W E L C O M E T O L O N D O N
It was almost one in the afternoon and the two espada had arrived somewhere at the back alleys in Camden Market. However, the both of them had no clue where they were. Aizen only prepared them exactly five hundred Pounds and a convenient pocket sized tourist map.
Grimmjow was struggling in his gigai and he was feeling very aggravated. Ulquiorra, on the other hand was calm but rather nervous in this foreign place. He reached into Grimmjow's pocket for the map, which resulted in Grimmjow cussing at him.
"Shut up, trash. We're in public," Ulquiorra warned.
Grimmjow snared at him and replied, "Don't you ever do that again! If you want the goddamned map, then ask first!"
He reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out the map. He unfolded it, looked around where he was and blurted out, "Covent Garden."
Ulquiorra blinked. Grimmjow was reading the map upside down.
"You're reading it the wrong way, trash."
Grimmjow snarled as Ulquiorra took the map from his hands. He too, was rather confused with the number of streets and alleys written in small letters. He looked at the signboard, then back to the map. The name of the alley wasn't stated in the map. He turned the map in a different angle and read the notes written at the side of the map. Nothing was useful.
When he looked up to see Grimmjow, he was gone. Ulquiorra bit his lower lip and walked out of the alley. Apparently, he was quick to interact with the locals. There was a girl dressed all black and had wild hair, just like Grimmjow. Ulquiorra could imagine Grimmjow being exactly like them if he was a human.
"Do you know this guy?" a girl asked. She was dressed in a black tank top and frilly black and red skirt. Her hair was spiked up, similar to Grimmjow but her jet black hair had a vast amount of red streaks here and there.
Grimmjow turned to look at Ulquiorra.
"I wish I didn't know him."
"Stop messing around, trash," Ulquiorra said.
The girl started giggling.
"You both are funny!"
She looked at Ulquiorra and said, "So, what is your name? I'm Apricot."
Ulquiorra stared incredulously at her. He wondered why humans had odd names and this girl was named after a fruit. He couldn't fathom the complexity but oddness of the human minds.
"I know my name's odd but that's what my grandmother gave me. She fancies apricots a lot," said Apricot.
"I'm….Ulquiorra," said Ulquiorra monotonously.
"Your friend here, Grimmjow thought that this is Covent Garden but I corrected him that this is actually Camden Market. There are many things that can be found here if you'd like to have a look around. Where are the both of you from by the way?" Apricot asked.
Grimmjow proudly said, "We're from-"
"America," Ulquiorra finished Grimmjow's sentence.
"Hey Apricot, listen here, we're here to find the best fish and chips. You reckon where we should go?" Grimmjow asked hurriedly.
Apricot gave an apologetic look and replied, "You could get fish and chips everywhere but the best to me is Dip 'Em Fish in Trafalgar Square but they're not open today. It is worth waiting for it to open because the food there is really good."
Grimmjow stared at her incredulously. He couldn't believe that Aizen sent the both of them to the world just to get food. Aizen didn't even tell them in detail about the fish and chips. Ulquiorra was stunned but he wasn't foolish enough to disobey Aizen. Grimmjow looked like he was about to swear but he calmed himself.
"They don't open on Sundays. You could visit there tomorrow," Apricot said with a smile.
Ulquiorra saw Grimmjow's face scrunching up. He diverted the girl's attention with a statement, "Apricot, we have not lodged yet. We really need to get to a hotel." He felt stupid because people would have booked a room a month ago but they didn't have time to surf the net to book rooms as Aizen wanted his fish and chips pronto.
"Ahh, just arrived? No worries, my friend's brother works as a receptionist at a quite decent hotel. He might solve your lodging issues," said Apricot.
Ulquiorra and Grimmjow stared at each other. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Their lodging problem would be solved in a jiffy.
Apparently, Apricot wasn't alone. She was out with her two friends, who were goth boys and the five of them headed to a hotel by cab. Ulquiorra was rather interested of the fact that the cab they were in was black in colour, which suited the teenagers' clothings. Ulquiorra's gigai was dressed in a white t-shirt with a dark hoodie over it. He was also wearing a pair of checkered black and red pants and on his feet were a pair of Converse sneakers. As for Grimmjow, his gigai was dressed in black t-shirt and casual jeans.
Later on, the two espada found themselves sharing a hotel room, to Grimmjow's disgust. There was nothing that they could do about it because they needed to save the money for the fish and chips and the other rooms have been fully occupied. It was impossible for them to sleep in separate rooms. And worst of all, there was only a single queen size bed that they had to share.
It was bad enough that Grimmjow was pissed off because his mission was to find food for Aizen instead of stealing something and killing creatures on the way. He felt like he was being deceived. Ulquiorra was calm but he wondered what was so special about the fish and chips that Aizen wanted so much.
"Tch! I can't believe I'm put on this mission with you just to find some shit for Aizen!" Grimmjow said through his gritted teeth.
"Calm down, will you?" Ulquiorra said.
"Over my dead body! What the fuck is this mission about? I thought it was something more than human food? I mean what is so special about that thing that he wants so much? Geez! It's bad enough I'm stuck with you!" Grimmjow snapped.
"Quiet, trash. You wouldn't want the whole of London listening to your useless complains," Ulquiorra said flatly.
"Haarrrr!" Grimmjow grunted.
A moment passed and Grimmjow was channel surfing while Ulquiorra was staring out of the window. He was curious about the architecture beautifying London. A nostalgic feeling was building inside him as he looked at the buildings and shops around the streets were they their hotel was placed. It seemed strange that he was getting that nostalgic feeling but he clearly knew that he is arrancar, made up of millions of souls. Could it possibly be that one of his millions in him had lived in London a long time ago?
