Really, if it hadn't been quite so absurd, he wouldn't have believed it. But surely, if he were going to lie to his captain, the great Grimmjow would have come up with something more realistic than this. And so, against all common sense, Ichigo nodded his acceptance and waved his fourth seat off as he leaned back in his chair and contemplated just what he would do now.
It wasn't like he really needed the Arrancar on duty this weekend. The war was long over and he had, in his opinion, the most reliable Lieutenant and Third Seat in the entire Seireitei. Well, except for his wife, but she was in a different category in his mind. Lisa Yadomaru and Sado Yasotora could pretty well run the division without him, and he occasionally found himself with more free time than he really knew what to do with. Throw in Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and he may as well be Twentieth Seat rather than Captain for all the work he did on a daily basis.
But, this weekend he would be filling in for his Fourth Seat and personally handling Zanjutsu classes for the newest recruits.
In the years since he took his place, the Eighth Division had become known for its remarkable swordsmanship as much as the Second Division was known for its hand to hand ability. It was well known that they were looking at what would likely become the most well prepared generation in the history of Soul Society. Trained entirely by the survivors of the most brutal war that had ever occurred, they would be taught the skills to survive and win in real battle.
His mind wandered back to the Arrancar's request, and the eyebrow raising explaination that had followed.
"Hey, Ichigo. Can I have this weekend off?" Grimmjow had kicked the door open with all the manners of any street punk. It wasn't like Ichigo minded. He appreciated the demented man's direct approach after dealing with all the social niceties that came with his new position.
"Why? Do you have plans?" Ichigo had asked. He was going to say yes regardless. The man rarely asked for time off, and had worked harder than most Shinigami from the first day he joined the division. But he was curious, and so he asked. And that was when he had received a reposnce that he would have laughed at had it come from anyone else.
"Yeah. Sui Feng asked me to join her, Yoruichi, and Kisuke in the world of the living for some down time. Bars, games, food, and the beach. At least that is what she said they had planned. Yoruichi is gonna be there, so it might end up just being bars." The blue haired man had shrugged as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
He knew that Grimmjow had become fairly good friends with the diminutive ninja over the last decades, and could even get along with Urahara on occasion, if the former captain were not in the mood to be too goofy, but he knew for a fact that Yoruichi hated Grimmjow with the burning fury of a thousand exploding stars. Why, he was still a little fuzzy about, but the fact remained. Grimmjow was the only person in the Gotei 13 who went to the Second Division hoping to be greeted by the Captain and not the Head of the Onmitsukido.
Ichigo agreed without a word, and here he was. After a few minutes in thought nearing meditation on the situation, he made a decision. Shunsui had taught him to master his dual Zanpakuto, that was common knowledge, but he had also taught him how to get out of paperwork when he felt like it. With a guilty sigh, he broke his stack of papers up and slipped a little into each stack of Lisa's so that the height difference would not be noticeable and slipped out the door like a shadow.
Hours later, in the world of the living, Grimmjow was stretched out on the beach, just out of reach of the waves, a towel that matched his hair between him and the sand. A few feet away, angled away from him, but not with a barbed wire fence between them as would have been expected, was Yoruichi. It figures that after all their edging around each other, they would bond over their dislike for water.
Sui Feng and Urahara had exhausted each other in the waves, racing, surfing, and diving in an almost friendly attempt to one up each other. Now, Urahara was buried up to his armpits with the tide licking his chest as Sui Feng dug small trenches and dams around the two sunbathing cats.
"Uh, Sui Feng... Do you plan to unbury me before I drown, or should I begin my escape attempt now?" Kisuke looked around as the latest wave had risen nearly to the tops of his shoulders.
"I suppose I can help you out. It would put a damper on the whole weekend if I had to dig another hole to put you in just cause you haven't invented Gigais with gills yet." The small woman smirked and picked up the tiny plastic shovel she had been using and stood over her former nemesis and current not-quite-friend. "Beg."
"What?" Kisuke blinked and then chuckled as the next have soaked his face and hair. "Alright, alright. Please free me, Captain. You are the superior Flash Step Artist." With a satisfied grin, Sui Feng had extracted him in a matter of seconds.
"That's not very nice, Little Bee!" Yoruichi almost purred from her chair. It was worth it, putting up with the stupid panther, to see her lover and her life long friend getting along. And, once they had both agreed that they hated the water more than each other, it had not been unbearable to sit within a spirit mile of him.