Dating Difficulties and Babysitting Lilynette II
Home.
A simple word to refer to a person's place of residence. A man's home, they said, was his castle. A man should feel safe and secure from the outside world and all of its frustrating little annoyances while inside his home. It was supposed to be a private sanctuary where no one unwanted could see you and judge you.
"Someone should tell that crazy shinigami bitch that…" muttered Grimmjow to himself as he took one last look out the window conspiratorially before drawing the curtains to a close.
He wasn't exactly sure why Yoruichi Shihōin had apparently taken it upon herself to spy on him nor was he sure how she was doing it; all Grimmjow was sure of was that it was an invasion of his privacy and he'd been embarrassed beyond words by the information about him that she'd so casually shared with all of Burger World.
It was time for the evening ritual of feeding the neighborhood cats and rather than sit on the windowsill and watch them tonight, he had draped heavy, dark curtains over the windows and allowed the strays into his apartment for a short while to eat.
Grimmjow sat in a beat-up kitchen chair he'd salvaged from a dumpster, smirking at his ingenuity as he watched the cats lap at the milk and greedily eat the mix of cat food and tuna he'd put down for them; there was absolutely no way Yoruichi could see him now, not with those curtains up and the cats inside the apartment with him.
It didn't take long for the hungry animals to finish their meal and empty out the small saucer of milk, at which point they began to wander about the apartment aimlessly and make themselves comfortable. The sexta frowned as he stood up; he couldn't keep all of them and he didn't want them making a mess of his home or peeing on the already-dirty couch. He ushered them all back to the window, lifting the heavy curtain and shooing them outside one by one. He counted as they departed and quickly realized that the always-immaculate black cat was missing, presumably still hiding in the apartment somewhere.
Grimmjow growled to himself in frustration as he shut the window and locked it down, resigning himself to the task of searching the apartment for the missing black cat and shooing it outside to join the others. Why was nothing ever simple? Why did nothing ever go according to plan?
"Why is this place such a disaster?" asked a voice from the kitchen and Grimmjow froze, recognizing the feminine voice instantly. He turned around to face the intruder, twitching in irritation as he fought against the rising urge to kill.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "How did you get in? I watched the window like a hawk and there's no fucking way you could have snuck in!"
"A good spy never reveals her secrets; even you should know that much, Grimmjow," chided Yoruichi, clucking her tongue at him as she began to browse through his refrigerator.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he snarled.
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"It looks like you're raiding my kitchen!"
"See? I knew you'd figure it out… Is this seriously all the milk you have? You really need to go shopping more often," she asked, turning the carton up to her lips and beginning to drink.
"Put that back, wench!"
"It's empty now but hey, it is your apartment so whatever you say…" shrugged Yoruichi, putting the empty carton back in the fridge as Grimmjow stood in the living room visibly fuming.
"Get the hell out of my apartment!" he roared in frustration.
"Are you this rude to all of your guests?" teased Yoruichi, ignoring him as she turned to search through his cabinets. "No wonder you never get any visitors…"
"And put some goddamn clothes on!"
Lilynette bit her lip nervously, stealing a quick glance off to the side of the room at Neliel who was gently urging her on. When Anrak had said they had another stop to make, this was the absolute last place Lilynette had expected to end up at and an unwelcome sense of fear and dread had settled into her stomach.
She was alone with two shinigami, without Starrk there to protect her.
"Well, come on…" Anrak invited her. "Show me what you've got."
They were in the underground training facility at the Urahara Shop, free of their gigai, and the dark-haired Soul Reaper captain stood across from her, his sleeveless white haori gently fluttering out around him from the breeze generated by countless small fans hidden throughout the room. His zanpaktou was free of its sheath and held out in a defensive stance, waiting for the nervous young arrancar to make the first move.
Lilynette gripped the hilt of her own blade tightly, considering her options quickly; she'd wanted to train and get stronger, true, and she'd wanted someone to teach her, but without Starrk nearby, she felt afraid and vulnerable. She was no match for a Captain-class shinigami! Sure, she'd attacked Captain Ukitake during the war but that had been different since Starrk had been nearby just in case; if anything had gone wrong, he could have easily swooped in and saved her.
But here and now, Starrk was nowhere to be found.
"It's okay…" Neliel smiled softly. "You'll be fine. Trust us, Lilynette."
She trusted Nel entirely, knowing in the void where her heart should be that the kind woman would never allow her to be harmed…still, it was slightly unsettling to see that Neliel now wore the standard black shihakushō of a shinigami instead of an arrancar's whites, a Gotei 13 lieutenant's badge proudly tied to her arm with a white band. The only things familiar about her new look were the sight of the skull-like mask perched on top of her head and of Gamuza on her left hip, now held in place by a green silk sash tied around her waist.
Still, she knew deep down that it was the same Neliel she'd always trusted and admired, and if Nel said it was okay…
Lilynette looked back at Anrak, hesitating for a second more before she threw caution to the wind and charged at him, giving a battle cry as she hefted her small zanpaktou over her masked head.
Her strike was easily avoided as the shinigami side-stepped the descending blade, but Lilynette quickly flipped the blade over and slashed sideways and was rewarded with the solid 'clang' of metal against metal. Encouraged by the sound of her blade meeting his, she launched herself at him again with a thrust for his gut.
The shinigami deftly side-stepped it again and easily rolled past her, placing a hand on her back as he did so and giving her a playful shove.
"You've got good speed and power for your size and experience…" he commented. "But you have no real technique; your attacks are wild and your movements stiff and jerky, not nearly as fluid as they should be. We can fix that, though."
Spurred by his observations, Lilynette roared and attacked him again, bringing her blade up and then back down diagonally as she went for his shoulder only to have the shinigami effortlessly bat her swing away with just his hand, the blade effectively bouncing off the leather tekkou armguards he wore.
"I think I've got a good grasp of what you're capable of offensively…let's test your defenses," he said.
Lilynette yelped in surprise as Anrak quickly swung his blade at her and froze in her place, shutting her eyes fearfully as she waited for her head to be severed.
