Author's Notes:
Happy dance tiiimeee (: This chapter is a bit longer, by a couple thousand words ;D So enjoyy~
I really want to thank the people who reviewed on the last chapter, those people being .lolcatsrule. (nice to see you in this fic as well xD), xbloody-mangax and TimelessTears (: Thanks guys for the support ;D I really appreciate it! ^^
Also, for the "s" issue on the plural of Arrancar and Espada, it's all fixed now xD Using an S with Arrancar, but not with Espada (:
I also got Grimm to do all the dirty work in this chappie, so don't hate me for it. Ulqui will get his glorious moment of crowning awesomness later on (:
Until then, read on, and beware for occasional swearing! O:
The Garganta opened over a small asphalt alley, letting the two Arrancar drop and roll painfully on the ground.
Coughing dust out, Grimmjow slowly pushed himself up to his knees, noting that Ulquiorra wouldn't stop coughing, and that was usually a bad sign.
"So where are we?" he asked, wincing, watching impassively as Ulquiorra tried to get up on his feeble legs, trembling out of pure exhaustion and weakness.
"I believe we're in the real world..." Ulquiorra whispered out, rubbing one of the brick walls surrounding them and not feeling any spirit particles agglomerated in the construction.
"WHAT!" was the Sexta's initial reaction, a sudden rush of anger and adrenaline rushing through him. Real World? In such a vulnerable position?
"And..." Ulquiorra bit his lip as if hesitating, swaying tiredly on his feet. "I believe we landed in Karakura Town..."
"WHAT! I asked you not to land us somewhere where we're totally hated, and you land us in that Ichigo bastard's hometown!" Grimmjow was now ready to rip the Cuatra apart for having landed them in their greatest enemy's hometown. And he was just about to do so when suddenly, Ulquiorra swayed, and fell.
"Sorry..."
And like that, he was snuffed out like a candle. Grimmjow watched as his wounded comrade hit the floor with a thud.
Not even paying attention to the fact that the Cuatra had actually apologized, Grimmjow crawled to his side, and wincing in pain, he shook the pale ex-Espada.
"Ulquiorra..." with every shake, he got more and more frantic. "Ulquiorra, stop goofing around. We have to find cover before going to sleep... Ulquiorra!"
He quickly put his hand to the slightly younger Arrancar's forehead, feeling the heat emanating from it. He bit his lip, realizing that one of the raven-haired wounds must have infected as it hadn't had time to be treated right.
If he thought about it, the slash in his shoulder was beginning to clot, but had a long way to go. It would get infected too if he didn't do anything soon, and having the both of them feverish wouldn't be the best of options.
Thinking fast, he ripped a piece of cloth the bottom of his pants, the cleanest he could find, and wrapped his wound in a messy, yet satisfying way. He then did the same for his other pant leg and worked on Ulquiorra's wounds, bleeding from the strain put on them.
By the time he was done wrapping both his and Ulquiorra's smaller injuries, he was completely and utterly drained. He wondered if he should make an effort to go look for food since as Espada, they needed to eat, but then again, at this hour of the night, dangerous people prowled the streets of Karakura Town, and he rather not get in touch with them in his weakened state.
Besides, with Aizen no longer protecting them, they were now visible to human eyes, and he was very aware that clothes like theirs and a hole in your body aren't very normal. Somehow, they had to hide that from the world.
Feeling his mind reel from hunger and fatigue, he shut his eyes and decided to leave everything for tomorrow. At least then, he would have recovered a bit of his strength, enough to figure out how to survive in this entirely new environment.
...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
The next morning, the first thing the blue-haired Arrancar noticed as he opened his eyes was that one, he was cold, and that two, he was hungry as hell.
Grunting and clutching his growling stomach, he looked towards Ulquiorra, who was still lying down against the wall where Grimmjow had left him last night. He was still panting and didn't look better. A slight flush was colouring his cheeks, and Grimmjow was now sure he had gotten sick from an infection.
Deciding to take the matter into his own hands, he first thought about the basics, as in bringing them something to eat. Slowly, he got up, and, making sure Ulquiorra wasn't visible from where he was lying down, he weakly walked out, pulling his clothes close to hide the hole on his stomach as he ended up on the streets of Karakura, the morning light just poking out.
