A/N: Sorry for the late update, I was supposed to post this first thing in the morning but I haven't been able to log in to my account since last night. Did that happen to anybody else or was it just me? So anyway here's the chapter. I want to thank you all for your continued support of this story. I am happy to say that this will not be my last Sakura story. I will take requests if you have them as I am still unsure of who I will be pairing her next with. Just… not Sasuke I am not a SasuSaku fan. Sorry!

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

Defiance

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Complete and utter sleep had eluded him for months. He did not know why, but he had been unable to have a whole night's fitful sleep. Now as he lay there something— or rather someone else plagued his thoughts. Since he had seen her earlier that night he had been unable to get emerald eyes out of his head and it bothered him to no end. He growled in frustration and tossed to his left side. On his nightstand he saw what she had left behind, her MP3 player and grabbed it. He put on the headphones and turned it on, he played the song she had been listening to and was pleasantly surprised.

Familiar riffs and an even more familiar voice blared in his ears. He would have never thought Pink would listen to music such as this. She had the song on repeat— Lotus by Dir En Grey. The tune she had been humming while she was showering had been this one; no wonder it had seemed familiar. He looked through her music library and saw that she had almost all of his favorite bands along with some he had not even heard of. Pink was just full of surprises…

He played her library on shuffle and got comfortable on his bed. After several songs he began to feel drowsy as sleep finally threatened to take over. He played Lotus once again and as he gave in to the darkness the deep lyrics stayed with him in his sleep, "Kioku kara mada namida wo kesenai…"

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Her night had not been pleasant, bright cerulean eyes had plagued her dreams. She woke up tangled in her sheets and flushed, she vaguely remembered being under his scrutiny and it had felt like she was going to spontaneously combust. She needed a cold, cold shower. She looked at the time and saw that it was still early, no doubt Ino was probably still in bed. Sakura made her way to her bathroom and brushed her teeth, she opted for a soak instead of the shower.

Thirty minutes later she closed her bedroom door behind her just as Tenten closed hers. Her morning greeting to the brunette was cut off as they heard the sound of pans hitting the floor and they both rushed to the kitchen. Greeting them was a very annoyed blonde trying to pick up the mess she had made.

They both laughed at her and Ino only became more annoyed. "What are you doing, Ino?" The brunette asked for them both.

Ino blew her bangs away from her face, "I was trying to get things ready so you guys could make us breakfast." She looked around at the things scattered throughout the floor, "Obviously that didn't work out so well."

"Oh, so we are supposed to make you breakfast," Sakura pointed at herself and Tenten incredulously.

"Do you really want me to cook?" Ino asked raising her eyebrow.

"No!" Tenten said all too quickly, "I mean Sakura and I don't mind doing it of course." She turned to look at the one in question with a look that begged her not to contradict her.

Memories of the outcome of Ino's cooking flashed before her and she stiffened visibly. "Tenten's right we don't mind at all," she said as she laughed nervously. Anything to get out of her experimental cooking.

They both helped pick up the various dishes on the floor. "What do you guys want for breakfast today?" Not really waiting for them to answer she offered, "I want eggs and sausage."

Sakura thought about what she wanted. "I want pancakes."

They turned to look at Ino since it would be a majority vote. She knew better and just said, "They're both fine with me." She quickly went to the refrigerator and got the ingredients out. While the other two made breakfast she set the table then sat down to watch TV.

When breakfast was done and plated the doorbell rang. It was still a bit early, but there were only a few people that could be at their door. "I'll get it!" Ino called out eagerly and all but skipped to the door. Sakura and Tenten sat at the table to wait for her. Sakura turned to look at the stove and was glad they had made enough food. If it was Sasuke, Naruto would more than likely be coming along as well.

She had started to eat her breakfast, when she heard an all too familiar deep voice coming from the door. "Is Pink here?" She felt her food get stuck in her throat. 'Pink?'

"Who's Pink?" She heard an echo of her thoughts. Ino walked in and a much taller head of blue hair trailed behind her.

She quickly stood from her chair and saw Tenten giving her a confused look. Sakura felt her feet move of their own volition and she was led to the living room. When she was standing behind Ino she turned to look at her in shock and Sakura could almost read what she was thinking plain on her face. She looked up at their visitor and saw the same look on his face that had made her shiver the night before, and when she did he smirked as if satisfied at her reaction. She walked past Ino until she stood directly in front of him. He was so tall… "W-what are you doing here?" Did she just stutter?

His smirk turned into a grin, "You left in such a hurry last night that you forgot something, Pink." That so did not sound right and she felt her cheeks flush. How was it that he managed to make her feel so flustered? Who was this guy?

He put his hand in his pocket and took out something red and black. When he opened his large hand she saw her MP3 player. She slept with it on more often than not, but she had not missed it last night she had been too preoccupied with what had happened between her and the one standing in front of her. "T-thank you, uhmm…"

"Grimmjow," he offered. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

She reached out to get it and her hand brushed against his. He felt so warm… 'Get a hold of yourself, Sakura! He can't be getting these types of reactions out of you!' But he was. "Grimmjow," she tried his name out loud. It was a strange name but it suited him well. "Sakura Haruno," she introduced herself. She would normally shake hands but she dared not touch him. "Thank you for bringing this back."

"No problem." Aquamarine met emerald and she felt dazed. If the circumstances had been different she would have felt smug, he seemed to be in a similar state. They were brought out of their trance when Ino cleared her throat behind them and he chuckled. He leaned closer to her and said in a low voice, "I really like your taste in music." She felt that familiar shiver travel down her spine. 'That voice!' He turned around and started walking out, "Nice meeting you ladies. See you around, Pink." He called out before he closed the door behind him.