Nothing happened.
Confused, Lilynette opened her eyes again to find that the blade had stopped well-short of actually touching her as Anrak shook his head at her.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he reminded her. "Throw away your fear and relax; you're not going to make any progress if you let terror control you."
"And hesitation like that in a real battle would get you killed," Nel added from the side. "Calm down and stay focused, Lilynette; I know you can do this."
The Soul Reaper withdrew his blade and stepped back as Lilynette nervously readied herself for another exchange.
"You're holding it incorrectly…" Anrak pointed out softly. "Look at your grip versus mine; move your right hand down just slightly and put your left here, on the end of the hilt."
Neliel came up beside Lilynette, helping the younger girl move her hands into the right positions as Anrak continued, showing her the greater flexibility the new grip offered.
"See how I can move my wrists more easily?" he asked her. "You'll get a much greater range of motion this way and your control of the blade increases tenfold."
"Okay, I think I've got it…" said Lilynette slowly, mimicking his motions as Nel stepped back off to the side. "Hey, it really is easier to move this way! I bet I can-yikes!!"
Lilynette yelped again as she jumped backwards from the swing of Anrak's zanpaktou.
"No fair, I wasn't ready yet!" she huffed, with Neliel sitting off to the side giggling at the younger girl's indignation.
"Which is another important lesson…" he told her. "Always keep your mind on the battle at hand; never lose focus of the enemy in front of you."
"I know that!" she said defensively as she finally got her zanpaktou up to block a second swing.
"Just making sure," he said with a teasing grin as he slashed at her again, forcing Lilynette to take a step back to brace herself as she blocked it.
"Ha!" she exclaimed proudly as she knocked his blade away. "I can do this!"
"Good!" he congratulated her. "Does that mean you're ready to turn it up a notch and do a little sparring?"
"Bring it!"
"This isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted you to take me out to dinner."
Tyn dropped his shoulders slightly as Tia's words, looking away in embarassment for a moment as he poked at the bleeding piece of meat on his plate. He'd already known this wasn't what she wanted, of course, had known that well before they had even arrived at the restaurant or been seated. He'd known and he had wanted to do so much better for her…
Damn humans and their stupid need for reservations!
The two arrancar sat in a dingy little booth in a low-budget and overcrowded family restaurant on the far side of Karakura, well away from their apartment and all the nice places that Halibel would have preferred to go, trying to block out the bad music and obnoxiously-loud patrons all around them. It was an uncomfortable and noisy Hell, but at least it hadn't required any reservations and the two had been able to get seats almost immediately.
The food was greasy and not very well-prepared, a testament to its cheap price. Tyn stole another glance at his roommate before finally eating another piece of his rare and bloody sirloin, watching as Tia used her fork to spear another piece of her meticulously-cut fish fillet and ponder if it was even worth eating. All around them were other booths and tables filled with noisy people, some were families with screaming children, some were groups of friends out for a cheap meal, and there were a few couples who were apparently stuck in the same unfortunate situation as Tyn and Tia.
"I'm sorry…" he told her finally. "I screwed up."
"I probably should have told you ahead of time where I wanted to eat and had you call and make reservations," sighed the blonde. "We both screwed up."
"I'll make it up to you somehow." he promised as Halibel decided against eating another piece of the greasy fish and used a napkin to remove the disgusting piece of food from her fork.
"Oh, I'll think of something; don't worry," she said coolly as she reached across the table and impaled a piece of his steak on her fork, stealing it away and popping it into her mouth before he could protest.
"I thought you said you preferred for your food to be cooked…" he said, scowling.
"Enough to be warm," she corrected him before chewing. "Shark Queen, remember?"
"Sharks don't eat beef."
"Throw a cow into the ocean and watch what happens," she countered as she swallowed the piece of steak. "The sirloin isn't bad…not as bad as the fish here, anyway. I should have ordered sirloin."
She reached her fork across the table again only to have Tyn parry with his own utensil.
"I said I was sorry; I never said you could have my food," he growled.
"I wasn't asking, idiot," she replied, undeterred as she reached over again.
"Woman, I will fork you up if you don't leave my food alone," Tyn warned.
"Fork me now and I can promise you there won't be any 'forking' for a long time," Tia said as she stabbed at his hand just hard enough to make the quinto withdraw for a second, allowing her to steal another piece of steak. Tyn growled again before he began to gobble the remaining chunks of sirloin down quickly, attempting to keep his companion from getting anymore.
Halibel was not one to be denied, though, as she took her fork and quickly speared three pieces at once, swiping them away from the redhead's grasp and devouring them before he could stop her.
A single, succulent piece of steak remained on Tyn's plate, nice and juicy, waiting to be eaten. Both arrancar eyed it for a second before they reached for it simultaneously, but Tyn was far faster as he dropped his fork and grabbed the piece of meat with his hand, slapping it into his mouth quickly.
"Ha!" he declared triumphantly, his mouth so full of the rare piece of meat that blood could be seen trickling down from his lips.
Tia reached across the table and grabbed the collar of his shirt suddenly, pulling him forward and giving him a deep, savage kiss that left the raptor utterly confused and dumbfounded. After a handful of seconds, she released Tyn, finally allowing him to slump back in his seat breathlessly.
"Wow…" he panted, "What was that for?"
He paused for a moment, realizing that the last morsel of his precious sirloin had vanished from its supposedly-secure location inside his mouth.
"You evil little bitch…" he said in disbelief.
Across the table, Tia gave him a devious little smirk as she swallowed her ill-gotten steak and proceeded to neatly dab at the blood on her lips with a fresh napkin.
"I don't believe this…" Tyn groaned miserably. "Are you trying to starve me here?"
"Don't be such a baby about it." Halibel chided as she handed him her own plate. "You can have the rest of my fish."
"I hate you."
"Liar."
"It's a nice place; I think you'll like it in here."
