"Take that!" Ichigo yelled, crushing two of the plastic toy cars Aizen had provided him with together. "And you're down!"

Grimmjow watched from the safety of his bed with curious indifference. He couldn't ever remember being this small. Thankfully, Ichigo was properly clothed now, despite the hell the Espada who were involved had to go through. At least he wasn't swathed in the remnants of his Shinigami robes, which had been incinerated by Aizen under the excuse of hygiene purposes. Grimmjow felt a little proud for being able to complete his mission under the unsuspecting noses of the humans.

There was a knock on the door, and Ulquiorra's reiatsu floated in before he opened it. Grimmjow pushed himself upright, steadfastly ignoring the exhausted feeling in his muscles.

"It is time for the child to sleep."

"Great." Lying back down, Grimmjow pulled the covers over himself. "He'll just run out of energy after playing and fall asleep. Don't worry about it. Switch off the light for me, will you?"

Ulquiorra crossed his arms over his chest. "You should not sleep before your child does. If he runs off again . . ."

Ichigo threw one of his cars at the Quarto Espada, hitting him in the stomach. "Bam, crash!"

"Good aim, kid!" Grimmjow gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. "See? Even the kid wants you to leave."

"Then you will be disappointed to know that I will not leave until he is asleep."

Massaging his temples, Grimmjow sank back down under his blanket. "But I'm tired from the mission today, and the kid barely did anything with Aizen. He's got a lot of energy left in him. I don't. Can you let me sleep in peace?"

"No."

"Will a candy stick help?" Grimmjow waved the tin Szayel had provided him with enticingly. "Here, take some and go."

"It will not help. Would you rather the boy die?" Ulquiorra took the tin and placed it back in Grimmjow's drawer. "I am here to watch you care for the boy, and then I will leave. I will not interfere."

A staring match began between the two Espada, with Ichigo's fighting yells punctuating the tense ambience. Grimmjow contemplated forcing Ulquiorra out his door, but the Quarto was definitely stronger despite his size. And the resulting effort would only be damage done to his own quarters, as well as part of the building Aizen had carefully constructed. No telling what his punishment would be after that.

With a sigh of defeat, Grimmjow got to his feet and dragged his way across the room to the child, who was rolling his toy car on the marble floor, making revving sounds to accompany it.

"Okay, time to sleep." He snapped his fingers in front of Ichigo's face. "Now."

"No!" Ichigo yelled, hitting him on the shin with his fist. "I'm not tired yet!"

"Well, I am." Grimmjow rubbed at his shin with forced patience. "I'm switching off the lights soon. Go lie down on your couch."

He was faced with a petulant pout and an defiant frown. "I don't wanna!"

"Just do it! You'll fall asleep eventually!"

"No way!"

"Well, why not?"

"I'm not tired!"

"Just pretend that you are!"

"What's the point in that, dummy?"

"What did you just call me?"

"Nnoitra said I could!"

"Don't listen to that ass!"

"I don't wanna sleep yet!"

Ulquiorra leaned back against the doorway, watching the squabbling scene between Grimmjow and his adoptive child bat back and forth. When he decided that he'd had enough, he strode forward and took the toy car away from the boy.

"Stop it." Green eyes bore a hole through Ichigo's petulant barrier. "This is not the time for childish tricks. Go to bed, or you won't grow any bigger."

The effect was instantaneous. Ichigo dropped his defiant look and walked over to the couch, where he proceeded to climb over and flop onto the soft cushions with a huff. Ulquiorra reached over and pulled the newly bought blanket – courtesy of Szayel, who always thought ahead – over the little boy. Grimmjow's mouth hung open as he gaped. The Quarto even had powers over the monster in little Ichigo.

"Sleep now." Ulquiorra commanded before clicking off the lights.

Ichigo buried his face into the cushion he was lying on and yawned.

x

Grimmjow awoke when something small nosed into his side. It wasn't a pillow; it was warm and soft. Blinking his eyes open, the Sexta squinted into the darkness of his bedroom to make out an Ichigo-sized shape buried close to his chest. He frowned at the sight, a dozen possibilities mixed with confusion running through his drowsy mind. He finally concluded that the boy had crawled into his bed to snuggle up beside him – almost like a little cat – and had been there for a while now. The rumpled bed sheet on the little boy's end was proof enough. Grimmjow wondered why little Ichigo had bothered to stuff a few cushions under the blanket on his makeshift bed on the couch. Maybe it was one of those little human things he could never fully understand.

