Just 3 more reviews until this story beats Romances of Love out review-wise! This is kinda exciting lol ...But watching The Future Diary later will certainly kill the mood... Even though it's an awesomely deranged anime!

Lovely Lights

Thursday evening.

Black.

That's all he could see when he awakened.

Wherever he was, it was dark, cold, and quite uncomfortable too. The fact that he was only in his soaked boxers didn't make him feel any better about this situation.

Grimmjow brought his hand up to his mess of blue hair that was dripping wet and rubbed his aching head. When he remembered what had happened before he blacked out, he shot up, nearly throwing up from the wooziness that caused.

"Shit! Kurosakiii!"

He looked around and noticed he was inside a cave, the entrance being a ways above him. The light said entrance provided revealed a path that led to it.

After standing, he headed up the path but stopped when he heard a sound.

"Grimmjow, where are you going?" Ichigo asked as he emerged from the darkness at the other end of the cave.

He too was only in his underclothes… though he was still wearing a t-shirt.

"Kurosaki… I see you survived."

"Thanks? What kind of greeting is that?"

"A stupid one… Where the hell are we?"

Ichigo turned back in the direction he had come from, "Inside a cave of some sort…"

"Thanks genius, I couldn't tell already."

"If you'd let me finish! There's something weird further in."

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Follow me."

The bluenette made to do just that. After going back down to where he woke up from, he trailed close behind Ichigo.

When the shorter boy abruptly stopped, he ran right into him.

"What the hell-"

"Look." Ichigo said.

"It's dark as hell, I can barely see you. What makes you think I'll be able to see whatever it is you're talking about?"

"Just shut up and watch…"

It took a few moments before anything happened, but then suddenly tiny bursts of dim light appeared on the walls and led down to a source of clear water. When they reached the bottom, they lit the water itself in a vibrant display of blue light.

"What is that?" Grimmjow asked.

"I don't know, and I also don't have any way of documenting it since my phone got ruined when we fell into the water." Ichigo sighed.

"How the hell did we survive that anyway?"

"Oh…" the boy turned to Grimmjow and told him everything that happened.

Flashback

The river current was powerful. Too powerful.

Ichigo had resurfaced in the center and saw that the sky was about to open up on him. He tried swimming to the shallow end, the thought of deep water terrifying him to no end, until he remembered he hadn't fallen alone.

Glancing around frantically, he looked for Grimmjow. Any sign of him would do.

When he couldn't find him, he fought his greatest fear and dove down into the water. It was too hard to see anything though. Not being able to reach the bottom only made him fret more.

After resurfacing, he saw something floating just behind him.

It was the backside of Grimmjow's jacket. He was face down in the water, which wasn't good in the least.

Quickly, he swam over to him and grabbed him into a protective embrace before swimming to the shoreline.

As soon as they got out of the water, he performed CPR on him in a desperate attempt to save his life.

When Grimmjow coughed the water out of his system, Ichigo smiled and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"I saved him, mom…" he grinned before tears fell down his face.

His mother had died next to a river after saving him when he had fallen in and was shot by a robber when she emerged on the shore. Again, her forgotten purse had drawn unwanted attention to her and her son.

The last thing she did before breathing her last breath was cover her son's body with her own, kissed his forehead, and told him she loved him dearly.

The memory was brought up in this situation because losing someone else thanks to his own carelessness with water terrified him.

But he had saved Grimmjow.

With all the strength he could muster, he lifted the heavier man onto his back and carried him as quickly as he could to a cave that came into view once he got over a hill.

End Flashback

Grimmjow took everything he had heard in.

Ignoring his own near fatal experience, he asked something that seemed as if it needed to be addressed, "Your mother died after saving you?"

"…Yeah…"

"What a woman she must have been."

"Grimm… It was all my fault… I know it… My dad told me it wasn't when I asked him if he thought so, and he assured me that he didn't blame me for it... but if I hadn't been playing near the river, I never would have fallen in. Mom wouldn't have left her things and we would have gone home safe and sound that day… It was all my fault…" Ichigo said, feeling his voice faltering from the miserable memory.

He fell to his knees and let the tears leave him, not caring what Grimmjow thought of him for doing so.

"I couldn't let it happen again… I couldn't lose someone else… Not again…"

Grimmjow stood in place, looking down at the broken boy right in front of him who was on his knees and crying.

Ichigo bent over and slammed his fists onto the ground. His mother, his loving mother, had given her life to save her foolish child. He had caused her death and nearly caused Grimmjow's today. Not to mention breaking all the promises he had made up until now.

When Grimmjow walked around him and bent down just ahead of him, Ichigo ignored the man.

Howerver, he could not ignore the arms that lifted him and grabbed him into a warm hug.

"Grimm-" he began, his arms suspended in the air at either side of the larger bluenette.

"Stop the fucking crying, Kurosaki. What kind of mother wouldn't save her own child? Stop blaming yourself for what happened. She's in a better place now, watching over you. You think she'd be happy to see you balling your eyes out and thinking you were the one who caused her death?"

Ichigo turned to avoid looking at Grimmjow altogether, "What do you know…? Both of your parents are still alive… Even if they don't acknowledge you…" the boy said but regretted it the moment it was put out in the open.

Grimmjow's grip on him didn't falter, it only tightened.

"That doesn't change the fact that there are people out there whose parents do love them. Or loved them. Your words can't hurt me because I know they come from the grief you've felt over this all this time. But you know, just like you lost someone precious, I did too."

Brown eyes went wide.

"I lost you. Despite that, you're still right here in front of me. You don't know how much that kills me. But I won't stop loving you because I remember what you made me promise you."

"Promise?"

