Week 4

This is the right place isn't it? Grimmjow asked himself as he stepped from the alleyway towards the odd ancient building. It was quite an old wooden structure with sliding shoji panels and a green ceramic tiled roof. It seemed as though it's determined not to be squeezed out by all the progress surrounding it.

The nerdy jerk did a good job of describing how to get here and who exactly he should see, despite all the eye rolling and sighing. The look on Kurosaki's face was priceless when four eyes repeated the question. He couldn't even form an answer himself. He just stared slack-jawed in Grimmjow's direction when the girly chimed in and offered her two cents. Guess she was on the right track because jerky cut her off and preceded to cut to the chase and give him the information he needed so they could be on their way. His last smirk and parting words of good luck didn't quite sit right with Grimmjow, but he had seemingly no other options.

Across the dirt lot, Grimmjow could see the shoji panels opened half way. A man sat cross-legged in the opening, toking on a kiseru. The ball of finely rolled tobacco glowed in the darkness lighting his face and making the air smell heady and intoxicating. His floppy green and white brimmed hat fixed low across his brow hid his intelligent eyes.

"Good evening, young Espada-san. Just out for a stroll this brisk winter evening?"

Grimmjow sneered at the calm man and continued to stalk forward. Who the fuck talks to an Espada like that? The man wore a too big green-on-green ensemble with old wooden clogs, in the winter mind you. The man nonchalantly reached for his cane across his lap, "Now-now, Espada-san. That is close enough. If not for a stroll, then what else brings you to my doorstep?"

Grimmjow halted about 15 feet away. He wasn't accustomed to engaging in conversation with people. He'd much rather grab the guy by the neck and shake the information out of him but he supposed that wouldn't be the best way to get this weirdo to help him. As the hat guy tapped the tobacco out of his pipe, Grimmjow cleared his throat.

"Here ta see Urahara Kisuke 'bout The Ber-, uh, Kurosaki Ichigo. Yer him, right? Gotta few questions ta ask ya."

The hand that was holding the pipe flicked out a white paper fan and covered the weirdo's face. Grimmjow's eyes widened at the slight of hand. He knew in that moment this seemingly defenseless man was way more than he appeared, possibly capable of dissipating his reiatsu entirely.

"Hmm, very interesting approach, Espada-san. These answers you seek must be incredibly important to you or I should think that we both would be swimming in blood by now. Tell me, what is it about dear Kurosaki-san that has you going against your very nature?"

Grimmjow gave a wary growl, he didn't like how this man seemed to understand him so easily, "The name's Grimmjow Jageraques. Jus' call me Grimmjow. And I wanna know why ya haven't got Kurosaki back his reiatsu by now?"

Urahara's eyes widened a hundredth of a degree, he dropped the fan from hiding his mouth and spoke earnestly.

"That is a very unfortunate happenstance. If there were any way to restore Kurosaki-san's power, I would do so without hesitation. Why does this concern you, young Grimmjow-san?"

Grimmjow was getting impatient and annoyed, he hated explaining himself to everybody over and over again, "That Berry promised me a fight on equal terms an' I'm here for one but he can't see me or hear me or nuthin! What the fuck am I sposda do with that?"

"Please, please calm yourself, Grimmjow-san," Urahara fanned towards the heated bluenette, "Though, I do have more questions regarding your interest in Kurosaki-san, those can certainly wait. Let us get right to the point of your reason for coming here, shall we?"

"Four Eyes and The Girly said ya could get The Berry to see me again. Said ya gotta thing called a gigai? What is it?"

There he goes hiding his mouth with that fan, again.

"It is a vessel; a body to hold ones' spirit. One can interact with and live like a human for any given length of time. I am inferring the reason you are coming to me, Grimmjow-san, is that you would like me to make you one of these vessels. Unfortunately, I am not sure I will be able to accommodate your request as I have never made a gigai for your particular species. Although, being the inquisitive scientist that I am, it will not be for a lack of trying. Of course, as with many things, my help and expertise will come at a price."

