she caught the sight of something in her peripheral vision; she could have sworn she just saw something pass by the window of the restaurant just now. Karina sat the half eaten burger down on the tray and leaned on the stool in front of her peeking out of the window. There, in the distance, she spotted the man that had caught her attention; he was dressed in all black, sung fit denim jeans and a black jacket, but that wasn't what caught her attention; it was his hair, such a bright shade of blue it looked inhuman, not a botched dye job, but, it looked almost natural.

Grimmjow paused on the sidewalk as he felt the eerie feeling that he was being watched; he was in the human world though—nobody should be able to see me here. Grimmjow turned, lifting his head into the air, trying to make out the scents around him, he didn't sense any soul reapers nearby, in fact this town seemed like it was pretty much shit out of luck if a hollow ever decided to attack.

Turning his body back to face the way he came Grimmjow scanned the sidewalk behind him but it was empty. Only the two humans he had already passed by were out and they hadn't given him so much as a glance—what the hell is this? I know I'm being watched, I can feel their eyes on me!

Karina sunk back in the chair to the booth as she watched the man turn in her direction. Her jaw fell as she took in the sight of him, and for a minute she thought her over-stressed mind was playing some kind of trick on her. It seemed that nobody else was noticing the man standing on the sidewalk but her.

Karina turned her head as two customers exited the pub, two young college girls a little younger then she was laughed with each other as they walked down the sidewalk. Karina's stomach flipped as the two girls walked right by the man, not even noticing him in the slightest—how is that even possible!? He doesn't look like any man I have ever seen before!

Grimmjow let out a low growl as two young human women passed by him on the sidewalk, they didn't even know he was there, and it made him wonder if his senses were out of sync somehow—I'm usually pretty good at finding my prey…

Karina turned her head as the man stepped forward with his head raised, he was standing right outside the window now, right in front of her; alarm bells rang loud and clear as Karina forced herself to pick up the rest of her burger and bite into it, acting as if she couldn't see him. Something was off and she couldn't place it; this was the real world, invisible men didn't go around walking the streets looking so handsome.

Grimmjow turned his gaze to the window of the small restaurant and scanned the faces of everyone inside. He paused when he noticed the female sitting alone at the table right in front of him. Grimmjow watched as the female lifted the cup of whatever she was drinking to her full lips and pull deeply from the straw. Almost instantly, Grimmjow felt his body respond to the action; images of the woman treating his cock in the same fashion as the straw filled his mind. Grimmjow stepped forward about to go inside the pub, but then stopped himself—she's human, she won't be able to see me at all.

"Fuck!" Grimmjow cursed feeling agitated all over again.

There he was, standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking like a jackass staring down a human woman with the fullest lips he'd ever seen and he couldn't even do anything about it. Grimmjow shook his head as disgust filled him—what the fuck is wrong with me!?

Karina closed her eyes as she lifted the cup to her lips and took a deep drink of pop; she had managed not to bring any real attention to herself as she kept her body as relaxed as possible, trying to act like the man outside staring at her didn't actually exist—if he was even a man at all. Nobody else could see him that she was sure of, too many people had just walked in front of him, not even bothering to excuse themselves; it was as if he were a ghost, a glorious phantom.

Karina relaxed fully as she noticed him turn sharply away from the window, for a minute, she thought he had been about to come inside the pub, but what she didn't understand was why? He had looked at her, that she was sure of, she had felt his gaze like he'd reached out and caressed her with his hands—what the hell is going on!?

Karina allowed her eyes to lift, catching another glace at his back as he walked away, the tension in his body more than evident as he disappeared through the foggy mist covering the streets. Karina leaned back in her chair and willed her stomach to settle, for whatever reason the encounter had left her feeling a bit flustered. Deciding not to think too much about it, Karina forced herself to finish her food, she'd spent too much on it to let it go to waste.

Twenty minutes later Karina pushed the heavy door to the pub open and stepped outside, her stomach feeling full and content, she found herself walking in the last direction she saw the phantom man take before he'd been camouflaged by the weather. It was well into the evening now, and due to the clouds in the sky it had already turned dark outside, the street lamps giving of an eerie glow.

