Grimmjow

(almost 6 months ago)

"It took me awhile to find you," Grimmjow said with a wide grin. "I felt you come in but all of this damn shielding made it hard as hell to finally figure out where the hell they had stashed you."

"Congratulations, you found me. You get a cookie," Ichigo said.

"I like the look of you chained to that wall," Grimmjow replied. "You look kind of helpless. Who finally got you anyways?"

"They did," Ichigo said, looking around the room.

"What do you mean "they did"? You could kill the lot of them. They catch you on a bad day?"

"No, they had some sort of device."

"Device?" Grimmjow asked. "What the hell kind of device could take down you?"

"I can show you if you want," one of the scientists said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ceferino Altamirano, head scientist of project…"

"You think I give a shit who you are?" Grimmjow practically spat.

Ceferino didn't say anything, but did hit a switch that started playing the images of Ichigo's capture on the large white wall behind the terminals. Grimmjow started to scowl as he watched the beams hit Ichigo and begin to drain his spiritual pressure. Ichigo watched with interest, not having seen most of it.

Poor Renji, Ichigo thought to himself. He must really be beating himself up over this. Ichigo cringed when he saw the look of almost panic on Renji's face as he began to be lifted up into Hueco Mundo. Damn it Renji, Ichigo thought as he watched Renji start to sprint towards the open gate. And you always say that I'm too reckless.

Grimmjow was not happy. He had spent long nights imagining exactly what he'd do to Ichigo Kurosaki when he met up with him again, to see him taken down by weaklings using some damn energy weapons was depressing. It was more then depressing, it was pissing him off. His eyes flared as he looked back at the scientist.

"What the fuck was that?" he yelled at the small man.

"You seem angry," Ceferino said calmly.

"Of course I'm angry! You don't deserve to have Ichigo Kurosaki in chains up here. You don't deserve to be the ones that get to beat him!"

"Your code of honor, or ethics, or battle, or whatever you want to call it, is obsolete," Ceferino replied.

Grimmjow was growling lowly.

"In case you get any stupid ideas…" Ceferino hit a button and small tendrils reached up from the ground, wrapping around Grimmjow's ankles.

"You better knock it off," Grimmjow said. Energy beams emerged from the wall around Ichigo, reaching out for Grimmjow, but stopping just short of touching him.

"I'm just letting you know that you aren't as in charge as you think you are," the scientist said. "I want to discourage any rash ideas. We are working under orders after all."

The beams went back into the wall and the tendrils released Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was a creature of instinct and right now his instincts were definitely set on "kill everything". He wasn't stupid though. He'd been able to suck it up and deal with having to simper around to that bastard Aizen's orders. He could deal with this…for awhile.

"See ya around," Grimjow said to Ichigo as he left. He needed to think.

It was a couple of days later that Grimmjow showed up again.

"Let him in," Ceferino told his staff.

"He's too dangerous to have around all of this delicate equipment," one of them complained.

"He still outranks any of us, so put on a fake smile and play nice," Ceferino chided him.

Once inside, Grimmjow made his way to Ichigo, still chained to the wall.

"Ichigo," Grimmjow said, his eyes gleaming. It looked good to have Ichigo up on the wall there.

"So, did you come back to gloat?" Ichigo asked him.

Grimmjow didn't answer, his eyes focused on the cuts around Ichigo's arms and chest, and a large one across his legs. "You didn't have those last time," Grimmjow stated.

"We are conducting scientific research here," Ceferino said.

"You're saying that you cut him, huh?" Grimmjow asked.

"Yes."

"While he's strapped down to this wall, on drugs and in spiritual pressure dampers?"

"We don't want a fight, just data."

Grimmjow was twitching slightly. Ichigo was amused. "Something bothering you, Grimm?"

"Grimm?" Grimmjow turned. He smiled when he saw Ichigo's smirk. "Don't think you can outdo me on the nicknames, Strawberry? Sorry, but that's a game you're gonna lose."

"I'm not sure about that, Grimmkitten," Ichigo said, his smile widening.

Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow at that, his mouth twisting slightly. "Grimmkitten?" he said, his voice slightly choked.

"You looked so cute as a little kitty the last time I fought against you," Ichigo stated.

