Disclaimer: Various concepts and characters have been retrieved from Dragonball Z and Bleach for this story; they belong to Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. Please note, however, that the plot, which is an original plot, is unrelated to the events that take place in DBZ and Bleach, meaning this is an AU fic. The OC's and plot belong to myself, and KRenee.

VII

"I don't really know what it was, but there was this bright light, and when it cleared everything was gone."

Grimmjow had spent the past half hour describing the recent series of events, Goku and Vegeta listening attentively.

"I'm still not sure why Juritsu was out cold, but while she and Saeka were connected, I just made sure to keep the demons away from them. I'm just glad the explosion occurred when it did..."

"The explosion was from the power Saeka and Juritsu were exerting to push out Lucifer," Kaisuki continued the explanation for him, "And from a spell that I used to bless Juritsu with power from the Goddess, Amaterasu. That was probably the only reason they were able to get him out at all; his presence is draining by itself, so I'll bet she wasn't at full strength during this little adventure."

Vegeta spoke up first, "Juritsu was telling me about a voice that would incessantly roar in her head. This started back in the fall. Is it safe to assume that the voice was Lucifer then?"

There was a pause, Kaisuki making a face as she debated the chances of that, "Uh... well, maybe... probably not, though. I'd assume that a lower-level demon was sent to weaken her so she'd be an easier target. They're annoying and draining, but Lucifer's on a whole other level. I mean, if we'd left him in there for another few hours, he would probably have caused her to go insane, assuming that she didn't die before then."

"Why her, though?" Goku spoke up, eyes wide with an almost childlike curiosity, "Why try to kill her? Is she in the way of something?"

"I... I'm not sure exactly. I've only been getting little pieces of info," Grimmjow rubbed his eyes as he recalled what Ulquiorra had told him, "Something about feeding her to the Devil... Lucifer... so I don't even know why he was trying to break her like that."

"I could probably offer you a resource willing to spill a lot of beans," Kaisuki's words had curious glances pointed in her direction, "But I need energy. A lot of energy. I'd ask Juritsu, since I know her better, but she doesn't have enough to spare for four different spirits. And she's unconscious."

Goku grinned. "Well that won't be a problem at all. You can have as much of my energy as you like!"

Vegeta snorted. "Indeed, he'll have more than enough."

Kaisuki was giving him a strange look; perhaps assessing how much she needed and how much she was willing to take from an almost complete stranger. Nevertheless, she nodded, walking over to him rather shyly.

"This... might be uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable, maybe painful. I know you guys are tough, but I give fair warnings."

At Goku's reassuring nod, Kaisuki reached out and place a hand on his shoulder gingerly. The first few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Then Grimmjow suddenly felt that enormous well of energy in Goku being drained disturbingly quickly.

At almost precisely the halfway mark between empty and full, there was a small spark of red light that flashed between them. Goku blinked, looking slightly startled, before his expression shifted to a slight glare, though it wasn't clear just what it was he was looking at. Kaisuki's head suddenly whipped back, as if she'd been punched, the blow strong enough that she stumbled and would have fallen if Goku hadn't recovered in time to catch her.

Goku looked alarmed. "H-hey! Are you okay?!"

There was a pause, and Grimmjow felt Khrai's familiar reiatsu shift to the front. He was about to warn Goku to let her go when he heard her speak.

"Let go of me, vermin." Shocked by her sudden change of attitude, Goku didn't react to her command fast enough for her liking. Khrai shoved him – the force of which apparently surprised him, though it didn't make him move more than a centimeter further than he already was as he quickly pulled away. She took a step back and scowled at him, eyes now a bright blue. "You can talk to Saeka-nan after we take a look at Ulquiorra-nen." She grunted, turning to Grimmjow, "Where'd you put 'im?"

Grimmjow indicated Kaisuki's room with a thumb. "In there."

She nodded, casting one last icy glare at Goku and Vegeta before walking into Kaisuki's room and slamming the door unnecessarily hard.

Goku looked completely lost. "What'd I do to make her angry?" he asked, slightly sulkily.

"Never mind that, Kakarott, there are more important matters at hand."

Grimmjow spoke up before he could stop himself. "You're Juritsu's dad, right?"

Goku blinked before grinning. "Yup, that's me!"

"How is she so ridiculously powerful?"

Goku and Vegeta shared a glanced. "She wanted to keep it a secret..." Goku hesitantly replied.

