The Proposition

Dust lifted and was punched away as Grimmjow warmed up his muscles shortly after awakening an hour ago. He threw punches into the air at lightning speed, launching himself upwards as he performed an upper cutting kick making the momentum of his body spin into a backwards somersault as he gracefully landed upon the ground with an unforgiving thud into the sand leaving a nicely grounded indent. He then quickly withdrew Pantera as he sliced his finger down along its blade, a trail of blood splashing into the air in a circular motion as he yelled out with an outstretched arm, "Gran Ray CERO!"

The monstrous blast fiercely pierced the air as it fired up into the atmosphere, not particularly directed towards anything other than the blackened sky as the fiery blue blazed through the black canopy above and then disappeared. His attack was becoming stronger than before and it pleased him as he grinned lightly from the feeling of it erupting from his hand in a violent explosion. When the attack had cleared he simply scoffed at the sudden presence of Kein as he stated almost in irritancy, "Bout time you woke up. Was about to come in there and give you a wake up call."

She simply chuckled, "Even death needs its beauty sleep." As the attack finally cleared from all its power, the atmosphere calmed to its never ending silence as the Sexta Espada tossed his gaze upon Kein, Pantera still grasped firmly in hand.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The Grim Reaper of Soul Society…that's what they used to call me. My Zanpakutou is the only spirit in Soul Society to be the personification of death itself. So one of the phrases I used to jokingly say was even death needs its beauty sleep. Was annoying at first as it felt like the nickname was just jesting mockery, but over time I grew quite fond of the nickname seeing as how it brought fear to my opponents at the very mention of it."

"Heh, is that right? Doesn't seem to have much effect on me," he mocked openly, but Kein's expression grew more serious as she asked, "So, what's on today's agenda?"

His expression in turn also changed to an ill amused look as he simply answered in sarcasm, "Take a wild guess." Her eyebrows lowered in a reverse arch as she asked although already knowing the answer, "I'll be damned if you're going to stab me again," ending her statement in a low growl.

His hand tightened its grip upon Pantera's hilt, "If you don't like it you can run on home to those Shinigamis…or…you can suck it up and DEAL WITH IT!" He yelled as he came at her with fierce speed and power.

…SLASH…

His sword came mercilessly down upon Kein, but to his surprise his blade was met with another as sparks flew and metal grinded. She had called upon her Zanpakutou as she blocked his attack, but not without difficulty.

"You cheeky bitch! You broke our agreement!" He barked in anger, but she could have sworn that she saw a hint of a grin on his face from the unexpected retaliation.

"On the contrary, asshole, the condition of me coming here was for me to give you my Zanpakutou for the first session of fighting, but you never once said that I wasn't allowed to materialize it at any time to defend a cheap blow!"

And then the grin appeared as he responded almost in delight, his eyes thinned to cat like slits in his pupils, "Well, it's about time! It's nice to see you aren't some damn submissive little lamb ready to surrender to every command I give! That routine gets old real quick."

"Oh so I'm boring you now? Come on…you can't fool me. Don't tell me that being able to boss someone around doesn't bring about a sense of subtle guilty pleasure considering you were Aizen's bitch for a while."

His grin sharply snarled into a growl as he forced Pantera into her blade, violently pushing her back, sliding along the sand. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hit a nerve?" she apologized, a grin still upon her face as she let out a deep breath.

"Save your apologies for someone who cares, but time to cut the warm-ups. And get rid of that sword before I rip it from your hands."

"Heh, alright," as she de-materialized it, returning it to its previous location where Grimmjow had kept it. A silent moment hit the air as Kein stated a hypothetical, "You know everyone has a weakness, sometimes more than one. So does it truly matter whether I strategize the way I fight to avoid getting hit on my weakest point? You said so yourself a few days ago that I block and dodge in such a way so affective that I avoid getting myself killed off too easily—"

"…are you that fucking dense girl?"

His interruption took her by surprise as he reiterated his previous lessons to her, "I'm going to say this once so I suggest you listen well. It doesn't matter how you try to rationalize the reasons for what you do. The bottom line is, that day when you merged body and soul with the Arrancar, Gutierrez, you started a habit of relying on your Zanpakutou's cop out techniques to avoid an actual fight so you wouldn't end up dead because of that weakness, but that's no way to fight. That's just doing it out of fear, not out of truly understanding your abilities or powers or actually gaining experience in battle. When that unfinished indentation started forming on your back, you forgot how to fight with your powers. Instead you fight behind them like some damn coward."

