AN : While I was reading the new chapter today, I came to a startling revalation. It's been 90 chapters, give or take, since we've seen Grimmjow. Which means I've spent almost two years reading every week to see if Captain Mom has saved him yet. Because at the end of the day, I have a serious love//hate relationship with Bleach. I don't know why I didn't get out of it way back, 5 years ago when the Soul Society arc was in full swing because the only Captain's I liked even remotely were Captain Lazy and Aizen. And the only 'main' character I like is Ichigo. Guh. How does it make you feel that about two hours has passed in their world but in ours, we've been reading for two years. [/rant]
I was in an unfamiliar country with an unfamiliar language. I didn't know anything about American customs except general stereotypes and I had yet to see one person wearing an American flag shirt or a cowboy hat. Since I'd always grown up with such strange colored hair, I was used to people staring at me but I'd never been in a place where black hair wasn't normal. I mean, no one looked at me funny at all. Not to mention I stood at the taller end of normal back home but I felt tiny as we weaved the streets of New York.
Grimmjow however, seemed to be taking it all in stride. It might have been because he was pretty average height. It could have been that he literally just blended into the crowd as if he just belonged on the sun-stained sidewalks. I think it might have just been the way he held himself though; confident, cocky and cold-blooded.
"Where're we going," I asked, following him without actually following.
"Picking up your dress."
I didn't really say anything as we ducked into an almost empty alley.
"Okay, not funny apparently. You'll be needing something nice to wear tonight and since I'm assuming you don't actually own anything other than work clothes," his voice trailed off as we wandered down the shadowed space between the buildings.
"What's wrong with what I wear to work?"
"Nothing, except that in this world, it doesn't fly."
There was something strange about the way he was acting. Like weaving through foot traffic just made him nervous or something was on his mind that was making him jumpier than I'd ever seen.
"Mind telling me what's so different about this world?"
"There's a whole 'nother set of rules here. The upper class of upper Manhattan are some of the most ruthless people on the planet," he snorted, anger crossing his face.
"If that's the case, I have no idea why you'd even consider mingling with them," I sighed as we whisked back out into the sea of business men walking to their lunch dates.
"Because it's my job." He left it at that. I'm not sure why or how I realized it, but at that point I just knew that I was in something way over my head. Something that was over his head, even. And I really didn't like that thought one bit. "Either way, you need something better to wear. We're headed up to the Hamptons tonight."
I had no idea why the Hampton's were important. Maybe they were rich. Maybe it was the name of this dude I was meeting. So I just muttered out a quiet agreement and went on with life.
"Hurry your shit up," Grimmjow barked at me as I slid my arms through the sleeves of the light green shirt he'd picked out for me. It was a nice color but everything clashed with my hair.
"Quit being a grumpy fuck and I will," I snapped back and watched as he walked through the room on his way to change. We had popped into a hotel really quick and he'd actually rented it for the entire night just so we could use it for an hour. When I asked him where he got the money for his frivolous life-style, he laughed and said he had just put it on the company card and chocked it up to a company expense.
The sad part was, I think he got the biggest room in the whole building. It was bigger than my apartment, complete with full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. Damned shame I wouldn't be able to enjoy it's comfort that night. No, apparently I was going to a party at The Hampton's house, where ever that was.
I stood in the living room, amused at the number of times Grimmjow had wandered from the bedroom to the kitchen and back again. I had watched him set a bottle of Jack down on the counter and then walked away from it. And then walk back to it, argue with himself, and walk away again. I didn't really mind, he was doing all of it in various states of undress, each time he wandered across the living area he'd managed to put one more piece of clothing on. I'd be a sinful liar if I said he wasn't nice to look at.
By the time he had stopped wandering around, the only thing I had left to do was finish tying my tie. I moved toward the bedroom door to yell at him for taking so long, but something stopped me dead in my tracks. I mean, stone solid frozen.
Grimmjow was standing there in his purple shirt, black tie and black tailored suit with a fucking handgun. I'd never even seen a gun before, they are wildly illegal. But here he was, wandering around with one. I watched as he slid the magazine out, gave a grumpy expression and slammed it back in before reaching around and sticking it in the back of his perfectly fitted pants.
This man knew his way around a deadly weapon. Fuck, Christ only knows what else he knew his way around. I was so startled by the sudden turn of events that I didn't even have it in me to yell at him. Break him down and tell me what the fuck was going on or why he even felt the need to take that damned thing anywhere. Or why the flying fuck he even had it in the first place.
I ignored what I saw. It seemed like the most rational course of events after you take into account Grimmjow's almost violent temper and the fact that he now had a gun on his person. Smart choice, Ichigo.
