Author's Note:

A note on timeline and power progression: this story occurs after Ichigo regains his powers, but before the whole mess with the Quincies. I've only watched the anime, so this story probably ignores or overwrites the manga-only part of the series; if it helps, think of this as a parallel universe. Regardless, since I can't figure out how powerful Ichigo became after getting his powers back, I'm assuming that he's still recovering somewhat, and isn't at 'I-can-squish-anything' levels of power. He's roughly comparable to a captain or a mid-level espada, which hopefully makes sense for the story. It's no fun if he can defeat his enemies with a single blow; it wouldn't be a good story if there wasn't actual conflict.

As always, major props to the reviewers of the last chapter: George, Kimikozumi, quixotomy, Alexzandria747, SoulMore, and scarletsaber. Thank you all for your support!

The title for this chapter comes from a LARP that I play, wherein basically everyone, no matter how powerful, can be taken out by two well-aimed alchemy packets. Insane numbers of hit points are meaningless when hit with Paralysis Poison, after all...

Chapter 7: Two-Shot Takedown

Grimmjow heaved a sigh as the dulcet tones reached him. "Damn. She's back," he muttered, glancing up at the sky, where Arietta stood with her hands on her hips. "Didn't I tell you to get lost?" he snarled, and she pouted.

"You're no fun." She flicked her head, catching a glint of sunlight on her horn. "How's the shoulder doing?" Her tone was laden with glee and malice in equal measure.

Grimmjow froze. What's she talking about? How did she know? "It's just fine, darling," he yelled cockily up to her. "How about you get your ass down here so we can talk?" For a moment, it looked like she would take the bait, and his grin widened. Yeah, get down here, so I can smash that horn of yours like I promised. And then rip your limbs off and carve you into ribbons. He could almost feel the warmth of her blood on his hands already. I'll take my time with you, bitch. Her death would be a welcome way to release the tension boiling inside him.

"Grimmjow, we're in public," Ichigo muttered out of the corner of his mouth, looking around warily. "The humans can see us. Don't make a scene." Though there weren't any students around at the moment, someone could walk by any minute. The school courtyard was a terrible place for a fight.

The former sexta rolled his eyes. "Let them stare. I don't give a fuck." Ichigo sighed heavily and slipped a hand into the pocket that held his substitute shinigami badge, clearly giving up the argument before it began. Good. Stupid humans aren't going to prevent me from finishing this bitch off.

Arietta snickered. "Listen to your keeper, darling. Don't want to make the humans think you're crazy and lock you up, do you?" She pirouetted slowly, fanning her wings. "After all, in your current condition, it's not like you could stop them." Smiling smugly, she folded her arms across her chest and waited for his response.

A low growl bubbled up in Grimmjow's chest, but Ichigo's hand on his forearm forestalled his initial hotheaded reaction. "You won't bait me that easily, darling," he called back, parroting her condescending style of address. "Come on, Kurosaki, let's go." With that, he deliberately spun on his heel and began to saunter away. Presenting his back like that was a risk, but he felt confident in his own reaction time. She's only an arrancar; I was an espada. There's no way she could ever beat me. Besides, Ichigo was still behind him. Though why that should convince my instincts that I'm safe…

The air convulsed around him as Arietta shrieked with fury. "You bastard! Coward! Face me!" The sizzle of frying ozone was his only warning before a fiery cero streaked past him, scorching the air and leaving a blackened crater in the sidewalk.

Grimmjow cast a disdainful glance over his shoulder. "That the best you can do? A kit has better aim." He pivoted neatly out of the way of a second cero, which smashed into the path a few inches away from the first. Ichigo groaned as he eyed the damage, while Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's it? Come face me in a hundred years or so, when you're ready to play with the big boys."

Much to his surprise, a slow smile spread across her elfin face. "Fine. You want to dance? Let's dance." She spread her hands apart, revealing a crackling net of blue lightning stretched between them. "Let's see how you like this." Her smile broadened as tendrils of lightning licked outwards, reaching towards Grimmjow as though eager to taste his flesh.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. That attack was an order of magnitude stronger than her cero, and – if its little flickers were any gauge – substantially faster as well. There's no way I can get out of the way of that thing, not in a power-limited gigai. If he was honest with himself, it'd be hard to dodge even without that limitation – lightning-based techniques were vicious. Damn it.

