Yaaaaay! chapter 2! More fighting and swearing and grammar mistakes! I don't know where this whole scenario came from, but...enjoy!
Also, everyone who reviewed; I love you! 3
Ichigo had yelled at me, pushed me around a bit.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing to my friend!"
"She fucking started it" I growled and pushed his hands away from my collar
"I doubt that!" he spat and paced around in front of me. I turned on my heel and climbed up onto my branch, retrieving the warm packet of food from my pocket and began to eat it.
The yellow sticks were filling enough and the crispy brown things were pretty good.
"Where did you get that food?" Ichigo yelled, looking up at me.
I chewed and ignored him.
"Grimmjow?"
"I took it." I said simply and took another bite.
Ichigo started shouting something at me, mentioning the police that had been in town. I continued to ignore him.
Eventually he left.
I sighed and threw the empty bag on the floor.
Is this what its going to be like? Everyday.
I sat there for a long time. I tried sleeping. I wasn't tired. I climbed higher up in my tree, looking for another good spot. There wasn't one.
Sat in my recluse, I growled quietly to myself.
If this kept going on, I might have to take that job from Urahara, just to keep myself busy. But I wouldn't. That would be admitting defeat.
I jumped down and the sun was lower in the sky now. Lights were starting to come on in the town. A bunch in one place, and I lot of noise was coming from there too. I went down to investigate.
There were lots of people around. Too many. It was loud and the air smelled sweet and sickly. There were big machines all around me. A massive spinning wheel. Everything was spinning or bouncing, with people screaming and laughing. It was too brightly coloured and I found I disliked it. People pushed into me and I growled and turned to face them, fists at the ready, but they were already gone into the crowds.
"Hey you! Test your strength!"
I turned around and a short man with red frizzy hair was thrusting a hammer into my hands and pulling me towards a contraption
"Yessir! Test your strength by hitting the button with the hammer; if the ball reaches the bell, you get our star prize!" I looked at him in confusion and then and the button near the floor
"Come on! All your strength and you still won't reach it!"
A few people stopped and watched, smiles on their faces. I shifted the hammer in my hands then brought it down onto the button. I'd put as much strength in as I could be bothered to. The hammer bent the button and the ball flew up, hit the bell, dented it then came back down. The crowd cheered and I thrust the hammer back into his hands. A smile tugged at my lips at his surprise. He hadn't expected me to do it.
"What's my prize then?" I grinned and bent down, getting in his face. He grumbled and fished around in his pocket before handing me some pieces of paper reluctantly. I held them up
"What is it?"
"What do you mean its £50, take it and go you freak" he growled.
I grinned and snapped my teeth at him before pushing through the crowd.
"Hey mister!"
I looked down and there was some kid walking next to me
"What?" I spat. I hated kids.
"You're really strong! You should try and beat the muscle man!"
"The what?"
"He says he's the strongest man in the world!" the kid smiled, eyes bright and excited.
"Oh really?" I grinned, cracking my knuckles. This could be interesting.
"Yah! Come on! It's this way!" I followed the kid through the crowd to a big circle. Men were gathered around the outside, bragging about how they could beat him, but they just weren't in the mood right now. I pushed to the front and watched the man parading around in front of them in a tight pair of shorts and a mask over his face. He was tall and His muscles were big, but full of steroids. I grinned. The kid pulled on my sleeve.
"That's him!" he pointed excitedly. I pulled my arm out of his grip, but looked on.
The man flexed and laughed
"Which one of you bone bags thinks they can defeat me, the amazing Muscle Man!"
The crowd murmured and no one stepped forward.
Another, shorter man in the ring walked around the crowd
"Come on men, test your strength! Impress the ladies! Chance a win of 200 big ones!"
The crowd shuffled and I grinned. I pulled off my hoodie threw it to the kid.
"I'll do it" I smirked. Muscle man looked at me and laughed
"You? You could never defeat me! You're so small!"
I frowned. Looking down at myself. My muscles were toned, exercised. And I was quick. I pulled off my vest too and let him see the deep scar that ran down my chest and the others that were carved into my skin.
