Notice: This chapter is going up raw so there might be a few spelling and grammatical errors. Please tell me if you see anything significant.
Kawaii: Thank you very much, my updates should be anywhere from 1-4 days apart.
Amaki-san: Thanks, I was worried about the beginning because I was just racing to a point in the story where I could have fun. And yes, I'm channeling my own shamelessness into Grimmjow.
Artemis: Glad to hear it. Yeah, I knew the similarities would be there but I'm trying my damnedest to be at least moderately original.
The late afternoon sun hung low over the final district of the northern alley of Rukongai, painting the sky with streaks of violet and crimson. Cool winds pierced through the twilight, sounding off the sun's departure with a refreshing reprieve from the summer heat.
Grimmjow stood with his hands in his pockets in the center of a large clearing, intently observing the forest around him, the scent of arbor tickling his nose and the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze washing over his ears. This was where his senses came alive, where he felt at home, immersed in the dusky woodland ambience. But despite how much he was admiring the scenery, Grimmjow's anticipation was quickly turning into aggravation as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
His Captain and her mentor waited patiently in front him and his audience consisting of Ichigo, Orihime, and Nel conversed quietly behind him, sitting on a fallen tree. The three were admiring the new Captain's haori that hung loosely over Nel's shinigami robes, congratulating her and wishing her success as the third division's new commander. They stopped and frowned when Grimmjow trudged quickly over to his superior, giving off a strong aura of annoyance.
"How much longer am I supposed to stand here," the former sexta espada snarled at the two women standing with their arms crossed before him, receiving only weary glares as an answer. "They should be ready soon," Yoruichi murmured, "In the meantime, I guess we should tell you about this exercise." She looked over to Soifon who nodded in agreement. "This is the Onmitsukido's highest exam. It's used to determine the skill in both the fields of stealth reconnaissance and combat ability for officers promoted to a fifth seat position and above," the petite Captain explained coolly, holding back a small smile. "And it's my personal favorite to watch."
Before Grimmjow could open his mouth to curses at his superior for being so cryptic, Yoruichi motioned for him to bite his tongue. "Seven white flags with the Onmitsukido emblem are hidden in the surrounding forest," she began, effectively silencing the Arrancar. "Your mission is to recover these flags and bring them back to us but," she held up her finger, emphasizing the oncoming catch. "Thirty of second division's most skilled warriors are waiting in the trees with reiatsu-shielding devices and they will be doing everything in their power to stop you which includes removing your head."
Grimmjow grinned as Yoruichi continued briefing him of his mission, cracking his knuckles in excitement. "You however, are not authorized to use lethal force or grievously injure our operatives. Doing so will result in the loss of your rank," the goddess concluded with a matching smirk.
"Well damn, I would've been a lot more patient if you told me I was going to be running around and beating up a bunch of weaklings," the blue-haired Arrancar laughed, causing Soifon to meet his eyes with a glacial stare. "I'm waiting to see how well you blend into your surroundings with that hair and outfit you have, Jeagerjaques-Fukutaicho," she chided blandly, letting a ghost of a smile creep up on her lips as her comment reached the desired effect.
"Don't underestimate me, Shaolin-Taicho," Grimmjow growled, "I really fucking hate it when people do that and call me Grimmjow, damn it. Plus you're one talk with those rings on your hair, that's almost as bad as that guy with bells on his fucking head," he added in a low tone. Now it was Soifon's turn to let her cool demeanor break at the mention of her birth name, feeling her face growing hot. "If you value your tongue then you'll regard me with the proper designation," she seethed, much to the amusement of her Vice-Captain who shot her a toothy smirk. "Care to make this interesting then," he suggested slyly.
"How do you mean?" Soifon asked hesitantly, letting her curiosity diffuse her chagrin.
"If I get those flags in less than twenty minutes then we're on a first name basis," Grimmjow clarified smugly, eliciting a snicker from Yoruichi. "And what happens if you fail," Soifon asked sharply, getting into the gambler's spirit. "Then I'll do anything you want," the Vice-Captain replied suggestively, leaning closer to his superior. "Do the laundry for the entire division?" the Captain asserted in disbelief.
"Anything," Grimmjow repeated.
"In a dress?"
"If that's what turns you on."
Soifon sighed and stuck out her arm with a hard gaze directed towards her Arrancar subordinate who clasped her hand firmly and grinned triumphantly.
After solidifying their wager, a stealth operative appeared next to his Captain with the usual gusty sound of shunpo. "Everything is in position," he informed her before vanishing into the treeline once Soifon had nodded in confirmation. She then turned back to Grimmjow and frowned at the degree of confidence he was exerting. Unlike the will to win that people like Kurosaki Ichigo exhibited, the Arrancar in front of her looked as if he knew he was going to succeed.
"You know neither of us did this in under twenty minutes," Yoruichi stated sardonically, breaking her protégé's gaze away from her Vice-Captain. "Well there's a first time for everything, cat lady," Grimmjow scoffed, removing his hands from his pockets and cracking his neck. "If you say so," the dark-skinned woman countered with a chuckle. "I'll be timing you on my phone."
"You may use any non-lethal techniques so long as my operatives will recover fully," Soifon announced, raising her eyebrows when Grimmjow unsheathed his sword. "Then this shouldn't take too long," He declared arrogantly, looking over to Yoruichi who was shaking her head and laughing at Soifon's ignorance.
