A/N: The truth is I haven't settled in yet. Many things to unpack. Many other things to buy. The muse I smuggled in with me got deported for having no passport and visa. Internet connection is still jumpy at best. But I decided to update anyway because I don't want to leave the story for too long or people might forget it ever exists. In any case, I'd like to express my thanks to all reviewers. Your words made me feel loved and kept me from getting too lonely in this new environment. Now I'll stop babbling and let you read the chapter. All kinds of comments are appreciated, so feel free to express your opinions whether they are positive or negative.

III

Grimmjow believed Ulquiorra had deliberately been harassing him. Although he didn't really enjoy being looked down on by said emerald-eyed Espada, he was still comfortable with the fact that they shared mutual hatred. He was content with it, believing that it was something he could trust to remain unchanged – like how the crescent moon never set in Hueco Mundo or how the artificial sun always rose from the east wing of Las Noches. However, the Cuarta Espada dared to change it by choosing him as a friend candidate and doing everything in his power to be his friend.

Some might say that he should have been proud that someone really wanted to be his friend that he had tried that hard, but Grimmjow didn't really think anyone could feel proud if they were caught in his situation.

Of course, the Sexta Espada had thought Ulquiorra's experiment was funny at the beginning, and he even felt a little curious what kind of method the guy would use. However, after several days had passed, he wished he hadn't expressed any interest in the first place. Who would have thought the emotionless Espada would be so persistent and keep approaching him daily with new ideas? And it didn't help the matter when all other Las Noches dwellers knew about that scheme and encouraged the slender man by giving him new ideas (usually wicked ones) and then watching the whole development with an amused look on their faces.

He had been a tad angry and a little exasperated by Ulquiorra's daily attempt at first, but after a few days had passed, he became weary of it instead. And now that it had been almost two weeks, the fearless cerulean-eyed Espada found himself dread the morning, for it was the time when Ulquiorra would come and rap his door four times and should Grimmjow came to answer, he would try out whatever idea he thought was a good way to befriend Grimmjow.

And as if on a cue, the door was knocked exactly four times, making the Sexta Espada jump slightly. Although he could have just ignored the door and made Ulquiorra believe he wasn't there, Grimmjow became frustrated by the fact that the Cuarta Espada had made him contemplate on running away so he growled and darted to the door before he violently pulled it open.

"I don't want wool yarns, bell collars, feather ticklers, crinkle balls, machine mouses, catnip or any other fucking cat toys! I'm not a cat for crying out loud. I'm a goddamn panther. PANTHER. Got that?"

As expected, the slender Arrancar with deep green eyes and ebony hair was standing in front of his door. This time he was holding a carton of milk and a can of tuna. He didn't even have enough time to wonder in which part of Hueco Mundo endless dessert the Cuarta Espada found those things when Ulquiorra gave him an unblinking stare and observed, "A panther may be big, but it is still a cat nonetheless."

The comment rendered Grimmjow speechless for a moment since he couldn't quite choose a word from his wide rage of insult vocabularies that would be suitable for that situation. Therefore, all he did was glaring at the man before him with malice.

Ulquiorra either didn't see it or didn't care because he simply took the chance that Grimmjow didn't give him any comeback to continue, "But perhaps wild cats and domestic cats have different preferences after all."

Although he should have been furious, all Grimmjow felt at that moment was a headache. Sometimes that Espada really lacked social skills that it hurt. Now he wasn't sure what Ulquiorra was trying to get with that remark, and to be honest, he would rather not find out since there was a chance that the answer would give him yet another migraine.

"Jeez, Ulquiorra, must you think of everything in a stereotypical way?" Grimmjow asked wearily. "I really hate it that when people learn that I came from a feline family, they automatically assume that I like something stupid like cat's toys. Heck, there even was someone that thought they'd be able to win me over if they just scratch my chin or pet my head. I mean, what the fuck? I'm not some stupid harmless domestic kitten, dammit!"

