Bleach © Tite Kubo

Summary:

When Grimmjow was armless it was Ulquiorra who tended to his neglected injury, courtesy of Aizen's orders. But the unfeeling man that outranked the Sexta was the last person Grimmjow planned on having treat him, and oh did he hate it. Between the two there was a twisted and devout animosity that had spanned for years. It infuriated the blue haired man to no end. Until of course, Grimmjow met another side to his heartless superior that resulted in something deeper than their usual shared antagonism. Something that sparked a different opinion in Grimmjow and brought to surface his dormant and desirous predatory urges. Something that, oddly enough, brought the two of them together.

Warning: Future gore and violence. Bad language, and mild sexual references upcoming. Rated T for now. When a chapter contains high graphic violence or other such naughty things it will change to M.

.I.

There was an unnaturally cold chill in the hallways of Las Noches. The palace was silent, filled with that same dreadful sense of eerie boredom that always hung in the air. Every corner and almost every room was empty and absent of sound, leaving the building without a trace of footsteps to be heard. The place was as dead as a haunted graveyard if not deader. The only thing that could really be perceived were the creeping shadows that loomed in Lord Aizen's hall, where the shady figures of nine Espada were gathered and listening to given orders.

It was apparent that there were only nine of them this time. Each Espada stood in their own habitual manner, idly paying attention to the authoritative man that sat upright on his so called throne. There were only two shinigami present this time too. It seemed that two people were missing. And there was little left to guess on as to why.

Tousen and Grimmjow were not here.

"His fracción are all dead," Aizen finished, gazing down at the cluster of spiritual beings standing below him. "Which is why upon his recovery none of you are to mention this to him. Lastly, may I add that Luppi is coming forth to take Grimmjow's place. This is preordained and so it will not be mentioned. Now you are dismissed."

As soon as Aizen ceased speaking, the Arrancar below him dispersed, sharing agreeable murmurs and then heading off in their own directions. The sound of light and heavy footsteps began to ricochet across the hallway again and figures of both tall and small stature began to depart from the large white room. The Lord sat atop his throne, his unquestionable words now registered in their minds as he turned to the one man that stood at the door.

"You asked that I stay behind?" Came a low, apathetic voice.

"Ulquiorra..." the name was murmured so smoothly, devilish lips curling into the faintest of false smiles as Aizen looked down on the raven haired man lurking by the doorway and now walking back towards him. "I have another task for you."

As always, Ulquiorra could not refuse. Lord Aizen's orders were to be heeded and obeyed. The Cuatro Espada gave a dip of his head as acknowledgement, striding forwards to stand directly in the face of his superior and regard him with his deadpan expression. Serene emerald eyes sheltered a serious stare as he looked up, his somewhat small height making him have to raise his head quite a degree to face Aizen while he was perched so high on that throne.

"Anything, sir."

A pause. Then, "I would like you to care for Grimmjow while he is in his, shall we say, sorry state. He will be experiencing difficulty while having one less arm and someone will need to keep him in a desirable state. I have decided that you are perfect for the task."

Ulquiorra blinked, his Lord's orders dawning on him slowly for once. Did he just say he would be caring for that destructive little miscreant? How distasteful. It was a desirable thing that his face always retained its serious expression and the frown etched into his features, because if it didn't it would be doing so already. If there was one man Ulquiorra held repulsion for it was indeed Grimmjow Jaegerjaques.

"Of course," the raven haired man responded. The words seemed to flow so freely from his mouth without any hesitation.

"Good. In fact, I feel that he must be attended to as soon as possible. It may be worthwhile that you visit him within the next hour."

The next hour? Oh, joy. "Then I shall do so."

"One last thing however before you go."

"Yes?"

"Do not, under any circumstances, allow the Sexta to leave his bedroom quarters."

"If you so wish."

"Should he attempt to then restrain him by any means you see fit."

"Is that all?"

"That is all."