Starrk answered Keiko with a nervous grin as they stood outside of The Oasis, trying to think of a polite way to refuse that wouldn't upset his date; he knew that Tyn and Tia were out tonight and it was a pretty safe assumption that at some point they would end up at a bar, and since Tia got an employee discount at The Oasis…
Images of the various ways the other two arrancar could possibly embarrass him ran through Starrk's skull, each leaving him in the undesirable position of trying to explain things to Keiko in a way that didn't harm her view of the primera. It wasn't that Tyn and Tia would set out to deliberately embarrass him in front of his date, he knew that, but he wasn't keen on the idea of having Keiko present for one of their infamously vocal and violent arguments.
No, stopping here for a couple of drinks before catching the movie wouldn't be the best idea…better to go somewhere else, somewhere where the likelihood of encountering the other two Espada was next to nil.
"It's a nice evening…why don't we take a walk through the park instead, maybe save the drinks for after the movie?" he offered, hoping to have a new plan by then that would involve anything but The Oasis.
Keiko smiled, blushing as she brushed back a long strand of her dark hair from her face.
"That actually sounds very romantic," she agreed, stepping away from the door and allow Starrk to lead her away from The Oasis and away from downtown in general.
The evening hours at the park were relatively peaceful: most of the children had gone home for the night, as had all the joggers and the people playing with their dogs, leaving only a handful of people to enjoy the relative solitude. They followed the winding concrete path past a deserted play area for small kids and an empty soccer field where Lilynette spent a lot of time with her friends after school. He smiled at the memory of Lilynette first making friends with Karin and some of the other kids; if nothing else ever came from the decision to stay in the world of the living, at least Lilynette had people her own relative 'age' to play with.
A hollow cry echoed out through the night, originating from somewhere deeper into the city and bringing with it memories from Hueco Mundo that were best left forgotten. Starrk forced himself to remain impassive as the cry wailed on, playing the role of a normal human who was blissfully ignorant of the darker side of life and death.
Keiko, on the other hand, stiffened ever so slightly.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, tightening her grip on his arm. "I thought I heard something…"
Starrk wondered for a moment if their time together, as well as her time with Lilynette in school, was beginning to affect her but quickly discarded the notion; after all, their gigai was designed to mask their reiatsu from the outside world both in order to conceal their existence from the shinigami and to avoid affecting the people around them.
Perhaps she was one of the few with a minor level of spiritual awareness regardless. Perhaps it was a fluke.
"I didn't hear anything…" he lied. "What did it sound like?"
"It sounded like…like…" Keiko tried to explain, stumbling for words. "I don't know what it sounded like other than…not human. An animal, maybe."
"Well, whatever it was, don't worry about it," he told her. "You're safe with me."
"Are you sure?" she asked nervously.
Starrk gave her a reassuring smile as he unconsciously flexed his left hand, the same hand that, in his spirit form, had a tattoo of the number one boldly inked into the flesh.
"Positive."
Yoruichi lay on the couch, lazily stretched out with her torso propped up by a small pile of throw pillows as she flipped through the channels on Grimmjow's busted-up old television. She adjusted the loose collar on the jersey he'd given her to wear, ignoring the fact that the gray sweat pants she was borrowing were noticeably too large and loose for her smaller frame.
"I knew you had it in you to be nice…" she commented, craning her neck to peer over the back of the couch at Grimmjow, who was still searching the apartment for the 'missing' cat. "Giving me nice clothes to wear…such a gentleman!"
"They're a loan," the arrancar pointed out bitterly. "That's my jersey, woman! Mine!"
"Maybe not such a gentleman after all…"
"Do you always break into people's homes naked?"
"Only on Fridays," teased the woman with a grin. "Saturday is lingerie night."
"You're out of your fucking mind, woman."
"That's rich, coming from you…" said Yoruichi, shaking her head as she went back to channel-surfing. "Don't you have any movie channels here?"
"Don't you have somewhere else to go?" he shot back sarcastically.
"So touchy…" she mused, eyeing a stack of DVDs sitting beside the television. "What about just plain movies if you don't have any movie channels…have anything good?"
"Of course I do!" declared Grimmjow. "I have great taste in movies!"
"Mm, I'll bet…" said the ex-shinigami as she pushed herself up from the couch and walked over to peruse the stack of DVDs. She couldn't find herself to feel terribly surprised that every single movie she found was an action film, filled with more explosions and profanity than quality acting.
"Why am I not surprised?" she smirked as she continued browsing through the collection. "Let's make a deal, Grimmjow; I pick one of these movies to watch and you order us a pizza."
"No deal, get out," snapped Grimmjow as he went into his bedroom and got down on the floor, peering under his bed.
"Find that missing cat yet?" asked a bemused Yoruichi as she made her way back over to the couch.
"I don't fucking get it…" complained an exasperated Grimmjow as he stood back up. "I know it came in to eat and now it's just gone… It makes no fucking sense!"
"I managed to sneak in without being seen at the same time the cat seems to have vanished without a trace…any ideas, Sherlock?" prodded the woman.
"It ran out the door when you snuck in!" he exclaimed, as if everything suddenly made perfect sense. "It's wandering the halls!"
Grimmjow opened the apartment door and darted out into the hall, intent on finding the missing cat as Yoruichi flopped back down on the couch, sighing as she facepalmed.
"Why are the cute ones always stupid?"
Lilynette hopped backwards to avoid the swinging blade, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand quickly before gripping her zanpaktou tightly once more. Her muscles burned and her body ached, partially from sheer exhaustion and partially from a few bruises she'd earned through the course of her training.
"Don't overdo it…" Neliel scolded her softly. "If you're tired, we can take a break."
Nel had switched places with Anrak an hour earlier and while Lilynette had thought at the time that the former-Tres Espada would go easier on her, she had quickly found out just how wrong that assumption was. She'd whined about it at first, as most anyone would, but Nel's words had silenced Lilynette quickly and made the young arrancar feel ashamed for complaining.
I'm pushing you harder because I know you, Lilynette. I'm holding you to a higher standard because I know you can do it.
