Double update today yaaay :) I sorta feel like this story could be better, so I might to a rewrite, but no worries, not until i finish it :) anyways, enjoy and PLZ REVIEW! :)
Adalia's eyes fluttered open, and a small yawn escaped her. Her first thought was that it was incredibly warm. Not an uncomfortable warmth, but very noticeable. She was curled up like a cat, with her knees pulled up to her chin and her hands clenched around a thin white sheet.
"Where am I?" She whispered aloud, only to gasp as the sheet underneath her shifted.
"On top of me." Growled Grimmjow.
Adalia's face reddened, and with a soft cry she loosened her fingers and sat up, earning a pained grunt from Grimmjow.
"Watch where your sticking your elbow!" He hissed, blue eyes crackling. The bright red blush across her face just deepened.
The white 'sheet' that she'd been holding on to for dear life had been his hakama pants, and the warm bed underneath her had in fact been him. He was lying flat on his back with his arms spread out to either side of the bed, his teal hair falling across his eyes and around his sharply angled face.
"I'm sorry, Grimmjow-Sama!" Suddenly, her sleepy eyes transformed into wide orbs of innocence. "You scared me!"
For a second she stared at him with a cute frown on her face, then she burst into giggles and rolled off him. The bed was cold.
"AH!" She shrieked and jumped back on top of him. "Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Growling in pain, Grimmjow almost immediately lifted her off of him.
"I told you to watch it!" He hissed in her face.
"Do you have an injury on your lower abdomen?" Adalia asked, astounded. "Oh! What happened? I should call a healer!"
Sighing, Grimmjow sat up and placed her on the bed next to him.
"Just...just don't punch me there!" He laughed almost nervously. "That hurts guys."
For a couple seconds, Adalia was confused. Then, her eyes widened.
"Oh...OH!" She leaped onto the floor and got on her knees on the floor, bowing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Its fine." He said, rolling his eyes. "Just try not to do it again." Then he grinned and stood up. "Anyways, after you fell asleep in my bed last night, I went out and trained. I've got a surprise for you."
He sauntered over to the wall, and pulled a clean jacket out of the hole that had opened up in the strange walls of Las Noches. Adalia shadowed him, eyes shining with a fervent excitement.
"A present? For me?" She asked as Grimmjow grabbed his zanpakuto from the bedside table and moved towards the door.
"Yes." He stated.
"Why would you get me anything?" Adalia asked the question almost to herself. She nearly plowed into Grimmjow as he stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. There was a strange look on his face.
"Why wouldn't I?" He said matter-of-factly. Then, he held out his hand to her. "Although, you probably shouldn't trust me."
His young fraccion's expression hardened.
"You can't scare me away, Grimmjow-sama. Its too late for that." As she spoke, she grabbed Grimmjow's pointer finger with her tiny hand and curled her fingers around it.
"I sorta hoped you'd say that."
The unlikely pair walked downthe dark hallways of the Palace Sexta. It was too early for any other arrancar to be walking around, and most of them detoured Grimmjow's palace anyways, unless they were looking for a bloodbath.
As they turned the last corner into the hall of fraccion, Adalia gasped. Shawlong, Nakim, D-Roy, Ilfort and Edorad were gathered in the hallway. Each of them had a black knapsack and a grin of anticipation on their face.
"We're going out."
"So...is hollow baiting dangerous?" Adalia asked D-Roy who was walking beside her. The small group of Arrancar had snuck out of Las Noches and used sonido (with Adalia hitching a ride on Grimmjow) to get far out into the desert.
"Pfft!" The male arrancar said in a scary voice. "Naw, they're pretty boring. Ya know, the last time we just chilled."
"By 'we just chilled', are you referring to the incident that you got chased halfway back to Las Noches by that Adjuchas?" Rumbled Edorad. The entire group laughed, including Grimmjow.
"We use the weakest arrancar to bait them." Edorad explained, turning his large head towards Adalia, who paled.
"D-Roy again I s'pose." Grimmjow chuckled.
Something about the group of fraccion relaxed him. It was easier to enjoy himself when it was just them. And, he hadn't been hollow-baiting in weeks. The adrenaline he was feeling already was nearly unbearable.
"But she's like 40 numbers below me!" Whined D-Roy. "They'll go for her anyways!"
"This is a three-day trip!" Exclaimed Adalia loudly. "We can share!"
For some reason, Grimmjow found her words amusing. The smile was quickly wiped off his face as Adalia tackled him and wrapped her arms and legs around him.
"I'm tired..." She yawned into his ear. "We've been walking for hours!" The Espada just rolled his eyes and put her legs through his arms so that he could carry her easier.
