(CHAPTER 517 SPOILER: Guys, guys... Ichigo is going to the palace of the Soul King! This is pretty exciting. Bleach was getting a little...old...but this is a new event that could bring back the feeling from the first entrance into the Sereitei. I still firmly believe "princesa" Inoue will have some relation to the King. If not, those powers need more explaining. Cheating death is far too god like... But anyway, the developments in the latest chapters have been very intriguing :)

A/N: If you have not done so, go back and read chapter 16. I noticed a lot of people didn't and it is my fault so I'm telling you now. And sorry again. You may be a bit lost in this chapter if you didn't read it.

I LOVED writing this chapter for some reason.

Enjoy!

Cosmic Motivation

Like the night sky, his universe is shrouded in darkness because of the radiant star he's placed in its center. He endures the pain because he wants to someday hold it in the palm of his hand again.

Monday afternoon.

Ichigo slowly made his way to the school garden, now headed by nurse Unohana who had a certain liking for him.

He had gone to the cafeteria and told everyone that he wouldn't be joining them for lunch today which drew quite a few reactions. The only people who didn't complain and told him to take care of his business were Ishida and Rukia.

Well, Senna didn't really say anything. What was up with her lately?

The only time he heard her talk nowadays was when other people were around.

He honestly couldn't figure out what could have had her so upset with him. It kind of upset him because she was his bundle of excitement and impulsive craziness. Hopefully she'd return to her normal self soon enough.

His thoughts of his friends vanished when he rounded the corner and the garden came into his sight.

Memories of his first meeting with Grimmjow came flooding in…

Flashback

When Grimmjow had entered the garden and told Ichigo that Renji and Tatsuki were getting creamed on the soccer field by Nnoitora, Ichigo sat in absolute disbelief.

He knew there was no way Tatsuki would go down easy at her own school.

He, in turn, taunted Grimmjow claiming he would never be able to take Tatsuki down in a soccer match.

The look on his face when he heard that was priceless as he dropped his pizza onto his plate.

"What!?"

"That's right. I said it. You. Don't. Stand. A. Chance."

"We'll see!" Grimmjow exclaimed before picking up his pizza and angrily eating it.

No way he would ever lose to that chick.

"Anyway, Grimmjow, I just wanted to say that I… I won't leave you." he said softly, referring to the statement Grimmjow made on the roof earlier that morning.

"Kurosaki-"

"I mean, if you want me to be your friend, I will! Okay? …I won't abandon you."

End Flashback

Ichigo's pace slowed incredibly when he remembered those words. His exact words.

They had been spoken so long ago, but remembering them felt like he had said them just yesterday.

How could he have allowed himself to be manipulated into doing the thing he always said he wouldn't do?

That question plagued him until he reached the garden full of memories. In some way, he felt like he had also abandoned it as well.

After hoping it would be forgiving to him, he entered.

It was a little larger than he last remembered it, but it held the same nostalgic feeling of the crush he had on Grimmjow that had blossomed into a love stronger than he knew could exist.

A feeling bubbled in the pit of his stomach making him rethink lunch altogether. This was definitely not a good idea.

"Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo turned when he heard his name being called by Unohana.

"Good afternoon, Unohana-san."

"What are you doing here in the garden?" she asked.

"I'm meeting someone here. Don't worry, we're not going to wreck anything, I promise." he smiled.

"Your reputation would suggest otherwise, but I can see beneath that tough exterior. Men and their ways are such a mystery…"

"Unohana-san…"

"Yes?"

Ichigo stood in place and considered asking her for some adult advice on his situation. Then he realized she would probably send him to the school counselor if he told her about what had gone on between Ginjo and himself. It was probably a good idea not to mention him.

"I need some advice…"

"Alright dear. What is it you'd like help with?"

"Well, I want to ask this sincerely… And you don't need to answer if you don't want to."

"What is it?"

He decided to focus on the most painful aspect of the entire situation, "…Have you ever made a promise to someone that you weren't able to keep?"

"Believe it or not, I have. I certainly won't go into details, but the heartache I felt from not being able to keep my promise made me feel less than human...so to speak..."

"You don't say…" the boy commented, feeling worse than ever now.

How many times had he promised Grimmjow that he wouldn't abandon him? Too many to recall…

What did the man think of him now that he had broken that promise? Couldn't be anything good huh?

