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Chapter Nine: Blood's Greatest Enemy

Ichigo had finally healed. When he was still hurt, he had to be carefully supported in Chad's arms to go home. That night, he couldn't remember the number of times he thanked Nel for her professional help. The woman just waved off the thanks with a "It's my duty" explanation.

Of course, Shiro played conductor on Chad's handling of Ichigo. The orange haired man was frowning as he was constantly shifted in Chad's arms. The entire charade of caring for Ichigo's sensitive state was supported by Grimmjow. After all, the blue haired man was considered blood.

Ichigo was glad Shiro accepted Grimmjow. In fact, he was more than glad; he was excited. He knew that Grimmjow would make it to blood. He just knew it. The other was definitely more, and he appreciated every part of Grimmjow's friendship and brotherhood.

When they had gotten home, Isshin made a huge scene about Ichigo's condition. The old man was taken down by Chad, who was only restraining the man from smothering the son. Shiro had to explain the entire situation to Isshin, and Grimmjow added the recovery story of Ichigo's adventure.

In the end, Isshin was under more control, but that didn't stop him from sobbing on his wife's poster about his son being kicked around and saved at school. Ichigo was too sore to scold the old man from his slanted position against Shiro and Grimmjow. At least the healing process wasn't so bad.

Ichigo flexed his arms and legs to show Grimmjow, Shiro, Chad, and Isshin that his body was fine. He was getting annoyed with all of the muscle questions and the overwhelming amount of concern. He was a big boy, and they just had to know that. He even slipped on a "Nice Vibe" shirt and light blue jeans all by himself.

"Are ya sure?" Shiro questioned again. His arms were crossed, and his face was drooped in disbelief. His black striped shirt and gray jeans made his white skin stand out more than usual.

Ichigo's right eye twitched at the question. With a quick clutch of his fist, he slammed his fist into Shiro's abdomen. As his brother hunched over and fell to his knees with a groan, Ichigo said, "My arm's working well. Hmmmm. Maybe I should test my leg." He raised his leg and used it to slam Shiro onto the ground. He ground his foot into Shiro's shoulder blade.

Shiro was sprawled on the floor. He turned his head and groaned, "Ya well. Great." His head fell to rest on the ground. "Ow. That really hurt," he mentally whined.

"Great to see you in action, Ichigo," said Chad with a thumbs up. He wore a maroon shirt and dickie shorts.

Grimmjow as busy laughing at Shiro. After the other glared at him, Grimmjow fanned himself and took in a deep breath. "Good job, Ichigo. You just put Shiro in your place on your first day," he said with amusement. His black shirt ruffled from more chuckles, and his blue pants crinkled from the body's shivering.

Isshin wore his tropical shirt and doctor's coat. "I SEE THAT YOU ARE WELL, MY SON!" he yelled with his arms outstretched. With a quick narrow of his eyes, he jumped up and spun to swing his foot at Ichigo's face.

Chad reached out and caught Isshin's foot. Using his strength, he brought Isshin down with a loud thud. As the father was rubbing his butt from being slammed onto the ground, Chad asked, "Testing Ichigo's strength seems a bit too soon, don't you think?"

With a grumbly pout, Isshin crawled out of the room with a loud, "I SHALL TEST YOU LATER, ICHIGO! BE PREPARED!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Crazy old man," he grumbled under his breath. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO GET YOUR BRAIN CHECKED!" he yelled at the open door toward his father.

Shiro got to his feet and held onto his abdomen. "Man, King. Did ya have t' hit me that hard?" he whined as he walked to his bed still bent over. When he got to his bed, Shiro plopped down and leaned on his knees.

"What did I ever do t' deserve that?" asked Shiro as he breathed deeply.

"Maybe you shouldn't have asked him the same question five times in a row," suggested Chad from his position against the wall. He was smiling at his friend's condition.

Grimmjow leaned against the wall to steady himself as he laughed more. He couldn't believe that Ichigo's father was that rough on his own son. He also couldn't believe that Chad and Shiro were also rough on the old man. The last part that topped off everything was Ichigo's and Shiro's violent rough housing toward one another. Come to think of the whole family, Grimmjow never had that kind of bond. He had a father and a mother, but he never had such a relationship where violence showed love.

He actually took some time the other day to compare his old life with Ichigo's, and he concluded something very important: his family went downhill for sure. Grimmjow thought that maybe the new rough personalities of his family were for love, but after his thoughts, he just knew he was dead wrong.