"If you rest now, you're going first!" Teased Grimmjow, shaking her a little bit. Her only response was a quiet noise of acceptance. Then she let her head balance on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"How do you bait the hollows?" She asked after a few minutes. Grimmjow shivered. Her breath was warm compared to the crisp air of Hueco Mundo.
"You have to do something to get their attention." Grimmjow replied. "It could be anything. It more or less depends on what that particular hollow hunts."
"Are they hiding?" She asked, opening her eyes.
"Hiding, yes." His eyes narrowed into cat-like slits. "But never let your guard down. They're always watching."
Every movement on the horizon became a possible danger to Adalia. Whenever something flashed across her vision, she tensed, and Grimmjow would squeeze her legs ever so slightly.
"Its fine." He would say every time. "Just a gillian." Eventually, she was able to relax, realizing that as long as she was in the group, she would be safe.
"This is your stop." Grimmjow said after an hour of carrying her. "I don't want my shoulders to get stiff right before the action."
"Is this the one you want, Grimmjow-sama?" Asked Shawlong. "It is an Adjuchas, but not an exceptionally powerful one."
Grimmjow shrugged, and unsheathed his sword.
"I'm feeling a lot of them in this vicinity. The fight will attract the rest, and it'll be a good warm up. Then we can camp here and wait for others to fall in tomorrow."
"Very well." Nodded Shawlong. "As you wish." He turned to Adalia, his normally serious face starting to show signs of anticipation. "How do you wish to be bait?"
"Uh..." She said nervously. "How do you normally do it?"
Suddenly, she realized that everybody else's eyes were wide, staring off behind her.
"What is that?" Asked Shawlong quietly.
Adalia didn't like the evil, crazed grin that had appeared on Grimmjow's face. He didn't look at anybody else, just growled
"Looks fun."
Then, his eyes widened as well, and thats when Adalia became truly nervous. He locked eyes with Adalia and roared-
"GET OUT OF THERE!"
Suddenly, a scaly-looking tentacle wrapped around Adalia. She screamed, punching and kicking it, but it only constricted tighter around her waist and dragged her into the air.
"Adalia!" She heard Grimmjow call out. "Don't get yourself killed." Her violet eyes found the source of his voice and realized nervously that the group was also surrounded by Adjuchas.
The one that had grabbed her was humanoid shaped, with 4 long prehensile tentacles where its arms should have been. Three of the tentacles had hands on the end. The fourth was tipped with a foot long wickedly curved spear, dripping an untrustworthy green liquid. Its grotesquely human face leered at her, and brought her down to face level.
"I like you...Maybe we can have some fun together before I eat you."
Adalia screamed and struggled wildly as an unnaturally long tongue escaped its mouth and licked slowly up her neck to her chin.
"I've got it Grimmjow." She was vaguely aware of Shawlong saying. "Go get her."
Then, she heard the metallic shriek of a hollow along with a few unique swear words from Grimmjow.
"Dammit!" He roared, followed by what sounded like the blast of a cero.
"What's the matter?" Gurgled the hollow. "Don't you want to play?"
Everything suddenly seemed faraway to Adalia. What had Grimmjow said to her during training?
"Everything is a deadly weapon if you know how to use it. That includes knowledge."
"I..." She thought to herself. "What the hell am I doing? I...I'm with the Sexta!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHH!" The hollow suddenly dropped Adalia. She landed lightly on the ground and rolled just as he blindly brought down his nasty scythe-tentacle. It burrowed into the think sand and got stuck. Adalia saw her opening, and took it without any hesitation.
The hollow was doubled over in pain, and didn't see her approach. It did however, hear the sound of her blades as she brought her hands down upon one of his tentacles. Blood spattered all over the sand as it was severed from him.
"BITCH!" He screeched, stabbing at her with the scythe. "How dare you!" Adalia leaped over his head and did a somersault, slashing down across his face as she did so. The tiny, serrated spike at the end speared on of his yellow eyes and ripped through his face down to the bone.
"You licked me!" Was as she could shriek. Her second blade was spinning over her hand, rotating by the mechanism on the ring. As the hollows remaining eye angrily focused on it, she sliced her other arm sideways. Her aim was true, and the hollows head went flying off, rolling to a stop a few yards away in the sand. Slowly, his still twitching body fell to the ground, and disappeared like sand being blown away.
"What did you do?" Ilfort asked incredulously, his normally collected expression gone.
Adalia turned and looked at the rest of the party. The hollows were all gone, leaving nothing behind except for a few shattered remains. She blinked and shook her head.
"I kicked him." She replied innocently. Then, her eyes widened, and she fell to the ground at Grimmjow's feet. "Forgive me, Grimmjow-sama! You told me not to kick people there but then I couldn't get away and-"
Her Espada laughed grimly and pulled her up off the ground.
"I also told you that all knowledge is a weapon. Well done." He turned to the others and smirked. "Lets get this done."