"But you know, it's never too late to redeem yourself from whatever it is you're going through." Unohana walked over to the boy and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You're a good person, I can tell that just by looking at you. If you didn't intentionally break your promise, then don't let it trouble you so gravely. There's always a future that has yet to be written. Redeem your promise if it's within your power. I'm sure you can do it."

Ichigo listened to Unohana and for once in these past few weeks, he didn't feel as low as he had. He was immediately glad he had talked to her. She really gave him a different outlook on the situation.

Maybe it wasn't too late to make amends. But there was nothing that could be done so long as Ginjo was continuously blackmailing him.

How could he ever go back on an oath he made on his mother's name? She would probably never forgive him if he did…

Unohana smiled, "Take care of yourself, Kurosaki-san."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I can see that faint bruise on your cheek."

"Oh… That. Heh, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. And thank you for your advice, Unohana-san. It really…changed things… I appreciate your help."

Unohana shook her head letting the boy know it was no problem at all.

After remembering that Ichigo was expecting someone, she decided to save watering the rest of the plants for later. There was probably someone in the infirmary in need of attention anyway. With the thought of helping someone in mind, Unohana left the garden and headed to the infirmary. Who knows, maybe Isane and Hanataro could handle things on their own.

Ichigo walked over to one of the benches and took a seat before gazing up at the sky through the glass roof.

After speaking with Unohana, for some reason the world seemed a little brighter. It was probably because she had told him, without actually telling him, that it wasn't too late to keep his promise to Grimmjow. It wasn't too late to save...well, what they had…

And that thought…made him happy.

But Ginjo had to come and ruin everything. Poor Grimmjow had no idea what was going on. He had basically become a simple pawn in Ginjo's game of "take whatever the hell I want however I can get it".

That was so unfair.

But if he wanted Ichigo to be his fiancé, he would make life more complicated and difficult as he possibly could. Maybe then he'd give up the idea of them being married.

"What a horrible idea…" he thought.

"Yo, Kurosaki!"

Said boy glanced in the direction his name was being called from.

"Hey, Grimmjow."

"Man, this place got bigger since the last time I was in here." The bluenette commented in slight awe as he made his way further into the lush garden.

"You noticed too, huh? I think they may have knocked down the wall and taken over the empty classroom that used to be next door."

"Think so?"

"Yeah, I can't think of any other possible explanation."

Grimmjow turned his attention from the plants to the boy sitting just ahead of him now. He sat down next to him and gazed directly ahead to the walkways just outside.

"So you decided where you wanna go? I figured you wouldn't want to eat the crappy food in the cafeteria." He said.

Ichigo ignored his words, his attention too focused on the noticeable bruise he could now see on the man's forehead.

"Are you okay? Did you have that checked out?" he asked, remembering how he hadn't helped him with it due to his hasty retreat.

Grimmjow turned to the boy and smirked, "I'm not a pussy. I can take being hit."

"Oh whatever! This'll be the last time I worry about you."

"How about you? I know that pretty little mug you got was swollen for a while."

"Oh, yeah. And my dad was imagining all kinds of crazy things about it. Yuzu nearly cried."

"Sorry I couldn't stop it from happening."

Ichigo turned a sympathetic gaze at the man beside him, "Don't be. I jumped in knowing what could've happened. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you out more."

"You did fine."

"But you told me I just got in the way. Remember?"

"I lied. Get over it."

"You…you-"

"Baka."

"Aho baka!"

Grimmjow smirked and then slowly brought his hand up to the boy's face before laying it on his previously bruised cheek.

Ichigo turned and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Kurosaki-"

"Grimm, don't…please…"

The larger man grinned and slapped the other's cheek twice in an affectionate manner, "Let's get out of this place. It's bringing back memories and you clearly don't wanna go down that road anymore."

"Yeah… Where do you wanna eat?"

"We'll decide once we're in the car."

"Aye aye, captain."

After careful consideration, and finally being able to agree on a restaurant, Ichigo and Grimmjow found themselves in the private booth of a sushi bar.

Ichigo himself was not fond of sushi, he had actually not eaten it often, but Grimmjow was in love with it. Might as well give him this satisfaction since he could give him none of any other kind.

"Ready to order, princess?"

The orange haired boy glared from behind his menu at the man sitting across the table from him.

"Your balls are in range of my foot just so you know."