"Come on," I said, cocking my head back toward the door as I slid my cuff links into place. "You were the one that was in such a hurry ten minutes ago." With one motion I shrugged my jacket on and straightened out the collar but didn't bother with the buttons.
"Sorry, you know me," he muttered before picking up the key's to the car he rented outside the airport. "Get all of your shit, we aren't coming back here tonight."
"Damn shame," I sighed, glancing down and admiring just how comfortable the bed looked. "I'd sleep with you any day if it meant being able to dream in that bed."
He just groaned, walking toward me with a pained expression. "Don't fuck with me like that."
"Like what?" I asked with a naivety anyone would fall for. I knew my cards.
"You've got no idea how hard this is for me." Quickly and quietly, he reached out and grabbed at the end of my tie, drawing me closer. "Standing here, looking sinfully gorgeous in all the wrong ways and you say something like that? You test my patience."
I saw it in his face. That expression you only see on wounded animals or people who had lost all hope. I wasn't quite sure if Grimmjow was just that good at roping people in or if he was feeling a real, human emotion. For half a second I wanted to close the gap between us. Fuck the party, fuck meeting whoever it was I was going to meet, I just wanted to ride this man until neither of us could move.
But, I didn't want to be tangled in his web. "Not as much as you test my nerves." Pulling away from him, I moved to gather my bags off the sofa so we could finally head out. The smell of smoke filled my senses as hit lit another one and tossed his bag over the shoulder of his Armani suit and began meandering toward the door.
"Where the fuck are we?" I grumbled as I stared out the window of the rental car. We were driving through what I assumed was a small fishing town. Now what in the fuck were we doing in a fishing town with four-figure suits on?
"The Hamptons."
"How much shit do these people own?" Honestly, someone in this world more materialistic than Grimmjow? Blasphemy.
"What are you talking about? The whole area's called The Hamptons. Specifically, we're going to Amagensett."
I just stared at him stupidly. "So, there isn't a family by the name of Hampton."
"No. You're an idiot."
I felt like an idiot.
"How much longer, my legs are cramping because we've been sitting down all fucking day."
"Stop whining," he said with a cocky grin. "Ten minutes, maybe."
With his driving, it was more like three minutes before I was staring up at this massive house. Massive. Four stories, at least. And in the dark, it was lit up like a candle. Classic Grecian architecture and windows that went from the floor to the roof to show off the sweeping staircases and massive chandeliers inside. It made me happy I actually paid attention is classical architecture class. It was possibly the most gorgeous thing I'd ever set my eyes on.
I would have loved to just sit on the stone garden wall that sat opposite the house and just stare up at it, but Grimmjow had other plans as he smacked me across the back of my head. "Seriously. Come on, ain't got time for you to stand there and oogle a building."
Asshole. No appreciation.
The first thing I noticed about the interior of the house was that the entire north side of the house was literally a ballroom. Of course, I don't think they call it that anymore, maybe referred to as a salon. In my eyes though, any huge room with crystal chandeliers and marble floors is a ballroom. Why these people had one was beyond me.
The second thing I noticed was that easily half of the occupants were Japanese. I breathed a sigh of relief. Tonight wasn't going to be as terrible as I first thought. I was at least going to be able to converse with a handful of people.
Grimmjow stood beside me and glanced around the room quickly. Without discretion whatsoever, he pointed his finger at a man across the room and sighed. "That's Aizen Sousuke. He's my boss and he's the one that wanted to meet you. He's standing there with his cohorts in crime, Gin and Tousen. They don't really matter though, in this company they're little more than his lapdogs."
"Is this his house?" I asked, once again admiring the interior.
"This? This is what he calls his 'entertainment pavilion'. He literally only uses it for parties and the rest of us have to fly halfway around the world to attend." Something had happened between Aizen and Grimmjow. Something that turned the blue-haired devil standing to my left into a bitter, angry man.
"Well, the sooner you introduce me, the sooner we can leave," I smiled, watching as Grimmjow grabbed a drink off of a passing server's tray.
"Yeah, yeah," he snorted, grabbing my forearm and wandering in the general direction of the trio of apparently extremely important men.
"Ah, Grimmjow," the man said with a soft smile. "Glad you could make it. Your face is looking much better than it was the other night. I take it this is Kurosaki?" He didn't even give me a chance to react before he was introducing himself, "Fantastic to meet you, I'm sure Grimmjow has told you all about me already."
"Oh, uh, just a little," I stammered. "It's nice to meet you as well." I hated meeting new people.