It made absolute sense as his words began to sink in, Kein standing idly, speechless to the Sexta's speech.

"You came to this realization once when you first got here, but it's like you've completely ignored it because you let the fear of the pain control you. Every time you're about to make it to the next level, you hit a wall and then you start the process all over again. This is why…you can't reach Ichigo's level, not while you're stuck in limbo to your own bullshit."

Bingo

Grimmjow had hit the nail on the head as his words shot through her like lightning. She thought for a moment, as she needed a minute to let this all sink in. Not wanting to interrupt her thoughts, Grimmjow stood silently as his fierce gaze was cast upon her, waiting to see what she would say next. All was clear now with nothing left to question or wander. She finally got it as she proposed the only solution that would fit the situation.

"Well, obviously stabbing me through isn't going to help anything. If we're going to do this right then weapons and spiritual attacks need to be tossed aside for now. Instead let's just simply deal with brute force, just the way you like it."

Almost cocking an eyebrow as he placed Pantera back in its sheath, "I'm listening."

"The only way this will work is to desensitize something that is sensitive by constantly subjecting it to impact. Instead of forcing on severe amounts of pain, it needs to be brought on little by little. It may not be entirely natural, but it's still skin and skin will eventually harden and callus over when its continuously subjected to rough treatment just like our hands and feet. Might take a little time, but time is all we got and its far more affective and productive then just making me bleed everywhere. We'll have to fight back at the palace grounds where there's plenty of walls and building parts to be slammed into or hit against, but it should work no doubt and of course we'll still be perfecting our hand to hand combat."

Another smirk appeared on his face as he replied, "I think you're finally learning and it's about damn time. Sure beats the hell out of carrying your ass down the halls."

"Ha, ha, ha, I definitely agree on that one."

Minutes passed as the two had ventured into an area of the palace grounds that had already been subjected to previous battles. There were half broken towers and boulders from fallen pieces scattered all about and the fake blue sky sat nicely above them, making Kein feel a bit more at home with the shift in the atmosphere for them to fight in.

The first time she arrived, Grimmjow had her undergo just simple basic evading techniques, which she no doubt effortlessly proved to him that she was capable of pulling off even without the use of a sword or spiritual attack, but as observed all her evading techniques evolved around avoiding being hit on the back area, but now with a new agreement of no weapons or spiritual attacks, her worry of getting stabbed was quickly put to rest and she could focus on the second basics in fighting; hand to hand combat.

She could now focus on creating new habits over the old one and little by little work on diminishing her constant subconscious worry over getting beat around on her hollow indentation. Taking Pantera in hand, Grimmjow stabbed the end of its blade into the ground as it was planted firmly. He wasn't going to be using it this time around so there was no need to have it physically in the way as the two fighters stood on opposite sides of the grounds.

"Are you ready?" He asked almost with excitement now that they were progressing towards a better route around her little problem.

"Not unless you want me in my Bankai form, otherwise this fight is going to be a real quick one," she answered with a smirk.

"Last I checked that was your problem."

He was quite the handful even in her Bankai form, but without it he would be impossible to keep up with, but it didn't matter as Espada went up against Hybrid Shinigami, their fists mingling. Even though in many instances she was much more powerful than Ichigo, she wasn't nearly at the level he was now considering that not only did he manage to transform into the next stage of Vasto Lorde, but he was also taught the last technique of his Zanpakutou, which ultimately would eventually render him powerless of his Shinigami powers.

However, if Ichigo could do it, she was more than determined to get herself to the same level or at least as close as possible. Furthermore, she wanted to do the same for Grimmjow. Being witness to Ulquiorra's second Resureccion form, she was nearly convinced that maybe other Arrancars at his level could do the same, but only time would tell.

Grimmjow threw a punch, she blocked, but was quickly met by his round housing kick as it planted against her head, spinning her violently as she used the spin to round house kick back at him. He caught her leg, grabbing it, and then slamming her back into the ground as the hardened surface met her back, hitting the area of her indentation. Impact number one had made its contact as a glob of spit flew from her open gasping mouth as a pinching pain surged up her spine from her tail bone. The pain was a bitch, but it was manageable…a lot more manageable than being stabbed through with a sword.

