This chapter has been redone as well. It's amazing how time flies; this fic is two years old and counting. Again, apologies for my sluggishness in writing.
x
There was a knock on the door, and Grimmjow rolled over in bed to sit up, dazed. He blinked blearily and yawned.
"Come in."
Ulquiorra entered with a swish of his robes. In his arms was a struggling orange haired little boy, his diminutive body bare save for a small pair of boxers which were sliding off his slim waist due to his thrashing movements.
"Must I remind you again?" Ulquiorra asked softly. "This boy is under your care. And yet you allow him to run around freely. Do you really want to keep him until he grows older?"
Grimmjow yawned again, feeling a headache start to throb painfully. "I know, sorry. It's just that I didn't get much sleep last night."
"I know." Ulquiorra made sure to shut the door before releasing his firm grip on the boy. "I caught him playing in the sand last night. He was outside the premises of our quarters, Grimmjow. What were you thinking? Lesser Hollows could have attacked him and eaten his soul, yet you barely batted an eyelid."
"That's because he made a mess in the bathroom, and no prizes for guessing who got stuck with cleaning duty." Grimmjow said defensively. "I even locked my room door. How was I to know he's small enough to squeeze through the window pillars?"
"You should have taken more precaution." Ulquiorra sighed, setting himself down gingerly on the end of Grimmjow's bed. "This child is very vulnerable right now. It would have been a better option to leave him in the Human Realm."
Ichigo clambered up the bed and dived for Grimmjow's arms with a happy holler. The Sexta was knocked back into the mound of pillows – courtesy of Aizen – where the young boy proceeded to tug on his white bone mask with an excited air.
"Stop that." Grimmjow growled, batting his inquisitive hands away. "It's not going to come off like that. How many times do I have to explain it to you?"
They weren't very sure about the energetic child's ability to speak properly, but they were fairly certain that he could manage simple words that were easy enough for a boy his age to understand. In fact, Ichigo rarely spoke actual words that made sense aside from nonsensical babbling, but the Espada soon learned that most of his high-pitched yells and gurgles meant that he was happy. A frown or a scowl usually meant the opposite.
Ulquiorra watched as the boy rolled over and bit Grimmjow on the arm. "He is still quite young. Perhaps he is hungry at the moment."
"What do little children eat?" Grimmjow asked worriedly. "I didn't give him anything to eat since I found him."
He received a disapproving frown in return. "Are you sure you want him to live?"
Shrugging, Grimmjow hugged Ichigo close before he could roll off the bouncy mattress. "I just didn't think he would need to eat. He's a child in spirit form, isn't he? What does that make him – a Shinigami or a Human now?"
"I think," Ulquiorra suggested gently. "It's best if we consult someone who has had experience in this questionable field. Someone like Stark, or Szayel."
"Szayel I understand, but Stark?" Grimmjow winced as the boy grabbed a small fistful of his blue hair and yanked hard. "I hate this kid already."
"It's too late to back out now." Ulquiorra reminded him. "Stark has experience with young ones, in my opinion. Isn't Lilinette a child?"
"She's a girl." Grimmjow pointed out.
Another frown. "That is irrelevant."
"Yeah, but Lilinette doesn't look as young as this one does." Grimmjow bounced Ichigo in his lap, receiving a happy gurgle in return. "But it does make sense. Maybe Stark might be able to gauge how old this kid is."
"Then we must not waste any time. Let's find him."
x
"How long has he been missing?" Ishida pushed his steel-framed glasses up his nose.
Inoue clenched her hands in the folds of her long cotton skirt. "I can't tell for sure. I wasn't anywhere near Kurosaki when he was fighting."
"Yes, she was healing me." Chad said in his deep voice. "I was fighting two Menos at once. They seemingly just appeared out of nowhere. I figured Ichigo had it covered."
"Well, what about the other Shinigami? Rukia-san, or Abarai-kun; maybe they would know something." Ishida suggested, leaning back against the wall.
