So while I was writing this I realized I had been using Western ordering of names, first then last, but I want to try and keep this close to form for the canon series and that includes the names so starting here I'm going to be using Eastern ordering, last then first.

Chapter 9: Communication is the Key

Nelliel walked the halls of a newly rebuilt Las Noches. When the Quencies invaded Hueco Mundo they caused quite a bit of damage to the fortified palace. The first thing the Arrancars did was take a count of everyone who survived. The second thing was giving all the wounded, their King Harribel included, a safe place to recover. Naturally, Nel was quick to assist in the endeavor. Surprisingly, Grimmjow participated as well, though he did complain about it plenty. The female Arrancar had begun to feel that the aggressive man was finally maturing and might actually start acting like the leader he would need to be for what Tier had planned. But true to the beast's nature as soon as the immediate needs in Las Noches were complete he started pestering both Tres Espada for fights and after what must've been the hundredth refusal he switched to coming and going as he pleased in an effort to find a good fight.

Nel sighed in disappointment. They needed Grimmjow's strength even if they didn't like his temperament. And what disturbed her even more than that fact was the one that he was missing. Even on his little excursions out of the palace Nel had some sense of where he went and what he was up to thanks to his massive Reiatsu and the whispers and rumors that traveled through the lesser Hollows. But lately there was no sign of Grimmjow anywhere in Hueco Mundo.

Finally reaching her destination, Nel opened the door to Tier's throne room. The Arrancar King was sitting on her throne with her Fraccion standing around her as she listened to the ramblings of an Adjuchas. The three women standing looked at her to acknowledge her entrance while Tier made sure to at least appear as if she was giving her visitor her full attention. When he finally left Nel stepped forward to discuss her worry with the now available King. "Harribel-san, we might have a problem."

Tier's expression and tone stayed level, as they tend to. "What might that be?"

"Grimmjow. He –" Nel was cut off midsentence by the immediate string of complaining insults from Emiluo Appachi, the most tom-boyish of the three women as well as the crudest.

"What did that dumbass do this time? Go pick a fight with a Gillian and get stepped on? And why the fuck are you coming to Harribel-sama on his behalf? If he did something make him come and face his King like a man!"

Nel waited for the woman to finish her unnecessary rant before continuing. "He is missing."

This caught the attention of the four Arrancar and for once all three Fraccion listened quietly.

"As we all know Grimmjow hasn't been one to sit here and play politics with us but whenever he leaves there is at least some trace of where he went and he always comes back after a few days. I have not caught a trace of his presence in twenty-thee." Recently the dome that gave Las Noches its bright blue sky was adjusted to come on and off, creating the sense of a changing sky and creating the only true day and night cycle in Hueco Mundo.

"Twenty-three… Twenty-three days ago I sensed a Garganta opening. If he went to the World of the Living it would most likely be to challenge Kurosaki Ichigo. But why would he stay gone so long? Nelliel, do you think Kurosaki would've killed him in a fight?"

Nel didn't even need to think about it. "No. Ichigo very rarely kills. And the chances of something else in that world powerful enough to kill him are incredibly low. The only ones who come to mind are Urahara and Yoruichi but neither of them could be bothered with him unless he was causing an excessive amount of destruction."

Tier was silent for a minute or so. Finally she came to a decision. "Nelliel. I want you to go to the World of the Living and speak to Kurosaki as well as Urahara. Find out if they know anything of Grimmjow's disappearance. Bring him back if you can but don't linger there. We've too much to do here for you to remain absent of a Jaegerjaquez Hunt for longer than necessary."

Nel bowed slightly to Tier. "I'll leave immediately."

Exact to her word, she opened a Garganta of her own and stepped through right there in the throne room. She was able to remain calm and stone faced in front of the other Arrancar but actually having an excuse to visit Ichigo was making her grin like a child.

…

Nel entered the World of the Living high above Karakura Town and took in its appearance. This was actually her first time there and she was incredibly curious about it. She really wanted to spend days here, having Ichigo show her everything there is for the world to offer. It'd almost be like a date! Her mind raced ahead childishly. But her bubble burst when she remembers that she isn't on vacation. She's here for work and is supposed to return to Las Noches quickly.

With a frown she opens her Pesquisa and immediately locates Ichigo. It was pretty easy since he was actually coming to her. Nel launched herself down towards where the man was running across the air on reiatsu and impacted with him like a bullet, making them both crash to the ground. "I-I-chi-go-o-o!"