Having only a few seconds to react, she rolled over a few times before being stomped upon by Grimmjow's foot as it landed with an unforgiving thud breaking into the ground. Quickly getting back to her feet she came at him with an undercutting motion as her fist swung in a curve, nearly hitting his jaw as he tilted his head back, missing it by an inch, but he grabbed its wrist, twisting his right arm so that the elbow was flung upward, blocking his face as he grabbed the forearm and pulled her inward as his knee met her stomach.

She gagged again, but it wasn't something she wasn't used to feeling already, having fought a week straight with him. With her conveniently bent over his knee, he was going to use this opportunity to jam his left elbow directly into the middle of her indentation, but she knew where he was going to hit next as she quickly curled her leg, lifting up as it kicked backwards, landing upon the side of his face as she was able to get out of his grasp, quickly backing a few feet away.

"Damn it, you're blocking that weak point again!"

"Oh bullshit! I was blocking because I could! It's not my fault you left yourself open. If you want to hit me there so badly then don't leave openings!"

A second he was standing in front of her, and the next second he had flashed step behind her as she gasped.

"You should follow your own advice Marasuna!"

And without being able to react, he lifted his leg and planted it against her back, sending her tumbling through the air as her back impacted once again against a nearby cracked and crumbled pile of left over building blocks. Impact number two had made a successful mark as her joints cracked from hitting the blocks at full force, blood flying from her mouth followed by a gasping yelp.

"AH! Son of a…damn it!"

She struggled to get up from the pile as the pain was beginning to build upon the ache from the first impact. Grimmjow took quick heavy steps towards her direction as he was quickly closing the distance. Managing herself out of the rubble, she was now on all fours upon the ground as Grimmjow was just a few feet from her, but before she could make a move he picked her up by the front part of her jacket as she grasped upon his arm, his other one closing in on her face with a fist.

She put up a hand and caught the fist, using his other arm as leverage as she lifted both her feet together and kicked into his abdomen, kicking him back and nearly knocking the wind out of him as she fell to the ground from being dropped. Getting to her feet without a moment too soon, Grimmjow stated, "Good. That's good Marasuna, but we're far from over!"

Without warning the Sexta Espada lifted his hand and fired a deadly Cero. Kein had seconds to react as she took a glance behind her and saw in the distance a nice battered building side.

Perfect

The Cero hit her almost at point blank range considering Grimmjow had only fired it from a few feet away. She fired a small shot Cero of her own so that the attack wasn't lethal, but it was exactly enough she needed to send her flying backwards with immense velocity and within seconds she hit the building behind her, back first. She screamed out as the Cero burned against her skin since she had used her arms to protect at least her face and part of her front.

The front part of her forearms, tip of her elbows, and part of her neck was completely burned and singed from the attack, but the impact to her back was near crippling. She coughed up a glob of blood as it flung to the ground in a splatter. The dent in the wall was so hard that she literally sat in it with rubble and soot tossed about all over her.

She groaned heavily and audibly as she did her best to deal with the pain.

"KEIN!" His majesty's voice roared in the air. "What the HELL was that?" Grimmjow yelled in anger as he approached her with very pissed off steps. "You could have easily dodged that you IDIOT!" He further protested in a near rage considering that the Cero could have nearly killed her or easily lopped off a few body parts had she not lowered the intensity of the attack with her own Cero. In fact he was expecting her to dodge it so he could get a hit on her in a flanking move. She could only chuckle in response, "I-I-I know t-that you dumb a-ass!"

As the Espada finally approached her, a sudden thought stopped him from pounding the hell out of her for being so stupid as he realized, "Wait a minute, you let it hit you on purpose." Coughing a little in response, "Y-Yep. T-Took you long enough…t-t…t-to figure that out." And then a grin creased across his face.

"I really hate to admit this, but you've got guts for a iShinigami/i."

"Kh, heh, heh, I told you n-not to call me that," she stammered in a raspy coughing voice as the pain wasn't nearly as unbearable as she thought it would be. Maybe being stabbed the first time helped to jump start her desensitization.

She slowly managed to sit upright as Grimmjow shadowed over her.