Oh well. He supposed he could ask Szayel or Ulquiorra about this strange trait of the boy later on.

The second time he awoke, there was bright sunlight streaming in through the pillared windows – though barricaded with a strange sort of wire netting by Aizen, they still let the light in pretty well – and onto his face. Grimmjow mumbled an idea about getting curtains when something leaped onto his stomach, effectively winding him for a few minutes while he rolled from side to side on the bed in wordless agony.

"Wake up!" Ichigo's childish voice was an octave below the word loud, but still shrill enough to send a painful throb through Grimmjow's head. "Up, uppity up!"

"I'm up." The Sexta managed to wheeze out as he clutched his stomach and head while simultaneously thinking up ways to avoid staying around the bright haired boy for too long.

"Really?" Ichigo chorused. "Really really really you've waked up?"

"Really, really." Grimmjow replied, sliding himself off the bed. "And it's 'woke up', alright? Didn't you learn that in school?"

"School!" Ichigo hollered, fumbling with the zipper on his shorts. "I'm too small."

"Well, you used to be big." Grimmjow waved a hand in his general direction. "Anyway, don't take those clothes off. I'm not sure if I know how to put the new set we got yesterday on you. I had help yesterday too, so . . ."

In a wave of mischievousness, Ichigo tried to climb onto the white chair at Grimmjow's desk and ended up tumbling back onto the carpet, the chair on top of him. Almost immediately, fat tears began rolling down his cheeks. A few seconds later, the tears were accompanied by loud wails.

"Shit!" Grimmjow dropped the blanket he was trying to fold and knelt at Ichigo's side. "Ah, I didn't know chairs were dangerous for kids."

Ichigo's bawling grew louder – if possible – and Grimmjow tried to placate him by waving a lollipop in his face.

"Here, everything's alright, okay? The chair's not broken or anything, so I won't get mad." Grimmjow watched as Ichigo hiccupped and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air – probably before he continued wailing. "Look, a lollipop!"

" – hurts." Ichigo murmured, clutching at his left rib. "Hurts a lot."

Realization dawned on Grimmjow as the small boy continued sobbing – quieter now, to his relief. The top of the chair had probably fell on him as he'd tried to climb onto it, and thumped him hard on the ribs. The Sexta sighed. The boy was too troublesome for his own good. Still, he was Grimmjow's responsibility.

Grimmjow picked Ichigo up with one fluid movement and carried him into the bathroom. He rummaged around in the small cabinet next to his wide mirror for the first-aid kit. Szayel had at least taught him how to use some of the items in the box, even if he was still pretty confused about what they really did. It was just one of those human things he had to get used to.

"It looks like a bruise." Grimmjow lifted Ichigo's shirt up and gently pressed at a reddened patch on his skin. "Well, don't worry too much about it. The pain will go away quicker than it came."

He wondered if Ichigo understood him; he was still crying. There was a thin trail of snot running down from his nose to his chin, where it dribbled down onto his dark blue sailor shirt and shorts. The little boy made no move to eat the plastic wrapped lollipop in his hand, either. The bruise must hurt a lot if he looked so down.

Plucking a small bottle labeled 'Ointment for Aches and Pains – for external uses only. 'DO NOT TRY TO SWALLOW THIS' written in Szayel's neat, slightly curly handwriting; purposefully in bold lettering for the residents he liked to call semi-idiots in Las Noches. Grimmjow unscrewed the cap and sniffed at the opening. He wished he hadn't. A strong, heady smell of chemicals invaded his nostrils, sending him reeling back into the bathroom wall, where he sneezed repeatedly before thinking about re-screwing the cap on.

"Ugh!" He waved a hand in the air before his nose, trying to get rid of the smell. "Who in their right mind would even think about consuming something like this?"

Perched on the white porcelain sink, Ichigo watched him make disgusted faces with a curious stare, then began to giggle.

"You think it's funny, do you?" Grimmjow growled, but his tone held none of the anger those words were meant to hold. He shot a grin at the laughing child and reached for a cotton swab from the box. "Hold your shirt up while I rub this on."

