Nnoitra grabs a handful of chips and shoves them into his wide mouth like a barbarian. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and reaches to pour himself a glass of champagne. Then, thinking otherwise, he picks up the bottle and is about to down it when Harribel slaps his hand.

'Control yourself, Nnoitra,' she says in her deep but authoritative voice. Nnoitra sneers but he obeys, rubbing his hand.

'What for?' he cries out and waves his long arms in the air, almost knocking a couple of guests over. 'This party is a snore fest! The host is freaking out 'cuz his lover has gone off and run away and his kid is missing! It's so typical of Grimmy to take off without explaining! What a bloody coward!'

'Quiet, Nnoitra,' Stark says moodily from his corner as he leans against a wall with his hands behind his head. 'You complain for the sake of complaining so for once shut your trap.' His eyelids begin to droop slightly. Out of nowhere, Lillinette flies through the air and kicks him square on the head, sending him sailing to the floor face first.

'Sleep, sleep, sleep!' she chants haughtily and places her hands on her waist. 'That's all you ever do when we go to a party! Can't you for once not sleep?'

'Can't you for once not kick me into the floor?' Stark mumbles through the carpet but Lillinette ignores him.

While Grimmjow's family is bickering away, Ichigo is seated in a chair, biting his fingernails and rocking back and forth with worry. He attempts to get up but Renji pushes him back in while Rukia comes with a glass of water. Toshiro is patting him on the back for comfort while his father stands nearby, watching him closely. Ichigo smiles weakly at them.

'Thank you all,' he says feebly. 'But I'm feeling too nervous to calm down right now.'

'Chill out, Ichigo,' Renji coaxes.

'How can he chill out? He already told you he's feeling too nervous to calm down!' Rukia scolds Renji and swats him on the head. 'Men are so insensitive!'

'But he's a guy too!'

'Are you arguing with me?'

'Well…uh…no, buttercup…'

'I can't just pretend that everything is alright,' Ichigo mutters to himself. Zangetsu, his father, walks up and places a hand on his shoulder. Ichigo looks up at him.

'Sometimes,' he starts. 'You have to let the chicken cross the road on its own. Otherwise it will never learn the ways of its kind.'

'HUH?' everyone around them says in confusion.

'Thanks, dad,' Ichigo says with a smile and gets up. 'You always know what to say to make me feel better.' And with that, he walks to the center of the living room. 'Everyone, I am sorry for the hold up in the party. Everything is perfectly all right so carry on having fun-!'

'All right?' Nnoitra repeats and laughs maniacally. 'You have got to be kidding me! One of the hosts has run off like a cowardly kitty cat while your precious kid is gone missing! This party is anything but 'perfectly all right'-!'

'Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know what your problem is, Nnoitra,' drawls a voice. In strolls Grimmjow, as confident as ever. All eyes are trained on him but he isn't perturbed. His eyes are locked on his annoying older brother whose equally annoying grin has dropped slightly at the sight of him. 'You can be a major piss-off sometimes. Scratch that. You're always a major piss-off. Do us all a favour and shut up for once in your life. How about that, huh?'

Nnoitra hisses like a wounded snake and steps back. Grimmjow has never talked to him like that and he doesn't like it one bit. But he has to admit his little brother is exuding the aura of a man with great authority who Nnoitra would not want to offend. Imagine; Nnoitra scared of picking on his own little brother just because he just insulted him like that! Nnoitra opens his mouth to counter that retort but Harribel glares at him and he shuts his mouth reluctantly. He doesn't like it when his sister tells him what to do but Aizen, their father, is watching and he wouldn't want to insult him.

First thing Grimmjow does is approach Ichigo.

'Sorry I walked out on you, Ichi,' he murmurs.

'I'm just glad you came back!' Ichigo says happily but then deflates. 'But Nel is still missing and I-!'

'Surprise!' Nel cries out as she pops her head out from Grimmjow's jacket from the back. 'Did you all miss Nel?'

