Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been a while. School is in full gear and it keeps me busy. But I didn't have internet access to do my homework today so I got a chapter done. *Trembles in the corner* So much writing...
But if I didn't finish it today I wouldn't have been able to get to it for probably another two weeks. Oh well! It's done so enjoy! :)
Chapter 14: Grimmjow's Lonely Days
Day 1
Grimmjow felt exhausted. He was still a little sore from his fight with Kurosaki but it was different. He felt tired and his head hurt now which he didn't when he woke up that morning. He suspected the cause of this new exhaustion but would cut his own arm off before ever admitting it, even to himself. He was Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, the former Sexta Espada. The incarnation of destruction. He does not cry.
He had moved away from the door and was instead laying on the futon, trying to relax and let the headache go away. It was an odd realization that the futon was a bit small, it was barely big enough for him. It made him wonder how much smaller Yukiko was then him as she seemed to fit perfectly fine on it. From his place he watched the rectangle of light that came through the window creep up the refrigerator as the sun sank lower. It wasn't until the light was blocked completely by the buildings outside the window that Grimmjow sat upright. He couldn't stay here for too long. Someone was bound to come into the apartment sooner or later and it would cause a commotion if he was staying there. It wasn't like he had a reason to stick around without her being here anyways. There was no reason for him to be in the World of the Living right now actually. He lost to Kurosaki again so he should go back to Hueco Mundo to train some more.
He looked around the room that had served as his… home… for over a month. There was still some glass on the floor but most of it had been cleaned up. The tatami mats that were blood stained had been removed, exposing the concrete floor beneath. The picture that had been broken over Shimata's head was gone too. So instead he looked at what was left in the room. Yukiko's travel bag was still on the floor next to the table with her dirty clothes piled inside. Sitting on the table was the little charm he had taken back from their trip. He then looked at the pictures that were stacked against the dresser and became curious.
Grimmjow got up from the floor and left the room. He wasn't sure where to go so he just wandered around the hall until he found someone. It was just a random stranger but he was able to give Grimmjow the information he wanted. The Arrancar went to the second floor knocked on a door. After a handful of seconds the old man manager that ran the building opened it. "Can I help you?"
"I'm…" Grimmjow needed a second to think on what he'll call himself. If he said acquaintance the man might be reluctant to talk. If he said cat the man will definitely not talk. "… a friend of Yukiko's."
The man looked shocked. "You are? I didn't even realize she had friends. She's a sweet young woman but she seemed to keep to herself."
"Uh, yeah."
The man, whose name Grimmjow didn't bother to remember assuming he heard it, looked very concerned. "I'm sorry to tell you this but Ametsuchi-san won't be coming back for a while."
Grimmmjow wasn't going to bother asking where she went since he already knew, even if the old man did know that he did. "When is she coming back?"
He seemed uncomfortable. "We do not know. She will come home when… it's time for her to come home."
"Shit." Grimmjow thought disappointed. "What's going to happen with her place and stuff?"
"I'm going to leave it alone until I get word from her."
"Alright. Thanks." He was short with the man but didn't care. The Arrancar was done with the building. He was going to get back to Urahara to get released from the gigai and go back to Hueco Mundo.
"Wait! Kid!"
He almost tripped. Grimmjow's been called a lot of things but never kid. "What?"
"She had a cat named Grimmjow. Maybe you heard about him? I haven't seen him since last night but would you mind keeping a look out for him. He's black but you'll know it when you see him. He has very…" The man's words trailed off the longer he looked the Arrancar in his striking blue eyes. The older man continued to look at him with an unspeakable question in his eyes.
"You won't be seeing that cat running around anymore." This time Grimmjow really did make it back to the stairs and he returned to the ground floor, intending to go on his way but when he got to Yukiko's room he wasn't able to just walk by and pretend like he didn't notice it. He needed to move on with his day or he'd never make it back to his world. He went in one more time. He tried to pretend he wasn't doing what he was when he took the sketch book out of the bag that sat on the floor and shoved the charm in between some of its pages. It was weird that he wanted them and since he couldn't create an excuse for it, telling himself that the charm was his anyways and he just needed something to put it in where he won't forget was the best he could do.
He wasted no more time in returning to the shop now that he was able to find it with ease. When he walked through the repaired entrance the blonde Shinigami was there as if waiting for him. "Welcome back!~"
Grimmjow clicked his tongue and looked away. "I want to go back to Hueco Mundo."
"Aw-w… Already? Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" The man sounded positively irritating.
The only solace that came to the Arrancar was when a foot shot out from behind the shady man and slammed into the back of his head and pinned his face down to the floor. "Kisuke stop this now!"
It was the dark skinned woman that worked with him.
With his face squished to the floor Urahara laughed an apology. "Swori swori."