Despite the recent death of his parents, Grimmjow was more happy. He would admit to anyone who asked that he was happier. Why? He's recognized by the Kurosaki brothers and Chad as blood and as a brother, he's recognized as a son by Nel, and he's recognized as a best friend by Ichigo.

Ichigo was special to Grimmjow. The other just made him smile, made him laugh, and made him feel welcome. That's why he envied the orange haired man. The other had it all, and Grimmjow felt as part of it. Because of Ichigo, Grimmjow felt whole.

"Who's up for the mall?" asked Ichigo with a fist in the air. He was smiling at all of his friends in the room. He really wanted to get away from the house, for he had spent the last few days recovering in the same room.

"Mall?" asked Shiro from his stooped position. "Do I really gotta?" He looked up with his scary eyes. "Please say no," he thought.

The orange haired brother sighed and said, "Yes, you gotta." He was frowning at his brother. Of all the requests to try to refuse, Ichigo would not allow Shiro to slip away from a trip to the mall. He shook his head when Shiro sighed and nodded his head.

Chad pushed away from the wall and walked over to Shiro. He patted the other on the back and said, "Don't worry, Shiro. Everything will be okay. We won't shop for any clothes." He chuckled when the other looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Ya better not, Chad! Ya know I don't have the patience t' shop. There's t' many numbers and colors. Eh!" Shiro complained. He rubbed at his head to feign a headache.

"Hmmmm," hummed Grimmjow from the other wall. "I do need a new jacket." His eyes floated over to Shiro as his lips curved into a sly smile. He chuckled.

Shiro got to his feet and declared, "No one shall shop, or I will go insane." He stomped away and out the door. He was grumbling under his breath about needy people and unnecessary malls.

"Has he always hated the mall?" asked Grimmjow to the remaining two in the room. His blue eyes shifted from Chad to Ichigo.

Ichigo shook his head and replied, "Shiro never liked shopping. He realized it when he went shopping with his ex-girlfriend, Orihime. According to Shiro, the girl wouldn't shut her mouth the entire way, and she asked for him to carry most of her bags." When he saw the other raise an eyebrow at the explanation, Ichigo added, "They broke up the following weekend. Shiro didn't want to deal with anymore shopping sprees."

"Sprees?" asked Grimmjow.

"They went every weekend for a month," Ichigo informed. He crossed his arms. Ichigo remembered all of the days he had to deal with Shiro complaining about Orihime's shopping problem. He shook his head at the memory. He sighed again and said, "I almost felt bad."

Chad laughed and chipped in, "Remember that time Shiro came home with bags of stuff for him. Orihime just had to get him the latest styles." He thumbed at the door as he said, "Thus, Shiro looks like a male model in the family catalog."

Grimmjow smiled and agreed. Shiro did, indeed, look very fashionable.

Ichigo shrugged and announced, "Alright. Let's follow my brother before he decides to hide somewhere." He led the way down the stairs and around the corner of the hallway. He frowned when Shiro was nowhere in sight. With a roll of his eyes and shake of his head, Ichigo called out, "Shiro! Get from behind the couch and hurry to put your shoes on! We're going to the mall!" He cocked a brow as he watched Shiro stand up with a pout and walk toward the door.

The blue haired man was amazed. He whispered to Ichigo, "How'd you know he was there?" He was still looking at Shiro, who was putting on his shoes as he grumbled.

The orange haired companion shrugged his shoulders and replied, "He hides there all the time. I've told him to change his hiding spot, but he doesn't seem to get that reverse psychology won't ever come into play when he constantly hides behind the couch."

Blue eyes were jerked into confusion. "Really?" he thought.

Chad moved around the staring pair and walked toward the door, where he put on his shoes. He looked up at Grimmjow and Ichigo, who were still chatting, and shook his head. With a sly smile, Chad looked at Shiro and nudged him a little.

Shiro looked toward his brother and smiled, for he knew what Chad was motioning for him to do. He cupped his hands around his mouth and mock yelled, "Ay, ya love birds! Are ya comin' or what?" When Ichigo turned to him with a grimace, Shiro chuckled and made a run for the door with Chad right behind him.

"I love gettin' his attention," said Shiro as he stopped at the sidewalk with Chad.

"I knew you'd get their attention," added Chad as he stood with a smile. He crossed his arms and said, "Now, we wait."