He had just taken a deep breath, tensing his muscles in preparation for a futile leap sideways, when Ichigo stepped in front of him. "Alright, that's enough," the teen ordered, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead. "This is a school, not a battlefield. If you want to fight, let's go somewhere else." He pulled his substitute shinigami badge from his pocket, letting it swing idly from a finger. "Or you could go away peacefully, and we could let this all go." His voice was calm, without inflection; he practically sounded bored. But his muscles were tense and his reiatsu thick with power – he wasn't as unruffled as he appeared.

Grimmjow couldn't blame him for that. There was something off about Arietta, something not quite right. I don't remember her being so strong, for one thing. And that lightning was definitely new. But how'd she get more powerful? I ate a chunk of her wing… we can't evolve after that! Unless arrancar follow different rules… He frowned. That would make sense. He could vaguely recall Szayelaporro blathering on about some unique quirk of arrancar evolution, but he hadn't paid enough attention to remember any details.

Any hope he had of recalling it vanished when Arietta shrieked with laughter. "You don't scare me, shinigami," she managed between giggles. "We all heard that you lost your power defeating Aizen-sama. You don't smell any stronger than a pup now, and besides…" She spun in a circle, hugging herself like an overexcited child. "We have toys to deal with you." Tossing her head back, she fanned her wings wide. Sunlight sparkled in rainbow hues along their gossamer structure as she giggled, "Just like our little toys will take care of you, kitty cat!"

Grimmjow growled at her, showing his teeth in an unmistakable threat. "Try it, bitch!" She could use all the 'toys' she wanted; there still wasn't a way she could defeat him – injured shoulder, power limiter, and all.

Ichigo sighed, shifting his weight from one foot to another. Grimmjow expected him to take umbrage at Arietta's insults; the Ichigo he'd originally fought would have been furious. But the teen just rolled his eyes. "I have a test to take," he informed her coolly. "Either leave, or I'll make you leave." His hand clenched tightly around his badge, and Grimmjow could feel his spiritual pressure rising.

Arietta snorted. "You'll make me? Good one!" She flicked her hand in a negligent gesture, sending a branch of lightning lashing through the air. Ichigo flinched backwards, but refused to budge from his place in front of Grimmjow, hand outstretched in a futile gesture of warding.

Before he consciously registered the attack, Grimmjow's body leapt into action, snagging Ichigo around the waist and sending them both tumbling. The lightning cracked above their heads, scorching Grimmjow's unruly hair, as Ichigo grunted. "What the…"

Grimmjow didn't let him finish. "Are you an idiot? You can't take a blow like that in your mortal form! What the hell were you thinking?" He rolled off of the teen, doing his best to ignore his body's disappointment at the sudden loss of warmth. Now is so not the time!

Arietta giggled gleefully, sending another bolt of lightning to crash into the ground at his feet. "Dance, kitty, dance!" He belatedly jumped backwards, only to be sprayed with dirt as a third bolt rocketed into the grass behind him. Arietta wasn't trying to seriously injure him – she was clearly having too much fun toying with him – but his nerves sizzled with the awareness that she could easily kill him unless he could get out of his damn gigai. Fuck this, fuck her, fuck this whole world, dammit! Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ichigo scrambling to his feet, yanking off his pack and rummaging around inside it while muttering curses, but he couldn't spare the teen any attention. A fourth spear seared across his uninjured shoulder, leaving a bloody gash, and he winced. She cackled.

"Enough, Arietta." Two more arrancar materialized out of nowhere. The larger, a hulking bear-like humanoid who Grimmjow thought was named Marrok, laid a hand on Arietta's shoulder. "Don't play with your food." He transferred his gaze to Ichigo and sighed. "Shinigami, we have no quarrel with you, only with the former espada at your side. Leave now, and we will all go back to Hueco Mundo, leaving this world alone."

