Chapter 4: Strange Bedfellows Part 2

~Hueco Mundo~

13 Months Ago

Nel was happily playing her favorite game. A game that made her run for her small life. Until she was exhausted, breathing out of a raw dry throat, and willing tears to come out of bone dry eyes. She loved this game, Eternal Pursuit she called it. Why would a child love a game like this? Nel claims she is a masochist and that is why. Now though she's pretty sure she's been mistaken all this time, but hey for some reason it's still an appealing game.

Grant it, Eternal Pursuit had lost some of it's luster in the months following the meeting of a young Shinigami named Itsygo, and his companions. She missed having the berry headed boy around. He was so much fun, and exciting to be with. They got along so very well too. They went together like peas in a stew, and had an undying friendship that bordered on love. She so missed having him around.

~Human World~

At That Moment

Out of no where Ichigo let out a loud sneeze, alerting the rest of the class, and freezing the teacher mid sentence. He blinked, totally confused by the sudden and inexplicable action. The class stared at him, forcing a tiny blush from him, and his attempt to brush it off as nothing.

~Hueco Mundo~

This was a nice distraction though. At least she didn't have to think on all these random memories that made little sense to her. Ever since Nel regained her original form during Itsygo's invasion of Los Noches, she'd been tormented with fragmented memories. These memories grew clearer with each passing month, but she really tried to ignore them. Most of them made her hurt inside or left her longing for something. During her and her brothers', were they actually her brothers... During their downtime Nel would unconsciously run a few small fingers over the split on her mask fragment. She'd sit there and stare off into the distance, quiet, searching for something as she did this. She had yet to find out what either, but her memories of Ichi... Itsygo usually came to the forefront of her mind and gave her some respite. She really missed him.

~Los Noches~

18 Months Ago

Nel's eyes fluttered open to see daylight sparkling on the sand. 'Wait...that isn't right.' Nel thought as she pushed herself up off the sand and into a sitting position. She quickly scanned the area around her. It started to come back to her now. She was in Los Noches again. She had followed the Soul Reaper Ichigo as he looked for his friend Orihime. They had found her, but only after meeting several Espada. He had just fought Grimmjow, and won using some sort of Hollow power he had. Then Nnoitra attacked them, and she had become whol..."Ahhhh!" Nel groaned as she suddenly had a headache. She gripped the sides of her head in her small hands. Her fluent thoughts suddenly muddled again. Jumbling up and trying to make her forget.

After a few head throbbing minutes, Nel picked herself back up and looked around. She didn't see Itsygo or big sister Orihime anywhere. Why would they leave her here alone? She started wandering off in the direction of some familiar presences. Maybe they had to leave Nel alone, but why? She needed to find them and see if they were okay.

"Itsygo why did you leave Nel behind?" She asked, as she started running toward the presences.

~Back To The Previous Time~

Pesche and Dondochakka had noticed this new behavior in their young charge. It made them worry that she was regaining her memories of being the former Tres Espada. The two didn't want her to remember such painful times under the rule of Aizen. They did their best to keep her mind occupied with the constant games and distractions. Ever since they found her wandering Los Noches, she' seemed to be back to normal. Yet it was getting harder for them to keep her from remembering. She'd relive them in her sleep, calling out to whomever the dream was about, shivering at whatever was scaring her, or the very rare comforting memory dream. Despite everything, since their return to Los Noches, she had been regaining her lost memory. They never wanted her to lose the happy smile she usually always had, but they couldn't stop the head and heart connecting again within her.

During the times Nel would sleep, the two would discuss what they could do, or what they would do if Nel reclaimed her former memories. They wanted her to stay innocent and carefree, but had no idea how to do that aside from constant attention and distractions. They were at a loss and had little hope of stopping her pain from returning.

The chase was on it's seventh hour, and little Nel's stamina was only just starting to waiver. This was early in the game for the group. She, as usual, was it and running from her brothers Pesche, Dondochakka, and their pet Hollow Bawa-Bawa, a giant worm-like Hollow. The last few games of Eternal Pursuit were called because Nel just didn't feel like playing it after some time. But today her brothers got her excited to play by telling her they'd let her chase them if she outran them for eleven hours.