"Heh, you probably don't even remember. But that night under the cherry blossom trees, you made me promise to keep the same love for you, always. No matter the distance. And I have. You don't have to keep that promise, but for as long as I live, I'll keep you safe in your mother's place. And love you unconditionally. Even if you don't accept me for it."

"Grimm…" Ichigo cried harder than he had before but returned the hug. He tightly embraced Grimmjow before burying his face in the man's chest.

Even if he were to spend the rest of his life being hated for it, Grimmjow was willing to love and protect him. That was so selfless. And it made Ichigo realize that no matter what, what he had with this man was too strong to break. This was love. This is what his mother would have wanted for him.

Happiness.

With his nose buried in the valley of Grimmjow's chest, he could feel the beating of his heart. One that was big and full of so much strife, yet so much love as well. Without a heart, what were people?

Could they even be considered human? Would moments like these exist?

"Stop the crying already…"

Ichigo forced Grimmjow to the ground and pressed his lips to his cheek, "Thank you, Grimmjow. I mean it."

Said man turned to the boy lying on top of him, "You know, for a pussy, you're not so bad. That's why I like you so much."

The orange haired boy got up and wiped his eyes dry before he stood, "Let's get back to the others."

"Right. This cave is giving me a strange feeling…"

Grimmjow stood as well and turned to the fading lights at the bottom of the water. For a second, he thought he saw them spell out the words 'thank you'.

It must have been his imagination though.

Due to the thunderous storm that had arrived earlier today, orders from the park rangers forced the students from Karakura High to move into one of the vacant auditoriums to stay the night.

Immediately upon arrival into the building, Ichigo's group noticed he was missing.

The same with Grimmjow's friends.

All of them were now crowded around Miss Misato, who stood her ground even though she was backed into a corner.

"Ichigo is missing! Do something!" Senna said.

"Please, Misato-san!" Inoue begged.

"Aw, worried about your boyfriend?" Szayel turned and asked.

Rukia turned to him, "Grimmjow is out there too, you know."

"Figures the two of them would get lost together, huh? We know full well about their little relationship." Szayel said.

"And? Why are you bringing that up?" Shuhei asked.

"Because we know as long as he cares about the little emo kid, Grimmjow won't let any harm come to the weak brat." Nnoitora commented.

"What was that!?" Renji asked, but before he could do anything in retaliation, Chad placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"We just want this broad to get someone to go out there and find them." Aaroniero spoke irritatedly.

"Excuse me!?" Mis Misato asked.

"I'm really just here for the fun of arguing and listening to you kids cry cuz your leader is missing." Nnoitora grinned.

"All of you better step off or it'll get real in here awful quick!" the cornered woman shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the large room.

"We just want you to find Grimmjow. And the other kid too, if he survived. I doubt he weighed enough to withstand the strong winds though." Szayel smirked.

"Figures you'd assume everyone around you wouldn't be smart enough to take refuge or be able to fasten themselves to a sturdy object. How condescending." Ishida commented while adjusting his glasses.

"What was that?" the pink haired boy asked.

Every one of Ichigo's friends turned to Ishida in surprise for a moment. Was he implying, after all his own condescension on the orange head, that Ichigo was competent?

"Arguing isn't getting us anywhere." Senna said.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue said in a lowered voice.

"If you kids don't get back to your seats, I'll have you suspended-"

Just then, a fierce thunderbolt hit the ground outside and the lights flickered.

"The lights are gonna go out!" Rangiku shouted from her cozy seat under a blanket across the room.

The boys surrounding her jumped and took cover behind her.

"Uh! Some protection any of you are! Beat it! I need a real man!"

When everyone turned back to Miss Misato to yell at her, the quieter teacher up near the entrance of the auditorium gasped.

"The two missing students are here!" she called.

Everyone quickly left Miss Misato, who slid to the ground for a moment, then got up and went to the entrance.

And there they were, Grimmjow and Ichigo, fully dressed mind you, running to the auditorium through the rapid winds and raindrops.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Ichigo!" Senna and Renji shouted happily.

Nnoitora, seeing that the arguing was over, went to take his seat in the bottom rows of seats.

"I see you didn't die… No doubt Grimmjow saved you." Szayel said to Ichigo when he got inside.

"Actually, he saved me when we fell into the river." Grimmjow corrected.

"Fell into the river!?" Miss Misato echoed.

Rukia, Inoue, and Senna grabbed Ichigo into a hug, causing him to smile.

"We're so glad you didn't die!" Senna shouted.

Ichigo looked down to them, and was glad that Senna was worried about him.

"I'm okay, guys. Thanks for the concern."

As Grimmjow followed his group back to their seats, Ichigo sighed. What he had done for him today really proved that his love was true.

There was no doubt in his mind his mother would appreciate his strong words that lifted him from his despair.

He blushed and looked away when Grimmjow turned and stared at him briefly. That man really knew how to get to him in the worst and the best ways.

Loving the feedback my dear readers! And I know it feels like Grimm and Ichi are practically dating again, but don't forget about the obstacle! This story still has a good 10+ chapters left in her!

(Pertaining to Oasis, I've decided to release the chapters of that story and this one about a week apart from each other so those of you who are reading it as well don't have the stories run together or get too absorbed with one to pay attention to the other lol. I am comfortable enough at this point to say that one has at least 25 chapters planned so far and the story is really just getting started so for those of you interested in an adventure/fantasy/romance/betrayal/confinement/imprisonment/Stockholm syndrome/friendship kind of story, give it a peek won't you? I'm soooooooo excited about it! And finishing this one too of course! I'm enjoying writing it, but next chappie is a bit... well you'll see.)

Once that's done I can get to my Blue Exorcist planning (for those of you who know what that is haha). I don't want to be doing 5 stories at once, that's a bit much to handle...

Sorry for all that, this is just the story I have the most readers with so I'd like to share these things with you. I don't mean to talk so much :P