Ichigo set his backpack down and glared up at the arrancar, propping his hands on his hips. "And what if Grimmjow doesn't want to go with you?" he challenged.

Grimmjow groaned. Kurosaki, what do you think you're doing? The teen was still in his human form, though his fingers were white-knuckled around his badge. Why haven't you taken your shinigami form yet? Grimmjow's skin itched to be free of his gigai, but he couldn't afford the moment of vulnerability as he struggled free. If he had possessed soul candy, it would have been much safer, since the candy ejected his spirit instantaneously. But Urahara hadn't given him any. So leaving the artificial body felt like wading through thick, chest-high mud – doable, but time-consuming.

However, Ichigo's badge acted just like soul candy. He could leave his body in the blink of an eye and be immediately capable of combat. Dammit, Ichigo, get in your real body already! Grimmjow sneered. Or has a year of peace made you soft? It galled him to be reliant on the substitute shinigami for protection, but there was no way around it. I just need a few seconds, dammit!

Marrok's companion hissed with laughter, forked tongue flickering over his thin lips. "Since when do shinigami care about espada scum?" If Grimmjow's memory was right, he went by the name of Kinderras.

Before either Ichigo or Grimmjow could answer, Arietta giggled, "The kitty's his pet, can't you tell? Little Grimm-kitty's been declawed." She smirked at Grimmjow, daring him to respond.

"Come down here, bitch, and see just how sharp my claws are," he snarled back, sliding his feet into a more balanced stance. It was a stupid taunt, and he knew it; he couldn't take her on in a gigai. But I'm no one's pet, and I'll kill anyone who suggests differently! He cast a sidelong glance at Ichigo, who stood with his feet braced apart and a frustrated look on his face. His eyes darted from side to side, continuously scanning the windows of the school buildings on either side of them, though they always returned to the trio of arrancar above them. Grimmjow could hear him muttering something about civilians and collateral damage under his breath.

Arietta's mouth stretched in a humorless grin, revealing her rows of jagged teeth. "Any time, kitty cat!" Folding her wings, she dove towards Grimmjow with hands outstretched and lighting dancing between them.

A blow from Kinderras sent her flying. "Idiot! We need him alive!" Arietta gave him a sulky look as she pulled herself upright, blood dripping down her face from where his claws had raked across her forehead. "What were you thinking?" he snapped. She opened her mouth to answer, and he glared at her. "Don't bother. You weren't." He rolled his eyes. "Just like last night. I don't know why I bothered recruiting you."

"Maybe because I'm the only one who can neutralize him?" she snapped back, tossing her head like a testy horse. "Besides, I got valuable information last night, remember?"

"You could have gotten that information without revealing our presence," Marrok rumbled.

Arietta turned her glare on him. "Oh yeah? I needed to see his cero, moron. How else was I supposed to tell if the drug worked or not?" She soared over to stand on the air in front of him, getting into his face as she continued to berate him. He snarled a low response, but she ran right over him.

"Alright, what's going on?" Ichigo muttered in an undertone, a bewildered frown creasing his brow. "Who are these guys, anyway?"

"The one who looks like a grizzly bear is named Marrok; the snake is called Kinderras," Grimmjow told him, taking a step closer. "You already know Arietta. But I've got no clue what they're planning." He glared up at the trio, now arguing loudly with each other in total disregard for the pair below them. Their dismissal rankled, but he had to admit it was a good tactic. Pretend that we're not a threat at all, and hope we get mad enough to attack when their backs are turned. Bet you anything they've got a nasty surprise or two waiting for us if we take the bait.

Ichigo frowned. "The snake, Kinderras… he said they need you alive. What's that about?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "Who know, who cares. Can we kill them now?" He needed to feel the wind on his face and the spatter of blood on his skin; he felt like he was going to explode if he didn't find an outlet for the pent-up energy clawing at the inside of his skin.

Ichigo hesitated, gripping his badge so tightly that his forearm shook. "You don't have soul candy with you, and I don't have Kon. We can't just leave our bodies lying around in the school courtyard; it would terrify some poor civilian." He grimaced, and added, "And then Hat-and-Clogs would make me scrub toilets for a month to pay for the memory modifications." Then he shook his head. "More importantly, there are hundreds of students a dozen yards away… There's no way to guarantee their safety if we start a battle here." His tone was laden with frustration and bitterness, tinged with regret.

