Oh my, it's been so long. I had to go back and read the last chapter to see where I'd left off.

Lesser Evil- Chapter 37

The day went smoothly enough. Except when the teacher kept insisting on calling on Grimmjow for answers to her questions. But that only happened twice. The first time, she'd caught him off guard and he opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times before shrugging it off completely. The second time, he fixed her with a meaningful stare. It was her turn to be quiet an flustered. A couple people turned around to see if Grimmjow was doing anything in particular like flipping her off. After catching one look at his expression, they all hastily turned back to the front. Ichigo tried his best not to roll his eyes. Served her right really.

Chad had been watching Grimmjow since he showed up, but he was subdued about it. His attention seemingly more driven by curiosity than anything else. Ishida was much more obvious in his appraisal. It was obvious that he didn't approve of his presence even if Ichigo had vouched for him. Which wasn't surprising. Uryu could be pretty uptight about everything. When the lunch bell rang, Ichigo headed out toward the stairs that led to the roof. Grimmjow followed silently behind him. As soon as they'd left, the class took on a huge buzz as gossip started flying. Ichigo ignored them all.

Chad and Ishida followed behind along with Keigo and Mizuiro. Ichigo inwardly groaned at the last two. There was no way he could explain with them there. Oh well. It would just have to continue waiting then. Once he'd settled himself, he let out a long, tired sigh.

"Hey Ichigo, are you okay? You look kinda rough today." Keigo was peering at him from over his lunchbox.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He left it at that, not wanting to go into more detail. But of course, Keigo couldn't leave it be.

"Is it true that Jace and his buddies got the drop on you yesterday?" Ichigo sighed again. So everybody knew. Fantastic. But he shouldn't be surprised really.

"Doesn't matter. I don't care." Keigo's eyes widened a little but when he opened his mouth again, Mizuiro elbowed him. Grimmjow watched the exchange quietly. He hadn't said anything all day and didn't really intend to change that. He felt slightly out of his depth in this kind of atmosphere and just wanted it to be over. He caught Keigo watching him openly and stared back without blinking. The brunet shrank back a little and focused on his lunch. It was a little strained after that and nobody felt like saying anything. They went back to class and took their seats again.

Halfway through the afternoon, Ichigo headed to the bathroom. When he'd finished and was washing his hands, the door opened. One of the three idiots from yesterday came in and locked the door behind him. It was the leader 'Jace' presumably. Ichigo didn't know and honestly didn't care. He just did his best to maintain his cool.

"What do you want?" Jace grinned.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing. It was a pretty remote spot. Wasn't sure anyone would find you that fast." Ichigo just stared at him, his hands hanging loosely at his sides.

"So, have you been loitering in the hall all day waiting for me to take a piss? What if I didn't have to go?" Jace narrowed his eyes.

"Always were a smartass." He waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. Just didn't want to deal with all the babysitters. You've got quiet a few including the big blue one. You importing muscle now? It appears I've made an impression." Ichigo shrugged.

"They just figured they'd get a crack at you if they hung around me long enough. They're welcome for all I care." Ichigo gauged his chances of reaching the door without a fight and found them pretty damn slim. If nothing else, he wanted to get back before Grimmjow got worried and came looking. Restraint wasn't really in his vocabulary no matter how relaxed he'd been lately. Jace seemed to be doing his best to erase all of Ichigo's potential sympathy.

"You just don't seem to get it. I'm better than you, Kurosaki."

"Fine. Whatever. Can I go now?" Jace's expression darkened just before he lunged. Ichigo ducked out of his way and fought not to strike back. This was his opportunity to leave, but Jace circled him quickly and pushed him back further into the room. "Can we not do this?"

"Why, are you scared?" Ichigo took a deep breath but it didn't calm him much. His anger was growing by the moment. If he didn't end this quickly, it could get really bad. Slipping quickly past Jace's guard, he landed a quick jab to his nose. There was a sickening crack and blood fountained from the wound. Jace cried out and fell back. Ichigo stepped around him and moved to unlock the door. When a hand caught his sleeve, he whirled and caught Jace around the throat. Squeezing, he could see the other boy's eyes widen. Ichigo leaned in so their faces were inches apart.

"Don't push me. I didn't lose yesterday because you were stronger than me. It was because I was doing my best not to kill you. Consider yourself extremely lucky. If I wasn't who I am, you'd be done here and now. Understand?" Jace nodded mutely, small strangled sounds coming from his throat. Ichigo let him fall to the floor and gasp for breath. He shot him one last cold look. "And I'd keep this to myself if I were you." The grin that twisted his lips must have been more fierce looking than anything else. Jace let out a small whimper. "Not that you'd want to spread the word that you went down with one hit." Turning the lock and opening the door, Ichigo nearly ran into Grimmjow who looked like he was about ready to knock down the door. He caught sight of Ichigo's tense expression and frowned for a moment.