Sorry but you just lost the bet right there, Shaolin.
Grimmjow raked his fingers across his weapon, causing the blade to glow with an ethereal blue light.
"Grind…Pantera."
Soifon's eyes widened as an explosion of azure reiatsu blasted upwards from her Vice-Captain, causing supernatural winds to gust through the surrounding forest. Bony white armor snaked its way up from Grimmjow's hands and feet once his sword vanished from sight, forming large blades at the top of his forearms and calves. The jade markings under his eyes extended to his now feline ears, decorated with an ivory crown stretching across his forehead under his lengthened hair.
Once his resurreccion was complete, he turned to Soifon and gave her a feral grin, baring his elongated teeth. "Ready when you are, Shaolin-Taicho," he announced with a smug edge to his voice, flexing his claws in apprehension.
"I hope you're prepared for-"
Soifon felt a bead of sweat run down the side of her head as Grimmjow's face met the ground, cutting his sentence short. There pinning his back with her knees was Nel who along with Yoruichi and Orihime was assaulting his ears with playful strokes and giggling as he wrestled in vain under the force of the Arrancar on top of him.
"What…the…hell?" Soifon muttered in bewilderment, staring wide-eyed as her fearsome Vice-Captain was no longer struggling as hard and emitting a throaty purring sound from deep within his chest.
"They've been doing this every time he releases ever since Yoruichi-san found out that he can't resist it," Ichigo explained sourly as he sidled over to the distraught Captain. "At least Unohana-san isn't here, then we'd be waiting for hours."
Ignoring the half-formulated words escaping the woman next to him, Ichigo walked to the scene playing out in the center of the clearing and gazed sympathetically at the victimized Grimmjow who was screaming muffled sounds in protest. "Alright, that's enough," he snickered, placing a hand on Orihime's shoulder. "Let the poor bastard breathe, we're burning daylight here."
All three women looked at him and pouted, making the substitute shinigami's mouth dry up. "Just a little longer, Ichigo-kun," Orihime whined, pushing out her bottom lip slightly.
"Sorry Hime but he's got work to do and we need to be getting home soon. It's almost dinner time," Ichigo stated sternly, helping his girlfriend to her feet and motioning for Nel to step off of Grimmjow's back.
The former tercera espada grudgingly moved over with a disappointed sigh which prompted Grimmjow to jump to his feet and immediately bombard everyone in the vicinity with a long string of inventive curses before turning to glare daggers at Orihime.
"Alright woman," he snarled, "I think that just about repays you for unfucking me with your voodoo back in Las Noches."
And with that, the infuriated Arrancar walked over to his Captain and stared at her with a mix of anger and determination gleaming in his eyes. "Let's hurry up and get started," Grimmjow growled.
…Its kind of hard to take him seriously after that.
"Very well," Soifon stated casually, trying hard to keep her mirth from escaping into her words. "Start on my command, Jeagerjaques-Taicho."
Seeing what was about to happen, Yoruichi strode over to the pair and flipped out her cell phone, quickly programming a timer for twenty minutes. "Waiting on you, Soifon," she declared while simultaneously reaching for one of Grimmjow's ears only to have it batted away fiercely in addition to receiving several threats.
"You may begin," Soifon commanded, opening her mouth to get in one last comment but was rudely interrupted by a burst of static as Grimmjow appeared at the edge of the forest and unleashed a blast of reiatsu so massive that it shook the trees around him loose from their roots. Much to the renewed amusement of the Arrancar, a stealth operative fell from the canopy and rolled about, wheezing on the ground before Grimmjow silenced him with a brutal kick to his skull.
Everyone back in the clearing winced as the blue-haired Vice-Captain began to pummel the unconscious man with his fists, yelling something about disrespectful women and people that take advantage of men while they're down before tossing the bruised and bloodied body through the treeline which landed in a crumpled heap at Yoruichi's feet.
"Uh…Orihime-chan…"
"I'm on it!"
Several minutes later, Grimmjow stood atop a large rock face with his hands hanging loosely at his side and three white flags bearing the Onmitsukido emblem tied around the blades adorning his arms. "Makin' good time," he muttered to himself as he kicked over a small boulder to reveal another banner buried beneath it.
I've lived in the wilderness long enough to realize when something's out of place with its surroundings.
Upon fitting the new addition in with the others with a firm knot, the Arrancar could hear several footsteps in the distance along the edge of the cliff but instead of engaging the oncoming threat, he merely sat down with his jaw resting on his hand and enjoyed the view from above the forest.
The wind blew his hair gently to the side as he studied the moon ascending from below the horizon. Twilight was setting in, bringing an end to the sweltering heat and replacing it with a cool night atmosphere that was slowly immersing the woodlands around Grimmjow in a dark veil. His eyes lingered on the moon however, its crescent form looming over the deep indigo clouds and the dappled streaks of red that burned defiantly across the nightfall.
It's nice here…I can see why they wanted to protect this place so badly…a world of light.