"Bring it" I taunted and stalked towards him.
"It's your funeral, princess"
He ran forwards and threw a punch at me. I side stepped and he missed. He tried again and he missed. Again. This was embarrassing. He tried alternating fists but it was so easy to dodge. I crouched down and jabbed him in the gut. He wheezed and staggered backwards, and I put my hands in my pockets.
"Why did I think this would be a challenge" I asked myself out loud and the crowd laughed.
Muscle man looked around at the crowd and grimaced. He charged towards me and went to kick me but I blocked and pushed him backwards. Again and again his blows were dodged and missed and he was getting desperate. He jumped forwards and grabbed both my hands and picked me up so our eyes were level
"Come on man, you've gotta let me win this" he whispered to me, eyes darting to the crowd.
"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously
"This is my job; let me get a few punches in there"
I chuckled, but then it grew into full blown cackling.
"You've got to be kidding me" I brought my legs up and kicked him in the chest. He fell backwards, letting go of my wrists.
He wheezed and rolled over and tried to get up. I walked over to him and dug my knee into his back. Grabbing his chin I pulled his head up.
"Admit defeat" I grinned
"I-I"
I pressed my knee harder and he squirmed.
"O-okay!" He squealed and I let off. I kicked him in the side and turned to face the crowd.
They cheered at me and clapped their hands.
The shorter guy came over to me
"Hey kid, what's your name?"
"Grimmjow."
He grabbed my fist and raised it in the air
"Give it up for Grimmjow! Our new champion!"
Although I didn't like the greasy guys grip on me, I grinned at the crowd as they cheered. I felt good. In control. Powerful. The man lowered my fist
"Grimmjow, son, step into my office and let me discuss business with you." I watched as he walked towards the tent at the back of the ring and held the flap open for me. I grabbed my clothes from the kid and followed him inside.
Inside it was musky and damp, a desk and two chairs in the middle, chair legs sinking into the grass. The short man sat down behind the desk and pulled out a bottle o brown liquid and two glasses.
"Care for some whiskey?"
I didn't answer, but he poured me a glass anyway and indicated that I sit.
I did.
"The name's Simon Riggs, but you can call my Riggsby" he introduced and took a sip of the liquid. I did the same and it burned the back of my throat, then pooled in my stomach. I hissed after drinking it.
"Listen Grimmjow, you're tough and quick, you're a monster at fighting, I can tell. That guy out there? He's nothin' nix nada no. He's all steroids and appearances. He's nothing."
I listened to him quietly, downing the rest of the whiskey.
"You won, fair and square, you can have that 200 if you want it and you can go," he paused as he took another sip, "or, you could take his place."
I smirked. I saw where this was going.
"You want me to work for you?"
"Exactly, Grimmjow, exactly. We're in Karakura for another 4 days. And then moving to the next city, the whole carnival. I'd like you to be my new muscle man."
I laughed
"I'm not going by the name of muscle man. That's ridiculous."
"All right then, we can change that, but whaddyou say? You look smaller, less opposing than the old guy"
I glared at him and he backed up
"I-I'm not saying you are, but you're not 8 foot tall and almost as wide, you know what I'm saying? People would be more likely to fight you, which means more enjoyment for you, you geddit?"
I thought over his words. I could see his point. At least Ichigo would get off my back. And if this guy got funny, I could easily beat him to a pulp.
"Sure" I smirked, "I'll do it."
His face lit up.
"Haha! Excellent! You wont regret, grimmy-boy!" he stood up and shook my hand, and I scowled at the nickname.
He looked at his watch and smirked up at me
"We've got another few hours or so before the punters start leaving, get out there!"
I cracked my neck and strode out of the tent.
There was silence as the crowd looked at me expectantly.
I grinned and clenched my fists.
"Who thinks they can beat me?" I called, crossing my arms across my bare torso
"You're all trash and you're all weak. C'mon, fight me! Prove me wrong!"