The pale faced man stared at the tanned man, who was seated at the edge of the bed, clicking the remote control and the screen of the television flicked in seconds with different shows on display. He could tell that Grimmjow was awfully bored. There had to be something that they could do while waiting for the next day.
He picked up his sling bag and his hands dove in it, frantically searching for the pamphlets that Apricot had given to him when they were at the hotel lobby. There were a number of interesting sights that they could venture while they waited for tomorrow. It was only afternnon and it would be stupid to just stay in the room the whole day. Besides, he was thinking that maybe he should give Grimmjow a treat because he had been behaving well so far during this mission. Ulquiorra figured that it wouldn't hurt to venture London seems like the city was just as unique as Tokyo.
The arrancar rummaged through the brochures and marked whichever that was interesting. He packed up his stuff and walked toward Grimmjow, snatched the remote and switched off the television.
The other espada stared at him and questioned, "What the fuck?"
"We're leaving," Ulquiorra stated.
"The shop doesn't open until tomorrow!" Grimmjow said.
"It would be a waste of time to sit in this room. Don't you want to get some fresh air and see the town?" Ulquiorra said flatly.
"Alright, I guess so. I'm going to die watching that black box the whole day," said Grimmjow and he stood up.
It was strange that the two men were actually going out together, exploring new places and sightseeing like they've never done before. London was very different from Tokyo as how Grimmjow remembered. He recalled the times facing Ichigo in a grueling battle. Almost everywhere he turned, he would see black haired people but here, he could see people with blonde or auburn hair. It was a new sight to him.
As for Ulquiorra, he was rather dazed with his decision of going out with Grimmjow. He felt like there was something within him that moved him to require Grimmjow to be with him right now. It was an odd feeling but he gave in to feelings. Besides that, it was better for him to have Grimmjow as a company than to wander alone in London. He may not panic if he ever got lost but it would be better to have someone with him so that it would be easier to overcome the dilemma.
Grimmjow was also stunned of the fact that Ulquiorra spontaneously made a decision to venture London with him. It was very un-Ulquiorra but he was rather pleased that he could observe the surroundings and stare at the wild looking girls with a smirk. Most of the girls would bat their eyelashes at him, which made Ulquiorra feel rather uncomfortable and would mutter, "Such a trash."
The two men were at the Tower Of London, walking aimlessly. Grimmjow was getting bored and he said, "Man, what else can we do?"
"You really don't have a sense of appreciating art, do you?" Ulquiorra questioned teasingly.
"Tch! Whatever, emo," Grimmjow answered teasingly.
"At least I don't go around giving horny looks at the opposite sex," said Ulquiorra flatly.
"Tch," Grimmjow replied and he made his way to the torture chamber section.
When they were done with the Tower Of London, they decided to have dinner. Grimmjow wanted to have a drink at a pub but Ulquiorra hated the decision but he had to be there just in case Grimmjow drank too much and couldn't find his way back to the hotel.
"I'm tha best espada EVER!" Grimmjow roared as he gulped another lager. He was already drunk and was mumbling and roaring nonsense. Everybody at the pub had their eyes on Grimmjow, much to Ulquiorra's dislike. He knew Grimmjow would be drunk.
Grimmjow stood up and climbed over the table on fours and he slipped and landed on the floor. He stood up shakily and said, "I'll beat the shit outta Ichigo one day!" And he grabbed another glass of Guiness and drank it, the liquid flowing out of his mouth as he mumbled, "Fuck you Kurosaki Ichigo! I'm gonna kick your pretty shinigami ass!"
Suddenly, he started laughing like a maniac and Ulquiorra thought that it was time for them to leave. There were also other drunken men and women who also joined Grimmjow's rants and they were singing stupidly. The milky skinned man shook his head and pulled Grimmjow away from the table, toward the door.
"Heeeyyyy…..Where d' ya want to go, m-m-mate?" said one of the drunk men.
"We're in a rush. I'm very sure my friend here has a great time with you. Goodbye," said Ulquiorra as he panted, heaving the other man and he left the place.
By the time the two men got back to their hotel room, Grimmjow was calmer and his face was flushing red. Ulquiorra was glad that Grimmjow hadn't thrown up so far or else he'd be the victim of having to clean up the mess.
"Hey…..why d' ya look so sad, emo boy?" Grimmjow mumbled as Ulquiorra helped him to walk up the stairs.
"Just…shut up," Ulquiorra replied. He was beginning to feel annoyed with Grimmjow's odd questions since their trip in the cab.
"Did you break up with your-your gosh…g-girl?" Grimmjow mumbled.
"What?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Did you break up with your babe?" Grimmjow said louder.
Ulquiorra glared at Grimmjow. He had no idea what Grimmjow was talking about. He wished that Grimmjow would just be silent or fall asleep.
As they were about to reach the last step, Grimmjow tripped and fell on the stairs. Ulquiorra sighed and pulled Grimmjow up. Now he wished that they he hadn't let Grimmjow have his way but it was too late.
"Are you alright?" Ulquiorra asked as he stared at Grimmjow.
Grimmjow leaned closer to Ulquiorra and placed his hand on his cheek. His eyes were half opened and to Ulquiorra's surprise, Grimmjow had pressed his lips onto his. Ulquiorra's eyes widened with shock. He had no idea what was going on. He tried to pull Grimmjow away from him but he couldn't resist the kiss eventhough Grimmjow smelled like beer.
After a few seconds of lip locking, the two men simultaneously pulled away from each other. Grimmjow smirked and his head lolled to one side and he was about to fall back to the stairs but Ulquiorra managed to catch him and heaved the other man. He would have to suffer for awhile until Grimmjow's hangover tomorrow.