The breeze was nice. The orange haired teenager watched afar from a rooftop as storm clouds rumbled at least ten miles away. In the dark, he could see the occasional blast of lightning lance from cloud to cloud. Ichigo was lucky; the rain had missed Karakura entirely. The last thing he wanted to do was patrol in the rain. And he couldn't very well skip out on patrol. It was his shift on a Saturday night for multiple reasons.
The first, and most pressing was that he was getting fed up with Toshiro and Rangiku. Those two and for some bizarre reason Shunsui had been in the world of the living for a few days. Rangiku claimed it was a surveillance mission of the Vizards. It would have explained Shunsui's presence, with his connection to Lisa and all. But the Captain may have mumbled something along the lines that being more of a cover story. He may have also mumbled something about helping Urahara with something. And then the gossiping Captain had decided to become annoyingly quiet on the subject.
Either way, Rangiku had been getting bored and pestering him because Orihime was doing something with Tatski. Toshiro apparently had no tolerance of her endless talking, but refused to go somewhere else, resulting in endless bickering. Patrol had been the only reasonable escape.
The second, less pressing matter, was his powers were still rusty. He didn't mind not having all the strength he once had, but the hollows were still coming in at surprising numbers and enough strength to test his revived powers from time to time. That being said, he wasn't exactly in the mood to face any serious challenges tonight. He'd only encountered two hollows tonight, so this patrol was going well.
The last, least pressing matter was this nagging feeling in the back of his neck. It reminded him of when he was young, before he really got used to seeing spirits, when he would rely on sensing their presence more than actually seeing them. It was something about tonight, something he couldn't place.
"Gah. It's just the weather you idiot." He rubbed the back of his neck absently, trying to stuff the sensation down. It faded as he pushed it away, only reinforcing the idea that it was just the weather. He bounced off to another roof, growing a little restless. Even after Aizen, after things started returning to normal, he just couldn't get used to the calm. He tried, he really did, but he still always had this feeling that something was up, something was going on. Having two captains in Karakura all of a sudden did not dissuade that feeling.
He landed in the park, wondering what time it was. It had to be past midnight by now. He felt obligated to maybe another hour or two of wandering the town but then he really should get to bed. Weekend be damned, he was risking completely destroying his sleep schedule. "And then there's hat and clogs."
Ichigo wanted to know at least a little bit about why the three soul reapers were around. He knew he couldn't get much from the ex-captain, but he'd press anyway and see if he could figure out something. He knew Urahara was doing something. The man was always doing something. Ichigo felt a shiver, that annoying feeling was back. He glanced up at the sky to see if the clouds were about to spit rain.
"What? No way." Ichigo was in the air in a second. There was a loud ripping sound as he watched in disbelief as the sky started tearing open. "But that's not possible. Garganta are for Menos. Why would a Menos come here now?" The bigger worry itching at the back of his thoughts were if he was strong enough to take down a Menos. Even a Gillian would be a fight at this point. Sure the other soul reapers would feel it, and notice the reiatsu, but it would take them a few minutes.
"I can hold a Menos for a couple minutes." Ichigo smirked at that at least. He pulled Zangetsu off his back, confident that this fight would be plenty training. He may have not liked hollows, but the challenge they provided from time to time was nice. It kept him from getting soft.
"Well whadd'ya know? Look who's here to greet me." Ichigo's blood froze. He knew that voice. The tear in the sky widened and there was no doubt who it came from. He'd never forget that blue hair and definitely never forget those sharp glacier eyes.
"Grimmjow." Ichigo breathed. There was a ball of worry in his stomach now. The Sexta Espada was alive, well, and right in front of him. The man was monstrously strong.
"Kurosaki. And here I thought I might actually have to look for you." That deadly leer suddenly set his nerves off. He was practically paralyzed and yet he suddenly found his voice.
"I should have known you wouldn't die from Nnoitora's attack." His voice was markedly more confident than he felt.
