Alright here's 24!
cheeky half-demon: alright here you go! and yes, it was only a little cliffie XD
Chapter 24
Renji's P.O.V
"Who the hell are they?!" said Ikkaku as he stood beside Renji and Yumichika. Renji didn't answer, he only watched as the strange group of people and Hara disappeared out of sight.
"I count five of them… Hara not included…" stated Yumichika as he stepped up beside them. He turned to Renji, "What do you want to do?"
"Judging by their reitsus…It might not be wise to go after them," said Rukia as she an Ichigo appeared. She looked up at her childhood friend, "Renji," Renji glanced down at her, "They didn't look like they were going to hurt her, so don't worry…" She smiled up at him. Renji turned to look back towards the way Hara and the strange group had gone, a sigh forcing its way through his lips. Hara… he thought, before turning around.
Ichigo's P.O.V
Grimmjow… thought Ichigo as he stared out at where he, Hara, and Shinji's group had disappeared. What was Shinji doing with an arrancar? Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest, I think I'd better check it out… He caught Rukia and Renji staring at him in a suspicious way, later…when I know I'm not being tailed… Ichigo remembered that Shinji didn't want the others to interfere with vizard issues, and Ichigo would honor that just because Shinji had helped him out.
He and the others turned and went back the way they had come, Renji glancing back a few times, only to get a glance from Ikkaku.
Hara's P.O.V
"Ungh…Grimm…jow…" she muttered in her sleep as she rolled over in bed. A chuckle answered, making her open a sleepy eye. It wasn't Grimmjow next to her, but Aizen. Hara screamed and sat bolt upright, her head banging against the wall with a thunk.
"Hey, watch it!" yelled someone, cause Hara to open her eyes. Oh, a dream… she thought with a relieved sigh. It was then that she realized she had no idea where she was. Suddenly her eyes fell on a familiar face,
"Kensei!?" she asked, seeing him sitting by the doorway. He gave her a grin,
"Hey, how's your head?" Hara stared at him,
"Wha-" she began, "Oh," she laughed, "Fine, just a bad dream." He grinned wider,
"Glad to see you back."
"Huh?" she asked. Kensei took on a more serious expression,
"You've been out for three days straight."
"What?!" Hara started to get to her feet, but Kensei came forwards,
"Hey don't get up, you're not completely healed."
"Where's Grimmjow?" she asked suddenly, ignoring him and staggering to her feet. Kensei looked a bit guilty,
"Uh… He's in confinement…" Hara went to the door,
"What? Where?!" Kensei followed,
"Come on, I'll show you." He made as if to help Hara walk, but she pulled away and began walking.
"Yo Kensei, you mind telling me why?" she added, as she practically led the way, even though she didn't know where she was going. Kensei jogged to her side,
"Well, for starters… he's an arrancar…" Hara rolled her eyes, "And he wouldn't stay put and let us heal you up… so we put him in confinement for both your sakes." Hara began to laugh,
"He's going to be pissed…" she said, "Wait, scratch that… he probably already is."
They came to a hallway, "Okay, which way now?" Kensei led her down the left, where a dark area of the warehouse lay.
Hara increased her pace, finding her body healed enough that her wounds would only twinge a tiny bit. Suddenly she walked into the room, finding it like a makeshift prison cell. Iron bars lined a large area and cased in a wall. The cell itself was empty, except for a very slightly moving shape on the floor that would snore occasionally.
"Ah, Kensei…coming to take over the shift?" asked a voice as he walked out of the shadows. It was a vizard that Hara was barely familiar with.
"Yeah," replied Kensei, "You can go read your Shonen Jump now, Love." Love eyed Hara
curiously before walking out of the room.
Kensei stepped back, closing the door. "If you need anything, give me a call." He said, grinning as he shut the door. Hara grinned back, before walking to the cell and opening the unlocked door.