Nel had mentally kept track of the time as she raced through the sand. She turned back to see her pursuers, and stick her tongue out at them, showing her resolve. They playfully growled and grumbled back saying her capture was inevitable. She closed her eyes and laughed past a sore throat. Until she smacked headlong into something. Nel bounced backward into the sand and felt the pain from her landing on her bum.

"Owwie owwie." She cooed trying to dull the pain. Usually her brothers would have come over and helped her up, but where were they. Finally opening her eyes, she saw the bottom of a white cloak, and as her eyes traveled up, she saw it's owner. Nel's eyes widened in terror when she recognized the former Sexta Espada standing, towering above her, with a wide toothy grin and victorious expression looking down at her.

"Well hello there, bait." Girmmjow said giving Nel the impression of a predator staring at it's prey. She began to shake, her arms brought forward in a poor excuse of an attempt to defend against him.

"Lord Grim...Grimmjow...I...I..." Nel was stuttering, trying to find some way out of this. The last time she met this Arrancar, she was at Itsygo and her big sister Orihime's sides. They helped shield her from the fury of Grimmjow. Was he still mad at her for being with Itsygo, and helping him? She could almost see the reaper standing behind the man, laughing at his soon to be collection. She had no idea where her brother's were at this point, her fear ruining any rational escape plot.

"...I...Eeeep!" Nel felt herself being hoisted off the ground. She immediately tucked her legs and arms up against her body, attempting to look a small as possible. Grimmjow lifted her up with one hand, by the back shirt collar. Bringing her up so that they were face to face, she couldn't turn away from his gaze. Like a deer caught in the headlights she feared to blink or else bring his wrath down upon her. Her lip trembled, her wide eyes started to water, and she shook in his grip.

"...Its...Itsy...ITSYGO!" Nel managed to squeak out. She broke down crying, letting her tense limbs fall and hang down. Grimmjow pulled his head back slightly, and held her farther from him, wincing at her ear piercing scream. Suddenly, Grimmjow was flanked on either side by a serious Pesche on his right and Dondochakka on his left. Both had their Zanpakuto drawn, and ready to attack him.

"Put Nel down, and this wont have to get violent." Pesche, stated even if his voice was a bit higher than he wanted it.

"Yah ya bum. Drop her and leave!" Dondochakka confirmed, as he held his large spiked club weapon between him and Grimmjow. It was shaking slightly.

"Your kidding right? You two really think you can stop me?" Grimmjow huffed out incredulously, looking back and forth between them. When he turned to look at Dondochakka, Pesche brought his glowing blue sword in a downward swing, launching a purple Cero at Grimmjow. The Sexta turned right, swinging Nel in his right hand with him, and brought his left hand forward easily stopping the Cero in his palm. He crushed the Cero with his hand, with a neutral expression on his face. As soon as Grimmjow faced Pesche, Dondochakka opened his mouth wide. A quick flash of light and Bawa Bawa launched from his mouth at Nel. Bawa Bawa managed to grab Nel's shirt in between his teeth, and rip her from Grimmjow's hand. Bawa Bawa charged forward as fast as it could, with Nel safely hanging from it's mouth, away from the former Espada.

To say Grimmjow was surprised would be overstating it, but he did find it annoying.

"You piece of shit!" Grimmjoy growled turning to Dondochakka.

"Infinite Slick." Pesche called from behind him, and spewed a stream of liquid at Grimmjow. Grimmjow didn't even turn this time, as he Sonido-ed behind Pesche. Raising his right arm he backhanded Pesche's head, and sent the Hollow flying a good twenty feet away into a dead tree. The tree snapped easily at the force, and Pesche went through it, rolling along the ground after.