The crowd muttered amongst themselves, some had seen my previous fight, most hadn't.
I saw a buff looking guy grinning at his friends, a chick on his Arm. I strode over to him and got in his face
"You! Think you can do it? Or should I show that chit how good a real man is?"
His friends laughed and called "oh no he didn't" and the guy smiled a bit, but his fist clenched at his sides. I flicked my tongue over my teeth and then addressed the girl by his side
"Hey, how about you and I get together? I can't wait for you to scream my name"
She blushed a bright red and I grinned as the guy pushed me away into the middle of the circle and followed after me. My tactic worked and I laughed.
"Bring it, girl" I taunted and he brought his fists up. He obviously had a reputation to protect.
He lurched forward and swung his fists around; I dodged, slapping him on the cheek as he went by.
I knew I had to draw this fight out, for my own pleasure, if anything. If I ended it too quickly, I wouldn't get any business for the rest of the night. I went for the humiliation approach, and slaps were good for that. He would get annoyed, get tougher, and it would give others the impression that they could beat me.
He twisted and growled at me. I bounced around lightly on my toes.
"Missed me"
He did the same and tried to grab me. I ducked and spun 180, slapping him on the back. He growled and glanced back at his friends. They laughed and then started pointing manically. His face turned to one of confusion before turning back to me, straight into my fist. My audience laughed and flung my arms into the air, grinning wildly. I turned to him slowly and felt the crash of his body into mine. He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up, squeezing my body. He'd got me with my own stunt, but he made the fatal error of not pinning my arms to my body. I brought my elbow down on the back of his neck. I felt his body shudder under the impact, and although his grip didn't leave completely, it was enough to bring my leg up and kick him in the diaphragm. He staggered backwards,
And looked up at me. His eyes were glazed, eyelids drooping. He was near finished. I tch'd. I hadn't even used much force on him.
"Come on, big guy" I called, one hand in my pocket, "I'll give you a free hit to redeem yourself!"
I stood with my arms open, to show I wasn't joking.
He yelled something incoherent, maybe some primitive war cry of his, and charged into me.
The force knocked me to the ground and his thick hands wrapped around my throat, his body on top of mine. He had anger in his eyes, sure, but not intent to kill. That's why he wouldn't win.
"Go on, do it" I grinned, even with his hands squeezing my windpipe.
His eyes widened a fraction, as if he wasn't aware of what he had been doing. That was my opening. I grabbed one of his wrists and held it tightly, my other fist coming and landing on his elbow with deadly force.
There was a crack. That sweet sound of a bone snapping. The joint didn't come out of his skin, like I'd hoped, but left a large protrusion. He screamed and fell, his weight not equally balanced and I rolled away, getting up and looking down at him. He writhed in agony and screamed a little
"You bastard!" he spat
I wore an indifferent look and shrugged.
"This fight is over" I called to the crowd. Some of the crowd cheered, the rest looked worriedly at the man on the floor.
His friends rushed forward and scooped him up and pulled him away, staring daggers at me. His girlfriend came over to me and tossed some money in my direction
"You're a monster" she scowled.
"We're still on for later then?" I grinned
She slapped me around the face before leaving.
I gave a harsh bark of laughter and looked at the money in my hands.
Riggsby came over to me
"What's this for?" I asked as he patted me on the back
"That's the rules of the game kid, If they beat you, they get £200, if they don't they have to pay us a fraction of the amount. It's the idea that people will do it for the money, thinking they can beat you, but we're the ones that get all the dough."
I smirked and handed the money to him.
"I think you're great and all, but next time, I'd avoid snapping the guys arm off, or no one will want to do it, you get me?"
I nodded. Made sense.
"Good. Go get em kid!"
Riggsby walked around the ring of people
"Come on fellas! Test your strength against my blue eyed monster! There's a chance of 200 big ones straight in your pocket! Give a go! Maybe you'll get lucky!"
A couple of hours passed and we didn't get a lot of business, it turns out people had been spreading the word about me. Everyone was too scared.