"We haven't contacted them yet." Chad murmured. "They went back to Seireitei for a while, but they promised to come back soon. It's quite possible that Ichigo went with them."
Inoue bit her bottom lip. "I guess so. It does sound plausible. But he usually informs us when he's leaving so we can cover for him . . ."
Ishida sighed and massaged his temples. "Kurosaki's just being silly if he left just like that. Well, if that's the case, Kon can take over for now."
The rest nodded in agreement, but all of them couldn't shake off the niggling feeling that trouble was brewing somehow.
x
Stark was trying to sleep, resting in his favorite spot on the rocks. The precipice of rock above shielded him from the glare of the afternoon sun, and the gentle breeze that blew in his direction was perfect for a much needed nap. The previous day's meeting and missions had sapped him of energy, and now his lassitude was beginning to kick in.
"Play with me!"
If only Lilinette would let him rest. Stark sighed and rolled over, placing his head on his arm. He was in no mood for her childish antics. She had pestered him no end yesterday about allowing her to tag along, and Stark had caved in under her persistent shrilling. He had managed to draw the line however, when she insisted on going down to a human children's school and playing tricks on them.
"Come on, Stark!"
"Later."
"But I'm bored right now!"
"Well, I'm exhausted right now."
"But that's what you always say!"
"Mmm."
"Stark!"
"Hmm?"
"Stark!" Lilinette's voice grew shriller.
Stark ignored her, choosing sleep over his other half.
"Hey! Stark!"
There was a tinge of panic laced in her tone. A spike of alarm jolted the Primera awake and he whirled upright, ready to protect his sole Fraccion. To his surprise, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stood, peering down at him from above.
"Ah, you're awake. Good." Grimmjow sounded relieved. "We kind of need some help."
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. "There is no 'we' in this, Grimmjow. It's just you."
Stark eyed the small human boy who was clinging to Grimmjow's legs. Lilinette was being held in Ulquiorra's vice-like grip, her boot-clad legs kicking and flailing above the sand.
"Would you mind giving her back to me?" Affably, Stark held out his hands. "Only she doesn't like being manhandled, and I don't like other men getting their mitts on her."
Gently, Ulquiorra lowered her into Stark's arms, where she wrapped her arms around his neck, inching closer for a cuddle. Stark obliged, soothing her by running his fingers through her soft hair.
"You have my apologies."
Stark graciously accepted Ulquiorra's contrition with a nod.
"Anyway," Grimmjow continued, slightly awkwardly – because Ichigo was trying to climb up his legs. "I wanted to ask you something."
Lilinette turned around and stuck her tongue out at Ulquiorra, who stared her down until she buried her face in Stark's chest again. Ichigo managed to tug down one side of Grimmjow's Espada pants, loosening the black belt around his waist with a sharp 'fwip' of fabric against fabric.
Amidst the hassle of pulling his pants back up, Grimmjow managed to extricate Ichigo from his shins and ask.
"Say, Stark . . . are you good with kids?"
The Primera regarded Grimmjow like he had grown two heads. "Ah, I see where this is going."
"What do you mean?"
"You want me to take over and care for the boy, don't you?"
Grimmjow gave Stark a sheepish smile. "Well, yes and no. It would be a good idea, now that you mention it."
"Well, my answer would be no."
"But you're good at playing with Lilinette!"
"Stop trying to flatter me."
"Your child has run away." Ulquiorra laid a hand on the Sexta Espada's shoulder.
Grimmjow whirled around in surprise, looking for a familiar orange haired boy. "He's not my – damn, where'd he go?"
"I am quite certain he ran to the left, and then stopped to pick up a rock before continuing to run away. When he ran behind those rocks, I lost sight of the boy."
Running his hands through his well-groomed blue hair, Grimmjow hissed through gritted teeth. "Why didn't you help catch him instead of just standing there and watching, bastard?"
"Well, I was wondering when you would notice, but I decided not to say anything until he vanished. He is after all, your responsibility. Perhaps it would have been better to keep a closer eye on the child."
