an arrancar's heart

KagomexGrimmjow /

it's been a year after Naraku was defeated, and the well was sealed off, leaving her on the modern side. oh, she hoped her little Shippo was okay..

"Kagome?" a male's voice called out to her hesitantly.

"hmm? oh, hey, Ichigo..." Kagome gave him a weak smile. "it's amazing how it's already been a full year since the well closed me off from the feudal era..." she gave a soft laugh, but sounded empty. Kagome then returned to staring out the window of the guest room of Ichigo's home. 'a full year since I lost HIM, that incredible panther demon, AUGH, why can't I remember much about him?! DAMNIT!'

"hey! hey! don't zone out on me already!" he gently shook her shoulder.

"huh? oh, s-sorry, Ichigo.. I was just...thinking again." she offered an apologetic smile.

"about the world you miss." he gave her a knowing look.

"yeah." she finally turned away from the window to look at him, "but what I miss most is..heh, there was this one demon...a-after I made a wish on the shikon jewel...I guess it deemed some memories too...painful? too DANGEROUS? I don't know, but I lost quite a few memories, and all of them were about this...panther demon. I-...it drives me insane how I can't remember his name, only vaguely remember his voice, and his face is a big blur for the most part. but the one thing that is still crystal clear, is what he'd do when he wanted to get my attention." she laughed softly.

"what's that?"

Kagome smiled and let out another small laugh, "he'd wrap his arms around me from behind and say, 'your king needs some lovin'.' or sometimes he'd curl around me, and set his head on my lap, then nudge me with his paw until I gave him what he wanted" a few more giggles left her, and for a few moments she had the first real smile since she'd come to Karakura town.

"wait, paw?" Ichigo asked, seriously confused

"yeah, I-..he had 3 forms, which was strange for a demon, but Shippo always said it was cool because he was really strong, and he...he-...he was..-urfh...I know I loved him, but I can't remember much of anything else." she said, trying to piece the memory together fully.

"why don't you go to sleep? you've been up for a few days now, that's not healthy." he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know, I know... but I just can't seem to fall asleep, I miss him so much...I miss his warmth, and his laugh, and how soft his hair was, if only I could remember more about him..."

"tell you what, if you get some sleep, I'll sit down with you tomorrow, and we can talk through it, maybe that'll jog some memories."

"alright...but you know...sometimes I get little pulses of his youki, although...it feels different from how I remember it." she smiled sadly

"I'll ask Rukia, she might know something to explain it." he gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"alright, and I'll try to get some sleep, Ichigo.." Kagome laid down and curled under the soft comforter.

"good, and soon too! it's already getting dark out."

UUWAAAAHHHAAAHHHH!

"a hollow..." Kagome whispered; tensing up for a moment. could her panther demon have turned into one of those monsters? 'no, Ichigo said hollows always first target their loved ones from when they were alive. I haven't seen any panther demons since the well closed, and I haven't had any hollows target me for me instead of how strong my spiritual pressure is. so maybe he's still alive? or just not a hollow?' she stiffened, then smiled as that ever-familiar sensation of youki pulsed and danced across the edges of her senses. he was definitely out there, somewhere... and she would find him.

Ichigo sighed, he really wanted to find that demon for Kagome, mostly because she wasn't the bright, spit-fire woman he knew. not since she was cut off from that rag-tag family she'd made in the past.

"so, anything new about that demon of hers?" Rukia asked, leaning against the wall.

"she can sense him for brief moments sometimes. what do you think that means?"

"well, I don't know about demons, but for human souls to have a burst of spiritual pressure like that it means they've either been taken to the soul society, or they've become a hollow. I hate to say it, Ichigo, but there's never once been a sighting of what Kagome calls a 'demon', and Captain Kurotsuchi has absolutely no idea of what I'm trying to describe to him! I think they died out hundreds of years ago." the raven haired soul reaper sighed.

"I just wish there was a way to cheer her up, sometimes I wonder if Kon helps or makes it worse." Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sure it's a little of both." Rukia scoffed slightly.

"heh, yeah, he can be a little too much at times. oh, yeah, how's Renji doing? I mean, he's in charge of protecting Karakura town for the next month or so"

"he's probably bored out of his mind for the most part, you know him. but if he needs any help, he can always contact me with the emergency line of my soul pager." Rukia shrugged. "have you seen any arrancars lately?"

