A/N: Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Sorry for the late update. University has been hectic. Now, onto the story :D

The next day in school, Yylfordt, Shawlong and Di Roy were in high spirits, still coming off of their high from the night before. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, however, was a different story. But that, of course, was not surprising at all considering what had transpired hours ago. After what had happened, it was only natural that Grimmjow would be in a bad mood, and sleep deprived. Even his usually busy parents had noticed his bad mood. So instead taking his "friends" idiocy into stride, he could feel himself draw closer and closer to losing his temper.

Right now, they were waiting for their next class to begin and as usual, the three of them gathered around Grimmjow's table even though Grimmjow had already made it perfectly clear many times that he hated it whenever they did that. Not that they heeded his words, of course. So Grimmjow tried his best to ignore them and continued to draw stick men either being burned or stabbed to death on a piece of paper. It was not difficult to guess who those stick men represented.

Stupid, stupid...

Listening to those three idiots (well, make that two since Shawlong mainly kept silent) yak away about yesterday did nothing, but grate on Grimmjow's already delicate nerves. It was bad enough that the events from what happened after he got caught kept replaying in his mind; he did not need to be reminded of the reason why he got caught. Honestly, from the moment classes started till now, they had been blabbing nonstop.

What are they, kids?

He grumbled under his breath, not looking forward to his fate later after school, "Lucky idiots..."

The only reason that those three were not going to suffer the same fate as he was was because his pride simply refused to have him admit that he got caught.

If any of them dared to ask him about what happened last night, someone was going to get-

"Hey, Grimmjow. Did anything interesting happen last night after you cleaned up?"

-castrated.

"I mean, did you see the owner or anything?"

"Yeah," Di Roy sniggered, "It would have been funny if you managed to see the owner's reaction from afar."

Afar?

More like face-to-face.

And to be honest, it really was not that funny.

Grimmjow stopped drawing and looked at them.

...

"Well?"

Right after Grimmjow got caught, the shop owner of Happy Pet Pet, whom he got to know was called Ulquiorra Cifer, dragged him into the store, the aura around the pale man definitely not one of happiness. Though the scowl on his face was not deep, Grimmjow could tell from his aura that he was positively livid. Normally, Grimmjow would have fought back, but something told him not to mess around with this guy. That, and the fact that he was in enough trouble as it was. He did not need the police to add assault along with vandalism on his list of crimes. His parents would have a fit.

While he did not particularly care if his parents got mad at him, he was not too eager to face the consequences; he did not want to get grounded or have his car taken away.

So he let Cifer drag him into the store, and did not say a word as the older man closed the door behind them. All he did was glare at the man hatefully, his jaw set. This look was countered with an equally menacing stare from Cifer.

"Well, I hope you are happy with yourself," Ulquiorra said dryly, "I just painted that wall."

Grimmjow stuck out his chin defiantly.

"Fuck yeah I'm proud of myself."

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at this. Grimmjow thought that he might yell at him, but instead, Ulquiorra spoke calmly as he took out a sleek-looking cell phone from his pocket, though he kept the glare on his pale face, "What is your mother or father's number?" He flipped the device open, and looked at Grimmjow expectantly, ready to dial the number.

"No fucking way in hell am I going to give you their num-"

"Would you rather I contact the police?" Ulquiorra said smoothly.

"No-"

"Then give me either one of your parent's number and I'll settle this with them."

Grimmjow clenched his jaw. Cifer was talking to him like he was a child! Oh, how he wished that he could squash that man's head right now. No one would miss him-

Ulquiorra sighed, seeing that Grimmjow clearly did not want to cooperate. When he still did not receive an answer, Ulquiorra said, " I have a wall that needs to be repainted-"

Grimmjow snapped, "I'll pay you back, geez, no need to get your panties in a twist!"

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. "Do you have enough money?"

...

Damn.

He just had to be broke right now, huh?

"You do know that even if you pay me back the money, I will still need to have a word with your parents, don't you?" Ulquiorra said calmly, "I cannot have you repeat this offence again to anyone else." Met with another stretch of silence, Ulquiorra sat down behind the counter and drummed his fingers on the surface impatiently, watching the changing emotions on the teal-haired teen's face as different thoughts crossed his mind, contemplating on what to do.

