Chapter 4: New Blossoming

Grimmjow stirred in his sleep, sighing contentedly as he encountered a mental image of Tesla, as he had been when the two first met.

As he laid under the crescent moon, looking lazily up into the stars, he felt a disturbance in the reiatsu around him, then blinked and sat up slowly. In the distance, two glowing forms were entangled, one more humanoid and the other looking like a large, feral dog. Grimmjow climbed to his feet and moved closer, watching as the canine hollow tore at the more humanoid one, making the young man scream in pain. But even hurt, the humanoid hollow continued to fight. And though obviously frightened, there was strategy in his movements.

But strategy, Grimmjow knew, was not enough to win him the battle.

He moved closer still, closing in on the two as the young man weakened and blood ran down his handsome, slender form. His eyes fierce, he continued to try to gain a position to hold the creature down, struggling to make attacks on its ears and eyes. Grimmjow spied a long knife at the young man's waist, unable to be used if he wanted to avoid taking fatal damage.

"Tell you what," he said, crossing his arms, "You have the guts to go for your knife and I'll heal you if you beat him."

He already wanted to save the young man, but it was better, he thought, to leave him with some pride.

At his words, new determination flooded the humanoid hollow's light-colored eyes. He twisted wildly, then shifted and lifted his left arm, leaving it vulnerable, as though by mistake. Instinctively, the dog hollow snapped at the young man's bare arm, clamping down until Grimmjow heard the bones snap. The young man screamed again, at the same time grabbing the knife with his remaining usable limb. The dog hollow sensed his move and turned swiftly to lunge at his now unprotected throat. The knife sank into the beast's open mouth, striking through the back and out, making blood explode around the two. But even as it died, the dog hollow twisted wildly and lunged again at the injured man. The humanoid hollow drew back and drove the knife into the beast's body, only to be faced with the dog hollow's open jaws and nothing he could do to save himself.

There wasn't even time for him to cry out.

The young man stared in shock as Grimmjow's foot appeared suddenly between the two and he kicked the dog hollow away from the injured man. He continued to stare in confused silence as the dog hollow whimpered and went still, and the elder hollow glared at him meaningfully.

"You did pretty well," Grimmjow complimented him.

"Are you going to devour me?" the younger man asked, his expression set, but neither fearful nor angry.

"I don't know," Grimmjow chuckled, "You look pretty tasty, you know...although, it would be a waste to just eat you."

"S-sir?"

"What's your name?" he asked.

The young man looked into his eyes quietly and Grimmjow felt a flicker of deep warmth he barely remembered.

"My name is Lindocruz Tesla."

Grimmjow smiled.

"Come with me, Tesla. I'll let you become one of my fraccìon."

"You...?"

"You're pretty strong, not a coward. I can find a use for you. Come on."

The young man slowly rose and took a stumbling step before collapsing at Grimmjow's feet.

"Cute," the blue-haired hollow said in an amused tone, smirking as he lifted the unconscious man into his arms.

Grimmjow woke with a smile on his face and reached out to pull Tesla close to him. Encountering only open space, he frowned and opened his eyes to find his former fraccìon gone from the bed.

"Damn it..." he sighed, sitting up and scratching the back of his neck, "Again?"

He spotted the note on the bed and recognized the handwriting.

" Grimmjow, thank you for saving my life and seeing to my healing. It was good being close to you again. I haven't gone on some pathetic search for Nnoitra. I know he is dead. I just need to work things out for myself. Please thank Nel and the others too. I would have died without all of your help and I am glad now to still be alive. I will come back to you if I can. Tesla," he read, "Stupid ass..."

He looked up as Nel poked her head into the bedroom and looked questioningly at him.

"What is it? What do you want?" he asked, scowling.

"Nel came to give Tesla another healing. Where is Tesla? He didn't run away again, did he?"

Grimmjow sighed heavily.

"He didn't go back looking for Nnoitra," he said resignedly, "but he did leave."

"What?" Nel objected, "But Tesla is still very hurt and Tesla could die if Nel doesn't heal him more!"

"Don't worry about it," Grimmjow said unhappily, "He made his own decision. He wanted to go. He left. End of story."

"But Nel thought that Grimmjow was in love with Tesla! If Grimmjow loves Tesla, he shouldn't just let Tesla go away and die!"

"Would you get off my case?" Grimmjow snapped, "The guy is doing what he wants! And what the hell does it matter if I do love him? If it was mutual, then don't you think he would have stayed here? Besides, he didn't say he was leaving forever. He said he'd try to come back, so just lay off!"