His thoughts didn't falter when a blade weaved its way through his arms and pressed cold steel against his neck before scraping across the sensitive flesh. "What a bunch of idiots," Grimmjow mumbled, climbing to his feet and turning around to face a trio of stealth operatives whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "These ears aren't just for show," he scolded, wagging his finger mockingly towards the man that had attempted to slit his throat. "And what the fuck is wrong with you? Trying to get through my hierro without even a shikai?"
"It really pisses me off when people underestimate me."
Before he was able to comprehend what the Arrancar had just spoken, the failed assassin made acquaintances with the rock beneath his feet and slipped into unconsciousness.
Grimmjow held back a laugh, trying to interpret the facial expressions hiding beneath the silken masks of the other two combatants. A pregnant moment passed before one of the warriors charged at him blindly with shunpo only to have his sword hiss the through the air and catch a knee embedded into his chest. Doubling over in pain, the man could only watch through hazy vision as the former espada approached his only comrade still on his feet and delivered a ferocious hook to his jaw, sending a loud crunch resounding through the forest below.
By my count, it's been about eleven minutes. No more sightseeing.
Spitting to the side in finality, Grimmjow descended back into the treeline and headed off into a portion of the woods that he had yet to search for any of the three remaining flags. He soon found his way alongside a small stream and despite his earlier thought; he slowed his pace slightly to watch a mottled leaf drift serenely down the current. Teal eyes followed the stray piece of foliage until it snagged on a low-hanging branch just alongside a white cloth.
Grinning at his fortune, he leapt gracefully across the water and claimed his prize before heading off parallel to the stream but not before putting a pair of assassins to sleep on the riverbank, figuring that his division wouldn't have planted two flags along the same landmark.
Shadows lengthened all around the forest as Grimmjow's previous luck showed no signs of continuing. His normally relaxed state was wavering as the evening progressed, shuddering at the thought of what would happen if he failed to recover all the flags in time. He soon reached a small precipice carved into the ground from a battle fought long ago, stopping to kick a rock off one of the jagged edges before hopping across the fissure and entering a denser part of the arbor.
After examining his surroundings, Grimmjow stumbled upon a fresh footprint encased in the dirt along the forest floor. He streaked his vision upwards in the direction of the impression and came across an ancient oak that was far larger than any other tree in the immediate vicinity. Approaching the mammoth timber, the Arrancar noticed that several of its roots had grown straight outwards from the trunk and extended several feet before digging into the earth, creating a small grotto beneath them.
Grimmjow bent to his knees and panned across the cavity, spying a dirtied piece of white fabric tagged to a small root. He motioned to reach into the den but decades of time spent hunting in the dismal gloom of the Menos Forest allowed him to spot a thin wire spread across the area in front of the flag. Quickly deciding that nothing good would come across tripping the obvious trap, he grasped a nearby twig and snagged it on the cloth from above the wire, tugging it free from its restraints and into his waiting hand.
Three minutes left…plenty of time to wrap this up.
Taking off into the trees, the Vice-Captain traveled agilely from branch to branch in search of the final banner, heading through the unfamiliar terrain in the direction of the clearing where his Captain was waiting. No sooner than the image of Soifon's shocked expression entered his mind did he land atop a high branch with feline elegance and let a victorious smile play across his face.
There at the edge of the branch, sat an abandoned bird's nest with a flag nestled gently within its structure.
Chuckling as he crept on all fours towards his goal, Grimmjow could only watch as a man clothed in the uniform of the stealth force plucked the piece of cloth from its resting place and vanished in a flash of shunpo. His eye twitched as his brain failed to process what had just occurred; some low-rank shinigami thought he could get in the way of winning his bet? Not if he had anything to say about it, which he quickly did.
"Motherfucker!" The blue-haired Arrancar shouted after the assassin, causing waves of sonic pressure to blast into the thief and send him rocketing into the ground where he looked up to see a very agitated Grimmjow, feeling his eyes widen as the usual smirk was nowhere to be seen.
"Bastard," the Vice-Captain growled, "saw what happened to your comrades and decided you could kill two birds by taking off with that flag and running? What the hell kind of man are you?"
Without further criticism, Grimmjow decided to indulge in a few "stress-relieving" activities with the help of the black-clothed operative before prying the final flag from his loose grip.
Back in the clearing, Soifon was having a difficult time preventing her cool visage from being shattered as pictures of her new officer folding robes while wearing a pink dress danced across her eyes. She let out a long string of giggles as the thought proved to be too much.
Playing witness to her former student's loss of composure, Yoruichi could only raise her eyebrows while she moved her way over to the target of her confusion. "First you're screaming at the top of your lungs, then you don't react to seeing me naked, and now you're tittering like a schoolgirl," she started, earning her a feeble scowl from her protégé before she succumbed once more to a fit of laughter. "You've finally grown up, Shaolin!"
Ignoring Soifon's now stronger glare, Yoruichi flipped open her phone and looked at the screen with a blank expression. "Forty-five seconds left!" she announced loud enough so that the four others in the clearing could hear.
"Do you think he'll win, Nel-san?" Orihime asked the Arrancar Captain beside her but before she could receive a proper answer, Ichigo decided to speak for her. "We can only hope he does or we'll have to get out of here before he destroys the whole district," he muttered acrimoniously, gaining a nod in agreement from Nel and a worried expression from his girlfriend. Upon seeing this, the substitute shinigami clasped her hand and gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry about it, Hime. If he doesn't get back in time then I'll let him win a fight against me, that'll put him in a good mood."