Exasperated, frustrated and apprehensive all at once, Grimmjow gave a growl and sank down to his knees in the sand. "That damn kid just can't sit still for a few minutes."
"Well, he is a child." Stark concluded amicably. "He's young and can't really tell the difference between what's dangerous and what's not. It's up to you to teach him."
Ulquiorra nodded solemnly. "It's quite obvious that you aren't used to having children."
Grimmjow tore at his hair. "I only wanted to fight him; I didn't know it would take this long for him to grow!"
x
"Jeez, there you are." Grimmjow tried to mask the relief clearly showing on his face with an annoyed glare, but the tone of his voice gave him away. "I've been looking for you everywhere, kid!"
Ichigo gurgled up at him and held out both hands. Remembering what Stark had told him, Grimmjow spread out his arms and allowed Ichigo to stumble into him.
"Look." Ichigo said with a happy giggle. "Where, where, where!"
There was a slashing sound, and a loud howl of a Hollow as it died, its body evaporating in the hot desert air. Grimmjow turned around to see Ulquiorra sheathing his sword.
"You must be more alert." Emerald green eyes stared into cerulean ones. "The boy is becoming a distraction for you."
"I had it covered." Grimmjow waved a hand imperturbably. "Besides, I knew you would take it out."
"Then next time I won't." Ulquiorra said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Being careless is not a good thing."
"There won't be a next time," countered Grimmjow, grabbing Ichigo just in time before he managed to scurry into a small hole in the rock.
"You know, when Halibel predicted you'd be having a lot of trouble with the boy, I didn't believe her at first." Stark admitted, leaning against a slab of rock. "Now, I can actually see what she meant."
Grimmjow heaved an exasperated sigh. "Rub it in, why don't you? Give me time. All the kid needs to do is grow up a little more so we can finish our fight."
"Are you still hooked up on that?" Stark rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Here I was thinking you'd finally embraced your dormant fatherly instincts."
"I don't have anything like that." Grimmjow growled.
He winced as Ichigo clambered onto his back, using his ear as a grip.
"Anyway, there's got to be someone around here who knows what children like. Someone who can keep him occupied for a while, especially when I go on missions." Grimmjow caught Ulquiorra's eye and held out both hands. "Relax; I already talked this over with Aizen. He says I can do tasks, but I can't bring him along with me. So he's got to stay here with someone else while I'm gone."
x
"Oh, hello!" Szayel slipped out of a pink titanium pod as Grimmjow shuffled in, Ulquiorra and Stark following close behind. "To what do I owe this wonderful visit today?"
"I've got a few things to ask." Grimmjow muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets.
Ichigo peeked out from between his legs, curiously taking in the new environment around him. Szayel noticed him and smiled. He walked over and leaned down for a closer look.
"Hi there, I'm Szayel." He flashed the young boy a winning smile. "You look hungry. Would you like something special to eat?"
Ichigo looked up at Grimmjow for confirmation with innocent honey brown eyes. "Hungry."
"Yeah." Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair, feeling slightly awkward. "The kid hasn't eaten a thing since he came here. I don't know what human kids eat. Where am I supposed to get the food for him, anyway?"
Aghast, Szayel straightened up and looked to Ulquiorra and Stark for affirmation. "I'm amazed the boy hasn't already died under your care!"
"Sorry." Grimmjow wasn't sure if he was supposed to be apologizing or not, but the shocked tone of Szayel's voice sent shards of guilt piercing through him. "If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could let me know what he can or can't eat? I barely know a thing about human children, so . . ."
"That's fairly obvious." Szayel tucked a lock of pink hair behind one ear and awarded the Sexta with his best sneer. "You're one ambitious father in the making, but maybe I can change that for the better."
Grimmjow decided not to comment if he wanted Szayel's help. He was at a loss of how to deal with the child. Szayel gestured toward a few tall chairs next to his steel laboratory table. Ulquiorra was already seating himself on one of them, while Stark was dozing off on the table itself.
