A/N: Watched episode 266 and jizzed in my pants - don't care if it's a recap, it's back to CANON! And oh lord, the animation for the new OP was awesome, and I cried tears of joy at the ED, haha. And thus, because I'm so excited from the episode, I'm posting this up. Long chapter is rather long. Hope you enjoy this.

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Ichigo tried desperately to reach Grimmjow through his phone. He had went to the hotel where the fire was – the same one where he knew Neliel was and had Grimmjow and Halibel gathered there. He had seen men dressed the same as the guards in his clinic, and had asked some who weren't so badly injured about Neliel's whereabouts. All of them said they didn't know, and it made Ichigo frustrated. Either the men were keeping mum, or that they really didn't know. Ichigo did notice than some of them were injured from a fight, some with slash marks from a sharp weapon, rather than burn injuries from the fire, and Ichigo wondered if something really did go wrong. Now he was back in the clinic, sitting by the unconscious Il Forte.

Ichigo dialed Grimmjow's number once again, but the man wasn't answering his phone, and neither was Halibel, who had given him her number before she left the last time. He had wanted to go check Grimmjow's apartment, but he figured it was still risky, and he didn't think Grimmjow would go back if something bad did happen. Ichigo shut his phone and growled to himself angrily. He was so frustrated at being so goddamned helpless.

"Kurosaki…?" Ichigo turned to the blonde long-haired man who had just regained consciousness.

"Il Forte, how do you feel?" Ichigo asked with a concerned frown. The man blinked at him and then looked at where he was.

"Like I got hit on the head," Il Forte muttered. Ichigo smirked at his reply. "Where is Grimmjow-sama? I need to see him."

"I don't know. I'm looking for him too," Ichigo replied as his scowl returned.

"Shit, too late…" Il Forte muttered under his breath. Ichigo frowned at him when he caught that.

"What're you talking about? What the hell happened to you anyway?"

"I got hit on the head," Il Forte said as a matter-of-factly, and blatantly ignoring the earlier question. Ichigo rolled his eyes and made an exasperated sound.

"I know who Grimmjow and Halibel are, and this thing with Nell. So just tell me what I should know, since I am involved in Grimmjow anyway," Ichigo told him. Il Forte glared at him though he looked quite surprised at the mention of the Privaron's pet name.

"…Halibel-sama told you, didn't she?" Il Forte asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said moodily, and held back the desire to sock the injured man in the face when he confirmed it wasn't Grimmjow who told him. That he had to discuss with Grimmjow later. Right now, he had to know where and how he was. Ichigo's worry was building up by the minutes. "Can you tell me now?" Il Forte huffed at him but decided to talk albeit reluctantly.

"I was on the way to telling Grimmjow-sama about the imminent attack by Nnoitora."

"Nnoitora?"

"The Quinto Espada. We just found out he's the one who started this. I was on my way to his apartment to tell him… but his fraccion, Tesla appeared and…," Il Forte stopped and reached up to touch his head, frowning when he felt the bandage around it. "…I ended up like this."

"Damn it!" Ichigo suddenly yelled, standing up from his chair and slammed his fist to the wall beside him, startling even Il Forte. "I can't even do anything!"

"You are but a high school student anyway," Il Forte said nonchalantly. Ichigo grabbed him by the collar and snarled at him.

"Don't fucking rub it in!" he spat at the older man, who didn't even flinch. Ichigo's glare wavered as he squeezed his eyes shut. "…I… know that, but I…"

"Grimmjow-sama knows that too, which is why he didn't want to tell you. He didn't want to see you dragged in to a dangerous world like ours," Il Forte told him and the orange-haired teen just stared at him. "He… doesn't want to see you hurt." Ichigo released his hold on him and sat back down on his chair.

"Tch, isn't he being selfish? He can't just do what he wants to, and not listen to what I want," Ichigo grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms. Strangely, Il Forte laughed and Ichigo looked up in surprise. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"No… It's just that you sounded and looked so much like Grimmjow-sama when you said that," Il Forte said with a smirk. Ichigo blushed but kept quiet, looking away in embarrassment.

Just as Ichigo was about to retort something, the room door opened and a stiff, skinny man in a white suit and hair tied into a small braid entered. "Il Forte, there you are. We need to go."

