Bow to the King

Although she wasn't in Bankai form, she could still summon her mask. Curling her fingers, almost straining every muscle in them, she quickly clawed downward in a quick motion as her mask suddenly appeared, a deep hissing sound breathing from behind it as her eyes turned pitch black with only but the glowing yellow around the pupils that showed like yellow diamonds.

"Aren't you going to use your Resurrecion form?"

"Don't need it," he quickly answered as it stunned her. Any normal person would immediately think Grimmjow was crazy for taking her on in her Vizard form knowing full well the last time he went up against it in his regular form that he was easily taken out, but that wasn't the thought running through his mind at this moment in time. He just simply wanted to fight, not to get it out of his system but to also better himself so that he wasn't always focused on training Kein's ass all the time.

The last thing Kein was going to do was to question his motives. She may had convinced him before that she never looked down upon him, but she could tell just by being around him that he still suffered from an inferiority complex of some kind.

He just simply couldn't stand the thought of others looking down upon him because of his natural raw instinct to fight to the top and stay at the top and anything that was there to challenge it riled up his love to battle as equals just as much as it pissed him off to think that his opponent didn't see him as an equal.

And it was because of this complex that Kein knew that the second she questioned his motives, even if it seemed crazy to her, she knew it would erupt those hidden feelings within. She wanted to do everything she could to prove to him and to keep proving to him that she always saw him as an equal.

Feeling the familiar power of her Inner Hollow rushing through her body brought about a sense of adrenalin. She loved the feeling as it enhanced her abilities and power by 10x. Having been taking a beating for nearly two weeks straight, she was going to rather enjoy pounding a few fists upon the jawboned Espada before her.

"Those eyes, I can't get enough of those fucking eyes!"

He yelled in near ecstasy as he charged with full force at her while she simultaneously leaped into the air to meet him. Halfway, their hands locked into each other as they came at a draw, pushing against each other like two freight trains. However, it only took a mere few seconds before Kein easily overpowered him, pushing him back a good feet before coming right back at him with a sideways kick that could break cement like it was jello, but the Espada's hardened Hierro was a lot denser than before as he simply blew off the pain. With her leg planted mostly against his stomach, he simply grabbed onto it with both hands and spun them sharply as he threw Kein back.

Predicting she would come right back at him, he readied his stance as she did as such, but at the last second she speed stepped behind him and elbowed him in the back between the shoulder blades as he let out an audible grunt. Not letting him have a chance to recover, she did another round house kick that landed upon his exterior jawbone mask as the impact sent a small crack into the upper part of it, sending him flying to the side. Waiting this time for him to recover, he quickly stopped himself from spinning in the air further as he turned towards her direction, deepened growls emitting through his gritting teeth, a small trail of blood trickling down and out from under his mask. They simply gazed at each other for that moment.

When she first came here she wasn't allowed to use anything but her own body and fists for a fight so it had been a while since he had fought her in her masked form without his Resurrecion form to counter its power and he was quickly reminded of just how powerful she was in this form, but he didn't care. No, this was like a drug to him, his own personal heroine to fight against. He no longer looked at those Hollowfied eyes and saw a look of superiority neither was it a look of remorse. It was just simply a look of a warrior ready to make the next mind numbing blow and it made the experience ever sweeter.

"HA, HA, HA! YES! That is what I'm talking about Marasuna!"

There's nothing he loved more than getting in on a fight with his bare hands; the feel of his opponent's muscles tearing, their flesh stained with blood, their bones breaking under his grasp, the pounding of his fist upon their body with a satisfying blow. Instead of coming in at her directly, he simply flashed in front of her as he then went about bouncing around her in all directions with great speed. The move was unexpected and different from his usual fighting style as it seemed like he was all round her. Finding the right moment Grimmjow then stopped as he flashed in front of her again, grabbing her mask by his left hand and then letting a cero glow into his right.