'Nel!' Ichigo says in ecstasy and pulls her out to give her a tight hug. 'Where were you? You scared daddy to death! Don't ever do that again, you hear me?'

'Itsygo…choking…Nel,' Nel wheezes out and inhales deeply when Ichigo finally lets go and immediately begins to fuss over her clothes being all crumpled up after he had ironed them. The room quiets down as Grimmjow approaches his father, who is looking at him coolly. They look at each other in silence for a few minutes.

'Is anyone going to even say anything?' Nnoitra bursts out angrily.

'I swear!' Shinji agrees. 'We don't want to stand around staring at them like morons!'

'Finally! Someone who understands me!' Nnoitra exclaims.

'Dude! We should totally-!' Shinji starts enthusiastically.

'Just shut the hell up already!' Grimmjow and Aizen say simultaneously as they look at the two annoying loudmouths. Then, they suddenly look at each other. Aizen smiles.

'I guess you really are my son,' he says casually.

'I try not to remember that,' Grimmjow says coldly. Aizen's smile fades away.

'Grimmjow…'

'Save it, dad. I don't even know why you came here and I don't think it's because you love me that you are here. Anyways, I'm going to use this opportunity to give you a piece of my mind.'

'I have a reason for being here, Grimmjow. Just like you, I see this as a second chance for me to make amends for my wrongs.'

Grimmjow stops in tracks and eyes his father suspiciously. Did he just say what he think he just said? He barks a laugh.

'Come on!' Grimmjow sneers. 'So what's the punchline?'

'No joke.'

Grimmjow's eyes narrow.

'So you expect me to believe,' he says softly. 'That you came here to say you're sorry for all the shit you put me through for almost 16 years?'

'If you put it that way, it sounds rather demeaning towards me but-'

'Demeaning towards you?' Grimmjow repeats and gives a hysterical bark of laughter. He's been laughing a lot lately and he knows that this is no laughing matter but he just can't help himself. 'God! Are you even listening to yourself! You know, I actually thought that you had changed but you clearly haven't! You're still the same cold, heartless bastard who is always out to save his own skin!'

'Now really, Grimmjow, I'm wasn't-'

'You're weren't what? Such a bad dad? Hate to burst your bubble, dad, but yeah you were! You would compare me to each and every one of my siblings, you would get Ulquiorra to humiliate me, you would get everyone in the family to humiliate me and you know what, I had enough and I realized that when you divorced mom! She was the only one who actually cared about me and when she died, there was no way in hell I was going to live with you again! Don't give me that bullcrap that you were a 'great dad'! because I-!'

'Alright! I'm sorry!' Aizen snaps so sharply and with such ferocity that Grimmjow actually stops ranting for a second to process what his father had just said.

Silence lapses once more in the living room. Nobody dare move except Rangiku to sneak a glass of champagne since she's already polished off the sake. Aizen breathes deeply.

'I'm sorry, Grimmjow,' he says in a tired voice and for once, Grimmjow acknowledges how old his father really is. The guy has freaking 10 kids! God knows how many times his parents banged each other and-okay, okay, disturbing images he does not want stuck in his mind at a time like this!

'I didn't mean for that to happen to you,' he now struggles to say. 'You shouldn't have been made to go through that. Especially at such a young age.'

'Then why did I?' Grimmjow interrupts before he can stop himself. He knows his father is on emotional roll but he couldn't help ask that question.

'When you have as many children as I do,' he continues with a smile. 'You tend to forget how important it is to treat each and every one of them equally. I wanted the perfect son; one who will carry on the family name and make it shine. But I expected too much from you at a very young age. You were right when you said I wanted you to be something I wanted and not what you wanted. I hoped your brothers would help teach you to be more like them. I never knew that they ridiculed and bullied you. I never wanted that. Do you know why I never stopped you from leaving the house?'