"You gonna call it quits, or shall I blast you another one?"

"W-What? Are you seriously asking my permission? I'm surprised y-you stopped…t-to begin with."

Grimmjow's gaze narrowed as he realized the point she just made. Why did he stop? Why did he not continue attacking her immediately like any normal enemy would? "You're right. You make a valid point, Kein…" as he held up his hand, a Cero beginning to glow in the middle of his palm "…what? You crazy son of a—"

"Excuse me princess. I didn't realize you wanted to take a breather!"

His hand was in range of her foot as she immediately used the curving edge of it to kick up and knock his hand to the side as she shot up an arm and fired a stronger Cero then the last one. Grimmjow gasped as he immediately dodged out of the way, giving Kein ample room to get out of the dented wall, but by the time she had painfully forced herself to her feet upon the ground, Grimmjow was there waiting for her as he came at her side ways, the flat part of his shin contacting her stomach as she was sent through the air again. He then flashed above her and came down with a merciless elbow to the side that she had caught at the last second, but it didn't stop the momentum of her body from crashing flat to the ground below her.

The few seconds her body had bounced off the ground in a rebound, Grimmjow quickly landed upon the ground as he planted a foot down upon her stomach, forcing her back downwards. She squirmed under the pressure of his foot as it simultaneously pushed her back into the sandy particles of the ground that grinded against her skin, even with the protection of clothing. She winced and moaned a little as she tried to desperately push his foot off her stomach as he merely kept his hands in his pockets.
"Ah! Damn it! W-What the…kh…h-hell—"

"…what's the matter? You don't appreciate the personal back massage?"

She didn't know what dug in worst, the sand that was penetrating through the fabric and contacting against her indentation, or his words. The more he pushed in with his foot and twisted it side to side, the more her skin was grinded against as she immediately reacted to the unsightly sensation. "No, STOP!" Spitting to the side he barked back, "The only thing stopping you is yourself girl. If you want it to stop so badly then fire a Cero like you did a second ago."

Using the idea she flung up one of her hands, but Grimmjow was quick to meet her move as his hand floated above her with a deep warning. It was a draw as she knew that this vantage point was not hers if he truly hit her with a Cero at this range. She knew he wouldn't fire one that would be strong enough to take her out obviously, but she wasn't going to test the idea of how much more she could handle.
"Damn it…heh, heh…no fair—"

"…Tch, fair? What was it you said earlier about leaving openings?"

He playfully made her eat her on words with a grin upon his face as he dug a little deeper into her, still keeping his hand out as a warning that he would fire a Cero. The tightened pressure upon the grains of sand on her skin was like rubbing her with sand paper as she began to yelp aloud. He wasn't exactly the type to sadistically torture his opponents, but Grimmjow was waiting for a reaction from her, slowly pushing her further knowing that she could ultimately handle it.

"What are you gonna do Marasuna? You would have been killed by now if you were fighting a real enemy."

"Fuck you. FUCK YOU! GOD DAMN IT I'm going to get you so fucking bad!"

Like music to his ears as he let out a deepened laugh, "HA, HA, HA! Yes! That's more like it Kein. I bet you want to rip me apart don't cha? Well? Then why don't you? Bring out that mask of yours and stop your bitching!"

As he finally let his foot up, kicking her away as she violently rolled along the ground before she stopped a few feet away, making her struggle as she laid for a couple of seconds before managing to kneel upon all fours. She was shocked though.

"Are you serious about asking me to bring it out?"

His eyebrows furrowed almost baffled by her question.

"What are you deaf? I'm not asking, I'm TELLING you! Now bring out that mask before I die of boredom from kicking your ass all over the place!"

Panting from the immense pain she was feeling all over her backside, she struggled to lift her hand to her face in a clawing like motion, but she hesitated. She couldn't help but feel that this was different somehow. Grimmjow wasn't commanding her to bring out her mask so she could have a better advantage or because he was tired of seeing her so easily kicked around. It was because the call of his pure instinct was digging and clawing its way out like an animal.

He always acted upon instinct, and his instinct was telling him now that he needed a good fight just for the hell of it, to get it out of his system, but the last thing she wanted to do was have a full on battle. She could tell every time he was itching just for a fight regardless of the reason behind it, there always came out a strange wild look in his eyes.

…that wild look…