Chapter 3
Not So Bad
"Oh? Do you want to defend Grimmjow's statement, Ulquiorra?"
I was dumbstruck. Was Ulquiorra really about to defend me, take up the shame that Aizen had just gave me?
"Yes, I will defend him, but only because, for once, he makes sense."
Ulquiorra was really going to defend me. I couldn't believe it. I caught my heart thumping wildly in my chest for joy.
"Proceed."
"Even with our strength, should we not still prepare for war? We don't know what tricks the Soul Society would use to win. They know our strength."
"And we know theirs." Szayel Aporro Granz said with a smile. He flipped his hair. "I had a chance to observe them fight."
It seems Aporro would stop Ulquiorra right there. I was wrong.
"Oh? Have you observed every single soul reaper? Every soul reaper in the Seireitei?" Ulquiorra eyed him. Szayel looked down and flipped his hair nonchalantly playing off his shame. Aizen nodded with his eyes closed.
"Yes, yes, you are indeed correct, Ulquiorra. So, thanks to Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, we will continue training for the war."
"Does anyone second the end of the meeting?" Gin asked. My hand was the first that shot up. Gin smiled at me.
"Meeting adjourned."
I walked out of the meeting room and waited. I couldn't just walk away from such kindness. I always had, but my gut wrenched the minute I tried to escape without thanking Ulquiorra for saving my pride. I blinked. Since when did I start using his name again? I was thinking about it when Ulquiorra finally came out of the meeting room.
"Ulquiorra." I said. He looked at me.
"Trash," was all he said before starting his walk again. I just stared. I felt my cheeks flame again. I had to shake it off. I grabbed his arm and jerked him back; his hand flew out of his pocket. I slammed him against the wall. Mistake number one, I called his name instead of letting him call me. Mistake number two, I grabbed him. Mistake number three, I slammed him against the wall. I looked nervously at the angered face he was giving me right now. I was actually sweating bullets.
"Grimmjow, release me, or I'll make you release me." His voice was ice. I froze like ice. Why was I scared of him? Was it because he could easily tear me in two? I regained my nerve and clenched my teeth.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving my pride in there." I growled. He blinked. I think he was shocked. "Isn't there something you'd like to say Ulquiorra?"
He was not over the shock that I had actually thanked him. He blinked three times to regain his emotionless face.
"Thank you for thanking me, now release me."
I couldn't process the words. Right now, I really just wanted to lean in. He was so tempting. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and kicked me right in my gut pushing me back. He used sonido to appear next to me quickly. He put his foot on my back and used it to push me right into the wall. I put my hand on my bleeding face and looked back at him.
"What was that for?"
"I warned you." He said putting his hands on his pockets and walking away. I looked at the blood on my hand and smiled. Ulquiorra touched me. I smiled as I watched Ulquiorra saunter off to more important stuff. I quickly realized what I was doing, and hit myself. Did I just ogle that bastard? I clenched my teeth in anger. Why was I so caught up with him? He was rude, prideful, and irritating. I looked up. Wasn't I rude, prideful, and irritating? Shit, was he actually a good match for me? I didn't want to think about this. I needed to do something that would take my mind off of Ulquiorra. I needed a snack, I realized as I heard my stomach grumble. I had woken up and ran off to spar without grabbing a single thing to eat. I smiled. That would get my mind off of Ulquiorra.
"Is there a problem?" Gin said from behind me making my skin crawl. I shuddered. I turned halfway to see his wide smile.
"Oh…Gin…uh, no, I'm good."
"Are you sure? I just saw what happened out here."
My eyes widened. I quickly hid the shock. I didn't want Gin get any pleasure from the look on my face. I frowned.
"What exactly did you see?" I asked. Maybe he didn't see the whole thing. I was right.
"It's aright, Grimmjow, so Ulquiorra just kicked ya' ass. It's nothin' to be ashamed of."
My eye twitched. He saw that one part and thinks I'm ashamed? I'm happy! Wait….what the fuck? Happy? I shook my head.
"Why would you think I'm ashamed?"
"I looked outta' the meeting room just in time to see you get kicked into th' wall. You didn't move, even after Ulquiorra left, so I thought you were sad."
"I let him win!"
"Course ya' did." Gin stood up from his kneeling position and walked back into the meeting room. "Don't take it so hard."
"I let him win!" I yelled. I grumbled to myself before remembering what I was doing before Gin interrupted me. Right, I was headed to the kitchen. I stood and wiped the blood on my face onto my white jacket. Nothing said badass like a bloody uniform. I made my way to the kitchen.
No one was in the kitchen meaning I could eat my fucking lunch in peace without worrying about any interruptions from the other Espada. I sighed in relief and walked right over to the fridge and opened it. I took out a can of tuna, some bread, and the milk carton. I made myself a tuna fish sandwich and poured myself a glass of milk. I ate with my feet on the table. As I ate, my mind wandered. Of course, the only thing on my mind was Ulquiorra. I thought back to how he just kicked my ass. It was a glorious scene that was replayed over and over until a certain spoon came walking into the kitchen. He looked at me with a frown on his face. Finally noticing him myself, I scowled. He found it amusing. He smiled. He moved next to me and pushed my feet off of the table making me spill my milk. I looked at him.
"Nnoitra…" I growled. He smiled and put his nasty elf boot on the table.
"Whatcha' gonna' do 'bout it?" he smiled. I stood up and sized up to him although he was a good two-four inches taller than me. He mouthed,
"Start something."
That was it. First, was the milk. Second, was the boot on the table. Now, he was challenging me. I punched him square in his jaw knocking him down. He held his jaw and chuckled.
"It tickles." He said narrowing his eyes. I looked at the door. Now would be the time for Ulquiorra to bring his ass in here and stop this fight. He did not. He never appeared when you actually needed him to. Before I could turn back to Nnoitra, I was on the ground, victim to a sweep kick from his freakishly long legs. I rolled out of the way to avoid a punch, and kicked him. He staggered back. Now the bastard was bleeding, and that's when Ulquiorra strode in. He looked at the blood dripping from Nnoitra's nose, then he saw me leg still extended. He glared at me. I stood up quickly.
"You're not going to try to blame this on me, are you!?" I asked loudly.
"I have no other information to go on." He closed his eyes. I grabbed his coat in my left fist ignoring the shock it sent through my body.
"I can tell you what happened right here and now!"
Ulquiorra put his hand on top of mine and pushed it away. His hand lingered on mine for a full minute before he completely removed it. I looked at him.
"You can't blame this on me." I said softer.
Ulquiorra scanned the area. He probably noticed the milk. He probably noticed the dust on my jacket and hakama. He closed his eyes again.
"I will remove myself from the situation this once. Rejoice, Grimmjow."
He still blamed the whole thing on me. In a way, I found it sexy. The untrusting Ulquiorra, I smiled. He sighed bringing me back to the real world.
"I really wish you would stop smiling at me like that."
"Hm? What was that?"
He just shook his head.
"You and Nnoitra need to clean up this mess. NOW." Ulquiorra turned to walk away. I grabbed his arm.
"You're not going to snitch?"
"Cross my heart and hope to kill." He said. I think he meant it to be a joke, but he was so serious, I couldn't tell. I think I saw him smirk before turning away completely. I looked at the spoon.
"Clean this up." I said walking out quickly before he could answer. I smiled as I walked back to my room. Maybe Ulquiorra wasn't as bad as I first thought. He was willing to forget the situation, but most importantly, he had let our hands touch for a full minute. I chuckled to myself.
