Chapter 4: Start
The room was full of people.
Ichigo walked in with Grimmjow leading, and as soon as he passed through the doorway everyone's attention was completely on him. Grimmjow touched his shoulder reassuringly and led him to a couch to settle in to. Ichigo kept his curious eyes downcast as the gazes flitted over his body enough to make him feel violated. He sat down quickly and sighed in relief as his partner took a seat right next to him.
"Lookie there, the happy couple reunited. How disgusting."
"Hiyori!"
"And look! Ichigo's a man this time? A man? Poor Grimmjow, he's probably about to lose it."
"Come on Hiyori-"
"I didn't know you liked dick, Grimm-chan!"
Ichigo didn't know whether to throw-up, stare, or die. Instead he buried his face into the palms of his hands to hide the look of horror that had spread across his face. The little tremors made Ichigo feel ever more embarrassed.
Who the hell were these people?
Next to him a deep growl came from the rigid form of Grimmjow. If Ichigo hadn't know any better he would have thought it was an animal making such a horrifying noise.
"He doesn't know yet, you jackasses!" Grimmjow practically seethed. Silence followed his outburst, and Ichigo fought the urge to cry as everyone's eyes once again stayed trained on him.
Ichigo peeked through his fingers just in time to see a blond man smack the smaller girl over the head. "Idiot!"
Urahara walked in at that moment, a fan covering his smile and a hand over his heart. His blond eyebrows were drawn up high in amusement as he surveyed the people in the room and the tense atmosphere.
"Grimm..." Ichigo whispered from behind his hands.
"Yeah, Ichi?"
"I thought you said-I thought you said I wouldn't regret this."
Grimmjow frowned at this and glared at the blond girl who was currently looking away from the two on the couch with a scowl. The orangette finally removed his hands and looked up with tears in his eyes, and Urahara smirked as he saw the hearts of everyone in the room break: including Hiyori.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo." Grimmjow intertwined their hands, hoping to sooth the younger man.
"I thought you said they were old friends."
The blond man from earlier stepped forward. "We were, we are. I'm Shinji, and that brat over there is my partner Hiyori. Sorry about what she said earlier, she didn't mean any of it."
Urahara walked into the middle of the room and threw an arm over Shini's shoulder. "We've missed you! And you have perfect timing, as always!"
Shinji pushed the other man off of him and face palmed. "We didn't miss you, Idiot."
"Ichigo," Urahara began with a serious voice. "For the last five hundred years, all of us in this room have been together fighting."
Ichigo started to open his mouth to ask how in the world that was even possible, but Urahara smiled and held a finger to his lips.
"I'll get to it all, I promise. I have retold this story many times."
Ichigo nodded and relaxed back into the couch, squeezing Grimmjow's hand every now and then.
"Five hundred years ago, this group of people was chosen by God to remove the remaining devil souls left on the Earth. We were gifted with abilities to help us fight, to help us win, but we didn't. One by one, each of you fell until I was the only one left."
Ichigo sat in shock. Demons? It made sense now. The thing he had been attacked by...was...
"God showed me in a dream that you all would be reborn, over and over again until the task was finished. So far, as you can tell, we've yet to be successful." Urahara paused with a uncharacteristic sad smile.
"How do you find us, then?" Ichigo managed to get out.
"It's not easy!" Urahara laughed. "I'll have a dream. In this dream I'll look through your eyes, and I take in as much as possible before waking up. I only get one dream per person, you see."
"And with me, what did you see?" Ichigo blinked, surprised at the information he was getting.
"The park we found you in. You went straight to the pond in my dream, so I figured it wasn't uncommon for you to visit there. I was right."
"Hm."
"Each person is assigned another half of themselves, their perfect partner."
Seeing Ichigo's face turn red made Urahara quickly interrupt his thoughts. "Oh, no no no! Not in a relationship sort of way!"
Someone in the room sniggered and Grimmjow began to nearly crush Ichigo's hand. Ichigo winced and looked over, and Grimmjow quickly apologized and loosened his grip.