"Well? I'm waiting."

No answer.

Ulquiorra let out a breath that he had been holding in. He swore, he could feel a headache starting to form in his temple. He was tired and he wanted rest; he really did not want to have to deal with this. Curse this stupid teenager. He looked around the store, at the cages, at the animals, at the products on sale, at the store room where he had been unpacking boxes mere minutes ago...

Hang on.

"You," Ulquiorra said, catching Grimmjow's attention. The blue-eyed male looked up at him curiously. "I know exactly what we can do about this problem."

"Oi... Grimmjow-"

Grimmjow picked up his pencil again and continued drawing tortured stick men on the piece of paper.

"Nothing happened," he answered briefly.

It looked like no one was going to get castrated today.

... Well, it turned out that someone did get castrated.

Okay, not really.

Grimmjow just got fed up of being badgered by Yylfordt – "There's no way that nothing happened! I can tell from the look on your face!" – that he may have lost his temper. But seriously, Ms. Harribel was overreacting. Just because she had caught him punching Yylfordt in the shoulder causing him to yell out in pain – though he maintained that it was a playful punch to Ms. Harribel – and yelling obscenities at the blonde – really, name-calling can be seen as a term of endearment too, and he did not really mean it when he told Yylfordt that he should have a bottle shoved up his ass; Yylfordt's ass, not Grimmjow's, by the way – did not mean that he was starting up a brawl.

Horrid bitch.

Grimmjow grumbled under his breath, unhappy about being held back in school. Man, he hated detention. It was like a prison cell.

"You must really like it here, Mr. Jaegerjaquez," said Ms. Harribel calmly from where she sat behind the desk, "This is the third time this week that you've been here, and God knows how many times you've been here altogether this year."

Horrid, horrid bitch.

Grimmjow looked out of the window. Outside, he could see Yylfordt, Di Roy and Shawlong walking back home. He rolled his eyes when he saw Yylfordt clutching at his shoulder, where Grimmjow had hit him. Goodness. He did not hit him that hard. No need to make such a big deal out of it. Wuss.

Grimmjow huffed, "Heh. Whatever."

He could practically feel Ms. Harribel's disapproving gaze burning at his cheek.

"I would advise you not to talk back to your teachers, Mr. Jaegerjaquez," she said plainly, "unless you wish to spend more time here."

Grimmjow turned to scowl at her and was about to come up with a snappy retort when he bit the inside of his cheek, thinking better of it. He did not want to spend more time here. So Grimmjow let it go and looked down at his desk unhappily. Two hours of detention; and that was only for today. Things really weren't going his way. Whoa, that rhymed. Ahem. A look at his watch told him that he was going to be late by at least thirty minutes. Grimmjow just hoped that that Cifer person would not mind him being late... too much.

The moment that Ms. Harribel let Grimmjow go from detention, Grimmjow immediately bolted out of the room and sped off to Happy Pet Pet, running as fast as he could and ignoring the looks that he gained from passersby.

Shit, shit, shit...!

He was late!

He sped up.

He hoped that Ulquiorra was not a bitch about being on time - sweat began to run down his neck and he had a feeling that he was going to look like a mess by the time he arrived there - and about being tidy.

At the store, Ulquiorra Cifer was already waiting for Grimmjow to arrive. Business had started to pick up here, though for the wrong reasons. As frustrating as it was to have that appalling graffiti done on the wall was, it did come with its positive and negative effects. The positive being that it had attracted the attention of the residents here – many found it a disgusting and disrespectful act – and they came in to check the shop out. He had sold quite a bit. The negative being that it had attracted some unwanted attention – some people found the need to stick their noses into the shop just to catch a glimpse of the "owner with the furry butt" and promptly sniggering at him after doing so, much to Ulquiorra's annoyance.

Ulquiorra hoped that the negative effect would die down quickly once the wall gets painted over, and that the positive effect would remain for the sake of business, though he did not care for sympathy. The possibility that it would remain based on pure sympathy alone, though, was dim, since he planned on getting the wall repainted as soon as possible; today, as a matter of fact, so he hoped that the people here were animal lovers.