He quickly located an establishment the humans called a 'restaurant' and headed for the back door. Having no money at all, there was no way he could just waltz into the front door and buy something. Instead, he opted for the sneakier way and simply waited behind the dumpster until a worker came out to throw out the remains from the breakfast preparations. That's when he sprang out and elbowed the worker in the stomach and followed with a crosschop to the neck. The poor worker fell down before he knew what hit him.
Grimmjow looked down with little remorse as he stepped over the teen and snuck into the fast food restaurant.
The first thing he spotted was a stack of buns in a plastic wrap, probably the stack they needed to make the hamburgers for the day. The teal-eyed Arrancar felt his mouth water at the sight, but proceeded further, knowing they wouldn't survive with just bread. A little further, he stopped at a vault labelled "cold room". Wondering what that meant, he slowly cracked the door open, and his eyes widened at all the food supplies stacked inside the dreadfully freezing room.
Not even thinking twice, Grimmjow adventured inside and spotted a stack of black plastic bowls, sealed with transparent plastic, with tossed lettuce, vegetables, and chicken inside.
He was about to explore longer, but he heard approaching footsteps and voices. He threw his hand to the packed salads and grabbed a few before rushing out and closing the vault door behind him. The door to the outside world was already open, so all he had to do was dash out and he was back out in the back alley.
Not even bothering to stand around, he sprinted out and towards where he had left Ulquiorra.
He was relieved to see that Ulquiorra had not moved an inch, but was finally awake a bit.
"Grimmjow..." he rasped. "Idiot, where did you go?"
"Went to steal food to save your sorry butt." The Sexta grunted in reply, throwing the boxed salad meant for him today towards him. In a slow, yet precise move, the Cuatra caught it and immediately started inspecting it through half-closed eyelids, chest heaving slightly at the effort it took for him to breathe.
"What is this?" he asked curiously.
"Food. Don't complain and eat it if you wanna live." Grimmjow grunted as he sat down and started picking at his lunch, the first one he had had in the last few days. The tasteless food slid down his throat and landed in his empty stomach, making it gurgle more and more in demand of nutrition.
The two tore through their food quickly, and then laid back down.
"What time is it?" the raven-haired Arrancar asked suddenly, looking up at the grey sky with a feverish look in his eyes.
"Must be sometime in the afternoon. Now shut up and get some sleep. You need to recover from that fever you have." Grimmjow advised him.
"I think we should move to somewhere with a roof first. Looks like it's gonna rain soon." Ulquiorra shivered.
"Yes Ma'am." The Sexta sighed out hopelessly and got up, dusting his already ruined outfit out. "Maybe we could go to that small public park a little further away from there. If we hide in the trees, we should be able to get shelter from the rain and recover in peace." He suggested.
"Alright..." Ulquiorra tried getting up, but seeing as he couldn't, Grimmjow leaned down and pulled him up, putting his arm around him to support him. "Let's go." He sighed out, feeling ashamed at his own weakness.
Without another word, the two set off.
The two of them made it to the park a couple of hours later. By then, the clouds had darkened and it was sure to rain soon.
"How perfect..." the blue-haired Arrancar sighed out desperately as a drop of water plopped down on the tip of his nose, causing him to accelerate his pace a bit.
"Hurry." Was all that Ulquiorra said in his half daze-like state. He had been periodically losing consciousness, and Grimmjow wasn't far off behind as he could feel his legs shaking beneath him. The meagre meal they had eaten hadn't proved to be enough to complement all the energy they had lost in all this activity, and they both knew it, and were ashamed of the fact that the previously glorious Espada were now reduced to wanderers. Just as the rain started dropping, the two of them fell down against a tree trunk, panting.
"It's official." Grimmjow grumbled unhappily as Ulquiorra slipped into another half-conscious daze. "I hate the real world."
"Tell me about it..." was all the pale-skinned Arrancar added before losing total consciousness.
...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
The days seemed long and painful for the two survivors of the Espada as they both struggled to stay alive. Fall was now advancing, and the wind was usually colder. It rained a lot, and the generally depressing atmosphere only made the two companions feel even worse.