"Each pair is made so that the fighters are at their complete best. Shinji and Hiyori, for example, are partners. Shinji has the power of ice, whereas Hiyori is fast. Shinji is a good leader, whereas Hiyori is quick-tempered."
"Hey!"
"The pairings are meant to keep equilibrium. It's hard to explain, you see. You'll have to wait to get some hands-on experience to see for yourself!"
Ichigo chanced a look at Grimmjow. "You're...you're my...?"
"Mh."
Ichigo gave a soft smile. "Okay."
It was so strange knowing that someone was the perfect fit for you, but...Ichigo looked down at their intertwined hands. Hadn't Urahara said that these partnerships weren't...romantic? Ichigo made a mental note to ask about it later.
"You, Ichigo...you're the final piece. The most important piece."
Ichigo gaped up at Urahara, his mouth wide with shock.
"We cannot win this without you."
The bed just wasn't as comfortable as it should have been. The white ceiling above was the sole thing hold Ichigo's outward attention, but on the inside Ichigo was in turmoil. Demons? Reincarnation? Hunters? Ichigo didn't know which idea was more silly.
"Here, tea."
The sudden sound of Grimmjow's rough voice caused Ichigo's body to lurch. When had he gotten here? Tentatively taking the small cup of tea and looking into Grimmjow's oceanic eyes, Ichigo found himself drawn to the question he had asked himself earlier.
"Grimmjow..." Ichigo paused, trying to locate the precise words he would use. The sudden onslaught of nerves almost made Ichigo choke and forget about saying anything at all. Almost.
"Hm? What's up?" Grimmjow set Ichigo's teacup on the dresser next to his bed, and perched next to the tense boy he called his partner.
"Something has been bugging me; about what Urahara said earlier."
Grimmjow sat silently and waited for Ichigo to continue with what he was saying.
"He said-he said these partnerships weren't romantic, but yet..." Ichigo trailed off, hoping Grimmjow understood what he was trying to get across.
"Ah, I should'a seen this comin'. Ichigo, it's really hard to explain...maybe you should wait a little longer, when you're more comfortable with what's going on around here." Grimmjow stood and started pacing the room leisurely, distracting himself from the pout directed straight at him.
"I want to know now." Ichigo licked his lips. "I deserve to know."
With a groan of frustration and a huff, Grimmjow began to relent. Ichigo smiled as he realized how much of a hold he truly did have over this other man.
"Ichigo, you see-"
"Hollows!" the scream echoed throughout the room and down the hallways, quickly eliciting a chain reaction. Multiple shouts were heard, orders were screamed, and doors slammed and opened as everyone rushed-to get away or to go towards the danger, Ichigo didn't know.
"Damn it! Ichigo, stay here."
Ichigo gave him a hard stare. Oh, really?
"Don't move. I'm not kidding, Ichigo. Stay in this room."
A large crash sounded not too far from Ichigo's room, and Grimmjow gritted his teeth in frustration. Dirt has accumulated into the air and was hindering the view of the incoming hollows, and Ichigo gave a small cough as he inhaled a bit of it.
"Listen, if you stay here and keep yourself out of danger, I'll tell you everything. Everything about us, about you. I promise. Now, promise me you'll stay here."
Ichigo jumped as another crash hit outside, closer this time. Much closer. The terrified look Grimmjow was giving him wasn't helping much, either.
"Promise me!"
"I-I promise, Grimm!" Ichigo inhaled a shuddering breath. "I promise."
Grimmjow hesitated for a brief second before turning oh his heel and running through the door, slamming it closed behind himself. A terrible shriek pierced Ichigo's ears, and he hunched over with his hands over his ears, unsuccessfully trying to block that all-too-familiar sound. The hollow, no doubt. Just like the one that had tried to kill him before.
It was times like this, with Grimmjow missing from his side, that Ichigo felt at his worst. He was worried for his blue-haired companion, out fighting monsters. It was then that Ichigo had an unnerving thought that rang from his head to the tips of his toes.