When Grimmjow left, after a couple more minutes of banter with Ichigo, he was happy. He felt like he should be pissed off, but no one talked to him like Ichigo did, at least not anymore. Everyone was dead and the only people that were left were weak and cowardly. For awhile he had considered taking over the whole damn place, but it honestly felt like too much work. He didn't want to have to deal with all of the morons and weaklings, even if it was just to order them around. So, Grimmjow had remained in limbo. The new management didn't want to challenge him, because even if he didn't want to be the ruler, he sure as hell would kill anyone who wanted to give him a fight (or who wanted to cramp his style). They also couldn't recruit him, because he refused to follow orders from someone who couldn't kill him. So they let him do whatever he wanted, and he ignored them when he came across them.

Maybe I should take over, Grimmjow thought. I am the king. I think though that maybe it's better to be the king without any subjects than a king over a bunch of whimpering fools. If there were still some decent espada around, then it might be worth it.

It would be nice to fight Ichigo again, Grimmjow considered. Plus, I really want to kill those scientists. It's a win-win situation. Gotta get rid of those damn beams though.

"I noticed you were getting scrawny," Grimmjow said. "I brought some food."

Ichigo took one glance at what was offered. "I'm not sure what that is, but I'm not going to eat it."

Grimmjow growled. "Yeah…you are. It ain't like you're in a position to argue with me right now." He started forcing the food down Ichigo's throat. You need to stay strong, Ichigo, Grimmjow thought. If these freaks manage to break you it's going to depress me to no end.

That's why Grimmjow had come by as often as he could. At first he'd just come by to antagonize the kid, something they both seemed to get a kick out of. Then he'd gotten a little curious about him and started asking questions. What was he, exactly? How had he become a shinigami? Had he fought in any good battles recently? What was it like defeating Aizen? Grimmjow had to admit at being a little intrigued by Ichigo's family. Hollows didn't have families, and if they somehow did, having all turned into hollows at the same time because of a traumatic death, well they usually ate each other. He laughed hysterically when he found out that the long haired redhead shinigami with tattoos was now Ichigo's boss. He got annoyed when Ichigo would talk about some shinigami named Shuuhei all the time.

"Why the hell would you like someone like that? Someone strong like you shouldn't have to chase someone around," Grimmjow said.

Ichigo shrugged. "I love him."

Grimmjow scoffed at that. "Probably just another weak ass shinigami," he said.

"Well, he did kill Kaname Tosen."

"Oh yeah?" Grimmjow grinned. "It couldn't have been that hard though. Still, that guy was annoying."

"Tosen was his captain before he left the soul society."

"Ah, seeking vengeance. That's a nice trait to have," Grimmjow said seriously.

"That wasn't the reason."

"What was the reason then?"

"He needed killing," Ichigo replied.

Grimmjow always got mad when he got there and Ichigo was too out of it to talk. It freaked him out to see Ichigo's head loosely lolling around, his eyes unfocused and his breathing shallow. "Why do you guys have to keep drugging him?" Grimmjow asked angrily, knowing the answer.

"We're doing experiments," Ceferino replied.

Grimmjow had gathered that they wanted to find out how it was that Ichigo was so strong and wanted to learn how to create it in a lab setting. He was part hollow after all. They had even been talking about kidnapping humans with high spiritual pressure and recreating the situations that Ichigo had been placed in. In the meantime, they kept prodding Ichigo, doing god knows what. Grimmjow didn't ask when he came in and saw weird shit poking out of Ichigo's arm, flowing vibrant colored liquid into his veins, or when he saw devices hooked up to various parts of his body. He didn't bring it up with Ichigo ever. Instead he tried to bring food and drink, talk with him a little, and try to cheer him up. Ichigo kept insisting that he didn't eat the type of food that Grimmjow was serving him, but Ichigo was at least part hollow and Grimmjow figured it probably helped more than it hurt.

Really? I'm trying to cheer him up? Grimmjow remembered when he had first come to that conclusion. He had laughed at himself and then became determined to not visit Ichigo again, at least not for awhile. He visited two days later.