She must have stood there looking at the door for a while because it wasn't until Ino called out her name that she finally stopped. When she turned to look at her and Tenten she saw the looks of curiosity and she was the first to speak up. "Okay Sakura, spill it!"

"What, there's nothing to spill." Ino was not going to leave her alone and they both knew it.

"Come on, as if 'you left in such a hurry last night' is not anything to spill." Ino even tried to sound like him but failed miserably. "As if you don't know that he was the one we had seen earlier yesterday out in the hallway, and I said was totally hot but you completely didn't pay attention to. It has to be something juicy! Please share with us?" Oh, it was juicy alright.

Ino grabbed her hand and dragged her to the table where Tenten was still sitting. Sakura looked at the brunette but she didn't say anything. Tenten merely gave her a look to say that if she wanted to talk they would listen. She loved Tenten she was never nosy, something she could not say for her blond friend. Sighing she gave in and Ino jumped up and down, "Okay, I'll tell you but you can't laugh."

"We won't, we won't just tell us already!" Ino sat down at her chair just as Sakura did the same and she began to eat her breakfast.

Sakura only took a sip from her orange juice, "So you know how last night I went to go work out after Sasuke left?" The other two nodded and she continued. "Well, when I got there the gym was empty and I thought 'great I have it all to myself'. I was there alone the whole time and when I finished working out I decided to take a shower before I came back to the apartment." Sakura did not want to continue with the story, she felt herself getting red at just the thought of what happened after that.

"Then what happened?" Ino asked fully absorbed in the story.

"Well, I-I finished taking a shower and when I came out somebody else was in the locker room with me." She saw the others' eyes widen in suspense. "Grimmjow was standing outside my stall."

Ino almost spit out the juice she had just sipped from and Tenten almost choked on the food she had been eating. "What? He saw you naked? What was he doing in the women's locker room in the first place? He's a perv isn't he…?"

"No, oh God no! I would have died if he had! Luckily I had taken the towel with me and put it on before I came out." She got even more red as if it could have been possible. "I- I went into the men's by mistake." Tenten tried really hard to hold back her laughter but Ino just burst out laughing at this point. "You said you wouldn't laugh!" She said accusingly.

Tenten reached out for her hand in solidarity but stifled a laugh, "I'm sorry Sakura but— how could you have made that mistake? Luckily there was nobody else in there besides you two or it really wouldn't have been pretty."

Before she knew it she was laughing as well and Tenten laughed with her. "I don't know- I… just walked in without looking. You should have seen the look on his face when he told me I was in the men's he was enjoying the whole thing a little too much."

"I bet he was," Ino replied slyly. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I think it suits him perfectly and it's kind of exotic." She sighed as she leaned on her hand that was propped up on the table. "Looks like you beat me to him, Sakura."

"What are you talking about? I'm not even interested in him that way. It was all just a misunderstanding that's all." If only it were just that.

"Uh huh, as if the way you two were looking at each other wasn't obvious enough." She turned to look at Tenten and she nodded in agreement. "Come on, Sakura you can at least admit it to us don't you think he's hot? Handsome? Good looking?"

Sakura blushed, "Maybe he is good looking, but he seems like the type of guy that knows it. I refuse to be one of the ones that go after him like a lost puppy." She wasn't that type of girl.

"Hey, are you trying to say something?" Ino asked hurt.

She only laughed at her before shaking her head. "No, it's just that he looks at me like as if I'm something to eat and-"

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Ino deadpanned.

"Just be careful, Sakura. These college guys are more experienced than we are and what we are used to. Don't forget the kinds of people we're dealing with, we're on a whole different field." She knew all too well, they were no longer surrounded by familiar people and everyone here was connected to powerful people somehow. They weren't in Kansas anymore. "I just don't want to see you get hurt…" finished Tenten.

Sakura definitely did not want to go through that pain again maybe that was why she was being so guarded. She smiled sadly at the brunette, "Thank you for worrying about me but I'm a big girl. I won't fall for any tricks or cheesy pick up lines, and if it seems too good to be true it probably is. I don't believe in any of that." She saw the guilty look on her friend's face; she still hadn't forgiven herself for what had happened but Sakura already had. This time it was she who reached out to gently squeeze her hand. She wasn't lying, she really didn't believe in any of the romantic sappy crap. That wasn't why she was here. She was here to get the best education in the medical field that she could get, that was all.

"Well, what are the plans for today?" Ino asked breaking the sad mood they seemed to be spiraling down towards. Just then the doorbell rang again.

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'Sakura Haruno.' His intention in going over to her apartment had been merely for his entertainment at first. He had wanted to get a reaction out of her— to see if he could get her to blush for him again and he had been successful. However, he had not counted on the reaction she would cause in him. Her cherry blossom scent had assaulted his senses. Grimmjow had tried his hardest not to pin her up against anything really and see what other reactions he could get from her. The fact that her two roommates had been there stopped him, that and she probably would not have let him anyway.

Pink was a challenge for him… one that he wanted to conquer. Now that he had set his mind to it he would. There had yet to be a woman that had said no to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. She would definitely not be the first.

A/N: Another chapter is done! I'm sorry that it's a bit short, but what's coming up next deserves a whole chapter of its own. Things are starting to get juicy… Okay so you know the drill, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. My updates are still review driven (the one that gets the most reviews gets updated first). Thank you for reading my story! For reference, the song that I chose, Lotus by Dir En Grey is one of my favorites. This Sakura would definitely love this song. "Kioku kara mada namida wo kesenai" roughly translates to "Can't erase these tears from memory" I found it to be rather fitting…

-Wyvernhail