In Flame's POV, last chapter of prelude...-Soranryu

"What's wrong, Flame?" Ggio's voice snapped me back to reality, "You've been staring into space more than ever recently." Turning my eyes back to him, I contemplated on whether I should tell him my troubles. I knew that I was spacing out more than usual, but not without a good reason. Honestly, I've been thinking about Grimmjow.

After the day when I was almost kidnapped twice, with me waking up in his arms the next day, he's been avoiding me. I mean, sure, it was awkward, but he avoided me like a plague. The other Arrancars were really nice to me, but I don't know what I did to make Grimmjow shun me. The last time I've seen him was when Ulquiorra and Tesla finished working on my room, and that was a week ago. He was in his room all the time.

During the time Grimmjow was distancing himself from me, the other Arrancars were getting closer to me. Ulquiorra, Szayel and Harribel especially, since we shared quite a few things in common. With Ulquiorra, we sometimes read books together or did some art. With Szayel, I learnt more about my favorite subject, Biology, from him. With Harribel, we grew quite a lot of different plants together, and sometimes went out on "girls' outing" with the other females.

However…Grimmjow avoiding me was weighing heavily in my mind. And to be honest, I missed him. "Flame?" Ggio asked again, this time nudging me gently. I should tell him; he is my brother after all. "Ggio-nii…Grimmjow-san has been avoiding me, and I don't know why. Did I do something wrong?" I asked, my voice laced with sadness.

Ggio looked shocked for a while before saying, "I know. We all realized that, but none of us have yet to ask him about it. Don't worry, Flame; I'm pretty sure it's his fault, not yours." Then, after a pause, Ggio asked, "Do you like King?" This time, it was his words that shocked me.

"L-Like?" I stuttered. Ggio nodded, as he knows that I caught on his question. I…never thought about it, though. Yeah, sure, Grimmjow is really hot, with his great figure and good looks. Within these two weeks of staying in Las Noches, I finally understood why many girls who know about the Arrancars dreamed of Grimmjow being their bad-ass boyfriend. I guess…I do too.

From when he rescued me twice, and the short time I got to know him, I felt this attraction to him. Hell, the moment I set foot into Las Noches and saw him sitting in the middle, I was in awe. The power and leadership emanating from him was hard to ignore. What's worse was when he held me, he was so warm that I felt safe in his arms.

Thinking up to here, I came to realize that I do like Grimmjow. So that's why it hurts that he was avoiding me. I tentatively nodded my answer to Ggio, who didn't look surprised at all. "You knew?" I asked him. He ruffled my hair gently before hugging me from behind, "Of course I know. What kind of brother would I be if I don't know? You're lucky your parents aren't here; they'll flip."

He's right; Mum and Dad would freak out if they knew. Throughout my sixteen years of living, I've never develop feelings for anyone before. If they knew, they would go all protective and naggy. I became thankful that we were both in Ggio's room, just the two of us. "Well…I don't mind, because it's King. However, Flame, why don't you start from friends first? You don't know him well enough to commit, and vice versa."

I ran through his words in my head and thought that it made sense. It wouldn't do any good to rush into a relationship. Besides, I do have my dream of becoming a vet. If I start a relationship, I might have to give up my dream. "I guess you're right," I said, my mind made up, "but I have to confront him about avoiding me."

"Yeah, let's go, right now," Ggio grinned, pulling away and getting down from the bed. I followed his lead and soon we stood in front of Grimmjow's room. I raised my hand and was about to knock the door when Ggio held me back and knocked instead, "King, it's Ggio." Rustling could be heard after a few moments of silence and the door opened to reveal the Arrancars' King.

However, he tried to close the door as soon as he saw me. Ggio anticipated this and intercepted, holding onto the door, "Get inside, Flame. I can't stop him for long." At his words, I quickly slipped into Grimmjow's room. My brother may be strong, but he is still no match for Grimmjow. "I'll be waiting outside," was Ggio's last words before he let go, the door slamming shut.

Flame realised her own feelings for the King as well. What's she gonna do? -Soranryu