After a few seconds, Ichigo burst from the front door and sprinted toward the sidewalk. "Shiro!" he growled.

"Shit," muttered Shiro and made a run toward the mall's direction.

Chad stood there as he watched Ichigo chase Shiro. He chuckled. "I'll never get tired of those two," he thought with a brighter smile.

Grimmjow peacefully waltzed toward Chad and looked up. "Are they gonna run the whole way there?" he asked. After asking, he watched Ichigo's and Shiro's forms shrink in the distance.

"Unless Ichigo catches him," answered Chad with a shrug. After giving the situation some thought, he said, "Ichigo'll probably catch him by the next block." He raised an eyebrow when he heard a shriek. To him, that meant he was right. Chad jerked his head for the other to follow him towards the mall. "Let's make sure Ichigo didn't wail on him too badly," Chad suggested.

After making sure that Shiro's body was still functional, the group walked through the glass doors of the mall. Inside the building, there was a huge dome glass as the center ceiling. Stores lined the sides, and smaller stands littered the center. A huge fountain, made to look like a giant mountain with fish in the water and little trees on the edges, towered high, almost touching the tip of the glass dome.

"Whoa," was Grimmjow's first impression as he looked at the fountain. "I've never seen such a huge water fountain." His blue eyes were wide.

Ichigo smiled at his best friend and said, "You wanna touch the fishies?" When Grimmjow looked at the other with a frown, the orange haired teaser mended, "I'm just kidding. There are fish in the fountain, though. Wanna see?"

Just as about Grimmjow was going to answer, he heard a high pitched squeal. He winced and muttered, "Oh, man." Grimmjow slapped his forehead.

"Hey, Mr. Grumpy Grim!" called Nel from the exit of a store. She was holding a few bags.

"Ya ma is actually here?" asked Shiro. He crossed his arms with narrowed eyes, for he and Nel still weren't on good terms. Shiro watched the green haired woman jumble over toward them and drop the bags to give Grimmjow a hug.

"Neeeeeel," hissed Grimmjow as he hugged back.

"Don't be that way, Grimmjow," said Nel with a warning tone. She hugged the other tighter. After hearing her son gasp for breath, she let him go and turned toward the others. When she saw Ichigo, Nel squealed and asked, "How are you, Ichigo?" Without waiting for an answer, she squeezed Ichigo, too.

"I'm fine," Ichigo managed to say. After being let go, he took in a deep breath. When Nel turned away, Ichigo looked at Grimmjow with a slick smile.

"Don't go there," said Grimmjow pointing at the other accusingly. He knew what the other wanted to say. Ichigo had yet to stop telling him about Nel's rockin' hot body. He didn't disagree, but hearing the comment from Ichigo's mouth was plain creepy.

"Chad," squealed Nel. She gave the tall man a hug, but she couldn't squeeze the life out of him. The other just tapped her on the back and commented on her peach dress. Nel thanked him and turned to Shiro.

Nel put her hands on her hips when Shiro turned his head the other way. Deciding that the other would get a hug out of fairness, Nel tackle hugged the white haired man.

Shiro gasped from the impact and strength of the woman's arms. He wheezed, "Okay, okay. Stop! I can't breathe." When he was let go, Shiro took in deep breaths and said, "I'm trying to live here."

"It's not like I meant to deprive you of air," said Nel with a shrug. "That's the way I express my niceness." She pouted when Shiro gave her a deadly glare. "If you keep looking at me like that, you're face might just get stuck that way," warned she with a fist.

Rolling his eyes, Shiro said, "Whatever." He looked to Ichigo and Grimmjow for some kind of help from the woman.

Grimmjow picked up the s.o.s. look from Shiro, so he picked up Nel's bags and called, "Nel." He thought that the woman may have some other store to go to, so he was carrying her bags and holding them up.

The green haired woman looked back at her son and she nodded. Nel turned her attention back to Shiro and hissed, "Be nice to my boy." She spun on her heel and walked toward Grimmjow. When she got to her son, Nel said, "Mr. Grumpy Grim, can you hold my bags. I really need to hit the ladies' room."

When the blue haired man heard his nickname, Grimmjow knew that Nel wanted him to do something. With a small sigh and smile, Grimmjow nodded. "Take as long as you need to," he encouraged. Nel thanked him and ran off toward the bathrooms.

