Haha, I gotta admit, I like this chapter. grimmjow really is one of my fav characters :D

however, seren is so mean. she's so cruel when she rejects people...T.T but she does it with all guys. just you wait till you hear about her former life... yes, it's true. i did right it out. it's like a reaaaaaaaaallly long five chapter flashback, but i personally think it's one of the more interesting parts of the story.

after all, when you can bend space and time, how can things get uninteresting??

Chapter Twenty:

Grimmjow, the Incorrigible Rogue

When she got to Grimmjow's quarters, she just walked right in (as the door was missing entirely) and looked for Kimi.

"Kimi? Kimi!" She called down the rooms.

"Kimi?!" She turned around the corner.

"Kimiiii!!" She searched the bathroom.

Where was she? Seren walked around, exploring even further. She found a hallway and followed it down, until she heard Kimi screaming from inside one of the rooms.

Seren's eyes popped. Oh, damn.

"KIMII!" She screamed, kicked down the door, pulled out Fuerda, and threw her sword at the nearest Arrancar.

"HEY!" He yelled. "What are you doing here?!"

"Oh snap, another said. "Grimmjow! A crazy lady got lost and ended up in here!"

"Wuh-what?" Seren was shocked. There was a circle of five Arrancar and Kimi, and they were all playing cards. Kimi looked up at her shocked.

"Uh, Seren-sama! What's wrong?"

"I-I uh, I thought when you screamed-"

"You thought I was doing something to her, didn't you?" Grimmjow appeared behind Seren, rubbing his ear. "Jeez, you really do scream really loud."

"Y-you! Well then, why were you screaming, Kimi?" "Oh, haha, sorry." Kimi apologized. "I swear that D-Roy cheated! It's not fair! He's won three games of slapjack in a row! That's not possible!" "You're just jealous that I beat you," snickered one of the Arrancar, who had what looked like a large turban on his head. Seren assumed it was D-Roy.

"Ah, I see. Well, I just came to check up on you. You good?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah! Grimmjow's fraccion are all really cool! Except D-Roy, that dirty cheater…" Kimi muttered.

"I'm not a dirty cheater!" D-Roy yelled back.

Seren sighed. "Well then, I'll be leaving." She turned around. "Grimmjow, move." He was blocking the doorway.

"Hang on. You and I need to talk." He grunted, looking to the side.

Seren grimaced. "Well then. In the other room, now move."

"Ladies first," Grimmjow grinned and did a mock bow.

"Yeah, yeah." Seren shoved past him.

"Yeah!" Seren heard whistles behind her. It was his fraccion! "Woot, woot!" "Go Grimmjow!"

Her eyebrow started twitching. Especially when she saw him giving his fraccion a thumbs up. Her jaw dropped. She was gonna kill him, kill him, kill him…

"Grr, come with me, you! Be serious about this!" She grabbed his ear and yanked him away.

"Ouch, jeez, I'm not supposed to bend over this low!"

"Your own dang problem. Listen, I didn't tell Ulquiorra that I was going out. He probably wouldn't have let me, anyways."

"Where is he?" Grimmjow straightened up. "Damn, you didn't have to grab my ear that hard."

"That's payback for last night. And I think he was out on a mission."

"Don't tell me you're still sore about that. You should get over it."

"Well, now you're making it sound like we did something last night."

"Not as much as I'd've liked."

SMACK! "Shut up, you PERV! You do this with everyone, I bet!" Seren's face burned. She really was getting sick of everyone here. "You sound a heck of a lot like Nnoitra, you know!"

"Shut up. You still owe me."

"For what?!"

"Are you really going to let little Kimi-chan go back those Arrancars again tonight? I didn't think you'd be that cold."

"You're evil. And no funny business. I said I could clean this place up. Aizen knows it could use it." She looked around, pointing out the piles of clothes, cards, messy beds, and other scattered objects.

"I have fraccion to do that!" Grimmjow whined.

"Well, they aren't doing a very good job," Seren observed dryly.

"Of course not. That's what women do."

"Don't be a sexist bastard. I'm very highly tempted to smack you again."

"Hmm… Oh yeah. Except for Ulqiuorra. His room is actually clean. He's the only guy I know who does that. I bet he's a girl, just a little confused…"

"Don't talk so mean about him! He is a guy, just maybe not your definition."

"Oh, and you would know this, right?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Hm, I think that was your mind in the gutter. I didn't say anything about that."

"I'm sick of this. Can I go now?"

"I want one thing."

"What?"

"A hug."

Seren's eyebrow twitched again. "What the hell, you weirdo?! I just hugged Ulquiorra, and it almost KILLED me!"

"WHAT?!" Grimmjow's mouth opened as wide as possible. "You HUGGED him, freaky emo boy?"

"The one and only."

"HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!" Grimmjow looked like he was being attacked, as he rolled around on the floor, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, how funny. Go ahead and laugh it off. I know you want to." Seren said sarcastically.

Grimmjow got up, wiping tears from his eyes. "Wow, that takes REAL guts to do that, to Ulquiorra of all things. That's worse than trying to hug Tousen." He shivered. "That creepy blind guy freaks me out."

"Me too." Seren agreed.

"Well, if you can hug Ulquiorra, then I won't be that bad."

"No, you'll be WORSE. You'll probably try to sneak a feel, you freak." Seren's voice dripped with bitterness.

"Well, now that really hurts. You're quite cruel, you know."

"Well, now you sound like Nnoitra."

