~ Chapter 9 - Submerging~

"Grimmjow?...Grimmjow?"

As soon as a hand touched his naked shoulder, he grunted and gripped it before twisting the arm belonging to it behind the attacker's back. In a fluent move he pressed the person against the wall, in the harshest way possible.

"What the fuck. Let me go Grimmjow!" The person pined to the wall in front of him squirmed to get loose. It took a second for Grimmjow to realize what he just had done. He let the person go and took a few steps back.

"Sorry Kensei, didn't know it was you."

"Well, it's kind of my own fault since I sneaked up on you, but you where staring at the mirror pale as a sheet so I wanted to ask how you were feeling. You didn't respond and here we are." Grimmjow averted his eyes in slight embarrassment. "Are you fine though? You still look pale."

Grimmjow didn't know what to answer first since he was beyond okay after his small flashback. He found his voice luckily before another question was thrown at him. "I'm okay. No worries." Grimmjow threw on his t-shirt again to cover up his back. Kensei could, even if he wasn't aware of it, look at him with sympathy when he saw the scar. He regarded the silverette for a moment while the man was searching for something. He wasn't even a staff member, so what was he doing in their lockers? "Why are you here anyway? This is staff area, you know that."

"You see, I was working out after my work and when I complained that there wasn't any towels at the weightlifting, Soifon told me to get them myself."

"Oh, they aren't even placed there to begin with." Grimmjow walked past Kensei and went down on his knees to take out a few from the dryer. "Can't have you take the new ones. These are washed. How many do you need?"

"Hmm, four? You're just afraid that I will steal one when I replace them." He accused Grimmjow.

"There is enough towel stealing already. Everyone is a suspect, even you."

"As if I would want an old reused towel from some dinky gym."

"You rather take one from your job then?" Grimmjow winked playfully.

"You got me." Kensei said dead paned.

It was something with Kensei that made him feel at ease. The man had a calming aura in general and Grimmjow assumed that he wasn't the first person to believe this.

"I can give you tickets to the pool if you are nice."

"You know that I can afford it, so why would I bother?"

"Everyone wants free pool tickets. Why buy when you can have it for free? Besides, tomorrow's weather will be the hottest this year. Can't miss out on that…"

"Fine." Grimmjow sighed. "I need three; Nnoitra has a new plaything he probably wants to bring."

"That's easily fixed. Just mention my name at the counter and they'll let you in."

"Great. Now, you get out. I need to go."

Grimmjow kicked Kensei out from their staff room, changed and packed his stuff together, skipping his shower. He didn't want to freeze like that again and his stomach screamed for food. Too bad that it would only get a shake and a small snack. No pain, no gain. After signing the staff folder to mark an end to his shift he poured water into his prepared shaker and shook it to mix it all together. Grimmjow chugged it down quickly since it tasted like crap. He shouldn't have tried a new flavor; the sales clerk had fooled him good. 119 portions to go. It would be replaced long before that, he just hadn't gotten to it yet. The gym didn't provide with these big sizes and to be honest they were a little overpriced. Not that he would whine about it to Soifon though. That woman's wrath wasn't pleasant.

He took out his phone from his bag and out of habit tapped on the Facebook app and went through his newsfeed, but remembering why he took out his phone in the first place made him return to the home screen. Nnoitra's number was tapped and Grimmjow brought the phone to his ear.

"What do ya want?" His friend growled.

"Making sure that you haven't killed anyone yet."

"Shh… not so loud. Damn it!" Nnoitra hissed.

"This is always so fun; you really shouldn't drink that much when you have work in the morning."

"There's many things one shouldn't do, but we do any way. What was yer business?"

"Oh, yeah… talked to Kensei and he gave us free passes to the pool tomorrow. Fixed so that your lay could come too. Thank you very much."

"Cool, I'm in. Text me time to meet and I'll contact Shinji."

"'kay see ya."

~xxx~

"Shinji…" Ichigo called and poked his friend in the side. "Your phone is ringing."

"I hear that. " He murmured lazily.

"Then answer, it's annoying."

"Can't move."

"What if it's eye patch?" Ichigo said cunningly.

"It's not his ring tone."

"Maybe he calls from work?"

Shinji stared at the phone, which turned black. He lent forward to check it and the familiar tune blared off. Faster than the light itself, the blond answered the phone and held it to his ear. Ichigo flashed him an 'I told you so' face before concentrating on the TV again. The man is probably pretty hung over judging from the small voice Shinji was using. It was suddenly broken when a happy squeal was made. "The pool?!" Shinji stands up from the sofa. "Of course I'll go!"

