A/N: Hey! Here's the new chap =D I had fun writing it (mostly because of the Nnoitra Tesla dynamics lulz) and I hope you'll like it too!
Chapter Six
Ichigo stared at the hollow-cat nuzzling against his knee. The macabre mask stared up at him with an eerie grin. It was slightly disturbing to know that the hollow he was stroking now was the same cat spirit that he petted all those years ago. The cat looked like a normal cat. Soft white fur, long flicking tail, and a meow that could melt anyone's heart. "Go on, call his name," the blue haired Espada insisted.
"Ki...Kimon-chan?"
The cat perked up his ears at the name, meowing in response. The substitute shinigami petted the cat, eliciting a purr from the feline. "You're kinda cute," Ichigo said, instantly regretting his choice of words. Men don't use 'cute' as an adjective, girls do. The substitute shinigami scowled at the thought. He better be careful or he could turn into a nancy while he was in Hueco Mundo.
Grimmjow watched them both with nostalgia blooming deep in his chest. He wore a thin smile on his lips, his intense blue eyes twinkling with delight. It's there, his memory of the past that he thought was a dream. It's just a few feet away, ready for him to touch it if he doubted the scene. The Espada was unsure of how to proceed, but for now he was content with just watching the man and the cat play.
"Ne, Grimmjow. You sure I can keep this little guy?" Ichigo ask as he flopped himself on the floor, letting the hollow cat climb all over him.
"Yeah," he breathed out, "The little tyke seems to like you." Grimmjow turned away from the scene, trying to block the sight of the taut stomach from his vision. He meant to recreate a pure memory, not to lust after his object of purity! Damn Aizen and his revealing uniforms.
Ichigo beamed at him, unaware of the internal battle the Espada was struggling with inside. Ichigo broke out of his usual mask of teenage irritation, his knitted out brow relaxing as he gave the Espada a sincere smile. "You're pretty nice. Thanks Grimmjow."
Grimmjow breath caught at the sight of that smile, his stomach fluttering in recognition. Suddenly Ichigo seemed like the little boy down the alley. Beautiful, pure, vulnerable. Damn, why can't the boy smile like that more often, he thought. He looked so damn beautiful like that. Ichigo laughed when the Espada mumbled a 'tch, whatever', hiding his new pet behind his pristine new 'haori'. Ichigo laughed as the bristly fur of the cat tickled his side, knocking him onto his back in a flurry of laughter.
Nnoitra walked eagerly to the western wing of Las Noches, slamming a door open every so often. "STRAWBERRY!" He shouted, quieting for a moment, waiting for a reply. Hearing none, he stomped to the next available door and kicked it open. "STRAWBERRY!" he shouted again. The fifth Espada repeated the process until all but one door was left untouched. Nnoitra fumed, chewing on his long hair in frustration. "Where is that human..." Ever since he saw the tapes of Ichigo's battle, he'd been itching to try the human out. The orange haired human looked so strong, and Noitra hadn't had a decent fight in a while. He better find the boy fast before Aizen enacted the 'don't touch him, he's mine' policy.
"Nnoitra-sama!" a blond Espada ran after his crazed master. He stopped and looked around at the wreck. "Nnoitra-sama! Aizen-sama is going be angry again," he moaned, pulling Nnoitra's arm to stop him from breaking the last surviving door.
"Shut up Tesla. I'll jus' tell 'im the usual crap." The fifth Espada shoved his Fraccion away and kicked the last door open, shouting his now customary 'STRAWBERRY' before stalking off to the stairs.
"'The usual crap' means you're just going to blame it all on me." He protested, rubbing his ears to rid himself of the ringing. Nnoitra laughed at the sight. Delighting in his Fraccion's misery was his favorite past time, much to the blonde's displeasure.
"That's right. Now help me look for the orange head." Tesla sighed, his shoulders slumping down in distress. After years of servicing under Nnoitra, he thought that the Espada would be a little nicer to him. No such luck. He scratched his eyepatch, the one that he wore as a homage to the man before him. Times like this made him want take the stupid thing off. Tesla never really minded the usual teasing and bickering, but he hated it when Noitra made him deal with Aizen. There's just something about the man that disturbed him.
Nnoitra noticed his Fraccion's depressed aura, looking very much like a kicked puppy. Sighing, Nnoitra turned on his heel and smacked Tesla on the head. "Stop moping," he scowled. "Even I prefer your expressionless face to this." He rubbed his knuckles on top of the blond tuff of hair, eliciting a string of pained groans and curses from his one and only Fraccion.