Grimmjow's sneer vanished in place of an angry scowl. "Peh. Like that idiot could take me out. I'm not surprised he got himself killed." Ichigo saw the twitch in Grimmjow's hand, and he noticed the scar running down the man's neck. Asides from the additional scars from their fight, the Espada looked just like before. Ichigo couldn't say the same for himself. He'd grown a little taller, and his hair was a little longer. It had been almost two years though. What was really astounding him was seeing Grimmjow again, after that long.
"What are you doing here Grimmjow?" The frown on the Espada's face narrowed. He stepped forward and the Garganta sealed shut behind him.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten. Our last fight, we're not done." There was a glint in the man's eyes that was really making him nervous.
"What are you talking about. We finished our fight fine-"
"WRONG!" The Espada shouted and Ichigo was stunned into silence. There was something akin to passion in his voice, a kind of fire he saw for glimpses at a time in those enemies he'd fought. He remembered that burning passion had driven Grimmjow to charge at him even on the verge of death. The passion had lit up those menacing eyes in that brief instance, made him feel like he'd been looking at his own. That kind of passion was sending warning bells up and down his spine. "Don't forget what you promised me. Kurosaki." Ichigo frowned. What? What's he talking about?
"Grimmjow I don't know what you're-" It struck him then. Yes, he had made a promise to his enemy.
"You said if I hated you, you'd fight me anytime I wanted. Well guess what Kurosaki. I still hate you. I've hated you for two years. We still haven't finished our fight. It won't be over until one of us is dead!" There was a mad mixture of rage, delight, and a couple others that he couldn't place on the hollow's face. But that deadly glint had become razor sharp at the talk of a fight.
Ichigo felt his lips tighten. Of course. It was a stupid idea to think that you changed. "You didn't learn from last time did you?" The substitute Soul Reaper's body was unfreezing now. The fact that even he could feel the difference in their power now wasn't disturbing him. By now everyone had to know Grimmjow was here, and Grimmjow may have been vicious, but there was some reason in him.
"I won't kill you Grimmjow. I refuse to kill you, or anyone." He could see the tight anger in the other man's face. "I'll fight you fine, I don't mind getting a little torn up for it either. But this fighting to the death thing isn't gonna happen."
There was seething anger now. Ichigo could feel the reiatsu getting unstable and lashing at him, trying to drop him and choke him out. The other man was glaring daggers. "If you won't fight to the death then you're already dead." Ichigo felt the leg in his stomach more than realized it was happening. In fact, he barely realized he'd been kicked to the ground until he scrambled for breath and pain lanced through him. "What's the matter?"
Grimmjow was still a good thirty feet in the air, roiling with plenty of anger. "Where's all that power you used to have? Don't tell me you don't think you won't need it to fight me?" Ichigo rolled over and got back up to his feet. Grimmjow was on the ground now, stalking toward him angrily.
"That's-"He breathed in. "That's not it." He straightened himself and turned to place where the hollow was.
"Then you better pull out that power of yours or you're good as dead." The Espada stopped ten feet or so away, ready for a counter attack, one that Ichigo had no plans on giving.
"I can't do that Grimmjow."
"You better." The hollow started moving again.
"No seriously, I can't. I lost all my powers fighting Aizen. I just got some of it back a little while ago." Grimmjow stopped dead. Ichigo shook his head, realizing the conundrum. "I'm sorry but I can't fight at the level you want. You came all this way for nothing." He looked at the man, whose anger had vanished in place of clear surprise.
"You- You're lying to me. Don't lie to me Kurosaki!" the hollow came careening for him. The soul reaper felt deja vu. This was so familiar. Those same eyes. He saw that passion in those eyes, glimmering with emotion, far more than rage. They were so … human. The soul reaper could almost see the hollow's soul; at least that's what it seemed like. Then Ichigo saw a flash of white and Grimmjow go flying backwards.
"Well well. I never thought I'd ever see another Espada again."