The shape on the floor did not move, instead it only let out a louder snore. Hara held back a laugh as she tiptoed into the cell, a grin rival to Ichimaru's on her face. As soon as she was beside the shape, she kneeled down and peered into his face.
Grimmjow lay on his back, snoring softly, his face peaceful. For now… thought Hara. She grabbed a strand of her hair and trailed it across his nose slowly and lightly. Grimmjow twitched a little, but stayed asleep. Hara giggled and did it again, this time more vigorously. His hand suddenly shot up and slapped his face, causing Hara to fall backwards and begin to giggle loudly.
Grimmjow shot awake in an instant, leaping to his feet as if he were being attacked. Then his eyes fell on her.
"Hara?!" he exclaimed. Her laughter subsided as she stared up at him, her eyes going soft. Grimmjow stepped towards her, dropping onto his knees so they were almost eye level.
"Hi!" laughed Hara. He grinned and pulled her into a fierce kiss, her arms wrapping around him tightly, his hand on the side of her face gently moving down her body, caressing her.
Suddenly he felt little wet droplets landing on his bare chest. He broke away to find her silently crying, her eyes full of tears. "Grimmjow…" she muttered, wringing her hands and trying her best not to cry, "I… Zuro…you…" she couldn't hold it in any longer. Hara began to sob into her hands, her shock and grief finally winning.
Grimmjow pulled her against his chest, his hand rubbing her back slowly.
"Shh…It's okay…" She continued to sob against his chest, her body tightly pressed against his, as if she were afraid to let go.
"What are we going to do?" she muttered in despair. He glanced down at her
"First… lets deal with healing up a bit, eh?" Hara laughed slightly,
"Kay…" she pulled away and wiped at her eyes, then looked around his cell. "Well, let's get out of this cell first." He stood up and pulled her to her feet, his eyes soft yet alert,
"Are we safe here? I mean with these…people…" Hara nodded and went to the door, her hand in his,
"Yeah, Shinji and the others are nice, they won't hurt us." They walked out of the cell and into the hallway where Kensei was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.
As he heard their footsteps approaching he opened his eyes, his hand falling on the hilt of his sword.
Grimmjow tensed, his eyes narrowing. Hara squeezed his hand and shook her head,
"Relax, the both of you!" She pulled Grimmjow forwards,
"Grimmjow, this is Kensei…Kensei, this is Grimmjow…" The two eyed each other, sizing up but not attacking. Hara smiled, "Okay introductions made… So," she turned to Kensei, "Where can a girl get a bite to eat?" Her stomach growled as she spoke, causing Kensei to grin even though he didn't like being near the arrancar,
"Come on," he called, turning and walking down the hallway, "Hopefully Shinji or Rose went and got some take out…"
"Eat it," chided Hara as she held out a pot sticker on her chopsticks. Grimmjow stared at it,
"Why? You know I don't eat human food-"
"Really? What do you eat then, cat food?" asked Hiyori with a snicker. Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a muffled sound as Hara took her chance and stuck the pot sticker in his mouth. Everyone around laughed as his eyes bulged indignantly and he somehow managed to chew it without choking.
He glared at Hara as he wiped at his mouth. Hara smiled and leaned back against him,
"Aww, come on… did it taste that horrible?"
"No…but you didn't have to shove it down my throat!" Hara took a bite of chow mien,
"Shorry." She muttered with her mouth full, "But it wash the only way I cou' get you to try itsh." Grimmjow couldn't help grin slightly at her,
"You know…" said Shinji suddenly, "Even if you are an arrancar, you are totally capable of consuming normal foods for energy…" Grimmjow stared at him, "I mean, we vaizado's do."
"Vaizado? What's that?" he asked. Shinji explained,
"We're basically opposite to you arrancar. We're shinigami that gained hollow powers."
"Oh." Grimmjow's eyes narrowed, "So whose side are you on?"