While Ulquiorra was getting worse physically, Grimmjow was suffering from lack of sleep and nutrition and was starting to become paranoid. Every step he took, he move he made, he felt like someone was watching. And somehow, he knew that someone was Aizen. That he was always watching them, laughing at their failed efforts to keep living. As if brushing them all off, telling them that it'd all go to waste once he killed them both.
While Ulquiorra only slept his days away, Grimmjow was burdened with both their lives as he strived to find food and assure their wounds were healing. Their reiatsu had been abused in their escape, so not much hope of regaining it so soon was present in their minds.
The blue-haired ex-Espada returned to their usual spot in the evening, looking around frantically. Deciding not to wake Ulquiorra up, he simply sat down next to the Arrancar and growled. It had rained while he was out, and now they were both wet, and Grimmjow had never liked getting wet. And he was somewhat envious of Ulquiorra for being able to sleep his days away.
One look at the latter's face said the contrary, though. It was obvious that the small Arrancar was suffering with every breath he took, shaking in the cold and sweating nervously.
"Then again..." the Arrancar thought. "I think I'm happy being conscious."
It was already very late in the evening, the moon having just poked its head out from behind the rain clouds. Feeling tired, as usual, Grimmjow decided to get some sleep before it started raining again, so he laid down and set his head against a tree trunk, next to Ulquiorra.
Suddenly, footsteps reached Grimmjow's ears. He was just about to doze off when voices were heard as well. His heart thumping so hard, it could break out of his chest, the Arrancar made sure Ulquiorra was still in his feverish sleep before crouching and listening.
Obviously, the people coming their way were teenagers, by the sound of their voices. This fact got Grimmjow to relax slightly, but something about these teens kept him on guard. As the voices got closer and closer, Grimmjow felt himself stiffen. Now they seemed to sound somewhat... familiar to him.
"I can't believe sensei made us stay after school on a Friday." A male voice whined.
"And this late, too." Another added, more calmly.
"Oh stop whining, you two. At least Ichigo was nice enough to stay behind and help us clean up. Ne, Ichigo?" a girl asked joyously.
"Ichigo..." the feline-like Espada's thoughts suddenly reeled in panic. "Oh gods no, please don't let it be the Ichigo I know and who just happens to want to tear us apart." He thought wryly before poking his head out a bit to stare at the group of walking teens from behind a tree. One girl, and three boys. And the tallest of those boys.. Oh gods no... Orange hair, brown eyes... It was him... Ichigo...
"Ichigo." The girl called as if to confirm Grimmjow's fears.
"Oh, right, yeah." The teen snapped out of his daze and smiled at the black-haired girl.
It was the sound of his deep, developed voice that made something snap inside of Grimmjow. Light reiatsu suddenly whirled around him, instantly sending him into a panicked frenzy at the sudden flare in reiatsu. Gasping, he quickly hid his face behind the tree he was leaning on and tried to contain the reiatsu, but it was already too late. The group stopped walking and there was a seemingly infinite awkward silence hanging in the air. Ichigo suddenly sighed.
"I just remembered I forgot something at school. I have to go get it." He firmly announced, turning around. "Tatsuki, Asano, Mizuro, go home. I'll see you Monday."
The other teens looked at each other doubtfully, then the girl, Tatsuki, shrugged.
"Okay then, catch you later, Kurosaki."
And the group parted, heading off. Ichigo waited for them to leave his vision field before briskly turning around and running into some nearby trees, pulling out his badge in the process. He quickly released his Shinigami form and, following the reiatsu he had felt for a brief moment before, he ran towards where Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were hiding.
Deciding to at least put up a decent image, the blue-haired Espada took a deep breath and stood up, standing protectively over the suffering Arrancar lying behind him. One hand reached to touch Pantera's hilt just as Ichigo tore through the trees. The sound of steel cutting through the air was heard as the substitute Shinigami pointed Zangetsu at Grimmjow before he even landed.
"Grimmjow Jaegerjacques..." he seethed ferociously. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Could say the same for you." The ex-Espada forced himself to smirk, his lungs hurting from the reiatsu he accidentally released beforehand.
"I won't even ask what you're doing here. Obviously, Aizen has sent you to run yet another useless errand." He clutched Zangetsu tighter.