After he finished his line, Grimmjow eyed Ulquiorra again and saw that the smaller man was frowning. He didn't have much time to think, so he reacted instinctively and held the milk carton and the tuna can that Ulquiorra suddenly shoved to his chest as he said, "Hold these."

Grimmjow blinked slightly as he wondered why Ulquiorra wanted him to hold those things when he thought he had clearly expressed that he didn't want to be associated with domestic cats. Then he was almost scared to see Ulquiorra use his then free hands to pull a pen and a small notebook out of his hakama pocket.

Flipping through pages, Ulquiorra looked for a certain line and then crossed it off with his pen once he found it.

Leaning over to peek into the notebook, Grimmjow was astounded to see what was crossed out.

"Shit! You actually thought about scratching my chin or petting me on the head?" he asked, trying his best not to shiver. "And how the hell did you come up with this list anyway?"

"They are everyone's speculations on what you are supposed to like," Ulquiorra explained. "So far, none of these ideas worked."

The Sexta Espada wouldn't even bother to wonder who exactly "everyone" was, since at that point, he believed all Las Noches residents were ganging up on him. They would just feed Ulquiorra with the most wicked idea they could think of, knowing that someone with very little to no social skills like Ulquiorra would try all ideas out, and then they would hide in a dark corner somewhere, waiting to laugh at Grimmjow's misery.

"Of course, they wouldn't work," Grimmjow said with a sigh. He could take his frustration out on Ulquiorra, but it wouldn't be any different from yelling at a statue. That slender man in front of him probably didn't get why Grimmjow was so pissed when everything he did so far was out of good intentions. "I mean, there's no way you or those people would know what I like or don't like better than me."

Ulquiorra seemed to agree with Grimmjow's logic as he nodded.

"You certainly have a point," he remarked. "Well then, since we're already at it, what do you like?"

Grimmjow blinked. "You really wanna know?"

"I wouldn't have asked you otherwise," the raven-haired Arrancar noted. "So what's your answer?"

Seeing how serious the other party was about his inquiry, the Sexta Espada knew he had to choose his answer carefully. Although he was, and would continue to be, disinclined to help the lithe Espada with the so-called friendship experiment, he didn't want to deal with any more peculiar moves from the green-eyed Espada. It was bad enough for his sanity as it already was.

"Fine, I'll answer that, but just so you know, Ulquiorra, I'm only gonna tell you just so you'd stop with those weird attempts," Grimmjow stated. "I still don't wanna help you or be friends with you."

"Alright."

The Sexta Espada sighed before he rolled his eyes up as if to search for the best answer.

"Well, the first thing you need to know if you wanna be my friend is I don't like being bugged in the morning," said Grimmjow, "so stop coming here, knocking on my door every freaking day."

Grimmjow was surprised to see that Ulquiorra actually wrote it down in that notebook, but he figured it was possibly a good sign, since the Cuarta Espada remarked, "That is manageable."

"Alright, then I like to be treated with respect, but if that's too much to ask, at least stop referring to me as 'trash' or 'garbage' or whatever word you use to insult people."

To that remark, Ulquiorra frowned slightly, but he wrote it down anyway before he said, "I'll try."

Once again, the Sexta Espada blinked in surprise.

"You really are serious about this 'making friends' shit, aren't you?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied plainly. "So what else do I need to know?"

Grimmjow was about to open his mouth and gave Ulquiorra more information to work with, but he stopped himself before he actually said it aloud. He might want to keep his sanity intact, but he didn't want to spell everything out to Ulquiorra either. After all, he still didn't trust Ulquiorra all that much. The man might have said that he wanted to be friends then, but who knew what he could do with all the information later when he was bored with being friends and chose to return to being his opposition again?

"Well, if you really wanna know, you're gonna have to find that out yourself coz I sure as hell won't spell everything out for you."

"And how should I do that?"

Grimmjow sighed and banged his head against the door frame. After everything that had been said and done in the past weeks, Grimmjow should no longer be surprised by how tactless Ulquiorra could be when it came to human (or in their case, Arrancar) relation, but somehow the man still managed to do so every now and again.