Riggsby told me that it was the first night, and that not everyone had heard about the fair yet, so the next few days would be better.
Trouble was, I wasn't the most patient of people.
I sat on a crate outside the tent as people bustled past me, oblivious.
I growled.
Riggsby poked his head out of the tent, a cigar between his teeth
"Hey, Grimm, I'll give it another hour before we pack it up for the night. See if you can get one more fight."
I nodded and stood up, shaking out my arms and bouncing on my feet.
"Come on then!" I yelled
"Come on! Hurry up Tatsuki!"
I rolled my eyes as the 18-suddenly-turned-8 year old tugged on my sleeve
"All right, Orihime, calm down!"
She turned to me, her eyes large, cheeks flushed.
"I don't even know why you want to go. It's a waste of money and everything is so tacky"
"Yeah but, that's what makes it so good!" she squee-d
I smiled, despite myself and followed her deeper into the chaos of the crowd.
"Tatsuki, look!"
"Wow, Tatsuki!"
"Haha look at that!"
"Ohmygosh!"
"Tatsuki!"
I'd sort of lost the will to live a while ago, my stream of consciousness dying down to a steady drip, only increasing a little when she turned to look at me, when I would smile and nod.
Still. It was nice to spend some time with Orihime. I saw her hand over some money to lanky old man, in return for some hoops. I almost face-palmed. Throw-the hoop? Why didn't she just burn the money? Orihime, aim and throwing don't really go together. I walked over to her. Watching and wincing at how poor her shots were. I felt the old guy doing the same next to me
"Hwoh!" she giggled, throwing the hoop like a ninja star.
She turned to me and handed me the last hoop
"Have a go Tatsuki!"
I took the hoop from her and threw it quickly; it bounced around the table of bottles, before rattling around a bottle neck
"Eeeeee! You did it!" Orihime squealed, clapping her hands
I smirked and folded my arms
"Well, what do you win, then?"
The lanky man pulled down a massive purple tiger and handed it to Orihime as she jumped up and down.
She hugged it to her, "its so cuuute! I will call him Bruce Lee!"
I smiled at her
"What a lovely name"
"Tatsuki, what do you want to do?"
'Go home' I thought, then blinked
"Uhm... I don't know, there's not much around that I like."
"Well, let's get some candyfloss! You love candyfloss!"
We pushed through the crowds, trying to find a sweet stall with a candyfloss machine. We found one, and Orihime bought some doughnuts too. I looked around as we waited for them to cook and I saw a large ring of people. Curious, I headed towards it and heard a voice from the centre of the ring
"Bring it on! I challenge you, defeat me!"
I felt my pulse quicken. Something that might actually interest me.
"Tatsuki!"
I looked behind me as Orihime skipped over, her arms full of cheap toys, candyfloss and doughnuts. Crumbs were around her mouth
"Are you thinking of fighting that guy?"
I tiptoed and tried to see what the guy looked like, but the audience was too tall.
I nodded "yeah, it would be fun"
Orihime's brows furrowed then her eyes widened
"Uh, Tatsuki, you shouldn't fight that guy…"
I glanced at her over my shoulder, already pushing through
"What? Don't worry, I'll be fine, come on"
"No, Tatsuki, really, don't"
I looked at her a second
"Don't worry, I can handle this."
I made my way to the front, Orihime close behind. I gasped when I saw him there.
The blue haired guy from earlier.
"Come on Tatsuki, look at him, let's go"
I shrugged her grip off her shoulders, suddenly feeling very serious.
"No, Orihime, I need to finish something with this guy."
I watched as he stalked around the edge of the ring, that wild grin on his face.
I smirked and cracked my knuckles, stepping forward. He didn't seem to notice, as his attention was on the crowd as he walked past them, but he was getting closer to me.
"I'll fight you."
He looked over at me and I stood with my arms folded. I walked further into the circle my eyes on him, his on mine.
"You?" he barked out a harsh laugh and I smirked.
He stalked closer, his bare chest showing muscles and past battles. I glanced down at myself and wondered what the crowd was thinking.