Feeling the tension rise between them, Grimmjow decided it was time to leave. All he needed to do was release his zanpakuto and keep that form long enough to grab Ulquiorra and dash off. It had been decided the moment he lost control of his reiatsu.
"Grind!" he screamed, pulling out his zanpatuko. "Pan-"
His command was suddenly cut short as a searing pain tore through his lungs and shoulder, making him drop Pantera and reluctantly double over on his knees, coughing blood and clutching his wounded shoulder to ease the pain.
Ichigo simply watched in confused shock as the Arrancar threw up more and more blood, panting for breath as he barely sustained himself on all four. The reality and seriousness of the situation only hit Ichigo when Grimmjow stopped coughing, his breaths coming out in short gasps, racking his fragile, wounded body with violent tremors.
"Grimmjow?" he finally asked, lowering his zanpakuto. "Is something wrong?"
Silence.
The alarm in Ichigo's head went off when the Ex-Espada didn't reply. His questioning gaze was further accentuated when he noticed Grimmjow's ripped, dirty, bloody clothing, the badly wrapped bandages around his many wounds, the numerous bruises dotting his usually flawless face. The tall Arrancar, usually healthy and even worryingly strong, was now pale, fragile and thinner than normal, dark rings under his unfocused eyes, and so weak he couldn't even stand.
Seeing as Grimmjow wouldn't even answer, Ichigo took a step forward towards him, the moonlight finally shining in the right angle for him to spot Ulquiorra's unconscious form.
The teen's eyes widened as he watched the normally proud Arrancar's trembling, feverish form with morbid fascination. The Cuatra was covered in blood and bandages, dirty and wet, shivering like a child, a light blush covering his pale cheeks as he furrowed his brows in cold sweat.
"Okay, just what the hell is going on here?" the orange-haired teen got exasperated, pointing Zangetsu down at Grimmjow, who was trying to calm down.
"None of your business, Shinigami." The latter rasped venomously, trying to get up, but failing miserably at it.
"I'm listening." Ichigo suddenly sheathed his zanpakuto and leaned against a tree, crossing his arms and looking down at the ex-Espadas.
"I said it's none of your concern, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow wiped some blood on his chin with a trembling hand, trying to look defiant. "Leave us alone."
Surprised by the usually-aggressive Espada's words, Ichigo growled threateningly.
"Listen, I'm a Shinigami, and it's my job to eliminate Arrancar like you. So unless you have a good explanation on why I should spare you two, I will kill you." He raised a brow expectantly.
Slight panic took control of Grimmjow as he heard that. No way he'd come this far, had suffered so much, to die at the hands of a Shinigami. Gulping down nervously, he aimed low and took his chances.
"We're wounded, unarmed and unable to fight back. Would you feel satisfied if you killed an enemy who can't even protect himself?" As much as he hated to admit it, every word he had spoken was true, and he knew very well he was treading on a thin line. He was unable to wield his zanpakuto, let alone fight, so right now, their lives were dancing right in the palm of Ichigo's hand.
"I'll spare you on one condition." Ichigo suddenly dropped down next to them. "Tell me what happened and who did this to you." He simply demanded.
"What?" Grimmjow almost choked on his own blood. "Listen Kurosaki, this is our business. Obviously, we can't exactly harm anyone in the state that we're in, so why don't you just-"
"Aizen."
There was a shocked silence, and suddenly, all eyes were on Ulquiorra, who groaned in agony, his pale eyelids fluttering open halfway. The light pink tinge on his otherwise deathly pale face reflected off the moonlight as he tried sitting up.
"Aizen did it... He got really angry over our major failure and once we were back in Hueco Mundo... he... he..." Ulquiorra looked down, unable to continue.
"He killed them all. He killed all of the Espada." Grimmjow finished for him, gulping down the painfully fresh memories tainted with blood and horror. "We're the only ones left..." he finished, choked tears reflecting in his words.
"W-What happened?" the orange-haired teen asked, genuinely surprised.
Seeing as Grimmjow was too concentrated thinking back on the horrific bloodshed, Ulquiorra took it upon himself to tell the story and did his best to detail out how their invasion on Soul Society failed, resulting in the loss of most of their force. Halfway there, he started coughing, and so, Grimmjow shut him up by continuing with what happened afterwards, when Aizen went berserk.