She gasped in shock as it seemed like everything was happening so quickly. Going on instinct she flew up a hand as well to fire a Cero, but it was too late. Grimmjow's had already impacted upon her as she was catapulted across the sky, the quick minded Espada quickly following after her in mid air. Expecting her to be nearly immobilized although he didn't fire too strong of a Cero, he flashed stepped one more time towards her, but before he even knew what hit him, she had flashed stepped in return, planting a fist into his stomach just above his Hollow hole as she rained a shower of punches until she combo-ed with an upper cutting thrust up under his jaw, cracking it towards the sky as she then spun her body around and finished with a devastating backwards downward swinging kick across his chest, plummeting him to the ground.

You'd think that would be enough to knock him out for a minute, but she wasn't going to relent or wait for the smoke and debris to clear to find out what damage she had caused as she warmed up yet another Cero into her hand, but he was far ahead of her on the idea as suddenly a Cero blasted up from the ground, nearly grazing her as she dodged at the last second. He had definitely improved since the last time he fought against her mask.

He had gotten much faster and responded more quickly to the insane speed her mask gave her and his reflexes sharpened. This pleased her greatly and she wanted to compliment him, but she knew that the compliment would be acknowledged as a backwards mocking insult, just another way of him interpreting her words as looking down upon him. And so her lips stayed sealed.

"Think fast Kein," she suddenly heard his voice behind her as she gasped, angry that she had let her guard down for a split second, but it was too late as he firmly lodged his knee directly into the middle of her indentation. It wasn't a stabbing of the sword, but having been beating around on that area for at least ten minutes or more was all that was needed to rip her of her advantage point as she struggled to keep herself afloat in mid air as the pain surged up and down her spine and then…

crack

…her mask, shattered.

Blood mixed with saliva flew forth from her mouth as her jaw opened widely with a gasping yell. And for some reason, in that moment, she understood; this was not just for sport or to satisfy a good fight for Grimmjow. This was a valuable lesson he was teaching her. She didn't realize just how badly this weakness needed to be contained. Before when fighting Grimmjow in Hueco Mundo the third time, she could have held onto her mask for at least a good hour, but because of this weakness it was taken down within an instant. Without a moment too soon he then kicked her all the way back down to the ground below as she landed with a hardened thud, another gasping yelp, and then ended with her curling up in a fetal position as her fingers dug into the sand.

She had a worthy vengeance on him, but it was short lived. Placing his hands inside his pockets and spitting a little bit of blood to the side from the impacts to his stomach, he simply barked, "You understand now?"

Normally she would just lie over and moan, but something was different this time as she managed to all fours despite the pain. Something deep and torn boiled inside her as a hidden rage was beginning to emerge. She had only been here for a week and a few days and already she had enough.

She simply had had…enough.

She wanted to rip the skin off her back so badly, having been for so long and so many years held back by this pitiful and pathetic weak spot and it was all thanks to Gutierrez merging bodies with her.

"Hm," Grimmjow let out a nonchalant response as he watched her, his eyes gazing upon her every move. And then…

"…AHHHHHHHHH!" Her scream echoed like a Hollow's cry in the undergrounds. Almost ripping upon her face, she summoned her mask once again as her head turned sharply towards Grimmjow as her eyes lit on fire like freshly lit coals in a burning furnace. This move took him by surprise as he readied himself in a battle stance. And then with a burning rage her hand was ready to fire a Cero as she came at him with full force, ready to impact him at point blank range. There was no way to summon Pantera quickly enough let alone jump to his Resurrecion form so he had no choice but to meet her Cero with another Cero seeing that the look in her eyes, those deepened Hollow eyes, meant business and nearly screamed the desire to rip the fucking hell out of his body.

Like two nuclear missiles firing into the sky at each other, soon exploded with an impact that could take out a football field. Their powers detonated against each other as they were thrown in opposite directions, the atmosphere filled with a crimson glow as all there seemed to be was the pure sound of power.