Ichigo struggled to climb up the chair, but it was too slippery for his small fingers to grasp. Grimmjow caught him and lifted him up onto the chair before he managed to topple it over himself.
"Here, you can have this." Szayel smiled as he handed Ichigo a round red ball on a white stick.
"What's that?" Grimmjow asked curiously, watching Ichigo stick the ball into his mouth. "Is it food?"
"It's human food." Szayel explained gently, taking out a small tin.
The contents rattled around inside. Grimmjow's curiosity was piqued.
"These are called lollipops. They're basically hard flavored candies on a stick. Human children seem to like them. I made four flavors; the red is strawberry, green is apple, purple is blackcurrant, and the blue is blueberry. Of course, this is simple to make – just add some sugar and coloring with a bit of corn syrup so it hardens quicker. Here, you can take some more back for the boy."
Grimmjow unconsciously picked the blue ones for Ichigo. Stark and Ulquiorra noticed, regarding each other with a knowing look.
"So human children survive off these? That's quite simple then." Grimmjow looked pleased. "So will he grow any faster after consuming these?"
Szayel gave him a patronizing stare. "No, that's not how it works. Humans eat a variety of food, which in most cases differ particularly with their native habitats. Providing the child with food he will like may prove to be a challenge, though. It's hard enough getting my concoctions to resemble human food at the moment."
"Are lollipops up his alley, then?"
"Don't be silly. They're a worldwide treat for children, and that's a known fact." Shaking his head in exasperation, Szayel snapped on some latex gloves and began heating a whitish colored liquid in a beaker. "You really do need to brush up on your human knowledge, Grimmjow. Perhaps it would do you good to read about them. It's a fairly interesting study, in my opinion. Humans are a wonderful species. We are, after all, designed to look somewhat like they do."
Ulquiorra sighed and rested his chin on one hand. "Would you be kind enough to provide us with a list of what children eat and drink? I am certain some sort of healthy diet will enable him to grow faster, especially the sort of foodstuffs that might supply him proper nourishment."
"And where would you find all that food here?" Szayel planted his hands on his hips. "You can't expect me to be making food for him all the time!"
"Then why don't we get Grimmjow to purchase the child his essential products from the Human Realm?" Ulquiorra suggested, giving Stark one of his gloomy stares as the Primera yawned into his shoulder. "Sleep on the table, Stark, not on me."
"That's a marvelous idea." Szayel rolled his eyes and waved both hands in the air. "We should find a place where Grimmjow can buy some paternal dignity too!"
"What do you do with that?" Grimmjow asked, confused.
Szayel released a loud yell of frustration that startled Ichigo off his seat. Ulquiorra caught him with a deft swoop of his arm. Ichigo gurgled gleefully before sinking his teeth into the Quarto Espada's arm, a sure sign of gratitude.
"I give up!" Szayel hissed, near frothing at the mouth. "Your ignorance is driving me insane, Grimmjow! I can't believe Aizen made you Sexta when it's dreadfully clear you lack the commonsense to raise a child!"
"If this is about ranking, then you should know who's stronger." Frowning, Grimmjow pointed at the bubbling liquid in the beaker behind Szayel. "That thing's burning over."
"What is it, anyway?" Stark was now awake due to Szayel's yell of aggravation.
The pink haired Espada inhaled a deep breath, calming himself down enough to answer. "Milk for the boy."
"Boys drink milk?" Grimmjow looked at Stark, who shrugged.
"Dunno. I don't think I've tried it."
"Hm." Ulquiorra said.
Szayel dropped into a chair and buried his face in his hands. "Someone kill me now."
x
Aizen leaned back in his high-backed chair. "So, what you're saying is, you're requesting a trip to the Human Realm in order to fulfill the child's needs?"
"We have become aware of certain provisions young children of this budding age require to enable their growth." Szayel shot a look of helplessness at Ulquiorra. "Of course, there should only be one or more Espada traversing the Human World in order not to unbalance the spiritual pressure already present."