Nel stared at him through wide, teary eyes that grew more teary and finally began to overflow. Grimmjow groaned as the toddler hollow loosed a devastated howl of despair.

"Oh shit, really?" he complained, "Stop it! Come on! He wanted to go! Why the hell are you making like it's my business to go and get him back?"

Nel sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes.

"Maybe because when Nnoitra took him away, you never went to bring him back!" she sobbed.

Grimmjow went still, staring at the smaller hollow and unable to speak for a moment as guilt throbbed achingly in his chest. Nel continued to carry on until her fraccìon appeared in the doorway.

"What's wrong, Master Nel?" they cried together.

Nel took a shuddering breath and sobbed out an explanation which left her two comrades also in tears.

"It's horrible!" cried Dondachakka, "Now, two times poor Tesla waited for Grimmjow to rescue him and he didn't save him!"

"If it was a storybook, I'd tear it to pieces!" sobbed Pesche, "It's the worst!"

"Morons..." Grimmjow said sullenly, recovering his voice, "Don't you get it? He doesn't want me. And if he doesn't want me, then I don't want to do something stupid by going after him. If he wants to come back, he will."

"B-but doesn't Grimmjow understand?" Nel asked, "Tesla left because Tesla had some kind of fear. Tesla was afraid of something and he couldn't explain to Grimmjow, so Tesla wrote that message and ran away. But Tesla really loves Grimmjow. Nel knows!"

"Oh, and what tells you that, Miss Smarty-Pants?" Grimmjow snapped, "How does a dingbat like you know anything about what Tesla feels?"

"Mm...Nel heard Tesla talking to Grimmjow while Grimmjow was sleeping once. Nel was spying and Nel saw Tesla touch Grimmjow's hair and whisper 'I love you' so quietly that Nel could barely hear."

"Yeah? You probably misheard him," Grimmjow surmised, shaking his head, "Why would he go away if he loved me?"

Nel looked more calmly into his eyes.

"Maybe Tesla has something Tesla is afraid would make Grimmjow mad at him. Nnoitra was mean to Tesla. Tesla isn't used to having someone be nice to Tesla anymore."

He had to admit, it actually made some sense.

But what's he hiding that he thought would make me mad? I mean, I know he was obsessed with Nnoitra, but we're working through that. He's got nothing connecting him to Nnoitra anymore, so going away, unless he's going to somewhere he used to go with that freak, wouldn't make sense...

None of this fucking makes sense! What's he hiding? Why did he run off? Where the hell did he go with our world falling apart like it is. Unless he left Hueco Mundo, he's risking death!

"Grimmjow?"

"Huh?" the blue-haired hollow grunted distractedly, still focusing on his own thoughts.

"Nel wonders something."

"Yeah, well, spit it out. I can't answer a question you don't ask," he complained.

"Does Grimmjow love Tesla?"

Grimmjow looked back at her as though she had hit him hard with something.

"Wh-what?" he muttered.

He shook his head to clear it and waved her off brusquely.

"J-just get off my back, okay? I've gotta get outta here. You guys are driving me crazy!"

He disappeared out the door, still dressed in his sleeping clothes. Nel watched as he left, then smiled at the recovering Pesche and Dondachakka.

"Grimmjow loves Tesla!" she announced happily, "Nel could see in Grimmjow's eyes even when Grimmjow yelled at Nel just now. Nel is sure. Grimmjow really loves Tesla."

XXXXXXXXXX

"You've worked in a lab before," Kisuke said, noting the efficiency with which Tesla examined and logged the results of the shopkeeper's latest experiments into the computer, "Don't tell me you were pals with Aporro Szayel."

"That man was a monster," Tesla answered quietly, still gazing at the screen in front of him, "but I did learn a lot about scientific study when Nnoitra ordered me to help him with his experiments."

"Szayel, huh?" Kisuke repeated, frowning, "But why would Nnoitra be interested in any way in that creep? And why send you?"

"I was Nnoitra's fraccìon, so if he had an interest, but couldn't see to it, himself, he sent me. Usually, he had me act as an experimental subject, but the more deadly things Master Szayel would just have me observe and monitor results. Nnoitra wanted Aporro Szayel to come up with a way to kill Master Nel."

"Nice guy," Kisuke said softly, frowning curiously at how Tesla's hands trembled at the mention of his own former master.