"Ghah!" When she slammed into him he screamed in pain, and when they hit the ground he practically went comatose.

When Nel saw this she started vigorously shaking him crying. "NO! ICHIGO DON'T DIE!"

As she panicked Orihime finally caught up and nearly screamed herself at the sight of Ichigo's current condition. "Nel-san! Please calm down!"

The green haired woman let her grip on the man slacken and regarded the human. "Oh! Hello Orihime."

"Maybe you should get off of Ichigo-kun now."

Nel looked down at Ichigo sadly but got up and he started to breathe again. After he got a few minutes to breathe normally he was finally able to speak to the visitor. "It's good to see you Nel. What're you doing here though?"

"I wish this was a friendly visit but I'm actually here on orders from Tier-san."

"Tier-san? You're taking orders from her?" Orihime seemed surprised by this.

"Of course I am. She is the king of Hueco Mundo."

The orange haired woman seemed a bit embarrassed now. "Oh I knew that! It's just… When we were last there you weren't around so I didn't think you were following her rule."

Nel shrugged. "I wasn't then since I was still trapped in my child form but now that I have my true form back I do."

"So what does Harribel want?" Ichigo asked trying to get to the point.

"Grimmjow went missing."

Both the human's eyes bulged in surprise at the news. "WHAT!?"

"Yeah. It'd be twenty-three days ago now. We believe he came to your world. I don't suppose you've seen him in that time?"

"No. I haven't seen Grimmjow since the war. You Orihime?" Ichigo answered.

"Same."

Nel was looking at them with an inspecting eye now, earning nervous expressions from the pair. "Wh-What?" The girl asked nervously.

She crossed her arms as she continued to look at them inquisitively. "Something seems different about you two."

They both blushed but Orihime seemed absolutely flustered. "Different? We're not different! We're exactly the same people we were eight months ago!"

Nel tilted her head to the side. "If you say so."

The two humans covertly sighed in relief.

"Anyways. I need to check in with Urahara too to see if he knows anything."

"Alright. You know how to find his shop?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah. I can sense him from here."

"Good luck finding Grimmjow." The boy said.

"Come visit when you get a chance too." The girl added.

Nel responded with a smile. "I'll try!"

()

Grimmjow sat in his place at the table and watched entertained as Yukiko held his bowl of orange juice in one hand, her glass in the other and balanced their bowls of rice and curry with handmade pork buns. He had been staying with her for nearly three weeks now and they had a fairly simple routine down. They wake up, Yukiko makes breakfast, and they eat. Grimmjow has been alternating days between staying around for the day and searching for Urahara so that he doesn't walk his annoyingly fragile feet bloody. He's also been making a point of being present for all of her meeting with Shimada; both because it annoys the human and because he doesn't trust the man. He's too touchy, or he would be if Yukiko wasn't so skilled about avoid physical contact, and he's overly friendly.

On the other days he sticks around though, Grimmjow has watched her paint, read books with her, listen to music. They also try to have "conversations" through him reading her lips and Yukiko asking him yes and no questions. Today however she came up with a new idea. She was currently in the process of making up cards of kanji for him to arrange into questions or answers for her. While it's not a perfect solution and there's a limited amount he can say it's going to be a big improvement compared to before. Plus, once the cards are done he'll be able to ask her where she picked him up from the first time.

For the time being though, he enjoyed his lunch. He really did like her cooking and if it weren't for walking himself ragged every other day he'd probably get fat. It was almost shocking that Yukiko herself wasn't, especially seeing as how she sleeps so much. It was almost shocking to him that not only does the woman sleep more than eight hours a night, sometimes she doesn't wake up until after ten, she was also prone to napping during the day. He noticed that this was even more apparent on days that she had a vision. He was certain that it wasn't healthy for humans to have such a lifestyle but she seemed fine so what does he care.

Yukiko knocked on the table. Her indication that she was going to speak and he should look up. {"When we're done eating would you mind doing me quick favor? It'll only take a few minutes, and I'll finish your cards as soon as it's done."}

Grimmjow didn't like the sound of that. He wanted her to finish now. He wasn't happy when she stopped to make lunch but he let it go since it was his lunch too. But if it was only going to take a few minutes it wouldn't be the end of the world I guess. He thought, then nodded to give his okay.