Ulquiorra gave Szayel a bare perceptible nod before continuing where he had trailed off. "Yes, I fully agree with that, Aizen-sama."
"Don't children need women or something?" Nnoitra asked as he kicked back in his seat. "Like for some sorta thing, I don't know. You see all these ladies in the Human World just holding on to their kids' hands and stuff. Kinda makes you wonder why the males don't do that so much, huh?"
"I can't think of anyone who would be that touchy-feely. It just doesn't sit right." Grimmjow muttered, waving Ichigo's curious hands away as they neared his face. "Aside from this kid, of course."
Nnoitra grinned and reached out to prod at the little boy's side experimentally. Chuckling as Ichigo released a squeak of surprise; the Quinto Espada flicked him on the forehead.
Ichigo released a holler and dived for Grimmjow's arms, hitting him on the chin with his forehead in the process.
"What a brat." Nnoitra sneered. "I guess he suits someone like you, Grimmjow. Good choice."
Grimmjow waved Nnoitra's insult away like it was air. "Whatever. Sticks and stones, Nnoitra."
"Exactly." Aizen nodded benevolently from his throne at the end of the table. "Words are just words. There is no need to get into a physical argument stemmed from a verbal one. You have certainly changed a lot, Grimmjow. Perhaps it is the young boy's influence on your normally aggressive behavior . . . ?"
"I'm still aggressive; I just can't bring myself to hurt the kid." Grimmjow mumbled, embarrassed. "It just wouldn't be fair game is all. I'm not turning soft, no matter what Nnoitra suggests."
The Quinto Espada's sneer grew into an all-out leering. "Says the mushy sap occupying room number six. I hear you scolding the kid all the time. And then I can feel you caving in."
"What I do in my quarters is private!" Grimmjow snarled, thankful for the fact that he wasn't one to blush easily. "Anyway, I don't scold him, alright? I just try to explain what's right and wrong. And you shouldn't be eavesdropping or anything. But I guess that's entertaining to you; you don't have much else better to do anyway."
"Yeah, yelling seems to cover that for you." Nnoitra rolled his eyes. "I don't eavesdrop, fool. Our windows are pillars in the wall. How can I not hear anything when sound travels?"
"It's true." Zommari said in his usual quiet manner. "Sometimes I get awakened by the yells, and then I just move to Yammy's room."
Nnoitra blanched. "I don't even wanna think about the two of you together. Thanks for the visual."
Ulquiorra held up a hand. "If I may interrupt; those open pillars in Grimmjow's quarters should be barricaded. The boy is small enough to slip through the thin spaces between them, and goes to play in the sandy areas near the South buildings. It is fairly dangerous; should any lesser being pick up his scent and attempt to eat him."
Aizen nodded thoughtfully. "Very well then; I'll see to it that his pillars are barricaded. Any other reports?"
"Um, yes." Szayel riffled through his notes quickly. "The child needs something to eat besides my flavored lollipops. Well, that and liquids, but I seem to running out of powdered milk fairly quickly. The boy was very hungry earlier, and as a resort I made jelly to fill his stomach. He would have torn down my entire laboratory had I not distracted him with it. The child is destructive in rather creative ways, I must admit."
The last sentence came out as a sort of whimpering whine. Szayel did hold his lab as a prized possession. He practically lived in it, but on rare occasions came back to sleep in his own quarters whenever necessary – such as the exploding incident in the incubating section of his lab.
Aizen raised a questioning brow at Grimmjow, who shrugged and grabbed Ichigo by the arm before he made a dive for the glass pitcher of hot tea on the table.
"I suppose I can make several gigai for your Human World travelling. I trust you will remember the rules. All the same, if you don't, Ulquiorra will be the one to remind you."
While Nnoitra made a face, Ulquiorra nodded, the picture perfect model of obedience.
"The child is to stay here, however. I do not trust him with all of you in the world of the humans. Keeping a low profile with a child can be troublesome."
x
"Troublesome?" Grimmjow snarled, snatching the filter paper from Szayel's hands. "I don't trust Aizen with the boy is what's troublesome."