Oh, no. There's only one pool in this town. God, Shinji and Nnoitra will be humping in every corner. Shinji ended the call with a big smile.

"No."

"What?"

"You're not going to the pool."

"Yes I am and Grimmjow is coming too."

"Don't tell me that this is a plot of yours. If it is, it's not funny."

"Actually it was Grimmjow's idea. What is it to you if he is there, he's Nnotra's friend. You said yourself that there's nothing between you two."

"It isn't."

"Then what's your problem? Or are you just afraid off admitting those 'non' feelings."

"I… don't know."

"Maybe you will know after ogling his half naked body for a day. He looks to be ripped everywhere. Yeah, then you'll know for sure."

"I work there and have responsibilities. Get of my case!" Ichigo rose from the couch, a little annoyed over that his friend took his job so lightly. He went to bed instead; he had an early morning tomorrow and where going to work all day to help Kensei with all the extra visitors they would have. Why he chose to walk away from Shinji he wasn't sure. Every time he thought of Grimmjow or heard the man's name he got a special feeling inside his chest. He couldn't describe it, it was just there. The frustration over the feeling made him irritated, he had been so sure over him and Kariya before. Then why was it so hard to pin point this?

He hadn't meant to snap at Shinji but he couldn't crawl back now. It would hurt his pride too much. If Shinji went to bed that night, Ichigo never got to find out he fell asleep before he got to know.

~xxx~

When Ichigo woke early the next morning, he found Shinji fast asleep in the couch with the TV still on. His friend looked cold so he took the blanket from the bed and put it over him. Ichigo tip toed around in the apartment to get his things and went to the pool. A staff meeting marked the beginning of his shift to make sure that everyone knew what to do in the chaos sure to be caused by all the visitors. It was hot outside already and it wasn't even 10 am yet.

"Today I need you to be extra attentive since the heat will bring many people to our pools, plus there's a special offer for families today unfortunately." Kensei said to his employees. "Ichigo, you will guard the pool with the jumping towers. I don't want idiots, pushing other idiots from them."

"You can count on me."

"Matsumoto, you will control the adventure pool area inside, while I guard the track lane pool outside. We will have covered the important areas this way, unfortunately we are one man short today but a replacement who worked here last season will come as soon as possible. I had to call him on short notice. Remember to drink in this heat and always keep you walkie on. Questions?" It got silent for a moment before Kensei spoke again. "Good. Good luck and think before action and everything will go great!"

~xxx~

To be honest, Grimmjow hated to go to the pool. The shore was another story; it's a little more private. The main issue he has is the scar on his back; he always got stared at with strange eyes. The tattoos on his torso usually drew unwanted attention from the chicks. Both the scar and the tattoos were permanent reminders of his old life. It was annoying, all of it. When he could he usually wore something to cover his upper body but at the pool, unlike the shore, clothing outside the lockers where prohibited. Kensei would let it slip but then everyone would start to do the same if they saw someone that could get away with it, leaving him with no option then to go bare-chested.

He was going to meet Nnoitra and his blonde at the parking lot outside the pool. They were already late and he hoped it was for other reasons than he could think of. He finally saw the black truck turning into the lot. Nnoitra saluted him as he closed his car door.

"You're late."

"Shinji didn't want to come so I had ta kick him into the car."

"I still don't want to." The blonde male complained.

"Come on, you where exited when I called you." Nnoitra said and squeezed Shinji's shoulders. "He and Ichigo had an argument."

"So?"

"Ichigo work here. You do know that right?" Shinji said looking at him.

No.

"Haha! Ya should see yer own ugly mug right now. Priceless." Nnoitra grinned.

Oh…, he works here.

"I can't know everything!"

"Never heard of blueberries having a brain so what you do know must be hard to remember." Shinji cut in.

Grimmjow gave the man a glare and was met by a wide set of grinning teeth. Nnoitra must be influencing enough. Creepy.

They got past the reception desk without trouble, just as Kensei had promised. Nnoitra and Shinji managed to dress and change to trunks like normal people. Thank God for that. Grimmjow decided to swim some laps before playing around inside. He hurried to the track lanes to avoid unwanted stares. It went smoothly but Kensei on the other hand spotted him right away and started to wave.

"Do you have to embarrass me? What's up with the waving? I'm not freaking five years old."