Quaking grounds and shaking buildings quieted to a light rumble. Light rumbles faded to a still sensation as remaining vibrations disappeared into the sand. Crimson sky darkened and faded to a blackened starry canopy. Red painted walls glimmered to their pure white essence. Warrior cries quieted to a peaceful recognition.

silence

All was quiet until the peace was broken with the ever familiar gasping yelps as Kein tossed her head side to side as she laid nearly immobilized on her back upon the sandy grounds. A coughing spasm erupted from her lungs as she spat up a bit of blood, inhaling quickened deep breathes, her body exasperated, but no pain could ever keep her from hitting a panic mode the second her mind hit upon thoughts of Grimmjow.

"O-Oh my g-god….Grimm…j-j-jow."

Every muscle that flexed brought on a vindictive ache. Every movement that required her lower back brought on a malicious throb as her freshly burned skin and previously burned skin mingled with the small spots of untouched flesh. Grains of sand flaked off her body as she rolled onto her side, forcing herself to try to get to her feet to find Grimmjow. Was he alright? Did he make it through the attack? Could she have possibly killed him? These questions taunted her mind with a sadistic twisting twinge as she moaned and groaned her way to a standing position, just ever barely able to stay partially upright as she staggered to and fro.

"GRIMMJOW!"

She whaled his name as she desperately looked around to try to spot him out, but her vision was blurry and her head going in and out of consciousness. There was no answer as a few tears welled up in her eyes as images of Nnoitra hitting Grimmjow unjustly flashed through her mind. The thought of that happening again nearly put her in a panicking frenzy, but then in the distance against the monotone colors around them was a single solitary light blue that stood out from all the rest. She gasped as she did her best to stagger over to this single color.

A small hope had shined for her as this single color suddenly flickered with movement, its image becoming a bit clearer as she neared. And soon enough she had come within range of a bleeding, clothing tattered, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Sexta Espada. Even though her attack was a lot stronger than his was, he didn't stagger nearly as much as she did and she didn't fire her Cero nearly as strongly as she could have had she not received previous beatings beforehand that weakened her from the start. She coughed and gagged a bit, approaching her opponent that had gracefully survived her attack. He let out a few grunts himself as his hair was a bit ruffled from the impact, dirt and sand matted in with the freshly drawn blood that trickled and dripped from all over his arms and chest area, a bit on his face as well, but not nearly as bad as what Kein had received.

The fight was obviously over, but there simply just wasn't a word either could say, but his sudden laughing reaction alone was enough to inform her that her session today had most definitely pleased him.

He grinned.

She was making progress as well as him. She was finally learning, but then she did something that she did not consciously intend to do, but rather her body moved for her as she fell to her knees before him. Then propping one knee up, she placed her right hand against her chest as she let the other hang loosely to the side. Grimmjow's eyebrows furrowed in question. What the fuck was she doing? Was this some weird form of a fighting stance? No, this wasn't a stance.

It was…a bow.

She wasn't sure what entirely compelled her to bow before him upon one knee, like a soldier being awaited to be knighted by its king, but she just simply respected him that much. Even with her Vizard mask's power behind the attack, he still managed to come out standing and alive. She did not intend the attack to kill, but she still had put quite a bit of power behind it to cause some extreme serious damage that could easily cripple him had he taken it on without firing his own Cero back in retaliation. Her coughing mingled with chuckling as she lifted her weary blue head slowly and cast her gaze back up at Grimmjow who still seemed a bit baffled by her move.

"What the h—"

"…y-you are…" cough and gag "…o-one hell…of a f-f-fighter…heh, heh…" and then, without another word spoken, she toppled over on her side, falling unconscious. Her words were few, but it was then Grimmjow realized that it meant a lot more than what was spoken. It was really her way of saying that no matter how much stronger she becomes, no matter how many battles she would fight in her future to come, no matter the opponent or how strong they would be for her, she would always see Grimmjow as her equal.