"Shawlong," Il Forte greeted in return, "I was wondering when you would arrive." The skinny man didn't reply him, and waited as Il Forte got off the bed and followed after him.

"Are you in the right condition to walk?" Shawlong asked as he eyed the bandage around Il Forte's head.

"This is nothing, we all have had worse. …Then what about him?" Il Forte asked with his finger pointed to Ichigo who looked confused at what was going on.

"This is Kurosaki Ichigo?" Shawlong asked and Il Forte nodded. He turned to Ichigo and asked, "If you wish, you may come with us."

"Where to?" Ichigo said automatically, though he still didn't know who the man was and what was going on.

"To the Official House of the Sexta Espada."

Ichigo whistled in awe as the car he was in drove closer the large, blocky white building. Il Forte who was sitting beside him, only watched with an amused expression. Ichigo had never seen it before, but then again this was at the outskirts of the town, where it was very far from where the other buildings were. After a long drive past the rather desolate space with hardly much vegetation, they reached the large white gate with a black gothic number 6 on its wall. Il Forte stepped out, along with Shawlong who was sitting at the front passenger seat. Ichigo did the same, and only gaped when he saw the entire building from where they were. To Ichigo, it was like a pure white palace situated in the middle of the desert, where nothing else surrounded it. It felt… lonely. Ichigo could only imagine its King's feeling of reigning nothingness.

"Come on, boy, we don't have all day," Il Forte said, as the guard opened the gates. Ichigo hurried along and ignored the stares he got from the other guards while he followed Il Forte and Shawlong past the gate and along the path that led to the entrance of the building.

"Whoa… it's so empty," Ichigo muttered the moment he went through the door. Indeed it was – the walls were high, the rooms were large and spacious and the walls were washed white. There were furniture, but it didn't match up the amount of space there was, and there was a lack of decorations except for a few expensive rugs and paintings. Ichigo continued to follow the two men down the large hallway as some maids and lesser guards greeted them as they passed.

Shawlong stopped in front of a pair of large double doors and knocked. Ichigo heard a muffled answer from behind the door and Shawlong entered. Il Forte followed and beckoned Ichigo along. The teenager felt nervous for some reason and inhaled deeply. Warily, he entered the room and the first person he saw was Neliel in casual wear and the bright pink band-aid still across her nose, but now with bandages and gauze over some parts of her body. Two maids were tending to her when Neliel seemed to notice someone looking, the green-haired woman looked up and smiled widely.

"Itsugo!!" Neliel jumped up and hugged him, her large breasts and surprisingly strong arms squeezing the breath out of the boy. "Itsugo!! I'm so sorry!!"

"Both of you talk, we will go do what we were supposed to do," Il Forte said and left the room with Shawlong heading to the door at the far back of the large room. Ichigo glared after him as he tried to calm the excited woman.

"N-Nell! It's okay, but please… let me breathe first!" Ichigo told her and Neliel released him but continued to hold his hands apologetically.

"I'm so sorry Itsugo! But you know why I can't tell you, right? And I'm so sorry about this… About my will to hurt that blue-haired jerk if I had to…"

"It's okay, Nell, I'm just glad the worst case scenario didn't happen…" Ichigo paused and the woman looked up at him. "Uh, did it?"

"No it didn't," the woman smiled. "We… sorted out the mess with reason. There wasn't a need for pointless violence."

"That's good," Ichigo sighed. "The fire, how did you guys escape?"

"With three strong people, it's easy to barge out," Nell said with a cheeky smile. "Wait, how did you know? About me?"

"My dad told me, even though he didn't want to," Ichigo told her. Nell nodded understandingly.

"He's a nice man," she said. She pulled Ichigo to the nearest seat and they both sat down. "How are Pesche and Dondochakka? My subordinates, I mean."

"My dad still didn't let me see them, but even if my dad may be weird and crazy, he's still a great doctor, so I'm sure they're fine," Ichigo replied her with a reassuring smile. Neliel sighed in relief and smiled at him too. "…May I know what happened to them?"

"It's my fault, really. I sent them to do a simple errand here from the next town I was in. They were ambushed here… and they almost died," Neliel teared up slightly at the thought and Ichigo patted her comfortingly. "I should have been with them."

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said. "You didn't know it was going to happen." Neliel nodded at him gratefully as she continued.