It meant the world to know that Nel had such faith in her and Lilynette was sure that choosing to take a break now would probably disappoint the ex-Espada.
"No way!" she panted, forcing a grin that looked more confident than she actually felt, "I'm just getting started!"
"Are you sure?" asked Neliel. "You look pretty worn out."
"You can take a break if you want; I know how you old people need your beauty rest," taunted Lilynette, sticking her tongue out.
"Old?" exclaimed Nel, her expression half-suggesting that she wanted to laugh. "That's big talk coming from a little kid!"
"Bring it, grandma!" teased Lilynette as Nel attacked her again, laughing it off.
Anrak sat off to the side in a low crouch, smiling softly as he listened to the two arrancar take almost-sisterly jabs at each other, his deep blue eyes trained on the battle as he meticulously dissected every exchange in his head. Lilynette had become more accustomed to holding a sword properly and had made a lot of progress already in that regard, but she was in dire need of strength training; several times already she had been disarmed by Nel, the blade simply knocked out of her hands by the lieutenant's greater physical strength.
Lilynette took a step to the side as she blocked one of Nel's strikes, only to stumble and fall backwards onto her rear end, emphasizing another area of focus the girl needed to work on.
The sparring match paused for a moment as Neliel offered the girl a hand, pulling her back up to her feet as Anrak walked over to them.
"Footwork is important," explained the Captain as he neared. "Every bit as important as knowing how to swing a sword. Your stances are too shallow, giving you an unsteady base to try and stand on. Always be mindful of where you step and how you step."
He drew his zanpaktou from its scabbard and gestured for Nel to come at him. The former-Espada-turned-Shinigami obliged and attacked him, keeping her movements slow and deliberate so Lilynette could see everything clearly. Matching her speed, Anrak took a step back and blocked her swing, then carefully sidestepped to avoid Nel's follow-up move.
"See where my feet are?" he asked Lilynette as he blocked a few more strikes from Nel, making sure to move with each blow. "Watch how I move them; keeping my feet shoulder-width apart gives me a much sturdier base and makes it much harder for her to knock me down. Every time you take a step, either offensively or defensively, you need to make sure your feet are planted firmly on the ground, shoulder-width apart; no more, no less."
"I think I got it…" said Lilynette, sliding back into position across from Nel as Anrak stepped away and returned Kage Shitsukoi into her scabbard.
"Good… Fifteen more minutes and then I want you to take a break," Anrak added as he went back to his spot off to the side to observe.
"I don't need a break!" Lilynette protested despite how haggard she looked. "I'm just fine!"
"It's not open for debate," stated Anrak in a firm tone. "You're not doing yourself any favors by pushing yourself this hard on your first day of training."
Lilynette opened her mouth to protest the Captain's declaration again, only to have Neliel playfully thwack her in the rear with the flat of her blade.
"Hey!" shouted Lilynette, jumping in surprise. "What was that for?"
"That was for calling me old," said Nel, sticking her tongue out.
"I'll kick your butt for that!"
Streetlamps flickered as the two arrancar made their way down the nearly-empty sidewalk looking for something else to entertain them for the evening, a way to close out their first actual 'date' of sorts. Dinner had largely been a miserable experience; a cheap, overcrowded restaurant with subpar food that both swore they'd never return to in a hundred years. Add to that the fact that Halibel had been so displeased with her own food that she saw fit to steal most of Tyn's steak…
Of course, rather than eating the greasy leftover remains of her fish dinner to make up for his own lost meal, Tyn had quickly snatched a plate away from a neighboring table when the occupants weren't looking…
Sure, the man had been upset when he looked back at the table and noticed his fresh sirloin was gone and he'd definitely noticed Tyn munching on it, holding the steak with his bare hands as he bit into it and tore off large chunks of meat. Still, he hadn't bothered to say anything to the quinto, perhaps wisely sensing the danger the redhead represented or perhaps he had kept his silence out of sheer cowardice.
And it had been medium-well…who the hell ordered steak medium-well? It was too dry! Where was the blood, where was the flavor? It was a travesty of justice!
The raptor made a mental note that next time, wherever they ended up eating, he was going to ask the waiter to just bring him something that was still moving.
"So where are you taking me now?" asked Tia as she walked beside him. "What's next for this oh-so-romantic evening?"
"Sarcastic bitch…" growled Tyn. "I was thinking we could go grab a few drinks."
"I work in a bar every weekday and you think I want to go spend any of my actual weekend there if I'm not getting paid for it? You really are stupid, aren't you?"
"Not that bar; someplace else, someplace where your stupid human friends don't work."
"They're not stupid!" snapped Tia in irritation. "Stop verbally assaulting them at every opportunity!"
"Get that one waitress off my back and I'll consider it," spat Tyn. "Look, we'll just get a couple of drinks to wash this goddamned awful steak down and if you don't like the place, then we'll leave and find someplace where I'll be miserable instead. Happy?"
"Overjoyed."
"The things I put up with for… There. There's where we're going," said Tyn, pointing at a small bar that looked old and rundown.
"Lovely…" said Tia dryly as she followed him to the door and inside, both of them taking a seat at the dirty-looking counter. The barkeep was a gruff, older man who didn't even greet the two new customers and slid them a couple of half-filled mugs without even asking what they wanted.
"Charming place…" said Tia, wrinkling her nose as the heavy scent of smoke assaulted her nostrils and loud classic rock filled her ears.
"Maybe not the best of choices…" Tyn agreed as he turned up his mug and emptied it. "But there's not as many people here as The Oasis, at least."
"Except everyone here looks like an ex-con…" said Tia, taking a sip of her beer. "Let's just go to The Oasis if you want beer; I get employee discount, remember?"
"Sachi working tonight?"
"Yes, but—"
"No deal," Tyn said firmly as he motioned the bartender for a refill. "She annoys me to no end."
Tia sighed in frustration as the unfriendly-bartender snatched Tyn's mug away to refill it, neither arrancar paying any attention to the sound of new customers arriving. Both ignored the sound of heavy boots plodding against the wooden floor, unconcerned with how the sound grew louder and closer with each step and ended only when it was directly behind them.
