Thank-Yous: iLummieDemCookiez/Hollow Ichigo-Ichigo/Junichiblue/Confusion No Hime/DevilishBea/Mayuzu
Omg! I had a lot of reviews for those two chapters! I'm so happy, that I could cry *tears up* I thank everyone who favorited, alerted, or reviewed.
Cats have nine lives.
Nine Lives
By Curiosity Killed Kristy
[Chapter 3: His Next Life]
Grimmjow roamed his eyes above and below him, taking note of the clouds and buildings. Having made the conclusion of where he was, he began to analyze his body with skepticism; as if he did not and could not comprehend how he had been resuscitated from his oncoming death. He flexed his fingertips; touched the shape of his chest and felt the familiar long gash. He cracked his knuckles, liking how loud and prominent it was. He raised a palm, and cocked it outwards, a crimson orb swirling in the middle. A red beam shot off as it whizzed by the group clustered in front of him.
Everyone ducked for cover as the light passed by and exploded through the buildings behind them. Shop owners and confused household members exited their homes, searching for the source that caused the havoc. "This is great!" He extended his arm to his side, enveloping his fingers around thin air. When he felt no hilt in his hand, the vigorous smile he wore disappeared, his excitement replaced with anger.
"Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo whipped his head behind him.
"Inoue! Chad! Ishida! Get out of here!" Before they could comply, a powerful pressure weighed down on their shoulders. Orihime, Chad, Ishida, as well as Ururu and Jinta had fallen to their knees from the incredible force. Ichigo stared at Grimmjow with wide, honey-nut irises. Wind whipped at the man's tresses, haori and hakama, a bluish glow surrounding his figure. The furious Espada clenched his fingers, balling them into taut fists.
"Where is it?" he seethed, his rage flowing in waves. Ichigo knew what the arrancar wanted- his zanpaktou. Abruptly, he felt something cold touch his fingertips. Urahara was tucking the Tamishi Sutabiraiza in his hands. He nodded in understanding, and met eyes with Grimmjow.
Digging through his left pocket, he fished out his Substitute Shinigami badge, and thumped it onto his breast. His spirit separated from his body, crashing onto the sandy ground as he fiddled for his zanpaktou.
Grimmjow's eyebrows rose. After the initial shock wore off, that same feral grin reappeared. "Hmph, I didn't expect to see ya so soon, Shinigami."
Ichigo positioned the balls of his feet coordinately underneath his weight, gripping the sword tighter to ready himself. "I didn't intend for you to." Ichigo observed him with narrowed eyes, watching keenly.
"You wanna fight? Che, I can beat you even without a zanpaktou." Grimmjow crouched on his haunches, readying himself for a spring at the shinigami, a malevolent smirk stretching the plains of his unmarred face.
"You seem to be forgetting, Grimmjow. The last time I checked, you were the one who was desperate to win the fight that I had already won." The sixth Espada growled, his brows pointing downwards in an uninviting scowl.
"Shut the hell up!" The arrancar dashed forward with frightening velocity, Ichigo barely able to dodge the oncoming attack. He shunpoed to his right, Grimmjow's deadly descent to the ground creating a crater. Ichigo fell onto his knees, as he scurried to stand. Before he had time to recover from his fall, Grimmjow sonidoed to his spot. A fist clashed into his jaw, as he flew with mighty speed. His back collided with a sturdy brick building, many yards away from the Urahara Shoten.
He shakily stood to his feet, the taste of blood heavy in his mouth, and gashing down the side of his temple. He exhaled a fiery breath, even inhaling or exhaling enough to make him strain. As he tried to gather his wits, his instincts warned him of a looming assault near his periphery. With panic in his chest, he pushed on his foot and flew with lightning speed towards the sky. The cero directed towards him had nicked his elbow and half of his upper arm to his shoulder.
He hissed at the pain, trying with all his might to ignore the throbbing. His left arm wasn't functioning correctly, and could scarcely lift the bracelet. He grasped at his arm, biting his lip at the aching sensation. "What'sa matter, Shinigami? You seem to have gotten weaker. Why don't'cha whip up that hollow mask you used so much?" Grimmjow stood in front of him with a victorious grin, a mocking glare in his eyes. "Or is it because you're too chicken to fight me?" Ichigo frowned at the implication, but instead of retorting, he raised his zanpaktou, a scornful leer etched on his lips.