"Captain Kyoraku!" Ichigo started, standing up fully. Despite the relaxed voice, he could tell the man was not joking around. He'd already stepped into his Shikai, the long and short swords looking extra lethal.
"Ichigo, are you alright?" The substitute turned around to see the other captain. "Toshiro! Hey."
"That's Captain Hitsuguya." They both turned as a blast of reiatsu flashed from Grimmjow. The hollow pulled himself out of the hole his collision had made.
"Get lost Soul Reapers." He ground out. "I'm here for Kurosaki."
"Interesting." Toshiro rebutted. "Too bad for you, there are a pair of Captains for you to contend with. I'm sorry Espada, but I'm not going to hold back. You have to die." There was that frosty tone that told Ichigo the captain was not joking.
"We'll have to do this quickly. We can't afford too much damage to the World of the Living." Shunsui agreed.
"Hey wait a minute." Ichigo started up.
"Ichigo. Get back. I can't guarantee your safety. And if he's after your life, I have no intent of going easy on him." Toshiro wasn't listening.
"Hold on guys. He's not-" They were already moving. Damnit. Even Grimmjow can't hold his own against two Captains. His body was moving before he could really figure out what he was doing.
The sickening screech of a blade being deflected told him he made it in time. Ichigo had barely made it between Grimmjow and the two captains. Despite their considerably larger power, he managed to deflect the blades aside. Ichigo leveled an angry glare at the pair of captains, both taken aback. Grimmjow looked even more stunned, completely startled by this behavior. Didn't Ichigo know he'd planned to fight him to the death?
The two captains disengaged, backing up a couple feet, but easily within striking distance. "What are you doing?" Toshiro barked.
"I said wait. He's not here to cause trouble." The captains glanced at each other. "I promised him I'd fight him after our battle in Las Noches. That's the only reason he's here."
"Now wait a minute. You can't expect me to believe that one of the Espada, a hollow and our enemy, just came here for a grudge match." Shunsui looked humored, but there was still a lace of aggression in his motions. He wasn't convinced.
"Please. Like I'd come here to fight you two losers." Grimmjow at least seemed to be relaxing.
"Whatever the case. It doesn't change the fact that he's a huge threat. This Espada has done more damage to Karakura Town than any other. Even if he wasn't a hollow, we can't just let him walk around free. He'd destroy this place if he got annoyed." Toshiro's point only served to add tension. Ichigo could feel the sudden change in behavior with Grimmjow, a sense of apprehension. The man wouldn't run away, but Ichigo knew the quirks by now, the blunet didn't want this. He honestly had no plan on fighting them? It was an incredible thought; Grimmjow loved to fight. Toshiro leveled his sword at the pair of them.
"Ichigo, I'd rather not have to knock you out, but no matter what you promised him, I'm not gonna let an Espada run rampant and potentially kill you." The man's cold gaze moved past Ichigo, towards the seething Grimmjow.
"Sorry kid. I know you like to hold your deals but this is an Espada, and even if you could face him at this point, with his kind of power, we're risking way too much." Shunsui shuffled to the side a little. Ichigo swallowed. He couldn't hold off two captains. Hell, he probably could barely keep up with their speed.
"My my. What interesting situations you get yourself into, Ichigo." Said orange head jumped back, as did Grimmjow, as Urahara appeared behind the two of them.
"Mr. Urahara!" Ichigo started. The other two captains seemed just as taken aback.
"We told you we could handle it." Toshiro balked. Shunsui said nothing but observed carefully.
"I have no doubt you could, especially with Gen Tae Kai Jo just being approved." Ichigo could feel it suddenly, a wave of reiatsu pouring off the pair of them. It dwarfed him entirely and even made Grimmjow take a hesitant step back.
"Then why'd you drop by?" Shunsui queried. Ichigo wanted to know too. Urahara hid a smirk behind his fan.
"Who, little old me. What makes you think I'm here to do anything but observe?"
"Seriously hat and clogs. Why are you here? I'm trying to keep my promises, but these two want to-"
"I know. I heard Ichigo. In fact, I've known about your promise for almost two years now."