The next hour passed by in a blur. The group of arrancars set up a perimeter and guarded it in shifts while the others set up the camp. Despite his rank as an Espada, Grimmjow preferred to rough it out old style, evident in the simplicity of his camp. When all the shelters were set up, he drew a circle around everything with the tip of his zanpakuto, creating a thick barrier of reishi that would deter any hollows.
"Time to eat!" Hissed Nakim excitedly. As everybody converged on the fire tended by Ilfort, Adalia laughed and poked Nakim's belly with one slim finger.
"Sorry, Naki-chan!" She giggled. "I don't think you have to!"
Everybody laughed as they sat down and dove into the piles of food they had brought with them. Everyone except Adalia.
She sat with her knees pulled up to her chin, her arms holding her legs close to her as if she were scared of falling apart. There was a blank look on her face as she stared into the flames, flickering in the moonlight.
"Why so glum, little sister?" Asked Ilfort after a few minutes, leaning back against a tree trunk and patting his muscled stomach. "You've barely touched the food."
Grimmjow's eyes flickered to her face and back to his plate. He continued to shove it angrily into his mouth, eating with an unusual vigor.
"I don't understand, nii!" She whispered, with her lavender eyes still locked on the fire. "Is it possible...that this zanpakuto isn't mine?"
Once more, Grimmjow's eyes slid to Adalia's face. So did everyone else's.
"Why would you think that?" Asked Ilfort calmly, but his dark eyes had flickered to his Espada.
"I-"
When, Adalia's voice caught in her throat, Grimmjow's eyes snapped over to her, only to find that she was staring at him, wide-eyed. He realized that his eyes were narrow and cold.
"I...never mind..." She lowered her gaze and gave a fake smile to Ilfort, who seemed not to notice her forced grin. "I'm just being silly!"
The circle relaxed, and everybody started stuffing their faces again. Adalia's fake smile disappeared, but as she saw the others laughing and smirking and making jokes, she let a small grin steal across her face.
"Time for sleeping!" She announced, standing up. D-Roy just shrugged and rolled his eyes.
"We're not tired! You're not the boss of us, Imoto-chan!"
Folding her thin arms across her chest, Adalia glared down at him. Of course, her glare looked more like a smile, but it had the same effect.
"You've eaten all the food." She noted softly. "And I know exactly what's going to happen. You're all going to fall asleep in about five minutes, and because I'm not strong enough to drag you guys back into the tents, you'll spend the next two days complaining about how sore and tired you are!"
She watched with a small smile on her face as everybody grumbled and stalked into their individual tents. Of course, if any of them had complained further, Grimmjow would've pounded them. Nobody would have taken it further though. They all trusted their "little sisters" judgment in all things girly.
Adalia turned and looked at Grimmjow. He was staring out at Hueco Mundo with his hands spread over his knees, a dark look on his face.
"Good night, Grimmjow-sama." She whispered. Adalia took a minute to walk over to her tent and unzip it. She waited, kneeling on the sand in front of it for a few seconds, and when there was no reply, quietly entered the tent and zipped it shut behind her.
Adalia was still awake fifteen minutes later. With her single blanket covering her, and a small pillow under her head, the exhausted little arrancar should have fallen asleep immediately, but she was too cold and conflicted to even consider sleeping. She was about to start crying and bury her head in her pillow when the zipper to her tent was undone. Her body stiffened, but then Grimmjow slid in and she calmed...somewhat.
"Here." He muttered, holding out his hand. A little confused, Adalia held out her hands and closed her eyes expectantly.
"Its nothing special." He added gruffly, letting the food pass into her eager hands. Adalia smiled anyways, and gratefully ate the food. She'd expected that she'd go without until the next night.
"Thank you!" She gasped after a painful swallow.
"It doesn't matter." Grimmjow muttered, about to turn around when he saw the look on Adalia's face. "Are you cold?"
Adalia raised her wet eyes to Grimmjow's face as he took both of her hands in his and frowned at them.
"I'll go hijack blankets from Nakim. Lord knows, he doesn't need any to keep his fat self warm."
"Grimmjow-sama!" Adalia mentally kicked herself when she heard her voice falter. "I'm fine!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" He retorted angrily. "I'll bet you can't even feel your fingers!" Adalia scrunched her face up and looked away from him, a pout evident on her face.
"Its normal to be afraid." Murmured Grimmjow after a few seconds. His tone was gentler, but she could still hear his gruff confidence behind it. "Of your zanpakuto."
For what felt like an eternity, but was only a second, Adalia felt herself slip into this strange feeling of floating. Then, her stupid, annoying conscious had to go and point something out to her. She snapped out of it, and was mortified to feel a tear rolling down her face.
"You aren't afraid of anything! You're one to talk!"
