AN: Hello everyone, guess who? Okay, let me just say that AAAHHHHH I'M SO SORRY! Let me explain, I've been gone for like, what, two months? Three? Something like that. To give you a retrospect of how my life has been: Firstly, school was annoying. Luckily, I'm finishing next week, so thank God for that, am I right? XD. Secondly, my brother had recently lost his job and broke his phone, and, being the wonderful, nice sibling that I am, let him use my laptop whenever he wanted... I realize that this wasn't exactly smart on my end, as it seemed to make things difficult for me to type my story out. But, I grew a pair, and I'm now more assertive about my stuff, so here I am with my laptop in hand for about 3 days and I haven't heard anything about it. Spoke my mind. It worked (somehow...plus, he already got a new phone so he doesn't have any reason to complain).

But anyway! I feel super duper bad about the wait to all of you out there, so here are two chapters that I literally types up these past two days. Now, I won't go around saying that updating will be everyday or every other day like last time, because...it won't. Summer's here, so it'll make it easier for me to type out chapters, while at the same time, my summer job is coming in full swing. So, if anything, expect chapters to come out within a week to two weeks of each other. I will honestly try my best, but that's what I'll be doing. My best.

On another note, there have been such great GrimmIchi stories coming out lately that put mine to shame and I'm fangirling too hard for my senses to cooperate. Plus, it's almost 11 at night and I'm sleep deprived :D. (I'm lowkey dying send help).

Onward to the story at hand! (Please note, chapter 11 is all flashback, in case some of you may not have realized) Enjoy! And again, gomen.

"Nelliel! Nelliel, where's your brother?"

Walking towards a room, the woman opened the door to find a little girl holding her hands behind her back, a suspicious look on her face. "Nel, sweetie, what are you hiding? Don't lie to me, now."

With a nervous smile, eyes darting about at anything than the woman in front of her, Nelliel reluctantly spoke, "I was playing with Grimmy. I… may have used your makeup kit."

Rolling her eyes, the woman replied, "Nel, I know you're only seven, but do we have to go through this on a daily basis? Alright, where is he? Did you hide him under the bed again?" Reaching down, she searched the dusty floor under the bed, when a ruffle reached her ears from her closet. "Tsk tsk, you know you can't from me, young man. I will always find you~," she sang out. Opening the closet, she saw her son sitting down, trying to hide his face.

"Hehe… Mommy found me, big sis." The boy slowly turned his face, revealing the amount of makeup that was actually used.

"Oh, my goodness. Nel, get your brother cleaned up please. You know how expensive mommy's makeup is. And Grimmjow, don't listen to everything your sister says. Sometimes, she just likes to mess with you," she ended with a wink.

"Vanda! Where are you? Is anyone home?" her husband called out.

"I'm in the room, Josef," she shouted. "Our daughter decided to play dolly on our son."

"Where's my boy? I need to teach him a lesson on masculinity!"

"What masculinity?" whispered Vanda, showing a smirk.

"Daddy!" both children shouted with glee. "Hey Dad, how was work? Did you fire anyone? Huh, didja?" Nel pondered.

"Daddy, Nel put makeup on me, she told me that it'll make my blue hair look brighter than yours, but I don't think it worked. Mommy made me wash it off." Grimmjow deadpanned.

"Kids, let's not use up your mother's makeup. She gets cranky about it, and I have to listen to her," he whispered. He froze, turning slightly to see the look of death coming from his wife's eyes. "Actually, forget I ever said that. Just know that… I got you both something!" The children lit up like fireworks, throwing their hands up to grab the expected candy from their father. Taking a piece, they raced away, yelling their thanks as they went to their respective rooms.

"We have another meeting later. We'll need to drop the kids off at Martha's again." Vanda said with annoyance.

"Just great, I figured this would happen. I seriously don't see how the sitter still takes care of the kids as much as she does. I feel like we're burdening her," he sighed in defeat.

"That's not true, hon. She adores the kids, and she's such a sweet girl. She's about to become a senior in high school soon, and then off to college. She really grew up fast in these past five years."

"You're telling me. I still remember when we first met her, and her comment about our hair colors. 'Are your hair colors real, or did you guys move in from a circus?' I swear, we'll never hear the end of that assumption."

"Yeah, I know. You've gotta admit, it is pretty funny. Your blue hair and my green hair, that is," she laughed a bit. "At any rate, we should really get going. We don't want to be late."

"You're right. Owning a company is annoying sometimes. I mean, we do business, and yet, ironically, we own a pharmaceutical giant. And don't get me started on that Doctor Aizen. The man gives me the creeps."

"Oh, man up, Josef. We did hire him, after all. It's of our own doing. At least be glad you don't see him as often, being that we left Germany to live in Japan. You only have to see him from a camera screen." She paused, "Kids! Let's go, we're taking you to Big Sister Martha!"

"Alright kids, make your mommy and daddy proud, and be good while staying with Martha. As usual, we won't be back until late, so behave until we get back."

"We will, Mommy," they said in unison.

"Thank you again, Martha. Honestly, we shove our kids so much at you that we barely seem like good parents."

The seventeen-year-old showed a bubbly smile at them, her blonde hair lightly draped over her shoulders, complementing the auburn sweater worn. "Nonsense, Mr. Jaegerjaquez. I know how busy you two are with your company, and you do your best for your kids. Plus, I really love them, so I don't mind one bit," she giggled.

"Okay, we'll get out of your hair now. Have fun kids!" Vanda waved at them as they drove off.

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy! See you later"

If only they had known they wouldn't be seeing them later.

"Hello?"

Nelliel and Grimmjow watched as their babysitter, Martha, answered the phone. It had been about 3 hours since their parents went off to their meeting, which was always important for adults.

"No… This has got to be some kind of prank, right? Please tell me you're joking…" Without hesitation, Martha ran to her television and turned it on, switching to the local news channel. Her eyes went wide as she watched the horror on the screen, dropping to her knees while clutching the phone like a lifeline. The building was engulfed in flames, firefighters shown rushing to the scene. She brought the phone back up to her ear, listening to the voice on the other end.

"Yes… Yes, I understand. Please, if anything of their status changes, will you let me know?" She hung up, dazed and gravely saddened.

Two more hours had passed when the phone rang again. With haste, Martha answered it with shaky hands. "Yes? Any news? Are they alive?!" Silence filled the room as Nel and Grimmjow slept on the couch. Martha allowed a quiet sob to escape her lungs, eyes blurring and stinging. Her face felt wet when she ran her hand on her cheek. She dropped the phone, and screamed in agony. The kids woke up, startled at the sudden crying. They were confused and scared, to the point of spilling tears themselves. They were not even aware of why their sitter was so distraught. They would soon find out.

The funeral would be held in four days' time.