The Reason

Agonized echoing screams turned to gasping yelps as gasping yelps finally faded to just numbing moans and groans as she stayed hunched over upon the sand, wanting ever so badly to just die right then and there. Her body trembled from the amount of endorphins that her body naturally produced to try to deal with the pain just above her backside.

"You'd be dead by now had you been in a real fight," he simply stated without sympathy or remorse. His statement was heard and easily ignored however as she just didn't give a shit at this point in time. She knew he wasn't going to actually kill her so she just didn't care. His statement was rather obvious anyway.

Of course she would be killed in a real fight, but considering the amount of pain she was feeling, she might as well have wanted to just die just to escape feeling this at all. Seeing as how bending her back over only stretched out the wound further, she simply just slumped over on her side and curled up into a tight fetal position, constantly trying to wiggle and squirm her way out of the intensity of the mind numbing stinging ache.

Her eyes were shut tight as every muscle imaginable in her body tensed and tightened at the throbbing sensations that pulsated all over her back. Yep, training was definitely done for today. Grimmjow was a bit tired anyway considering he was beating her around for over two hours or whoever the hell knew how long they were at it. Picking up Pantera and wiping the blood off from the blade, he drew it back into its sheath as he then walked over to Kein and bent over to pick her up.

He didn't want to put her in any worse condition, but there was no other choice as he slowly began to roll her over into his arms as she yelped a few times from random movements of sharp shooting pains that shot up her sides and down her thighs. As rough and violent as he could be in a fight, he was surprisingly gentle with her as he carried her to his room that still stood intact in the hallways of Los Noches.

She gripped as tight as she could upon the front panels of his jacket as she felt the strong emitting heat from his chest. It always seemed that males were much more warm blooded than females. It was like her own personal heating pad as it brought about a strange comfort as her moans faded to simple exhausted panting, her face buried in his jacket against strong cushioned muscles. He could feel her body tremble from the sheer shock.

This wouldn't last forever though since she would be easily healed within two days tops considering her much more quickened pace of rejuvenation. Her healing rate was probably one of her biggest saving graces since Kidou didn't work on her and Orihime wasn't around to help her, but until the healing took a significant turn, Grimmjow would have to at least try to make her feel more comfortable so that she would heal as quickly as possible.

Something had to be done though. She wasn't kidding when she stated that the pain was crippling. He thought at first that maybe she was just exaggerating or that she was making a bigger deal of it then it actually was, but she was far from it. And he couldn't help but admit to himself that he wasn't the one actually feeling the pain so how could he truly know what to expect? This was going to take a lot longer than he originally thought if he didn't think of another way around this. Otherwise this was going to be a fucking pain in the ass. This wasn't exactly a surprise to Grimmjow though.

The only other females he had ever been around were the weaker Arrancars and Halibel's Fracciones, all of which were annoying and aggravating to deal with let alone just listen to, hence why he never was fond of the opposite sex let alone did he care to mingle with them in any shape or form.

It's not that he didn't women persay as it was more of none of the other female Arrancars kept his interest. It was one of many reasons why he usually just stayed to himself and his own business, how he usually preferred it anyway. The only females he even remotely tolerated was Nelliel and Halibel as they usually just kept to themselves. It was this very same thought however that made him look at Kein in a different light.

She could be a pain in the ass, but that irritancy was balanced with her unbreakable will to keep going and to never give up. He hated wimps or anyone that threw in the towel too quick. This is one of the things he liked that made her tolerable to be around. Aside from today's set back, and for the week she had trained with him thus far, she never made any other complaint or whining.

She accepted and didn't question anything he did in order to break her of her frailties. And she never went out of her way to be defiant or aggravating. It was strange though as it acted as a double psychological paradox. Grimmjow had never gone after the same prey for an extended period of time. His hunts would usually just end briefly and most of the time unsatisfactory, but despite being unsatisfactory at least his prey put up a decent struggle. Their struggle is what helped fueled the ecstasy of the fight. There was no fun in fighting an opponent that was submitted to every notion and command. And a hunter needed to have a little fun with his prey before snuffing out its final light.

A fire rages before it is finally put out and it was a fire that Grimmjow sought from Kein and he knew he could get it from her with a little more time and effort. He didn't know her deeply and or personally, but through his battles with her he knew enough to know that with time and with the planted seed of new found confidence, she would soon display a self-assurance that would turn into a playful insubordination and then refined to true warrior spirit worth battling against again and again.