"Here's how to put it simply." The teal-eyed Espada looked down sadly. "We failed, and now Hueco Mundo is falling apart. All the other Espada are dead. And Aizen is still after us." Grimmjow explained, Ulquiorra stiffening.
Silence.
And then, Ichigo sighed.
"I'll help you."
Another silence.
Grimmjow suddenly gathered all his strength and stood up, towering menacingly over the younger teen.
"No way in hell. We told you our story, now leave us alone." He demanded.
Always as calm, Ichigo got up, coming face-to-face with the Arrancar.
"You won't survive another day in the real world if you don't let me help you." He shrugged as if it was nothing at all. "Would be a shame to die after having struggled for so long."
Grimmjow's gaze promptly fell, and he bit his lip. Of course he wouldn't accept. It would deal a major blow to his pride if he accepted his former enemy's help... Former enemy... Then again, whatever pride he had left had been destroyed when he ran away from Aizen...
"Why would you want to help us live when time and time again, we have caused massive havoc in your life? Why would you want to give us any kind of assistance if your goal in life is to kill us all?" the Sexta asked quietly, as if ashamed he was even inquiring.
The leaves rustled as a cold breeze flew by, making the two wet Arrancar shiver harder.
"Because." Ichigo sighed, slightly blushing from embarrassment at what he was about to say. "Aizen is now our common enemy. And my enemy's enemy... is my friend."
Another breeze froze the two injured teens further as drops of rain slowly started falling from the sky again. Not even minding it, the ex-Espada turned around, now more than ever wanting to cry.
"Friend, huh?" he whispered subconsciously as the rain dampened his already wet hair and soaked him to the bones. As if morbidly encouraging him to make the right decision, Ulquiorra suddenly moaned in pain and shivered, coughing horribly.
He had to do something. He had chosen to take the older Arrancar with him, and now, he was his responsibility. Grimmjow had never thought that being in charge of someone's life could be so pressuring. His fists tightened as he gulped down nervously.
"Fine." Was all he could manage without choking on his own words.
"Right." Ichigo smiled lightly and got up, heading towards his body. "I don't think Ulquiorra can walk, so can you carry him until we get to my place?"
"Of course." Grimmjow hastily replied, blushing as he bent down and sheathed Pantera, then put his arms around the feverish Arrancar and lifted him up, cradling him against his chest. His exhausted muscles screamed in protest at the new, unneeded weight, but the proud Espada refused to let any more weakness show.
"Right." Ichigo called as he reappeared in his human body from behind the blue-haired Arrancar. "Just follow me." He led the way, taking them out of the trees and onto the path, apparently not minding the rain. "Once we get you two home, we can see about those injuries of yours, and then we can eat, because I don't know about you, but I'm starving. After that, I can give you some spare clothes and you can take a long, and apparently much needed nap. How's that sound?" he turned back and smiled sweetly at Grimmjow.
The latter blushed and looked down as he walked, embarrassed by how dependant he was of Ichigo right now. Then again... It felt somewhat nice to finally be able to lean on someone's shoulder and know they won't let you fall. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, Grimmjow smiled gratefully behind him.
After all, he was glad it was raining. For the first time in many many many years... the Sexta Espada cried.
...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
The trio of exhausted and soaked teens stumbled inside the dark clinic around ten PM. Ichigo promptly turned on the lights and led the two towards two adjacent beds.
"Put him down there." He ordered, pointing at one bed.
Grimmjow nodded and gently placed Ulquiorra on the pure white hospital sheets, making sure the older ex-Espada was still breathing.
"I'll go wake up my dad to help. I want you to carefully remove Ulquiorra's cloak so we can treat his wounds." The teen ordered, opening a sliding door and walking into his house. The teal-eyed Espada nodded and slowly got to work, ignoring his brain's protests.
While it was true that all he wanted right now was sleep, Ulquiorra needed urgent treatment and he wouldn't let him die now. Not when they were so close to safety.
"Safety? What safety?"
Grimmjow's breath hitched and his eyes snapped open. He frantically surveyed the surroundings, aware of how panicked his breathing was. He calmed down once he was in the Kurosaki clinic and sighed.