"just Ulquiorra, I don't know what he wants, he doesn't fight when I try to confront him. he just gives me that bored look of his, and leaves. sometimes, I wonder if he's looking for something. why else would he ignore me like that?" Ichigo groaned, ruffling up his spiky orange hair.

-Los Noches-

Grimmjow sat awake in his room in Los Noches. 'why the hell can't I sleep?' he suddenly tensed and looked around the room, 'tch. damn, I think I'm losing it, I keep getting that feeling. like this oddly familiar spiritual pressure. I think it's a woman's, but I don't know a woman with spiritual pressure like that..' he thought to himself, staring out his window at the moon.

"Grimmjow. Lord Aizen wishes to see you." the monotone voice of Ulquiorra cut through the silence.

"sure, whatever." he replied gruffly, pushing off his bed, and went to the throne room, where Aizen usually was.

"ah! Grimmjow, how have you been feeling? I've noticed you haven't quite been yourself as of late." Aizen asked, leaning forward in his throne-like chair curiously.

scratching the back of his neck, the sixth espada shrugged, "just haven't been able to sleep for the past few days, don't really see why it's such a big deal..."

"perhaps you should join Ulquiorra in his scouting missions, from what he's told me, he's encountered that substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, on nearly every trip he makes. a good fight should relax you, just don't kill him, he's of great use to us."

"tch, sure." Grimmjow scoffed, a smirk stretching across his features at the mention of fighting Ichigo.

"go and find Ulquiorra, he will tell you when his next trip is." Aizen gave the espada a wave to signify their talk was over.

"do you really think it's a good idea to let him go to the world of the living, Lord Aizen?" Gin asked, leaning against a pillar next to the ex-soul reaper captain.

"for one thing, it's preferable to having him at anything less than his best. I'm sure that Kurosaki boy will be able to survive the fight well enough, Ulquiorra won't let Grimmjow kill him. he's stronger, and will be able to stop the fight easily if it comes to it." Aizen replied, crossing his arms thoughtfully, "besides, I can't let the enemy rest for too long, I need to remind them that I could have any one of them killed at a moment's notice, it keeps things from growing tiresome, don't you agree?"

Gin's smile grew slightly, as a small chuckle escaped, "oh, yes, I agree entirely!"

"I'm glad to hear it..." Aizen chuckled.

Ulquiorra sighed frustratedly, "just remember, Lord Aizen wants the boy to keep his life, which also means all of his limbs. you must remember to hold yourself back, Grimmjow, you nearly killed him the last time you fought."

"yeah, yeah...are we goin' or what?" Grimmjow gestured to the awaiting Garganta.

"hmph, impatient as always..." the fourth espada shook his head slightly, as the two traveled to the world of the living. 'but I understand that impatience entirely...'

'maybe I'll be able to figure out what that spiritual pressure I keep sensing is.' Grimmjow thought to himself

"don't go wandering off too far, Grimmjow, I like to avoid any UNWANTED time here..."

"yeah, yeah, meet back here in an hour, unless I find Kurosaki, I wonder if he's gotten better at using that mask of his...heheheh!" without another word, Grimmjow walked off, chuckling to himself.

"a single hour will not be sufficient...I just hope he doesn't force me to cut my plans short because he failed to restrain himself again." Ulquiorra sighed, walking towards his own much awaited destination, a soft smile formed with each step he took. he couldn't wait to get there, in fact he was tempted to run, or even use his sonido. 'though, I highly doubt I will be able to restrain myself either.'

Kagome bolted upright from sleep, and looked out the window in a panic, WHOA! that was the strongest she'd ever felt him. was...was he in Karakura town? a soft smile stretched across her lips, oh, she certainly hoped so. "would I even recognize him if I saw him? either my memories of him are too fragmented, or his appearance has changed enough for me to not recognize him..." her chest constricted for a moment, no...no, she couldn't think like that! she had to keep hoping she'd get him back. it was all that kept her going...

she quickly put on some fresh clothes, and checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror before telling Yuzu she was going for a walk.

Kagome took a deep breath, the air here was so much cleaner than it was in Tokyo. small towns were nice like that...

"-gotta be around here somewhere..." there was a voice coming from around the corner. wait..sh-she KNEW that voice, she DEFINITELY knew that voice. but...could it..could it REALLY be HIM?! her panther demon?! she stood there, stunned, as a man rounded the corner, looking around as if searching for something.