"Be careful with that! Paper tears easily." Szayel nagged, stepping out from behind him. "Well, I was right to make another copy, I suppose."
"You sound like an irate father, Grimmjow." Stark remarked, stretching his arms above his head. "Where is this place again?"
"Nishihara Town." Nnoitra read off a signboard nearby. "What happened to good ol' Karakura?"
"Aizen decided that a different town would be a far better option. Less distractions from Shinigami, and we would blend in far better without the Kurosaki boy's friends running all over the place." Ulquiorra cleared his throat. "And there wouldn't be anyone who would recognize us, even in our gigai."
"Perfect." Nnoitra's grin was contagious. "I see ladies in short skirts not too far off at seven o' clock."
Szayel pushed his glasses up his nose. "I can see that Nnoitra is already distracted."
"Enough. We shall proceed to do what we came here to do." Ulquiorra looked at the map of the town Aizen had provided them with. "Grocery shopping for the child, and then clothes shopping next."
Grimmjow stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed. "I don't get why a kid that small would need so much."
"He's a human, after all." Stark yawned and leaned against a convenient lamppost. "Humans are needy."
"It's beyond human ability to make the impossible possible, you know." Szayel gave Grimmjow a pat on the back. "That's why the boy really needs you."
Nodding, the Sexta ran a hand through his blue hair. "That's understandable."
"No. I don't understand at all." Nnoitra muttered, feeling the back of his neck with a light air of depression. "I don't get why my gigai doesn't come with a hood."
"It does." Ulquiorra lifted up the hood of his jacket for emphasis. "It just doesn't stand up by itself. That wouldn't look normal to human eyes."
The group of five entered a supermarket, which had been encircled in bright red marker – possibly a felt-tip pen, the ones Aizen loved using – and took in their surroundings. There were a lot of humans doing their shopping, but the market wasn't too crowded. It was brightly lit, clean, and had everything their roll of filter paper turned shopping list stated.
"Alright, it's time to split up." Ulquiorra grabbed Szayel and Nnoitra by the shoulders. "Both of you are in charge of finding the boy's food items."
Immediately, the Quinto and Octavo Espada raised protests, obviously objecting to their pairs. Ulquiorra decided it was wiser to ignore the arguing duo and turned to Stark and Grimmjow instead.
"Both of you will search for the boy's clothes. I will follow along to prevent any damages in the store. Keep in mind that this is the human realm and one slip of the tongue can make us 'weird' in the human vernacular."
Nnoitra hooked Szayel's arm with his own and bared his teeth in a challenging grin. "Fine, I'll work with Glasses over here. Grimmjow can go with you guys. See ya'll at the cashier."
He ran off with Szayel, who was in mid-protest. Stark turned to Grimmjow and received a look of blank indifference.
"Hey, has it ever occurred to you that Nnoitra prefers your company over others?" Stark began conversationally.
"Don't even go there." Grimmjow cut him off with a curt sentence. "Let's just get this over with before we wreck something unintentionally."
"I second that." Ulquiorra brought up the rear. "First things first. Do you know what size the boy is? We may need that piece of information for his clothes."
"Small." Stark speculated. "Extremely so."
x
"I don't get it!" Grimmjow snarled, tossing three small underwear of the same pattern at Ulquiorra. "They say S, M, and L. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Human things don't make sense."
"I think those are initials," said Stark. "You know, like for your name and such."
Ulquiorra shook his head. "I doubt it. If they really do stand for names, why aren't there any other letters?"
"This is confusing." Grimmjow snatched the underwear back and dumped them in the cart. "Maybe we should just get all three."
"That's a silly thing to do!" Stark retrieved them and hung them back on the rack. "The boy will only need one of each pattern, you see. Maybe we should call Szayel in for help."
A pregnant mother who was riffling through the racks nearby sauntered over with an obliging smile. Her small daughter stuck close to the folds of her skirt. "Do you boys need some help?"