"Do you need help taking care of the body?" Ichigo's eyes snapped up as he blinked. He nearly went back in to check to see if Jace was still breathing. But there was something in Grimmjow's eyes that made him pause. He narrowed his own gaze but couldn't hold the frown. Something let loose at the ridiculous question and he started laughing. Jace peered out the door but the sound made him duck back in with a terrified expression on his bloodied face. Grimmjow snorted and ignored him. "Guess he'll live then. Now get back in there before she asks someone else to check and see if you fell in. Whatever that means." Ichigo had started to calm down but immediately lost it again. When he got his breath back, he checked to make sure he didn't have Jace's blood on him.

"Thanks."

"For what?" When Ichigo looked over, he could see the question was serious.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Grimmjow tilted his head a little as if he weren't quite sure, but he nodded. They headed back together, ignoring the teacher's questions as they took their seats. She let out an irritated huff but didn't push it as she turned back to the board, muttering something about lack of teenage respect under her breath. They got through the rest of the day without incident and Ichigo was glad they when the final bell rang. At the school gate, Chad and Ishida merely nodded at him and started to head in the other direction. Ichigo almost called out but closed his mouth instead. That was weird. He was sure they would insist on walking him home. Shrugging, he headed out with Grimmjow at his side.

"You were kind of quiet today." Grimmjow snorted and gave him an irritated look.

"And what was I supposed to say? 'Hi, I'm a soul sucking demon from another dimension, pleased to meet you. I'll try not to get blood on you shoes if I go into a rampage.'" Ichigo let out a short bark of laughter.

"Okay, I deserved that. Never mind then." Grimmjow shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered.

"Don't know how you do it everyday."

"It's not that bad. It's all I've known." Ichigo frowned. "Or at least it's all I used to know. It's different now." Or was it? He was still trying to stick to his 'normal' life while he took down hollows. And everything else that went with being a soul reaper. It was no wonder he was so damned exhausted. Ichigo didn't realize that he'd stopped walking until Grimmjow came back to stand in front of him.

"You okay? I didn't mean anything by it." Ichigo looked up to see his worried expression.

"I know. It's just. . ." Ichigo sighed. "I guess it's all harder than I thought." Grimmjow reached out and ran his fingers down his cheek. He turned into the touch before moving again.

When they got back to the apartment, Grimmjow went immediately to the bedroom, stripping as he went. Ichigo followed, half wondering what the hurry was and half enjoying the view. Grimmjow caught him looking and smirked over his shoulder. But he wasn't in the mood for that at the moment.

"C'mon. We need to move. It's been a couple days at least." Ichigo frowned, not immediately knowing what he meant. He'd changed into a loose pair of pants, leaving his tanned chest bare. "You enjoy fighting in that uniform or are you just slow?" Ichigo blinked. Fighting? No, he meant training. Yeah, it had been a while since they'd done anything. And it sounded like a good idea too. Having a week off or not, he couldn't just stop training. And maybe it would help burn off some of the excess anger he seemed to be having. Grimmjow grinned at him as he started pulling his clothes off and changed into something similar. They headed down through the inner door and went to the shop proper. Urahara greeted them from his seat.

"Ah, and how was your first day, Grimm-kun." Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and growled. Not just for the nickname.

"It was my first and last." When the shop keeper raised his brows, Grimmjow intensified his look. "I mean it. Make me sit still for that long again and I promise it'll be ugly."

"My, my." The fan fluttered making the blonde bangs stir. "It was just a test anyway." There was a happy smile and Urahara continued in a singsong voice. "And you passed!" Grimmjow responded by flinging the trap door up and stepping down onto the ladder. Urahara stood suddenly and came over to him. "Here. Something tells me human fighting won't be enough today." Urahara grabbed his wrist. Grimmjow snarled but before he could pull free, the butt of the cane slammed into his forehead and he was falling. His outraged howl dissipated as he got farther down. Ichigo stared open mouthed at the empty gigai Kisuke held in one hand. He pulled it up easily and set it down to one side. Pointing the cane at Ichigo, he waited for him to get closer on his own.

"What, I don't get to plummet several stories as a special surprise too?" Urahara grinned at him.

"Not this time. Better get down there before he starts rearranging the landscape on his own." Ichigo chuckled as he walked into the cane and let it push his soul form free.