"... Nnoitra Jiruga. Are you having sex in the middle of this corridor?"
The two turned to the expressionless voice. "U.. Ulquiorra-sama! No! W-we're .." Tesla blushed and detangled himself from Nnoitra. He didn't realize his pained groans and moans sounded like those of sexual kind. The fifth Espada narrowed his eyes to the solitary Espada, eyeing him from head to toe, thinking of an appropriate comment to throw at him. Ulquiorra waited as Nnoitra fumbled through a string of expletives, clearly flustered by his earlier comment.
"... Forget that I asked. Please clean up any remaining liquid after your copulations." He pulled out a pack of tissue from his coat and handed it to the blushing Fraccion. "Good day." Ulquiorra walked past his fellow Espada and pushed the up button of the elevator, ignoring the flabbergasted Espada as he waited for the elevator.
"Wait! Good day? Since when do you say 'good day'?" Nnoitra sneered pointing his finger accusingly at the white faced Espada.
Ulquiorra turned calmly to the fuming Espada. "Ichimaru has been instructing me in human manners," he explained. "As much as I hate the man, I am Kurosaki Ichigo's new guardian. Aizen-sama requires me to be civil with the human."
Nnoitra couldn't believe his luck. "So you know where the boy is?" he strode over to Ulquiorra, a shit eating grin adoring his face.
"I am on my way to see him. Ichimaru wanted me to test my skill." Ulquiorra calmly replied, unperturbed by the menacing aura radiating from the man.
"Good. I'm coming with you."
"What will become of your Fraccion?" Ulquiorra nodded to the flushing blond.
"Ignore him, he has his hands and a pack of tissues. He'll be fine." Nnoitra crossed his arms behind his head, feigning ignorance.
Tesla snapped his eyes up to his master, who was showing him his tongue with the number five tattooed on it. "We weren't having sex!" Tesla shouted, but the elevator doors had already closed with a loud 'ding'.
Grimmjow smiled as he breathed in the scent of the sleeping boy. He smelled virtually the same. Pure, clean, powerful, only older, huskier, like a good wine that's been aged in good oak. He leaned down carefully and took a deep breath, watching a strand of hair dance in unison with his breath.
Even when he's sleeping Ichigo had that scowl on his face. The boy had played with the cat for an hour with the intention of wearing him out, but in the end both the feline and human had curled up in the middle of the room, napping together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Grimmjow carefully pushed himself off the floor, deciding that it was time for him to retire to his own room. As he arranged his sword and uniform, the door opened surreptitiously. "The fuck..." He said as Nnoitra and Ulquiorra peeked from outside. Without commenting on his presence, Ulquiorra brushed past the blue haired Espada and nudged the substitute shinigami with his leg.
"Wake up Kurosaki Ichigo. I wish to have a conversation with you," he said, nudging the boy harder. The hollow cat woke up and hissed at the intruder, its long fangs flaring in defense. Nnoitra leaned down and hissed back at the cat, which ran to hide behind the sleeping shinigami. The fifth Espada laughed, ignoring the disapproving looks thrown at him by the other two Espada.
"Hee... so this is the boy huh?" Nnoitra crouched next to the boy, running his finger down his cheek. He looked ridiculous, folding his long body into a ball just so he could touch the sleeping boy. 'He looks like a large fucking bug' Grimmjow thought. "STRAWBERRY, WAKE UP!" Nnoitra bellowed. Ichigo woke up with a jolt, his peaceful breathing suddenly stopping.
Ichigo reached for his Zanpakutou, knocking over the hollow cat in the process. "What… Ulquiorra? Who is this?" Ichigo took his battle stance, holding Zangetsu in his hands, gathering his reiatsu, ready to go into Bankai.
"Nnoitra Jiruga. Nice ta meet cha," the man stood up, revealing his towering figure to the boy. "Let's fight." He unsheathed his double scythe, his eyes gaining that same glazed look that Kenpachi had when he faced an opponent. Ichigo tensed, putting his right foot forward. He didn't think he would be attacked this soon.
"I'm part of Aizen's army," he said, cursing himself for using that term.
"I don' care. I jus' wanna see if ya can fight kid. Now come at me!" the fifth Espada said, punching his own chest. Ichigo remembered his first fight with Kenpachi, how the man pulled open his Hakama to let Ichigo have the first cut. This time he wouldn't hesitate. He pushed his Zanpaktou down, black reiatsu radiating from his body. "Bankai!"