If Grimmjow was unsettled by her words, she couldn't tell. He did however, give her a very strange and piercing look.
"Adalia...you still have much to learn." Her mouth dropped open. "Everybody is scared of something."
"W-What are you scared of?" She asked timidly, worried that she had crossed the line with her nosy question. The Sexta Espada just smirked.
"My fears are my own burden. No one else's." He tugged on her hands and bared his teeth in a smile. "Your fears on the other hand...they're my burden too."
Adalia stared at him as he gracefully lowered himself onto the nest she'd made in the middle of the tent.
"Like this fear you have of being alone out here. Its my burden to bear. So I'm the one that has to get rid of it for you."
With a tiny smile, Adalia fell back onto the bed beside him and turned her face up to his.
"When we get back to Las Noches, I'm gonna train-" A yawn. "-so hard!" Adalia whispered, letting her eyes slowly close. "I'll prove them all wrong!..I'll make you...proud." She let out another yawn, and her head flopped tiredly against the pillow.
Ha! Grimmjow laughed to himself. Aizen will be angry that we left... Suddenly, Grimmjow felt as if a stone had settled into his stomach. His teal eyes narrowed dangerously. Its not safe anymore.
"I'm so tired!" Yawned Adalia as they walked through the entrance of Las Noches two days later. "I could sleep for days!"
"Too bad we have training to-"
"Grimmjow." The Espada stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowed, while Adalia ploughed into his back and let out a surprised gasp.
"Ulquiorra." He replied dryly, letting a smirk steal across his face. Adalia peered around his arm curiously. The Cuatro Espada? He was a bit of a mystery to her.
His hollow mask, which cradled his messy black hair like a broken helmet, had something oddly familiar about it. Something that made Adalia's head ache whenever she saw him.
"Aizen-sama is disappointed with you, Grimmjow." Added the Fourth Espada. His emerald eyes rested on her face for a moment before sliding back to Grimmjow's. Adalia had to commend him. Not even Stark would look Grimmjow square in the face when he was angry.
"I'll deal with Aizen." Growled Grimmjow, his hands curling into fists. "Adalia go and make sure Ilfort does as I commanded-"
"That will not be necessary, Grimmjow." Murmured Ulquiorra coldly. "The girl is to come with me. Aizen-sama wishes to speak with her."
The tendons on the backs of Grimmjow's hands were vibrating by that point. He didn't like being told what to do, least of all having his fraccion ordered around by Cuatro.
"I'll be back quickly, Grimmjow-sama!" She said, standing up a little straighter and letting her hand brush hers as she walked up to Ulquiorra.
"Don't worry! I'll tell him it was my idea!" Grimmjow stiffened as he heard Adalia's pealing laughter in his head, along with her ominous message. He was about to yell at her when he saw Ulquiorra giving them a strange look. He'd obviously seen something.
"Aren't we supposed to be going somewhere, Ulquiorra-sama?" Adalia giggled. She looked over her shoulder and met Grimmjow's teal eyes through a gap in her lilac hair.
"Follow me." Replied the Fourth Espada, his cold voice reverberating through the entrance hall.
"Bye!" Smiled Adalia, waving at Grimmjow one last time before darting after Ulquiorra. Following a few feet behind him, Adalia had her first chance to examine him close up.
Ulquiorra was slender, yet muscular. He was quite a bit shorter than Grimmjow, but of course, still much taller than herself. Part of his messy, coal-black bangs fell into his emerald green eyes. He wore the usual arrancar outfit, a white jacket, black sash, and white hakama, but Adalia noted that his jacket was longer than usual, and had a higher collar that reached almost to his ears.
"Hurry up." He commanded sharply, jolting Adalia out of her daydreaming. "You are extremely slow. I'm amazed that Grimmjow hasn't killed you out of frustration yet."
"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra-sama!" Adalia smiled gently. "I'll try harder."
She hurried after him, and by the time they had reached the towers, her legs and chest were burning painfully.
"Wh-where are we going?" Adalia panted nervously. "The throne room is...the other...way!"
"Despite what you seem to think," Replied Ulquiorra glumly, "Aizen-sama isn't stuck to the throne."
Pink flushed Adalia's cheeks at his sarcastic remark. She was embarrassed.
"This is it." A tiny gasp escaped her cold lips as Ulquiorra stopped and she hit her head off his back.
"Ow!" She clutched her forehead in her hands and angrily pushed past Ulquiorra to stand in front of a huge pair of black doors. "I really wish people would stop doing that to me!"
"I will wait here for you."
Suddenly, she felt a strong hand shove her forwards, and she stumbled over the threshold into a dimly lit room. The door swung shut behind her, leaving her alone in the creepy room.
Tadaaaa :| im not that satisfied...but oh well :) review please :) Grimmjow will give you sexxy hugs (;