"It's hardly a secret now," Vegeta shot back before turning his attention back to Grimmjow. "Juritsu is half-human. She is also half-Saiyan, something she inherited from this lunk-head here."

... What? A half-what? The hell did that even mean? That was…-

"... Never heard of it..." Grimmjow was at a loss for words. He wracked his brain for a good minute trying to figure out if he'd really had heard the term before or not.

"You wouldn't. Saiyan's are an ancient, powerful species from the planet Vegeta. Kakarott and I are the only pure-blood Saiyan's left."

"So... she's half-alien."

"Half-Saiyan. Any one of us could crush you into dust with our hands tied behind our backs," Vegeta sneered.

"Alright Vegeta, I think he gets it," Goku turned back to Grimmjow, "She was trying to keep it a secret so she could avoid attention. So don't tell her we told you, 'kay?" He added a wink with a grin for emphasis.

Grimmjow blinked, slightly surprised by the request, but he completely understood Juritsu's wish for secrecy. "I'll pretend that I don't know," he reassured her father, who smiled brightly. It was sort of off-putting how cheerful the guy was. Really. His daughter had been nearly destroyed by the Devil, and he was all smiles. He knew there was a lot more to her and her background than meets the eye, but really, it was starting to get ridiculous.

The sound of a doorknob turning caught their attention, and the door to Kaisuki's room was pushed open. Grimmjow immediately recognized Isolde, but he recognized the look of incoming bad news even better.

"Grimmjow-kun, could I speak with you?"

The two Saiyans were probably thinking the same thing, as they'd immediately quieted. Grimmjow, shoulders now painfully stiff from the tension he was suddenly feeling, slowly stood up and followed Isolde into Kaisuki's bedroom, where Ulquiorra continued to lie unconscious.

Isolde closed the door behind them, leading him over to the bedside. Ulquiorra looked worse. He didn't know how that was even possible. There was a dark line up his neck that stopped at his jaw, but seemed to branch out halfway around this throat. His eyes were sunken and shadowed, the normally lively green marks on his face dulled almost gray. It was like he was fading away to nothing or something.

"How... how bad... is it...?" forcing the words out took a painstaking amount of effort, and a small part of him already knew the answer before Isolde spoke again.

"The damage he sustained was too great, and too deep." She silently reached over and pulled the blankets away from the Fourth's bare chest. Grimmjow stomach lurched at the sight; Ulquiorra's Hollow hole, which was supposed to be a perfect circle, was cracked all around the edges, leaving streaks of jagged black markings up his neck, down his stomach... all over, leaving him with the appearance of cracked porcelain.

"There's nothing I can do at this point," Isolde uttered the words solemnly as she pulled the blankets back up to Ulquiorra's shoulders, "He'll be dead in a day or two."

There was a very long silent that fell between the two of them. Grimmjow's mind was struggling to wrap around this.

"A day or two... huh..." his voice was dull, but it fit. He was completely numb, everything fading away besides Isolde's words.

Isolde had just opened the bedroom door, evidently intending to give him some privacy, when the sound of someone banging rather hard on the front door managed to pull his attention away from Ulquiorra's face. Especially when he heard his name.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques! Come out, now!" That voice was recognizable as Soifon, Taicho of the Second Division of the Gotei 13, also known as the Special Operations Unit.

Grimmjow froze, heart leaping up into his throat. Not now not now this was too soon are you kidding me?! No choice; he had to go and face her. Evading any of them pretty much signed his death warrant. If I haven't already done that myself.

Each step he took felt like a step to the gallows. He could feel Goku's and Vegeta's eyes on him as he opened the door, steeling himself.

"You rang?" His voice came out strained, and it hardly held the sarcastic tone he originally intended to have.

Urahara was with her - probably planning to mediate the situation if necessary. Soifon took a slight step forward, a silent demand to be invited into a home that wasn't actually Grimmjow's. A man being yelled at by invisible people on the front porch would look a little strange. Or maybe she just didn't want anyone to see her beating the hell of out him.

Grimmjow sighed. "No offense, taichou," he stepped back and opened the door, exposing the occupants of the room to her presence, "But this isn't a good time, and this isn't a good place for this."

"My orders," she sneered, reaching behind her back and drawing a dagger, "Were to find you and kill you. I have no reason for discretion, Hollow. Step aside, now."