Ulquiorra glanced at his watch and sighed.

The boy was late.

He should have known that he would not turn up.

Something furry and warm rubbed against his arm, shocking him out of his thoughts. Ulquiorra chuckled and reached out for the white cat that sat on the counter, right beside him. The cat immediately purred in response. He smiled at this.

"Meow~"

"Do you think that Grimmjow will turn up, Pantera?"

Large, clear blue eyes blinked up at him, the owner tilting its head, before meowing once more.

"Hmm..." Ulquiorra stroked the cat. After making sure that the customers in the store did not need anything - they were all either busy browsing, looking at the products, or looking at the animals - he got up from his seat to go and feed the animals. Pantera leapt from her spot on the counter and followed him, circling around his legs. She looked up at him dotingly. "I'll give him a few more minutes."

And he better turn up; Ulquiorra had already bought a new bucket of paint.

"Meow~"

I really should have just called his parents last night instead of giving him a chance like this, Ulquiorra thought as he refilled Murcielago's bowl of water. He really did not look like the type that would fulfil a promise. More like the type that would screw it over and go out for a drink with friends.

At least, that was the impression he got from talking to him last night.

"I told you, I will pay you back!"

"No." Ulquiorra shook his head. "That was not what I was going to suggest."

The teen glowered at him. "Then what?"

"Well," he said slowly, "I will agree not to contact the police or your parents if you agree to do one thing for me..."

With such an offer, of course Jaegerjaquez accepted it, albeit grudgingly. Though Grimmjow would not have been his first choice, he had to admit that this arrangement would benefit him as well, so it was basically a win-win situation.

"And that thing is...?" the teen said suspiciously.

Ulquiorra glanced at his watch again.

Still no sign of him.

He straightened up. It was bothersome, but he really should not have placed too much hope on that-

"Oi," came a gruff voice from behind him, startling him. "Sorry I'm late. I'm here for my fucking job." Ulquiorra turned around and was greeted with the sight of a sweaty-looking Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, his tan skin flushed. The teen was panting and his appearance was rather dishevelled. He looked like he ran the whole way here. "My teacher decided to give me detention for kicks." He shifted his bag on his shoulder. "Where do I park my bag?" he asked bluntly.

... teenager.

Huh.

"... You're late."

"I told you," Grimmjow said, irritated, "My teacher decided to give me detention." He stuck his hand into his pocket. "Now, what the hell am I supposed to do first?"

Somehow, Ulquiorra doubted that his teacher gave him detention just for the fun of it.

"First," Ulquiorra said, not amused with Grimmjow's choice of words, "Is if you're going to work here, you're going to have to stop talking like that."

"Hn."

He turned to close Murcielago's cage, and continued to talk, "Second, you're going to paint the wall you decided to "decorate"." He pointed at the store room where he kept the new bucket of paint. "I've already bought the paint so you can start right away."

"Uh-huh."

"And third-" Ulquiorra turned around again to face Grimmjow, "... Are you even listening to me, Jaegerjaquez?"

"Eh?"

Grimmjow looked up from where he was squatting on the floor, playing with Pantera by tickling her on the tummy. The cat seemed to be enjoying the attention, if the way she was purring and not biting Grimmjow's hand off was any indication. Which was strange, since she did not warm up to strangers quickly and was only friendly towards Ulquiorra.

"Did you just say something?" he asked absently as he picked Pantera up, carrying her in his arms. His eyes lit up as soon as he caught sight of the black cat in the cage behind Ulquiorra. "Oh, hey, that cat is pretty cool too!"

Cool?

Ulquiorra only watched as Grimmjow tried to coax Murcielago to come near him, a feat that was probably more difficult to accomplish due to the fact that Murcielago liked being alone. The black cat studied Grimmjow through emerald eyes, before nearing the teal-haired male curiously.

Deciding that he could not stay silent any longer, Ulquiorra said, "Be careful of Murcielago, he might-"

"Good kitty~" Grimmjow grinned, reaching out to pet Murcielago. The cat did not react to this; it just kept silent. "Now, what were you saying about this cat?" he asked absentmindedly.

...

...

...

This was too bizarre.