"What?" All the people present were confused now.
"Yes. It seems Orihime remembered that particularly well. She also mentioned something about Grimmjow saving her a couple times." The Espada scoffed.
"I was just paying off a debt I owed to that woman. I didn't save her for any noble reason." The hatted man nodded.
"Still, it did strike me odd that you would behave so honorably. It's a rare trait to see in hollows."
"What are you up to Kiske?" Shunsui muttered.
The man flash-stepped, suddenly behind Grimmjow. "Oh, nothing much." He clasped the Espada on his right shoulder, flash-stepping away as the man turned around to make a swipe at him.
"What was that? Urahara, you're being weirder than usual." Ichigo aimed at the man, who returned to his original spot next to the orange soul reaper.
"Agreed. What'd you-" Toshiro was cut off by a loud hollering noise. Grimmjow was apparently trying to muffle a scream as he suddenly started clawing at his shoulder. The hollow was making noises that Ichigo could only compare to a dying animal.
"What the- What'd you do Kiske!" Ichigo shouted, suddenly on guard. He split his gaze between the man staring coolly, and the hollow that was attempting to rip off his shoulder. Said hollow doubled over and started thrashing around in the dirt. Ichigo made to go help him, only to be stopped by Kiske's hand.
"Wait a second Ichigo. I wasn't expecting the adverse reaction, but I believe it's doing its job."
"What job? Kiske, whatever you're doing is torturing him." He kept getting tearing his attention between the man next to him and the hollow screaming into the ground, still trying to claw off his shoulder.
"Just try and feel his reiatsu." Ichigo paused and looked, and then gave in and tried to do as instructed.
"I- I can't sense it over the captains'." Ichigo grumbled, suddenly confused. He was always bad at sensing this kind of stuff, but Grimmjow was a lot like him, lots of reiatsu and not a lot of control.
"Exactly." Urahara answered with a level of satisfaction. The loss of the huge reiatsu presence was not lost on the two captains. They both stared as Grimmjow's screaming faded away, and the writhing turned into shaking. The hollow tried to regain some control but didn't seem able to stand. "See, I had been toying around with this idea for a while, in case such an event happened. I know you Ichigo; you would never want a rival in a position where he might have to be taken out by the Soul Society. But you also want to honor your agreements. So I started thinking of a way to do that." Urahara started walking towards the Espada, who was desperately trying to get back onto his feet.
"What- What'd you do- to me." He grit out in pain and anger.
"I put a seal on you, custom made for hollows by Tessai. It works a lot like the seals that lieutenants and captains get when coming to the soul society, the one that reduces their spirit energy by as much as 80%." He kneeled down and hauled Grimmjow up, who grunted in pain again, seemingly tired enough to not fight. "Take a look." He gestured. Grimmjow, in no position to argue, shrugged off half the vest to reveal his shoulder.
"Incredible. It's just like the Gentei Rein." Toshiro stared a moment at the mark on the Espada's body that was clearly the seal Kiske had been talking about.
"Yes. It's very effective. I tweaked it a bit so that the limitation was a bit higher. I made it to match Ichigo's power level, since I'm gathering you, Grimmjow, are going to want to fight him."
"Not like this!" the hollow roared, clearly furious. Ichigo could understand, but it was better than the alternative.
"Now now. Wouldn't you rather live and be able to fight rather than be slaughtered and never get the chance?"
"You think I'd let myself get killed by people like you. You must be-" Grimmjow froze as he felt a sword being pressed to his throat.
"Don't be stupid. My Benehime could rip your throat out even if you were at full power. I just figured to give you the opportunity. But if you don't like it-" Kiske pressed.
"Kiske wait!" Ichigo barked, to no avail. The ex-captain remained where he was, pressing a little bit harder on the hollow's neck.
"Well, hollow? What'll it be?" The voice promised death at the wrong answer. Grimmjow, stared at the blade for a moment longer, realizing that yes, he wouldn't be able to win against this monster.