And with no further need to continue the conversation at hand, Ulquiorra turned and began pacing down the hallway of Lord Aizen's throne room. How loathsome this task was. The Cuatro knew that he was going to despise the series of events that would unfold. By 'care for' he knew that Aizen had implied he keep an eye on Grimmjow also. Because let's face it, the Sexta Espada was a very large handful. Everyone knew it and perhaps even the brute knew it himself. This was not going to be enjoyable in the least and Grimmjow would likely not welcome the idea either.

However, it was Aizen's orders. No one defied them. No, not even Grimmjow. And from what Ulquiorra had heard, Jaejerjaques was unusually subdued since the loss of his arm too. Maybe losing such an important body part had silenced his loud mouth for a while. Or perhaps it was merely a temporary thing. Either way, the Sexta Espada was actually being quiet for once around people. Such an accomplishment was a blessing. It meant that Las Noches was spared of his derogatory loud shouting for a little while longer. Losing one's own arm could apparently work wonders.

Feathered footsteps ghosted past the doorway, the white uniform diminishing into the shadows as Ulquiorra took a left turn and began pacing his way down the darkened corridors, heading straight towards the Sexta's room.

Best to get day one of his new task over with.

.II.

"Fuck you!"

A threatening snarl spilled from Grimmjow's thin lips, his only fist raised in defiance as he approached the bitch standing by the edge of his bed. He may be missing an arm but he sure as hell did not want pity, nor did he want mockery, and he could still fight. He could still murder anyone that dare disturb him. And that was exactly what Loly was doing. Disturbing him.

"N-Now there's no need to get like that," the Números reasoned, the slight stutter in her voice betraying her sudden fear in her tone. Loly took a step back, realizing now that trying to joke around over Grimmjow's missing arm was perhaps a very bad idea. What possessed her to tease him in the first place she didn't know, but she was seriously regretting it.

"Then get the hell out."

That was the only warning she was going to get. Grimmjow was sick of her presence and he was ready to slice open her gullet with Pantera already if she did not move and exit the room. He was frustrated with everyone and everything right now and he held no mercy for any of the lower Espada that dared to try and mock him. He was still the Sexta and he still held enough strength to kill someone with or without one arm, as Loly was about to find out if she did not scamper out this very second.

"Tch.." the violet eyed girl backed away, turning to begin her exit from Grimmjow's quarters before glancing over her shoulder and throwing him a sour remark. "Careful what you say, Grimmjow. Don't threaten me or I'll tell Aizen-sama. If he finds out, he'll-"

"He'll be lookin' at yer bloodied little corpse if ya don't get outta here this very second," Grimmjow cut her off, standing from the bed and ambling over to the Números with his hand flexing, ready to grab her by the neck and strangle her or something.

"What're you-"

Grimmjow was just about to seize her by the throat when the door to his room swung open and another figure strode in, intruding on the scene. The hinges on the door creaked to announce the presence of the now second entering person, and the bland scent of someone familiar flooded Grimmjow's senses, with steady footsteps now nearing the two Arrancar, making Loly jump.

Ain't this great. Now there's two little shits in my own damn room.

Withdrawing his raised hand, Grimmjow angled his head round to face the porcelain skinned man now standing opposite them. Those striking lines marring an abnormally ghostly face and matching green hues told him immediately who it was. The hell was he doing here?

Loly hurried backwards before she could find herself in more trouble and swiftly took off and out of the room, leaving the two Espada to deal with one another instead. Grimmjow eyed her as she left and promised himself there would be hell to pay when he next saw her. His gaze was soon drawn back to the demure man staring back at him, however.

"What're ya doin' in here, Ulquiorra?"

"I'm here to see to your needs while you recover from your loss of an arm," the other replied bluntly, as if it was such a casual thing to utter. Ulquiorra's gaze trialed over the swathe of bandages that covered Grimmjow's chest and the stump where his arm had once been. The bindings were wrapped tightly over every inch of scarred flesh it seemed, securing the upper half of the taller male's toned torso to mask the hideous damage beneath.

