Cats Have 9 Lives Chapter 8
A/N: I dedicate this chapter to kiwi () (The funny stuff, not the depressing stuff) for her AMAZING reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
CHAPTER EIGHT, START!
Once again it was late at night, and Neko was enjoying her tea out on a far away terrace, and once again Grimmjow appeared, as if straight from the darkness. Neko merely nodded quietly in his direction as he stalked up beside her.
"Hueco Mundo is rather beautiful in surreal sort of way," Neko remarked, looking out at the inky black sky and the bone white sand.
"I suppose," Grimmjow muttered quietly, leaning on the railing of the terrace. "But to me it just seems too colorless," he sneered. "I kinda prefer the World of the Living."
"To each their own, I believe," Neko smiled, raising her cup of tea.
"What are you?" Grimmjow asked for the second time. Again, Neko stayed silent. "C'mon, tell me. You know I won't let you get in trouble, kid."
Again, there was silence, with Neko only sipping her tea and watching the landscape. After about a minute, she whispered, "this kinship, this friendship that is developing… be prepared to lose that… at any moment."
Grimmjow quirked a confused eyebrow. "What are talking about? I just wanna know. We're not friends, it's more like a, a mystery, I guess you could call it. That's what makes you interesting, kid."
"Believe what you will," Neko spoke, before she sipped the remnants of her tea.
"I'm gonna take that as 'you're not gonna tell me?'" Grimmjow guessed.
"Your skills of deduction are impressive," Neko smiled jokingly.
"Yeah, thanks…" Grimmjow pouted, crossing his arms. Neko yawned quietly, gaining another strange look from the sixth Espada. "You should probably get some sleep," he pointed out.
"Ugh," Neko shuddered inwardly, "no. I hate sleeping; or at least the act of falling asleep. This," she raised her now empty teacup, "is merely a second form of procrastination."
"Why do you hate falling asleep?" Grimmjow asked, for once genuinely curious. Neko looked again at the colorless landscape, her lips a tight line, her eyes… sad.
"Right when you're falling asleep," she whispered quietly, "the very last thought you tend to have is a question of whether or not you are happy. Content. I merely hate lying to myself every night. That's why I procrastinate. "
Grimmjow kept his eyes on his hands, not knowing what to say. "Speaking of procrastination," Neko murmured, beginning to walk away, "I should be getting to bed."
"Wait!" Grimmjow shouted, grabbing the small girl's wrist. "Um, uh, procrastinate a little longer, 'kay?" he asked, confused as to why he grabbed the 99th Arrancar's wrist.
"Is that an order, Master Grimmjow?" Neko smirked.
"Ah… yeah. That's an order," he smiled.
"Alright then," she grinned, retaking her place at the edge of the terrace. "What should we procrastinate about?"
"Tell me how you became a hollow," Grimmjow blurted, before covering his mouth. Where had that come from? "I mean… you just seem so happy and cheerful most of the time, and you're also so wise and modest, I just… well…" he stopped when he realized Neko had stiffened, her hands clenched into fists, her face pale.
"There was once," Neko growled through clenched teeth, "someone who did something absolutely unforgivable, that ultimately ended up with me dead," the girl was physically baring her teeth at that point, "and, when I was a spirit, about to go to the Soul Society, I was halfway into turning into a hollow myself… and when I asked the Soul Reaper who was going to send me there where the certain someone went…"
Grimmjow paled, surprised at how… terrifying the girl looked as she glared at the landscape with pure hate. "What happened?" he whispered.
"The Soul Reaper had told me that the bastard had gone on to the Soul Society, where he was living happily in one of the most extravagant palaces…" Neko ground out, before she took a deep breath, trying to control her anger. As she exhaled, she felt herself calm down.
"And then, I just… broke. The poor Soul Reaper never came home from her little mission," Neko shook her head.
"Wow." Grimmjow said quietly, surprised that the little girl actually had so much anger. He wondered what the guy must have done to her to make the Arrancar hate him so much. He knew, though, that it wouldn't be right to ask.
"Yeah," Neko whispered sadly. "But I know I shouldn't be angry anymore. The man was my father, after all," she spoke, slipping away and off to bed, leaving a pale and horrified Grimmjow alone to ponder what he had learned.
THE NEXT MORNING…
Neko sighed. She was not looking forward to the day ahead. She had to work with the "king." In other words, she had to deal with being called "an ant not worth my time," for the rest of the day. Another sigh escaped Neko's lips. Whatever, right?
"Hello, sir!" a cheerful Neko called to the rather large Espada.
Baraggan merely nodded, not even glancing towards the 99th Arrancar.
"A beautiful day here, hmm Master Luisenbarn?" Neko asked, trying to strike conversation. It was then that the second Arrancar outright ignored her.
In a huff, Neko put her hands on her hips. "So," she began, "tell me about when you were a king. What was it like?" she asked, cocking her head.
And, to Neko's surprise, the elderly Espada actually smiled. "Well," he wheezed, "I was bowed down to… everywhere I went. I followed no orders; no, it was me who gave orders and punishments…" he stared wistfully off into space. "I was the most powerful in all of Hueco Mundo…"
"Well," Neko corrected, "technically, you were still the second most powerful… ah," Neko said, as she realized that she felt a lot slower than average…
Crrrrrrruuuuuuuuuunnnnnch.
Number of Lives Left: 1
A/N: Okay! That's the end of the chapter, folks! I hope you enjoyed it—and sorry about all the depressing stuff. BUT, I did make it into a mystery, so I hope you like! By the way, I wrote this chapter all in ONE NIGHT. I feel so proud and exhausted at the same time. Yay!