"Let go of me." He grunted.
"Good choice." The blade receded. Benehime disappeared and Kiske suddenly lost that deadly aura around him.
"Uh, this may be an odd question, but why is it shaped like Ichigo's zanpactou?" Shunsui pointed.
"It's what?" Both Ichigo and Grimmjow barked, taking a chance to stare at it. Now that Ichigo looked at it, yes, it did resemble his zanpactou.
"Oh, that was Tessai's work. He's got a sense of humor you know. Anyway, only Ichigo and I can release that seal, and Ichigo can only release it if he's completely out of reiatsu, so probably a life or death situation."
"Wait, why me?" Ichigo asked, turned to look at the man.
"Just a precaution."
"For what? In case you or Tessai die?" Urahara threw up his fan.
"You're quite funny Ichigo, and very inventive with that imagination of yours."
"If Grimmjow ever gets out of that seal, I wouldn't be surprised if you did turn up dead."
"Yer damn right!" Grimmjow shouted. Yet Ichigo could almost see the smirk peeking out from that damn fan, like there was some grand plan or something.
"So, what? We just let this Espada go?" Toshiro asked, drawing their attention again.
"Well of course. He's no real threat anymore, so if he does go rampaging again any captain or Lieutenant as well as Ichigo or Chad or Uryu could handle him." Kiske waved nonchalantly.
"I can't believe this. I came here for a damn fight Kurosaki!" Grimmjow growled, rounding on the other man.
"Relax Grimmjow. This can't be eating up too much of your life. If you were planning a fight to the death with Ichigo, what else could you really have been doing?" The level of familiarity was just startling. But Grimmjow seemed past that, and spun back around landing a solid punch on Kiske's face.
"You bastard! Take this damn thing off now!" Said man steadied himself.
"My My. So impatient, just like Ichigo. Look Grimmjow. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you. So why don't you follow me to my shop. As for Ichigo, I bet he has other things to do on a Saturday night. So that fight of yours will have to wait till tomorrow." Ichigo blinked, he was tired.
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow then." Ichigo nodded.
"I'll have Chad, Uryu, and Orihime come over so they don't get surprised seeing an Espada walking around."
"Yeah. They'll probably be wondering what happened just a minute ago."
"If they're not already asleep like my lazy Lieutenant." Toshiro shook his head, effectively writing off the whole event.
"True. We should be heading to bed as well. Eh Toshiro?"
Ichigo could see the protest in the slighter man's throat, itching to get out. But Shunsui was old, like way older than him. He could literally treat him like a kid, because in almost everyone's eyes the white-haired captain was a kid compared to the brown haired one. Ichigo chuckled slightly, turning to head home.
He glanced over his shoulder at Grimmjow, who was still arguing with Kiske. A touch of guilt hit his stomach. He'd promised a fight for Grimmjow, not this, imprisonment. It was a better fate than murder at the hands of the captains, but still.
"Eh. He'll be fine. Grimmjow's too much a survivor to let this get to him." Ichigo mumbled as he started making his way home. Tomorrow would be a show for certain though. He could only imagine how the others would react.
Grimmjow growled audibly at the invasion of his sleep. He'd never had much of it to begin with it, but he liked it, and so whatever the hell was trying to take him away from it was about to be ripped apart.
"Uhh, Mister Grimmjow?" He rolled over to scare away the intruder.
"What?" He glared. He was faced by a slight girl with dark hair. She seemed pathetic and tiny, but something told Grimmjow she actually wasn't. It was in those eyes, something that put him off and raised him away from sleep.
"Umm, Ichigo and the others are here. Mister Urahara was hoping you could say hi, if you weren't too tired that is." The hollow grumbled. The asshole had sealed up his powers and then gone and grilled him with stupid questions about Aizen for hours. He didn't know most of the answers to begin with, and by the end, he was tired, sore, and still furious.