"Just wanted to say 'hello'." Kensei shrugged. "Gonna do some laps?"

"Yeah, it's great exercise and I don't want to be around screaming kids right away."

"Why do you think I gave myself this pool today?" Kensei winked. "It's calm, but most dangerous since a lot of old people swim here."

"Must be good to decide everything." Grimmjow said with a smirk.

"It has its perks."

Grimmjow climbed down into the cold water. He decided to swim breaststroke first to warm up. After two lanes, he switched to backstroke and as a finish he chose to do the butterfly. Quite proud of himself to still be mastering the three different ways, he climbed up from the pool. Kensei gave him thumbs up as he passed the guarding tower to get a seat to calm his heart and relax a bit in the sun. He dried his hair on the way with a towel. The only available seat was by the jumping towers. He easily spotted the orange hair in the guarding tower as he walked closer. Before sitting down Grimmjow hung his towels around his shoulders. The swim earlier felt great in his muscles.

To pass the time, Grimmjow absentmindedly watched as teenagers dared one another to jump from the highest tower. One guy lost his trunks after his jump and a big boobed girl flashed her twins when resurfacing. Grimmjow would never jump that now, he sure would have if he had been a teenager without any judgment. You could easily jump wrong and break your neck or something. Feeling fed up with the towers, he turned his attention to the one guarding them. Ichigo wore a concentrated look on his face as his eyes scanned the waters. His guarding posture was tense and ready to jump if needed. When Grimmjow thought about it, Kensei gave off an entirely different air. He was more relaxed and laidback. Must be experience, Grimmjow thought. The kid didn't seem to be slacking off at least and that felt safe. Kensei would probably be asking him to stay the next season. Since Grimmjow last had seen the orangette, he had managed to get some sun on his skin. It had turned golden and Grimmjow had to admit that it suited him.

A little girl caught Ichigo's attention, which got down from his position. They seemed to exchange words and he ruffled he hair with a smile that totally got Grimmjow to lose his breath. It was so different from the Ichigo he had seen before. He should show it more often. Ichigo climbed back up and resumed watching over the bathing visitors. Grimmjow itched behind his ear in slight confusion and fear about these new feelings. He had sworn to not get involved with anyone else again. Ichigo's break up with whoever it was hadn't been an easy story either, judging from the situation he had found him in. In the end, love fucking hurt.

Apparently Grimmjow had been staring at Ichigo for some time now, because he suddenly was aware of the warm brown eyes staring into his. They shone with surprise. Their contact broke as quickly as it had been made. Ichigo snapped his head towards the pool where a man cried desperately for help. Grimmjow could feel his body go tense when Ichigo threw himself out of his tower and dived into the water.

~xxx~

Ichigo wasn't a psychic person at all but it still occurred to him that someone was staring at him. He turned his head to all possible directions until his gaze stopped at a familiar blue head. Who was indeed intently looking at him. He was a little bit shocked to find Grimmjow seated by his pool and on top of that ogling his ass out. How long had he been there? He felt a little stupid to forget that Shinji had been invited to the pool by Grimmjow's friend Nnoitra, the day had been so busy that he had gotten his mind on other things.

"HELP! HEEELP!"

Ichigo snatched his head towards the pleas and before he knew it he was out of his tower and in the water to save the man struggling to keep himself over the surface. He could quickly take note that the man was a bit on the heavy side body wise. With barely any time to prepare himself he arrived to the man.

"Sir! Calm down! I'm a lifeguard and I will help you." The man didn't seem to notice his presence at first, until Ichigo repeated himself. Relieved that someone came to his rescue the man begun to get a new sorts of panic. The one to be saved desperately. Ichigo was pulled under the surface for a few seconds until he emerged. He gasped for air and coughed up water. The man went for a new attempt to make himself stay afloat by using Ichigo. He was more prepared this time and pushed away the man to save himself, this was getting out of hand. The task strained his muscles and he grew tired fast. Soon he would have to struggle as well to manage to be in the water. He took deep labored breaths as he hadn't recovered from his last lack of oxygen.

"You have to calm down or else I won't be able to help you!" He shouted to deaf ears. The man panicked even more and came closer. Due to his exhaustion, Ichigo couldn't avoid the two hands on his shoulders; neither could he kick enough water to stand against the added weight pressed on him. He sunk like a stone and stretched his arms towards the surface, seeing the faint light from the sun. The lungs burned from the neglect to grace them with precious air. A kicking foot to his stomach made him let go on his final breath and on pure reflex draw one in. The cycle started over again as his body couched up the water only to have more swallowed down. It was his turn to feel that panic. Arms and legs started to struggle as much as they could. It earned him a knee in the face. Pain blossomed in his face before everything turned black.