Grimmjow studied his hard, closed face briefly, unsettled by the black flickers of self-loathing threaded through Ichigo's reiatsu. "Did something…" he started softly. Ichigo's scowl darkened, and he quickly shut his mouth. Okay, not a good question to ask. He bumped Ichigo's shoulder with his own, then gestured up at the trio. "So what do we do?"

Ichigo squared his shoulders. "What we have to."

Even as he pressed his badge to his chest, he knew it was a bad idea. He'd never been great at assessing the power level of his opponents, but these three didn't feel as strong as, say, Ulquiorra or Byakuya. If he had to guess, they were probably closer to Renji's level. So why do they act like they can handle us without breaking a sweat? He scowled. If only we weren't in the middle of school… He didn't want to take the chance that one of them had some sort of surprise attack that could take out buildings or otherwise endanger innocent noncombatants. Just like last time…

It was far too late to do anything about that now, though. As his body crumpled behind him, he launched himself towards the querulous trio, drawing Zangetsu as he soared upwards. Behind him, Grimmjow struggled out of his gigai, rubbing surreptitiously as his shoulder as he emerged. Ichigo grimaced. Grimmjow had been doing his best to hide it, but he'd caught the espada prodding at his wounded shoulder with a pained expression when he thought no one was looking.

Now that the espada was back in his normal form, the extent of the damage was obvious. The white bandages around the puncture had turned a dull rust color, with ominous streaks of muddy green mixed in. The skin of that arm was pasty white, and Ichigo could see pale green threads creeping out from under the bandages. Shit. The injury should have been mostly healed by now, but it looked like it was getting worse. Even the mostly-healed gut wound bore the unhealthy reddish tinge of inflammation, though his smaller injuries had healed properly. What the hell? Did this have anything to do with the drug Arietta had mentioned?

More worryingly, the blade protruding from the hilt strapped to his side was still short and jagged. Pantera hadn't regenerated at all, as far as Ichigo could tell, which made no sense. Grimmjow's spiritual pressure was certainly recovering; his zanpakuto should regrow at the same rate. Dammit, what's going on here?

If anyone could answer that question, it'd be the three arrancar, who paused their bickering as Ichigo arrowed towards them. As he came to a halt a few yards away from them, Arietta licked a smear of blood off the back of her hand and cocked her head to one side. "What do you want, shinigami? Come to get your ass kicked?"

Marrok laid a heavy paw on her shoulder, tugging her backwards. She shrugged his hand off, but obediently retreated, while he offered Ichigo a placid smile. "As I said before, we have no desire to fight you. We would be happy to leave peacefully, so long as you surrender the former espada to us."

Grimmjow skidded to a halt next to Ichigo in time to hear Marrok's last words. "Go fuck yourself," he snarled, flexing his fingers. "Kurosaki can't tell me to do shit." He flung out his hands, wincing almost imperceptibly as the motion tugged at his injuries. "You want me? Come and get me." His feral grin promised them a world of pain if they tried.

Ichigo threw him a quelling glance and took a step forward. "Look. I don't know what you want with Grimmjow, and I don't care. Go back to Hueco Mundo where you belong." His muscles were taut with tension as he leveled Zangetsu at them, infusing the blade with superheated reiatsu. Dammit, just go away…

His hollow snickered. Just slaughter them all, imbecile. The only good enemy is a dead one.

Ichigo's hands clenched convulsively around Zangetsu's hilt. And if they wreck half the school in the ensuing fight? What then?

A year and a half ago, he wouldn't have worried about that, confident in his ability to protect those around him against run-of-the-mill hollows. But then he'd lost his powers, gained Fullbring, lost that, and regained an approximation of his original abilities. With his confidence badly battered, he'd thrown himself back into training, striving to master every nuance of his new blend of powers. The transfer had been far from seamless, but he had thought that he was close to figuring it all out.

Then a former privaron espada had shown up.