When Nel was far from hearing range, Shiro suggested, "I say we ditch 'er." He really wanted to be as far from the woman as possible.

"You afraid of Grimmjow's mom?" teased Chad. He put his hands in his pockets when Shiro turned on him.

"No!" bit Shiro. His golden eyes were narrowed. "I just don't like 'er. She's mean and don't like me. End o' story." He crossed his arms tightly as he glared down at the floor.

Grimmjow growled a little. He did not like a brother badmouthing his mother. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Ichigo raised his hand for him to stop. Somehow, Ichigo knew that Grimmjow would say something very bad, and Grimmjow's remark would cause problems.

Ichigo heard the growl, which meant something bad was going to come out of Grimmjow's mouth, so he countered to Shiro, "No. We wait. Nel is Grimmjow's mom. Just because you don't like here, doesn't mean we all have to play your hate game."

Chad added, "Relax, Shiro. She's not so bad, and we would be rude to leave a lady, especially when she doesn't have her bags." When Shiro turned to protest, Chad cut in, "Don't be so mean, Shiro. Just be happy she isn't another Orihime."

Shiro pouted and mumbled, "Thank gravity."

Just as Shiro was being lectured, Nel was humming as she exited the bathroom. When she looked up, Nel froze. Her mouth was ajar, and her eyes were wide. "This can't be," she thought. She swallowed a nervous lump and whispered, "Nnoitra?"

The man in front of her was leaning against the whitewashed wall. He was tall and thin. His long hair spilled from the darkness of his black hoodie, and his legs were concealed in dark blue jeans. Black sneakers adorned his feet, and the shoes were athletic shoes. His hands were stuffed in his front pocket. One eye glowed from within the darkness.

"Long time, no see, Neliel," said the hooded man. He dropped his hood and grinned.

Nel back away toward the women's bathroom door. She didn't want to be near the other. Nnoitra was bad news. Her bottom lip quivered.

"Why ya so scared, Neliel?" asked Nnoitra. He took a step forward, making the other flinch. With a frown, Nnoitra brought out his hands and held them up in a surrender like fashion. "I ain't gonna hurt ya," he said.

Nel shook her head and defended, "I'm not scared." Her hands felt for the door handle.

"Oh really?" asked Nnoitra with a cross of his arms. He tipped his head as his lone eye stared at the other.

"I," started Nel, "just thought you were arrested." Her right hand gripped the handle tightly. Her eyes were still focused on Nnoitra's death like gaze.

Nnoitra laughed. He held onto his abdomen to soothe its ache. He wiped a tear and wheezed, "Ya really think cops can keep me?" He straightened himself with an amused smirk still plastered on his face. "Cops are dumb these days, Neliel. All I had to do was roll out o' the car, hide in a bush, and kill 'em as the dumb pigs passed," explained Nnoitra.

With a small laugh, he added, "I basically gutted 'em. Made bacon an' all." When Nel's face grimaced, he laughed harder. The other amused him so much. After taking in a deep breath, Nnoitra said, "I miss that face o' your's, Neliel. Your face is even better in passion." He smiled creepily without his teeth.

The green haired woman remembered. She hated to remember. The reason why she could relate to Grimmjow so much was due to the man in front of her: Nnoitra. The name gave her chills. Nel remembered the day in high school. It was after school. She and Nnoitra were good friends. She defended him, and Nnoitra defended her. The friendship seemed great. But, Nnoitra wanted more. He loved Nel in high school.

To Nnoitra, Nel was everything. She was his day and night. He would talk to her all day, and he would make sure that no other guy got near her. One day, however, he snapped. Nel was talking to the school pretty boy, and Nnoitra didn't appreciate Nel's "betrayal." After school, Nnoitra walked up to that boy and pounded him in. Being satisfied with the boy's condition, he turned to find Nel, who was conveniently standing behind him with terrified eyes.

Nnoitra took her stunned reaction time to grab her arm and drag her toward the gymnasium. The gymnasium had huge bleachers with a concealed space behind. He took her there and raped her. Did he confess why? No. He just took her. He made sure to leave plenty of hicky marks and bite marks. The worst of the marks was the scar on Nel's innocence.

The school found out. How? The school janitor happened to be walking by when he heard a high pitched scream. The old man ran to the school principal, who found the pair under the bleachers. The principal, Harribel, was horrified, for she saw Nnoitra pinning the other down with his body and still "loving" her.

