Kurai excitedly knocked on the door. HE bounced up and down waiting for someone to answer the door. "I'm coming. I'm coming." Called a tired voice. The door opened and Kurai smiled brightly as the blonde rubbed his eyes. "Do you know how late it is?" The man looked down and his eyes widened. "Kurai?"
Kurai tackled his uncle to the ground and hugged him tightly. Nikki hugged the young man back and held onto the back of his head. He rested his cheek on Kurai's head. "Kurai, you're okay. I'm so happy. I've missed you so much." Tears flowed down his face as he hugged his nephew even tighter. "What's going on?" Nel walked down the stairs wearing white laced nightgown that stopped slightly below her butt. "Nikki?" She moved closer to the door. There stood Grimmjow and a boy wearing a skull cap. HE wasn't familiar to her either. On the floor was Nikki hugging a boy. "Nikki, get off the floor." Nel bent down and picked up the boy by the waist.
She set him down on his feet and helped Nikki up to his feet. She frowned when she saw the tears in his eyes. "Nikki, what's wrong?" Nel stood on her tiptoes and wiped his face with her hands. "They found my nephew, Kurai." Nel looked from Nikki to the raven. "Then you must be Ichigo." Nel pointed to the bronzed colored young man. He only nodded. Nel claps her hands and jumps up and down. "We've been looking for you for months." She squealed and hugged Ichigo tightly. "We're so glad you're okay!" She squeezed harder with every second that went by. Ichigo struggled out of her strong grip, but he was losing air fast. "Nel, you're killing him." Grimmjow pried Ichigo away from Nel and he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Itsy." Ichigo's right eye twitched at the nickname.
"Let's go to the living room and talk."
xXx
Nel sat next to Grimmjow on the sofa, while Kurai and Ichigo sat with Nikki. "So you don't remember what happened to you?" Nel asked and they shook their heads. "That's not good." As they talked, Nel thought about something. "Where's Midnight and Berry?!" Nel yelled at Grimmjow. Before he could talk, Nel started hitting him on the head. "They're still kittens. How could you leave them like that?! Did you leave them food, at least?!"
"Ow. Fuck! Stop hitting me, you crazy broad!" Grimmjow shielded his head from her punches. "Not til you answer my question."
"Fucking hell! You're looking at them!" Nel continued to hit him. "What are you saying?! That's Itsygo and Kurai. What game are you playing at?"
"Come on! Nikki, take off their hats!" Nikki looked from the amusing fight to his nephew and Ichigo. He pulled their hats off and looks at them with wide eyes. "You're…" He trailed off. "Nel, stop and look." Nel paused and held her hands above his head. "Finally." She hit him one last time. "Ow!" She noticed the cat ears twitch atop their heads. She moved off the sofa and crawled over to the two. She lifted both their shirts to reveal two long tails that wrapped around their torso.
She put the shirts back down and stood to her feet. She took a deep breath and hugged them both tightly. "They're so cute. They're kitties and humans. Can we keep em?" Nel asked Nikki. "They're not pets, first of all. Second of all, you assigned Grimmjow and Ulquiorra to take care to them." Nel pouted at her boyfriend's answer. "Where's Ulqui?" Kurai looked down at his hands in silence. "He left." Grimmjow answered. Ichigo looked at Kurai. He knew that Kurai didn't want to be pitied, but he knew the raven was hurting. "What do you mean he left?" Nel was getting pissed. He promised to take care of Kurai and he leaves. "He said that it was important."
"He couldn't wait?!" Nel yelled. "Apparently not. Kurai's staying with me until he comes back."
"I'm going to give that jerk such a thrashing. How could he just leave like that?!" Nel punched a nearby table to pieces. After watching her destroy the furniture, he was glad he didn't tell her about the informal letter. "Nel, calm down. I'm sure there's a good explanation." Nikki reassured. "No he's just a jerk! He was one in school and he's one now!" Kurai tucked his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. Nikki reached over and scratched behind his ear. Kurai's ears perk up and he leans further into the hand. "Just as cute as always."
"Yer gonna stay here, Kurai?" Grimmjow asked and Kurai nods. "What about you, Ich?" Ichigo just looked down at his hands. "Ichi. You gonna stay here or come back home with me?" There was no nod and he didn't shake his head. Kurai crawled over to Ichigo and poked his cheek. Ichigo looked at Kurai who smiled reassuringly. Before Ichigo could make a decision, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." They watch Nikki leave the living room and head for the living room. They could hear muffled speech, so they couldn't make out the words. Soon the talking stopped and Nikki returned, but he wasn't alone. A mixture of irritation and confusion seemed etched on their faces. The man that stood there wasn't who they thought it was.
His eyes were a blueish purple color. His jet black hair had a jagged haircut to it and stopped at his shoulder. He had the same exact skin tone as Ulquiorra. There was a large marking under his left eye. It was a tree without the leaves. The middle branches stopped under his eye. The left side of the tree branches moved around his eye and stopped at his eyelash. He wore a black long sleeve hoodie underneath a purple t shirt, black jeans and purple converse. HE smiled at the group.
At first they thought Ulquiorra was playing a trick on them, but said man never smiles. He could, no he was Ulquiorra twin, except for the obvious differences. What was going on? "Everyone this is Murcielago Cifer, Ulquiorra's younger brother. Murcielago, this is Grimmjow, Nel, Ichigo, and Kurai." Nikki introduced everyone. Murcielago waved. "Hi." No one said anything to the man, they just stared. "Did I come at a bad time?" He looked at Nikki with a confused expression. "Not really. No one really knew about you, so it's a shock." The newcomer's smile faded and he looked down at the floor. "I see. So he doesn't talk about me." Nikki ruffled the discouraged young man's hair.
"I'm sure there's a good reason for it."
"Have you seen, Ulqui? I went by the apartment, but there was no answer." He asked the blonde, who scratched his head. "Uh, no. He disappeared. We're just finding out." Nikki spoke with honesty and Murcielago pouted. "He hates me." The saddened younger brother turned and ran out of the room "Murc, wait!"