"In the most traditional way – via observation. That's not too beneath you, right? Watching other people's habits?" Grimmjow replied. After he said so, the Sexta Espada came to think that it sounded as if he wanted the other man's attention, so he quickly added, "Not that I really want that much attention from you or that I want you to stalk me."

"I would not assume that you do," Ulquiorra stated before he changed the subject. "Now, I'll just take those back."

By saying "those," the green-eyed Espada smoothly pulled the milk carton and the tuna from Grimmjow's hold, making the latter man frown as he just realized he had been holding the thing for all the conversation.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Grimmjow protested, snatching the things before Ulquiorra could actually get them back. "I thought they were for me."

Ulquiorra eyed those two things for a moment.

"They were. After all, according to Aizen-sama, milk and tuna are cats' favorite food. However, since you said you didn't like anything that could associate you to domestic cats, I believe I should take them back with me," Ulquiorra stated blandly. "If you're worried that they'll be thrown away, don't. I agree that it is a waste to throw away food, so I will give them to Yammy. That man will eat anything anyway. Now I shall leave so that you will no longer feel that you are being 'bugged'. Goodbye, Grimmjow."

With that, Ulquiorra spun around in a swift movement that made the tail of his coat swirl in the air and left Grimmjow to stare after him, blinking. The Sexta Espada was still unsure what to make off that morning, but he decided not to ponder too much on it, since it would only serve to give him another headache.

Scratching the back of his neck, the aqua-eyed Espada stepped out of his room and closed the door behind. He would think about how to deal with Ulquiorra later. Now that the morning ordeal was over, he should head straight to the main kitchen and get something for breakfast before his stomach could betray how he began to regret not accepting the food the Cuarta Espada had offered him.

"Now that was some development."

The comment came from a silver-haired Shinigami whose smile was unceasing, Ichimaru Gin. He was standing in front of a huge monitor, watching the whole conversation between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra from a control room next to where his other accomplice, Tōsen Kaname stood.

"Grimmjow usually just closed the door in Ulquiorra's face once he saw what Ulquiorra got with him, but this time they actually talked."

"It's strange," Tōsen observed. "I thought for sure Grimmjow would enjoy being scratched on the chin, but perhaps I should not have believed Komamura about how to pet a cat. After all, he is a dog."

"Nah, Komamura-san ain't wrong. Grimmjow is just a weird kitty," Gin observed. "What do you think, Aizen-taichō?"

With that question, the two Shinigami's attentions were turned to their boss, Aizen Sōsuke. The man knew how the whole universe operated, or at least he acted like he did, so his answer should be able to clear things up somewhat.

The master of Las Noches didn't reply right away, but he chose to pick up a remote control and press a button to turn off the monitor so it turned back into a dull-looking wall first. Then he smiled his trademarked gentle-yet-evil smile and replied, "I would say that Grimmjow is just trying to act tough. Perhaps he believes he would not be respected if he admitted to liking those cute things."

"Oh, I see," Gin said with a nod, "He's keeping up an image. Well, I feel a little sorry for him. It's gotta be tough pretending to be something he's not."

Even though the silver-haired Shinigami said that he felt sorry for the blue-haired subordinates, he still didn't look it with his everlasting smile. In fact, his smile looked even more wicked than ever.

"Well, we all know what that feels like, don't we?" Aizen remarked with a smile, recalling the last hundred years he spent in Soul Society.

"By the way, Aizen-sama," Tōsen interjected after having listened to the conversation for a while, "are you certain that this can be allowed to continue?"

Since it was rare for his blind subordinate to express a concern over such a trivial matter, the lord of Las Noches had taken a moment to consider the answer.

"Well, it is true that this whole thing is a little too fun than it should be allowed," the brown-haired Shinigami replied in a gentle tone. "However, there is no reason for me to forbid it as long as it doesn't affect their performance in work. Besides, it might be better for the whole picture if they can get along a little better. Don't you think so, Kaname?"

