A/N: I know, I know! I need to update Shades of Yesterday, and God forbid I actually get inspiration for Broken Angel, Let Me Fix Your Wings. I had the beginnings of the latter's third chapter, but I didn't like where it was going. I dunno, maybe I'll rewrite it into a ShinHina fic.
And as for the former, I haven't started writing the training chapter yet, mostly because I've been freaking out about school. But the semester ends in about a month, so if I'm not starting Pokemon Platinum (for the umpteenth time), I'll get back into it.
Anyway, this came up when I was reading The Writing On My Soul, and for some reason, the quote "Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself" popped into my head. Mix well, and you get this fic. Serve and Enjoy.
I don't own Bleach or Harry Potter.
If someone had told Grimmjow Jaggerjack when he first fought Ichigo Kurosaki that they would be roommates, he would have done one of three things. One, laugh at them, two call them retarded, or three, blast them with a Cero. But that's just the way things happened.
After the invasion of Las Noches, Ichigo had gone back to rescue Grimmjow, partially because his group needed a Garganta to get home, and partially because some part of him found the Sexta Espada attractive. With no place else to go and a debt to repay, Grimmjow had reluctantly accepted Ichigo's offer to stay with him.
He tried sleeping in the same closet Rukia had, but Grimmjow was much taller than her, so he didn't fit nearly as well as she had. In the end, Grimmjow wound up sleeping on a cot next to Ichigo's bed. Literally.
It was a quiet February night, and Ichigo's Substitute Soul Reaper badge went off with its annoying but informative cry of "HOLLOW!!! HOLLOW!!!" Ichigo made to reach for Kon, but Grimmjow's firm hand grasped his own.
"I got this one, Kurosaki," Grimmjow stated in a tone that wouldn't take no for an answer. Ichigo just nodded and left the former Espada to his own devices.
It didn't take long for Grimmjow to find the Hollow. And it was an ugly son of a bitch. And he meant that literally. This one was almost dog-like in appearance, causing him to snort in disgust. When he was a Hollow, he was a more graceful creature than that. In fact few things were more graceful than he. Well, except maybe Ichigo Kurosaki.
Shit, why was he thinking that?
"You Arrancar think you're so superior to the rest of us, especially the ones that Soul Reaper created!" the Hollow exclaimed. "All you have is false strength! The power you were given was never yours!"
"You talk too much," Grimmjow muttered. Drawing Pantera, he held it sideways and shouted "Grind, Pantera!" However, when he fully transformed, he saw one less Hollow and a certain Soul Reaper.
"KUROSAKI!!!" Grimmjow roared, causing a few windows to shatter. "I thought I said I had this!" he complained.
"Well, maybe if you didn't waste time transforming, you would've finished it off already!" Ichigo yelled. "Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself, you know!"
Grimmjow cocked his head. "What does that even mean?" he asked.
"Well, when Dumbledore said it, he was referring to calling Voldemort by his proper name. However, in this context, I'm referring to you using your Resurreccion to kill a small-fry Hollow like that," Ichigo explained. "I mean, if all you ever do in a fight is yell 'Grind, Pantera!' and just go from there, it just subtracts from your ability to fight in your normal form, and in situations where Resurreccion isn't an option that can and will prove fatal."
"You make a valid point," said Grimmjow. "I'll tell you what. I'll fight you in my normal form, you don't use Bankai or your mask, and then we'll see who's right." He powered down as he spoke.
"What?! There's no way I'll fight you!" Ichigo shouted.
"Why, are you too scared?!" Grimmjow taunted.
"That's not it!" exclaimed Ichigo.
"Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself!" Grimmjow repeated, holding up Pantera. "You don't want to fight me, so that makes it harder for you to win when you do fight me!"
"Are you suggesting you can beat me?!" Ichigo asked, feeling insulted. "Just watch me, Grimmjow!" Using Shunpo, he charged Grimmjow, Zangetsu at the ready. Grimmjow blocked the giant blade with a Hierro-powered hand, and slashed at Ichigo's abdomen with the other hand, blood pouring from the wound.
"See, Kurosaki? I can still fight in this form," Grimmjow declared. He reached into his pocket, took out Ichigo's Soul Pager, and dialed a number. When the person on the other end answered, he said, "Kurosaki needs healing. Get over to the corner of Taiyou and Kiri as soon as you can." He then unceremoniously hung up.
It was almost an hour later when Orihime came, healed Ichigo and left, and now the strange duo was back home.
"Hey, Grimmjow," said Ichigo.
"Hm?" grunted Grimmjow.
"I've been thinking about that conversation we had earlier…" Ichigo trailed off, twiddling his thumbs.
"You mean, fear of a name?"
"Yeah, that," Ichigo said in confirmation. "You see, I realized that if I stay afraid of what I'm about to do next, I'll live in fear of it for the rest of my life."
"Then stop being a pussy and do it already!" said Grimmjow.
""You're not going to like it," Ichigo said.
"Try me," Grimmjow challenged.
"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you," said Ichigo. He sighed. "Grimmjow…"
"You love me, don'tcha?" Grimmjow said confidently. It wasn't a question.
"I… I…" Ichigo was speechless and about as red as his hair. "How did you know?!"
"Three things," said Grimmjow simply. "First and foremost, you said you were afraid of something. Second, you said I wouldn't like it. Those two and the heavy sigh sealed the deal for me."
"But… you're so casual about it all," Ichigo said dumbly.
"Only because I've caught you staring at my ass and abs when you thought I wasn't paying attention. God, you're about as subtle as your zanpakuto!" Grimmjow said with a laugh, causing Ichigo to blush even more, if that were even possible.
"So, do you love me back?" Ichigo asked timidly.
"Let me put it this way," said Grimmjow, cupping Ichigo's face. He kissed Ichigo lightly on the lips, then pulled back. "You're gonna have to say 'I love you' a lot from now on."
"Because fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself?" asked Ichigo.
"Something like that," replied Grimmjow. He kissed Ichigo again, this time more deeply than the last.
A/N: It felt a bit longer (and not as suckish) when I was writing it, but now, I dunno. Let me know what you think in a review.
Gotta go, pizza time!