"I was devastated and angry, of course. Nobody gets away with hurting the ones I love," Neliel told him. "I was probably blinded with anger. I followed the anonymous tip that it was the work of the Tercera Espada without checking it out thoroughly. Little did I know it was the work of an old enemy."

"Tercera… Espada? Sorry, but I still don't know all these strange words you guys have been spouting out. I know you guys are yakuza, but I'm in the shadows when it comes to the terms," Ichigo said to her, looking slightly annoyed by the strange vocabulary.

"The Tercera Espada would be me," Halibel said as she appeared from the other room behind them. She seemed less injured than Neliel but looked rather tired. "How are you doing, Kurosaki-san?"

"Good," Ichigo said shortly and waited for the explanation to continue. Halibel sat down beside them.

"We are one of the more powerful yakuza groups in Japan, called Las Noches," Halibel continued. "And the leaders of Las Noches are called Espada. There are 10 of us, and each of us are ranked by our strengths, with 1 the strongest and 10 the weakest."

"Tercera means third… so that means you're the third strongest?" Ichigo looked at Halibel and felt a little intimidated once again. Now he really felt like he should be.

"Yes," Halibel replied with a small smile on her lips. "Grimmjow is the Sexta Espada, the sixth strongest. And Nnoitora is the Quinto, which is the fifth." Ichigo felt even more scared to learn that she was stronger than Grimmjow. No wonder the man was more respectful towards her.

"What about Nell?" Ichigo asked. Halibel kept quiet but instead glanced at the said woman.

"I am a Privaron. I used to be an Espada," Neliel spoke quietly.

"What happened?" Both women kept quiet, and Ichigo chided himself for not thinking before he spoke.

The door furthest behind them opened, getting their attention and breaking the tension. Grimmjow stepped out, his cheek covered in gauze and his left arm covered in bandages. Ichigo's eyes locked onto the man's figure, who seemed oblivious to the eyes on him. Il Forte and Shawlong trailed after him, spoke a few quiet words before they approached the ladies by Ichigo. Ichigo hardly heard what they were talking about, as all he was focusing on was Grimmjow, who was still standing at the door and taking a cigarette out and lighting it up.

The others left the room, leaving only Ichigo and Grimmjow by themselves.

"…Are you okay?" Ichigo said, a little softer than he meant it to be.

"Just some burns," Grimmjow said as he exhaled smoke through his lips. He walked towards Ichigo, who just stared at him as he approached. He didn't speak, but made a surprised sound when Grimmjow knelt on one knee in front of him, his face intimately close with his hand on his. "…Sorry."

"…" Ichigo frowned and bit his lip. He wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. Ichigo just lowered his head, clenching his fist for a moment before he made a movement – one that made Grimmjow stand back up, scooting backwards and clutching his head as he growled angrily.

"What the fuck?!" Grimmjow yelled at him as he winced at the throbbing pain where Ichigo had head butted him. Ichigo stood up, glaring at him angrily, though his eyes told Grimmjow otherwise.

"You're an asshole," Ichigo bit out, and stepped forward to pull him into a hug. "Nell had the right to call you a jerk." Grimmjow meanwhile, was surprised, but responded it and pulled him closer. He was grateful for the embrace, feeling very much comfortable and at ease in the younger man's arms.

"She called me that, huh," Grimmjow replied with a chuckle. "Used to hearing that from ya."

"You are," Ichigo retorted as he pulled away with an embarrassed expression. "But I know why you didn't want to tell me, so I forgive you. Just tell me everything in the future, got it?"

"About that…" Grimmjow began. He finished up his cigarette quickly and faced Ichigo. "We're going to fight Nnoitora."

"He's the guy who caused all this mess right?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow nodded. "Then let me join you."

"Are you sure, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked him back. "You're stepping into our dangerous world. It isn't surprising if people lose a few fingers, get beaten close to death or even get shot dead. It's not a place a normal person should be in."

"But you were," Ichigo replied, though gently. "I knew that when I confirmed it with Halibel. And I'm still here aren't I? Because I want to. I can fight, you've seen me fight, and I want to fight with you." Grimmjow kept quiet as they kept their eyes on each other's. Ichigo was right, he could fight, even holding his own against a large group of armed delinquents. They may not be yakuza, but he was sure Ichigo could do as good as that. But he was still reluctant to allow it.

"It's still too dangerous," Grimmjow said.