Yoruichi let him up and spoke with crossed arms. "I see you failed to tell Grimmjow that Nel came here looking for him."
This caught the Arrancar's attention. "Nelliel? What the hell did she want?"
Urahara sat up and fixed his hat. "She was here on Tier's behalf, didn't really say why; just that you had been missing for almost a month. Needless to say that was a little while ago."
Grimmjow sighed. "Great… Maybe I should stay permanently."
"Nope." The male Shinigami said as he rammed his cane through Grimmjow's forehead, pushing his real body out of the shell.
"Get going before I contact them myself." Yoruichi threatened him.
Putting it off until Nelliel comes herself or worse, the annoying trio that follow Harribel around like fleas, would make for the most irritating outcome of all. "Fine."
Having reluctantly agreed, Grimmjow opened a garganta. After he opened the air behind him he reached down to the gigai on the floor and pulled the sketch book out from its hand. Naturally Urahara had to say something about it. "Oooh… What could that be?"
"None of your fucking business." Grimmjow practically snarled and jumped through the dark corridor, shutting the mouth like opening behind him before the two weird people had a chance to further bother him.
His garganta reopened in his room in Las Noches.
It had been such a long time since he was there that it almost didn't feel familiar. It had a bed, a little square table next to it and an empty dresser all of which were already in the room when he moved in at the start of his position as an Espada. He never cared about the room enough to add to or remove anything since he came to it solely to sleep. There were other rooms in the building that were considered his that he did spend some thought making his own but since Las Noches was used as housing for injured Hollows recently some of those rooms, like the bedrooms of his former fraccion, had been temporarily occupied.
He took in his sparsely furnished bedroom with disinterest. It lacked something that Yukiko's room had and he couldn't quite decide what it was. Maybe it was the personal touch her living space had? "Or maybe it as the fact that a living person was living there." Grimmjow 's finger tips curled slightly against the flexible cover of the sketch book in his hand. He sat down on the bed and looked at the cover of the book. It was scribbled on but there was nothing that made any kind of image and he could see the charm peeking out from the pages where he put it. He wasn't really sure what to do with it now that he had it with him. He didn't want to leave the book laying around for anyone to find. He wouldn't put it past any of the Hollows in the building to take and let it get damaged either purposely or out of carelessness. He felt someone familiar coming at a very high speed. He did the first thing he could think of with the book and shoved it under the pillow on the bed.
Uncertain if the door was going to survive otherwise, Grimmjow also got up and opened it. It seemed to be a good choice because Nelliel came bulldozing into the room and almost tackled him. He didn't care for the treatment though so he stepped out of the way. "Grimmjow you dummy! Where have you been?!"
"The World of the Living. And what's with that freaky welcome?!" From what he had seen, that type of behavior was exclusively for Kurosaki.
The green haired woman composed herself and once again held her usual calm disposition. "You disappeared without any trace for months. For all we knew you had been killed."
Grimmjow took the opportunity to mock her. "You got all sad because you though I was dead?"
He could see a hint of a frown come to her face. "You are important to the future of Las Noches and Tier's rule."
The man closed his eyes and turned away with a scoff. "That woman ain't my King."
There was a sharp smack across his head. "HEY!"
Nel was showing a clear frown now. "Harribel-san is your King, regardless of your opinion. Also, you need to speak with her now that you are back."
Grimmjow scratched his head. "Sure. I'll get to it."
He heard her growl slightly at his response. "No. You will see her now."
She then proceeded to shove him out the door and followed behind him as if to herd him in her desired direction. "Pushy fucking women…" Grimmjow complained to himself.
He was slow to walk since he had no interest in his destination but he did eventually get to the King's throne room. Nelliel shoved past him and opened the door. "Harribel-san. Grimmjow has finally returned."
The man offered a lazy greeting. "Yo."
For once the blonde woman was alone in the room. "Grimmjow, welcome back."
"Great. Thanks. I'll see you later." He was ready to leave already.
"So, you are not going to tell me where you've been?" The woman challenged.
"World of the Living. Happy?"
"Why?" She questioned further.
"To fight Kurosaki." Grimmjow was losing his patience and it showed in his voice.
"Then why were you missing for so long? From what Nelliel gathered you hadn't even made contact with Kurosaki-san for at a minimum of almost a month after you went away."
He growled slightly at the continuation of the questions. "I was held up by something. Are you going to ask me when I last took a shit too or can I go?!"
"Where exactly do you plan to go?" Nel questioned suspiciously from behind him.
"Back to my room! Ya got a problem with that?!"
"Nelliel-san, could you please leave us?" Harribel ask.
