Had Grimmjow been similar to other formidable performers he was so often compared to, Ulquiorra would have more than competition to worry about should circumstances choose to pit them against one another. Instead, what he saw in his rival, in fame and in love, was so apart from the appearance Grimmjow was so fond of projecting.

"The idea is, this joint performance must be subdued and quite apart from what our contemporaries usually pull. After all, we're trying to raise funds for the needy. I'm sure it should wax naturally, and should least of all require great effort to work." Los Espada's vocalist was saying, weighing each word carefully in what looked like an attempt to alleviate the tension. Indeed, there was a remarked coldness in Ulquiorra that was hard to ignore.

Inoue and Shuhei were seated across the talking Grimmjow, nodding occasionally in agreement to certain suggestions which Ulquiorra, on the other hand, found to be out of place. Whether Ulquiorra was being thoroughly earnest to disagree or simply found himself inclined to animosity he could not have said. All he knew was, he could only contest whatever it was that Grimmjow should propose, lest he himself be found foaming in the mouth-for some damn of a reason. He found himself really hating the man.

Beside Grimmjow, on his left, sat Jiruga, who couldn't quite take his eyes off Inoue. As if mesmerized by her beauty, he would inject his thoughts in the matter once in every little while should repose permit him to, if only to impress the woman across him.

Szayel, Stark and Renji were conversing genially at the bar counter-over a bottle of vodka. If they could hear what was being discussed on the other side of the room they sure weren't showing any indication of any sort of involvement, nor were they particularly interested anyway.

On the couch between the two loveseats, Ichigo, seated beside Ulquiorra, was giving it all his effort to appear cordial, if not altogether friendly. Decidedly, he resolved to keep his distance from Ulquiorra as per Grimmjow's request. The task, it seemed, wasn't anything near what one might refer to as a walk in the park because, apparently, some vocalist dude picked the most gorgeous time to be difficult. For some ungodly reason other than his extraordinary impulses, Ulquiorra was snatching all opportunities to stay close to his bassist, behaving as though there could be no absolute guarantee of welching the orange-head away from his scrutiny. As a response, Grimmjow initially assumed a mood which seemed to require instant departure. But, having promised himself to conduct things professionally, he overcame his feelings of jealousy.

"We're speaking of a long-drawn project here, something which can last weeks, am I getting this right?" Shuhei clarified.

"You are correct." Jiruga confirmed, looking at Inoue rather than the person who asked the question, prompting the Helios guitarist to go on.

"If I may say one thing, it's that I applaud your aim in the foremost. But I am very interested in how our sponsors take the whole of this."

Grimmjow cleared his throat before speaking, "Yes, this would not be possible without their support. I assure you, sir, that our expenses shall be very well covered. This side of the matter, however, shall be assessed by our managers for further development. As for the present, there appears to be no reason for this proposal to fall short of fulfillment."

Shuhei and Inoue cast each other a satisfied look.

Ichigo had the feeling that the vocalist had a great deal more to say than what he proposed to relate. He gazed at him with admiration, as he couldn't have helped doing anything less, wondering how trifles like charity work had taken its place in Grimmjow's mind and, more importantly, how genuine his devotion for it was. But all this was answered afterward when he got hold of a certain article lying on some odd corner of the world wide web. Grimmjow, though very much subject to public persecution due to some of his morally questionable inclinations, had always been successful in justifying these petty, otherwise rebellious, misdeeds by his diligent participation in charity works, for which he would infallibly refuse any sort of credit if he could help it.

This man, Ichigo thought, was more than anything he was given reason to expect. Being steadfastly indifferent to public opinion, Grimmjow was in more ways than one a notable person on his own right. And as Ichigo could not openly express his appreciation, he gazed at him with smiling eyes.

Grimmjow, as if detecting this silent tribute, returned the orange-head's gaze with a self-satisfied grin, and winked at him so that Ulquiorra would not miss every portion of this mutual exchange-to make matters worse. Neither discomfited nor curious, at least on the surface, Ulquiorra drank in the spectacle in silence, knowing that later recollection of the scene would leave him more bothered than he ever believed he was.

…

Making allowances for every display of courtesy, Nnoitora Jiruga opted to be the reserve drummer, giving way to Renji's preference, for the short-term charity tour. The members of Los Espada were mildly puzzled by his generosity but concluded eventually that their drummer was up to something. He was, in fact, up to something.

"I don't think I caught the rest of your name, my lady." He was telling the pretty manager.

"Orihime, Inoue Orihime." She answered as steadily as she could, finding Jiruga to be perfectly decent but straightforward nonetheless.

Ichigo, like Jiruga, decided to take the role of a reserve, upon acquiring this serious idea in which separating Stark and Szayel was an offense no less than trampling on some devout papist's principles. He wasn't entirely correct in this case, because Stark was really more than willing to award the stage to Shuhei, who was as good a guitarist as himself.

Upon taking the role of being the co-leader of the joint act Shuhei sentenced the day to an end, granting everyone a free afternoon but requesting everyone to resume rehearsal arrangements after lunch the next day. This was much for Ulquiorra's relief, as he could stand Grimmjow no longer. The fact that he was to inevitably spend long days ahead within the other's presence hadn't quite crossed his mind yet. In the meantime, his greatest and most immediate desire was to retire to his apartment and to read Haruki Murakami's latest novel; in short, to be rid of the bastard Grimmjow Jaggerjack.