"You know I won't listen to you," Ichigo told him, his eyes burning with stubbornness and determination - something Grimmjow was familiar with and loved most about the boy. Grimmjow shrugged but relented as he smirked. But then again wouldn't it be too selfish to take all the fun by himself and not share it? He wanted to see the boy fight too. He had seen it before and he loved the sight. They were much too similar. Grimmjow did give himself the added responsibility of protecting the teen no matter what, be it with his men or with his own life, if Ichigo were to join them.

"Fine," Grimmjow said as he pulled Ichigo into a light kiss and grinned. "Just don't get in our way and be a good soldier."

"So what's the plan?" Ichigo asked as he sat at the long, white table with the three Espada. Sure, it felt surreal to know who they really are, but it didn't change the way Ichigo saw or treated them. All of them were still nice to him, even if Grimmjow was being the only grumpy asshole amongst them. Ichigo decided to blame it on his injuries from the fire. He tugged on the black suit he was wearing self-consciously. Grimmjow had him wear it because he was now 'one of them'. They didn't have any white suits that were his size, so they had given him a black one instead. Ichigo preferred the black to white anyway; there was already too much whiteness in the building.

"Grimmjow, you shouldn't have allowed Itsugo to join us," Neliel said with a frown and glared at the blue haired man.

"Well, 'Itsugo' wanted to, I can't force his stubborn ass to stay in the dark after he's already known this much," Grimmjow grumbled back with a roll of his eyes. Neliel continued to glare at him disapprovingly.

"But he's too young! He-"

"Nell, I want to join. And I think I'm old enough to make my own decision, right?" Ichigo cut in, but said it as gently as he could. He never liked being looked at as a child, but he understood the green-haired woman's worry. Ichigo wondered how old she was, finding her strangely childish voice clashing with her mother-like worry. Neliel pursed her lips to form a child-like pout and folded her arms.

"Ahem," Halibel faked a cough to get the attention to her so that they can get back to topic. "From what Il Forte and Shawlong have gathered, Tesla was under Nnoitora's orders to keep the Sexta out of this whole mess, but apparently he didn't see it coming that Neliel would actually take him instead of confronting me directly. He was on the way to Grimmjow's apartment when he saw Il Forte, and that was when the attack on him happened. Apparently he was also responsible for the ambush on Neliel's fraccion."

"So what's this all about again?" Grimmjow asked with mild interest, despite his bored scowl. "What does that eye-patched gain from having you two fight?"

"I had suspicions that somebody was trying to evict me from my rank. Only way for that to happen as we all know, is to either have me resign willingly or I get defeated by an outside party. Espada are not allowed to fight amongst themselves. We were given our ranks fairly by our strengths and how useful Aizen-sama sees us," Halibel said, glancing at Ichigo who took the information in. "Privaron are considered outsiders, so making them fight with an Espada is like our everyday fights with other gangs. Aizen-sama wouldn't pay any heed to it."

"Who's 'Aizen-sama'?" Ichigo asked curiously. He shut up when he realized he'd just interrupted. "Sorry…"

"Aizen Sousuke - he's the leader of our group, Las Noches," Neliel informed him quietly. Ichigo thought he heard the name before. He shrugged it off and kept quiet so that they could continue.

"Nnoitora probably thinks Neliel can defeat me, or probably he had planned something like what happened earlier – to trap us and kill us off both at a go," Halibel continued.

"What's his problem with you? He could take Ulquiorra out since he's a rank lower than you, if he's that desperate to get a rank higher," Grimmjow pointed out. Ichigo noted the new name, and the added distaste as he said the name. It made Ichigo want to meet the rest of the Espada, as crazy as it sounded. Having met four of them, Ichigo imagined them to be a group of odd people with crazier colored hair. His imagination got cut short as Halibel answered Grimmjow's question.

"He always had a problem with me, Grimmjow," Halibel told him. "Didn't you remember, when I first entered the group to replace Neliel, he always picked a fight with me? From what Neliel told me and what Apache and the rest found out, Nnoitora is a male chauvinist and has a great dislike for women who are above him."

"No wonder he doesn't get laid," Grimmjow muttered under his breath, and Ichigo snorted when he heard it. Grimmjow added when he turned to Neliel, "And you? What's his problem with you?"