Ichigo obeyed him instantly, tugging up his shirt and peeking over his hands at his own bruise. The sound of the bedroom door swinging open caught Grimmjow's attention. Nnoitra, Szayel and Ulquiorra sauntered in, with Stark yawning not too far behind. They clustered around the bathroom door, peering in curiously as their gazes shifted between Ichigo's tear-stained cheeks and the cotton swab in Grimmjow's hands.

"What's going on here?" Szayel demanded to know, aiming a suspicious stare at Grimmjow. "Did you hurt the boy just now?"

"Don't you guys knock?" Grimmjow ignored Szayel's burning question and gently rubbed the ointment on Ichigo's reddened skin.

"Nah, it's just easier to pop in and surprise other people." Nnoitra replied in a singsong voice as he leaned against the bathroom wall. "So, you hurt the kid, and it's only morning. What else are you gonna pull for the rest of the day?"

"Shut it."

"Make me."

Wisely, Grimmjow said nothing and breezed past Nnoitra to replace the first-aid box in his bathroom cabinet. Indifferent, Stark continued yawning into Ulquiorra's hair.

"Is the boy really hurt? What actually happened?" Szayel stepped closer and gently tilted Ichigo's chin with a smile. "Did you give him a lollipop?"

"Yeah. He toppled a chair and it dropped on him. Hit him on the ribs but I think he'll be okay. And yes." Grimmjow answered all three of the pink haired Espada's questions in order before lifting Ichigo into his arms. "Maybe he'll feel better with another lollipop though."

Szayel shook his head and waggled a finger. "No, don't try to over-feed him. It's a well-known fact that sugar makes children hyper, and you can barely control his enthusiastic nature as he is now."

"It was his enthusiastic nature that got him hurt in the first place." Grimmjow muttered, massaging the back of his neck.

Nnoitra leered at him. "Then why don't you just throw him somewhere? You'll be doing both him and yourself a favor."

"Shut up already." Grimmjow poked him in the chest. "Nothing good is gonna happen if I do that. What if he gets eaten by some Hollow out there? My chances of fighting him when he's strong again would be zilch!"

"It's not like you can even fight him now." Nnoitra edged away as Ichigo raised both hands to him. "Don't touch me, kid."

"Whatever."

Grimmjow turned to Szayel, who was busy cooing over the extreme adorability of his – possibly – new specimen from the Human World, Ichigo. He had a few questions that he doubted would garner much sense from the pink haired mad scientist, but Grimmjow didn't know who else to ask.

"He's been acting a little weird, especially last night." Leaning close to the bright haired boy, the Sexta allowed Ichigo to pat his abdominal muscles while he flexed. "He was supposed to sleep on the couch, right? So after I put him to bed, he came and snuggled right up to me."

"Well, it's possible he was cold, lonely, frightened, unused to this new place, or generally just sees you as a good source of protection. I'm going with the last one." Szayel said as he counted off his fingers. "See, human children need some sort of comfort, and that would be their parents. That would make you his parent, since you've decided to slip into the role under the lamest excuse of keeping him until he grows up."

Ulquiorra shook his head, watching Ichigo gloomily. "You are wrong there. I was the one who put him to bed."

Nnoitra waved a hand airily. "Yeah, so what does that mean? Are we all vying to become this kid's guardian or something?"

"Well, he is a new . . . addition to our usual family." Stark stroked the stubble on his chin. "We're all curious about him."

Ichigo clutched Grimmjow's jacket and buried his face in Grimmjow's chest, making cute little sniffly sounds. "You smell nice."

Grimmjow tried to move away. "Stop that."

Nnoitra was the first to shuffle out, dragging a protesting Szayel along behind him. "Yeah, I'm not gonna stick around and see where that goes."

"W – What do you mean?" Grimmjow tried to prize Ichigo off him. "Hey! Where are you guys going?"

x

"Let's see . . . what do human kids like to do?" Grimmjow asked Stark, who was busy trying to take a nap on his favorite spot half-under a rock and the warm rays of sunshine.

"Ask Lilinette." Stark muttered as he turned over, deciding his liked the inviting coolness of the rock than the sun.