"Interested in my balls, Kurosaki?"

"Only in hurting them when you're being annoying and immature."

"I'd love to see you try-"

"Excuse me for intruding," a waitress interrupted, "It's just been a while since we brought out the menus. Are you both ready to order or will you need another moment?"

"Beat it-"

"We're ready." Ichigo said, interrupting Grimmjow.

"Um, okay. What will you be having today?" she asked after taking out a pen and small notepad.

"Everything sounds really appetizing, but I think I'll go with the grilled boneless short ribs and shumai please."

"What drink would you like with that?"

"Oh, a coke please."

"Yuck." Grimmjow commented under his breath.

"And for you sir? What can we make for you?" she asked.

Blue eyes turned back to the menu, "Yes, I'll have the beef carpaccio, a side of yakitori, and two egg rolls please. A Dr. Pepper with that would be nice."

"Alright. I'll be back with your orders momentarily." The girl smiled before leaving.

"So, have you been seeing anyone since we split up?" Ichigo asked, curiosity on the matter reaching its absolute peak.

"Nah, I'm not interested in any of the girls around and the gay guys all seem to be fucking whores."

"Fucking whores? Really now?"

"Don't call me on my profanity, Kurosaki. You know exactly what I meant."

"Just wanted to mess with you." The boy smiled.

"Anyway, don't think I'm giving up on you so easily. I know we're just friends for now, but I want more than that with you. And if I have to move the stars or the ground beneath my feet, I'm gonna make it happen."

Inwardly, Ichigo was glad to hear that. He was glad to know that Grimmjow hadn't moved on and was still pursuing him as selfish as that seemed.

It meant there was still a chance of them being together by some miracle or stroke of luck.

"Here are your drinks."

Earlier, the waitress had taken a good look at this blue haired man who was showing little to no interest in her and now wondered if she should slip him her phone number.

"Can I get wasabi with my meal please?" Grimmjow asked.

"Of course! I'll be right back with your orders." The girl said hurriedly.

Without wasting any time, she headed to the kitchen to retrieve the meals.

After almost tripping with the plates, she hurried back over to the men and placed the foods down as gently as she could.

"Thank you, miss." Ichigo smiled.

"Thanks." Grimmjow uttered.

After the girl had left, both men turned to their food.

"Itadakimasu!" the bluenette said, letting the food take his mind away from his troubles.

Before he began eating, Ichigo asked a question, "Grimmjow, why are you being so dismissive to the waitress?"

"Because I'm not interested in her."

"Really? How do you know she's interested in you?"

"Because she slipped me her number." The man said, putting his chopsticks down and lifting a small piece of paper between his index and middle fingers.

"You should give her a chance. Chasing after me won't get you-"

"Let's enjoy our meal, Kurosaki."

"…Right..."

In the cafeteria back at the school, Rukia flipped through her manga as she avoided listening to Chizuru going on about Inoue dating.

She had just found out earlier that Inoue had started dating that Shishigawara fellow and was not taking it so well.

Purple eyes glanced over to the girl, still complaining. It was hard to read with all the noise.

"Orihime! I'm serious! Why would you wanna date a bad boy from…Fullbring High school…? You'd be better off with m-"

"Honsho, what are you going on about?" Tatsuki asked before sitting down with her plate.

"Hi Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue smiled.

"Hey Orihime."

"Tatsuki, even though we don't agree on most things, we can agree on this: Inoue shouldn't be dating that Sushi…Shishigawara guy!"

"Dating? Orihime, you're dating someone?"

"Mhmm! You met him on the tour of XCUTION."

"You mean that baka who was unbelievable rude to you?"

"He's not so terrible. He's actually really nice to me now… And I think he's kind of scared of Kurosaki-kun and Abarai-kun so I trust he won't do anything bad."

Senna sighed. Rukia didn't miss it either.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

The purple haired girl smiled innocently, "Nah, I'm fine."

"Why don't I believe that…?"

"Ichigo has the strangest friends…"

"And you're one of us. So what's with that reaction to Ichigo's name?"

"…It's…it's nothing…"

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"Rukia, damn you! So perceptive and inquisitive."

"Come on, we'll talk about it in the library." The smaller girl said before putting her book away and standing.

"Sure…"

Ishida stood from the table when he saw the girls leaving. He had overheard their conversation although they were speaking quietly with each other…not to mention Honsho and Tatsuki's arguing which made it even harder... The subject had somewhat sparked his interest a little.