"That hat wearing freak can ask all he wants. There's only one reason I'm getting out of this bed and that's for a fight." Grimmjow did roll over and get on his feet though. Kurosaki's here. At least I' can fight him for a little while. He padded down the hall, not quite remembering the layout but rather hunting that ever-familiar reiatsu Ichigo could never keep under control. He heard voices on the other side of a panel door. There were quite a few people, not just Ichigo and his three friends. He swung open to door to glare out the extra intruders.
Glaring into the mid-morning light, he noticed a bunch of people. There was Ichigo, the tall guy with the weird arm, the tall arrow guy, the woman who had those strange magical powers, they were all closest. In fact, he was literally standing over the woman. Said person looked up.
"Oh- uh -um- Hey Grimmjow!" The Espada gave her a surprised look. He'd kidnapped her, almost killed her friends, and shown no kindness to her, and she was beaming up at him like they were family or something.
"Why are you being polite Orihime? That's an Espada."
"Like you're one to talk about politeness." Grimmjow recognized one of those two voices. Across the table were a short woman with dark hair, and a tallish guy with red hair. He remembered he'd almost killed the woman twice. They must have both been friends of Ichigo. Then there were the two captains he met last night and a woman with huge boobs popping out of her clothes. There was also the tall man with dreads who he'd learned had made this damn seal on his shoulder, and a woman with purple hair. They were all staring at him.
"Well? Sit down already, we're having tea." Grimmjow turned his head and saw Ichigo to his left. The man stared expectantly, gesturing to an empty spot to his left. The Espada felt a bolt of rage hit him.
"I didn't come here to have tea, Kurosaki!" Nobody flinched at him. They must have been expecting this. It only made Grimmjow angrier.
"Now now Grimmjow, there's no need to rush. You're gonna be here a while right? You'll have more than enough time to fight to your heart's content. You might as well relax and see what the world of the living has to offer in between." It was the hat man. Grimmjow shot a menacing glare that he deflected with his fan.
"So this is Grimmjow, the guy that kicked your ass twice Ichigo?" Grimmjow jumped back. The purple haired woman was in his face, no, all over, literally bouncing from one spot to another, getting way too close for comfort. He felt like he was under her microscope as she hopped around, looking and even poking certain places, like his Numero. Then she placed her hand on the seal tattoo and Grimmjow growled and took a swipe at her. She just laughed and flash stepped a couple feet away. "Nice. He's not bad."
"He didn't kick my ass-"
"He mopped the floor with you." The redhead interjected.
"Beat the daylights out of you." The dark-haired girl.
"Knocked you for a loop." The big boobed woman.
Chad turned and looked at the orangette. "He did kick your ass Ichigo." The substitute was as red as his name implied, and Grimmjow felt a brief swell of gratification. Even his own friends admit it. He may have not liked these people, but for a moment, he forgot who they were and enjoyed the pampering of his ego. He'd never gotten that kind of attention before.
"Grimmjow, that's a creepy smile." Ichigo, still red-faced, shot a look at the hollow, who was brought back to the here and now. No, he hadn't known that he'd smiled at their chitchat. It snapped to a frown as the preening of his ego vanished. The anger surged back up.
"Who cares? I'm ready to kick your ass a third time, ya strawberry!"
Grimmjow saw a vein pop in the orange haired head, and felt the reiatsu rise up in deadly waves. "Is that right?" It came out twisted and furious, almost evil, earning a confused look from the blunet. He spared a glance at the others; Ichigo didn't rise to taunts unless his friends were in danger. They were all just smirking.
"Now you've done it Grimmjow." Orihime laughed.
"He really hates it when people mistake his name for that." Chad muttered.
"Kiske, you might as well let them go, or they'll tear up your shop." Uryu sighed, turning his head away.
The hat man sighed. "So much for morning tea." He stared forlornly at the drink. Hat man was startled out of his grumbling as someone went flying past him. Grimmjow had been caught up in their interactions and had not noticed that Ichigo had slipped out of his body and leapt at him. Before they could crash into the wall, the pair vanished in a puff of red. Grimmjow was confused for a moment when he saw wasteland and sky, only to be forgotten when he made a hard landing on the ground.