The trio snickered darkly as Yoruichi's voice alerted them to the countdown.
"Ten…Nine…Eight…"
Soifon's smile threatened to surpass the limitations of her muscle structure as it seemed that victory was falling neatly into her hands.
"Seven…Six-"
The sound of the fabric of space tearing in front of the two women put an end to the countdown as a thin black line cut through the twilight, stretching the boundaries of reality to reveal Grimmjow who stepped out of the garganta and into the clearing, clutching a mass of white cloths.
"Yo…Shaolin."
Soifon couldn't believe her eyes as the portal closed behind her Vice-Captain, burying her face in her hands as the spectators behind her rushed up to meet the smirking Arrancar.
"Got all seven?" Yoruichi asked casually, bursting into laughter as Grimmjow dropped the flags in his hand one by one to the ground, causing Soifon's face to fall further and further as each one went by. "I don't believe this," she groaned, rubbing her temple in a futile attempt to ward off an oncoming headache. "And who said you could call me by my birth name?" She yelled defiantly, hoping to retain at least a semblance of her pride while five pairs of eyes turned to meet her.
"But I like Shaolin better," Grimmjow began, turning to face Yoruichi who was failing miserably at concealing her amusement. "Plus I think Soifon doesn't sound nearly as sexy as Shaolin. What about you," he asked the goddess, letting the second name roll huskily from his tongue.
"Definitely Shaolin."
Damn you, Yoruichi.
"You shouldn't be so ashamed about your name anyway," Grimmjow murmured, brushing an imaginary piece of dirt from his shoulder, refusing to meet the surprised gaze of his Captain. "Not like it's a bad name so let me tell you this as one person with an unusual name to another," he stated with a serious edge to his playful voice, locking blue eyes with black. "Regardless of where that alias of yours came from, it's not right to give up the name you were born with; doesn't matter if you like it or not. I can tell a woman like you has a sense of honor even if you are an assassin so why don't you fucking honor the people that gave you that name instead of bitching every time you hear it?"
Soifon could do nothing else but stare in stupor at her Vice-Captain as Yoruichi mouthed a 'wow' with wide eyes while the others nodded solemnly.
"Judging by that look you're givin' me, seems like no one's kicked you into line recently," Grimmjow chided as he bent down mockingly to follow his Captain's eyes which had been lowered to the ground, smirking as the familiar fire began to burn behind them. "That's it, Shaolin. Keep those eyes and don't take shit from anyone because I'm not going to serve under a woman who isn't strong in her mind, heart, and body. Got it?" He asked with a predatory grin, stretching himself upright once more.
The clearing was silent as the meaning of his words set in. Strength to him was the universally definable element that was responsible for the way the world revolved, it was the force that forged destinies, the force that determined who deserved to be king and who deserved to be food.
"Grimmjow…" Soifon started, her voice cold and unreadable.
"Huh?"
"Why should I listen to a fucking word you say?"
The Vice-Captain howled with laughter as several people looked on in confusion. "That's what I wanna hear," he cackled. "Now don't ever let me catch you with that pathetic look in your eyes ever again or I'll have to knock some sense into you."
"I'd like to see you try," Soifon seethed, letting her angry façade cover up the small amount of gratitude she harbored for the Arrancar. "That's right, Shaolin. Stay sexy like that and we won't have a problem," Grimmjow said in conclusion.
Soifon's face grew hot at his final statement and it troubled her greatly that she wasn't entirely sure that it was from vexation. Relief washed over her once she saw that everyone seemingly failed to notice whatever feeling had manifested itself visibly, observing quietly as her new subordinate broke his electric blue gaze away from her and turned to face Ichigo.
"Told you he was better than your old Fukutaicho," Yoruichi whispered into her ear, this time causing her face to flush with something that was clearly not anger.
"Hey Ichigo," Grimmjow called over to the substitute shinigami, catching a second pair of eyes with his in a row. "You still up for a quick match? Those guys I fought couldn't even cut me."
Upon hearing this, Ichigo turned to Orihime who looked up at him with a smile. "Go ahead, Ichigo-kun. We still have a little bit of time before we're due back home," she said reassuringly, erupting into a rosy blush when she received a short kiss on the lips. "You're the best, Hime. It'll just be a sparring match so it should be over soon enough."
Orihime nodded and shot her boyfriend a victory sign before he and Grimmjow took off high above the forest, soon to be joined by Nel and Yoruichi who had also brought up her successor to join the two as they watched from a safe distance.
"Jumping right in with your resurreccion, huh?" Ichigo yelled over to his sparring partner, releasing Zangetsu from its bandages and bringing it around in a combat stance. "Don't fuck around," Grimmjow started, "We both know that our powers are closest at their peaks so hurry up and do your things, I need to see how we compare now after I've earned the right to heal that scar on my chest many times over."
"Still a cocky bastard," the orange-haired representative muttered while simultaneously sliding his hollow mask into place, commencing the transformation into his alternate form. "Got every right to be," the Arrancar retorted. "After all, while you've been spending time in school and with your woman, training only enough to keep your skills as they were six months ago, I've been getting better; much better, Ichigo."