Time to prove them wrong
"Let's see if there is a winner this time" I smirked as I unfolded my arms and brought them up in front of me, getting into a fighting stance. I glanced at Orihime and saw she was on the phone to someone.
"We'd better make this quick, I predict some idiot with orange hair will come and ruin it again."
He smirked, "how's your face?"
"Fine, how's your head?" I defended and glanced at the scab on his temple.
"Fine"
There was a moment of silence before I dashed forwards and aimed a kick at his chest. He dodged left and threw his fist at my face. I blocked with my left and jabbed with my right, into his stomach. It made contact and he staggered back. The crowd gasped, the first time he'd been hit, probably. He grabbed my wrist, still in strike and pulled me towards him, I stumbled from surprise and he wrapped he free hand around my neck, lifting me off the ground. His eyes widened, bright and powerful and the Cheshire cat grin spread even further. I struggled, my hands clawing at his arm. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled his body towards mine, striking down on the bridge of his nose with my forehead. He released me and grabbed his nose and I quickly got up, wincing at the pain in my head and ignoring the stars in my vision.
"What the fuck is your head made of?" I yelled
He laughed and wiped his face, smearing blood.
Before I could process it, he shot forward and hit me in the sternum, sending me backwards, but then he was behind me too and elbowed me in the back, right where it was still stinging from earlier
This time I did fall to the floor, and I got up on my hands and knees, drawing in deep laboured breaths. I heard him approaching, steadily.
I bounced up onto my toes and swept my leg around, pulling his feet from underneath him. He fell on his back and I jumped on him, pinning his wrists to the ground. I smirked at him and he joined in, then he pouted his lips and kissed the air, winking at me. My eyes widened and I drew my head back,feeling a heat flare up my neck and across my cheeks. Then his feet were on my stomach and he kicked me off. I coughed harshly and then he was on top of me, my wrists pinned. He grinned, and then let a string of spit leave his mouth.
"What the fuck are you doing? That's disgusting!" I struggled as the spit got closer and I heard the audience laughing at my misfortune. I tried to kick him off me but his body had my legs pinned too.
"Seriously, stop it!" I glanced around me and saw Orihime watching with wide eyes, no longer on the phone.
I breathed in deeply and tried to calm myself, which is hard when some weirdo has fucking spit hanging inches above your face.
"What's your name?" I asked.
He blinked and sucked it up.
"Grimmjow Jaeggerjacquez"
"Tatsuki Arisawa, and don't you forget it."
I pulled my wrists away from each other. His grip was strong enough to keep them down, but not stop their movements. As all his weight was on his arms, when I pulled them away he fell forward. Bracing myself, my head made contact with his again, but this time it was forehead against forehead and the pain shot through me. He rolled off me and my hands went to my head. Two head butts in one fight against a guy whose head is made of concrete is not a good idea.
"Owww…" I moaned and sat up, my vision swirling. I saw orange and sensed something. Ichigo was here. As I blinked away the shapes and colours I saw him move closer.
"Hey buddy, whaddyou think you're doing?" some short guy intercepted him
"That's my friend! What are you doing, letting her fight him? Do you want her to die?"
My brows furrowed, anger rising.
"Whaddyou mean? She's insane! She's landed more blows on him than him on her!"
"w-what?"
My vision finally returned to normal and I stood up, staggering a little and I ignored Ichigo. I saw Grimmjow was already up, forehead and face bleeding. I felt warm liquid dripping down and I guessed I was too.
He grinned and I smirked a little.
"Tatsuki, what are you doing, stop it!" Ichigo called. I rolled my eyes and dashed towards Grimmjow.
We dodged each others attacks successfully, occasionally catching the other one out. I felt my forearms aching from bruising and my back was in agony. Through my tiredness, I wasn't really enjoying myself anymore and I saw that Grimmjow had lost his smiled too. I wondered how he'd even got into this situation in the first place. Being a carnival fighter isn't exactly something that's advertised in the newspapers. I guess-
A hand wrapped around my throat and my body was slammed into the ground. I cursed myself for getting distracted.