The other woman seemed surprised but nodded and left without question. Now that the two were alone Tier left her chair and approached closer to Grimmjow, never dropping her relaxed demeanor. "While you were gone we have been furthering our efforts to further empower and build up Hueco Mundo. We have located more Arrancar that had been created by Aizen, but even more interestingly, we've found five who claim to have evolved without coming into contact with Aizen."
The male Arrancar crossed his arm and snorted. "That's not really interesting... It's been happening for centuries."
"What makes it interesting is that they have evolved since the war. There has never been such a large influx of Arrancar evolution. Nelliel is older than us and scouted Hollows for Aizen. Back then there would be years between new natural Arrancar."
"Why are you bothering me this?"
"I want to utilize you in teaching the new Arrancar that are brought in."
"What?! You want me to teach?! That's the dumbest fuckin' idea I've ever heard!"
He didn't miss the quiet chuckle that escaped Harribel. "Yes, you are absolutely crude, wild, and insubordinate. However you are skilled and command respect in a way others do not. I do recall that you had the largest fraccion of the Espada with the exception of Szayelaporro, who created his for the purpose of sacrificing them."
"Those idiots followed me around since I was an Adjuchas. We were turned into Arrancar together and they weren't even close to being strong enough to be Espada so I let them serve me directly."
"That doesn't make your ability to lead any less real. So long as you don't lead any of the new Arrancar to their deaths I would consider you a successful commander. Of course I'm not going to place all of them under your care. I'll leave you in charge of one as a test. Depending on how you do I will make my decision to give you more."
"Don't bother. I don't want any." Grimmjow told her with a sour frown.
"Are you sure? I thought you would be happy to have soldiers at your command."
The comment made Grimmjow's ears perk. Soldiers at his command? That did sound appealing. "Fine…"
"Good. Your new student will be waiting for you in the former Espada meeting hall tomorrow morning."
"Whatever." He turned and exited the room to return to his. His headache was back and he wanted to take a nap.
Day 2
Grimmjow's sleep was restless. If anything, he felt more exhausted when he woke up then when he went to bed. At least his headache was gone. He couldn't resist heaving a sigh when he sat up though. He was back in his large, cold, empty room in Las Noches. He was starting to miss the tiny, warm and cozy apartment already. "Yukiko…"
He wasn't sure when exactly he was supposed to meet with this new Arrancar, all Harribel said was that it would be the next day. Besides, who cares if he makes the guy wait a little bit? He opened a garganta from his room and sent it straight to Yukiko's apartment. The room was almost exactly as it had been the previous day with the exception of new glass in the window. It was still morning though, so she could possibly come back later in the day, which meant it would be better if he was to check later in the day too. "But before that…"
Gimmjow walked to the fridge against the wall and checked its contents. He was thrilled to find a little bit of leftover food from the night before they left for the festival. It may not be breakfast food but it was food so that's all that mattered. He remembered watching her operate the rectangle machine that sat on the refrigerator and put the now unwrapped plate of fish and carrots with broccoli in it. He pressed some random button that had the number 3 on it and the box hummed to life. He watched the timer count down from three minutes but about half way through it there was a burning smell emanating from the microwave. He pulled the door open and watched as the food steamed and popped. It was a little over heated but otherwise seemed edible. He plucked the reusable chopsticks from a drying rack that was currently in the sink since that was the only utensil in the room aside from large knives that were only occasionally used and sat on the floor at the table. Without hesitation he tore off a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. "Mmwahh!"
He hadn't considered the fact that the inside of his mouth isn't protected by his hierro so the fish burned his tongue. He sat there with it hanging out of his mouth so the cooler air could flow around and sooth it. After a minute or so, he took another piece of fish but this time he blew on it before putting it in his mouth. This time he could taste it. It was kind of dry from being cooked too long in the microwave but was otherwise good. Arrancar don't actually get hungry or have to eat but he couldn't stop himself and ate every bite swiftly. When it was all gone he had no reason to stay. Not caring about the plate or sticks he had used, the Arrancar stood back up and returned to Las Noches directly into the meeting hall that he was supposed to go to.
There was a kid there waiting in one of the ten chairs that lined the grand table. He looked at the opening portal with shock and stared as Grimmjow walked through. "You're seriously who Harribel wants me to teach?"
To call him a kid almost felt like an understatement. If he was human the short Arrancar could have passed for a twelve year old. The boy had black hair that was pushed up similar to Grimmjow's but spikier and shorter and it showed off some red strips. He was wearing tattered brown cloths tied around him as makeshift shirt and pants and the only other thing on him was a red woven strap diagonally across his torso that held his zanpakuto across his back. His face looked just as young as the rest of his body, possibly younger with large golden eyes and a mask fragment that covered everything above his brow and passed his hair line. Even the mask looked large for his face with its only distinct feature was a cluster of three almond shaped holes that sat above each eye. His Hollow hole wasn't on display; but it's not like Grimmjow kept his exposed anymore either.
