Unexpected failure
"I don't wanna fight! So you can just go back!" Ichigo yelled, annoyed. He had better things to do plus he knew that Grimmjow wasn't the easiest opponent. Just the opposite, in fact…
Grimmjow chucked, not bothering to take his hands out of his pockets. "Oh? Are you scared to fight me?" he asked, bearing a smirk. The teal-haired man was teasing his opponent, off course.
The black clad boy's frown didn't budge, but his eyes glimmered with even more annoyance. He had to fight Grimmjow, didn't he? Even if he turned around to leave, the Espada would still attack and on top of that he would have an advantage. But… no, Ichigo wasn't sure about the way Jaegerjaques fought. Was he sneaky? Was he not? Was he only head-on?! The boy might as well deal with it. It wasn't like he had any other choice…
Grimmjow knew what was going on in Kurosaki's mind. He had predicted all this, everything up till now. He continued to smirk, monitoring the boy's expression, which darkened a bit. Yes! Victory! Well… almost!
"Pfft…! Let's just get this over with…" Ichigo hissed to himself. Grimmjow took his stance by bending his knees, after which he got one hand on the sheath of his sword and the other up in front of his chest. A hand ready to attack and a hand ready to defend. Ah, well, his enormous speed was enough of a defense, that's why he held up his left hand in front of his chest, seeing as was is right-handed. The man perfectly knew how to use his talents. His attacks – swift and precise; his speed – unmatched by many, and his strength probably surpassing that of the 4th Espada.
The orange-haired boy shifted a bit, trying not to show much fear. Or any fear, if he was lucky. You're not allowed to show fear when in a fight. Suddenly, he vanished and appeared behind Grimmjow, blade aimed at his enemy's head. Jaegerjaques vanished, too, just as Zangetsu was about to cut several strands of his hair (btw, ever thought about a Grimmjow cosplay? How much gel would that need?! xD). Ichigo looked around, lips slightly parted. Where did that bastard go!?
A chuckle made the orange-haired turn around and swing his sword at the snickering Espada, but too late – a long, thin sword connected with his abdomen, making the high-schooler yelp in pain.
"Aargh!" he screamed and bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from another yell. Ichigo's breaths became hastier, turning into hard pants along the way.
A few scarlet drops fell in the muddy puddle beneath the orange-haired boy, and they were followed by another two… then five… until finally Ichigo found himself dripping blood all over the wet ground and resting his entire body on the stabbed in the ground Zangetsu, while feeling his Shinigami clothes get heavier – the water from the rain was quickly replaced by the hot, red liquid.
There was something in all this… in this picture, which made Grimmjow feel uneasy… Not guilty – uneasy. Was it Ichigo's heavy breaths? Or maybe the fact, that he had just removed the upper part of his nevertheless ripped clothing? Or because of the thick scent of blood? No, couldn't be the blood. Grimmjow was used to it, he loved it; the way it smelled…
But then again… what was making this fuss??? What was it that made his stomach twitch?!
The orange-haired boy had only one option left… Damn, he really wished, that using it wasn't necessary, but fighting the Sixth Espada was no easy task.
"Ban… kai" his lips quietly pronounced.
Grimmjow grinned wider. "Good choice, Kurosaki" he yelled. If he hadn't lost his heart, it would be beating madly with passion right about now. The passion of the fight he enjoyed so much. This is gonna be good, echoed in the teal-haired Espada's mind.
Ichigo closed his eyes and raised his free hand up to his face, the hollow mask started materializing shortly after.
"If that'll be it" the man chuckled with a smirk and raised his own, so it could face his opponent. He was… maybe just I little bit curious about what appeared to be a mask… it was not expected, not that it mattered as much…
A red glow appeared and started enlarging at the center of his palm as the Cero began to load. Grinning even wider, Grimmjow started tasting his victory. He's going to use that getsuga crap again…, he thought, I knew it!
Silence filled both's ears for the remaining few seconds as their blood started boiling…
"CERO!", "GETSUGA TENSHOU!" they yelled simultaneously.
The dim light pierced the man's eyes as he opened them. He felt cool, fresh air on his heated skin, which made him want to look around at his surroundings, but said blue eyes could barely see.
What happened?, he asked himself. I lost? Why?!, the man jumped by what his mind told him. Did he, really? Then where was he?
"Oi… you're awake" a lazy voice noted.
The hell?, he was confused…! A few more minutes past in silence, until the Sixth Espada steadily regained his sight. Finally, he could recognize the feint silhouette, which made him curse mentally and jump up in the bed.
"Ku…Kurosaki..." What happened?, his mind added, although he didn't say it aloud.
Grimmjow felt a hand touching his shoulder to push him back to lying down again.
"Idiot, don't move, you'll start to bleeding again. You've lost enough blood already" Ichigo said and sat back down in his chair, which was placed near Jaegerjaques' head. The chair was turned around, so the boy had crossed his hands on the back, his head resting on top.
Grimmjow sighted with frustration and looked around himself. He noted it was past nightfall and that the source of the dim light was a small, white candle on the night stand. The electricity went out?
"Hhh… where are we?" he snorted, although he knew exactly where they were.
"My room. My family's out for the holiday, so it'll be safe for you he—"
"What THE FUCK do you mean by "safe", asshole?! And what's the fucking deal with the mask!?" Grimmjow burst out. The mask… was it what made the giant gap between their powers?! Shit! The teal-haired Espada should have gone at his opponent with his all, but… his pride showed him such a scenario as absurd and unnecessary. Yes, Ichigo had already surprised him once, he even had the scar to prove it, but still…
"You'd better rest" the boy sighed. He wasn't in his Shinigami clothes anymore, Grimmjow then realized… oh, but the thing that made his skin crawl with fear for a second, was the realization, that he, himself, wasn't wearing his own clothes anymore. His jacket was gone and now his chest, part of his abdomen and, probably, his whole back were bandaged. His hakama was gone too, but… what made his spirits most restless was the fact that… well… the man was ABSOLUTELY sure, that he wasn't wearing orange boxers when coming to the Human World. The orange color looked kind of funky though, especially in addition with his blue hair. No-o-o, no… Ichigo wouldn't have… Would he? Wait, what the hell am I worrying about?! I'm a guy, damn it! Grimmjow yelled at his mind's silly (and perverted) lingering thoughts. He didn't know what was more confusing - the fact, that the boy had probably seen every little bit of his body or wearing the orange boxers to prove someone else's presence... down there.
"Why am I here?" the man finally calmly asked.
"Because you're not lying on the ground in front of the zoo" Ichigo chucked. "Or do you prefer the ground? We can arrange that, you are in my bed after all."
…Why am I so tense?