"Weak." Grimmjow said quietly, as he watched Pesche tumble in the sand. He heard a battle cry to his side, and looked over just in time to see a large spiked club slam into his belly. Grimmjow slid back about a foot in the sand, with his feet digging into it. Dondochakka looked past his weapon with the scared realization, his attack actually connected, but did nothing. Grimmjow actually felt that blow. His belly spasmed in dull pain, as the blunt force penetrated his Hierro. He gave the Hollow who hit him a brief murderous grin, before jump spinning and smashing the back of his right heel into it's large face. Dondochakka hurtled into what was left of the tree Pesche had just gone through taking out the rest of it. He landed somewhere near his downed brother.

"Pesche! Dondochakka!" Nel screamed as she ran toward them. Bawa Bawa was laying in the sand a ways away from her not moving for some reason. Nel wasn't even half way to them, when Grimmjow appeared in front of her about six feet away.

"Where do yURGH!" Grimmjow's stomach suddenly collapsed inward as some force rammed into him. He barely felt the spike in Reiatsu, before Nel headbutted his belly with a speed he hadn't seen outside of Sonido, and even then he could hardly register it. Grimmjow fell backward, and Nel rolled forward off him, both landing in the sand sprawled out. Grimmjow clutched his stomach with his left hand, feeling a pain he hadn't in some time. Tilting his head up he saw an upside down little Arrancar wobbling away from him toward her comrades. He found himself gasping for air, as he rolled over, and pushed off the sand. 'Where the hell'd that come from!?' His mind tried to conclude what just happened. He pressed forward, reaching out toward Nel with his right hand.

"CERO SINCRETICO!" Came two mixed voices. Grimmjow looked past his target, and saw her guardians mixing their yellow and purple Cero's. They launched them a second later at a speed Grimmjow couldn't dodge with the pain in his gut as bad as it was. He brought his right hand forward, and started charging his own red Cero.

"Nel!" The two Hollow's shouted, and the little girl jumped up right in the path of the combined Cero. Grimmjow stared wide eyed as she did this, shocked that they would sacrifice their companion. He stopped charging his fledgling Cero, as he watched dumbstruck when the little Arrancar was hit by the attack. He froze when the Cero didn't engulf the girl, but seemed to be being absorbed by her. In a second Nel dropped to the ground, and turned to Grimmjow. Her cheeks were puffed out, her face was flushed, and the eye sockets on her mask fragment were glowing. She was struggling with holding something in. Then in one sudden motion she tossed her head back then forward and belched the Cero Sincretico toward Grimmjow. The Cero's speed was almost doubled, and Grimmjow had no time to react none the less feel surprised. All he could do before being hit by it was bring his right arm to cover his face.

Grimmjow's body was engulfed in a brilliant mixture of yellow and purple, just before it exploded. The explosion caused shock waves, which picked Nel's small form up, and tossed her back towards her companions. Sand and dust clouded the area Grimmjow was hit. The three Hollow's looked on as the dust settled, revealing a dark figure among the cloud. The front of Grimmjow's body was charred, and most of his clothing was burnt off. Smoked rolled off his arms and chest. The three immediately started to quake as the Espada let out choking coughs. He took a few steps out of the crater he was in, and reached toward the three Hollows with one arm. He got a few steps more before stopping.

"Kuro...saki..." Grimmjow managed with a puff of smoke coming out too. He dropped to his knees, and then fell face first into the desert. His outstretched arm clawed at the sand, attempting to get the rest of his body to move.

'Kurosaki? As in Itsygo Kurosaki?' Nel thought as she watched him claw at the ground but not move forward. After a minute of waiting for him to get up, Nel left their hiding place, behind a boulder, and strode toward Grimmjow cautiously.

"Nel! What are you doing?!" Pesche and Dondochakka said together, not wanting to leave the safety of the boulder.

"He said Itsygo's name. Maybe he's looking for him." Nel's logic was obviously flawed, and something inside her nagged at her telling her so. Still the thought of seeing Itsygo again pushed safety first out of the way. She slowed a few feet from Grimmjow, and cautiously crept forward at his slightly smoking Arrancar.