With one last glance to the chatting girls at the table, Senna followed Rukia out of the cafeteria. She thought it had been a decent lunch because Renji was stuck in the office with the guidance counselor. At least she was able to eat in peace for once.

After getting to and entering the library, she led Rukia to one of the aisles and pretended to be looking for a book.

"So what's going on? Are you mad at Ichigo?"

"No…I just saw him doing something and I'm not sure if I should be concerned…"

"What might that have been?" Rukia asked curiously.

"Well… I saw him get into a car with Ginjo with his booksack late one night. I'm not sure what to think of it…"

"You think he might be cheating on Grimmjow?"

The taller girl, not by much though, stopped her false searching and crossed her arms, "No… that's not like Ichigo at all."

"On a similar note, I have noticed he's been acting a little detached lately. But when I asked him if he was okay, he assured me he was fine."

"So it's not just me!?" the girl screeched, completely ignoring how Renji had asked her about the matter earlier.

"Keep it down…we're in a library..."

"Home of the nerds." Senna joked.

Ishida, who was standing just one aisle over, adjusted his glasses. This was definitely not news to him. Well, the part about the CEO of XCUTION picking up Ichigo was, but Ichigo's overall behavior as of late was noticeably different.

"What do you think we should do, Rukia? You're like, his best friend right? You'd know what to do better than anyone."

Rukia sighed and leaned against the shelves, "For now, we shouldn't do anything. If Ichigo needs us, he'll come to us. Don't think he didn't learn anything from that whole deal with Aizen."

"Hm, speaking of Aizen, do you think he took Inoue with some ulterior motives?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, maybe he knew something about her we didn't…"

"Like?"

"I don't know… But what I really think is that she's a princess and he may have found out."

Rukia shook her head, "I doubt that."

"He could have asked for ransom or even been plotting to kill her and her royal family."

"Senna, that's a bit of a stretch… A lot of a stretch really."

"Fine. I'll drop the matter for now…"

"You're watching too much anime. Probably more than me."

Ishida slid the book he had feign reading back into its shelf. Having heard all that he needed to hear, he took his leave accordingly. No point in staying when his source of information was getting off topic. What an interesting bit of information though.

"Gonna do this on your own, huh Kurosaki?" he thought.

He at least hoped that Kuchiki was right. After the mess with Aizen, hopefully he could handle things appropriately. Though, their orange haired friend could be a tad dense sometimes…

Ichigo couldn't have been more impressed to see Grimmjow eat most of his meal with the wasabi as though it was nothing at all.

That kind of attitude was probably the result of him having drunk two full glasses of his drink. Now that he was out of it, his eyes wandered across the table to Ichigo's.

"Hey Grimmjow, why are you eating so much?"

"Because I have work at two and thanks to coming here I won't have time to go home and eat." The man replied with a mouthful of yakitori.

"Oh…"

"I have to drop you off at your place too so my time is stretched."

"Why did you want to come to lunch if you knew it would press you for time? Baka."

"Because I wanted to spend some time with my favorite strawberry."

Ichigo blushed, "Don't call me that…"

"Straw-be-rry." The man said while reaching for another stick of yakitori.

"Urusai you…you blueberry!"

Grimmjow paused from lifting his food and stared at the boy, "What?"

"Blue-be-rry."

"Don't lay that girly shit on me!"

"Now you know how it feels! And how can you eat so much with wasabi on it!? Stop being such a baka!"

Blue eyes turned to the cup of soda still full across the table. Ichigo had ordered coke, but he had a point. His own drink was completely depleted.

"Since you care so much, guess you'll share your drink with me." He said, swiping the glass and sipping from the straw.

"Grimmjow you jerk!"

After drinking more than half of the boy's soda, said man sat the glass back down on the table and started eating his other dish. At least he had run out of wasabi.

Ichigo was pretty angry though. How imposing and annoying. If he didn't want to keep ordering drinks then he shouldn't have ordered so much wasabi!

"Jerk…" he thought.

Then his eyes moved from the man eating slightly aggressively to the drink he had just attacked.

He was apparently still comfortable sharing drinks, that much was clear. That kind of unnerved the boy. Even something as small as that led to the inevitable thoughts about what used to be.