~xxx~

When Ichigo went under the water for the first time, Grimmjow had shot out from his seat ready to jump in if he had to. He watched as Ichigo avoided the man in need who didn't care if the one rescuing him was harmed. By now Ichigo was visibly exhausted, but his eyes still shone with determination to save the man. The kid had courage no doubt about it. He would need help or things would be turning very bad. He had to get Kensei before it was too late. Grimmjow threw a last look at the struggle before he ran to the track pool. He could only run halfway there before a woman screamed. Grimmjow looked back and he couldn't see Ichigo anymore. Hell no…

"KENSEI!" Grimmjow's voice roared over the whole pool area. Voices quieted down around him in surprise. "KENSEI!" He shouted again. The head guard got his attention and clearly saw the horror on Grimmjow's face. "Call 911!" He screamed and ran back to Ichigo's pool. A splatter of blood bubbled up to the surface. The sight of blood was never good. "Ichigo!" He shouted at the water.

Afraid to wait any longer for Ichigo to resurface, he dived down and crawled to the panicking man who thought Grimmjow was there for his sake. He did exactly the same thing as he had done to Ichigo. Grimmjow was having none of it. "Get the fuck off me you idiot." He said and punched him in the face. The man backed away, dazed by the blow. Grimmjow was left alone. The clear water in the pool made the task of finding Ichigo easy. He took a deep breath before going down. After swimming towards the bottom he got hold of an outstretched arm first enabling him to pull Ichigo's body higher for him to hug the torso. With no further ado he made sure that they broke the surface.

Grimmjow only had the luxury to breathe a little before he backstroked to the pool ledge. The observing people helped Ichigo up and layed him on his back. Grimmjow jumped up beside him and went down on his knees to find a pulse. He couldn't. His blue wet hair hung in his eyes which he stroke back on his head. He checked for breathing but Ichigo's lungs didn't rise and fall. Water… he must have water in his lungs.

Grimmjow started CPR to try and get the water out. He positioned the head backwards and blew in air once and then proceeded to push down hard on Ichigo's chest. He repeated the cycle and felt how the ribs protested under the pressure. Come on. He begged and continued with the CPR.

Kensei kneeled beside him. "Let me take over, you're tired." Grimmjow kept going completely focused on saving Ichigo's life. "The ambulance will be here soon."

"There are too much people here." Grimmjow said, finally coming out from his concentration.

Kensei got people to back away, a few left thanks to him. Out of the crowd Shinji flew out after he had noticed that the unconscious body drawing all the attention was Ichigo. He couldn't control himself when he saw his friend lying on the ground with lips beginning to turn purple. Shinji cried silently. Nnoitra walked forward in a more serious manner and made eye contact with Grimmjow. He held Shinji and followed him down on the ground when the blonde's legs wouldn't hold him up any longer. "We shouldn't have argued! I'm sorry, I-'m not mad at you Ichigo." Shinji choked. "Please don't die." Shinji said in a voice so small even Nnoitra felt the hurt. The man held him, making sure that Shinji didn't feel alone in all this.

A cough rattled through Ichigo's chest and Grimmjow stopped his compressions in chock. Kensei helped him to put Ichigo on his side to not swallow down the water again. More coughs came and water hit the ground. It was the most beautiful sound Grimmjow had ever heard. By now he was exhausted and was unable to function as Ichigo finally responded. Kensei was quick to dunk Ichigo's back to help him further to get the water out. Ichigo coughed so violently that he started to vomit. Breathing was crucial now after so long without air. "Come on Ichigo, you need to take a breath." Kensei said calmly. The boy did so to his relief. He was conscious, finally, but not really there. Ichigo made a disgusted face with a scrunched nose. Grimmjow realized what it meant and wiped away the blood streaming from the nose as good as he could with one of his hands. Two brown eyes fluttered open at the kind gesture. They were tired but thankful.

"It's going to be okay." Grimmjow reassured him. "Third time saving your ass kid, it's beginning to get a little cliché, don't you think?" The comment was met with a weak smile.

Shortly after that the paramedics came and took care of Ichigo who was immediately rushed to the hospital.

TBC.

AN: Sorry for the wait.