"You're in our seats…" growled a deep voice behind them.
Great, just what they didn't need; an excuse for Tyn to get into a fight.
"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" asked Tyn without even turning around.
"It's about to suck to be you in a minute, you little shit," threatened the voice and Tyn finally turned to face it's owner, a decidedly cruel-looking man flanked by three cronies, one of which may have been female; Tyn wasn't entirely sure and neither did he particularly care.
"That right?" asked the quinto, a dark grin spreading across his face. "What are you going to do—"
"Tyn…no," sighed Tia, almost pleadingly. "Let's not do this tonight, okay? Let's just leave."
"Stop killing my fun," he said sourly.
"Just do it. For me," she said as she stood up, pulling him along with her.
"You better run, you little punk!" laughed the man's crew, forcing Tyn to bite his lip and fight against all of his base instincts to turn around and kill something as he allowed Halibel to lead him towards the door.
"No one said you had to go, sweetheart!" called the leader to Tia, a loud 'smack' resonating through the room as he slapped her on the rear.
Tia froze in her tracks, releasing her tight grip on Tyn's arm as the drunken laughter of the bar patrons grew louder. Tyn whirled around in rage and began to advance on the foolish human that had dared touch his Queen only to be stopped by Tia herself.
"No…" she said quietly. "He's mine."
Grimmjow was not happy.
He'd stormed up and down the hallways and searched every square inch of the stairwell, but the missing cat was still nowhere to be found. He'd knocked on every door in the hall and asked every single idiot on his floor if they'd seen the black cat without anything to show for his efforts other than a pounding headache from talking with that crazy old bat across the hall.
It was days like this that made him really hate the 'no killing' rule the Espada had all agreed to.
He opened the door to his own apartment and stepped back inside, slamming it shut behind him with enough force that everyone else in the building could probably hear it.
"Tell me you found the damn cat…" he began, addressing Yoruichi as he turned to face the couch.
But the ex-shinigami was gone, having vanished without so much as a word and leaving nothing in her wake but the clothes Grimmjow had loaned her, all neatly folded-up on the couch.
"For fuck's sake, have you no shame woman?" he roared. "I don't know where you're hiding, but put some goddamned clothes on and keep them on!"
Something that resembled a laugh could be heard coming from his bedroom and Grimmjow grit his teeth angrily as he stormed towards the noise. If that stupid woman was mocking him…
"Meow?"
The black cat was sitting on the middle of his bed.
There was no sign of dirt or filth on its fur to indicate that it had been hiding, not even a single hair appeared to be out of place; the black fur was as immaculately-clean as ever and the creature wore an almost-human expression on its face as if it were waiting for him to say something.
"Where the hell have you been hiding, you stupid furball?" growled Grimmjow as he approached.
The cat hung its head and looked as if it were disappointed…perhaps disappointed because Grimmjow had been unable to find it. What, did it think this was all a stupid game?
"You've been a lot of trouble tonight…" continued Grimmjow as he picked the animal up and took it back to the living room window. "You and that damn woman…and where the hell did she run off to? Fucking hell, I find her and lose you and then I find you and lose her!"
Grimmjow's own cat, the white-furred Lord Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez the Second, Esquire, climbed up on the back of the couch and meowed, gesturing towards the black cat with its paws as if he were trying to tell the Espada something.
"Hush," said Grimmjow as he carried the black cat over to the window. "It's not staying here, Junior. And as soon as furball here leaves, we're going to go find that crazy nudist before she gets herself arrested."
The sexta opened the window and gently sat the small animal down on the rusting fire escape before shutting the window tight and locking it once more before replacing the drapes.
Outside, the black cat just sighed and covered its face with a small paw.
"Idiot."
"Why?"
Neliel raised her head up, looking over at the smaller girl laying across from her curiously. She pulled herself up into a sitting position for a better view, but Lilynette simply stayed put, sprawled out on her back and staring up at the artificial blue sky as she repeated the question.
"Why did you become a Soul Reaper?" asked Lilynette. "I mean, you could have gone back to Hueco Mundo after the war or maybe live in a gigai in the human world like we've been doing."
"The more time I spent with them, the more I saw what they were really like…" Nel said, leaning back on her hands. "I felt like we had the same ideals; the strong should protect the weak, that mindless slaughter was wrong… Everyone wants a place to belong and I don't think I ever really belonged in Hueco Mundo; I never wanted to eat souls or hurt people back then, but I didn't exactly have a choice, either… By bringing me to the Seireitei, Ichigo and the others finally gave me the choice I'd been missing. I actually feel like I belong in the Soul Society."
"I don't really wanna eat souls or hurt people, either," said Lilynette.
"I know you don't," smiled Nel. "You're better than that."
"Is it nice there? In the Soul Society, I mean."
"It's gorgeous, Lilynette; it's like late spring or early summer for most of the year there. The air is clean, the sky is bright and vibrant, it almost never storms and winters aren't nearly as bad there as they are here… You'd love it."
"Don't people there treat you bad 'cause you're not really one of them?" asked Lilynette as she sat up. "I mean, you can't hide your mask and Soul Reapers and hollows have been fighting each other for like, ever."
"A lot of people avoided me at first," Nel admitted. "Some even called me a monster."
"Idiots," said Anrak gruffly from his spot in the shade, sitting with his back against a large rock and Kage Shitsukoi laying beside him. "I considered trying to beat some sense into a few of them."
"An, you tried to kill me the first time you saw me," Neliel reminded him with a wry smile.
"That was an honest mistake," he said, flushing with embarrassment. "Besides, I apologized."
"After I knocked you through a wall, yes…" teased Nel as Lilynette giggled. "But anyway, yes, a lot of people did treat me poorly at first. As time went on, most of them learned to accept me."
"Only cause you're a Lieutenant, I bet," said Lilynette. "Or because you're married to a Captain."
"There's probably still a few people who only accept me because of those reasons…" Nel agreed. "But I think most accept me now because they know I'm not their enemy."