Ichigo hadn't known that she had once been the segundo espada when he went to confront her – he had assumed that she was an ordinary arrancar. He had quickly learned his mistake. Her first attack had blasted through his defenses like they weren't even there, sending him crashing to the dirt before he could blink.

Her second had dropped a building on top of him.

If not for Renji's and Rukia's timely appearance, he might have died there, crushed under a load of cracked bricks and iron support beams. He could have handled that; he'd been on the brink of death more times than he could count at that point. But he'd always been the one who would have paid the price of failure.

That time had been different. When the dust had cleared, they had found a pair of homeless kids amidst the rubble. The young boy had already died by the time they dug him out; his sister had survived just long enough to crawl over to his limp body before she, too, collapsed. She couldn't have been more than twelve.

Ichigo shook his head angrily, dashing away the memories. I won't let that happen again. I won't!

His hollow wisely stayed silent.

Kinderras, on the other hand, was oblivious to Ichigo's descent into memory. Coiling his tail underneath him, he hissed, "Who do you think you are to order us around, shinigami?" Fangs flipped down from the roof of his mouth as he drew his sword, pointing it directly at Ichigo's heart.

Marrok stifled a sigh and spread his hands in a gesture of peace. "This is a conflict between hollows, and of no interest to shinigami. I promise you, we will not harm you or yours if you retreat now. Let us handle this on our own," he urged.

"I can't do that," Ichigo replied steadily.

"I don't need your protection, Kurosaki," Grimmjow spat, while his hollow grumbled something about him being an idealistic, arrogant moron with a hero complex. Ichigo ignored them both.

The ursine arrancar slowly nodded his ponderous, bone-plated head. "Understood. But tell me, why is a shinigami protecting a former espada?" He paused, then added in a tone faintly flavored with irony, "Especially one who used to be your sworn mortal enemy?"

Good question, King, Ichigo's hollow snickered. Didn't you tell me you weren't interested in him? Or did you change your mind after that kiss? He's pretty damn hot, after all.

Ichigo gritted his teeth. Shut up. That's got nothing to do with this. More to the point, it wasn't something that he wanted to be distracted thinking about while facing three arrancar of indeterminate power. Nor was it an answer he wanted to give to Marrok. Instead, he shrugged, and explained, "I promised to give him shelter while in the living world, and I don't break my promises."

"You make me sound like a fucking damsel in distress," Grimmjow grumbled. He shoved Ichigo aside and took a step towards Marrok, jabbing his finger into the larger arrancar's chest. "You want me alive, huh? Do your worst." He spread his hands, lips peeling back to reveal gleaming white teeth. "Leave the kid out of it."

"Fine with me," Kinderras laughed. He surged forwards, eyes taking on a hellish crimson gleam, as he yanked a pair of sai from the sash around his waist. "Get him!"

The other two arrancar leapt into motion. Arietta unsheathed a curved scimitar whose blade dripped dark blue ichor, while Marrok unwound a long, spiked chain from his waist. As he set it spinning in a gleaming circle, Ichigo snarled, "Big mistake." His eyes narrowed as he watched the chain for a fraction of a millisecond before darting in, blade arcing upwards to catch the chain as it swung down. Marrok grunted as the chain wrapped around Zangetsu, tangling itself around the zanpakuto and coming to a halt thoroughly fouled.

King, you idiot! Ichigo's hollow yelped, blasting him with a feeling of fury. Think before you act, moron!

Ichigo didn't have to wait long to figure out what his hollow meant. With a low growl of effort, Marrok whirled like a discus thrower and hurled Ichigo over his head, blade first. Ichigo stifled a yelp as he somersaulted through the air, catching a glimpse of Grimmjow sparring barehanded against Kinderras from a dizzying, upside-down vantage point before the chain yanked taut. "Apologies," Marrok grunted, before launching a cero at point blank range.

Shit! Ichigo writhed out of the way, wincing as the blast singed his hair as it flew by. Before the arrancar could throw another, he ripped Zangetsu free of the chain and lunged forwards. Marrok blocked the first blow with a length of chain stretched between his hands, but Ichigo had been expecting that. Swiftly pulling back the blade, he planted a foot on thin air and came down with a sweeping overhead cut aimed at the arrancar's shoulder.

