i don't own Bleach; enjoy!
A giggle escaped into the air, despite the serious topic at hand and their current predicament.
The redhead scowled, half-mocking anger, half-truthfully annoyed, one arm around his right knee to keep from falling back onto the mattress, his brown eyes on his lover. "Don't patronize me; I was tryin' to be serious…" He groused.
"I know, but you also know I can't take you serious when you pout." The blonde countered with a small half-grin on her full lips, pushing back the elongated locks on the right side of her face, a few pesky locks stubbornly remaining where they were.
Ichigo felt his ears heat up and he huffed, looking away, eyes closing briefly with a sigh that was half-caught in his throat, looking at the way the moon's light slowly dimmed on the floor of his room. "Are you sure about this? I know we weren't… y'know, together, during the war, so you didn't witness the fights Grimmjow and I had. For all I know you would've hated him just like I did, at that time. Housing an Espada sounds like it's going to be interesting, and a pain at the same time."
Dawn was slowly coming, and with it… gods knew what else.
Yasakawa lowered her gaze to the rumpled and tossed-aside sheets, twirling an index finger in the fabric of the sheets in her lap, thinking on what he asked. "I think I can control myself to not do something stupid. You forget I've been a Vizard longer than you, so I know a few things in regards to curbing my anger." She lifted her gaze to hold his own, a soft smile forming, before it faltered and she leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder.
He lifted a hand to brush some of her hair back, watching her snag his larger hand in her smaller one, smiling despite the silence that settled between them, beholding her slender fingers tracing the lines on his caught hand, cheek pressing into his bare arm.
"Half of me thinks what I did, what I said in that meeting, is insane; the other half of me thinks what happened was wise and merciful… One or two occasions both parts of me would be at opposing ends, and I wouldn't know what to do, what to say. I guess that's one thing about being a mutt I hate most. Suppose I've always hated it, since that night my world was ripped from under me and turned upside-down." Her voice was a whisper, but even though he half-expected it to crack here or there, it was clear and soft, tidbits of annoyance placed in the mix.
He smiled a little, a wave of sympathy washing over him; he had felt like that once, countless times, now that he thought on it… "I guess you never felt to tell this sort of thing to Hirako, when you two were together." He mused quietly, stirring her.
She shook her head, a quiet laugh bubbling to the surface. "No; he'd conk out sometimes after fooling around, or tell me to work on this aspect or the other for my training. He wasn't much of a listener like you." She drew away briefly to kiss his jaw, smiling at him.
His arm that had folded around her shoulders draped to her waist instinctively and he felt his chest swell with some measure of relief and pride; he'd always doubted, but he was grateful for the confirmation that he was nothing like Hirako Shinji.
Not with Kawa.
He smiled slowly in return, ducking his head to kiss her, distinctly feeling her fingers curl in his orange hair as her lips moved against his, making his smile widen.
"Why on earth did you bring him…?" He demanded quietly as they strode out of the office to the meeting room, jaw set and his usual stoic mask in place.
She had half a right mind to brain him on the spot but because he would most likely maim her for it plus decorum that was in place, she refrained. "You're blaming this on me? He tagged along! Between the two of us, it's only natural that our son be adept at flash-step this early in life." She answered patiently.
He contemplated slapping his forehead but instead chose to pinch the bridge of his nose with a hand, groaning quietly. "Of all days…"
Arriving in the meeting room, both nobles were greeted with the sight of their gathered squad members and the clustered group of guards in white surrounding a head of green hair on all four sides.
"Captain Kuchiki! The Arrancar Neliel Tu Oderschvank has arrived." One of the guards informed the noble captain, bowed in respect.
He nodded slightly, "Very well; my lieutenant and I will handle things from here on." He answered, to which the guards chirped out a 'yes sir!' before they left the room, leaving the room full of sixth division subordinates, two captain-class officers, and one Arrancar.