Finally making it back to his room after a long period of walking through the giant never ending halls of Los Noches, he took her first to the bathroom to clean her up so that her freshly spilt blood didn't completely soil his entire bed. He tried to lay her upon the bathroom ground as lightly as possible, but the unforgiving surface made her grunt through her teeth as she let out a small hiss followed by a deepened exhale. Leaving momentarily, Grimmjow returned with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. Annoying as it would be, he knew she wouldn't be able to do it entirely on her own, so he went about cleaning her up himself as he placed the bowl beside her as he then began to undo the front section panel on her jacket. Not at all expecting him to be undressing her she grasped upon his arms in shock.

"W-Wha..."

"…the hell's the matter with you? Do you want the damn blood off you or not?" He asked, although it wasn't really asking her out of permission. She blushed ferociously at the thought of him undressing her even in the slightest not that she was entirely against the idea, but that it was so soon. This was more of something she would allow a man to do under the circumstance of playful love and not under the circumstance of regretted kindness.

She had a bra on at least so that brought her a small form of comfort as she took her hands off his arms, tossing her gaze to the side and squeezing her eyes shut. Before Grimmjow continued, he paused for a moment as he watched her blush and tremble slightly. He couldn't help but to agree with her that maybe the moment was a tad bit awkward, but his approach on the matter was more practical; there was blood on her body that needed to be removed, so what if a little bare skin showed? It was necessary to remove it and she couldn't do it entirely on her own so there wasn't really a choice in the matter, but a strange soft side to him that rarely ever even remotely appeared kept his roughness at bay as he took care to only remove what really needed removing.

After removing the front jacket panel it made it easier to open it up and lifted slightly to get to the back part as it was tucked under her belt, removing that as well so he could wipe the blood from her stomach. With a little bit of effort he managed to wipe most of the blood that came out from the front entry wound, but it was then he realized she would need bandaging until her wounds completely healed in two days.

Irritated sigh.

Leaving once again momentarily he returned with fresh bandages in hand as he placed it on the floor beside the bowl of water that was now tinted red. With the easy part down, it was now time to get the worst as he slowly turned her on her right side to get to the back, her face and arms close to his knee that was bent upon the floor while he kept himself propped up with the other leg. She nuzzled up close next to him as she felt a cool draft of air hit the bare skin of her back as Grimmjow pushed away the fabric of the jacket while tugging down the top part of the pants as they were positioned at the tail bone, but just under the Hollow indentation. The entire area was reddened and swollen as blood was smeared all over.

With the fabric out of the way, he didn't hesitate to start wiping with the cloth, but that soon proved to be quite painful as Kein let out a small yelp with the sensitivity of the indentation being twice as bad now that it had been struck through with a sword.

"I'm sorry!" She immediately uttered, afraid her yelping would irritate him further as she grasped upon Grimmjow's bent knee, nuzzling her face deeply against it, keeping her eyes squeezed tight.

Letting out a deep sigh through his nostrils, Grimmjow did his best to lighten his touch as he very carefully wiped the blood from her back. It took a good few minutes before he had finally finished cleaning her of the blood before he could get to wrapping the bandages around her midriff as he had to help her sit upward, switching positions with his leg so she had something to lean against. She was still trembling lightly as he finished with the bandages; relieved that he didn't have to do anymore than that, but there was no way he could constantly subject her to this let alone constantly bloody her up. There had to be another way about this, but what was it?

"Can you manage to get up?" He asked gruffly as she answered with almost playful banter, "I'll live," biting her lip as she used the edge of the sink to balance herself, pulling on the edge as it took a deep aching minute to get to her feet. As nice as it was to just have him carry her, she did have her own pride. She wasn't a baby after all. Grimmjow made sure to step aside as she eased with each step towards the entrance of the bathroom, but there was a step at the bottom of the doorway she was not aware of since Grimmjow had originally carried her in. She nearly tripped on it as she gasped, but her arm was grasped tightly as the jawboned Espada had caught her at the last second with his hand upon her right bicep.

Letting out an exasperated relief, surprised he even bothered since she could sense the tension off him, she merely turned her head slightly in his direction and said, "Thank you."