Enhanced by his furious reiatsu, the blade should have slid through meat and bone with ease. Instead, it slammed into Marrok's bone-plated shoulder and stopped dead. The arrancar's lips twitched as he twisted into the blow, forcing Zangetsu backwards with his chain as he drove his elbow into the side of Ichigo's head.

Something crunched; Ichigo could feel blood dripping from his nose. He reeled backwards, blinking in momentary shock, and bared his teeth. "Fine. Ban-"

Arietta's lightning bolt struck him in the back.

The electricity sent shock waves through his body. His heart stuttered, skipped a beat, and resumed pounding at a hundred miles an hour, while his muscles convulsed. Fingers twitched as he fought to maintain his hold on Zangetsu; his lungs ached as he dragged a breath past unresponsive pectorals. Damn it!

Grimmjow glanced over and spotted his momentary paralysis. Roaring a challenge, he arrowed straight towards Arietta, who simpered and darted forward on silent wings. Marrok stepped in between her and Grimmjow, releasing the chain from one hand as he started it spinning in a figure eight pattern. Grimmjow snarled, lashing out with a quick cero blast as he tried to dodge around the hulking arrancar. Hot, livid reiatsu boiled from him, which increased to a fever pitch as Marrok wrapped his chain around Grimmjow's ankle, hauling him backwards. Grimmjow didn't bother to look around; all of his attention remained focused on Arietta.

That cost him. Ichigo flinched as the ursine arrancar drove his fist into Grimmjow's liver. Damn it, Grimmjow, pay attention!

He should have taken his own advice. Distracted by Grimmjow's battle with Marrok, he didn't notice the whisper of approaching wings until Arietta slashed her scimitar across his ribs.

The glancing blow bit into his side, stinging like fire as Ichigo belated dodged out of the way. Grimmjow's reiatsu abruptly assumed a panicked tinge. Ichigo had only a moment to wonder why before every muscle in his body locked up. King! his hollow yelped, flooding his bloodstream with adrenaline as he tumbled helplessly out of the sky.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell had been on her blade? No normal poison should work that fast. Stars swam in front of his vision as his paralyzed lungs refused to inhale; the ground was approaching at an alarming rate.

A blur of blue. Yards above the ground, Ichigo slammed into Grimmjow's chest as the former espada flashed into the path of his fall. "Ichigo!" A bewildering mixture of emotions swam through his reiatsu as he landed lightly on the grass, staring at Ichigo's face with an expression suspiciously close to worry.

"Hey! Kitty!" Grimmjow hastily set Ichigo on the grass and whirled to find Arietta hovering less than a foot away from him. "Say goodbye!" Laughing maniacally, she hurled a cloud of sparkling dust into his face. Grimmjow batted it away contemptuously, mouth open to sneer something insulting, but he froze as soon as he touched the dust. His skin blanched to a pasty white, and he doubled over, coughing as though his lungs were about to burst from his chest.

"Alright, that's enough." The cold, hard voice from above startled them all. A crackling blue-white arrow followed it, streaking through the air and piercing Arietta's wing as she flinched aside. She shrieked in pain, backpedaling, as Uryu snapped, "The next one will be through your heart. Leave, now."

Grimmjow hacked a wheezing laugh. "Just… kill her." As she lunged for him with a wild swing of her scimitar, he let his weight fall forward onto his hands and lashed out with a head-level hook kick.

Arietta dodged, hissed in fury, and sonidoed back to her companions. "This isn't over, kitty. You owe me, and I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to!" Glancing at Kinderras, she snapped, "Let's go." As they vanished into sonido, she stuck her tongue out at Grimmjow.

"Bitch," the former espada slurred, swaying on his feet. "I'll…" His sentence cut off as he fell to one knee.

All at once, the paralysis engulfing Ichigo's muscles vanished. He stumbled forward, cursing under his breath as Grimmjow blinked muzzily. "Grimmjow? Are you okay?" His coughing had stopped, but his skin was now a dull grey.