"Of course, there's always going to be some prejudice, same as it is here in the world of the living," Anrak pointed out. "Even if you weren't an arrancar, there are people that would still look down on you."
"Some just because I'm a woman, some because they don't like the color of my hair…" Nel said, shaking her head. "I'll never understand that kind of senseless hate. And then there's people like Captain Kuchiki, who doesn't like you just because you're a 'commoner.'"
"I'd rather be a humble peasant than a snobbish noble, anyway," shrugged Anrak before looking over at his zanpaktou. "And no, Kagi, I don't care how sure you are that you can beat Senbonzakura, we are not going to go pick a fight."
"Usually he has the grace to internalize his conversations with her so I don't think he's going crazy talking to imaginary voices…" Nel whispered to Lilynette conspiratorially.
"Says the woman who holds intensely philosophical conversations with her pet lizard…" Anrak fired back with a wry grin.
"Chompy understands everything just perfectly!"
"If you say so, koibito; if you say so," said Anrak, sticking his tongue out at her teasingly.
"Could I be a shinigami, too, if I wanted?" asked Lilynette, interrupting the two adults from teasing each other.
Nel and Anrak looked at each other for a moment before answering, with Neliel biting her lip as she contemplated what to say.
"The Soul Society doesn't know you and the others are still alive…" she reminded the girl slowly.
"Besides, there's plenty of jobs in the world of the living you might like…" offered Anrak. "You have a lot of opportunities open to you—"
"And they all suck!" exclaimed Lilynette. "I don't wanna be a teacher or a doctor or a cop or a hobo or a lawyer or anything!"
"Hobo isn't really a job…" Anrak pointed out.
"You guys like being shinigami, don't you?" insisted Lilynette.
"I love it," agreed Nel, already knowing what the younger girl was getting at.
"Then why can't I be one, too?"
"Lilynette, it's not that simple—"
"Why not? Am I not good enough?" asked the arrancar. "I want to be just like you someday, Nel!"
"And you will be like her one day…" said Anrak softly, putting a hand on her small shoulder. "But right now you're still young, still a kid; your wants and desires are still changing. You're still changing."
"But I don't want some stupid human job! That's not gonna change!" said Lilynette. "I won't do it! I can't do it!"
"You say that now, but in a year or two you might feel differently…" reasoned the Captain slowly. "But let's make a deal, right here and now; if you still feel this way in five years, Nel and I will see what we can do to help you."
"An!" cried Neliel in horror. "If the Head-Captain finds out that Lilynette and the others survived…"
"We'll think of something," he said confidently. "I didn't like being told that I could never do this or that, that I could never be something I wanted, and I'm not going to do that to her. We'll find some way to get her into the academy if that's what she really wants."
"But five years is a long time!" protested Lilynette.
"Five years gives you time to grow and change your mind," Anrak countered. "In five years, you'll be eighteen by human standards; your friends will have decided on careers and will be going to college to work towards those goals. If you still want to be a shinigami, we'll see about getting you enrolled into the Soul Academy."
"Can I be in your squad then?" Lilynette asked Nel excitedly. "That'd be cool! We could hang out all day, Nel!"
"I don't think that's a good idea…" Neliel said slowly.
"Why do you keep shutting me down?" asked Lilynette, looking hurt and utterly betrayed. "I thought you liked me! I thought we were friends!"
"She's doing it because she loves you, Lilynette…" Anrak said quietly. "She's trying to protect you."
"How is it protecting me by not letting me in your squad?" she demanded, trying not to cry in front of the adults. "That's just stupid!"
"Because people will think you only made it into a squad because of me," Nel said softly. "They'll think that no other squad wanted you and that I was playing favorites. Your peers would never take you seriously and you'd have a much more difficult time than I ever did."
"But if we let you stand on your own merits, another squad will pick you up when you graduate," Anrak assured her. "You've got a lot of potential and if you keep training…well, that's five years plus four at the academy. You'll be absolutely amazing in nine years if you keep it up and you'll probably have your pick of squads."
"And if you still want to be with us, join another squad first and then request a transfer a few months down the road," Nel added softly. "That will look a lot better than if we just draft you in to start with."
"You promise?" Lilynette asked, wiping away at a tear that had been threatening to roll down her cheek.
"We promise," Nel nodded.
"Then I need to keep working so I'll be so badass that all the squads want me!"
"That sounded like a challenge to me…" sniffed Neliel as she got to her feet and drew Gamuza from its scabbard. Lilynette just grinned as she hopped up and grabbed her own zanpaktou.
"Come and get it, grandma!"
Starrk concluded that so-called "romantic comedies" were neither romantic or comedic and were, in fact, abominations to be destroyed.
Keiko had enjoyed it, as had every other female in the theater, but Starrk had not failed to notice that every other male present looked just as miserable as he felt. Perhaps that was the entire point of such terrible films, he mused; to break the male spirit and make him more submissive to his female partner.
Starrk frowned and shook his head, trying to clear out the clutter; the urge to declare war on a particular movie genre had been too Grimmjow-esque for his liking and the thought of such films being used to psychologically break people sounded entirely too much like an uncomfortable piece of Ulquiorra's nihilistic wisdom.
He was glad to finally be leaving that damnedable theater at least and found himself looking forward to the prospect of a drink or two to try and put him at ease once more. He considered going to The Oasis like Keiko had wanted earlier in the evening but decided against it as he didn't want to risk running into Tyn and Tia tonight; there were easily a dozen other bars in Karakura, each of them a bar that Halibel didn't work at and each of them would probably not be on her list of places to drag her would-be mate.
He'd even made it a point to take Keiko to the opposite side of town, far removed from The Oasis and any other place the others might visit as an extra precaution.
Starrk spied a rustic-looking establishment further down the street and squeezed Keiko's hand as he gestured towards it with his head. A light smile and a simple nod was her consent and together they walked towards the out-of-the-way bar tucked away at the end of the street.
"This place looks kind of aged and worn, doesn't it?" Keiko asked as they approached the door.