"What? I gotta pay ya for this thing? Don't got money. I'm sure I can find a way to get-"

"I have no need for monetary compensation. I have all the wealth I need."

Grimmjow bristled, "Well I ain't suckin your cock and laying down for ya, ya sick bastard! I ain't nobody's bitch-"

Urahara's eyes bugged out, "Oh no, Grimmjow-san! I did not mean that! What ever made you come to that conclusion?"

"Don't got money in Hueco Mundo, obviously. What do ya think we got ta barter with in that place? Mostly negotiations are unheard of but, if a lesser adjuchas or arrancar wants something like protection from another, they can offer their body as payment. Tho, who's ta say the other party won't just take what they want and leave or kill the weaker anyway? Ya gotta be pretty desirable to the stronger of our race to receive protection."

"Fascinating. Young Grimmjow-san, this is what I meant by a price to pay, information. Our kind knows little to nothing about the world you come from. Sure, we know there are classifications and hierarchies and we are aware of most physical capabilities but, we know nothing of your sociology, how your race functions and interacts within your world. I should also point out that this information is extremely difficult to come by, seeing as how one of Soul Society's purpose is to counteract your aggressive tendencies by preventing you from taking human lives-"

"Ya mean, huntin' us down and killin' us."

"Yes, but I wouldn't say hunt per say as we... They have only killed those who invade the human world or Soul Society.

"As I was saying, I have never been accepting of all Soul Society's policies and this is why I choose to live away from their one-track minds and inability to progress. I am not so closed-minded as to think all of your values as evolved hollows only revolve around destruction.

"I would like to learn more about your race and I am willing to attempt to grant your request on the premise that you can provide me with the information I am seeking. Also, there are some rules and guidelines I would like for you to adhere to while you are in the human world."

'Boy this guy could talk.' If he understood correctly, all this weirdo was looking for was info on how life was like in Hueco Mundo. It seemed harmless enough to the blue haired Espada. He wanted him to talk, though; that was gonna be aggravating. Grimmjow was a doer, not a talker.

Grimmjow addresses the second part of the defected Shinigami's terms, "Fine, I'll answer yer questions. What else do I gotta do?"

The Shinigami gave a pointed stare into Grimmjow's cyan eyes, "While you are in the human world you are not, under any circumstances, to purposely, physically harm any human being. You shall not, neither while you are in your Espada form, at all, nor if and when you receive your gigai. Only under the condition you are threatened and are avoiding your own death are you allowed to defend yourself. In that circumstance you are only allowed to incapacitate and not kill. The only other exception to the harming rule is the sparring you and Kurosaki-san have agreed to continue, however, you are not allowed to fight to the death, though, I am not really sure you are accepting of that outcome either. You will be allowed to fight with Kurosaki-san under my supervision. I have a training room Kurosaki-san is aware of. That will be the only place you and he will be allowed to come to blows to ensure your health is not at risk and your bodies will be healed after battle. I will decide the victor and I will end any battle when I see fit as to ensure the safety of both of you. Other than that, you can beat each other to your heart's content."

Grimmjow let out a huge sigh. Hurting other humans wasn't really worth his time anyway but he could see how the ex-Shinigami would want to spell it out, especially since he would be living among them if this guy could make this work. He silently swore he wouldn't let anybody get the upper hand or hurt him in any way no matter what this guy said - he wouldn't start any fights but he surely would finish them.

Kurosaki though... All he'd thought about during his respite was ending that guy's life in a fiery display of power and skill. But... when staring in the face of the now weaker redhead, there was this... other feeling. Was it just disappointment? And now... because of this need to confront The Berry, it has lead him to make deals and concessions with unknown individuals. Who knows if this man is on the level? He could possibly be capable of destroying him at any moment, but... for the chance to war with The Berry again, he'd be willing to put his trust and existence on the line for that. So... he guessed he would also be willing to spare The Berry's life for that opportunity. He guessed he had no other choice.

"Don't gotta heart, but agreed... Shit! This is not like how I thought this day was going to turn out," Grimmjow huffed as he rubbed his hand across his face and through his hair, "All I can say now is you'd better not be tricking me, ex-Shinigami. Not that I'd be in any condition to retaliate if you decide to put me in a death trap instead."