Grimmjow looked over to Stark's other half. She was playing with sand, Wonderweiss tagging at her heels as she kicked up small mounds of dust randomly. Ichigo was trying to do the same, but only managed to kick up some sand into his eyes. With a wail, he turned back to Grimmjow and rubbed his face on the Sexta's pants leg.

". . . Kids sure are a handful." Grimmjow muttered back, watching Ichigo claw at his clothing in distress. "Come on, kid. Let's go wash that sand out of your eyes."

Lifting him up and heading back in the direction of Aizen's buildings, Grimmjow brushed the sand from Ichigo's face and hair. The small boy blinked slightly reddened eyes at him and beamed. Grimmjow wasn't sure what to do, but instinct told him to smile back. Ichigo giggled and reached up to touch his bone mask. Grimmjow wondered when the child's curiosity would ever stop. He supposed being young made almost everything a mystery to some. They reached a marble fountain spewing gentle trickles of water into a wide circular bowl. Leaning down, the Sexta splashed some water onto Ichigo's face, surprising the young one. Ichigo gurgled and laughed, clearly enjoying this new experience. Grimmjow held his chin steady and allowed him to slap at the water surface. They stayed that way until Ulquiorra came to find them.

"I have a message from Aizen-sama."

Grimmjow ran a damp hand through his blue hair. "Spit it out."

"We are to scope out Karakura town for more information on the boy's human friends. There are three of them altogether. Neither are Shinigami, but one is known to have Quincy blood in him. The other two still have yet to be determined."

"Huh." Grimmjow winced as Ichigo splashed the water a little too hard, sending a small wave into his face. "What else?"

Ulquiorra stepped closer. "We leave right after I gather the others. You are not to bring the boy."

"What?" Grimmjow asked, surprised. "Where should I put him, then?"

"In your quarters for safekeeping, of course. If you keep the door closed, the child will be unable to escape. The window pillars have been barricaded, and there is a bathroom should he have any needs. If there are any problems, I will deal with him when we get back."

The Sexta knew he didn't have the strength to argue back. It would be a losing argument, anyway. Ulquiorra always meant what he said, and did what he said he would. Grimmjow reluctantly shifted Ichigo in his arms and moved away from the fountain.

"Meet me and the others at the main entrance."

Ichigo turned big, honey brown eyes up at Grimmjow curiously, his small chubby fingers fisting the fabric of his white Espada jacket. When Grimmjow stared back, the boy broke out into a smile.

"Where are we going next?"

"To my room, so you can play." Grimmjow replied, walking briskly back to the Espada wing.

He reached his destination in no time, and set the boy down on his bed. Kneeling down to retrieve the carelessly strewn toys, Grimmjow placed them on the bed beside Ichigo, who was swinging his legs as he watched the Sexta.

"Are you going to play with me?"

"I can't." Grimmjow answered truthfully. "I need to leave right now."

Ichigo's eyes widened comically. "Can I come?"

Amused, Grimmjow shook his head. Deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to crush the child's hopes so quickly, he came up with a vague reply. "No, not today. Next time for sure, alright?"

Ichigo nodded slowly, as if trying to process what he said. Grimmjow gave him a light pat on the head and reached into his drawer for the tin of candy Szayel had given him for the boy. He chose a round purple one and handed it to Ichigo. The boy made no move to take it. He merely sat on the bed with his head down, small hands clenching the white bedspread as if his life depended on it. Unsure of what to make of this strange reaction, Grimmjow ran through a dozen possibilities inwardly. Perhaps the boy was not hungry, or maybe he didn't like the color of the candy. Still, he should learn to accept what he was given. The Sexta reached out and pulled Ichigo's hand from the sheets, placing the lollipop in his pink fist before giving his hand a light squeeze.

"There. That should keep you happy for a while." Grimmjow pushed the drawer shut and stood up. He mulled over what he'd heard some parents say to their children when they were dropping them off outside a school. "Be a good boy, now."

There was no response. Ichigo just stared up at him; candy in hand, sheets in the other. He looked pensive, and Grimmjow was tempted to run and call Szayel for help. Nevertheless, he still resented being called a useless, unfit guardian for the child – not that he was trying to be one, it just irked him to know that the others saw him that way – and decided to let it slide. Ichigo wasn't going to go anywhere, anyway. He would still be here when Grimmjow came back.