The reports that came in from Hueco Mundo said he was an animal, and that he and Kenpachi Zaraki ripped each other to bits. Zaraki lived, Nnoitra died. And from what I know of fraccìon, this kid probably wishes he'd died too.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," Tesla said, swallowing hard, "Master Nnoitra was cruel to me and everyone else. H-he said it would make us stronger. He told me that being too kind was a sign of weakness and would get me killed. Strangely, it was when I wouldn't back down from a fight when I nearly died."

"Did he know there might be a baby?" the shopkeeper inquired, noting the instant stiffening in Tesla's body at the question.

"He knew," Tesla said softly, "I didn't mean for him to know at first. I asked Aporro Szayel if he could cause me to become impregnated, so that I could honor my master with continuance...an heir, as it were."

"I guess he didn't take it so well?" Kisuke surmised.

"He was livid. He beat me and was about to make sure I could not have the child, if there was one. But word came of the arrival of the enemies, and we went into battle not knowing for certain. I only was sure there was a baby when you told me."

"But between the end of the battles and your arrival here, there was someone else you were with?"

"Yes," Tesla answered sadly, lowering his head.

"And you aren't sure he'd be any more open to having a child than your former master? S-sorry, I have to ask."

"It's fine," Tesla assured him, "And it isn't that I think he would hate me for having his child. I am just worried the baby is Nnoitra's and my other lover would not accept it."

"But you will...if the baby is his?"

Tesla closed his eyes for a moment and his body quivered in reaction.

"When a hollow dies on a shinigami blade, the soul is cleansed of its sin and goes on to Soul Society."

"Or hell," Kisuke added.

"Or hell," Tesla agreed, "Nnoitra was cruel, but only as cruel as he was to himself. And he believed that he was that way because it would make all of us stronger. I do not think that is an unpardonable thing like the things done that get a soul sent to hell."

"You're going to look for him in Soul Society?" Kisuke asked, giving him an oddly sympathetic look, "Even though you know he won't remember you at all?"

Tesla sighed.

"If the baby is his, I will have no one anyway. If the baby is his, I have no choice but to seek him."

"And if the baby is the other guy's?" Kisuke asked.

Tesla met the shopkeeper's eyes hopefully.

"If it is my other lover's, then I will go back to him."

"Well, it shouldn't be too long until you have your answer, one way or another. I will let you know as soon as I can sense anything," Kisuke promised.

"Thank you, Urahara Kisuke. You are a just man."

"Yeah," Kisuke chuckled, "just trying to do the right thing here."

"And since when is the right thing to help a hollow?" Tesla asked, frowning.

Kisuke smiled at him disarmingly.

"When the hollow's only trying to do the right thing too," he answered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Grimmjow walked slowly through the scattered ruins of Aporro Szayel's plundered lab, scowling at small bits of papers, broken pieces of equipment and trying to pick up any sign of Tesla's passage through the area.

"Come on, I know that asshole let Szayel do ugly shit to you here. You were here not so long ago, but you didn't come back. Well, it's on to your next old haunt, ne?" Grimmjow sighed, "Guess I should be glad you were always pretty much a creature of habit. That should make you easier for me to find."

He started out of the lab, but paused as he caught sight of Tesla's name on an opened and scattered file. Frowning, he picked up the file and studied the pages that hadn't fallen out. He winced and made a disgusted face at the descriptions of several of the experiments. Looking around, he saw more scattered and torn papers and began to sift through to find any that referred to his missing lover.

Not that I really want to know what that horrific bastard did to Tesla, but...maybe I should know so that I can help him recover.

Damn!

No one should have to endure shit like this. If Nnoitra wasn't dead, I would kill him for letting that freak do these things to Tesla.

His gut clenched as he inadvertently pictured the younger man suffering the horrors described on the pages.

But, he reminded himself, I'm only reading this crap. Tesla lived through it.

He sighed softly and closed his eyes for a moment of relief to allow his insides to unclench. And when he opened them again, one word jumped out off one of the pages he held.

"Conception," he read, his voice catching on the word.

He studied the page more closely, taking in the list of readings before and after 'coitus.' Then, he closed his eyes and felt an unexpected burning, both there and in his chest.

If I had a heart, it would be exploding, he mused silently, Nnoitra, you bastard, you deserve to die a thousand dishonorable deaths for what you assholes did to him.

Grimmjow looked down at the papers and set them on fire with just his furious glare. He left the ruined lab as fire swelled up behind him and engulfed the room, sending its hated contents into blazing oblivion.