Grimmjow's lips had graced the straw no matter how he looked at it. Not only them, but his teeth too. The asshole had bitten the straw…

"If you're not gonna finish the drink I will." The bluenette said, looking up from his meal.

"No!" Ichigo stated firmly.

He snatched the drink from the table and drank it. The thing that would always somehow exist between them was the urge not to lose to the other.

And the last thing he wanted was to give Grimmjow the satisfaction of bullying him out of things.

"Hey, Kurosaki."

"What?"

"If you're uncomfortable around me, I won't force you to hang out with me."

"What makes you think that?"

"You seem pretty disgusted right now. And you've been that way since we got here. If my behavior-"

"Stop talking, Grimmjow. I'm not…I'm not uncomfortable… Despite your behavior, you're a good person. That's why I'm still here. If I didn't like being around you, I would have turned you down on this offer."

"And you don't care that I'm trying to get you back?"

"I-"

"Excuse meee!" the waitress from earlier smiled as she walked over to the two, "Are you enjoying your meal? If not, let us know! Our manager is doing all he can to have happy customers who want to come back."

Grimmjow eyed the girl angrily. Ichigo noticed this and smiled back at her, "We're fine! Thanks so much for your hospitality. We're about to leave, but your service was excellent."

"Well alright. Thank you for dining with us today for lunch. Hope to see you again." With one last glance at the blue haired man, the waitress bowed and left the men with the tab.

"I should make you pay for my drink." Ichigo joked.

The other didn't respond. He was upset. That waitress had just completely ruined the moment and he wasn't sure if asking Ichigo again would warrant any response. After all, he seemed not to mind that she had interrupted him.

"You okay?" the brown eyed boy asked.

Grimmjow snapped out of his daze, "Y-yeah. Let me handle the bill."

"Why?"

"Because you're my strawberry and I wanna take care of you."

Ichigo squinted, "I have money, Grimm."

"Then save it."

"I don't need to be pampered you know."

"I always take care of what's mine."

Ichigo stood from the table and made his way to the door. Honestly, why did everyone think he was so helpless?

He exited the restaurant and sighed. Why be so mad at Grimmjow? He was just trying to be a good friend…or ex-boyfriend… It was Ginjo who was stepping over the line with his insistence to be a provider. Honestly, he should just adopt a bunch of kids if that was the case.

Looking up to the clear sky, he wondered where the man was anyway. How long would he be gone? Would he return?

And more importantly, who the hell was that man with the black hair who had confronted him that time?

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned when he heard his name called, "Did you tip the waitress?"

"That's not important. I have a more interesting question for you." Ichigo watched as the breath flowed out of Grimmjow's mouth in the cold air.

"What's that?"

"Do you wanna catch a movie with me later? I have work til nine, but that's a good time to see one."

"I'm curious… Does reaching for the stars knowing full well you'll never be able to reach one entertain you, Grimmjow?"

The man did not respond to this question.

"No answer?"

"No, it's not that I'll never be able to reach one. I know full well this particular star will fall to me because I'm not giving up on it. And if it doesn't fall to me, which I'm sure it will, I'll jump to space, grab it, and live with it in its stardust."

Ichigo's eyes widened for a moment. He was speechless. This man was not planning to give up on him anytime soon that much was clear.

"Back to my question, do you want to see a movie with me tonight?"

"…Fine… We can see a movie."

Outwardly, Ichigo feigned indifference but inwardly he was smiling. Perhaps this time apart was what he needed to realize that Grimmjow had been more than just his attractive lover. Because right now, he seemed like a best friend.

He followed the man and watched him closely as they made their way back to his car. He really looked nice with a trim. His style was the same as it had always been, but it was somehow refreshing. His walk was confident as always and hinted to his personality.

All at once, he realized how much he missed him.

The ringing of his cell phone caused him to jump. After realizing it was after lunch time he knew who it was.

"Are you gonna answer your phone?" Grimmjow asked.

"Nah, I already know who it is… I have to get to work or my boss will probably come and find me."

"Huh?" a confused look was all the bluenette could give to that statement.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be off after five so we'll still be able to see that movie."

"Okay. Do you wanna go home or…I can drop you off at work."

"Take me home. I can't go in my school uniform, silly blueberry."

"Whatever you say, sexy strawberry."

"…After that line, you'd better pick a really good movie…" the boy smiled.