"It's better that way," Starrk said as he opened the door for her. "Gives the place real atmosphere, you know?"
Keiko smiled at his wisdom and entered with the primera following right behind…
…and they were just in time to see a familiar-looking blonde woman pick up a tattooed man that was easily twice her size and chuck him over the bar, sending him crashing into the wall and the shelves filled with various liquor bottles and beer steins.
Starrk just backed out the door and gently pulled Keiko along with him as everything went to hell.
The small crowd inside the bar had been momentarily stunned by Tia's attack, none of them quite believing the display of strength they had just seen; the biggest, meanest-looking man in the bar, someone who probably had a reputation here for being bad, just got tossed like a rag doll by a woman half his size. The stupefied, slack-jawed expressions on everyone's faces spoke volumes about how they felt but for himself, Tyn decided that Halibel's fury was a thing of beauty…so long as it wasn't directed his way, at least.
The quinto didn't wait for the bar patrons to recover from Tia's explosively-violent outburst before he grabbed one of the downed man's companions and punched him across the jaw with a thunderous right, sending him careening across the room and down through a small table. Someone else in the bar gave a drunken battle cry and everyone went to war, with most focusing on the two arrancar.
Tyn ducked as a chair came flying at his head and grabbed another member of the four-man posse in a headlock, casting a quick glance back over at Halibel to see how she was faring, but the blonde had grabbed that last member of the crew, the one that Tyn thought might have been a woman, and was busy slamming her face into the bar repeatedly.
"She's great, isn't she?" Tyn asked his captive before punching him in the face. "Rhetorical question; of course she is, even if she will end up blaming this all on me."
The captive man was too busy struggling to get out of the headlock to answer, however, and a few more punches from Tyn left him hanging limply, unconscious. A broken beer bottle held by its neck was thrust towards the raptor's face, but Tyn easily turned and watched the jagged piece of glass sail by his nose harmlessly before completing his spin and smashing a hard palm-heel into his attacker's chest. He felt three ribs snap under the impact but showing mercy was out of the question as Tyn went ahead and continued upward with his strike, hefting the man up into the air before slamming him back down to the floor roughly.
Back over at the bar, the possible-woman was slumped over the counter, out cold and missing a few teeth from Tia's assault. As for the tercera herself, Halibel had found a new dance partner, a man in a leather jacket who was attempting to use martial arts to subdue her, but a black belt meant nothing to a member of the Espada; Tia jerked her head out of the way and stepped forward as her attacker threw a front kick at her face, catching his ankle on her shoulder. Wordlessly, Tia reached forward out and grabbed his knee, pulling it back and down against its natural range of motion.
Tyn could hear the loud 'snap' of bone from the other side of the room where he was busy dodging wild swings from a cue stick, courtesy of a short, angry man who saw fit to blame the arrancar for his inability to sink a single ball.
Tyn smirked arrogantly as he stepped back to avoid a chest-level swing and ducked to avoid the follow up that had been aimed for his head. Incensed by Tyn's dodging and mockery, the amateur pool player took a third swing at the arrancar's legs but Tyn deftly hopped up and back out of the way, landing on the pool table itself in a low crouch. The cue stick was thrust at his face like a spear, but Tyn deflected it away with his hand, grabbing hold of the stick tightly and preventing his attacker from drawing back for another strike.
The drunkard pulled at the cue stick with all his might but it wouldn't budge from the arrancar's iron grip. Instead, Tyn pulled on the stick and drew the man in closer as he reached down with his other hand and grabbed the green number six ball and proceeded to bounce it off the man's forehead with a loud 'thunk.'
Across the room, Tia's last attacker was writhing on the floor, screaming in pain and clutching at his shattered knee. Belatedly, the man's tall, lanky friend came to his aid, hefting a chair over his head and preparing to hammer Tia into the ground with it. He swung downward but the Espada simply reached up and caught one of the chair legs, stopping it cold. She snatched the piece of furniture away from the man and hoisted the chair back sideways before swinging it with all of her gigai's might, breaking the chair into a thousand tiny splinters and sending the tall man flying back into the old jukebox sitting in the corner, disturbing the hulking man who'd been sitting beside it.
Off in another far corner a trio of men were fighting amongst themselves, either too scared to attack the two arrancar that were dominating the room or too drunk to even realize who they were fighting. Tyn shook his head at them as he hopped down from the pool table, still holding the six ball and the cue stick he'd taken from his now-unconscious assailant. He whistled to Tia, tossing her the stick as a the large man who had been beside the jukebox came after her.
Halibel caught the stick easily and spun back around to face the man charging at her like a raging bull, calmly lining up her shot and thrusting the stick forward into the man's crotch with laser-like precision, crushing his left testicle with the freshly-chalked tip. Tyn winced as he watched the unfortunate man drop to the ground holding himself, too choked up to even cry out in pain.
The last man standing in the bar opted to go after Tyn, apparently being smart enough to realize that Tia was the bigger threat but not quite smart enough to realize that he had a clear shot at the door and could have retreated.
"Catch!" Tyn said as he abruptly tossed the six ball to the man. Thrown off-guard by the seemingly-harmless gesture, the man instinctively reached up and caught the green billiard ball…only to have Tyn use the distraction to grab him and hurl him into the lone pinball machine in the room, shoving his head through the backglass on the machine. The six ball went airborne once more as the legs of the already ancient machine gave way and the entire contraption collapsed to the floor with the unconscious man still lying on top of it.
Tyn casually reached up and plucked the green ball from the air, pocketing it as a souvenir before dusting his hands off and looking around the room at his and Tia's handiwork.
"We should probably go…" Tia said as she discarded the cue stick. "We don't want to be here when the police arrive."
"Good idea," said Tyn, pausing a moment before following her out the door. "You go on ahead and I'll join you in just a second."
"Hurry it up," sighed the blonde as she exited the bar. "We need to get moving before it's too late."