Although he didn't reply, she could tell that her show of appreciation was at least accepted as the Espada's eyebrows relaxed a bit as he let go of her arm so that she could manage her way to the bed, but keeping close steps behind her to make sure she didn't trip again. It was almost amusing to watch her as she took careful baby steps to avoid much muscle movement that involved most of her lower back, almost like a toddler learning how to walk. Coming from the bathroom, the couch was on the right side of the room while the bed was on the left side, but like the courteous gal she was, Kein assumed Grimmjow didn't want her anywhere near his bed so she started to stagger towards the couch.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Turning slightly in his direction with surprise written on her face she replied "Huh? What do you mean? Do you not want…"

"…on the bed," he commanded in interruption.

Her eyebrows lifted as she had no other response to give, redirecting her steps as she moseyed on over to the bed while Grimmjow sat himself upon the couch, his hands in his pockets as he usually had them and his right leg perched upon his left knee. When she first arrived here with the Sexta Espada, she always slept on the couch so the sudden switch was a little unexpected. It was easier and much quicker for him to become comfortable versus Kein who continued to switch about on the bed, the Espada silently gazing upon her with a fiery quiet stare. He watched her every movement as she finally found a position that didn't cause her too much aching. She couldn't lie on her back or stomach so her sides were the only relief as she finally plopped herself on her right side that faced in Grimmjow's direction.

However, she did not notice his gaze just yet as her twitching and shifting about soon steadied to a calm as she smelled upon a freshly planted scent in the pillow. There was no mistaking that it was Grimmjow's since she recognized it from smelling it off his jacket and chest when he was carrying her. Not only that but it was in the sheets as well as the bed from the endless nights Grimmjow had spent in it under Aizen's rule and even though Aizen was long since gone, he still continued to go to this particular room like it was marked territory.

The aroma was warm and deep as it filled her nostrils, sending almost a chill down her spine. It was slightly musky since Arrancars didn't exactly use body colognes or perfumes like they did in the Living World. The bed itself was amazingly soft as well; not hardened and stiff like Grimmjow's usual demeanor. After being bathed in his scent she finally opened her eyes and looked over on the other side of the room as her gaze was met with his.

At first his gaze was a bit alarming as he sat so still and so quiet without even blinking, like a hunter keeping sight on its prey; studying it, learning its habits, learning its nature. What was he thinking; she wondered. What was tinkering in the mind of the Sexta Espada at this moment and time; she pondered. Did she really appeal enough to him? Was he really willing to just let her stay…with him…all alone for just the two of them? Did he really let her come all this way with him just to fight endless fights and endless training?

Was that…it?

These questions filled her mind as she soon found herself being lost in his gaze as it put her in a strange calm. She felt almost protected under his watch, but also safe. She was his prey, and belonged to no one else, so he wouldn't dare let anything get to her without his permission. The silence of Hueco Mundo could suddenly truly be heard as the two stared at each other, no word spoken and no hints of fear or worry, just two warriors focused in a pure mental gaze and soon the quiet had creased a very small smile upon Kein's face as she finally succumbed to exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep only wondering what the next few days of healing would bring.

-Dawn-

There was no sunshine or brightness in the sky to wake Kein, but her natural internal clock had woken her to tell her a new day had dawned, like it had been doing for her for the last week and just like for the last week every time she woke he was never present in the room. Slowly opening her eyes she found Grimmjow's room to have the same dimness of light in it with the only real light shining from the entrance to the hallways, the window creeping Hueco Mundo's moonlight through the bars that used to stand but were forcedly ripped down, by Grimmjow's hands no doubt. She missed the real sun and natural blue skies. The one thing she was thankful for was the main area of Hueco Mundo that had a fake sky thanks to Aizen. It was near the main throne room and she would always venture to it to take in what she could that reminded her of Soul Society and the Living World.

Mindful of her previous day injuries, she took care to sit up very carefully and slowly as she sat over the edge of the bed, expecting soreness to still linger since it was only day one of her rejuvenation. However, as she sat up she realized there was no pain whatsoever. Shock took her face as she patted down her stomach and back area and still did not find a hint of an ache or muscle twinge.

"Holy crap. Am I…healed already?"

It was then she had remembered that in Hueco Mundo her ability to absorb reishi was a lot stronger considering that most of her powers were embellished in Hollow form so naturally Hueco Mundo would speed up the process much further, letting her heal in half the time. However, thinking that everything was hunkie dorky, she stood up rather quickly only to feel a sharp pain shoot down her legs, starting from the point in her lower back.