Exhaling, she pretended he didn't shoot her a look to gesture she speak, blue eyes beholding the pairs of eyes that were fixated on them, sometimes shifting to where the Arrancar stood dutifully at the side. Here goes nothing. "I know this may seem strange or something most people would think ludicrous. Noone expected any Arrancar had survived the war twenty years ago. But they did, and things are different now. And I'll tell you now that I swear on my Kuchiki honor that nothing will befall this division, let alone the rest of Seireitei. This I swear!" She promised, setting a stern look at the subordinates that had seemed to snap to with the raised decibel of her voice, taking on the trademark scowl she had learned from her husband.
"Y-yes, Lieutenant Kuchiki!" Came a resounding answer to her words, her scowl seeming to have gotten the right reaction.
Kuchiki Kita's face softened and she beamed. "Thank you, boys! You're dismissed." She said lightly, calming as the black-clad group filed out of the meeting room, leaving both Kuchiki nobles and the former Tercera.
Neliel smiled politely when both nobles looked to her, "It's been a long time, Akatsuki-chan." She said, meeting the woman's blue eyes.
Kita blinked once at her words, "You remember me? I'd have figured you'd remember Inoue-san or Ichigo moreso than me…" She asked.
"Well it's kind of hard to forget someone's reiatsu when it's easy to notice, especially in Hueco Mundo." Neliel shrugged, watching the Kuchiki woman smile slightly, wryly.
Byakuya lifted a brow, glancing at his wife before noting, "It appears Kurosaki's assumptions were right after all; given you don't seem as much of a threat as the other Arrancar." He mused, meeting her olive eyes.
The former Tercera blinked and then chuckled, waving it off with a hand, "Well Grimmjow's not exactly nice around strangers, or people he once fought against. But he has his moments. If you don't mind my asking, which captain was he placed under?" She asked.
"Captain Mori of the Fifth Division." He answered.
She added as more of an afterthought, "She and Ichigo are together… I just hope he hasn't been near the barracks today." God only knew what kind of chaos could ensue from them reuniting.
"She's like Ichigo-kun, though, right?" She shrugged innocently when receiving twin looks of surprise, adding, "I could tell she was just by her reiatsu. It's like his, only a little smoother." With a reiatsu like that, she had a feeling Grimmjow would behave himself.
Well at least there isn't much to worry about with Nel, she mused.
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He still wasn't too thrilled to be wearing these damn shackles… no, wristbands, that's what they had been dubbed.
Wristbands didn't give your captor free reign to halve your fucking reiatsu, last he checked.
The bluenette contemplated giving one of his most lethal glares at the group of black-clad Shinigami that he was presented to.
The hell was he, a damn-well sideshow monster? Bastards musta never seen an Arrancar before… That wouldn't have surprise him.
He tuned out the brunette girl standing near him that was speaking to the group before them, briefly taking note of the go carved into the wooden badge fastened to her left shoulder.
If she was the lieutenant, then the short blonde standing to her right with the sleeveless white haori that had a high collar was the captain.
Tch, he wasn't a dumbass, so he could clearly tell Blondie had gotten laid the night prior; with who, he didn't want to know.
Wasn't his business and none of his damn-well concern, so he didn't think much else on it.
Again with the stares; returning his attention to the room, his upper lip curled instinctively at the stares, and he watched as the Shinigami dispersed and left the meeting room.
"Momo-chan, thanks for speaking; guess I'm still not used to giving speeches, even after twenty years!" The blonde smiled sheepishly at her lieutenant, rubbing her neck with a hand.
Hinamori Momo chuckled and smiled back, waving it off, "it's alright, not everyone is good at giving speeches anyway! Public speaking is a nightmare." She added if only to lighten her superior's momentary downcast confidence, turning to leave after their subordinates.
Mori Yasakawa chuckled with her, watching her leave and running her hand through her hair with a slight sigh before turning to the Espada, meeting his blue eyes; cripes, if he wasn't wearing the reiatsu-wristbands he would've been more intimidating to stare at. "Well you certainly look as intimidating as I've heard, Jeagerjacques-san. Sorry for not being introduced properly earlier; I'm the captain of this division, Mori Yasakawa." She said lightly, mustering a polite smile.