"No. You're not worth it."
Grimmjow lost his smile, as he growled. He crouched, igniting another scarlet cero in his palm.
"You wanna test that… Soul Reaper?"
XLXLXL
While the two fighters sparred above their heads, Orihime tended to the wounded. Ikkaku was underneath her orange globe of luminescence, twitching every now and then. The scratches and cuts he received on his hairless head and the rips in his clothing began to mend itself. Orihime focused on the spiritual energy around the 3rd seat.
Yumichika was seated beside her, watching his best friend intently. "The attack was brief… Ikkaku and I had no idea that that arrancar would be that strong." The 5th seat's voice was ominous, his fists retracting tighter than was before. Orihime eyed him with grief in her silvery irises, the corners of her lips pointing downwards. "I can't imagine what he'd be like with his zanpaktou." Inoue raised her eyes upwards, seeing Ichigo breathing with labored breaths, the Espada wearing a strong scowl on his features. Kurosaki-kun, please be careful.
"Urahara, Ichigo is-" Chad began, but was halted by the blonde man's raised hand.
"Chad-san, I know what you want to say. But, you must consider his feelings. This is an enemy he has encountered and beaten before." Chad heard the man's words as clear as crystal, but still felt uneasy. Instead, he just nodded with an "Mmph," and brought his eyes skywards, fiddling with his abuelo's necklace.
XLXLXL
Grimmjow was, indeed, fast. He was swinging jabs and punches at him, ones he continually dodged, but that wasn't what he was aiming for. He had to have the man at his highest point of anger, and though he knew that his plan was outrageous, he knew that it would absolutely work as long as he used Getsuga Tensho and his hollow mask at the exact moment. He tightened his hold on Zangetsu. "What's up, Grimmjow? Your punches have gotten weaker. Are you afraid I'll call out my hollow mask, and I'll win again?"
"I told you to shut the hell up!" Grimmjow lunged at him with blinking speed and force, but instead of hitting the target he aimed for, Ichigo caught his fist. Ichigo stared into deep, cerulean irises.
"You already said that. Are your comebacks getting weaker, too?" The sixth Espada quickly withdrew from him, glaring with immense heat. "Why'd you back away, Grimmjow? In Hueco Mundo, you used your other arm to shoot a cero at me when I caught your fist. Were you always a coward?"
"Grr! If you won't shut up, I'll close your mouth for ya!" The cero formed in the Espada's hand within seconds, his anger fueling his assault's damage. The onlookers below them could only distinguish a cloud of smoke engulfing the sky in one patch, no shape or color but grey.
Ever so slowly, the wind brushed the smolders like fine hairs aside.
Ichigo's zanpaktou lay limp in his arm, his hand clasped around Grimmjow's wrist. A bracelet dangled on the man's wrist, as Ichigo retreated.
A turquoise outer skin outlined his body's shape, expanding like an inflating balloon and breaking into a million, tiny pieces. Before Grimmjow fell, Ichigo caught him by the wrist as he lowered them both to the Urahara Shoten grounds.
When they landed, Grimmjow plummeted to his knees, his chest heaving, and his hair in disarray. "W-what the hell did you do to me?" Grimmjow gazed at his trembling fingers, noticing the jangling bracelet around his wrist. Immediately, he attempted to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge. Instead he felt a massive force pound in the middle of his chest. Ichigo looked at him with disconcertion.
Grimmjow had attacked with a cero up close, and yet the boy had been able to come out unscathed by it. Ichigo hadn't dodged, but rammed into the cero with an upraised sword and a battle cry of "Getsuga Tensho!" He remembered that an elaborate mask had concealed the shinigami's face. Before he could react, warm fingertips had enveloped his wrist and along with it a bracelet.