"Tatsuki!" I heard someone yell
Grimmjow had a weird look on his face, and then I saw his other hand raised into a fist. He brought it down towards me.
I didn't flinch.
It stopped, mere centimetres away from my face. Grimmjow grinned and let go of my neck.
"You're one crazy chick."
I smiled wearily.
"You're one hard headed guy."
He stood up and I did too, dusting myself off.
He folded his arms and looked at me.
"I'll give you time to recover, but then I'm going to fight you again."
I blinked and laughed, then winced, then smiled, feeling stupid. I looked up at him, strands of blue were plastered to his head with blood, and the whole style had seemed to fall apart. He was just a mess of blue and red.
I guess I couldn't judge, I probably looked a state too. My black hair was damp from sweat and blood and hung in my face. Black. And Blue.
"You're on, Grimmjow."
The short guy that was talking to Ichigo came over to us
"That was incredible, you two, hey doll, what's your name?"
"Tatsuki"
He turned to the crowd
"Everyone! Give it up for Grimmjow and Tatsuki! Weren't they incredible?"
The audience cheered and clapped and it felt so good. I grinned and looked at Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime smiled and clapped, but Ichigo sort of scowled at nothing. I frowned, feeling bitter.
I punched Grimmjow lightly on the shoulder "I'll see ya, though next time, don't spit on my fucking face."
He smirked
"No promises."
I made my way over to Orihime, legs feeling weak, arms feeling heavy. I smiled at her
"Wow, Tatsuki, I didn't realise you were so good!"
I smiled, pride swelling in my chest.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo hissed at me. The pride boiled away to nothing.
"Pardon?" I scowled
"Picking fights with Grimmjow? What the fuck was that about? Are you stupid?"
"No. it's none of your business." I replied harshly, using the same line he'd used on me when I'd pushed him for Orihime's whereabouts. I thought about leaving it there, but then I turned on him, jabbing a finger into his chest.
"I may not be as strong as you and all your little friends in your 'black-kimono-club' but I'm not weak. Don't you ever fucking forget that, Kurosaki" His eyebrows shot up and his mouth was open. I saw Orihime's shocked expression too. Feeling angry and hurt and a whole bunch of negative emotions and an unfamiliar stinging in my eyes, I ignored it and Turned away, pushing through the crowds and back to my house.
I hated him. My best friend. I hated him.
Riggsby had congratulated me on the fight, told me I was incredible. I nodded. Seemed pretty accurate. He said not to worry about Tatsuki not paying since no-one technically won, and that it was pure entertainment and some people had given him money. He started rambling about betting and boxing and I looked out to the crowd. I felt Ichigo's reiatsu, dark waves rolling off him and spotted him yelling at Tatsuki. I strained my ears enough to hear their conversation.
Then Tatsuki's reiatsu spiked and hurt and venom and hate flowed from her. She stormed off through the crowd.
I frowned.
Ichigo turned to Orihime
"What the hell was that about?"
Orihime bit her lip, hands fidgeting in front of her.
"She knows. She knows so much more than we thought."
Ichigo ran his hands through his hair
"Shit. We can't tell her. Not everything"
"Why not? She deserves to know the truth."
"We- we just can't. She can't know. I'll think of something. I'll see you, Inoue" and he left. Orihime watched him go before she turned and headed home.
I scowled to myself.
Some friends they are. Tatsuki isn't stupid and she isn't weak. She should know what Ichigo and his little Shinigami scum friends are up to.
If he won't tell her, I will.
yah.. a carnival right? LOL yeah i don't know how it happened either.
also, if anyone can think of a decent reason why Tatsuki can't know about shinigami and junk will you tell me? I can't think of anything good.
I don't know if you've gathered by now or not, but i freaking hate Ichigo. haha, main characters suck.
And do you think Grimmjow was Ooc? i'll toughen him up in chapter 33333333333 3
review and I'll give you a pancake!