Chapter Two:
Warnings
Grimmjow was bored. Bored, hot, and annoyed. Ulquiorra had told him he would have to wait until the bat's human had fed and slept. So she'd be at full strength, he'd claimed blank faced. To piss me off, and show he's in charge here, Grimmjow had thought when Ulquiorra had given the excuse. Now he was stuck in some small fussy little room that was a violent shade of magenta with large wide open windows that let the cold air in.
Blue eyes narrowing Grimmjow watched the sun lowering behind the tall mountains of Ulquiorra's domain. The Woman had been sleeping practically since he arrived early this morning. Human's do not need this much sleep. Grimmjow's glare shifted to the doors. They were covered in violet cloth. Grimmjow growled in annoyance. Not only was Ulquiorra making he wait an entire day, but had left him in an eye burning atrocity of color coordination. Whoever had designed this room needed to be strung up by there toes so Grimmjow could slowly carve them into pieces with his claws. The door opened interrupting these pleasant thoughts. Grimmjow scowled and stiffened. He turned, but his nose already told him what he was forcing himself to confirm.
Behind the always blank faced Espada member was the Woman, stomach round and heavily pregnant. Suddenly Grimmjow understood why she rested so long. In his experience kitting females were lazier than most. Teri instantly came to mind. Plus the Woman looked exhausted just being there. Grimmjow wondered briefly how she was standing up, before he noted Ulquiorra's posture and strange hand placement.
He'd assumed Ulquiorra had kept his hands in his pockets like usual, but instead he had one resting on the Woman's back supporting her. And Grimmjow noted with surprise, in contrast to his emotionless expression Ulquiorra's body language screamed protectiveness. He seemed to lean towards the Woman without noticing and Grimmjow knew his fellow Espada was focusing all his senses on both the Woman's position and Grimmjow's. Grimmjow didn't doubt that if he deigned to growl a little in her direction Ulquiorra would launch himself at him. The bat was wired that tight. The entire examination took a second, but it told Grimmjow that there was definitely something changing in the bat. Something Grimmjow would be watching carefully.
Grimmjow briefly wondered whose baby the Woman was pregnant with, but dismissed it as not important and focused on her as she smiled at him in greeting noticing his presence.
"Hello Grimmjow-san, Ulquiorra did not tell me it was you who needed healing. I'd have come sooner if I'd known." Grimmjow nodded feeling awkward under her friendly stare. During the final battle he'd saved the Woman from a collapsing building, while Ulquiorra was distracted, ever since she'd been entirely too fond of him. He was an Espada not a pet kitten.
Grimmjow realized something else with a start. The Woman really was a woman now, not just the half grown child under Ulquiorra's care. Her face had matured with the rest of her already voluptuous body into something quite attractive, even while pregnant. Even her voice was smoother, more confident in her age. With the passing of time though, other things had changed, her lovely grey eyes once so sparkling were tinged with sadness. But he saw curiously, not as much as the Girl. Something softened the Woman's eyes preventing the hardness of the Girl's desperate sort of hopelessness. Grimmjow bit back a growl, knowing Ulquiorra would misunderstand it. Once again those brown eyes were at the front of his mind and all he wanted was to go back and track her down.
"Grimmjow-san," a soft voice questioned and he stiffened instinctual readying himself to jump, when the Woman's round concerned face suddenly appeared in his vision. Behind the Woman, Ulquiorra gave him a look that actually scared Grimmjow. Without thinking he relaxed his body and curled down in submission, part of his mind screaming at him that he was King and as King he did not have to obey the bat. Grimmjow stubbornly ignored that part. Whatever the hell Ulquiorra was going through; Grimmjow had no intention of crossing him until it had passed.
"What Woman?" he asked gruffly, but quietly looking at her and trying to ignore the hair rising on the back of his neck. The Woman seemed to pause apparently taken aback by the uncharacteristic quietness. Instantly her eyes were worried and a small hand was touching his face. Grimmjow had to stifle a growl in his throat at her conduct. Ulquiorra had taken a step towards him when he started it.
"Where are you injured Grimmjow-san?" The Woman asked in a rush, eyes wide and looking at him with an unmistakable maternal manner. "You are not acting yourself, it must be bad."
"It is not bad Woman." He told her annoyed by the fact she was still touching him and he couldn't remove her without risking pissing off the agitated bat. "This stupid room is making my eyes hurt."
The Woman stopped and looked up at him with, to his horror, tears in her eyes. "You don't like it?" she questioned weakly, a tear falling. "Ulquiorra finally agreed to let me redecorate and since this was his room for meeting guests I worked hardest on it. Ulquiorra said it was pretty."