"You talk to the human." Grimmjow said under his breath.
"No, you do it." Ulquiorra whispered back. "I refuse to engage into something as trivial as talking to that human lady."
"We're shopping for little boy clothes." Stark volunteered, stepping forward with the underwear in hand. "And we're not sure about the correct size for him."
"Clothes?" The woman frowned. "This is a supermarket, dear. Maybe you should try a children's clothing department. The mall isn't very far from here."
"It's in another place?" Grimmjow massaged his temples. "So much for convenience."
"Well, what are these, then?" Ulquiorra examined the underwear. "They are clothes with initials, aren't they?"
"No, no!" Smiling, the lady reached out and tapped on each of the underwear. "These are diapers for infants and toddlers. The letters S, M, and L indicate the sizes for your baby. The toddlers usually wear M and L. You can choose the kind that you want; for daytime and nighttime wear. The ones you are holding are just samples; they're not actually for sale."
"We just want clothes." Stark said with an apologetic smile. "Where can we find them? They need to be the right size, too."
The mother beamed. "How nice! Well, I think I may be able to help with that. Which one of you is the father, then?"
Ulquiorra pointed at Grimmjow, as did Stark. The Sexta grimaced and heaved a sigh. "Me, I suppose."
"My, don't you look young!" the woman laughed, patting him on the shoulder. Grimmjow tried not to bristle at the unfamiliar contact. "Well, there's a mall not to far off, just down the road from here. You can't miss it, dear."
"Do you think you could draw us a map?"
x
"What about this?" Nnoitra waved a round pale looking vegetable at Szayel. "I'm not sure what it is, but maybe the boy might like eating it."
"That's a cabbage. Put it back." Szayel ordered, checking his list for hints. "There are a lot of vegetables in here. I wonder if humans are really omnivores. I don't see any meat at all."
"Fresh greens section." Nnoitra read off the large sign over the coolers. "Maybe they're actually herbivores in this town."
Szayel contemplated choosing broccoli over bell peppers. "There are so many colors of these peppers."
"Is pepper nutritional?" Nnoitra alternated between sniffing at a green one and an orange one. "Will the boy grow faster with these?"
"I don't think so, at least not without the right diet." Szayel produced a slip of paper with a food triangle on it. "Here, check this out."
"What's a stupid diagram got to do with getting the boy the right food?" Nnoitra crushed the piece of paper up and tossed it into the vegetables. "Let's just get this over and done with so we can head back to the others."
Quickly retrieving the wadded ball of paper, Szayel managed to smack Nnoitra in the arm. "Don't litter, it's not right. You're lucky none of the humans around here saw that. We could get fined, and then we wouldn't have enough money to buy the child his food."
Grimmjow came running up to them, dragging Ulquiorra and Stark behind him. He was waving a piece of tissue frantically, but all that came out of his mouth was a faint wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. Szayel waited patiently, turning back to examine a row of cucumbers. Nnoitra snatched the tissue out of Grimmjow's hand, successfully ripping it with a quick flick.
"What the hell did you do that for, you bastard?" Grimmjow lunged at Nnoitra, who swatted his hands away from his throat. "That was our map to the mall!"
"What a mall?" Nnoitra asked over his shoulder, managing to hold Grimmjow's furious lunges off with his free hand. "Here's some soft paper."
"That's tissue." Szayel sighed. "And if it was a map to somewhere important, then I think you've just ruined it."
With a sheepish smile, Nnoitra turned back to face Ulquiorra's irritated glare and Grimmjow's livid face. "Would saying sorry help?"
Stark yawned, picking up a leek and tickling Grimmjow on the neck with it. "Okay, let's just pay for the boy's food and go find his clothes. Apparently humans have different shops for different things."
As Grimmjow swatted Stark's leek away, Szayel waved a hand airily. "We can leave as soon as I find the meat and milk."
x
Am I the only one who thinks Karakura Town is overused?