He looks Grimmjow right in the eye. 'It's because I knew you were not like us. You were something unique. And you would do much better in the world away from us. It took me a couple of years to finally understand how special you truly are and I am sorry I didn't realize it sooner. You're not the perfect son. You're much, much more than that. You're my son. And I am proud to call you that. I just wanted to tell you that. If you never want to see my face ever again, I understand. I wouldn't expect any less after all I've put you through.'

Grimmjow is listening in silence with his head down. In the end, he looks up and Ichigo holds his breath, wondering what Grimmjow would do. Then, Grimmjow's cracks a smug grin.

'If you expect me to cry and say something sappy then keep dreaming,' he says coolly. Then, he drops the smartass attitude and locks his father with a warm smile. 'But I forgive you. I mean, you're my dad, for God's sake! We're family and well, family is the most important thing to us.' He winks at Ichigo and Nel.

'That's it?' Shinji snorts. 'What kinda bullshit is this? I mean, we didn't come here to see some moppy reunion between a messed up father and son-!'

'Shut your trap, Shinji, before I knock the rest of your teeth out!' Grimmjow growls and before he can make towards the grinning idiot, a fist flies out of nowhere and boxes Shinji right in the jaw, sending him sprawling into a corner. Everyone stares at the person responsible for that.

'That guy has one tough jaw,' Ichigo complains as he wags one hand from the force he had hit Shinji with while using the other to support a giggling Nel. 'I'm just glad I didn't break any bones.'

'That's my boyfriend,' Grimmjow says proudly and the room erupts into laughter.

'So, um, Grimmjow,' Auzen coughs as he comes level with his son. 'Were you serious when you said you were gay?'

'I'm surprised you hadn't guessed it back when I was living under your roof,' Grimmjow says wryly.

'Well, I assumed all those 'friends' of yours at whose house you stayed at were just, well, 'friends'.'

'Since when did guys have slumber parties?'

'I thought it was a teenager phase!'

'So you never wondered about the thumping noises coming from my room?'

'What thumping noises?'

'You remember! That time I came home with Kaien Shiba, the basketball captain…'

'Grimmjow!' Shiro sings as he comes flying at Grimmjow and wraps him in a tight hug. 'It's absolutely brilliant that you and your father patched things up!'

'Thanks, Shiro, but could you just get off of me!' Grimmjow grunts as he shoves the albino away for he can feel Shiro's hands sliding down his back to his ass. Some people will never learn from their mistakes. The sound of the doorbell can be heard ringing distinctly in the hallway.

'I'll get it!' Grimmjow says hurriedly, desperate to get away from Shiro. Finally managing to shake him off, he strolls into the hallway. He feels like he's walking on clouds. He's so happy to finally be a normal family! Everything seems just perfect tonight!

When he opens the door, he's met with two complete strangers. One is tall and lanky with pale blonde hair and a funny long nose. The other is the complete opposite. This man is so wide he completely fills the hall he's in. His face is just as wide with an equally wide mouth and humongous slabs for hands.

'Um, can I help you?' Grimmjow asks uncertainly.

'Why yes you can!' the thin one says cheerily and Grimmjow almost jumps at the cheeriness in his tone like the man has never known an ounce of sadness. 'Is this the residence of Ichigo and Grimmjow?'

'Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is. Um, who might you be?'

'Oh! I'm Pesche! And this is Dondochakka!'

'Oh! Of course!' Grimmjow says, still confused.

'Hey, Pesche!' the one called Dondochakka says as he pokes his partner. 'I don't think he knows who we are.'

'I know that, Dondochakka!' Pesche says as he elbows him. 'I'm getting to that! Right! Well, see we're Nel's brothers.'

Grimmjow's suddenly realizes that he doesn't want to know why they are here anymore.

'Alright,' he says tightly.

'So,' Pesche continues as if he hasn't noticed the change in Grimmjow's tone. 'We came here to get our little sister back.'