"Lord Grimmjow, are you looking for Itsygo like Nel?" She asked standing just out of his reach, but still being able to look over him. Grimmjow turned his face so he could look up to the girl. He huffed, blowing sand away from his mouth before answering.

"The Shinigami you were with? Yeah, I've got a score to settle with that bastard." He said slowly, trying to get his regeneration kick started faster. Nel's face broke out into a smile, and she dove at Grimmjow, wrapping her arms around his neck, squeezing painfully hard. Grimmjow managed to let out a, "Gack!", before his airway was cut off.

"Then Nel will follow Lord Grimmjow to Itsygo!" Nel happily cried out. Grimmjow, for his part, could only struggle to remove the monster girl from his throat. Weakly he rolled to his side, and started clawing at her little bear arms.

"Hee...hee...heeeyy...aii...air...!" Grimmjow finally pushed out of his mouth. Nel blinked a few times, and looked into his bluing face.

"Nel didn't hear that." Grimmjow just frantically pointed at his throat and wheezed.

"Oh you must hurt from the Cero. Hang on Nel will help you." She released the death hug on Grimmjow. He sucked in air desperately, as he rolled onto his back, and let the oxygen run into his body again.

"You little oof." Nel jumped onto his chest, and sat there hovering her face over his. A question formed, but was instantly silenced as she opened her mouth wide, and reached into her own throat.

"Wait..what are you?...no...no..NO!" Was all Grimmjow could get out before Nel started to bathe him in her Neru Shawa (Nel Shower aka Healing Vomit).

~The Months Following~

From that point Grimmjow, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka had started traveling together, much to the former's grief. Honestly, at first it wasn't so bad on him. He held fear and respect over the other three for a time. One glare from him could shut up the ever annoying chatter of the other three. Their childish attitudes constantly tested his resolve to keep Nel as a hostage, and not a corpse. She's more useful as live bait, he kept telling himself. Grimmjow didn't think of them as total weaklings though. Their first encounter had given him a begrudging respect for their easily underestimated power. Combined, when they actually put their minds' to it, they could have easily put down the lower ranked Espada. He couldn't deny them that fact. And somewhere deep down, locked away in the darkest pit, he didn't mind the company. He would kill any who questioned him about it, but it was lonely in the wastelands, even for a loner.

He decided to alleviate some boredom by training his companions sometimes. Most of the sessions would break down into whining and crying of varying sorts, but they managed to get better very very slowly. Then there were the times when Nel would surprise the ever living hell out of him. She would show bursts of Reiatsu easily equaling his own, and sometimes surpassing him. During these times he felt as if he had known this Reiatsu before, and it constantly nagged at him as to whom. Thanks to these little outbursts, Nel had caught his interest. She had the potential to be great, and he would like to see that potential nurtured. Sometimes during sleeping hours he'd catch her staring off in the distance with a melancholy look, and it made him feel like there was something more to her. So somewhere along the line of their time together he'd almost taken on a big brother stance with her. Nel had even started to fear him less, and open up to him.

She tended to go on about her time with Ichigo, or Itsygo, he had no idea where that one came from. Grimmjow had started to see the Shinigami in a new light. He had respect for the fellow warrior and a rivalry of course, but Nel's stories had reminded him of how he was with his own Fraccion. Ichigo obviously would put himself in harms way, and attain power to protect those he allied with. Something Grimmjow could understand. He was still going to beat the ever living shit out of Ichigo, but he would do it with a bit more respect.

A few months into their travels, Grimmjow began to notice sudden spiking in Reiatsu's from Hollows and Hollow Packs off in the distances. Every time he tried to investigate the Reiatsu's would just disappear before he could get a lock on them. At first he figured it was just normal Hollow battles, but by the twentieth time he felt the same occurrence he began to get curious. He had told Nel and the others to constantly suppress their own energies, so they could sneak up on Hollows, when they started to journey together. This was what he later attributed to how they avoided being attacked and avoided capture for so long.