Grimmjow sprung back, taking a look at his enemy. Ichigo was red in the face, with what was probably embarrassment. The Espada didn't care what emotion, it worked in riling him up and getting that fight he wanted. What'd I say again? Oh right.
"Heh. Is that the best ya can do, Berry?"
"Shut up!" The man in front of him shouted. Grimmjow felt a wide grin forming on his face. It may not be his fight to the death, but that look promised a fight alright.
"Now that's more like it Kurosaki! Show me what you got!" Ichigo flash stepped and Grimmjow felt pain spring up on his side. The man was surprisingly fast, despite his weakened state. The grin faltered, as he tried to adjust to this nothing amount of power. It was weird, so used to the large well of strength he normally had and now, almost nothing. The orangette charged again, and this time, Grimmjow managed to parry the blow. The smirk came back. He may not have had much energy, but it would be more than enough to hold his own against Ichigo.
Even in this weakened state, he felt exhilaration when they clashed. It confused him to the point he couldn't just get lost in the thrill of the fight. He remembered that demand for power, constantly more power, so he could fight stronger and stronger enemies, prove himself a king. But right now, he felt just as good as back in Las Noches, even though they were both the weakest two around. He couldn't make sense of it, but as he struck, he could feel that freeing joy of fighting Kurosaki again. Was it somehow possible that he didn't care about the power at all?Was it really the fight he wanted? Who cares? Fight! He felt that bliss in throwing himself at his enemy, not needing to hold back. He struck once, twice, three times, more. Most of the time he met a parry, once he got past it, once the orangette got past his.
He was beyond happy. This was ecstasy. He could feel his face splitting into a smile that the soul reaper seemed to be ignoring in his rage. Two years of waiting, of healing, of infuriating patience in that pit of what was left of Las Noches, finally amounting to something. His opponent didn't know how much he'd suffered just to get back to here. There was nothing to describe the exhilaration he was feeling right now. It flowed through him and made his blade strong, to finally be free of that cursed waiting
You've gotta see it too Kurosaki, hear it too? The singing in their blades, the freedom they both felt clashing. It wasn't even a fight to the death and he was enthralled in the beat of their battle. It felt like some kind of release, two years of pent up frustration roaring out in scraping of blades and trading of blows.
He could see past the Kurosaki's rage and noticed the small signs of enjoyment the soul reaper was having. He knew that the orangette was getting enjoyment out of this too, trying to destroy each other, even just a little. He could see the strain pouring out of those muscles, the ferocious charges powered by more than anger at a nickname.
Grimmjow clashed as long as possible, minutes, hours, the whole day, who knows. He kept going until exhaustion finally set in. In a weakened state, the fight stretched itself out to a beautiful length, no longer cut off by single powerful blows. As amazing as it was to have that kind of power, and the destruction that followed, it was always gone too quick, over too soon. This fight must have been the longest he'd ever had, though he'd barely bled at all. There was a small path of destruction sure, but nothing like their previous battle. It was just a struggle of their minuscule powers against each other.
They met their blades once more when suddenly Grimmjow's leg gave a twitch. Ichigo's must have done similarly because they both stumbled sideways, unable to completely support themselves. Grimmjow snapped back up, but several protests formed in his back. He tried to growl them away, to revel in this fight longer. But they only grew. He glanced at his opponent to see him sprawled out, heaving deep breaths. The pain caught up to him and he sank to his knees, completely exhausted. He'd never felt this way either, entirely drained but somehow sated.
"So, how was it?" Grimmjow tried to jump away, but his legs ignored him. The hat man stood over him, face hidden by the fan. He only realized now that these people had eventually followed them. They must have been near the shop then.
"What-do - you mean?" He was too exhausted to be angry.
"You're fight, at a more reasonable power level. Did you enjoy it?"