Grimmjow started walking away, waving behind him. "Well, too bad, I guess poor Kimi's going back to those meaniesss…"

"Grrr," Seren growled. "Fine. But if you hands so much as venture one INCH below my waist, I will kick you so hard between the legs you'll be effectively neutered!"

"How cruel."

"I'm not kidding." It almost physically hurt her, but she held out her arms. Grimmjow approached her, and she backed up. He looked confused, then stepped closer, and Seren backed up again.

Wow. Well, this was awkward.

"You know what, Seren? Forget it!" Grimmjow felt actually hurt. Most Arrancar women actually liked it when he was rough, but this Seren wouldn't forgive him.

Or let him forget.

He strode away angrily, leaving Seren standing, shocked.

"Wait!" She called out behind him.

Grimmjow sighed, and turned around. "What?"

She walked over. "Okay." She wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him, gently.

Just for a moment.

Before Grimmjow could do anything (or rather, try anything) she let go and was already out the door.

Leaving him watching her, forlorn, surprised, and suddenly very lonely.

Seren sped to the room, praying to whatever ruled fate that Ulquiorra wasn't back yet. She may have gotten away last night (by the merest of hairs) but this one would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Thankfully, he wasn't.

Without a second thought, she changed to her nightgown and tried to make it look like she had been sleeping the whole time.

When Ulquiorra came back, he noticed two things: one, the door he'd asked for hadn't arrived yet. Two, Seren was still asleep.

Her curled up form was visible under the folds of the large comforter she slept under. Part of her dark tresses spilled over the edge of the couch, touching the floor. Her deep breathing was the only sound in the room.

He found himself striding across the room. He stopped in front of the couch.

As if of their own accord, his long white fingers reached out and stroked her cheek. It was very warm, almost fevered. Seren muttered in her sleep, before he withdrew his hand.

He'd been checking on her, that was all.

That was all.

Then he noticed one more thing. Chompy was sleeping, snug in Seren's embrace and on her pillow. A pool of drool soaked the pillow around his head. He looked like the happiest hollow lizard in all of Hueco Mundo.

Of course. That was just like Seren. Sleep with the stupid, drooling trash. It made a lot of sense to her, for some reason. What, he couldn't fathom.

He strode away furiously. Again, that plucking at something deep in him. It was almost incessant now, every time he saw her. She pulled at something inside him. Something that make him ache worse than any wound or burn.

A thousand times worse, because it wouldn't heal.

Seren rolled over. Whoa. So she had actually fallen asleep!

She'd just wanted to doze, for a moment!

"Uh," she muttered, sitting up. Chompy yelped as he was dumped heartlessly from his previous position.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Chompy! Don't leaaaavveeee!" Seren reached out for it, but the hollow had already jumped off the couch and waddled away. "Waah," Seren lamented. "I didn't mean it…"

"You know you could just grab it."

Seren turned around. "Oh, Ulquiorra."

He blinked. "Yes, it is I."

Seren blinked. Who talked like that?

Oh yeah. Ulquiorra.

"I would, but he wouldn't be happy. And if he's not happy, why would I be happy? That defeats the purpose."

"What purpose?"

"Never mind." Seren pulled the blankets off her and slid her feet onto the floor.

"What would be the purpose of that?" Ulquiorra continued.

"Um, you probably wouldn't understand it."

"There are a lot of things I know, woman." He was getting impatient.

"Well, see, I love Chompy. Therefore, I want to snuggle with him. But if he doesn't want it, it's not love anymore, see?"

"Mm." Ulquiorra turned away and walked away, leaving Seren grimacing at his back. Why did he always do that? He was always walking somewhere. Why couldn't he just sit down and rest?

Is that it? Ulquiorra wondered. Did he think of Seren as his pet, was that it? He wanted to snuggle with Seren…? No. That was stupid and idiotic. Something only trash thought of, because they were too weak to stand for themselves; they needed someone else to support them. He didn't.

"Hey, can I got out today?" Seren asked.

"No." He suddenly felt jealous and possessive. He didn't want her leaving. He wanted her to stay here with him.

'Don't leave.'

No. That was stupid. "Yes, you may go. But be back before dark." He corrected.

Seren blinked. See, that was the creepy thing about Ulquiorra. He could change his mind without changing facial expressions.

It just wasn't natural!

"Well then," she said. She got up, fixed up her bed, changed, and grabbed Chompy to leave.

"Bye, Ulquiorra," she muttered before she ran off into the hallways.

With her gone, Ulquiorra noticed something else. Somehow, the room felt lonelier than it had. Lonelier than before Seren had even been there. Lonely, without her.

Seren knocked on Grimmjow's door, regretting it almost instantly. Why?! Why?! Why!!! She could almost see the smug look on his face before he tried something perverted. Undoubtedly.

Oh yeah, and the door was there again. It looked like a badly done job though, with the hinges crooked, and she could swear there were bits of tape on it.

Ha. That was funny. She could imagine Grimmjow trying to fix the door, before it confused him and he got angry and kicked it in half. She looked for cracks on the door, signs of trauma.

To her surprise, there were none.

Then, the door opened. She looked up.

Of course. She knew it.

Grimmjow was smirking. "Oh, I see. Back already?"

"Yeah. I felt left out."

"So, emo boy actually let you out of your cage?"

"Yeah. And you should stop calling him that, he's not that bad."

"You know that's what you thought when you saw him."

Seren grimaced.

"Aha," Grimmjow said. "Caught you on that one."

"Yeah…" She smiled. "Well anyways, where's the party?"

Just then she heard a loud yell:

"D-ROY, YOU ARE SUCH A FRIKKEN CHEATER!!!"