With a small hiss, Grimmjow tilted his head and took a step closer, rage curdling in his veins at hearing those words. He did not need anyone's help. He could manage himself and his 'needs' alone. That he was sure of, and Ulquiorra was the last individual he wanted to have aid him in that too.

"Don't need it," he shot back, the arrogance evident within his risen tone.

The raven's stance did not waver and he simply fixed Grimmjow the same withstanding nonchalant stare. "Spare me your audacity. Clearly this is not through my own choice. Aizen-sama has ordered that this be done, and so the appropriate thing to do is just deal with it," he returned.

"Aizen?" That bastard. Grimmjow let out an unimpressed huff and rolled his eyes, not questioning that in the slightest. If it was by Aizen's request that he be tended to like this then there was no defying orders, he knew that much. The idea still held little appeal to him though.

"Did you not hear me? I said Lord Aizen, yes."

"And why?"

"Does there need to be a reason?"

"'Course there does. Just 'cause I ain't got an arm doesn't mean I'm damn helpless," he retorted, anger iced into his tone as he stared back at the calmed being stood facing him. Grimmjow hated the thought of being regarded as helpless. It sickened him to quite an extent, made his insides churn and head pulse with fury at knowing people now saw him as weaker than he was. God how he resented being left without an arm, and he would never forgive Tousen for it. He wanted to rip that blind shinigami prick apart for even coming near him, and he assured himself that one day he would do just that.

"No one specified you were helpless," Ulquiorra remarked, his black upper lip still arched into the usual frown. "However you do require some assistance with your arm, Grimmjow. It has come to my attention that you cannot even successfully eat or dress yourself. That alone suggests that you are struggling."

"So, what? Yer supposed to be my nurse or somethin'? I can deal with myself just fine, I don't want yer fuckin' assistance," he barked, furrowing his brows as his features darkened at the thought of having to rely upon the Cuatro for such things.

Although, despite not desiring any form of help from the other, Grimmjow knew that what he was saying was true. He did have many problems now that he was one body part short. He could hardly slip his hakama on or off and it was growing increasingly hard to stay sane with himself when he attempted to eat and failed. Even shifting in his sleep was difficult, since the slightest brush of fabric scraping the surface of his rigid arm stump wound would cause him to jerk violently or writhe in pain. Of course, Grimmjow would never admit to none of these things. The Sexta had his pride and to admit his troubles was to lose a piece of that valuable pride.

"Whether you approve or not, this is how it is," the other informed him, eyes unblinking as he turned to leave. Before he took off to abandon the bedroom, he left Grimmjow with one last comment. "You are also without a rank now, just so that you know. It appears that Luppi has taken your place."

With that said, Ulquiorra then began walking away.

Grimmjow could feel nails puncture his palm as he curled his fist into a tight ball, an angered growl passing through pursed lips as spiteful cobalt eyes flitted upwards to burn into the back of the other's raven head. A deep scowl of annoyance panned across his face, now harboring nothing but malice for Luppi at this new information.

So his rank had been stolen? He was no longer Sexta?

Oh, Luppi was so dead.

"This is gonna be an eventful next few days," Grimmjow muttered under his breath, shoving tanned hands into his hakama pockets and marching back to his bed.

A very, very eventful next few days.

.III.

Thank you for reading. Reviews welcome. Hope you like.

Cuatro― The number four in Spanish. Ulquiorra's rank as an Espada is four, Cuatro.
Sexta―The number six in Spanish. Grimmjow's rank as an Espada is sixth, Sexta.
"Aizen sama"― 'Sama' is a more respectful version of san, a Japanese suffix. This is typically used to address those deemed higher than oneself.
Hakama― Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles and are part of the Soul Reaper or Espada outfit in Bleach. Habitually, Grimmjow slouches his hands into his hakama as part of his lax mannerisms.
Shinigami―A term used instead of Soul Reaper as a more Japanese way of referral.
Fracción― These are Arrancar that serve a specific Espada.