Hello everyone. If you are reading 'What Was Once Lost' then this will probably seem very similar, but I promise you, they are different stories entirely.


Four years have passed since the end of the Winter War and things have changed for the better, mostly. After scouting through Hueco Mundo, Urahara and Kurotsuchi hadn't discovered much, aside from a severely wounded Grimmjow and a small, crying Nelliel. They were both taken to the fourth division barracks for treatment, with Unohana attempting to restore Nelliel to her former glory whilst guards continuously posted in and outside of Grimmjow's room. It took about two weeks before the Arrancar finally woke up and was given the all clear. He was then taken to Shunsui Kyōraku; the newly instated head caption, after tragedy had befallen Yamamoto during the war. After interrogation, a long and tedious process due to Grimmjow's stubbornness, a captains meeting was held where they determined that Grimmjow was not a threat at present but would remaining under the watchful eyes of the Soul Society until further notice. Meanwhile, Unohana had discovered a way to repair Nelliel's mask, restoring her back to her adult form, although she still often acted and spoke very child-like.

After much arguing from Grimmjow and encouragement from Nelliel, Urahara took the two former Espada to his shōten in the world of the living, where they would spend their time maintaining the shop and helping with any stray hollows around Karakura town. Upon arrival, Grimmjow and Nelliel had demanded to see Ichigo, though both for very different reasons, but the former caption turned down the idea. He informed them that 'everyone's favorite substitute' was missing and had been for some time, the Soul Society being unable to find him, nor being able to narrow down the search to a specific world. This had upset Nelliel greatly, she even asked to see and speak to the teen's family, while Grimmjow simply sucked his teeth and mumbled about the orangette being pansy and running away. All the while, he was wondering where on earth the boy was and why he had a nagging feeling he should know, and be with him.

XXX

In his four years of living with Urahara, Grimmjow had learned three things: Never, under any circumstances, say you're bored around Urahara, don't ever leave Nelliel and Yoruichi in the same room for too long, otherwise you will be the target of their evil games, and don't let Renji drink while Yumichika and Ikkaku are over.

Constantly being around shinigami wasn't as bad as Grimmjow would have imagined, especially when living with the eccentric group he did. In fact, he got along with Renji and Ikkaku rather well, the three always trying to find new ways to goad each other into fights. He'd also discovered a new found love for the sun. If he wasn't in the eleventh division's training grounds, it was common knowledge that Grimmjow could be found lounging around in a sunny part of Byakuya's koi garden or Ukitake's backyard. Over time, Grimmjow had also taken to spending the weekends with Kurosaki's little sisters.

The teen was still missing without a trace. Searches were still conducted, though infrequently due to the number of casualties during the war which resulted in the Soul Society needing all hands on deck, including ex-captain Isshin Kurosaki. Since he couldn't take his girls along with him to Soul Society, the Soul Society and the Kurosaki family came to an agreed upon arrangement. During the week, he would live in Karakura town but during the weekends, he would be required to go to the Soul Society. For a while they stayed by themselves on weekends, faring well for the most part, but one night someone broke into the house whilst they were asleep in their rooms. Luckily for the girls, Grimmjow had been out for a walk and passing by their house when it happened. The man picked the lock on their door, unaware of the glaring pair of blue eyes that watched his every move, and the moment he opened the door to enter; his face was smashed into the floor boards of the house, the loud yell and crash alerting the girls. After calling the police and sending a hell butterfly to Isshin, Grimmjow refused to leave the girls on their own. He took it upon himself to spend the weekends at the Kurosaki household, in order to guarantee their safety.

Over the past few months, the twelfth division had been getting some odd readings on the reiatsu detectors situated around the world of the living. Too many unknown reiatsu have been popping up out of nowhere, but when a team was sent to investigate, there was no trace of anything out of the ordinary. The Soul Society was on edge, fearing another on coming war, but Shunsui stayed on top of the matter whilst maintaining a sense of calm and order within the squads. However, today that would all change.