An explosion of black reiatsu signaled the completion of the hollowfication, dissipating into a fine mist and revealing the monstrous figure beneath.
"Then we'll just have to put you to the test then," Ichigo stated in his heavily distorted voice. "Bankai!"
A second, less menacing wave of reiatsu rippled through the cool night air, sending a twister of energy revolving around the skull-faced hollow.
Tensa Zangetsu gleamed in the moonlight as Ichigo held it high above his head before bringing it down in a vertical stroke that sent a wave of sword pressure speeding towards Grimmjow. The attack only diffused harmlessly in the distance, serving only to commence the match between the two hybrids.
"See, what'd I say?" Grimmjow inquired rhetorically, bending his body under a strong horizontal swing and landing a powerful kick to the side of Ichigo's head. "You're still the same as you were back then," he continued as he narrowly missed the side of his opponent's neck with one of the blades on his forearms, using the momentum from the attack to plant his hands on Ichigo's shoulder and vault over the knee that had been aimed straight at his chest. "But I guess since this is only a sparring match, I can't really see how good you are."
"I'll give you a hint of what it'd be like if we were really going at it," the demonic hollow mumbled sinisterly, cutting his left hand with his sword and grasping both of his horns, staining them crimson and effectively ending his rival's gloating. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Grimmjow cursed under his breath, watching as violet energy swirled into a dense vortex in front of Ichigo's face. "Who taught you how to do that?!"
"Gran Rey Cero."
The forest around the two combatants was illuminated in bright lavender as a colossal blast erupted from the space between Ichigo's horns, warping space and dimension, producing a spiraling effect while it raced towards its target.
Thinking quickly, Grimmjow clenched his clawed hands into fists and fired a pair of bala at the edge of the gigantic discharge, providing an opening for him to dodge the oncoming attack. He felt an otherworldly heat envelop his body as the violet burst of energy passed him by and sailed into the sky; whistling in admiration and watching it burn through the atmosphere.
"Well at least you learned something while you weren't down below the candy store with the rest of us," he shouted appraisingly while his hand began to glow a deep scarlet. "But you know damn well that nobody except Starrk has more skill with using cero than me." With a feral grin, Grimmjow released the reiatsu in his hand and vanished in a sound of static, reappearing behind Ichigo and locking his arms around his elbows, binding him in place.
"Huh, well I didn't expect this to go off as well as it did. Have you gotten slower?"
"Nah, I just let you grab me."
Ichigo opened his mouth wide, revealing jagged rows of sharp teeth as the cero was sucked into his waiting maw. "Oh fuck me," Grimmjow muttered from his opponent's back, breaking the hold and using sonido to give himself some distance before the inevitable backfire of his attack. "Nelliel, I'll fucking kill you if this injures me," he hollered over to the Arrancar Captain who was looking off into the stars and digging her foot nonchalantly into the air.
Damn him, he was training after all.
For the second time in sixty seconds, the Vice-Captain found himself staring down the middle of a monstrous violet attack but this time. He gave himself an edge by using his improved speed to agilely maneuver away from the cero and put himself face to face with Ichigo before landing a solid uppercut to his jaw. "You bastard," he snickered, gritting his fangs as a lightning fast slash from Tensa Zangetsu made a shallow laceration along his arm.
Foregoing all concern about each other's safety, the two began to trade blows, sacrificing defense to deliver more powerful strikes. As the fight drove on, Grimmjow's speed was proving to be a challenge against Ichigo, nimbly side-stepping the majority of his strikes and using an unarmed fighting style that left very little unnecessary movement.
"I'll admit, you have gotten better," the substitute shinigami acknowledged, annoyed that his prized speed had been outdone. "But I'm still stronger," he growled, grinning beneath his mask when Grimmjow ducked beneath a diagonal slice where he proceeded to have a clawed foot land sharply in his side, courtesy of the self-proclaimed Vasto Lorde. "And you're getting predictable."
The two rivals shot each other a battle-hungry grin before flaring up their reiatsu and launching into what would have been a cataclysmic attack had they not been interrupted.
"Draw!"
Everyone in the air looked down to see Orihime who was waving them all down with erratic hand gestures. "We need to hurry or we'll be late to dinner, Ichigo-kun!" She yelled, causing a bead of sweat to drop from everyone but the shinigami representative.
Grimmjow let his reiatsu die down and looked over to Ichigo who merely shrugged an apology and let his mask fall away from his face, revealing a pair of brown eyes which glowered at the Arrancar when he imitated the sound of a whip cracking. "Sorry but we're due back with my old man soon," he grumbled, descending back down into the clearing with the others following behind him.
"So many injuries," Orihime commented in a scolding tone after examining the pair of hybrids once they had touched down, motioning for them to sit down and frowning when Grimmjow refused. "No thanks, woman. I'm not owing you another favor over a couple of cuts and bruises," he remarked in a low tone, letting his bony armor recede back into his skin and sliding Pantera into its sheath.
"Please," the auburn-haired healer pouted, stamping a foot into the ground. "All I'll ask is for you to open a garganta for us to Urahara-san's store."
After considering what little effort it would take to pay off his debt, Grimmjow sighed and sat down next to Ichigo with his hands in his pockets, observing as a dome of healing orange light enveloped them both. The process was over soon enough and the Vice-Captain poured reiatsu into his index finger before jabbing it into empty air where a black line formed and tore into a geometric gap in reality.