"Enough."
Aizen walked between the two men and gave Nnoitra a look that could burn cities. "Sheathe your sword Nnoitra. You are not to attack Ichigo." The fifth Espada cursed under his breath and followed the man's order, walking to the corner of the room and slumping against the wall. "No fun," he said, eyeing the released form of the substitute shinigami hungrily.
"You too,Grimmjow. No need for that here," Aizen said to him. Grimmjow gave a worried look to Ichigo, but then decided that to worry about the boy was ridiculous. The boy was more that capable of handling himself. He sheathed his sword and leaned down to pick up Kimon, petting the cat to calm him down. The cat was less than happy, hissing at the tall man in the corner, its hackles rising high and his tail all puffed.
"Aizen," The brunette gave Ichigo a sharp look. "I mean So..Sous..Sousuke." Ichigo could feel his cheeks reddening. How humiliating, to be forced into submission in front of the people that he'd be fighting alongside with. "You didn't need to do that Sousuke. I can handle him myself," he said forcefully, showing his reiatsu filled sword.
Aizen smiled. Such a fiery temper. "I never doubted that for a second that you could easily 'handle' Nnoitra." He said. "We're leaving for Soul Society. Your first mission is waiting." Ichigo eyes widened in surprise, unsure on how to take the news. He closed his eyes and prayed that Aizen wouldn't make him do anything horrible like killing off kids or burning villages down.
"Fine… but remember our deal. If Rukia or any human is hurt, our deal is off."
"My, My Ichigo. You think I won't honor our deal? You must stop treating me like your enemy," Aizen walked up and leaned down to stared at Ichigo's eyes. "More importantly, why aren't you wearing your uniform?" he asked, his smile dissolving into a serious frown. "Didn't we discuss this already?"
Ichigo looked down, noticing for the first time the familiar grab of uniform. "Ah? Sorry, I went into Bankai so…" Aizen waved his hand, showing how little he cared for the excuse. "I will let it slide. If that robe is part of your Bankai then so be it."
"Aizen-sama, will you be requiring my services?" Ulquiorra stepped forward. Grimmjow spat to his side, crossing his arms in annoyance. 'Teacher's pet,' he thought. He always hated that white faced freak, how he followed Aizen's heels like a lost puppy. He'd bet a million bucks that his obedient attitude made Aizen trust him more. Grimmjow knew that Aizen wanted to keep Ichigo to himself, that's why he was given to such a lifeless prick. Nnoitra smirked at the blue haired Espada, enjoying the jealousy radiating from the Espada. He could feel the onset of despair bubblingdeep within the sixth Espada, and he loved it!
"No, that's fine Ulquiorra. Come Ichigo." Ulquiorra stepped back, nodding as he watch the two men exit the room. Nnoitra follow suit unceremoniously, giving the two Espada the finger. Maybe if he could follow berry-tan he could corner him in a secluded area and do awful things to him. Nnoitra laughed, eager to test his strength against the boy.
The Garganta opened with it's usual screech, it's dark gaping maw opening in a silent scream. The two shinigamis clad in white stepped out into the middle of a barren forest. Ichigo leaned against his knees and heaved, a wave of nausea hitting him deep in his stomach. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glaring daggers at the back of Aizen's head. He never realized how… evil the Garganta was. Even just stepping into it suffocated him with a large wave of Hollow's reiatsu, provoking his own hollow powers to forced the black reiatsu back into himself, tearing his mask away before it had any time to completely manifest.
"Forgive me. I should've warned you. The Garganta tends to be inhospitable to new comers. Will you be alright?" Aizen leaned down and rubbed his hand up and down his back. Ichigo jerked away in response, clearly still wary of the man.
"I'm fine. Where are we?" he wiped his mouth and looked around the barren forest. The bark of the poplar trees were all covered with sickly yellow spores, all which gave off an acrid smell as one approached it. Ichigo retched back, covering his nose and mouth with his arm.
"Rokungai," Aizen said, smiling. "My hometown."
Hahaha I brought Tesla back from the dead because I like him better alive. Besides, I need someone to pester Nnoitra and Ichi is always busy playing with Grimmjow /pout
What do you think? I hope I didn't make Grimmjow too OCC =/
If you have any comments, concerns, flames, or internet hugs, just dump it all into the reviews page! Author especially likes internet hugs =D
Next chapter: Ichigo do community service. And we'll discover something that Aizen actually suck at. Yes Aizen can suck at something.