"Yeah, thanks for that. He's hard enough to deal with when I'm the one who pisses him off." Hopping lightly off the edge, Ichigo let himself fall. Urahara's expression turned serious as soon as he was out of sight. He silently closed the hatch and motioned for Jinta and Ururu who were standing in the doorway. They took the gigais into one of the back rooms and out of sight. The shop keeper let out a small sigh and sat back down in his place. He hoped they had some time. The next few hours would tell him how much.

When Ichigo reached the bottom, he rolled to absorb some of the impact. When he came up onto his feet, he had to lunge suddenly to the side and Grimmjow landed a kick to place he'd just stood. So it was like that this time. He shouldn't be surprised. Urahara's little prank had set him up for this. But the arrancar hadn't drawn his sword yet, so Ichigo didn't either. They continued to trade mild blows, warming up before they really got into anything serious. Ichigo felt the pull of the minor wounds he'd gotten yesterday, but they were nothing really. He'd had worse. Literally.

At some point, one of them drew their weapon. Ichigo couldn't remember who had done it first. The tang of clanging metal filled the air as their swords met and clashed against one another. But something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something seemed different. Using a flash step to pull back, Ichigo landed on one of the large boulders that littered the space. Between deep breaths, he called out.

"You okay?" Grimmjow didn't answer. He used a sonido to land silently behind Ichigo and lashed out with his sword.

"There are no time outs in a real fight." Ichigo twisted out of his reach and turned in midair before landing several yards away.

"This isn't a real fight. Seriously. What's wrong?" Grimmjow gritted his teeth. How the hell had he noticed? He'd barely been able to tell at first himself. Ignoring the question, he held out a hand and drew power to blast a cero. The blue glow grew in his palm and Ichigo's eyes widened as he held a hand out. "Wait a sec!" But the blast fizzled and died as Grimmjow let out a pained cry. His back was suddenly on fire and he couldn't concentrate on anything. He could feel himself falling as he lost his balance on the large rock. Hands caught him before he hit the ground and he could see Ichigo's worried face hovering over him where he lay.

"Grimmjow. . ." The voice sounded far away and it was hard to hear. Squinting his eyes as his vision blurred, Grimmjow reached to grip the fabric of Ichigo's shihakusho. The pain started to ease a little and sound came back to him. The searing burn had dulled to a low throb but it hadn't gone away completely. "Dammit! Talk to me!" Ichigo was shaking him and Grimmjow frowned up at the frantic redhead.

"Quit that." His voice was slightly hoarse as if he'd been screaming. Ichigo calmed when he saw the blue eyes focus on him. He continued in a much calmer tone.

"What happened?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Ichigo huffed irritably as he searched him for injuries. He didn't remember landing any notable blows, but he could have missed one. But Grimmjow didn't seem to be bleeding anywhere. There was just the scar on his lower back. Ichigo paused as he looked at it. It felt off somehow. Ichigo frowned and reached out to touch it but Grimmjow hissed in a painful breath even before his fingers got close.

"Don't."

"What is it?" Ichigo had asked many times in the past before finally giving up. It was something Grimmjow didn't want to talk about so he'd left it alone. But if it was connected to what was wrong with him, he wouldn't leave it this time.

"Forget about it. . ." Ichigo fisted his hands in Grimmjow's coat and pulled his body slightly up off the ground.

"You don't get to ignore this and push me off. It doesn't work that way." Grimmjow held the angry chocolate gaze and was almost going to do just that. But a twinge of pain made him close his eyes. He let his body relax and he ended up hanging from Ichigo's grip on his jacket. Ichigo let him down gently and sighed. "I'm not ignoring this even if you pass out on me." He glared down at the other man. "Which I know you haven't." Grimmjow cracked an eye open to look at him. "See?"

"Fine. But I think we need to go upstairs first." Ichigo frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Urahara interrupted him.

"Don't worry, I'll save you the trip." He had Grimmjow's gigai slumped over his shoulders. "It appears that there's some explaining to do all around." Grimmjow met the shopkeeper's uncannily knowing gaze and wondered how much the other actually knew.

*

A/N: Sorry for those that were looking forward to a longer school interlude. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was just impulse and reactions to a few reviews that made me send him there. It was actually part of what kept me from updating all this time. I didn't want to do something cliché or forced, but I didn't want to totally ignore it since I'd brought it up in the first place. So much for that. On with what I'd originally planned. Some of the coming chapters are dealing with some core Soul Reaper and Hollow lore. Or at least my interpretation of some of it. Pardon for me if I poke too hard at anyone's preconceived notions. It's all in fun.