Karina wasn't sure what she was doing, or why she had turned in the wrong direction; her apartment was on the other side of town, but here she was, looking for the mystery man she couldn't seem to shake off; she normally wasn't the type to even entertain such foolish thoughts like super natural creatures, as she had sat in the warm pub devouring the rest of her chips, so many childish thoughts had flooded her mind, even the thought of him being a vampire—too many horror movies, Karina!

Karina came to a stop as the street came to a dead end and she sighed heavily, once again berating herself for acting stupid; it wasn't like she knew what she would do if did find the man again, and even worse; what he would do. The air around her changed just as Karina turned around, the only thing around her was the brick and mortar of an abandoned building for lease and a row of dumpsters that belonged to the local businesses up the street. Sensing something wasn't quite right, Karina reached up, pulling the ear buds from her ears.

"Spiritual pressure…"

Karina stilled as the sound of an inhuman voice growled the words behind her; she had no idea what the meaning behind them was. Karina felt her body freeze up, her mind going blank as an over whelming sense of fear assaulted her, making the food in her stomach turn as heavy as a brick.

"You…have…spiritual pressure…" The voice repeated.

Karina's eyes widened and her jaw fell, sucking in a breath of panic, Karina's feet un-lodged from the concrete under her allowing her the ability to run. Karina winced and grunted as she felt an intense stinging pain radiate up her left bicep; she'd just been hit by something! Karina screamed as the flight response took over, the sound of her pounding heart heavy in her ears and the stomping of her boots hitting the sidewalk surrounded her.

Karina turned her head for the briefest moment, trying to see what was attacking her.

"Oh, fuck!" Karina panted as she took in the sight of the monster that was chasing her. Its large body covered in green scales, yellow fingernails the size of hunting knifes lashed out, trying to hit her again—oh my god!

"Help! Please, somebody help me!" Karina called out, her chest heaving as she rushed down the abandoned sidewalk.

The creature caught up to her, her attempts at feeling nothing more than a vain attempt at survival now. Karina screamed as she felt her body being flited clear off the ground, but, it didn't make sense, whatever was holding her wasn't the creature that had been chasing her, she'd been grabbed from her right side and she wasn't being thrown. She was being held there by a strong muscled arm wrapped around her overstuffed stomach, hanging like a rag doll. Karina's body jerked as the momentum around her shifted, somehow making her feel as if she'd been sucked into some sort of vortex. A meager squeak of protest left her as her glasses went flying down to the concreate.

Grimmjow snarled up at the masked hollow who had dared to follow his trail through the garganta—I should have known I wouldn't be able to find any peace—if I would have hesitated for the briefest moment when hearing the woman's cries for help, she would be dead. Grimmjow grimaced as the thick claws of the lower level hollow dug into the side of his left shoulder, he'd had no other choice but to position himself in the way of the attack that had been meant for the woman he held. The hollow let out a deep grunt of its own as its masked face lowered, its soulless eyes staring down at its chest. Grimmjow's ability to use Sonído had given him the advantage he'd needed to turn his body in time to not only take the blow, but also shove his own fist through the creature's sternum.

"You shouldn't have followed me here! She's not for you!" Grimmjow spat at the hollow before pulling his arm back with unnatural speed, even for an Espada. Grimmjow shoved his fist into the hollows jaw, succeeding in splitting the bone like mask that covered its face, killing it instantly.

Karina gasped as she felt herself being half tossed into the air and then caught again, her body falling upright back into the man's arms—how is he so strong!? Karina squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what she already knew, it was the phantom man from earlier who had saved her, she just knew it!

Grimmjow studied the woman's face for a second before his instincts took over, she may look like an ordinary human, but there was always the possibility of her being something more. Grimmjow reached out, grasping the woman by the throat with his left hand—the same woman from before, I'd recognize those lips anywhere!

Karina's eyes shot open as she felt the man's vice-like grip wrap around her throat and squeeze—oh my god, please, no! In a desperate attempt to save herself from yet another threat, Karina struggled in his arms, raising her right hand, she scratched at the man's face with her nails as she tried to pull at his wrist with her left.

"P…Please…" Karina forced the plea from her lips.

Grimmjow snarled down at the woman as her nails made contact with the side of his face, the stinging sensation sending a rush of something completely foreign through him, as he heard the woman's strangled plea and saw the fear in her big brown eyes, Grimmjow loosened the grip around her throat.