And just for a hint of a moment, Grimmjow had a new found respect for Kein. She was unlike any other. Even when Grimmjow had his own Fraccionez, they didn't follow him because they truly respected him with every regard. They followed simply because he was stronger than all of them combined so it was easy enough for them at that time and place to state with meaning that he was their king, but actions speak louder than words and it was action that Kein would always show to him. Just for this moment, as short as it may be even if it doesn't last longer than this, he had a new respect for this Ex-Shinigami, this hybrid being, this…woman.

-Next Night-

Grimmjow stood in the doorway of his room, watching the still resting and still healing Kein. Since being here, this was the first time she was truly battered, mainly from the two Ceros she took on and the repeated impacts to her lower back. He had actually underestimated her resolve. He was a bit certain that she was too controlled by it and that it would take so much longer for her to grow out of that mold of paranoia, but it was soon with just a day's time and her unique natural healing rate that her deep burns began to grow back to normal skin, her cuts and bruises soon faded, and her confused and broken confidence beginning to patch over again. However, out of all the thoughts that came to mind, he just couldn't get the image of her bowing before him out of his head.

It was…weird…strange…and almost foreign.

He considered himself a king metaphorically in a sense having been given powers that allowed him to climb to the top without anyone in his way now, but he had always done so on his own accord, own standards, pure instinct, and simply alone. He's always been a loner, even in the company of his fellow Arrancar and Espada brethren. His Fraccionez didn't follow him because he expected them to or because he commanded or asked them to. They just simply acknowledged him as their king. But acknowledgement was about as far as it went.

Sure enough they recognized the power he had, but how deep did that recognition really go? Not nearly as deep as Kein clearly displayed, and possibly not even as thoughtful. This? This was new. This was…different and he just couldn't quite wrap his mind around with what to do with it. She was so peaceful in his bed, so quiet and gently wrapped in bandages that he had rummaged from the clinic room that the medic Arrancars used to be that Yammy would so enjoy beating to a bloody pulp for no apparent reason. His vision blurred a little as he rubbed his eyes with annoyance. He hadn't slept well the night before mainly because something felt awkward after her so called bowed performance, but he couldn't figure out what exactly. It was so…

…damn it.

Seeing that there wasn't much else to do, he thought he might as well get some shut eye. His eyes first fell upon the couch, the ever so stiffer-than-it-looks couch. He had been sleeping on it since the night he stabbed Kein clean through and he instead had her sleeping in his own bed. Not necessarily because he cared about her comfort too much, but because he just simply wanted her to heal as fast as possible, even if it meant giving up his own personal space. Then a thought him.

Why did he give up his bed? Why not just simply sleep next to her? The bed surely had more than enough room for two and it was his bed damn it. Why should it matter if it's occupied by one more person, by a female. It shouldn't matter at all, right? Tch…right. Occupied by another, yet again something he wasn't used to. That was it, he thought. So many endless nights he spent in his room by himself, alone in the dim lighting and surrounded in his own scent that it just simply felt awry to have a second occupant to share the space. And it's not like it was a lot of space, but it was still occupying space.

"Tch, shit…" he began in audible thought, but then trailed off realizing just how silly it all was to even contemplate on the situation. His eyes got heavy again as he still needed a lot more to recover from than Kein did as he didn't heal as fast as her. Luckily she was conveniently rolled on her side, facing his way, but on the inner part of the bed next to the wall so he didn't have to worry about waking her. After letting out a final huffed exhale through his nostrils, he sat lightly upon the edge of the bed as his broad shoulders cast a wide shadow upon Kein that kept the dim hallway lighting from hitting her face.

He first shed off his boots one by one as he casually tossed them aside, each having a heavy but surprisingly light thud to the ground. He then stripped off his upper jacket that he replaced with all the left over Arrancar uniforms in the sewing room. All that was left that he kept on was his Hakama pants that acted like personal tents for each leg considering how huge they were, but thin at the waste and snuggly tied. He loosened it just a tad to make himself more comfortable as he shifted about the bandages he had put upon himself that needed replacing, but he didn't care at this moment and time to take care of it.