"Aizen, you bastard..." he whispered tiredly. "I'll kill you for all you've done." He added, almost dozing off on his feet.
He was suddenly jolted awake as the door slid open roughly, two people stepping in. Ichigo, and a taller, older, scarier-looking guy closed the door and walked towards them.
"Son, you told me we had some unusual patients this late at night, but you never told me they were Arrancars." His eyes fell on the number 6 carved in Grimmjow's back. "Much less two Espada."
"Ex-Espada." Ichigo clarified, motioning to Grimmjow. "Grimmjow here will be delighted, I'm sure, to tell you all the circumstances in which they received that title." He smirked.
"All in good time." Isshin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why don't you take care of Grimmjow's wounds while I treat his friend?"
"He's not my friend." Grimmjow immediately choked out in an effort to preserve his tough image. "Just... the only other Espada survivor..." he muttered.
"Now I'm intrigued." Ichigo's father raised a brow, heading for Ulquiorra. "Tell me what happened to you while we work." He suggested so gently, it almost shocked the Espada.
How could humans love so easily? Was this what it felt like to be forgiven? Up until now, all he had felt was the fact that he was being used and abused again and again. So this feeling of gratitude and happiness was entirely new to him. And he liked it.
The Hollow part of him told him to throw emotions away like Aizen had wanted, told him that they were useless and only made him suffer. On the other hand, one part of him, slowly emerging from the depths of his tortured soul, liked it, and encouraged him to go on. He had led a life forcefully devoid of feeling, and now, he wanted it back. He wanted his life back. He wanted his heart back...
"Hey." Ichigo snapped him out of his reverie as he shook him. "Sit down there so we can see those wounds." He pushed him on the second bed.
"Right, sorry." Grimmjow muttered, removing his tattered shirt. Ichigo quickly grabbed some antiseptic and carefully started peeling off the makeshift bandages around the slash in his shoulder. The Espada winced as his half-healed injury met with the air, but sucked it up as not to show any more weakness.
"Now Grimmjow." Isshin calmly started, putting a cold compress on Ulquiorra's forehead. "I'm listening."
Grimmjow stiffened, not from the pain, but the dread. It hurt him to even think about Aizen and Hueco Mundo, and now, his heart clenched as he got ready to relive the nightmare over again.
"We had been sent on an all-out destroy mission to Seireitei, but we were expected and ambushed. We lost more than 90% of our forces and had to retreat back to Hueco Mundo. Gin and Tousen died as well, and Aizen got really angry at us..." he winced as Ichigo started wrapping up his wound. "We went back home and he yelled at us... And then started slaughtering them all." A shadow passed in his glazed eyes.
He was lost in his nightmare again, and having to relive the terror he felt during those moments wasn't exactly awesome.
"He killed all the Espada... And like the coward I am, I ran away before he could get to me." He whispered self-consciously. "I had to escape, but remembered Ulquiorra, who had had been rushed to the infirmary after our return. I went back for him and we escaped by a hair's length. We then transported somewhere random and somehow ended up here, and have been wandering around for three, maybe four days now." He finished with a sigh.
"That bastard has put you through a lot of shit, huh?" Ichigo commented angrily, moving to some marks on the Espada's back. "Thankfully, you're safe now, in the real world."
"No... No we're not." Grimmjow suddenly froze, a wild look in his eyes. "We're never safe." He looked around frantically, trembling in fear. "He's here, he's watching, he's always following." He put his hands over his ears as if to block out Aizen's evil laughter. "And he won't stop until we're dead." He breathed out, terrified.
Ichigo and his father looked at each other worriedly, then Ichigo slapped Grimmjow's back gently, catching his attention.
"Baka." He scoffed. "Aizen's forces are all gone. He has nothing against us and Soul Society combined." He comforted the distraught Espada.
"I hope so..." the drowsy Arrancar whispered, his eyes fluttering shut. "We have to live, we can't die now... We've got to keep going on and survive. Not after we've been used for so long, not after we've been abused for so long..." he closed his eyes, slowly losing consciousness. "We have to heal, we have to learn to feel, learn to live..." Now that the stress had been taken off his shoulder, exhaustion and starvation were catching up with Grimmjow and the blue-haired Espada finally sank into a long, restful sleep, his breathing slowing and deepening as he lost balance and fell back against Ichigo.