The Shinigami with dark skin and dreadlocks hair nodded.

"If neither of them loses their mind first," Tōsen added.

The brown-haired lord smiled at the thought. Indeed, it looked like the Sexta Espada could snap at any moment. However, it was not like he was the sanest one of the Espadas to begin with, so Aizen didn't think it would make much difference.

"I doubt Grimmjow can get any more insane than he already is, but should it really come to pass, there are still many Arrancars who would be more than willing to take his place, so you shouldn't concern yourself over such a trivial matter, Kaname."

Once again, Tōsen nodded.

"If you put it that way, I suppose it is fine to let them do as they please for now," the blind man stated. "Now if you would excuse me, Aizen-sama, I just recall that I have yet to feed Wonderweiss today."

"Oh, you'd better not make him wait then," Aizen replied, knowing just how loud Wonderweiss's moaning and howling could be when something was not to his liking. After all, that was the only way that kid could express himself.

Getting a permission to leave, the blind Shinigami bowed at his leader before he turned around and got out of the control room. Once he heard that the door was closed, Aizen turned to the other subordinate that still remained in the room with him.

"And you, Gin? Don't you have something else to do as well?" Aizen asked. "Or are you planning something wicked again?"

Gin was still smiling as he shook his head, "Nah, I ain't planning anythin', Aizen-taichō."

"Really?" Aizen asked, unconvinced.

"Of course," the fox face Shinigami replied. "Now why did you have to assume that I was?"

"Because I know you, Gin," Aizen stated. "You can't help yourself when it comes to pulling a prank."

"I'm offended," the subordinate remarked, although he didn't really look it with his everlasting smile. "Anyway, I'll excuse myself too, Aizen-taichō."

With that, the silver-haired man made his way out of the control room. Once Aizen was certain that no one else was there with him, the man reached for the remote control then used it to change the channel randomly, searching for some other event that might make a dull day in Las Noches more entertaining.

A pinked-haired Espada, Szayelaporro Granz, raised his head slightly to see above a huge glass tube that contained some weird-looking yellow liquid once he heard someone walking into his lab. He was no longer surprised to see that his visitor was none other than the slender Espada with black hair and green eyes, Ulquiorra Cifer, for the Cuarta Espada had visited his lab several times since that day he came asking for some space in the lab's freezer to make an ice and Szayelaporro allowed it just to see what Ulquiorra was planning.

It surprised him to learn that the Cuarta Espada had a plan to befriend someone, and it was even more astounding when he found out that said someone was Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, for he couldn't recall the time those two acted friendly towards each other.

'It is an experiment,' was Ulquiorra's explanation. 'I want to see if it is possible to befriend an enemy.'

'Oh, so that's why you chose Grimmjow as your test subject,' Szayelaporro remembered himself saying. 'He seems most hostile with you compare to all other Espadas.'

Ulquiorra nodded. 'So you notice that too, Szayelaporro?'

'Oh, please, something like that doesn't need to take a genius to tell,' the Octava Espada replied, suppressing the urge to roll his yellow eyes. 'But anyway, you've made the right decision to come to me for help. Then again, who else can be more perfect to give you some advice on your experiment than a topnotch scientist?'

'That may be true, but I don't think you're an expert when it comes to relationship,' the Cuarta Espada remarked.

Szayelaporro hissed, offended. So what if he thought of his idiotic of a brother as an expendable test subject and kept Fraccións only as quick, portable healing medicines? It wasn't like the Cuarta Espada ever had any personal relationship with anyone, so for him to criticize about the Octava Espada's expertise in relationship would be like the pot calling the kettle black.

'Then why the hell did you come to my lab?' the pink-haired Espada inquired.

'I just heard that you lab had the best facilities in Las Noches,' Ulquiorra stated. 'So I wonder if you can provide me with something.'

Szayelaporro almost said no to the request since he was still offended by Ulquiorra's earlier comment; however, a part of him was curious as to what Ulquiorra was planning.

'Well, try me...'