"I'm leaving. See you later, kid."

The door closed on soulful brown eyes as Ichigo remained on the bed, looking for all the world like the misfit he really was.

x

"Stop right there, Arrancar!" yelled a spindly looking glasses wearing teenager.

Grimmjow slowed to a halt and sneered at the boy over Nnoitra's tall shoulder. His sneer might have gotten through if it hadn't been for Nnoitra's leering. Ulquiorra stood a few feet away, regarding the bespectacled teenager with his usual gloomy face.

"Are you the Quincy, Ishida Uryuu?"

At Ulquiorra's question, the teenager looked at them in surprise. It took him almost a full minute to straighten up and adjust his glasses. He lowered the bluish white arrow to his side, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the Espada.

"So what if I am?"

"Is Kurosaki Ichigo your comrade?" Ulquiorra remained stoic despite the glare of hatred burning in his direction.

Ishida chuckled mirthlessly. "I prefer the term acquaintance."

Nnoitra tapped the hilt of Santa Teresa on his shoulder, leaning back to whisper to Grimmjow. "This kid is so cocky; I wanna beat the shit outta him right now."

"Less talk, more action." Grimmjow whispered back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm getting bored of this surveying shit already. I wanna do something good, like fighting."

"We did not come here to fight; we came here to investigate." Ulquiorra said coldly, flicking his gaze back at his fellow Espada. "And you will follow orders or face the consequences."

"Fine, whatever. Just get on with it already!" Nnoitra waggled his fingers, irritated. "I wanna get home as soon as possible."

"I'm not going to make it easy for you, then." Ishida raised his bow and fired a volley of spirit particle-filled arrows at them in a flash. "Take this!"

As they leaped out of the way, Ulquiorra commanded. "Do not attack. We will now commence a search for the other two."

"Tch, no need." Nnoitra muttered, jerking his head in the direction of the conveniently deserted town street below them.

"Ishida-kun!" a feminine voice called up, the tone laced with shock and worry. "Ishida-kun!"

"Hey, it's that Inoue human." Grimmjow noted, recalling the times he had fought with Ichigo when he was still a teenager. "The one with the healing power or something."

Ishida turned to glare at him. "How did you know that?"

Nnoitra raised Santa Teresa, slapping away a barrage of blue arrows like it was a swarm of annoying insects. "What's the matter, pansy boy? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

The teenager flushed a deep red, gripping his bow angrily. "S – Shut up!"

"Whoops, did I hit a nerve?" Nnoitra cackled gleefully, openly enjoying the teasing.

"If you were in high school, you'd definitely be a bully." Ishida aimed his bow in Nnoitra's direction. He wore a determined, cold smile, not unlike the one Szayel usually wore. "Too bad for you, Arrancar. I don't take bullies lightly."

Grimmjow shuffled out of the way, walking in mid-air to shake Ulquiorra's shoulder. "Come on. We've identified two of them. Where's the third one?"

Ulquiorra responded with a one shoulder shrug. "I believe he will come out of hiding soon."

"You mean Chad?" Ishida smirked, watching them knowingly. "Don't bother. He went to get the rest of the Shinigami. Stick around and they'll hand you your ass on a silver platter – oh wait, if I don't do it soon."

Nnoitra chuckled. "I like the sound of that, glasses boy. C'mere and show me what else you've got under those girly sleeves."

"This is my Quincy uniform, you dolt!" Ishida straightened his steel-rimmed glasses with the most dignity he could muster. "It's not girly."

Ulquiorra nodded at Grimmjow and Nnoitra. "We leave now. I have pinpointed their exact locations. Karakura High School is the one they usually gather at. The Kurosaki boy should have been more careful at concealing his whereabouts if he had no intentions of being traced."

Ishida held out his bow and fired a small volley of arrows to stall the enemy as long as he could. "Stop! You mentioned Kurosaki! Where is he?"

"Shouldn't you keep better tabs on your acquaintances?" Nnoitra jeered, laughing at the irritated look on the bespectacled teenager's face. "See ya around, glasses boy."