"I'm fine, just f-" The last word trailed off as Grimmjow gently keeled over onto his side, unconscious.

"Idiot," Ichigo muttered, dropping to his knees next to the espada's limp form. "Why'd you turn your back on her, huh?" Why'd you catch me?

Uryu leapt down from the rooftop and nodded to Ichigo, letting his bow dissolve back into reishi. "So. I take it this is the potential trouble you warned us about?"

Hours later, after the whole mess had been cleaned up, Ichigo sat at his desk, staring morosely at the limp form of the former sexta espada lying on his bed. With Uryu's help, he'd managed to get Grimmjow back in his gigai before any other students emerged from their club meetings, but the espada hadn't woken up. A frantic call to Urahara had brought the former captain to his school, where he had assured Ichigo that Grimmjow would wake in due time. In the meantime, he should keep the espada warm and comfortable. Ichigo had tried to get a clearer answer out of the enigmatic scientist, but Urahara had refused to give him any more information.

At least he helped me get Grimmjow home without anyone noticing; I couldn't have done it on my own. Manhandling an unconscious body through the streets of Karakura Town was bound to draw unwanted attention. But Urahara had produced a strange device shaped like an hourglass from one of his innumerable pockets, and passerby has stared right through them. It had been like they were in spirit form.

Unfortunately, in all the confusion, Ichigo had completely forgotten about his math test. He'd sent a pleading email to Fujimoto-sensei, asking if he could finish the test after the weekend; she hadn't replied yet. Yet another thing to stress out about.

The worry about the test was distant, though, compared to the anxiety he felt over Grimmjow's prolonged unconsciousness. Dinner had come and gone, and the espada still hadn't woken up. If he were human, Ichigo would have said that he was in a coma, and needed to be placed on life support immediately. But arrancar didn't exactly need food or water, and only needed to breathe if they wanted to talk, as far as Ichigo knew. So his current state of unconsciousness wasn't necessarily as dangerous for him.

He wasn't exactly unconscious, either. It was more like a very deep hibernation. Every so often, he would twitch or grumble something low in his throat, but he remained totally unresponsive to outside stimuli. Furthermore, his reiatsu remained at dangerously low levels, though his skin tone had gradually returned to normal.

Ichigo brushed a soft lock of electric blue hair out of the espada's face and sighed. "You really are an idiot, you know?" Grimmjow didn't even stir at the quiet words, and Ichigo went on, "Why'd you act so recklessly? You knew how dangerous Arietta could be – why'd you turn your back on her?"

Only silence answered him. Gnawing on his lip, he flipped to the next page of his chemistry textbook, but the words blurred on the page. The scenario seemed eerily similar; they'd been in the exact same positions only two nights ago. And yet tonight feels completely different. Two nights ago, he hadn't cared much if the espada lived or died, so long as he did so without causing too much trouble. Now, the thought of Grimmjow dying made a sharp pain shoot through his heart.

He's not going to die, his hollow muttered irritably. It had remained mostly silent throughout the evening, but as the night wore on, it had grown increasingly exasperated with his 'maudlin, pointless worrying.'

I know that, Ichigo snapped back. Urahara had assured him of that much. You don't need to keep repeating it. At least the current comments were better than the salacious images that his hollow had been sending him earlier. I really don't need a visual of what Grimmjow might look like naked, thank you very much.

Admittedly, such thoughts had crossed his mind, especially after Grimmjow had kissed him, but he had hurriedly erased them. Attraction to the man who had once sworn to kill him? The very though was insane. His shinigami friends would murder him if he ever admitted to it, much less acted on it; his human friends would probably do the same. Shinigami and hollows are natural enemies – there's no way anything would have a snowball's chance in hell of working.

You do remember that you're half hollow, right? his hollow grumbled. And Grimmjow's half shinigami. Not that far apart really.

It was an easy argument to believe when looking at him now, with all evidence of his arrancar nature hidden within the gigai. He could have been just another shinigami visiting the living world, using Ichigo's room as a crash pad like they always did, if not for the elaborate tattoo on his shoulder.