"Grimmjow!" cried Hara, but Shinji shrugged with a grin,
"Our own side." He leaned forwards, "The question is-"
"What side are you on?" interrupted Kensei, "We don't have much of a problem with Hara, but you… You work for Aizen, right?" Grimmjow jumped to his feet, bristling with anger,
"Not anymore. Got a problem with it?!" Kensei stood up, his teeth clenched.
"Maybe I do!" They looked as if they were about to leap at each other, but Shinji and I both jumped in between the two,
"Quit it!" I yelled. Shinji didn't speak, but I could feel him thinking it. Grimmjow stared at me and then let out a sigh from between his teeth as he sat back down. I sat down beside him, leaning my head against his shoulder. Kensei stared at us, then turned and walked away. I yawned, "Gah! I'm still tired!" Shinji chuckled,
"Not surprising… the both of you sustained pretty bad wounds…" he stood up and began picking up the dishes around, "I'd like to ask you what happened, but it can wait for a while. You two need rest, so..." he pointed to somewhere behind us, "I'll let you take my room if you want." Hara smiled,
"Really? Thanks Shinji!" Shinji smiled and nodded as he carried the plates away,
"No problem." Hara wrapped her arms around Grimmjow's waist, her head resting against the bandages on his chest. He glanced down at her with a trace of a smile,
"I'm guessing you want to go to sleep, ne?" Hara nodded,
"Mmhmm." He smiled completely this time,
"Alright. Sounds good to me." He began to sit up, so Hara let go of him and stood up as well, feeling very drowsy. Just as they began to walk to the room, they were stopped by Love, who was holding a pile of clothing.
"Here." He said, holding it out. "Your clothing's all shredded, so we thought you guys might like some clean stuff. Hara took it and began to look through it,
"Thanks," she said. Love nodded,
"Sure," he then walked away.
Grimmjow led Hara to the room. It was pretty plain, except for a bed and a dresser. Shutting the door he turned around,
"We should probably get changed…" Hara nodded and began to go through the clothes. She pulled out a long sleeved shirt and a skirt that were meant to be hers. She passed Grimmjow the tank top and pants and went to a corner to change without saying a word.
With her back turned, she slowly pulled off her shredded shirt and dropped in on the floor, wincing from the cuts and bruises that were brushed. Her face reddened because she knew Grimmjow was watching her, but she didn't stop. She brushed her hair back, then suddenly froze as she felt fingertips going up her back. With a gasp she spun around.
Grimmjow stood in front of her, his chest completely bare. His eyes were soft and wanting as he caressed her face. Hara blushed slightly, standing in her skirt and bra, but didn't back away. She reached out and stroked his face in return, before moving down tracing the lines in his chest gently.
He chuckled softly and moved closer to her, letting his hand move behind her head and slowly moving to the small of her back where he pulled her to him in a slow gentle kiss. Hara's arms reached up and wrapped around his neck, her body pressing even closer to him. He was so warm and surprisingly soft to the touch that she couldn't help herself. The embarrassment she might have felt at the closeness and intimacy was ignored, so spellbound she suddenly was.
Grimmjow broke away slowly, reaching down to pick up her clean shirt. His expression was soft and slightly mischievous as he brought the shirt over her head, kissing her again as he finished. His fingers went down to undo her skirt next, but her hand grabbed his and stopped it. She was blushing furiously,
"I…" she muttered, "Sorry, it's just that I've never been this close…with anyone…" She looked up at him, as if afraid. Grimmjow just smiled and cupped her chin,
"Don't worry 'bout it. We can go as slow as you want…" He kissed her forehead and pulled away to change into his new pants. Hara stared after him, feeling a wave of happiness and a feeling that surprised her and didn't surprise her at the same time welling up. She smiled and changed as well, before jumping on the bed and nestling into the soft covers. Grimmjow joined her a second later, and she moved over to him, curling up against him. He put his arm around her, pulling her even closer.
Minutes later, they were in a deep blissful sleep.