They finished their meals in a hurry and Yukiko placed the bowls in the sink to soak then pulled out the painting she had been working on. This one she was being paid to do. It was a bunch of solid rectangle and squares of dark reds, blues, grays, greens and purples with a single black cat sitting on a red rectangle. The cat was the only shape with curves and the only black in the whole painting. From what she said, it was supposed to be finished and delivered tonight. He did think it was done since she stopped working on it early yesterday, plus what help could he give?

She laid the painting flat on the floor and squeezed a glob of black paint on her wooden plate that is covered with dried paint spots. {"Step on the pain with your front feet and walk across the painting."}

Grimmjow looked at her like she was crazy.

She smiled and put her hands together in a begging position. {"Please!"}

The Arrancar sighed and complied. She doesn't seem to care where he walks and didn't give any indication that it matters when he looked up at her, so he just guessed it was his choice. Only being careful to not step on the cat in the painting, he walked in a straight line across the shapes and she grabbed him just as he jumped. She carried him to the bathroom before putting him down and turned on the water. He looked at her confused. {"I don't want you to get paint of the floor. It'd be impossible to get out."}

She only spent a few minutes rinsing the paint from his paws and didn't bother to give him a towel since only his feet were wet. He followed her out the room, shaking his feet in between steps and watched as she finally got back to work on his cards. She spent about forty minutes finishing then laid the stack out for him. {"Got anything you want to stay?"}

Grimmjow scanned through the cards and pulled out what he needed. "Where'd did you find me?"

Yukiko seemed almost disappointed by his question. {"Do you want me to take you there tomorrow? You're looking for it when you go away for the day right?"}

He nodded happily. He was finally going to be making progress.

{"Do you have anything else worth asking or did I just spend three hours making those for that one question?"}

Alright, alright. Calm down. He thought a bit taken back by her sudden irritation.

Grimmjow wracked his brain for a question. "Why can't you speak?"

{"Just because."} She said, holding his gaze like a challenge.

The Arrancar sifted through the cards. "Because why?"

He was pushing for an answer.

{"It's complicated and if I told you, you'd have a hard time believing me. Next question."}

Grimmjow patted his previous question to show that he still wanted it answered.

Her face soured. {"Next question."}

He rolled his eyes but came up with a new question "Where'd you learn Flash Step? That's a Shinigami skill."

{"I learned it when I was little. Most of the people where I grew up can use it. It's pretty basic."}

The cat felt his ears and tail stand straight up and he sifted through the cards as quickly as he can. "Where did you grow up?"

Yukiko looked up and shifted her head a bit as she thought. {"The middle of nowhere really. It's supposed to be a village but it was more of a compound really. I can't begin to explain how relieved I am to be out of it."}

She didn't look like she wanted to talk more about it so he changed questions. "Where'd you vision power come from?"

{"Born with it. Same with knowing if a hole opens for Hollows are Shinigami's to come or go. Which reminds me. A hole from Hueco Mundo opened while I was cooking."}

The second power Grimmjow had no clue about but it was good to know. He wanted to continue asking questions but all the things that had been bothering him about not being able to ask have now been asked. He looked around the room and realized there was something huge he could ask her. "How long have you been painting?"

Yukiko seemed surprised by the question but immediately brightened. {"I started painting when I five or six. Nui caught me using calligraphy brushes and ink to paint pictures and she snuck me everything I needed to start, then I never stopped. Nui also taught me to cook."}

"Who is she? Sister?"

{"No. More like an old baby sitter who never stopped looking after me. She left the village with me and we stuck together. We stayed together for a few years before separating. But we send each other a letter every month to make sure the other is okay."}

Grimmjow tilted his head in curiosity.

{"We snuck away from the village. If anyone found either of us they'd force us back."}

"Is Ametsuchi Yukiko really your name then?" He asked suspiciously.

{"Yeah. They are pretty old fashioned there and even if they left no one would be able to figure out how to track us down with it. When we separated we decided that it would be easier for us to keep track of each other if we kept our names."}

Grimmjow stared at the cards, not really knowing what to ask anymore. He must've taken a while because Yukiko snapped her fingers to get his attention. {"Do you mind if I ask you questions?"}

He shook his head no and was a bit relieved to be able to just respond until he comes up with new questions.

{"What are your level of Hollows called? I know they exist but I never heard a name for it."}

Easy. "Arrancar."