"Ow! Ow…okay…maybe I'm not healed completely, but damn I heal so much faster here. I don't know if that's a good thing…" looking down at the old blood stains on her clothes "…or a bad…thing….hmm. Guess I should wash this out before the blood stains it completely, but what the hell to wash it out with," she wondered as she went down the various corridors of the hallways to see if she could find a place to actually wash clothing as this was the first time she had to do so. She found rooms filled with food and drink no doubt but she came upon a room to actually wash clothes as she stood before a washing and drying machine.

"You've got to me kidding me. Butterflyzen thought of everything, even a damn clothing washer..." she joked as she began to undress down to her black bra and black underwear as she tossed her bloodied clothes into the washer "… what else did he provide for them? No wonder they stuck around under his rule. He practically wiped their asses without actually wiping them."

"What the hell are you mumbling about?"

"AH!" Kein yelped in a girly manner as she scrambled for the towel she had brought with her and held it over her revealing bare skin. "DON'T FUCKING DO THAT! You scared the hell out of me! Just how freaking long were you standing there anyway?" She barked in a protesting manner, flushed over her face with a blush as she quickly wrapped the towel around herself.

It was probably the first time Grimmjow had ever seen her even partially bare skinned considering her outfits weren't that much revealing in any way. It was a nice little surprise to see her blue hair fluffily laid about her back and shoulders as he got a peek of her true toned physique that was pretty sturdy and built, but not as muscular as his own. He almost smirked.

"Tch, you're such a pansy," he insulted lightly as he turned his back to walk away.

"Pansy?" She grumbled under her breath in protest, "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if I slapped you with a fish you stupid cat…"

"…what was that?" He barked at the last second, poking his head back around the corner of the entrance to the wash room.

"Nothing! Nothing," biting her tongue to keep herself from laughing.

"Whatever. Just hurry the hell up and heal so we can continue dealing your little problem," as he finally began to walk down the corridors. "Sure…whatever you say… your bitchiness," she spoke under her breath again in sarcastic enthusiasm. She wanted to fight with him no doubt, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to dealing with this sword through her stomach again. No, she refused to deal with that bullshit as a defiance built up in her, but the harshness of the thought faded away as she chuckled at the realization that she and Grimmjow had just had their first cutesy moment. The moment didn't come out of frustration or misunderstanding; it was just simply…cute; being accidentally caught nearly undressed.

It made her heart beat a little faster as she blushed again. An hour later after laying on the bed to rest while waiting, her clothes finally finished washing and drying as she went to the washing room to gather them, only this time making sure Grimmjow wasn't around as she let the towel drop and slipped quickly back into Arrancar outfit. It felt weird to be wearing so much white in comparison to her completely black rogue outfit, but it was surprisingly more comfortable and breathable. Suddenly out of the calm of the moment she felt a small ripple in the ground as the wave of energy could be felt from nearby. Following its trail soon enough led her outside of Los Noches' walls as she found the remains of a fired Cero blasting through the atmosphere.

"What the hell?" After the red tinting sky had faded back to its typical black with white stars, Kein was able to see in the distance that the Cero had come from Grimmjow as a whaling Hollow cry quickly silenced as she watched a Menos Grande tumble over on its side and disappearing into nothing. Approaching Grimmjow she quickly asked, "What was that doing here? I thought they only were in the Menos Foregrounds." Placing Pantera back in its sheath but a hand still placed upon its hilt, "They occasionally venture up here when they've become strong enough to start evolving into adjuchas. It tried to blast a Cero at me, but it obviously ate mine instead."

"Well naturally," she complimented him lightly as he turned towards her direction with a scowl.

"And I thought I told you to hurry up and heal."

A little surprised, "Well I felt a shift in the atmosphere so I followed it as quickly as possible to see where the source was at, but I figured it was you." His gaze narrowed as it made her a bit uneasy, but then he simply stated as he began to walk back to Los Noches, "Guess you're senses aren't as dense afterall."

Putting on a pouty face as she followed, "Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're slacking, but with your exposure to the reishi here, it's no surprise that your ability to feel out spiritual pressures have improved since you've been here."

"Wait…really?" As she walked up next to him returning back to the still standing palace. "I'm surprised this place never drove you crazy. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice change of pace to get away from everyone, but an insurmountable amount of solitude isn't always that rewarding." Grimmjow gritted his teeth a tad bit before replying roughly, "Maybe for a Shinigami, but this is home. You get used to it."