Grimmjow looked at Ulquiorra in disbelief. Did he even know what the word 'pretty' meant much less have it in his vocabulary. Catching the bat's expression Grimmjow rushed to inform the Woman that the room was fine, brilliant even. Brilliantly ugly, but he didn't say that. Ulquiorra looked annoyed, and when Ulquiorra looked annoyed it really meant he was murderously pissed.
The Woman beamed and threw her arms around him. It took all Grimmjow had not to throw her back off. Before he could even formulate a protest, that wouldn't make Ulquiorra kill him, though the Woman was off and looking serious as she asked where his injuries were. Grimmjow told her stunned by her turbulent emotional changes and he was quickly covered in a familiar orange shield.
As the soreness in his abdomen finally faded after seven long years he relaxed visibly. Only with it gone did he truly appreciate how it had bothered him. The outside of the wound had healed quickly, but something about it had left the inside unable to. No wonder his Fraccion had said he'd been unbearable. Constant pain was known to cause violence in anyone after all.
Grimmjow didn't thank the Woman and she didn't seem to expect him to. She was only paying back his saving of her afer all. Ulquiorra dismissed the Woman calmly, but Grimmjow saw that the Espada had two human women waiting outside the door to escort the Woman back in Ulquiorra's place.
The silence was wary. Grimmjow carefully thinking over what he'd observed and Ulquiorra looking him over more coldly than usual. After a few moments Grimmjow couldn't stop himself from interrupting it.
"So the Woman is knocked up." Ulquiorra gave him an icy look.
"Yes." The bat Espada said, blandly. "While Aizen-sama had me locating any of those powerful enough to cause problems I was forced to leave her with Yammy. He was not a suitable watcher. I was unable to retrieve Orihime until recently, by then she had already become impregnated."
"By who?" Grimmjow prodded, curious and a bit disgusted at the thought of the Woman being with the bastard. Grimmjow had always assumed she'd been with Ulquiorra after the final battle. He hadn't bothered checking until now, but Ulquiorra was insanely possessive of the female and Grimmjow couldn't picture him willingly parting with her.
Grimmjow had seen Ulquiorra kill another Hollow who'd gotten too close to the Woman during the battle. It was a newborn Hollow so no one else had cared or probably even noticed. But Grimmjow had noted the odd ferocity of the killing and the brief flash of rage that flickered on Ulquiorra's face for a second. Whoever had touched the Woman was a dead man and it was a miracle Yammy was still alive.
"She refuses to say." Ulquiorra informed him monotonously. That could explain Yammy continual survival. If the Woman wasn't speaking, then Yammy was the next best option of getting information on who'd touched her. Grimmjow noticed something else as he reexamined Ulquiorra's words. The Woman was being referred to by a name now.
Grimmjow looked up and examined Ulquiorra critically. There was no outward sign of change, but how the hell was he the same emotionless pest? He was definitely not. The Ulquiorra Grimmjow had hated would never have shown such protective instincts over a human woman. They were rather like how Harribel would react if someone threatened her Fraccion. Perhaps Ulquiorra now considered the Woman his Fraccion? He did not possess any, so it wouldn't be that surprising. She was probably the only person he'd been in close contact to for so long. The rest of the Espada didn't count since Ulquiorra didn't interact unless ordered to.
Seeming to want to further ruin Grimmjow's image of him Ulquiorra cleared his throat. Grimmjow stared and the Espada spoke.
"I suppose you've heard about these rebels." Ulquiorra said calmly. Grimmjow wondered why the hell Ulquiorra was making small talk, but nodded.
"You are not concerned." It was a statement, but Grimmjow decided to reply as if it were a question.
He snorted. "They're just humans setting firecrackers near my castle. They're pests and not worth the trouble."
Ulquiorra gave him a long stare with his blank emerald eyes and said something that left Grimmjow concerned. "I said much the same about Kurosaki."
Without another comment Ulquiorra left and Grimmjow understood the clear, nonverbal dismissal. Rising to his feet Grimmjow looked to the mountains outside wonderingly. They just reminded him of Ulquiorra's blank expression. Grimmjow growled at the uneasiness that was gripping him with sudden urgency. He had a horrible wrenching feeling at the base of his spine. He leapt through the window and began the journey home. If Ulquiorra had felt the need to alert him, something was wrong. Grimmjow didn't slow until he was well into his territory and deep in the jungle.
He stopped landing in a tree. Grimmjow caught the scent of blood and fear from a human female. His hair stood up in a consuming hot fury as he recognized the scent of the Girl and caught another Hollow's close by. Grimmjow let out a loud snarl and changed to the direction of the human's scent. A Hollow was poaching his scent-marked prey. The King would not stand for that.