Setting his chemistry textbook aside, Ichigo reached out a hand to tentatively trace that tattoo. It was a work of art that matched Grimmjow's personality perfectly, all jagged spikes and sinuous lines that somehow melded together into a graceful whole. The stark blackness of the ink contrasted beautifully with the arrancar's tan skin. But its beauty was an unsubtle reminder about Grimmjow's reasons for remaining in the world of the living. If not for this and Pantera, would he still be here?

The answer was obvious. As soon as Grimmjow regained his full powers, he'd disappear back into the sands of Hueco Mundo, and Ichigo would probably never see him again. That, if nothing else, is a reason to avoid getting too attached.

Not that Ichigo thought that there was a good chance of that. It's Grimmjow, after all. The espada was loud, obnoxious, crude, arrogant…

Sexy, powerful, unexpectedly kind, incredibly hot… his hollow added. Come on, admit it. You want him. The hollow snickered. And he clearly wants you, too.

Ichigo heaved a sigh, perching on the edge of his bed and staring moodily at Grimmjow. I don't know what he wants… that's the problem. Ichigo had no desire to become a pawn in whatever strange game the espada might be playing. For all I know, he's trying to get close to me so he can slip a blade in my back when I'm not looking. He bit his lip. Grimmjow didn't seem like the kind of person to betray someone in that fashion, but then Kugo Ginjo had appeared to be trustworthy as well. And look how well that turned out. Sometimes it felt like he couldn't believe anyone – even his father and Urahara lied to him when they thought it necessary. He didn't want to think that Grimmjow was planning on betraying him, but he didn't wholly trust his instincts anymore. I just don't know who to trust at this point.

A strangled cough distracted him from his melancholy musings. Ichigo glanced over to see Grimmjow's lips pull back over his teeth, revealing sharp canines as the espada wheezed. It sounded like he was trying to cough up a hairball. Ichigo narrowed his eyes. That didn't sound healthy, and he didn't like the way Grimmjow's hands had stiffened into claws. "Grimmjow?" he asked quietly.

Another hacking cough answered him. Grimmjow's spine arched backwards and his hands clenched into fists, clutching Ichigo's bedspread between his fingers. Ichigo reached out to lay a hand on Grimmjow's forehead, and flinched. The espada was burning up. Dammit, what am I supposed to do? None of his first aid training had prepared him for something like this.

As another cough issued from Grimmjow's throat, the espada began shaking. First his hands, then his arms, then his entire body erupted in convulsions. If he'd been human, Ichigo would have thought that he was experiencing a grand mal seizure. What the hell did that powder do to him?

Grimmjow's shaking quickly grew worse, and his movements became more erratic. One foot connected solidly with Ichigo's desk, leaving a dent, and he winced. That had to hurt. Gigais were more durable than mortal bodies, but they weren't as invincible as spirit forms. Already Grimmjow's foot bore rapidly darkening bruises from its impact.

Despite the advice shown in movies, doctors didn't recommend restraining a person during a seizure. But, as Grimmjow slammed his hand into the wall with a crunch, Ichigo chose to ignore that. Flipping Grimmjow onto his side, he grabbed both of the espada's wrists and pinned them above his head. Grimmjow struggled violently against the restraints, low snarls bubbling from his lips in between harsh coughs, but Ichigo kept the pressure up. There wasn't much he could do to prevent the espada from kicking, but he did his best to keep his body between Grimmjow and any solid objects.

It felt like an eternity before Grimmjow's frenetic movements slowed, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Ichigo shook sweat-drenched hair out of his face and slowly loosened his grip, ruefully eying the red finger marks that he'd left behind. "Grimmjow? You awake?"

When the espada didn't answer, Ichigo sighed and gently rearranged him on the bed. "You'd better wake up soon," he muttered. "Or I'm calling Urahara again and letting him dose you with some vile tonic." Grabbing a tissue, he wiped saliva away from Grimmjow's chin, silently hoping that the espada wasn't about to throw up. "You'd deserve it, too, for making me worry." He rolled his eyes. "I swear, when you wake up, I'm going to kick some sense into you."

Slowly Grimmjow's azure eyes pried open. "Kinky, Kurosaki… Didn't you say you're supposed to ask first?"