~Roughly One Month Ago~

The day started horribly. Nel was whining about her never getting to see Itsygo again. Pesche and Dondochakka didn't help matters with their bickering about this or that. Grimmjow was already wearing thin on patience, and it was just a few hours after they got up. Taking deep and forcefully slow breaths Grimmjow pressed forward over the dark dunes.

About an hour after they started, he felt a bunch of Reiatsus not far off. They were high, but they were clashing indicating they were fighting each other. Grimmjow smirked at the thought of some sort of distraction from his group.

"Shut up all of you! We have a pack up ahead, and I don't want you warning them again." Grimmjow commanded, giving the group a hard no nonsense glare. The three quieted down, and followed closely as the neared the clashing Reiatsu's. They came up to a shallow valley in the dunes, and could feel the Hollows just in it. Right before they crested the final dune, all the Hollows' powers spiked drastically. Grimmjow recognized this event from earlier, and quickly turned to the others.

"Stay here and keep your traps shut. Something weird is going on." He quietly told them, as he made his way slowly over the dune alone. He made sure his cloak was pulled shut, and his hood was covering his head. The Reiatsu's started to drop away dramatically fast, as half were gone by the time Grimmjow could see them. What he saw made him both confused and enraged. He saw humans dressed in white uniforms attacking the Hollows with deadly proficiency. They were subduing the stronger ones, and strait up annihilating the weaker ones. It wasn't a normal death to the Hollow's either, their entire spiritual essence was wiped from existence. Grimmjow had felt more than his fair share of Hollow deaths, and these were just gone, no traces of left of what they were. That brought him to seething, but what sent him over the edge was seeing the captured ones collared and bound.

Grimmjow acted without much thought, and Sonido-ed down to the valley. He caught the first human by complete surprise. Grimmjow's right hand ran through the human's chest and heart from the back. His bloodied spear shaped hand ripped back out of the human quickly, splattering the blood in an arc as Grimmjow swiped his hand to the side. The male human dropped dead to the ground with barely a gasp. The following thump on the sand alerted the other few humans. Grimmjow sneered at them from under his hood, and charged at the next, his bloody hand drawn back for another strike.

The Hollow the human was just starting to collar, slipped from his captor, and jumped to the nearest shadow. The Hollow just melded into the shadow and vanished. Grimmjow's hand struck forward, and just crumpled against the human's chest.

"The fuck..." Grimmjow, wide eyed, stared at the smirking human. A white star shaped pendant swung just above Grimmjow's stopped hand. A bolt of concentrated Reiatsu flew at the Sexta, whom easily Sonido-ed away, gaining some distance from the remaining three humans. 'Wait, why are there only two?' Grimmjow's mind raced, as he felt a presence behind him, thanks to his finely honed instincts. Swaying his upper body quickly to the left, he avoided another arrow-like bolt of Reiatsu. Using his momentum Grimmjow spun backward, and placed his left foot heel into the human's lower back hard. A satisfying snap was felt and heard, as the man flew past the other two and dug himself into a sand dune.

Finishing his spin Grimmjow landed gracefully, and faced the other two. They had taken to standing side by side a few feet apart, each with a smug look on their faces.

"We got us a fighter. He'll make a great foot soldier." The human male, Grimmjow unsuccessfully attacked, said. He pulled something out of the inside of his uniform's jacket, which was mirrored by the petite woman next to him.

"You can fucking try, but I guarantee you won't..." Grimmjow trailed off as the Reiatsu in the air was suddenly very thin, and he felt his own being sucked away. 'The hell!?' Again his mind was trying to rationalize what was going on, but his quickly draining energy forced him to take action. He Sonido-ed to the woman, spinning in the air, his cloak fluttering around with him, and aimed a forward kick at her head. The woman moved fast, either that or he was drained more than he thought, but she brought her small left arm up and completely blocked his strike. A gust from the impact whipped up some sand and ruffled the humans' uniforms. She moved faster than expected, and slammed the small star shaped talisman in her right hand into Grimmjow's gut. It wasn't nearly a powerful blow, but as soon as the trinket touched him he felt a large portion of his Reiatsu get sucked away.