Nel and Yoruichi said their farewells to the departing couple while Grimmjow gave only a haphazard wave and Soifon a curt nod. When all was said and done, the four regrouped in the center of the clearing and planned their next action.
"Nelliel-Taicho, was it?" Soifon asked the female Arrancar beside her, receiving a nod in confirmation. "If you're not too busy when we return to Seireitei, could you please alert fourth division that there are injured members of the Onmitsukido in the northern outskirts of the Zaraki district?"
"Ah, sure thing. I was planning on seeing Unohana-san before meeting Kira-kun anyway," Nel explained, smiling when Soifon gave her a small 'thanks' "Well…wouldn't want to keep them waiting, guess I'll be going then. Goodnight," she said after a small silence, opening a garganta leading to the fourth division's barracks. "Later," muttered Grimmjow as Yoruichi wished the Arrancar Captain a good night and Soifon merely waved.
Once Nel had vanished, Grimmjow found himself the focus of attention. "We all headin' back to second division?" He asked wearily, wasting no time to open a portal out in front of his office after he had received positive confirmation from the two women.
Stepping out of the garganta, Grimmjow and Soifon immediately made a beeline for the entrance to the conjoined Captain's and Vice-Captain's quarters, the latter stopping to turn around and face Yoruichi with a questioning expression as the Arrancar slid open the doors. "You're not going back to the human world?" She inquired, frowning when the goddess walked past her and entered the office and sat down on a large armchair next to Grimmjow, crossing her legs. "Of course not," she announced, clearly amusing her blue-haired companion as Soifon's annoyance became painfully visible on her face. "This place has too much fun stuff going on right now for me to ignore it so I'll be staying for a while."
An uncomfortable silence overtook the room, only to be broken as Soifon slid the shoji doors shut and resume once she had approached the other two near the middle of the office. "This isn't a hotel," she hissed, staring crossly at her friend who was busy examining her nails. "I hardly think that one black cat on a couch in the lounge is going to disrupt your work environment," Yoruichi countered sarcastically. "Or do you just want to be alone with your Fukutaicho to yourself?" She mused provocatively, moving her head to dodge a half-hearted punch from her petite student.
"Take it easy, Shaolin. She can sleep in my room," Grimmjow suggested coolly, cracking a smirk when Soifon shot him a venomous glare and Yoruichi giggled before flatly refusing. "Suit yourself but my doors always open for either…or both of you lovely ladies if you ever find yourselves a little cold after dark," he added slyly with raised eyebrows.
"I'll keep that in mind"
"Go to hell."
The Arrancar snickered softly to himself before moving towards the door leading to his accommodations. "Ah well, don't be strangers," he started, ignoring the differing reactions between the two assassins. "Guess I'll see if my stuff's been delivered and get washed up then."
"A shower sounds great right now," Soifon admitted, setting off towards her own lodgings, wincing at her own stupidity for declaring her intentions in the vicinity of the two most perverse people on her list of acquaintances. "Well hey, Shaolin. You know we could conserve water by-"
"Shut it, Grimmjow."
The Vice-Captain in question stuffed his hands in his pockets, watching his superior disappear behind a set of slamming doors in the midst of Yoruichi's laughter. A moment passed until he shrugged and moved his gaze to a head of purple hair. "You know what they say? Try, try again. Eh, well I'll be back in a bit so get out some sake or tempura or something."
"I like the way you think, Grimm. I'll have some dinner fetched for us by the time you two get back."
"If you liked the way I think then you'd be bent over that desk right now."
Closing the door behind him to suppress Yoruichi's howling laughter; Grimmjow studied his bedchamber for the first time with wide eyes. "This is fucking horrible," he whispered to himself, looking around the room with a frightened expression. His eyes trailed across dozens of purple silk sheets hanging from the walls, matching the violet cloths hanging down from an oversized canopy bed where dozens of various-sized pillows of the same color were positioned atop satin linens.
What kind of person would decorate their room like this?
Without further thought, the horrified Arrancar opened a window on the far side of the room and began hurling every object he deemed unacceptable out for Seireitei to deal with on its own accord. Several minutes later, he admired his handiwork. The walls were now bare, revealing wooden panels and the room itself was much more spacious now that many of the articles of furniture were now out on the street. The bed had been stripped down only to a single white sheet and two pillows that had been removed from their cases.
Shaolin's probably going to bitch at me for this.
Grimmjow quickly decided that he had made the better choice however; sleeping on a bed like that was certainly not an option as long as he had even the smallest fraction of pride left in him.
Now that his room met minimal standards, he approached his bags which had been seated on the floor near the entrance of the room. Opting to only deal with a medium sized duffel bag for the time being, Grimmjow unzipped it to reveal several white jackets and hakama that he had looted from his quarters in Las Noches and laid an outfit out for himself on his bed.
After shoving his belongings unceremoniously in a nearby closet, he moved towards the only door he hadn't opened yet, the bathroom. Grimmjow prepared himself for the worst and eased open the door. He was pleasantly surprised to find a normal looking bathroom, whoever had used it before him had most likely taken everything with them. The room was tiled white with dark blue floral patterns, stretching from the floor to halfway around the wall near the shower and bath.