Later the black-haired Espada started frequenting his lab to ask for something that he couldn't find anywhere in Hueco Mundo, like some mechanical toys for cats, which Szayelaporro agreed to create some for the man. It was not because he had nothing to do, for he had many; but it was because he could imagine what kind of look a certain electric-blue-haired Espada would have on his face when he received those things, and that alone was enough to make his day.

"Good morning, Ulquiorra," Szayelaporro greeted once their eyes met. "What can I get you this time?"

"I'm not here for anything."

"So you're saying you're just here for a friendly visit?" the self-proclaimed perfect scientist replied. "Isn't Grimmjow the one you're supposed to be friends with?"

"I've already paid him a visit earlier," the man with deep emerald eyes replied. "So I'm here to tell you that the laser toy I asked you to make the other day will no longer be required."

"Why? Has Grimmjow accepted to be your friend already?" the pink-haired man asked, genuinely surprised. In fact, judging from all the things Ulquiorra had asked him to provide earlier, he was surprised Grimmjow had yet to try to kill the Cuarta Espada or whoever it was that put those ideas to Ulquiorra's helmet head.

"No, he has not. It just appears that Grimmjow does not enjoy that type of toy," the Cuarta Espada stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "So I will change my strategy and try something else instead."

"Like what? Adult toys?" Szayelaporro asked as wicked thoughts entered his mind. Ulquiorra could be very gullible when it came to certain stuff, so he doubted the guy knew anything about that type of toy, which meant that if he pitched the sale right, there was a chance that the Cuarta Espada would buy it to give to Grimmjow. And whether Grimmjow was into that sort of thing or not, his reaction would certainly be fun to watch. "That's a nice thought, Ulquiorra. Come to think about it, Grimmjow does look like a type to enjoy them. I'm sure he'll appreciate it if you buy him some."

As he suspected, the Cuarta Espada didn't look like he had any clue what he was offering, and he even confirmed it when he replied, "I never knew that there are also toys for adults."

"Of course, there are. They're just not the same type as ones for children and pets," the Octava Espada remarked before he forged a serious look on his face even though he was about to burst out laughing when he continued, "Normally adult toys aren't meant to be 'played' by one person, so maybe you really should get some and ask Grimmjow if he wanted to play with you. It would be a nice way to create a bond between the two of you, I'm sure."

Much to Szayelaporro's disappointment, Ulquiorra shook his head.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've already decided not to make any new move until I'm done observing him."

"Oh, in that case, are you interested in surveillance cameras? Just place some in his room and you'll be able to see his every move without him knowing," the pink-haired scientist suggested. He might not be able to see what kind of expression Grimmjow would have if Ulquiorra really presented the man with those toys and invited him to play together, but this new plan might not be too bad either. "Well, come to think about it, we might have problems installing it in his quarters, but of course, there're also surveillance insects which can follow him around all day, granted he doesn't squash them first."

Ulquiorra appeared to be considering it, but then he shook his head.

"No, I think I'll find my own way," said the black-haired Espada.

"Okay, then let me know when you need my help," Szayelaporro said with a wicked gleam in his yellow eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ulquiorra returned. "Thank you, Szayelaporro. I'll be off now."

With that Ulquiorra turned around and left the Octava Espada's laboratory, not paying any heed to any of those ugly creatures that the pink-haired man kept as Fraccións.

Now that Ulquiorra had given the milk and the tuna away to Yammy and canceled the laser toy order with Szayelaporro, all that was left to do that day about his friendship experiment with Grimmjow was going back to his room and reviewing the notes he had taken then planing out a new strategy to befriend the Sexta Espada.

Although he was far from being an optimist, something deep down told him things might actually work out for the better after that day.

End of Chapter III

P.S. If you keep cats, don't feed them too much milk or tuna. Aizen didn't lie when he said cats love them, but he forgot to tell (or chose to omit from) Ulquiorra that many cats are lactose intolerant, so milk can upset their stomach or cause diarrhea while too much tuna can be a cause of steatitis.