The blood had already coagulated and Kein could heal him herself later so there was no need for concern. Having adjusted himself, he laid back with his arms stretched up and his hands behind his head as his muscles stretched, flexed, and relaxed with satisfaction. It wasn't cold in the air, but there was a sitting coolness that felt good upon his heated bare skin. It was almost a strange sensation as a few goose bumps appeared. Then he simply just closed his eyes.

"Grimm…jow."

His eyes shot open as he could have sworn that he heard a near audible whisper state his name. Was he hearing things? Turning his head he looked over and down at Kein. He grunted slightly as he could have sworn a second ago she was at least a few inches from his own space on the bed. Had he fallen asleep without realizing it because now she was lying up against his side. She wasn't pressed hard against him or anything, but it was definitely noticeable. Not only that but she must had been talking in her sleep seeing as how her lips showed light signs of movement. This was even more awkward then he imagined it to be and he didn't like it.

Getting up with an abruptness that awoke Kein, he quickly went over to the couch and simply plopped upon it with irritation laying on the side that faced the other way so that his back was turned to her as he mumbled frustrated obscenities under his breath. He wasn't quite sure why it was bugging him so badly, let alone if the feeling was actually negative in nature, but he just simply didn't want to deal with it at this point in time let alone try to figure it out. So he slept on the couch…again.

Kein finally snapped to consciousness as at the last second she saw Grimmjow hit the couch. She was confused at first, but then she realized the empty space next to her on the bed was not only ruffled without her own accord, but was warm to the touch.

"Was he just next to me?"

She wondered, rather shocked that he hadn't woken her before. She couldn't help but find the situation amusing as she got herself out of bed and stepped towards Grimmjow as she gently placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Grimmjow…" the move almost sudden as he flinched under her touch, but then simply grunted in reply "…yeah, what?"

She chuckled, "You goofy guy. Just go sleep on your damn bed already. There's probably 100 or more beds in this entire place that accommodated the other Espada and Arrancars. I'm sure I could find another one nearby that is just as accommodating. That way you can sleep in your own bed if you're so territorial about it enough to not be able to share its space with someone else. Geeze," she finished as she simply walked off to find a nearby room.

Watching the doorway to see if she had really left, he then cussed a few more obscenities under his breath as he yet again had to shift himself for a second time to try to get some sleep, but it did bring out a small comfort to know he finally had his bed again. It was so much more comfortable than the damn couch. Being by himself again brought on an old familiar feeling as for a few seconds it felt like only yesterday that Aizen was around and he could hear his brethren Espada walking up and down the hallways. He was finally left to try to get some sleep though, but as he shifted about in his bed, he was now suddenly apparent of a second scent that occupied it other than his own.

It was Kein's.

At first irritated by it, he was then strangely…drawn to it. Constantly fighting each other made it harder to smell anything else other than sweat and blood, but now that she had been bandaged up he was taken in by the strangeness of her scent. It wasn't sweet or musky in any way, but it almost smelled like eucalyptus with a hint of mint to it. It was a very intriguing smell as he lifted up part of the sheet that had been drawn over her as he brought it to his nose and sniffed around on it like a curious cat finding a new foreign object to explore.

And now for some strange animalistic reason, he wanted her back in his bed so he could smell the scent more strongly on her skin. He was intrigued by the scent and couldn't help but be caught up in it. Hueco Mundo had next to no odors or smells of any kind considering it was a giant sand dune so it fascinated him to smell something so foreign and yet interesting. He knew that upon coming with him, she had brought a few favorite things from the Living World with her, but he couldn't help but wonder what the hell she bathed with when necessary. Maybe things from the Living World wasn't so bad after all, but he didn't give too much thought to it as he finally dozed off.