This is pretty modern; I thought I'd only get a bucket and a hole.
Putting the toilet seat down which had, much to his annoyance, been left up, he examined the various things around the room. There was a large circular wooden bath with a rack on the wall next to it containing many differently scented soaps and oils and a shower to the right of it with only a thick pane of warped glass to hide the users modesty. Other than that, there was a pair of sinks with a mirrored medicine cabinet hanging up in front of both of them as well as a small cavity in the wooden paneling that contained folded towels and washcloths.
Once Grimmjow finished his explorations and gave the bathroom his approval, he shrugged off his jacket and loosened the sash around his hakama, fully disrobing after kicking off his boots and tossing everything into a wicker bin by the room's entrance. He then proceeded to grab a set of linens and walked over to the large shower stall where he slung the towel over the side and entered.
The water was refreshing to say the least; he liked his showers as hot as he could stand as if he preferred burning the dirt away from his body. He wasn't far from just beginning to wash himself when he felt a reiatsu signature move its way towards his position. The sound of the door opening brought his head out from under the scalding stream of the shower just in time to catch the familiar colors of purple and dark tan in the threshold.
"Hey, cat lady," he called from inside the stall, pausing only a moment before resuming his activities. Yoruichi entered the bathroom and walked up to the shower, leaning her back against the glass and looking around the room. "Just ordered dinner to be delivered," she informed the Arrancar. "And I found some good sake to celebrate your entrance into the Gotei Thirteen."
"You're the greatest, Yoruichi. Why don't you get in here so I can thank you properly," Grimmjow suggested playfully, earning a feather-light laugh from the woman who was only inches away from him. It may have not been outwardly visible to those around them but the two had become good friends in the half year spent training and living together at the Urahara Shop. They knew each other well and Yoruichi knew that Grimmjow only used her name when he was either grateful or seriously trying to seduce her…or both as outlined in the current situation.
"As tempting as it may sound and believe me it is," the anamorphic ex-Captain began, "I think I'll be fine out here."
"You're a heartbreaking tease, cat lady," Grimmjow cracked, chuckling along with the woman outside the shower. "You have a man?" He asked casually after lathering up his hair, causing Yoruichi to turn around and face him best she could through the distorted glass.
"No, actually but I'm looking," she sighed, looking up to the ceiling. "I didn't realize I was fucking invisible," Grimmjow retorted, eliciting another round of laughter. "I thought for sure, you and Candyman..."
"Is that what you've nicknamed Kisuke? And no, he's a great friend but I would never see him under a romantic light. I'm after a relationship, believe it or not," Yoruichi informed the Vice-Captain, turning back to resume leaning against the glass. "Well let me tell you that you can make your search easier by keeping your clothes on and let up on the teasing around strangers. You're never going to find anyone by having an avalanche of men follow you wherever you go," Grimmjow stated, matter-of-factly as he washed his hair.
"You know…you're a lot smarter than you lead on."
"It's part of the charm. Well anyway, now that I'm incredibly jealous of whichever man you finally end up with, how about you tell me the real reason you came in here?"
Yoruichi smiled and leaned her head back on her arms, closing her eyes and listening to the sound of running water. "I wanted to see what you thought about Soifon," she proclaimed, initiating a small pause in the conversation. "You mean in general?"
"Yeah."
"Well she's got spirit; I could see it in her even when I first saw her at the meeting with that cold face she was giving me. Got fire in her eyes too which is, as I said earlier, incredibly sexy," Grimmjow began, starting to wash his arms and chest as Yoruichi waited for him to continue with only a throaty sound of acknowledgment. "She's strong too; I heard she took on Aizen's number two even though she's a close-range fighter. That takes some guts," he declared admirably. "And now to the part, you really want to hear. Overall, she is very sexy; especially her eyes, skin, and hair which would be even more attractive if she took those braids out and let it down."
Nodding in agreement, Yoruichi sidestepped out of the way as Grimmjow exited the shower and began drying his hair. "So you don't have a problem with being her subordinate?" She asked in a serious tone, shamelessly looking her friend up and down. "Nah, my leash is long enough as it is so I really wouldn't care if I was knocked in with Captain dog-face or that bastard with the ribbons in his hair. Getting Shaolin was just my luck, I guess," Grimmjow said with a shrug, wrapping the towel around his waist and moving towards the door.
"You know, he's Rukia's brother. That's why he was looking at you like that at the meeting earlier," Yoruichi informed him sympathetically, knowing full well that the Vice-Captain had tried on numerous occasions to make amends for injuring her during the Winter War. "Damn, that'd do it."
The pair exited the room in silence and moved into the center of the bedroom where Grimmjow tossed the used towel in another hamper and commenced dressing himself. "I like what you've done to the place," commented Yoruichi as she moved over to the window and giggled at the sheets and broken furniture littering the area outside.
"See ya later, Grimm. I'm off to have some more shower talk before the food gets here."
"She's still in the bathroom?"
"It takes a while to get those braids out," Yoruichi muttered, exiting the room with Grimmjow who turned into the lounge while she made a beeline for Shaolin's bedchamber.
Opening the door quietly and entering the spartan room, Yoruichi moved towards the bathroom and slipped inside with feline grace.