"I've only heard good things and I can hope that it stays that way," he smiled. There was something about him, I could almost see why Grimmjow resented him so much. On the outside he was a perfect gentleman, the epitome of the modern businessman. But somewhere, somehow, he was truly twisted, hiding his lust for power beneath his cloak of innocence and grandeur.
"Well, I'm certainly going to try my best," I said with a smile, letting myself bow ever so slightly to the man.
Humor was dotted in the man's features, as if meeting him was just something that amused him.
It was all becoming so clear as to why Grimmjow loathed the man.
"Listen, gonna make the rounds," Grimmjow said, poking his finger toward the ceiling and spinning it around. "Gotta meet with a few other people before the night is over."
"Ah, you're finally deciding that the parties are more for business and not so much for indulging in your less than stellar behaviors?" Aizen said with a perfect smile.
"Something like that," Grimmjow muttered. "Come on, Kurosaki."
"It was nice meeting you," I said quickly as I was dragged off.
"Oh, no. Pleasure was all mine."
Fuck, that guy gave me the shivers.
"What the hell, Grimmjow?" I snapped at him under my breath as he slammed down his drink and left the glass stranded on a table.
"I have something to do and I can't leave you with him," he said quietly, wandering through the people, obviously looking for something.
"Why?"
"The man's a right bastard. If I had it my way you wouldn't have ever had to meet him until my untimely death because Christ only knows you're the only one employed right now that could take my place."
Woah, what? "That doesn't mean you get to drag me off like a child."
He spun on me right as we entered a hallway that ran down to the back garden. "Yes, it does. You've got no idea who he is or what he's capable of. Just trust me on this one, alright?"
Something in those beautiful eyes told me that I probably should just drop it. "Fine. Alright."
"Thank you," he snapped, turning back toward the garden. I'd never seen him so tightly wound, so desperate to get... something done.
The garden was just as beautiful as the rest of the house. The grass went on for about an acre before it ended right on the beach, the gentle sound of the ocean just lulling the excitement of the party into a sort of peaceful hum. I turned my attention to the opposite side of the flagstone patio to see a pair of people leaning against the wooden fence. A woman with dark skin and blonde hair wearing a long white gown standing with the creepiest man I'd ever seen. He had long black hair and slits for eyes with a grin permanently plastered to his face.
"Fuck, there you are," Grimmjow said, rolling his eyes at them.
"There we are? Fuck you! Not like we're hidin' from ya," the other man said. As we drew closer I saw that this man's face was more beaten and bruised than Grimmjow's was. Maybe, just maybe, he had a broken nose that he hadn't gotten looked at.
"Ichigo," Grimmjow said suddenly. "Halibel and Nnoitra. They're friends, for lack of a better term."
"Nice to meet you," I muttered.
"I must say, your face looks much better than it should," Halibel said quietly, her voice coming out in a tone that seemed to run the border of a bedroom sigh. Slowly, her long fingers reached up and traced their way across his cheek in a manner that gave me a half a second of pure rage. I didn't want her skin touching hers. Because as the stood there, locking into whatever they were doing, they were the two most beautiful people I'd ever seen in my entire life. I hated the feeling.
"Lots of ice and booze," Grimmjow muttered, emotion completely erased from his face in a heartbeat. "Are we good to go?"
"Whenever you are."
"Watch him," the blue-haired man snapped. "Don't let Aizen come within ten meters of him."
Nnotria's grin seemed to deepen. "Jealously is an ugly color."
"You didn't see the way he looked at him, disgusting," Grimmjow snapped. "And I'll break your fucking nose again if you jack this up."
Wait, what? Why was I being treated like a ten year old boy? "Grimmjow, I'm perfectly fine by myse-"
"Shut up, stay with them, stop acting like I give a shit about you."
Ouch, alright. He was gone before I could really defend myself, which was all and well I guess. I didn't really have a good retort to that verbal attack.
"So, why'd he beat your face in?" I asked Nnotria as we moved to sit around one of the tables set up on the patio.
Halibel chimed in with humor in her voice, "That's just how these men settle their differences."
"Asshole jumped on me from behind, else I would'a kicked his ass and you know it," the man mocked.
"So how do you guys know him?" I waved down the server to get my own drink. Fuck knows I needed it.
"We work together," Nnotria said before flinching in pain.
"Used to work together," Halibel must have kicked him under the table for telling me something I wasn't supposed to know. "We're just old office buddies."
They must have thought I was stupid. I didn't know what was up, but I knew something was up.
AN : I could have given him a sword, but they are so unpractical in the real world.
Sorry it took so long to get this out. I've been busier than all hell. Got a new job (at Charlotte Russe) and I've been taking mad care of my mom. Guh. Should hopefully have the old version up soon.