Urahara was giving him a warning look - do what she says. Either this guy was about to get him killed, or he was trying to save him. Whatever he was thinking, that didn't change the fact that there were a few extremely powerful aliens in the room who might just take Grimmjow's side if Soifon started a fight.

Grimmjow's eyes hardened, though he made room for them to walk in, nonetheless. "You gonna let me tell you my side of the story before jumping to conclusions?"

In a sudden flurry of movement, his back slammed into a wall, the edge of the dagger barely touching his skin. Vegeta and Goku looked ready to jump in at any moment, but Grimmjow saw Urahara hold up a hand to silently ask them to hold their ground.

Soifon's dark eyes darted back and forth between Grimmjow's blue ones, "We should've just killed you - all of you - as soon as we had you in detainment," she hissed venomously, "You're a stain on the face of creation, and if it wasn't for the fact that you're serving a purpose right now, I wouldn't hesitate to slit your throat right here."

She pulled back, lowering her blade, "But you should know that the instant you stop being so useful, I'll kill you, whether I'm ordered to or not."

"Soifon," Urahara interrupted her then, "That's enough. He gets it. Why don't you wait for me outside?"

The woman shot her colleague an icy glare full of distrust and hate, but she did what he asked without another word.

Grimmjow let out a shaky breath he realized he hadn't been holding, as a heavy weight fell on his shoulders.

"Well that was eventful…" he almost winced at how meek his voice sounded. Pathetic attempt to play off his near-execution. Never failed; it was always something, no breaks, nothing. He couldn't please anyone, pissed everyone off instead, and made an enemy out of the entire world. What was the point? It wasn't like he was looking for a fight anymore.

"Grimmjow," Urahara somehow managed to get him to make eye contact. It only lasted about three seconds before he diverted his gaze, but evidently that was enough. The blonde's expression shifted, concern showing through.

"Is everything alright?"

He wanted to laugh. What kind of stupid question was that? No, everything wasn't alright. Ulquiorra was dying in just the other room, his life was in jeopardy even when he was trying to protect someone precious to him, and the legions of Hell were after him and everyone he cared about. Nothing was alright, you stupid son of a-…

"It's not like you fucking Shinigami bastards would do anything about it if things weren't alright," he snarled hatefully instead, fists clenched tightly. A lump was lodging itself in his throat, and it was threatening to choke him. He knew his reiatsu was raging about inside of him, dangerously close to flaring out, and he almost didn't care, "To them, I'm just a waste of space, and they'll party it up as soon as I kick it."

Urahara nodded slowly, his gaze knowing, "There isn't much I can do, you're right," he reached into his kimono, producing a short, thick leather rope with something inscribed on it, "Wrap this around your Zanpakuto's hilt. It'll mask its reiatsu. As long as you don't use your Resurrección, they won't be able to tell if you draw it."

He was as mystifying as usual as he tipped his hat, an apologetic smile gracing his features, "Take care, Grimmjow... It's probably the least I'll ever ask of you, ne?"

Grimmjow's lips twisted into a bitter smile, accepting the item from the blonde with silent appreciation. It'd help a little bit, and he supposed the only thing he could do at this point was hope the situation from earlier wouldn't repeat itself. "That'll be easier said than done."

The Shinigami didn't reply as he excused himself from the apartment, leaving a stifling silence in his wake. There were thousands of questions just hanging in the air, waiting to be confronted, and as the seconds ticked by, Grimmjow realized he wouldn't be having any of it. Yes, he was pretty much a fugitive, yes, he did a lot of pretty bad shit while at Hueco Mundo, but who hadn't? At least his reasons weren't psychotic. And he'd learned – that bastard Kurosaki had knocked a little bit of sense into him, and that was why he was here wasn't it?! He wasn't trying to start trouble, wasn't going back to his old ways… so why couldn't Seireitei just leave him alone?!

It was too much to take in, not without letting it all out, his pent-up emotions. And the scene that everyone had just witnessed did nothing to alleviate the situation. He was about ready to bolt from the pair of staring, awkward gazes that were trying not to be directed at him when someone's hand gently touched his arm. Grimmjow looked up from the floor, meeting Isolde's gaze. It wasn't pity in her eyes... that would've immediately infuriated him.