"Were you- even watching?" Grimmjow thought the fight answered that clear enough.
"So that's a yes?"
"Shut up." There was a moment of brief silence.
"Well I'm amazed Grimmjow, truly!" He suddenly got all loud and animated. "I never thought an Espada would be so reasonable. You're quite impressive you know that? Were all of you like this or was it just you? I noticed you loved to fight, but I always assumed it was for power. Well I guess I was wrong on that one. That's great!" Grimmjow just glared at him for a moment, still trying to catch his breath. "I think you'll be just fine. You should stay around! You can fight Ichigo all the time and finally see what the world of the living is all about."
"What are you doing?" Kiske stepped back a foot as the purple haired woman appeared.
"Whatever do you mean Yoruichi?" the fan was back on his face.
"Kiske come on. I've known you for a long time. You've got a plan for Grimmjow haven't you?" The Espada sparked at that.
"What? I'm part of a game to you?" He seethed, but was still too tired to move.
"Now now. It's nothing like that. Nothing like that at all. I'm just curious to see how an Espada reacts to the world of the living. I mean they're very close to humans and soul reapers sentient-wise. Why not see how they interact in a new environment?" The purple haired woman, whom Grimmjow somehow tolerated a bit more, just shook her head.
"You and your experiments. Just don't do anything to mess this up. I know it's strange but Ichigo befriended him, and you know how he gets with people that mess with his friends."
"What?" Grimmjow grunted out.
"Oh! I completely forgot you were there. Sorry about that." The woman offered her hand. "I'm Yoruichi Shihoen-"
"Don't care. What the hell was all of that about Kurosaki befriending me? He's a soul reaper, I'm a hollow. We're not friends, we're enemies." Grimmjow was spitting this.
"Yeah well," the purple haired woman retracted her hand, "Ichigo does that a lot, turns enemies into friends. He and his gang started out his adventure storming the Soul Society, fighting everyone they met there, and now look at them, they're all friends with him. It's what he does." She turned to look off in some random direction
"That's stupid. What point would there even be-"
"Hey." Grimmjow stopped his rant and turned around. Said person was standing there, offering his hand out.
"Nice fight. I hate to say it, but that was a lot of fun Grimmjow. I enjoyed it." He proffered his hand a bit more.
"What are you doing?" Grimmjow stared at the appendage.
"What? Helping you up of course. What else would I do?"
"Don't look down on me Berry!" Grimmjow shouted, his temper flaring violently. He got a little of the anger he wanted from that.
"Stop calling me Berry! And I'm not looking down on you! Helping up someone you fought is a sign of respect, you idiot!"
Grimmjow stared for a second. "Respect? That's stupid. Respect to an enemy is to finish them off, not help them up. What kind of crap is that? Don't try and pretend that you're being respectful! All you're doing is looking down on me!"
Ichigo sighed. "We're not exactly enemies anymore Grimmjow, but I'd never finish you off anyway. And I promise I've never looked down on you."
"Peh. Like I believe-"
"I'm serious." Grimmjow felt himself get hauled up. He turned to glower at the other man, noting how the orange haired soul reaper in front of him had somehow grown in the past two years. They were almost eye level now.
"I've never looked down on you. I've always seen you as an equal, a rival even. Hell I felt grateful for you when you saved Orihime-"
"Why? I just owed her a damn favor?"
"Which is more than any other Espada would have done for her!" Ichigo barked back. He took a breath and calmed back down. "Face it Grimmjow, you're wrong about me and my friends. We don't look down on you. You're definitely an equal to us." The hollow didn't know how to respond to that soft smile, that weird openness. It was wrong, entirely wrong. So he chose anger.
"Quit your lying Kurosaki! You better get your shit together because next time we fight, I'm gonna flatten you!" With that he sonidoed away, found a stairwell, and disappeared up to the surface. That bastard thinks he can lie to my face does he? Well you better watch out Soul Reaper, 'cause I'm gonna show you what happens when you try and do that to Grimmjow Jagerjaques.