Here's chapter 27... XD
Black-HunterXX: Uh, it doesnt have to do with Ichigo... For some reason it was (was but is no longer) in the ichigo catagory. My bad... I think i might'a accidently put it down or something... It's fixed so..shrugs For the second part of what you said... Not great? winces well what do you suggest then?
cheeky half-demon: Thanks here you go!
Chapter 27
"A-Ayumi-san?" stammered Orihime in surprise as she stood in the doorway, her eyes wary. Hara smiled,
"You can call me by my first name you know," she said, "I don't mind." Orihime smiled back nervously,
"Okay…Hara?" Hara nodded in response, while Grimmjow shifted from foot to foot in boredom. Orihime's eyes shifted to him then back to Hara,
"Are you busy?" she asked Orihime.
"N-no…" Hara looked around,
"Could we come inside then? I don't mean to be rude but… I just don't want everyone knowing I'm around yet." Hara felt Grimmjow's cyan colored eyes on her as she spoke; Orihime nodded,
"Sure!" and she stepped away to let the two in.
"Bleh!" coughed Grimmjow as he nearly dropped his cup, "What kind of tea is this?" Hara and Orihime stared at him.
"It's a recipe I made up," said Orihime, "It has green tea, raspberry, and some hot pepper-"
"What the hell?! Are you trying to kill us?!" Hara shook her head,
"I dunno bout him, but I like it… It has a nice zing to it…" Orihime nodded,
"Yeah that's what I thought…" Grimmjow stared at the two girls as if they were psycho, which he was beginning to believe, at least as far as tea went.
"Nice place," commented Hara as she looked around the small apartment, her eyes falling on an altar off in a corner with a picture she couldn't see on top of it. Orihime smiled,
"Thanks, it's a little small, but I like it." Hara smiled back and poured herself some more tea; glancing at Grimmjow she offered him some but he shook his head and gave her a look that said 'do you think I'm that crazy?' She then sat back and sipped at it, watching Orihime thoughtfully.
In the distance she felt a slight prickle of reitsu which she recognized, which made her set down her cup. It disappeared out of her range of detection, so she relaxed. We'd better get going back to Shinji's soon, she thought, I'm not ready to deal with…any of them. Hara cleared her throat,
"Well, Orihime, I'll cut to the chase." The orange haired girl stared at Hara, "I wanted to thank you for what you did…for both of us." She glanced at Grimmjow, "He might' a survived if you didn't help him, but I sure wouldn't. I'm indebted to you, Orihime." Orihime waved her hand,
"It's okay you don't have to-"
"Don't wave her off like that!" snapped Grimmjow suddenly, "You saved her life!" the next part he said in a low growl, "Meaning…I owe you too…" Orihime stared at him in surprise but didn't say anything. An awkward silence followed, until Hara spoke,
"That power of yours… pretty interesting… I mean, how did you give Grimmjow his arm back?" Orihime shrugged,
"I just used my powers, I didn't know I'd be able to do that…" answered Orihime with slight embarrassment.
"Wow…" replied Hara, "That's pretty amazing. But it sounds like you don't really know what you can do…" Orihime turned pink as she nodded in answer and looked at her cup of tea.
"Hacchi-kun and Rukia-chan have been helping me but your right; I really don't know what I can do…" Hara suddenly froze, feeling the reitsu in the distance again, but like before it disappeared.
Orihime stood up and began to collect the empty china, then went to the kitchen leaving Grimmjow and Hara alone.
Hara stood up and went to the window, where she peered out. It was near late afternoon, and the sun was starting to move over the horizon.
"What's wrong?" asked Grimmjow from behind.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," she replied. He made a noise,
"If it was nothing, then why're you getting nervous about the reitsu that keeps popping up?" Hara turned to face him,
"It's just someone I know…" she pulled her hair behind her ears, "I don't want to run into anyone yet… I mean, I didn't leave on good terms…" Grimmjow put his hand to her cheek,
"Tch. Don't worry about it. I won't let them mess with you." Hara smiled, reaching up to squeeze his hand,
"I know," she replied, walking over to the altar. She picked up the picture and stared at it; a handsome man with Orihime's eyes stared back at her, his face frozen in a smile. Hara put it down just as Orihime walked back into the room,
"Oh, that's Sora," said Orihime, "He was my big brother." Hara smiled,
"I can see the resemblance; you both have the same eyes." She fell silent, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness and confusion for her own brother, but she shoved it out of her mind, not wanting Grimmjow to worry. "Orihime?" asked Hara quietly, "Are Ikkaku and Yumichika still down here?" Orihime stared at her,
"You know them?" Hara nodded,
"Yeah, we go way back," she smiled.
"Well, they're here, but I don't know where they're staying…" Hara shrugged,
"It's okay. I was just wondering." She dusted off her skirt, "Well, it's getting late, so we'd better get going…" she glanced at Grimmjow who nodded.
