HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chapter.3
The messages stop. After the end of the week, Grimmjow stops replying to any of his messages and Ichigo finally gathers the guts to go to his apartment flat and knocks on the door which is a mirror to his own, but alas, nobody answers it.
The paranoia kicks in after twelve hours passing the time which Grimmjow had said he would return at. No longer was Ichigo's worries solely focused on their relationship, but now he worried about Grimmjow's well-being.
Monday evening, as Ichigo was returning from University, he hears the first signs of life from Grimmjow's flat as he passes it to his own. It's the sound of footsteps and Ichigo stops in his tracks and presses his ear to the door to listen and when he hears a glass break, he immediately knocks on the hard wood, calling out his boyfriend's name. Every sound from inside stops and Ichigo hears consecutive thud thud thuds as if someone were running, which gradually drop in frequency. The only thing that crosses Ichigo's mind is the word thief.
He rushes inside his own flat room and runs to his balcony connected to Grimmjow's own and jumps across the railing. Fear doesn't even cross Ichigo's mind because he wasn't trained in Judo for nothing although he has never used it on people outside his high school clubroom.
Ichigo pushes the ceiling to floor window and it slides open, and he enters with caution. He walks in slowly, licking his lips with nervousness and grabs a metal baseball bat kept at the side just in case. He moves with what he thinks are soft footsteps and peeks out of the room into the hallway, and deeming it empty, he advances forward.
However, the house is empty. Not a single sound of even breathing can be heard anywhere Ichigo has set foot in. The only place left was the kitchen and horror strikes Ichigo when he enters it and finds several empty packets of blood on the kitchen floor, a few stay drops clotted and drying off on the cold floor.
''What in the world…'' He can't finish his sentence because he absolutely has no idea of what to make of this mess. Just then, without any warning, something hard whips him across his neck and slams him down onto the floor, and Ichigo chokes, eyes tearing up.
He immediately uses the bat in his hand and hits his offender as hard as he can and to his shock, when he pulls the bat back, he sees it bend horribly in half, the width thinning out impressively.
He gasps in shock and wails his legs like a fish out of water and tries to push at the body on top of his but it fails. Ichigo felt as if a boulder was immobilizing him instead of a person and when he screams loudly, his body arching up in another futile attempt for release, the man leans back and Ichigo's lips fall apart, heart pounding painfully.
"G-Grimmjow..?'' But it wasn't Grimmjow entirely either, the blue of Grimmjow's eyes was crystalline now, almost grey and his pupils were dilated, the edges resembling thorns and they looked unfocused. His face looked as white as paper and instead of a warm smile, Grimmjow's lips were pressed upon by extremely sharp looking canines.
When Grimmjow doesn't reply with anything but cold breaths against his cheek, Ichigo calls his name again, with more determination but to no avail.
It is with bated breath that Ichigo watches as Grimmjow lowers himself and he feels a cold tongue lick a stripe along his neck and he shrieks, trying to push of the taller and heavier man.
His body was itching to get up and run.
And then, Ichigo feels a sharp pain starting at his neck, near his pulse and it travels like hot lava down his spine. His body stiffens when he feels something drip down his neck and his knuckles whiten where he's clutching at Grimmjow's shoulders.
Ichigo could not believe what was happening. Grimmjow was biting him and lapping at his blood and just the thought gets him lightheaded and dizzy.
He whispers his name again and a tear falls from his eyes in fear.
That's when he hears a gasp and the weight on his body falls back. He gets up immediately, covering his cut skin and breathes heavily, crawling back until he hits the counter.
Grimmjow stands in front of him, panting and heaving, his hands fisted at his sides, staring wide eyed at the smaller with nothing but remorse written on his face.
He turns around and opens the fridge, pulling out a cold water bottle and pours it over his head as if it were nothing and Ichigo looks on even more petrified.
''What-What are you?'' Ichigo questions, breathless and horror-struck.
Grimmjow gulps, wet blue hair falling over his still crystal grey eyes. They almost look opaque.
''I'm…'' he sighs dejectedly, stepping back further until they are on the opposite ends of the kitchen, ''I'm sorry, I…I never meant to hurt you but,'' Grimmjow grits his teeth and slams his fist against the counter top and the marble breaks. Ichigo flinches and Grimmjow looks even more apologetic.
''I'm a vampire, Ichigo.''
Ichigo had already guessed this and is even more horrified at Grimmjow's confirmation.
''I was human, once, many years ago. When I was turned into this, I tried finding company. But every partner I had ever held, broke apart in my arms like a fragile vase.''
He glances at Ichigo then continues on, ''I decided not to mingle with people, humans, any longer. Anyone I had ever taken a liking to, I just hurt them. So, I started living on frozen blood, like these here,'' He points at the empty packets on the floor.
''But then I met you, and I just couldn't stop myself from nearing you. I didn't-don't want to hurt someone like you. I tried avoiding you and keeping as much distance as possible because I'm starving, Ichigo.''
Ichigo stares in bewilderment as Grimmjow's voice turns more desperate. ''It has been decades till I tasted warm blood and I know how much more I should have stayed away from you, but I can't.''
Ichigo watches as Grimmjow walks past him and slowly gets up as well, standing unmoving in the same spot. ''I was too selfish,'' He says, back turned away, ''I'm so sorry for causing you such trauma Ichigo, I really am.''
''Grimmjow…''
''Can you please leave? Ichigo, I don't have the normal physical strength of a vampire anymore and I'm slowly losing my mind from hunger. Even now, I'm straining hard not to turn around and sink my teeth into you, so can you please do us both a favour and leave?''
Without another word, Ichigo heads to the door and once outside, he closes it behind himself.
Ichigo should run. Scream and run. But he cannot deny the fact that he had seen blood drip from Grimmjow's palms from where he had been pressing his nails into the skin just to hold back from hurting Ichigo.
So he quietly returns to his flat.