Karina sucked in a deep breath of air, the strain on her lungs forcing her to cough as she gasped for air; whatever this man was no longer mattered to her, all she wanted was to put as much distance between her and him that was possible.

"What are you!?" The man demanded.

Karina's brow furrowed as she heard the man's demand; it didn't make sense to her, what had she just walked into!?

"I…don't…understand!" Karina forced herself to answer between rough pants.

Grimmjow let out a heavy sigh as he realized there was no way the woman could be anything else but human—fuck, my senses must be slipping!

"Hey, sorry I had to get a little rough, had to make sure I wasn't being set up." She heard him explain as he removed his hand from her throat completely and leaned forward, allowing her boots to touch the wet ground.

Karina looked up at him feeling a wave of utter confusion fill her as he stepped away from her, half of the right side of his face was covered in what looked like bone, framing his masculine jawline, the left now held three giant scratch marks down his cheek, due to her panicked struggle. Karina lifted her hand to her injured arm and turned her gaze away from him.

"What was that thing that was chasing me then?" she asked.

Grimmjow half-smiled as he heard the woman speak, her voice felt almost familiar to him, like a soft purr, making the strange sensation from earlier come back full force; the woman was beautiful.

"They're called Hollows." Grimmjow answered, making sure to watch her facial expression for any sign of recognition.

Karina turned back to face him, the furrow in her brow deepening as even more confusion seemed to fill her mind, her earlier panic left her standing there, trembling in the mist that surrounded them. Grimmjow narrowed his gaze at the woman then; taking in her expression, her mannerisms. His gaze lifted to her left bicep and he noticed the tattered bloodstained fabric and cursed.

"How bad is it?" Grimmjow asked her as he stepped forward, intending to get a look at her arm himself, but she backed away from him, her wide brown eyes showing her fear—fuck, she doesn't trust me now…

"I'm sure I will manage. Th…thank you, for saving me from it." Karina replied as she tried to side-step him, but it was no use, he just stepped back in front of her.

Karina tried to step by him again, not really trusting herself to be alone with whatever he was now that he'd almost broken her neck. The alarm bells that had sounded from earlier were still ringing loud and clear in her shocked mind, her body swayed as realization finally hit her—I could have been killed!

Grimmjow stepped in front of the woman again, blocking her second attempt at walking passed him, when her body swayed he reached out gently wrapping his arms around her waist in order to steady her. Karina let out a confused groan as she felt his body press up against her—his body shouldn't feel so good!

"Where do you live? I'll take you there." Grimmjow whispered.

Karina shook her head, an indication that she didn't want to say and also an ill attempt at clearing the thoughts from her mind, her body was trembling furiously, her stomach felt too solid and with every breath the meal she had splurged to buy threatened to come back up.

"Look, I already said I was sorry, give me a break, will ya, all I'm trying to do is make sure you get home without being attacked again." Grimmjow sighed, hating the fact he even felt the need to apologize in the first place.

Karina's body tensed up at the possibility of another of those creatures, those…hollows…coming after her again, it had said something to her before it attacked, something that didn't make sense to her; could this man explain it to her?

"Spiritual pressure; what is that!?" Karina whispered.

Grimmjow stilled, wondering how a human would know the term.

"If you're just an ordinary human, how the hell do you know that term?" Grimmjow countered.

Karina allowed herself to tilt her head back and look up at him then, her eyes filling with the uncertainty she felt inside. Grimmjow watched her as she tipped her head back and stared at him with such a haunting expression on her face; the woman looked too damn vulnerable!

"That thing…that…hollow…it said I had it…spiritual pressure…" Karina spoke softly; her mind was racing with so much at one time her words came out slow, as if she were going into shock or something.

Grimmjow felt his body relax at her explanation; even though he did find it weird that she was able to see him and in fact, even he could sense that she had higher levels of spiritual pressure than ordinary humans, but it wasn't high enough to warrant a hollow wanting to feed on her; unless, it's one that's still starving from before.

"What's your name, woman?" Grimmjow demanded.

"Karina…Karina Reiko."

Grimmjow smiled, feeling like he may have made a little headway with his second apology.

"I'm Grimmjow, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Karina heard the man introduce himself, and deep down she almost wanted to laugh at the situation, and if it wasn't for the pain assaulting her body and the annoying threat of vomiting, she probably would have.