The fact that Grimmjow seemed to be displaying a polar opposite personality from what he had shown him moments ago, and that Murcielago actually allowed itself to go near him and not do anything to him.

"I'm going to go get the paint. You stay here," Ulquiorra muttered, disturbed, before heading to the store room.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Grimmjow said dismissively as he continued to pet Murcielago while Pantera circled around his legs – he had just put Pantera down, not wanting to accidentally drop her while petting Murcielago. Unlike its white counterpart, the black cat did not purr. It merely kept silent, unmoving, watching Grimmjow carefully. Not that Grimmjow seemed to mind. In fact, it seemed that he was a lot more happy than when he arrived here.

As soon as Ulquiorra entered the store room, he heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Grimmjow's yelping in pain.

"OW! Fuck! The black cat bit me!"

About time.

"That cat is a demon."

"Kindly do not call Murcielago a demon, Jaegerjaquez," Ulquiorra said dryly, as he cleaned the blood away from the younger male's wounded hand.

Grimmjow looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? That cat made my hand bleed! What the hell do you feed that thing anyway?"

"Cat food."

He narrowed his eyes at him. "Ha ha, very funny."

Ulquiorra started to bandage his hand. "Murcielago does not take too kindly to strangers. He usually takes awhile to warm up to them." A pause. "I take it that you do not like Murcielago anymore?"

"Tch." Grimmjow leaned back a bit on his seat. "Just because I'm mad at him for trying to gnaw my hand off doesn't mean that I hate him." Sapphire eyes gazed at the caged black cat, which was laying on a cushion lazily, not responding when Pantera meowed at it for attention. Finally, fed up of being ignored, Pantera hissed at Murcielago. Still no response. "Pantera and Murcielago don't get along well, do they?"

"Hmm... They're still getting to know each other," Ulquiorra mused, "They'll be fine." He tied up the bandage and then stood up. "I'm glad that you're fine with Murcielago," he said, "And now that your hand has been taken care of, it is time for you to start your first task." He pushed the bucket of paint and a paint brush into Grimmjow's arms. "You know what to do."

"Right, right..." Grimmjow got up, then stopped, noticing the other animals in their cages. Ulquiorra could practically see his eyes shine. Grimmjow went over to look at them. "Oh, hey, cool! Ferrets! Puppies, and parrots, and kittens, and snakes, and- Gak!"

Ulquiorra had grabbed the back of Grimmjow's shirt, stopping him, and said, almost amused, "You can play with and get to know the animals later. Right now you need to paint a wall."

Minutes later, after having to be pried away from the animals by Ulquiorra, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez found himself staring at the wall that he and his "friends" had decided to do graffiti on last night. The words and the large furry butt spray painted on the wall stared right back at him. Once again, he was reminded of how unfair it was that he was the only one being punished for this. This whole thing was Di Roy's idea, anyway! And Shawlong was the one that thought of the message and- Oh, what the heck. He heaved out a breath that he had been holding in.

Might as well get this over with.

Ignoring the crowd that had gathered behind him – damned idiots have nothing else to do – and the heat of the sun beating down on his back, Grimmjow dipped the paint brush into the bucket of paint and started to paint over the furry butt.

Here was to day one of working here at Happy Pet Pet.

It was a shame that the furry butt had to go.

But the faster he got this over with, the faster he could go check out the other animals. Yeah.

Inside the shop, Ulquiorra Cifer observed Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez through the window from time to time, making sure that the teenager did his work. He had half expected the boy to run off as soon as Ulquiorra let him out of his sight, but thankfully, he did not. Although Grimmjow painted it grudgingly and occasionally stopped to grumble under his breath, he continued to paint, slowly covering the crude graffiti under layers of paint. He did a rather good job, too.

Seeing this made Ulquiorra smile ever so slightly.

Goodbye, furry butt.

Review? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this again :)

FAN ART: This story is based on the plot SenayDragon gave her awesome UlquiGrimm fan art on DA. You can view it by clicking "FAN ART/COLLAB" on my profile. The fan art is called "GrimmUlqui- HAPPY PETPET -Edit". Give her love! :D

LINKS: I've provided two new links on my profile. One is to a GrimmUlqui fanbook event, another is to my Facebook page for contacting purposes.