Soifon's mood was quickly making a turn for the better while the warm water washed away all the stress and tribulations that had accumulated over the last number of hours, standing with her face tilted up towards the showerhead. But despite her best efforts to clear her mind, the Captain's thoughts kept being directed towards analyzing her new officer. So preoccupied was she that Soifon failed to notice the bathroom door open until the sound of it closing with a loud click that echoed through the bathroom jolted her back to reality.
"Relax, it's just me," Yoruichi announced after feeling a spike of reiatsu coming from her protégé. "Grimmjow may be a bit depraved but he isn't one to go walking into your shower," she continued with a snicker, clearly spotting the glare that the other woman was giving her through the warped glass. "Why are you here?" Soifon asked coldly, returning to her previous activity of facing the stream of water.
"Just wanted to have some girl talk."
The petite assassin did not like where this conversation was going one bit but nevertheless, she wasn't going to give up her meditative shower to chase her friend out of the bathroom. "About Jeagerjaques, right?" She stated knowingly, her voice carrying an underlying tone of agitation. "Hey, you have a wager to uphold," Yoruichi scolded mockingly, taking up her familiar position of leaning against the shower stall.
"That was with him, not you," Soifon growled, turning around to rinse lather from the lower areas of her hair. Silence prevailed throughout the room for several moments, broken into small portions by the splashing of water against the shower floor.
"So what do you think of him?"
"I think he's an arrogant and debased miscreant who finds joy in making my life miserable. Simply put, he's a cocky, male version of you," Soifon answered darkly, turning off the water now that her peaceful time alone had been thoroughly ruined and wrapping a towel around her hair before opening the door to the stall. "But," she began, ignoring the half-hearted scowl Yoruichi was giving her. "He's frustratingly qualified to be my Fukutaicho and if the Soutaicho has assigned him to me then I will honor that decision even if I don't care for it," she finished with a sigh, grabbing another towel and drying her body before throwing it around over her exposed chest.
"Nothing to say about his looks?" Yoruichi inquired slyly, earning a low gaze while Soifon moved the towel around her head before discarding it in favor of a brush.
"No, I have no thoughts similar to yours about that supposedly attractive Arrancar," she muttered, running the brush quickly through her hair. "I think you're lying," Yoruichi sang in a high voice, snickering at her glowering successor. "No matter how detached you've made yourself in the last century, you're still my friend and I know you. You're not blind and he looks good so I don't know what the problem is. And since I've effectively ruined all women for you," the goddess began with a laugh, "he makes a very good option."
"You're out of your mind," Soifon snarled, getting to work on drying her hair further before braiding it. "Only you would think that a second jaw on the side of someone's face, blue hair, and a hole in the abdomen are attractive features."
Yoruichi's smirk hardened into a thin line as she narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Now you're just being mean for the hell of it," she stated icily, causing Soifon to shiver at one of her mentor's rare exhibitions of distaste. "I wonder who you're lying to, me or yourself. You've seen enough of him to tell that he's hot with a personality that's very refreshing around second division so why you can't admit that, I don't know but it's pissing me off. He even went out of his way to say those nice things to you today and you just blew him off. You're both good friends of mine and I won't let you be at odds with each other, now just say it and I won't say anything about it to him," she demanded, her voice raised slightly which caused her successor to look at her with wide eyes and then down to the ground.
"Fine…he's…attractive," she conceded, moving her gaze back up to Yoruichi with a neutral expression which became softer when faced with a large grin. "See, that wasn't so hard. Now how about going out there without the braids tonight, your hair looks great when you let it down."
"I don't think so."
Ah well, it was worth a try. Too much to ask in one night, I guess.
"Alright then, turn around and I'll help you fix your hair," Yoruichi ordered, grabbing the long white ribbons and gold rings from a nearby shelf and quickly getting to work when Soifon sighed and let her former teacher weave the first braid.
Several minutes later, the two women emerged from the bedroom and strode through the office and into the lounge where they sat down on a large couch across from Grimmjow who studied them from the corner of his eye as he reclined on a daybed. "Food isn't here yet," he told the two absent mindedly, only to jump out of his lethargic position and race past the bewildered women as a knock came from the door to the office.
He must be hungry…
Grimmjow thrust open the shoji doors and looked down to see a female shinigami behind a cart adorned with a large silver platter that rested on top of it. Moving his eyes up from the cart, he frowned when he saw the terrified expression on the woman's face. Yamamoto had clearly not told all of Seireitei about the integration of Arrancar yet judging by the low whimpers coming from her mouth.
"Well since you're staring at the hole and nothing else, I guess you wouldn't be interested in spending the night so I'll just take this off your hands and leave you alone," Grimmjow mumbled blandly, grabbing a hold of the large platter and kicking the shoji doors closed before maneuvering deftly back into the lounge.
Dinner that night had served to slightly loosen the tension between Soifon and her new Vice-Captain, even going as far as to join him and Yoruichi in a round of cheers with warm sake for gaining his position as second in command of the Onmitsukido.
After a night of drinking, eating, and light conversation, the three parted ways and set off for bed.
Author's Note: I had a lot more fun writing this chapter than the first one and I tried to incorporate more humor into it.
Don't forget to review!