"My flat is on the other side of town, it's a ways away from here." Karina admitted, deciding to tell him the truth, it didn't seem like the man was willing to let her walk away, and even though she still felt wary of him, a part of her didn't want him too.

"Alright then, what's the quickest way to get there?" Grimmjow asked.

Karina paused as she dropped her gaze to her injured arm and winced as she pulled her hand away. Grimmjow raised his hand and with little effort he ripped the torn up sleeve completely free form the rest of her sweater so he could get a good look at her wounds. Karina gasped and flinched a little at the show of strength from him, her body breaking out in another harsh wave of shivers.

"Calm down, Will ya, I'm not gonna hurt ya!" Grimmjow demanded, his brow furrowing from a sense of agitation he shouldn't be feeling, but something was off about this woman, she made him feel things, think things he'd never thought about before—I'm a fighter, that's all I've ever known.

Grimmjow slid his left palm under the woman's bicep and gently lifted it, trying to test just how deep the hollows claws had dug, if her tendons were severed, he'd have to take her to one of those human healing places, if he remembered right, they called them a hospital. Karina squeezed her eyes shut as Grimmjow lifted her arm, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth she forced back unshed tears, feeling like if she cried now a dam would burst and she wouldn't be able to control her emotions.

"Can you move it okay? I can get you to one of those hospital things if you think you need it." Grimmjow sighed.

Karina paused for a second, wondering what she would tell her family if she had to go to hospital, not only that, how would she explain the wound—they'd most likely try and lock me up in the looney bin if I told them the truth, and even with my imagination, I can't seem to come up with a plausible enough excuse.

"I think I'll be able to manage…" Karina insisted again.

Grimmjow sighed, feeling like he was at a loss. The gashes ran down her bicep in a diagonal pattern, but the good news was, the bleeding had stopped already, meaning they weren't deep enough to need closing but they did need to be cleaned out. Karina tipped her head back, searching Grimmjow's face for a moment; something about this strange male called to her, she had no earthly idea why she was able to see something others could not; or what it could possibly entail?

"First things first, let's get you to your place, then we can see about that arm." Grimmjow stated, turning his piercing blue gaze to look directly at her.

Karina felt her stomach flip all over again; but this time it was from a whole different sensation than fear—are those butterflies!? For goodness sake, Karina, this man just had you in a chokehold! Karina warred with herself internally for a couple moments, seeming to try and be reasonable in a situation that was anything but; she came up to the only conclusion she could think of—I need him around me for now; in case another of those hollow things tries to attack again!

"Right then. The fastest way will be to take the main road down a little to the bus station and—"

"No bus! No other people! People ask questions and questions are a waste of time." Grimmjow countered.

Karina paused with her lips parted, listening to his reasoning for cutting her off mid-sentence and then sighed—he does have a valid point, it's not like nobody will notice me; I look as if I could headline for the next cheesy slasher film. Grimmjow dropped his hand from her bicep, feeling confident enough that he would be able to help her out with it once he got her back to her place, he'd dealt with his fair share of wounds in his long years.

Grimmjow leaned his body into hers, about to pick her up and take off using his Sonído, he figured if he moved fast enough through the streets nobody would even notice her.

"Hold on!" Karina protested, seeming to understand his intention.

Grimmjow let out an agitated sigh as he glared down at her.

"What is it now?" he barked.

"My glasses…I've lost them and I need to find them." Karina explained, already feeling a headache coming on.

Grimmjow stepped back from her and turned to scan the sidewalk as she did the same, looking for the black frames. Grimmjow walked forward, making sure to keep his guard up just in case the woman was trying to sneak passed him as he looked for her damn glasses. Grimmjow smirked as a thought filled his mind; the woman sure does seem to be having an effect on my body.

Grimmjow shook his head as he spotted a pair of black frames lying on the sidewalk and then bent to pick them up.

"Found 'em." Grimmjow called to her.

"Oh, good! How damaged are they?" She asked as she walked over to his side to reach out for them.

Grimmjow lifted his hand, raising her glasses in the air so she couldn't reach them.

"I…I need those to see properly!" Karina grated, her brow furrowing with a newfound sense of agitation—what is he playing at?

"I'll let you have 'em back, if you kiss me…" Grimmjow smirked.

Karina's lips parted, her brown eyes widening from the turn of the conversation—He can't be serious!