"Grimmjow, I want you to take Nelliel, Renji, Shinji, and Isshin with you on a mission in the world of the living. You will be heading to America to investigate another reiatsu anomaly. However, unlike before, I want you to stay for at least a month to investigate the area. If Urahara, Yoruichi or any of the Vizards wish to go with you, they may. I am already aware that Isshin will be taking his two girls along, seeing as school is out at the moment. We have managed to set up living arrangements for you already, though we have little in the way of human money to offer."

"I can take care of that, Shunsui!" Urahara spoke up in his usual giddy tone. "I have plenty of money saved up for situation such as this! Yoruichi and I will go with our brave little team, that way we can help in any way possible, and to observe a new culture, of course."

Grimmjow groaned. The 'observing a new culture' bit was sure to mean many nights of the pair coming back trashed beyond belief. He kept his mouth shut though, knowing that having the lunatic with him would probably end up making things go smoother anyways.

Shunsui laughed lightly at Urahara's enthusiasm. "That is all then. I would appreciate it if you could all go as soon as possible."

The group nodded and left to pack their things.

XXX

It had been a few weeks and nothing even remotely interesting had happened, well aside from Urahara, Yoruichi, and Renji coming back trashed almost every night. It was amazing how many bars were in New York City. The group had fallen into a routine pretty quickly. Shinji and Kensei, who had come a long to ensure that Shinji kept himself in check, often stayed home to watch the house. Urahara, Yoruichi and Renji went out around dinner to get food and completely drunk, then they would come home, sleep it off until dinner the next day, and then repeat. Grimmjow, Nellie, Isshin, and the twins would go out each day to places the girls wished to visit.

The makeshift Kurosaki family had decided to visit a small park for the time being. The grass was a vibrant green and soft to the touch, there was a clear river flowing through the park with a small wooden bridge. The five of them lay on the grass looking up at the clouds when the strange reiatsu spread through the air and the river erupted. They all shot up immediately, Grimmjow and Isshin taking a fighting stance while Nell pulled the twins into a crouch beside her. As the river water fell from the sky, it turned into shards of ice, spearing dangerously into the lush grass below, causing Nel to cover the twins with her body as best she could. Soon the shards stopped falling, though not without scratching up Nel's back and the two men's arms and torsos. Across the lake, the group could see a woman dressed with long, black hair, wearing a fitted, short, ice blue dress with long sleeves. Her blood-colored eyes glared straight at Grimmjow.

"Really now, Siren? Do you really think us that dense, that you could just cut your hair and get yourself some new friends and we wouldn't recognize you? I know your little mother is around here somewhere with your whoring sisters and your insane uncle. They're probably hiding behind a tree crying in terror, aren't they? If you would just come with us, join us, we wouldn't have to go through all of this. You and your sisters have so much potential! You're being held back by your mother and the rest of that makeshift family of yours! You and your sisters could rule the new evolution! With our new abilities, we could rule the hollow realm, if you'd just help us! If not, then we'll have no other choice than to take over by force! If you're not with us then you're against us, and it will not end well for you or your sisters."

By the time she had finished speaking, the rest of the group from the Soul Society had shown up, pushing the twins stand behind them. Urahara, the most diplomatic of the group, stepped forward and spoke to the woman.

"I hate to say this, miss, but we have no one by the name of Siren here and none of us have seen you before. Though, would you care to explain to us what the new evolution is?"

"Really?" The woman raised an eyebrow at Grimmjow. "Your acting is pathetic, and quite cowardly."

Grimmjow was quickly becoming annoyed of this woman, who seemed to only be addressing him, and now calling him cowardly. This bitch was about to learn her place.

"Look, wench…"

"You know. I always knew you were a stupid bitch, but I didn't think you were this stupid. You can't even tell the difference between me and this guy, even though our spiritual pressure is completely different."

Everyone turned to the new voice, eyes going wide in shock. There stood another gigai of Grimmjow showing his signature, feral grin. However, the double looked a few years older with his hair grown out down his back. Even more surprising though, was that behind Grimmjow's double stood Ichigo Kurosaki, snickering along with an albino copy of himself.


A/N. And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it. If you liked the chapter, feel free to leave a review/comment. Beta'd by Lady Histoire!