The orange-haired teen smiled lightly and pushed Grimmjow down on the mattress, wiping some blood off his chin and forehead with a towel.
"That Aizen..." Isshin sighed as he watched the festering gash on Ulquiorra's chest. It wasn't very deep, but it had obviously been severely infected and left untreated for several days –up to 4 days if Grimmjow remembered correctly- which was probably why Ulquiorra had such a nasty fever. Also, it seemed like he had caught a cold and a light pneumonia from being out in the cold for so long. That could be easily fixed, although his broken ribs and dislocated arm would take time to heal.
"I can't believe he'd actually kill his own subordinates. Especially since all of them" his gaze went towards Grimmjow's relaxed face. "Or mostly all of them were deathly loyal to him." He snickered.
Ichigo's father nodded and turned Ulquiorra on the side to inspect some slashes on his back. His gaze narrowed on some faded scars beneath the violent red gashes.
"Did Grimmjow have the same marks on his back as this one?" he asked curiously.
"Ulquiorra?" Ichigo informed his dad of the Cuatra's name. "Yes, he did. They look like..."
"Whip marks, I know." The older male nodded impassively, turning Ulquiorra back around after having made sure the gashes were healing correctly. His eyes were drawn to the number 4 carved on the left of Ulquiorra's chest. "So. Cuatra and Sexta, huh?" he smirked, as if somehow finding this amusing. "We've got a demanding bunch on our hands."
"I know." Ichigo smiled ruefully, finishing up with Grimmjow and tucking him under a blanket. "But they have valuable information on Aizen, something we could use to our advantage. It's in our best interest to keep them alive for now." He gulped down nervously, getting away from Grimmjow.
"Really? Is that what you told them? Is that why they trust their greatest enemy so much?" his father threw him a sceptical look.
"N-No... I told them it's because now that Aizen is a common enemy, we are allies... friends..." he turned around and shivered, heading for the door. "What I said a minute ago was just me trying to rationalize my choices."
"I see." His father nodded, letting him exit without another word. He finished up with his patient by pulling the covers over Ulquiorra's half-naked form. "You're doing fine, son." He smiled as he looked back at his two patients, switched the lights off, and closed the door after him.
Author's Notes:
I'm delighted with this chapter ^^ I really like it... a lot... And I hope you did too (:
Kay, first of all, sorry for all the repetition, making sure everyone gets the gist of what's going on in Hueco Mundo, that's all.
I'll elaborate on Ulqui's and Grimm's past with Aizen in the next chapter. Nighmare sequences FTW (:
Then, about Ulquiorra, I know I made him a weak pussy, but hey, doesn't he look like the cutest uke EVAH~? (: Come ooon, you know you agree (: He'll recover soon and take the lead again, don't worry. I also made him the older one cause I dunno about you, but I thought he looked a little older than Grimmjow. Maybe Ulqui= young 18, Grimm= late 17? I dunno.
I'M GOING TO ITALY AND GREECE THIS SUMMER BABYY~ Can't wait :DD (Lol, I'm very much in advance xD)
Friday, we have a day off, Saturaday, I have a cosplay photoshoot and a reunion for Animeet 2011 (the cosplay event I'm creating :D) so I'll be busy... Monday is Thanksgiving, and Tuesday are the second halfs of my exams ): Today I had the exams for Ancien Greek Drama and Arts, French, Espanoool and History. Tuesday, Imma die as I have my Math, English and Science exams ):
I fail in math. Seriously. I can't even divide (-b*9+a*9) by (a*3-b*3) (stars mean to the power of) gooooosh, I'm sooo dead ): All this to tell you that I probably will be to busy studying... wait, scratch that, I'll be too busy PANICKING to get any writing done. So you'll have to wait until Wednesday to get yer chapter ): Unless I get my magic fingers working and type it on Sunday or Monday (:
So yep, hope you liked it. Also, try to spot a song reference I inserted in there (: If you know the song, you'll notice it instantly. Trust meh ;D
Alrighty then... Wish me luck for my exams, and SAYONARA~
P.S: Reviews make me happeh (: VERY. VERY. HAPPY. Like. REALLY. Happy.