Wasn't I a hunter, too? Wasn't I supposed to be fighting? Ichigo thought to himself.
Grimmjow was fighting without his partner, so he wasn't at his best. Ichigo jerked suddenly, glancing around the room for any kind of weapon, but found nothing of use. It was probably that way on purpose.
But, I promised Grimm I'd stay here, stay safe. Dammit!
It wasn't like he could do anything anyways. He didn't know how to fight! Especially those things. Grimmjow was probably upset that he was stuck with someone as useless as himself for all of these years.
And now Ichigo was upset, angry, worried, and terribly confused. He almost cried, the urge resting close to the edge, but Ichigo resisted. He had his dignity, at the very least. Ichigo paused, listening for a sound. The whole institution was silent now, no screaming, no crashes.
"Ichigo?"
Ichigo let out a breath he'd unintentionally been holding as blue hair peeked into the door.
"Yeah?"
"You okay?" Grimmjow fully walked in then, making Ichigo's breath catch.
A black substance was all over Grimmjow's body, staining his clothing from shirt to shoes. Ichigo remembered the time at the lake. The black blood of a hollow.
"Am I okay? I'm fine, but you...!" Quicker than Grimmjow could blink Ichigo was fretting over his body like a mother hen. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" Ichigo asked hopefully.
"Mm. I'm good."
"And no one was hurt?"
The genuine smile made Ichigo's heart jump. "Not a one."
It was good news. Although Ichigo hadn't know the people here for very long in this life, they were all very close in previous ones, and no doubt given time they would be friends once again. That made Ichigo think of Grimmjow and his question once more.
"I'm glad." Ichigo sighed. "But you need to clean up. We've a lot to talk about, hm?"
As Grimmjow showered in the next room, Ichigo pondered. Pondered about the hollows, his new life, Grimmjow naked in the shower.
Ichigo shot up from lying down on the bed. G-Grimmjow...naked? The red flush that infected his skin seemed to be permanent, and as Ichigo heard the water turn off he attempted harder to return to his normal skin color. Except...Ichigo figured Grimmjow was just now starting to towel dry his body, every inch of muscle dripping with lick-able water droplets. The blush was back, but this time Ichigo didn't fight it. He was too busy enjoying himself to care.
As Grimmjow entered the room Ichigo couldn't help but think that Grimmjow really did look as good as he had figured he would. A white, fluffy towel was laying on the top of his partner's head, and only a few pieces of blue hair peeked out. The shirt he wore was gray and a bit wet so it stuck to his skin more so than it should, and the black sweats were riding low. Ichigo had to fight for air as an onslaught of saliva filled his mouth. Yum.
"I used to work for the man who controls the hollows. His name's Aizen, he's..." Grimmjow cleared his throat. "terrible, evil, whatever adjective you want to describe him with. I left, started working with Urahara."
"Why'd you leave?" Ichigo asked. Grimmjow had said that man, Aizen, was evil, but for some reason Ichigo didn't figure that sole thing had prompted him to switch sides. Grimmjow's sudden look told Ichigo he was correct.
"I left because of you, Ichigo." Grimmjow looked at the floor, all of a sudden finding the white carpeting extremely interesting.
"Me?"
"We're lovers. We always have been."
Shock wasn't a word Ichigo would use to describe what he was feeling. Grimmjow had been his lover all these years, through every reincarnation? It was nearly unbelievable.
"I was so happy to hear that Urahara had found you, I nearly ripped the park apart trying to find you." Grimmjow laughed at the memory. "I found the orange hair, you always have orange hair. I found your eyes, I found those things, but you were different."
Ichigo clreared his throat. "Different?"
"All these years, all these lifetimes...with you as a female." Grimmjow looked up to watch the last bit of color rush from his lover's face. "This is the first time that you've ever been reborn a male."
Chapter 4: End
Pssst: This story will be similar to an anime called Betrayal Knows my Name. Be warned.