Nnoitra was charged for rape as an adult, for he was eighteen at the time. Nel was only seventeen, meaning that Nnoitra's case was even worse. Nnoitra wasn't happy.

Nel looked down from Nnoitra's gaze. She didn't want to look at the other anymore. She could still feel the marks on her body and heart. She even felt his hands still gripping her legs.

"Why ya look away like that, Neliel?" asked Nnoitra. He wanted her to look at him. He would be damned if the woman didn't look at him the way he wanted. After all, he did catch her hugging a group of boys, whom he planned deal with later.

"I don't want to see you," she admitted. While still looking down, she added, "You act as if nothing happened. You took my virginity and almost got me pregnant. Why did you do that? Why?" Tears started to collect in her eyes. "Now you're some serial killer, and you hurt others. Why?" Nel knew the other was armed; she could feel it. The aura around Nnoitra was the same as the day he forcefully took her.

Nnoitra frowned. "Heh," grumbled he. With a grin, he slipped out a knife from his back pocket and pointed the tip under Nel's chin. Nnoitra chuckled when the other stiffened. He forced her chin upwards, so Nel was finally looking at him.

"I don't need a reason to kill other people," he said. "For you, I had a reason. Didn't ya see back in school? Ya didn't see that I loved ya, Neliel?"

Nel was shocked at the confession. After so many years, the other finally confessed. Her world seemed to stop, for she didn't struggle when Nnoitra pushed her back into the bathroom and lifted her body onto the edge of the sink. The knife wasn't the main focus of her cooperation; the confession took it all.

Nnoitra tossed the knife aside and kissed at Nel's lips. When the green haired woman tore her lips away, he attacked the other's neck. He gave kisses and sucked on her neck.

Nel felt like she couldn't breathe, for she remembered the treatment. All of it. Nnoitra was basically redoing the day he took her. Nel could feel him retracing his steps across her skin. She jolted when her dress was lifted and a hand touched her thigh. She put her hand on his chest and whispered, "Please, Nnoitra. Stop." She looked up pleadingly into Nnoitra's lone eye.

The other just frowned. Nnoitra snarled and slammed the woman against the mirror, cracking the shining surface. When Nel yelped in pain, he attacked her lips.

Of course! Nel remembered that she was pleading with a murderer. Her best friend, Nnoitra, was long gone. With that thought, tears split down her cheeks.

The physical pain was there in her back, but the emotional pain was way worse. Nnoitra was gone. Nnoitra was gone. That one statement was glued in Nel's head.

Grimmjow was tapping his foot impatiently. He didn't like that Nel was in the bathroom for more than seven minutes. The record time Nel has ever been in the bathroom was five minutes, which was his fault for ordering fattening food. "Where is she?" he growled.

"Ya know," explained Shiro, "women take mean shits, too." He laughed when Grimmjow gave him a glare. He earned a slap to the back of his head by both Ichigo and Chad.

Ichigo rubbed his temples and suggested, "Let's go with Grimmjow to check up on her."

"Seriously?" asked Shiro with narrowed eyes. "I ain't goin' int' the ladies' room. No way." He crossed his arms.

"Who said you had to go in?" growled Grimmjow. "I'll check up on her." He clutched the handles of the bags tightly.

"So we can wait here, while you check on ya mama?" Shiro asked hopefully. As he pulled his hands from his pockets, Shiro's head was shoved by Chad. He looked at Chad angrily and growled, but his reaction didn't stir Chad's aggressive side.

Chad shook his head and announced, "We're going with Grimmjow. He's blood, Shiro. We can't leave him to venture into the ladies' room without back up. The women might gang up on him." He looked at Grimmjow with a smile. He was joking, of course.

Grimmjow shook his head and sighed. At least Chad understood his worry. He turned and walked toward the bathrooms. Ichigo followed.

"Do I gotta?" whined Shiro. He was ignored and dragged by Chad toward the restrooms.

Author's Note:

What do you think? Si or no?

I hope you all liked that chapter. I really thought that Nel's relevance to the story was brought out more with her past here. Because you all know that the guys are going to check on Nel, I'm sure that you all can guess what might happen. Have fun with your predictions.

And, believe me when I say that this chapter transitions to the next. Like this chapter, the next chapter might be long, and the next chapter might be the last. I'll be updating soon on this story, and I'll be sure to make the next chapter as interesting and crazy as possible.

See ya later!