Although it was a typical answer she expected Grimmjow to say, somehow she didn't find his answer very convincing. It felt like he was trying to convince himself, like there was no other answer to give, but the word Shinigami stung her more then she was expecting it to. It brought a strange sense of irritancy to her.

"I'm not a Shinigami as you so lightly put it," she stated with distain. The tone in her voice caught Grimmjow's attention as he tossed his gaze towards her, finding that she was looking off in the distance with wandering eyes.

"Is that right? Then what do you consider yourself to be then? Cuz you sure as hell aren't an Arrancar. Of course with that weird mark on your back, sure could have fooled me," He stated lightly with sarcasm, tossing his gaze back towards the approaching palace as she replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I don't know what to consider myself. I feel more like a Hollow more than anything else, just wandering around constantly searching for things, but not really sure what I'm searching for anymore. With Aizen running amuck that at least gave us all a purpose of some kind, whether it was to fight against him or fight for him."

"Teh, don't tell me you actually miss that bastard."

"Of course I don't, but at least I had something to do."

Her answer made Grimmjow chuckle as the chuckle switched to belted laughs, confusing Kein.

"Well now! Guess you didn't lie to me after all."

Blinking with bewilderment, "Lie to you?"

"You truly do have a fighting spirit."

"Huh? Wait, what does that have to do with me lying to you?"

"The reason you feel you can't find a purpose anymore is because Aizen gave you something to fight. You don't need an excuse to battle, but Aizen indeed gave you one even if it was to mainly protect your precious little friends, but with that bastard gone now what are you going to do? And that's why you came with me. Ha, ha…HA, HA, HA! I get it now!"

Kein almost smiled as she chuckled along with him, still not sure what point he was trying to make as he continued, "When our last and final battle came and you refused to kill me, at first I thought you were just confused at your own reasoning. You kept saying how killing me would be such a waste. At first I thought you were mocking me or some weird misplaced form of pity, but now I realize that you simply couldn't get enough of fighting me. With Aizen gone, you didn't want it to end, but it forced you to keep looking for another fight. So when you begged me to take you with me back here…"

"…hey I didn't beg…"

"…don't interrupt me girl. I thought your reasons to come with me were of some other nature that you refused to tell me, but now I see you truly are just here to keep yourself at peace by being in constant threat, subjecting yourself to endless fights to satiate that love for battle so you don't go crazy."

As much as Kein agreed with him, she couldn't help but feel that he was saying that more about himself then her. It was true though, she didn't quite feel at peace unless her hands were busy being rung around an enemy's neck that was truly worth fighting. With Grimmjow having a true warrior's spirit and power, let alone that he was just simply gorgeous, it was a major driving factor for her to just be with him, but she was too afraid to admit to him that the one other driving reason she was here was because she just simply liked him. And the like was inching towards admiration and that admiration was inching towards a word she had yet to truly feel and understand.

"Grimmjow, I'm glad you finally understand that about me, but..." as she quickly walked in front of him, stopping him in his tracks as their gaze met each other "…I would never lie to you."

The sincerity in her eyes made him silent, his expression softened by just a little as her statement sat upon the air, making it seem not so rough and unforgiving. Dare he feel it was almost…refreshing?

"Teh, make sure you keep it that way."

She smiled as she walked past her, her footsteps following his as they finally reached the palace, Kein back to his room while Grimmjow went about his own business while she rested a bit longer until she was completely healed. As Kein laid upon his bed she couldn't help but to think back on the living world as images of Ichigo…Orihime…Chad…Ishida…and her Shinigami friends crossed her mind. She missed them and she missed her close connections she had forged with them, but even in being away she knew that those connections would never sever. Her thoughts then reflected back on Orihime as she was slowly beginning to understand the Human's sentiments towards Ichigo.

"Orihime…you love Ichigo so much. I don't know if what I'm feeling is the same sentiment you feel. What is love even supposed to mean? Supposed to feel like? Maybe it's not love, but I never thought in my entire life, living or as a Shinigami that I would ever feel this way towards anyone as I do now. I don't know if he'll feel the same towards me like I have grown to admire him. I doubt he would, but even so I can't help but to continue being here and learning about these new emotions. For now its fine. I'll accept it as it is and continue to train under his guidance. He's taught me so much already in the short time I've been here and I could never replace the knowledge he's given me. I don't know how long it'll be before I ever return, but when I do, you and Ichigo will be the first ones I see."