{"How long have you been an Arrancar?"}

Grimmjow thought about it but didn't have an answer. "I don't know. Only night exists in Hueco Mundo so it's pretty impossible to say how long ago it was."

He let her read that then put out new sentences. "The Shinigami that caused the evolution of Arrancar said it was about a hundred years ago though."

{"I guess you couldn't say how long you've been a Hollow then?"}

"Not a clue. I don't remember my life when I was alive either."

{"I'm not surprised. Hollows loss their memory of their life since it would torture them to instinctually eat human souls while remembering that they were human too."}

Grimmjow would've been speechless if he could use his words at the beginning of the conversation. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

{"What do you mean?"}

"Hollows lose their memories because they do. No reason behind it that anyone who's gone through it. Why do you think there's a reason behind it, and that it's to make eating souls easier?"

{"It's what I was taught before."} She looked like she wanted to avoid answering but did anyways.

"What? Your village teaches history of Hollows or something?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. {"Or something. There's this whole story about the birth of the first Hollow and the first Shinigami."}

"Sounds boring." Grimmjow was not interested in a history lesson. Why does the past matter? It's the future that's important.

Yukiko laughed. {"It is."}

With the conversation at a stand-still they both ended up stretching their arms. The woman leaned and flopped on the floor, her head landing next to the cat, and she stifled a yawn. Is she seriously going to nap?

Apparently she wasn't because she looked at the clock and sat back up. {"It's time for me to go meet with my client to give her the painting. Want to come?"}

Grimmjow nodded yes since there was nothing better to do. She slipped the painting into the black square bag that she kept by the door and pulled a jacket on. She held the door open for Grimmjow and they left the apartment together.

{"We'll get some groceries of dinner too while we're out."}

()

Nel sat in living space behind Urahara's store front. Tessai place a cup of tea on the table for her, the blond Shinigami, Yoruichi, and himself before sitting down. "How can we help you today Nelliel?" Urahara asked.

"It seems Grimmjow went missing. We believe that he came to this world twenty-three days but there is no sign of him returning to Hueco Mundo, and neither Ichigo nor Orihime have seen signs of him."

Her news seemed to be a surprise to the group.

"I take it, you haven't seen him then?"

"Sorry to say but we haven't." Urahara said from behind his green and white fan.

Nel sighed and stood, leaving her tea untouched. "If you find any sign of him please contact Las Noches and let us know."

"Of course." Tessai said.

The Arrancar left the shop and opened a Garganta just outside, returning to her home.

"I wonder where that troublesome Arrancar could have gone." The large dark skinned man questioned as he sipped his tea.

"What a curious situation." The other man said as he too sipped is tea.

Yoruichi watched her friend with a suspicious leer. "You know? Twenty-three days ago was when you were conducting your animal gigai experiment. The one where I said a Garganta opened and a gigai went missing."

The blonde's face blanked out for a second and he pulled his fan in front of his face again. "Was that twenty-three days ago? I completely forgot."

"Why did you pretend to not know Grimmjow fell into one of them?"

Urahara smirked and closed his fan. "It's the perfect test run. The new gigais are designed for stealth after all. Nelliel has never been here before but she found the shop within minutes by sensing us with Pesquisa but she couldn't detect Grimmjow at all. Besides, it's not like he's dangerous as long as he's stuck in it so what's the harm in leaving him running free?"

"And what are you going to do when he finds you and realizes you're behind his current predicament? Assuming he isn't already aware it's your fault."

He laughed a bit nervously at the mention of what will happen when his experiment comes to an eventual end. "I'll just lie."

"You're a dead man laughing." Yoruichi and Tessai said together.

Just a short chapter but the story is finally moving, hope you enjoyed Grimmjow's and Yukiko's first "conversation". They can actually have them now! :) Anyways… Comments, complaints, reviews all make for a happy author so do it and I'll love you~ 3

Yay Comments! (´｡• ω •｡`) :

Silent Songstress Sorceress: Thank you! I'm trying hard to keep Grimmjow's personality consistent with the source material. It makes me happy that you like Yukiko, I'm trying to balance intelligence and strength for her.

MrsSwordslover: I want fluffy kitten stuff but it's hard since too much will seem out of place for Grimmjow. I just needed to lay "ground work" for their situation but now that it's done the story will move and Grimmjow might get his body back sooner than I thought. Your patients is very appreciated though.