"That is the Tamishi Sutabiraiza," Urahara informed, stepping forth and breaking him out of his recollection of events. Grimmjow only blinked up at him with furrowed brows, as Urahara snapped his fan apart and waved it beneath his nose. "When clasped around an individual's wrist or ankle, it hinders the utilization of one's own spiritual use. Therefore, you are merely a soul with the appearance of an evolved hollow."
Hearing the news himself, Grimmjow felt a tug of horror in his left pectoral, as he again tried to rip the chain that was binding him to this mundane function. That same pressure bolted in the middle of his chest, this time much more evident and painful, as he cowered on the ground from the shock.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What's happening to him?"
Urahara halted his fanning, and flipped the fan close. "Not only does the Soul Stabilizer compress a being's reiatsu, but it also merges with it. Every time the captive attempts to escape the bracelet that binds them to the locker, they are fiddling with their spiritual pressure. Basically, it's like pulling at an organ." Ichigo's eyebrows rose. He shifted his gaze back to the heaving arrancar, feeling apology rising at the back of his throat.
"Espada, why don't you join me for a cup of tea? I'm sure you have questions. I'll explain inside, if you promise to calm down." A hand was extended, offering help, but he merely brushed the hand aside with a "Che," and stood to his feet unsteadily. "Excellent. Tessai-san, can you brew us another round of green tea?"
XLXLXL
Every member seated themselves around the low table. Shoji doors were left apart a crack, Ururu and Jinta listening intently, waiting for a sound to be uttered besides the shuffling of Tessai's feet. Ishida and Chad didn't spare a glance at the Espada, while Orihime did the complete opposite.
Yoruichi had her arms crossed, matching that of Rukia's pose and scowl, eyeing the arrancar wearily for any threatening movements while Urahara remained nonchalant.
Ichigo resided in a different room, resting from his intense battle, bandages and gauze covering almost every inch of his wrecked body.
Once Urahara took a sip from his tea, he set it back down with a contented sigh. "So, what is your name, Espada?" he'd asked rather cheerfully.
Every person around the table eyed him with anticipation, as he sighed from the unwanted attention and scratched the back of his unruly hair. "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques."
"Ah, okay, then. Would it be all right if I called you Grimm-kun for short?" Urahara cooed with his good-natured smile.
"No."
"Oh, come now, Grimm-kun! No need to be so serious!" Urahara waved his fan dismissively, as Grimmjow's eyebrow ticked.
"Look, quit with the introductory bullshit. I know you didn't bring me here for chit-chat, so just tell me what the hell I'm here for." Urahara's excited glow lowered; his aura was staid. His hat blanketed his eyes, as he fanned at the lower portion of his face.
"The 12th squad captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, scavenged you from Las Noches and brought you to Soul Society so you could be his test subject." Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the unpleasant fantasy of being someone's science experiment. "When he asked for permission to dissect you, it was vetoed because he healed you without the consent of the Gotei 13. But, he was also given the option of sending you to Karakura-Cho to be trained."
Grimmjow clenched his jaw. "What am I training for?"
Urahara closed his ornate fan. "You are here to become a soldier for Soul Society."
Grimmjow growled and launched himself out of the room, knocking the two children eavesdropping to the floor. He opened every room of the shop, finding each one empty. When he reached the last room at the end of the hall, he saw a lump with orange spikes underneath a fuzzy blanket. He snatched it off.
"Oi! Wake the fuck up!" He kicked the bandaged man on his side, immediately waking Ichigo up from his slumber.
"What the hell?" Ichigo muttered, sitting up and rubbing at his ribs. Grimmjow straddled his hips, gripping onto his shirt with zealous charge. "Let me go!"
"Give me the lock to this piece of shit!" The Espada jerked his head towards his wrist where the bracelet hung low.
"I don't have it. Now get off!" Ichigo yanked at Grimmjow's wrists.
"Liar! You have it! You're the fucking locker. You were the one that attached this thing to me," he voiced through clenched teeth.
"I'm telling you! I don't have it!" Padding footsteps echoed in the hallway, as each individual from the opposite side of the house entered the room. Ishida and Chad abruptly snatched Grimmjow away from the orangette, as he thrashed about in their arms. "What the hell's going on?" Ichigo questioned, as he scratched the back of his head in irritation.