Shit, Grimmjow thought. He looked quickly at the scientists around him, working on flickering screens or standing in front oddly shaped beakers. Shit, shit, shit. Don't freak out, he told himself.

"Ichigo," Grimmjow said again, firmly.

Ichigo stared at him blankly.

"Is he drugged?" Grimmjow asked.

"No."

Damn it. "ICHIGO!" he said louder. Ichigo didn't flinch.

"He's in shock," Ceferino said.

"Damn it, I know he's in shock," Grimmjow growled. "What did you do to him?"

Ceferino shrugged noncommittally.

"ICHIGO!" Grimmjow yelled again. He put his hands on either side of Ichigo's head.

"Don't touch him!" Ceferino said behind him.

"Shut up!"

"Ichigo, hey, wake up," Grimmjow said, peering into those blank eyes. He had always thought he had hated them before, when they looked at him with such intensity. Not seeing that intensity was significantly worse though. For some reason, the emptiness in Ichigo's eyes struck him to his core. It was too much like death, and there was no way that these goons were going to kill him. It was worse than death, because at least death could be glorious. If Grimmjow had been killed by Ichigo in battle, if that had been the end, it would have been perfectly fine with him. It would have been a good end. When he had woken up his first thought was to find Ichigo again, to fight him again. In the back of his mind, he knew that there wasn't any reason to think that the fight would go any different, but he had had so much fun that he almost didn't care. If he was going to die, he might as well go out against someone strong like Ichigo.

"Ichigo…" Grimmjow started going through his conversations with him. "Hey, Ichigo, remember your sisters, Yuzu and Karin?"

Ichigo didn't move but Grimmjow felt that he was on the right track. He felt like Ichigo was at least paying attention to him even if he wasn't showing it. "And your stupid dad, Isshin? You told me about how he'd always attack you? Remember how shocked you were when you found out he was a shinigami?" He paused. "Remember your mom?"

Ichigo was at least blinking more often now. Grimmjow had to assume that was a step in the right direction. He placed his forehead against Ichigo's, continuing to talk about anything that popped into his head about Ichigo's past.

Ceferino seemed to have settled down, which was good because Grimmjow would have broken his jaw if he had approached him right now.

"…and…and there's Shuuhei," Grimmjow said with a sigh. "Your weak ass bastard of a shinigami boyfriend. You guys became best friends and you fell in love with him. He was straight though, and didn't like you, and dicked you around forever. You kept chasing him though, and maybe you just wore him down or maybe he finally figured out that he wasn't going to ever get any better than you, but you started dating. It was just before your one year anniversary when you got here. He had asked you to move in with him, but the fucktard still won't say that he loves you. Any of this ringing a bell?" Grimmjow stopped talking and looked up into Ichigo's eyes.

"Stop freaking out, Grimmjow," Ichigo said weakly.

Grimmjow sighed with relief. His face was still close to Ichigo's. "You're ok?"

"I wouldn't say "ok"," Ichigo joked.

Thank god, Grimmjow thought. He found himself curiously reluctant to draw away from Ichigo, found it hard to remove his hands from Ichigo's hair. He finally backed away. He fought the urge to sprint quickly out of the room. He still needs you, Grimmjow thought. I can't leave yet. Grimmjow got a little sick at the feeling of joy he got at the idea of Ichigo needing him. What the fuck, Grimmjow? He chastised himself.

It's too late, Grimmjow was thinking as he lay in bed. It's too late for me to run away. Has it always been like this? The feeling that I got when I felt his presence in Hueco Mundo again, was it blood lust, or was it something else?

Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore. There's no point in arguing. Only instinct matters, only will matters, only skill and strength matter. I've been ignoring that too long.

"Can you believe the idiots here? They almost didn't let me in through the barrier. I'd like to show them what would happen if they did that," Grimmjow said. He paused when he didn't get a response. "HEY! I'm talking to you."

"Mmmummmrrrr," Ichigo said something unintelligible.

"That ain't what I'm looking for."

Ichigo straightened up, his shackles clinking against the wall. "Good morning to you too, you fucking annoying blue haired asshole."

"That's more like it," Grimmjow said with a wide grin. "I got you a birthday present."

"You guys don't have birthdays."

"You do though."