Ulquiorra opened a Gargantuan and ushered the other two Espada inside it. He fended off the blue and white arrows with a flick of his arm. Ishida rushed after them, knowing it would be dangerous, but he was desperate for any clues on Kurosaki. On the street below, Orihime was trying to follow them as well, struggling to run in her long patterned skirt and sandals. The Gargantuan closed rapidly on the surprised faces of the Shinigami, who had just arrived.

x

Small feet pattered on the pebbled pathway, and Ichigo flung himself into Grimmjow's arms, knocking the Sexta back a few inches from the force. Grimmjow let out a surprised laugh and lifted Ichigo up to look at him closely. The bright, young face beamed down at him and little fists clutched at his upper arms for balance.

"Welcome home!" Ichigo giggled, kicking his feet as Grimmjow raised him higher in the air.

It took Grimmjow a few seconds to notice his feet were bare. "What happened to your boots, kid?"

Ichigo laughed some more and shrugged. Sighing, Grimmjow balanced him on one hip and turned to Ulquiorra and Nnoitra. With a barely perceptive nod, Ulquiorra led the way into the main building toward the meeting room, where the next conference was to commence. As they filed their way through the door, Grimmjow duly noted the last empty space was next to Stark.

Perfect.

He dumped Ichigo – gently, of course – in the Primera's lap and sank down into his seat. To his right, Halibel watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"The child is too much trouble for you, I presume."

Grimmjow wanted to tell her to shut up, but swallowed his words when Stark gave him a nudge. Ichigo had successfully spilled the pitcher of tea onto the table, and the flood of liquid spread out over the flat marble surface to drip down the sides. There was a stunned silence, and Aizen turned to smile coldly at Grimmjow.

"Kindly remove your child from our meeting room."

Knowing full well that it wouldn't make any difference to attempt an argument, Grimmjow obediently stood up and carted a struggling, squealing Ichigo out of the room. Aizen continued only when Grimmjow sauntered back into the room.

"I would like to hear the report on the Karakura mission, Ulquiorra."

"Yes, Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra proceeded to launch into a brief summary on what had happened in the Human town, and gave detailed descriptions on the two humans they had encountered while on their mission.

Upon hearing the report, Aizen nodded at Gin to refill his tea cup. He watched quietly as the green liquid bubbled up to the brim before taking a sip. With his heightened sense of hearing, Grimmjow could hear Ichigo's bare feet scuffling on the stone and marble outside the meeting room. A strange sense of concern filtered through him, and he fidgeted in his seat. Stark shot him a warning look, and Grimmjow inhaled a deep breath to calm himself down. He would just have to wait for the – usually pointless – meeting to be over before he could see his mischievous little ward.

Aizen was saying something when Grimmjow finally deigned to pay attention.

"It looks like the Shinigami already caught on about the Kurosaki child. Still, there's no immediate danger as of yet, but let's not take things for granted." The phony smile didn't reach Aizen's brown eyes as he spoke. "No doubt Soul Society will order several Shinigami – groups, even – to be one the lookout for any clues regarding the Shinigami substitute under Grimmjow's care."

The Sexta pointedly stared at his tea when all eyeballs swiveled his way, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him. He half-regretted his decision on keeping the child, and was half-proud of himself for surviving the first few days with little Ichigo. Nevertheless, the other Espada probably saw him as a weakling and held the child in high disdain. He was still a human, after all.

"What do you propose we do, Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra asked respectfully. "Should the boy be found by the Shinigami, we would lose our footing in the strategic planning you have worked so hard on."

"We'll just have to keep him out of their sight, then." Grimmjow muttered in a low tone. "It's not like I'm gonna just hand him over like some peace offering. He's mine to fight."

"You just want a pet." Yammy voiced out, knocking knuckles with Nnoitra, who leaned across the table with a triumphant leer.

Aizen tapped the table for order, still applying his smile like a cosmetic. "Enough. All of you will be on a stakeout in Karakura town itself tomorrow. The child is to be brought along to alert the Shinigami of his current status. The boy is not to be put in the line of danger; not one hair on his head is to be harmed. I want full cooperation; no slip ups like the last few times. Ulquiorra will be in command – my rules are his rules through my orders. Understood?"

A chorus of agreement sounded around the table. Grimmjow gave a noncommittal grunt in response. He turned to his left slightly, giving Stark a wary look.

Things were about to get sticky.

x

Sticky like chocolate, which is my favorite food.