Neliel smiled at him. "That would be a secret." Ichigo watched Neliel's masked expression. She had been quiet throughout, and Ichigo could tell she was thinking deeply about something, which was most likely that 'secret' she wouldn't tell.

"But now it's a fight amongst Espada, wouldn't that Aizen guy know now?" Ichigo asked.

"Apache and the others have gone to spread the message," Halibel said. "Unfortunately it won't do much, so we still have to prepare ourselves. Nnoitora isn't the type to pull out from a fight he started, and I'm sure he knows we're still alive. He might attack, especially since Neliel and I do not have our men with us."

"I don't like to keep my men together. All who are here and domestic workers who tend to my fraccion who live here," Grimmjow said with a shrug when Ichigo looked at him. "…Never expected this shit to turn out like this."

"So we're outnumbered?" Ichigo asked again, but his expression wasn't one of fear or panic. He was relatively calm for some reason, he didn't know why. Probably because he had his own fair share of being ganged up by a mob.

"Good thing is, he can't bring a whole army here – he'd bring too much attention," Neliel finally spoke. "The most he can really gather is probably 20 men."

"We can take that amount, even if they're good fighters," Grimmjow said.

"May I request that you leave Nnoitora to me?" Neliel asked. The rest of them stared at her questioningly. "It appears our old score hasn't been settled."

"I allow it," Halibel answered. "Grimmjow and I can take care of the rest. And Kurosaki-san, as well." Ichigo smiled at her gratefully from where he was, having almost thought that he had been completely ignored.

"Thank you," Neliel said with a smile and bowed slightly at her. She took up her katana and stood up. "We should get ready. I expect him to come barging in any-"

"Grimmjow-sama!" Il Forte burst into the room suddenly. "Nnoitora's right outside the gates. The guards have locked them out, but they can come through and reach here any moment."

"Great," Grimmjow muttered. The three Espada nodded to each other, and the two women left the room with their katana in hand. Grimmjow muttered orders to Il Forte's ear and the long-haired man ran off, leaving only Ichigo and Grimmjow in the room. "Ichigo, follow me."

"Where are we going?" the young man asked as he stood up and trailed after the Sexta quickly.

"If you're going to fight, you're gonna need a weapon," Grimmjow said loudly. Ichigo tensed slightly. He had never held a weapon when it came to fighting, but he had taken lessons in kendo before. He glanced at Grimmjow's own katana he held in his hand. Its scabbard and hilt were blue. He wondered if he would get a katana as well. Grimmjow led him to a black door a few rooms away from the meeting room. He pressed some numbers on the security pad by the door and pulled Ichigo in.

"Whoa," Ichigo uttered, the moment he entered the room. It was a medium-size rectangular room with its walls covered with weapons. They look more like treasure, but apparently they could be used in battles. They walked past all the guns, swords and bows and walked to the end of the hallway. Grimmjow opened the glass case they stood in front of and Ichigo's eyes widened at what was in it.

"Take this one," Grimmjow said. Ichigo looked at him like he was crazy. "Seriously." Ichigo gulped and carefully, he reached out and touched the grip of the katana. The blade was long, and it was totally black, from the tip of its blade to its hand guard and the handle wrap. Even the short chain that dangled at the end of the butt cap was black. Only bits of the wood handle were red, and it contrasted greatly against the pitch black. It was beautiful.

"Why this? Looks priceless," Ichigo asked without taking his eyes off the blade. His eyebrows rose when he picked it up; it was strangely light.

"I don't know, it just suits you the best," Grimmjow said. "And it needed to be used. A beauty like this shouldn't waste its life as a display." Ichigo wasn't sure whether to agree. He was just in awe of the beauty in his hands. Grimmjow grabbed him by his wrist and brought him out. A scream possibly from one of the maids echoed through the halls and that had Grimmjow running. Ichigo followed the other man's pace, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Grimmjow-sama!" Shawlong appeared from a corner, looking exhausted and had a bleeding cut on his arm. "Il Forte and the others are taking care of the entrance. Halibel-sama and Neliel-sama are in the first floor hall."

"Where's Nnoitora?" Grimmjow growled.

"Looking for me?" a sinister voice asked from behind them and a gunshot rang out.

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A/N: Yeah cliffhanger again. Sorry, can't help it. Unfortunate news is that I don't think I'll be updating for a while again. Perhaps for another very long while. Hope this was good for y'all. :)