It was her big mouth that had gotten her into this mess, and it was going to take a hell of a lot of finesse and carefully-chosen words to keep herself from fucking it up.
The bluenette huffed, momentarily appeased at her pleasantry before letting it slide, brow unmoving from the mild scowl he wore. "Well since you're the brains of this operation, am I gonna have to wear these damn wristbands forever? Don't tell me all you Shinigami are this chipper so damn early in the day." He replied, slightly snarky, gesturing to the thin silver wristbands on his wrists.
Well at least they weren't connected by a chain.
Yasakawa ignored the twitch in her brow at his comment about her chipper tone, crossing her arms. "At least I'm not the only one who's not a morning person. If you've got a problem with it, there's always the option of giving you back to Kurotsuchi…" She added off-handedly, lifting a brow.
Grimmjow's scowl shifted into a dagger-filled glare at the mention of that freaky bastard. "You threatening me?" He bit out.
"I'm giving you a choice, Grimmjow. Given it was because of me you're in my division, a little appreciation would be nice." Was he this much of an ass when Ichigo fought him years ago?
He sneered, a vein twitching on his brow; as if his week hadn't been mildly-crappy enough, this blonde was demanding he thank her? For what! "Batting your eyelashes at the old man who's your boss? Ain't that typical."
She lifted both brows, jaw setting. "Are you saying all I'm good for is just a pretty face?" She asked slowly.
"Obviously. Just because yer reiatsu is like that punk-nosed redhead's doesn't mean you're capable of cowing someone like me. Not by my standards." Grimmjow scoffed, canines flashing in his daunting smirk.
Yasakawa almost visibly inflated with annoyance, for a moment forgetting that she had control over him. "I doubt you'd be on par with me; twenty years locked away to be used as an oversized lab rat should've dumbed down your skills, Arrancar… Or did you forget that it was a 'punk-nosed redhead' who nearly killed you twenty years ago?" She drawled, garnet eyes narrowed.
He bared his teeth momentarily at the memory of his ill-fated demise, blue eyes livid. "It's been a long time since I've had to fight someone like you; a half-breed Shinigami." He hissed, subconsciously gripping the pommel of Pantera strapped to his left hip.
"Better a half-breed than a discarded, glorified Vasto Lorde." She sneered, distinctly feeling the air intensify around them, her reiatsu's density mixing with his own and making the air seem thick with tension that was downright electric; her own slender fingers were gripping the red hilt of Kōruihime.
Grimmjow growled and she was only given the blink of an eye to block his forward slash aimed for her chest with the sharp edge of his zanpakutō; the connected blades screeched angrily against the other, blue and red clashing lividly.
Yasakawa emitted enough reiatsu to shove him back, disappearing to reappear farther away from the platform designated for captains, namely herself, watching him buzz out of view using sonido to clash with her again, sparks flying.
The furious clashing of blades rang out in the room, neither Vizard nor Arrancar willing to back down or concede to such a ludicrous notion, the noise garnering a crowd that formed and congregated around the doorway of the room that led out into the full hallway.
Pushing her way to the front, Momo came to a halt at the doorway and gaped at the spectacle of her captain fighting on par with the Espada.
She had a sinking feeling this wasn't going to end well… Mori Yasakawa was never one to back down from a fight if pushed into it, and when in combat, she was downright ruthless.
The brunette had often speculated that her captain took advantage of the hollow powers long ago forced upon her and utilized them for the better good she had been charged with as a captain.
Grimmjow just might have bitten off more than he could chew.
ergh i feel rusty writing fight scenes.. been a while. 0: on a related note, you didn't think this was too abrupt did you? oO some opinions would be nice, guys! also, 250(+) views? wow that's epic! lol
*edit: 'go' means five in Japanese
** semi-unrelated note, happy birthday Grimmjow! -huggles said grumpy kitty-