"It's not my birthday," Ichigo said, confused.

"Fine then, Merry Christmas," Grimmjow replied with a grin.

Grimmjow is being even more manic than usual, Ichigo thought with an eye roll. He blinked quickly as Ceferino's arm went flying through the air.

Grimmjow laughed as he cut down the scientists. God, I've wanted to do this for so damn long. You all looking at me like you were better than me, like I was some animal to be appeased and controlled. Guess what? You failed.

He had waited briefly for them to draw their weapons, not that it helped any of them. Ceferino was still on the ground behind him, whining in pain.

"I'm keeping you alive for a little while," Grimmjow said, looking over his shoulders.

Ceferino shot him a look of pure hatred. It was like a balm to Grimmjow's soul…or lack of soul.

"What are you reaching for?" Grimmjow said, walking over to Ceferino's crawling body after finishing off the scientists.

Ceferino reached for a device and hit a button, his face distorted with glee and pain. Nothing happened. He hit it again. Panic began to set in.

"Whoops, is nothing working?" Grimmjow asked. "Maybe ya want to check the power grid to make sure those things are getting juice."

"You…you're too…"

"Too what? You think I can't look up schematics? I'm too stupid to work a terminal or something?" Grimmjow laughed. "Now watch."

Grimmjow used a cero destroy a large piece of equipment near the entrance of the lab.

"No! Don't!" Ceferino yelled.

Grimmjow grinned as he very slowly destroyed the whole damn place. Sure he could have just used one or two large ceros, but it was much more fun this way, with Ceferino screaming like his teeth were being pulled.

"It's all gone now," Grimmjow said. He noted the slight defiance still left in Ceferino's eyes. "Oh yeah, I stopped by the server room before I came here. I hope there wasn't anything saved there that was important."

That was the look that Grimmjow was looking for, utter devastation. He had to admit that fights like there weren't his thing, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it. Ceferino got up and charged at him, his zanpakuto drawn.

"I was hoping you'd do that," Grimmjow said, his zanpakuto sticking out of Ceferino's back.

"I knew that otherwise…you'd just leave me…I'd rather be dead…" Ceferino said, coughing up blood. He slumped to the floor, disintegrating as he fell.

"Gr…Grimmjow!" Ichigo said, shocked.

"Oh don't panic, I got the keys before destroying everything."

"That's not what I meant!"

Grimmjow looked at Ichigo's withered body. The skin hanging where there had once been muscle, his skin shallow and yellowed instead of tanned, his hair limp and hanging down over his eyes. Grimmjow reached over and pushed Ichigo's hair up out of his face. "You need a haircut," he said critically.

Ichigo started laughing, out of all of the things that had he worried about in the past six months, a haircut hadn't been one of them.

"You should probably know," Grimmjow said, as he began to release the shackles that bound Ichigo to the wall, "that this service doesn't come free."

Ichigo winced as his body began to move in ways it hadn't for months. He had no control over it at all. He fell forward as Grimmjow released his hands, Grimmjow easily catching him. "What do you want?" Ichigo asked.

"A kiss," Grimmjow said, not looking at him and still working on removing the remaining bindings.

"A kiss?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah."

"That's easy enough," Ichigo said lightly. Grimmjow...he was thinking. Grimmjow, did you really do this just because of me? You did this because you have feelings for me?

"You have to mean it though," Grimmjow said. "I have to believe it."

"Grimmjow…" Ichigo said sadly.

"If that's pity in your voice I'm gonna smack you no matter how weak you are," Grimmjow said, hoisting Ichigo up.

Ichigo wrapped his arms around Grimmjow and looked up into his eyes.

Grimmjow choked a little. "N-not now," he said. "When you're better." When you're back to the way it was when we fought, he thought to himself.

"Where are we going?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm taking you to the Soul Society."

"What? But…they won't care that you're helping me, they'll just…" Ichigo protested.

"I know," Grimmjow said. "It's gonna be a one way trip for me. That's ok though, this place has been getting on my nerves."

"Just...take me there and run then," Ichigo pleaded.

"I don't run," Grimmjow said. "I'm taking you to straight to the Seireitei." He snapped his fingers, opening a gargantua.