There wasn't really a word he could use to place that honest warmth, and it wasn't like his brain was functional enough to be producing vocabulary anyway. She circled her fingers around his forearm and started pulling him away from the door. She led him across the living room and back into Kaisuki's room. Ulquiorra was still unconscious, but she didn't take him to the comatose man's side. Instead, she sat him down on a loveseat in front of a window. The lights flicked off, though he could guess that Isolde must've used some kind of magic to make that happen.

"Grimmjow," her voice was soft, warm... kind. He hadn't heard this tone of voice before. Not that he remembered. She sat down beside him, watching him almost expectantly, "You're safe here, okay? No one can feel or hear anything outside of this room. So don't feel like you have to hold anything back." She took his hand in hers, squeezing comfortingly. "It's just you and me, okay?"

He had absolutely no idea how she did it, or what she did to get the effect out of him, but all at once it was like a storm of emotions just welled up inside of him. The lump he'd just finally managed to swallow back down returned with a vengeance, and his reiatsu began to envelope him

"Why..." he ground out through his tightly clenched jaw, shoulders tensing painfully as he fought against his turbulent reiatsu, "Ulquiorra's going to die and it's my fault. I'm pretty much on death row, and because of it, the only thing I can do to protect Juritsu is wave my sword around uselessly and pray that maybe I'll poke the Devil's eye and guarantee a quick death! Damn it!" He slammed his fist into the arm of the loveseat, ignoring the smashing sound it'd made, "What the hell am I supposed to do now?!"

...

In the murkiness of semi-consciousness, she could hear a familiar voice. She'd heard it before, after that one terrible first night that she'd gone out with Grimmjow. What had her name been? Aiso...?

"Isolde," she corrected gently. "If you're awake and able, Grimmjow needs someone who knows him better than I, someone who understands the plight of battlefield helplessness better than I. Would you mind, Juritsu?"

Grimmjow…

The half-Saiyan's eyes flew open and she fell out of her bed. It didn't faze her and she staggered to her feet, legs wobbly from her lack of energy and muscles screaming from protest but she didn't care. Grimmjow was hurting and needed her; that was all that mattered.

She nearly plummeted through her bedroom door, but managed to catch herself as she slammed it open regardless, stopping dead in her tracks as she took in the two Saiyans sitting on her couch, staring at her in shock.

She swayed precariously and blinked. "Dad?" she asked incredulously.

A wide, relieved smile spread on Goku's lips at the sound of her voice, and he sprang up, striding over to her side. "You're awake!" he exclaimed, offering her a hand for physical support, "How do you feel?"

Juritsu gratefully accepted her father's help and leaned on him slightly as she tried to force her muscles to wake up. "A bit tired... where's Grimmjow?"

As if the gods had heard her question, the door to Kaisuki's door flew open, revealing her blue-haired friend in question. And he looked like a wreck; his normally wild hair actually looked disheveled, and his skin looked much paler than usual. His eyes were wide with disbelief, but that hadn't caught her attention as much as the well of emotions within them. He looked so lost and... afraid? Just what had happened while she was out?

A silence stretched between them for a very long moment. After making sure that her knees wouldn't buckle on their own accord, Juritsu released her father's arm, turning to face her friend, who'd taken a uncertain step towards her, as if he was unsure of what he was seeing.

"Gr-... Grimmjow...?" Juritsu felt a little nervous. As far as appearances went, Grimmjow looked moments away from snapping.

He closed the distance between them abruptly, almost startling Juritsu, and tentatively reached out to touch her arm, most likely as a reaffirmation.

"You're okay, right?" his voice was slightly hoarse, and she could hear the pent-up emotion barely kept in check

Her heart wrenched in empathy. Holding his gaze, she slowly reached up and cupped his cheek, rubbing it for a long moment and giving him a smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you," she soothed, moving to wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace, "You were looking out for me... thank you."

He'd stiffened at first, clearly caught off-guard from the gesture, but she felt him sag, not relaxed, but drained. A moment later, she felt his arms wind around her.

"Thank god," he breathed, "Finally, something's going right..."

Juritsu pondered for a moment, wondered if she should ask what he'd meant, and decided that he'd tell her when he was ready. Everyone had skeletons in their closets, after all. So, she carefully tightened her embrace, allowing him to lean on her, regardless of how her legs wanted to give. Saiyan blood coursed through her veins after all; pushing through her exhaustion wouldn't be an issue if it meant helping her friend.

A/N: Nothing much to say here; hope you enjoy it! Still more to come!

- G