But this relief was temporary, even disappointing, since he had initially made up his mind for the comfort of extricating himself from this enclosure where Grimmjow shimmered like gold. He was to approach his bassist to ask if the latter needed a lift to his apartment when the Los Espada front-man approached the orange-head before him, much to Ulquiorra's horror.

"I promised Arsenal Bar's owner I'd play a tune or two for them tonight. The place is ten minutes away from here. Care to come, Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked the bassist.

"Fine with me. But are we playing your, Los Espada's, songs?"

"No. Stark and Szayel ain't coming, if ya know what that means."

"I'll come, if you need a guitarist." It was Shuhei who answered. Evidently, he needed to refresh his pitch tonight. As it was, Grimmjow extended his gratitude.

Upon hearing this, the pale vocalist swiveled around to commence his exit, apparently plagued with displeasure. That aside, he was even more so annoyed for having gone unnoticed by his bassist, of all freakin' people.

"Ulquiorra, care to join us? I wish to see how this dual vocals trial is gonna pan out." Grimmjow called out to him, his manner genial, if only to justify the compliment which came with it.

The vocalist held his bearing in check, turned to them and modestly declined, convincing everyone that he was indeed in fair harmony with his surrounding and all the people in it- when the truth was just the exact opposite. Indeed, Ulquiorra didn't take the trouble to assess Ichigo's close interaction with Grimmjow, even as both had now started to laugh over some childish joke. They were, in fact, flirting. For all Ulquiorra knew, he had to get away.

When Ulquiorra had gone, Renji excused himself likewise, leaving Shuhei, Grimmjow, Ichigo and Jiruga to cover the line up, with the first two mentioned acting as vocalists. And so the four tucked themselves in Jiruga's SUV, to later on please a small audience.

"So what's the track listing for tonight?" Shuhei inquired.

"I'm thinking 'Hunger Strike', plus Cheap Trick's 'Surrender' should airtime permit it." Grimmjow answered.

"I fucking love those tracks."

…

The mere sound of his singing voice unnerved Ichigo. Grimmjow's vocals, remarkable for some of those qualities which bring it either envy or admiration, didn't simply strike Ichigo as powerful but also nostalgic, if not on the whole mystical. Somehow, he was being transported to his childhood, where the greater portion of the walls in his room had been covered with Transformers and Dragon Ball Z posters, back in time where internet and mobile phones had been hardly the best means of communication and of dispersing information. He was sure he used to hear the tune being played so often, but couldn't remember when and where. All he knew was, he was very young when he had first heard it. On top of that, he didn't expect something so deep could be recovered from his soul simply by listening to a song long lost in his recalling.

In the final analysis, the pro bono performance, though done in front of a rather small audience whose count didn't exceed two hundred, was fundamentally the type which could raise riots due to the place's loose security. But, as the venue was nothing more than a moderately sized hall which barely allowed breathing space for two hundred heads, nothing out of control ensued. Of course, any number of girls had mounted the stage at certain points, whereby they availed themselves the opportunity to engage the vocalists, Shuhei and Grimmjow, into dry lip-locks, right smack in the middle of singing. At first Ichigo found himself taking pains to ignore this mild lewdness, even more so because he did not expect this moral looseness on Shuhei's part any more than he expected himself to get laid with groupies tonight. But then again, expressing his own disapproval would have sounded somewhat hypocritical, as two girls had now drawn near him to award themselves the same honor they had previously snatched from Shuhei and Grimmjow, and he had no complaints there whatsoever. And thus outmatched by the crude realities that were now confronting him, he braced himself for the spectacle happening right beside him; Grimmjow suddenly neglected rendering vocal assistance and had left the floor entirely to Shuhei. The crowd's cheer grew vehement. Ichigo smiled at this, all the while not missing a note on his bass guitar. Why he was enjoying this night like no other he could not have said. But now Grimmjow was advancing toward him, and no sooner did Ichigo realize they were staring at each other than when the vocalist pointed the mic back to his lips to resume singing, his gaze never leaving Ichigo's. The gaze was very reminiscent of the one Szayel and Stark always shared in the prelude of their necking. And yet, Grimmjow held himself back, merely smelling the bassist's hair with considerable affection, to which the crowd erupted into meaningful wolf-whistles. At that Ichigo blushed, still maintaining the consistency of his role as a bassist. For the most part, it was anything but random.

If he was not mistaken, it was very easy to fall in love with this person, to worship him the way those who yearned for the past worshipped dead things.

No, he thought. This person could never belong to anyone, because to love him was to love something which didn't exist anymore. And for that reason alone, he concluded no man alive was lucky nor deserving enough to receive and earn the love of Grimmjow Jaggerjack.

And he was only a man.

TBC

A/N: Well, shit. been writing more stories than i can handle or care to finish. tsk tsk tsk. i will TRY to conclude this and try to upload once in a week or two. to my estimation this will span 14 chaps.