"I know I have no other way to assure you of my truthful intentions to fulfill your wishes, Grimmjow-san. All I can say is you have piqued my interest thoroughly and I would not be the man, the scientist I am today if I had ill will in my heart. I know that means nothing to you but I wouls also like to have you think about this: Why is this so important to you young Grimmjow-san? If it was just the intension to smite Kurosaki-san down, you could have done that at any time now. Not only that, you just agreed not to kill him. You also came here under the concept that you were going to play fair. To the rest of Soul Society, arrancar have no concept of fairness. That in of itself is astounding to me and I am sure to yourself also."

"Your fuckin' blowin' ma mind, genius." The Espada deadpanned. "All I wanna do is have my day with The Berry and if I gotta jump through your hoops to get there, then fuckin' so be it. Now let's get this show on the road."

Urahara chuckled at the young Espada's lack of emotional maturity. This was going to be an enlightening experience for all parties involved. He just hoped he could pull off this little miracle of making an Espada gigai or all would be for naught.

"Ok Grimmjow-san. First I have to run some tests, nothing invasive or painful I assure you, I have to analyze your reiatsu composition and anatomy to make sure I can hold you in and mold the gigai to your specifications. After that, I will need maybe about a month or two to work on making this concept a reality, though, I would like for you to stop in once week for progress reports and also to have our little chat sessions regarding all things Hueco Mundo."

"Oh, I'm not goin' anywhere. Now that I'm so close ta where I wanna be I got no intention of drifting too far away from my goal, besides, I'm gonna need ta be taught how ta live here." The determined warrior stated as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Yer just gonna have ta get used ta seein' my gorgeous face from now on," said with a lovely sneer and a twinkle in his eye. "I'm sure ya gotta extra room for me in this place, huh."

There was that fan again, but this time narrow slits for eyes peered over the paper and all Grimmjow could do was laugh.


Week 6

I'm sitting in class in a daze. Why? Why would Grimmjow go to these lengths just to fight me again? Why do I have to be the center of his attention? I'm nobody now.

Chado and Inoue hang out at Urahara's house. Ishida doesn't really hang, per se; he just takes his orders and goes about his new job. Actually, I haven't been back there since I lost my reiatsu. When my friends told me of his agreement with Grimmjow, on one hand I was utterly surprised, and on the other, I was utterly not. I know he likes to be a puppet master, but why do I always have to have the strings attached to me?

This is happening. I have to resolve to the fact that I cannot change this course of events. I hope that maniac doesn't figure his little experiment out. I sigh deeply knowing that will not be the case and I'm going to get my ass handed to me royally. How Urahara thinks I can defend myself against this blue haired beast is beyond me.

Deep in my thoughts, I'm ousted by the scrapes of multiple chairs against linoleum floors. I look about the class. Chado, Inoue and Ishida are all standing, staring in astonishment toward the wall beside the classroom door.

"You can't be here," Ishida states in a perturbed tone.

"Ishida, Sado, Inoe! What are you doing? Sit in your chairs immediately." Sensei is not happy but this isn't an abnormal occurrence in her classroom, though usually this is followed by one of the three running out.

All eyes are on them. Everyone looking as perplexed as the next but I know what's happening. He's here! How? Who told him we were here? Eesh, I'll give myself one guess.

The three look towards one another with questioning looks and answer each other with a shrug and a sigh, then proceed to take their seats. What? Why? Kick him out! I don't want him here! Fuck!

"Why do you have to be so damn popular, Kurosaki?" Ishida drolly remarks as he covers his mouth in his signature glasses push-up. "Fine! Shut-up!" He hushes and clicks his tongue. "Your admirer says, 'Hi ya, Tricky Berry'," terribly reproduced in Grimmjow's deep sardonic but sexy tone. SHIT! Did I just say SEXY to myself?

I cover my blushing face in disgrace with my hands and face-plant my desk, shaking my head in dismay. Why me?