"Bitch!" Grimmjow shouted, as he Sonido-ed again putting distance between them. Unfortunately the man followed suit, with a technique similar but wholly different. Grimmjow sidestepped to the left quickly, and avoided being struck with the talisman again. Using as much power as he had left Grimmjow thrust his right elbow into the man's face. 'I don't care how strong you are, an elbow to the face still hurts you bastard!' Powerful skin or not the man launched into a dune. 'I can't keep this up. I have to use it.' Grimmjow gave into the realization that he'd be defeated if didn't go all out. As the woman rushed to the man's side, Grimmjow took the opportunity and drew Pantera.

"Grind!" He shouted, as he raked his right hand over the glowing blade. An explosion of blue energy pillared from him, and a second later Grimmjow released a deafening primal roar. The woman was just helping the man up, when she felt the enormous spike in power, followed by the wave from the roar. Quickly both humans brought their talismans forward, increasing the speed of the draining power. Grimmjow felt the drain, even in his Resurreccion. 'I need to end this quick.' He growled in his head. Stretching out his arms to the sides, he built Reiatsu into his clawed fingers. He brought them forward and down, creating large blue claw marks in the air around him. He Sonido-ed right in front of his enemies, and then swiped forward with both hands.

"Desgarron." Grimmjow spoke quietly, as the claw marks shot forward point black, and ripped into and through the two humans. The human's tried to scream, but being sliced into six sections prevented any final words. Their pieces fell wetly onto the sand, making a bloody mess.

"Fuck you humans." Grimmjow said weakly as his Resurreccion misted off of him, and he fell to a knee. He picked up Pantera and sheathed it, just as Nel and the others came down to him.

"Grimmi? Are you okay?!" Nel flustered as she dove onto Grimmjow, hugging herself to his neck. Grimmjow put an arm around her waist to prevent her from dragging him down.

"I'm fine..." He felt a shift in Reiastu a distance away, like it was being thinned, and he could feel it all the way over here. He mentally cursed, as he was in no condition to fight anything that had that kind of ability and presence. He held Nel to him in his right arm, and stood up.

"We have to leave now." He said hastily, as he gave each of his companions a serious look. One they hadn't seen before, apprehension. Nel looked to him a scared expression on her face.

"What are we gonna do Grimmi?" She asked her voice shaking.

"We're going back to Los Noches." He began running as fast as he could. He couldn't risk Sonido as it released Reiatsu.

"Why?!" Nel said loudly over the rushing wind.

"We need to warn the Queen."

CHAPTER 4 END

A/N: And again I got this one out quickly, and it's almost double the size of my last one. I promised you didn't I. I want to keep stressing though, to not expect a chapter every week. These were exceptions, as my muse struck me upside the back of my head with a plot script. That and my BETA work for another Bleach fic got my blood pumping.

So a few notes for my readers. First, this will be the last of the fully background chapters. Starting with Chapter 5 we'll speed ahead to the present and beyond. I have noticed that some of you are curious as to how the events play out with the Fullbring arc. I might touch on it, but the story will mostly revolve around what happened in Hueco Mundo during that time. Also I hope this chapter brought the beginning of the last chapter into more light. Sorry all you GrimXNel shippers, but I don't think it's gonna happen, but you never know. I hope the time skips weren't to confusing. Welp until next chapter, enjoy.

~Wiggles

SSJ Kyuubi Gohan: Threw you for a loop huh?

Arrankor: Glad to here it.

NIX'S WARDEN: Nel is key to the invasion, but Tier won't get to interfere much.

im ur misconception: Mr.? I'm not that old. And I know how to pace myself, even if my muse doesn't.

Lawrence Helmbain: ?

sami217: Why thank you kindly sami.

lotusrunner: I hoped it would be interesting.

Helmsmanjoker: Then I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Ahh thank you for the compliments, I like being exquisite. You may be waiting a while for her reaction, sorry.