"You could stay for dinner, if you want…" offered Orihime. Hara was about to agree, but suddenly she felt the reitsu again, and this time much, much closer.
"Uh, no thank you." She muttered distractedly, "We really should be going…" Hara moved towards the door, "Another time, okay?" she asked. Orihime smiled,
"Okay, when you do come over, I'll make my super soba noodles!" Grimmjow stared at her, afraid that he would have to eat the dish,
"Sounds great!" replied Hara, tugging on Grimmjow's sleeve, "Well, see you around!" and she quickly was down the stairs, Grimmjow following.
"Why the hell does it seem like were running away?!" called Grimmjow as he followed Hara across the rooftops,
"Because we are!" she replied, "I mean, if soul society finds out were here, they'll be after us! And especially you because you're an arrancar!" Grimmjow grabbed her arm and skidded to a stop,
"That's bull." He growled, "Why the hell are you so afraid of running into the shinigami here?" he wheeled Hara around to face him, "We're not the bad guys anymore, ne? And if they have a problem," he put his hand on Pantera, "Then they'll have to deal with me."
"Z'at so arrancar?" asked a familiar voice. Grimmjow spun around to find a spear pointed at his chest, held by a grinning bald man. He was about to open his mouth when, Hara jumped in between them,
"No," she said to both of them.
"Hara?" said the man. She grinned,
"Hey Ikkaku-nii-san," He pulled back his spear, his eyes on Grimmjow before going back to her,
"So what's going on here?" called a voice from above. All looked up to see another man, this one with medium length black hair and feather accents on his eyelash and eyebrow staring down at them,
"Yumichika!" exclaimed Hara. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, grabbing Hara's elbow,
"So, you gonna tell me who the hell they are?" she turned to him and stood on tip toe to whisper into his ear,
"They're not going to mess with us, I grew up with them. They're like my brothers." What happened to not wanting to run into them? He thought. He didn't voice his question; he decided he would ask her later. Yumichika leapt onto the street where he stood next to Ikkaku his eyes running over Grimmjow,
"So just who are ya?" asked Grimmjow. Yumichika pouted,
"Hara didn't tell you about us?" he whined, smiling at her. Ikkaku put out his hand,
"Madarame Ikkaku," Grimmjow took it,
"Jeagerjaques Grimmjow." They didn't let go, and Hara saw them squeezing each other's hand as tightly as they could, but neither showed any sign of pain. Yumichika shook his head at them,
"Ikkaku let me introduce myself too," he said, and Ikkaku let go at the same time as Grimmjow. Yumichika didn't hold out his hand, instead he just bowed slightly, "I am Ayasegawa Yumichika…nice to meet you." Grimmjow just stared at him, his eyes on the feathers. Another reitsu appeared, but in the distance. Hara laughed nervously,
"Well, Nii-sans, it's nice seeing you and all…but we gotta get going-" Grimmjow gave her a look and Ikkaku stepped forwards,
"Hara… you need to explain what's going on," said Yumichika. Ikkaku nodded,
"Are we still nakama, or are we enemies?"
"We're not enemies," she said, "I…it's…" Hara took a step back, but a hand pushed her forwards,
"Talk to them." growled Grimmjow, "Just get it over with already…" Hara nodded with a sigh,
"Okay…" Yumichika and Ikkaku relaxed slightly,
"Hmm…before you do explain, shall we go to Urahara's? It will be good if everyone hears this." Ikkaku began towards the direction of his house,
"Plus we could have some dinner or something…I'm hungry!" Yumichika shook his head at him and led the way as well. Hara turned to Grimmjow,
"I have no choice in the matter, ne?" she asked with a faint trace of a grin. He ruffled her hair,
"Nope." She grinned at him and walked close to his side, her eyes on her nakama ahead. They walked for a while before Hara spoke up again,
"Hey guys," she said, "Who else is here from the squads?"
"Oh uh, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto, us, Rukia, and Renji-OW!" Yumichika whapped Ikkaku on the head,
"You have no tact," he snarled quietly. Ikkaku began to argue back, but Hara wasn't listening. Renji, she thought, I hope things will go well when he sees us… By "us" she meant her and Grimmjow, and she was afraid that both men would break out into a fight worse than the one between Ichigo and Grimmjow. She felt a pang of guilt for Renji because he still had feelings for her that she could not return, at least not to him. Her eyes moved to Grimmjow's face, he seemed calm, impassive, which was odd.
What she didn't know was that he was in deep thought as he tried to mull out why this Ikkaku needed tact when speaking of whatever his name was and why it seemed that person was the one who was causing Hara to act the way she was. He needn't wait long, because suddenly a red and black shape landed in front of them,
"Hara?!" cried the person, his zanpakuto drawn as his reddish brown eyes flashed between Grimmjow and Hara. Hara stared at the person sadly,
"Renji…" she muttered.