Tyn waited until she was gone to make his way over to the bar and lean across the counter, reaching down and grabbing the first man, the bald, tattooed fool who'd started the entire ordeal by having the audacity to touch Tia. Tyn gave a frightening and malicious grin as he hefted the semi-conscious man across the counter and held him at eye-level.
"Now it's my turn."
"I'm sorry if tonight was a disaster."
Starrk looked away as he waited for Keiko's response, nervously running a hand through his somewhat messy hair as she fumbled with the lock for her apartment. The night hadn't gone at all like he'd expected, like he'd hoped; at every turn there had been an unwanted surprise of some sort that had left him feeling like a failure. Keiko was a smart woman, a beautiful woman, and she deserved so much more than—
"It was fine," she assured him with a kiss. "It was certainly the most interesting night out I've had in a long time."
"But nothing went quite right…" Starrk said, confused.
"I'm a teacher, remember?" she asked him, with a giggly. "I'm used to things not going according to plan."
"So…would you want to do this again?" asked Starrk, trying not to sound too hopeful or desperate.
"Absolutely!" affirmed Keiko. "You're a good man, Starrk; I'm not going to let you get away from me that easily."
Relieved, Starrk smiled as he leaned down and kissed Keiko goodnight, grateful for her affections and wishing the night didn't have to end so soon but he had to go home to greet Lilynette or else she might worry if he were still gone. Perhaps next weekend he could pick Keiko up himself and leave Lilynette at Kurosaki's house for the night…
"Six o'clock next Friday," Keiko said, almost as if she were thinking along the same lines. "Don't be late."
"Count on it."
"You two look so cute right now!"
"Shh…don't wake her."
The two adults were taking Lilynette home for the evening, with the exhausted young girl asleep on Anrak's back, her arms wrapped around his neck as her head rested on his right shoulder. She'd pushed herself hard, far harder than she should have for her first time training, and had been almost dead on her feet by the time the three of them had returned to their gigais and left Urahara's shop.
They'd paused for a moment outside a convenience market that had shut down for the night just long enough for Neliel to purchase a bottle of water from a vending machine and in those few short seconds, Lilynette had managed to fall asleep leaning against the building. Anrak had originally wanted to wake her, but Neliel had instead picked the girl up and put her on his back, asking him to carry the tired arrancar despite knowing full well how much Lilynette would have protested at being treated like a little kid had she been awake to do so.
"Still think all kids are as bad as Yachiru?" prodded Nel quietly.
"No…" Anrak admitted, being sure to keep his voice low. "Lilynette's a good kid."
"Except for the way she harasses Grimmjow."
"I stand by my original statement," Anrak said with a wry smile. "Still, it's been a good night. She learned a lot, got some good exercise, and she enjoyed herself. I think we've helped broaden her horizons some."
"And what about your horizons?" whispered Nel. "What about your 'no kids' stance?"
"…I suppose one or two wouldn't be too bad." he admitted finally. "I'll admit that I enjoyed tonight, too."
"I knew you'd change your mind sooner or later," said Neliel with a smile. "You're too sweet not to."
"She planned this, you know…" sighed Anrak. "Yoruichi, I mean. She's determined to get a niece or a nephew out of us and when she heard Starrk needed a babysitter, all she saw was a golden opportunity to soften me up for you."
"I know," giggled Nel lightly. "She told me everything when she first called."
"Why are all the women in my life always plotting behind my back and manipulating me?"
"Everyone needs a hobby, honey," teased Neliel.
"Love you, too, dear; love you, too."
"What did you do?"
Tyn grinned innocently at Halibel as if he had no idea of what she was talking about, ignoring the splashes of crimson on his formerly-white button-up shirt and dripping from his knuckles. Tia refused to be fooled by his act and instead narrowed her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for an answer.
"What did you do, Tyn?" she asked again. "If you killed that idiot—"
"I didn't," he said, cutting her off. "I know what you think I probably did, but you're wrong."
"Can he walk?" asked the blonde.
"…let's just say he's still breathing on his own and leave it there, okay?"
"Goddammit, Tyn…"
"He had it coming!" exclaimed the quinto. "What, you seriously expect me to not do something when some idiot touches my mate?"
"What did you call me?" Tia asked as she arched a finely-manicured eyebrow, not quite sure she heard him correctly.
"…my roommate," Tyn said quickly, blinking innocently. "Why, what did you think I said?"
"Never mind…" Halibel sighed before pointing to the heavy-looking object he was carrying over his shoulder. "What the hell is that?"
"A souvenir?"
"The billiard ball was a souvenir; what is that?"
"A trophy?" Tyn tried again.
"It's a keg, Tyn."
"It's a full keg," he corrected her.
"What the hell are we supposed to do with a keg of beer?" asked Tia, rubbing her head.
"Drink it?" Tyn suggested as if it should have been obvious.
"Did you steal that?"
"Let's call it an extended loan."
"Let's call it larceny, you mean…" Halibel groaned. "Can't I take you anywhere?"
"I thought I was the one taking you—"
"Forget it," Tia said irritably. "Let's just go home."
"Look, I did it for you, you know," Tyn said, scowling in annoyance at her attitude. "I know you're pissed. I know tonight wasn't what you wanted and I know you hated every minute of it. I thought that maybe, just maybe, we could at least finish off the night on a positive note by taking this home and having a few drinks together, alone."
"Together alone?" Tia asked with an almost-bemused look.
"You know what I mean, damn it," Tyn growled, eliciting a small chuckle from the tercera.
"I do... And for the record, your assumption isn't exactly true…" she said softly. "It wasn't what I originally wanted or what I expected, but it wasn't bad, either; it was you, through and through. There was nothing normal about it and I like that… I'm so goddamned sick of pretending to be 'normal' that I could puke."
"So…you're not mad at me?" Tyn asked. "I'm not going to be sleeping on the roof tonight?"
"Of course not, you idiot," Tia scolded him lightly. "I wanted a night out and you gave me a memorable evening from your heart—"
"I don't have a—" he began, only to have the blonde silence him with an abrupt kiss.
"Stop talking."