"He's just been informed of what Seireitei's planned for him. It seems he dislikes what they've got in store," Yoruichi clarified, as Ichigo gave the struggling man a stern frown.
"Hell yeah I don't like it!" He finally shrugged the two teenagers off of him. "Let me guess. Once I get back to that fucking shit of a Soul Society, I'll be experimented with anyway. That sick bastard's going to fucking mess with my innards."
Ichigo stood to his feet, approaching Urahara with flames in his eyes.
"You didn't tell me about this. What the hell is Soul Society thinking?" Ichigo shook his head in disapproval.
"For that, the reasons are still not clarified. But, Yoruichi-san is planning to depart to Seireitei in a few days' time to discover the reason," Urahara explained. "Now, Grimm-kun, please calm yourself."
"If you knew, you should've just kept your mouth shut," Grimmjow spat out.
"If I had, you would've continued to wonder what your purpose was here. And weren't you the one who wanted the information as soon as possible?" Grimmjow frowned petulantly. "Now, are we all calm and settled?" The sixth Espada slumped to the floor, still keeping his eyes and distance from the group. "I am taking that as a yes. Now, if you lot won't mind, we three must have a private chat. Ururu, Jinta, please hinder yourselves from listening." Tessai led the children away, as the others abandoned the scene, except Rukia.
Ichigo could clearly see she was worried. "Rukia, I'll be all right." She hesitated for a moment, and with a heavy exhale, she continued down the hall with worry weighing on her shoulders. Urahara peeked from left to right, and after deeming that they were in privacy, he closed the fusamas, veiling them in darkness.
Silence greeted them, as Urahara remained with his back facing them. "Oi, hats-and-clogs, are you gonna tell us anything or are you just going to stare out into space?" Suddenly, Urahara opened the doors again, alternating his head from left to right. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
He closed the doors, turning to face them. "I apologize. Yoruichi is very sneaky and quick in her shunpoes, so I had to listen intently to hear her footsteps." Urahara patted his thighs, and then leaned in with a hand cupping the side of his mouth. "Now, listen carefully," he whispered. "Seireitei is in a state of emergency, although the daily dangers are undefined. Souls are being swept of their existences, and even Mayuri can't trace them to Hueco Mundo, thus the discovery of Grimm-kun." Grimmjow inserted a scoff at the nickname. "The souls in the World of the Living have decreased as well, though death tolls have been high throughout the world, and this has led us to conclude that some kind of entity is devouring the budding souls that are to be sent to Soul Society. Hollows aren't the ones creating the mess, since reiatsu of any kind can't be detected.
"Soul Society is panicking because they don't know what's creating this uproar. Soul Reapers have also begun to recently disappear. At this point, the Central 46 thinks that Seireitei has been slacking off from their training because of the loss of captains to handle them. That's where you come in, Grimm-kun. But, I think I may have the mastermind behind all of this. It is-"
"What the hell are you doing, Kisuke?" The shoji doors were reopened.
"Ah, Yoruichi. I didn't hear you coming!" Yoruichi merely ignored him, and seated herself beside him.
"You know that it's dangerous to talk about this. Don't expose them to this threat just yet."
"No, now that you've gone and said it, go ahead and tell us. What the hell is going on in Seireitei?" Ichigo prodded, as Yoruichi shook her head in disappointment and disapproval, knowing that the boy would keep insisting until he got the answer to his question. Urahara gazed at him with glinting eyes.
"….Fallen Angels."
XLXLXL
The screen showed him a room of Kisuke Urahara's home, moonlight the only light source. Shihoin Yoruichi had recently crossed the threshold, and was seated beside the prior 12th squad captain. On the left corner of the screen, the color yellow-orange was displayed, representing the feeling of curiosity. "….Fallen angels," Kisuke Urahara had disclosed.
The scientist scratched at his chin in thought, humming as he did so. "Nemu," he barked out in his lab. She immediately came at the beckon of her name.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama."
"Go look through the files of the Daireisho Archive. Be quick and leave no evidence of your presence."
"What would you like me to find, Mayuri-sama?"
He remained quiet, leaning against his chair. He hummed.
"... Research Fallen Angels."