The kid was staring, apparently not realizing he was asked a question.
"HEY KID!"
He flinched, showing that he heard that.
"You're here for me right? What's your name?"
"Sorry! Yes! I'm Stuttgart Achiim. You're Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow right? I heard about you from the others." The boy seemed a bit nervous but he was weirdly excited for someone meeting Grimmjow.
"At least I don't have to bother with introducing myself." He sighed. "Good. So what am I supposed to be teaching you?" It's not like Harribel actually explained it.
"Um… I'm not really sure. I guess just how to be an Arrancar."
This irritated him. "What the fuck does that mean? You don't learn to be an Arrancar! It doesn't matter how much you evolve, as long as you have a piece of a mask and a hole in your body, you're a Hollow."
The kid seemed even more nervous now. "That's not what the others said. They said that we're better then Hollows and that we need to act like better creatures."
Grimmjow growled a bit. "That sounds like something Nelliel would say. Why the hell isn't she taking care of you then?"
"I don't know."
The older man continued to frown as he considered his situation, until he sighed. "Fine. If I'm going to teach you then I'm going to teach you what I do best."
He started to glow with Rietsu, startling Achiim.
"Protect yourself if you don't want to die."
A warning was a courtesy that he didn't give most but it would probably be bad if he killed the kid. He didn't use Sonido or even reinforced his body with Hierro, he just charged the kid and threw a straight punch for his face. He yelp and bolted under the table, coming back up on the other side. It bothered Grimmjow so he jumped over the table and threw a punch for his stomach. Achiim pulled a chair in between them and rushed back. Getting a bit irritated now, Grimmjow threw the chair at the boy who dove under the table again but this time didn't come up the other side. Grimmjow could feel a vein in his forehead burst.
He grabbed the edge of the table and threw it across the room, exposing the cowering child beneath.
"Do you think running and hiding is protecting yourself?"
Achiim stuttered as he spoke. "I-I… I don't want to die."
"What class of Hollow were you when you evolved?" He growled out.
He didn't answer immediately so Grimmjow intensified his glare until he did. "I was a Vasto Lorde."
Grimmjow's shock showed clear on his face. "I didn't even make it to Vasto Lorde before becoming an Arrancar!"
"How did you make it that far running away from fights like this?!"
"I never fought, it scares me. I just had to lay traps."
Grimmjow grabbed Achiim by the collar of his rag-shirt and carried him out of the meeting hall and straight to Harribel's throne room where he could already sense the Hollow King and Nelliel. When he disintegrated the door with a Cero and waved Achiim in the air the two women looked at him expectantly. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with this kid?!"
"Grimmjow you should be more gentle with children." Nel stated exasperated.
"And use the door rather than destroy it." Harribel added.
The blue haired man glared at Nel and dropped the child Arrancar. "Don't give me that! And don't give me any more of that vague ass 'teach him' shit! What the fuck are you expecting me to teach a kid who is afraid to fight?!"
Nel approached and helped the boy up, completely ignoring Grimmjow now. "Achiim, are you alright?"
Achiim blushed slightly as he took the woman's hand so she could help him up and his words rushed out. "Yes thank you!"
Grimmjow looked back at Harribel. "Give the kid to Nelliel. She'll baby him all he needs."
"Don't think I didn't ask." The green haired woman interjected.
"I'll admit that I am not keen on violent Arrancar among our ranks but they do need to be strong. I decided someone who won't baby Achiim would be best for him. I'll just have to hope that your personality does not influence his too much." Tier spoke with her usual calm and her voice projected an impressive sense of authority.
The man grumbled unintelligible words but didn't really say anything else.
"Am I expecting too much from you in my belief that you are capable of teaching another how to fight?" It was a challenge against him.
"Come on kid." Challenge accepted.
"Grimmjow, you could learn his name." Nel called after him. He didn't say anything; just flipped her off and kept walking.
After leaving the two women Grimmjow took Achiim outside and had him take an offensive against him and the panther would only be on defense since any time he moves threateningly the brat gives up and runs. It was frustrating to say but Grimmjow wasn't sure how he was going to teach this kid. He literally had no idea of what he was doing. He couldn't even punch properly. When the older Arrancar had him punch with all his strength and he took it without his hierro to feel how much power he had… It was barely above that of an Adjunchas. His Cero never hit its target and he didn't hold his sword properly either, opting to flail it around like a club instead!
"You are by far the most incapable Hollow I've ever seen." He was as blunt as can be with his words.
Achiim crouched on the ground and buried his face in his knees.
"If you cry I will give you reason to cry until you physically can't anymore."
The boy flinched and showed his face. He was clearly wanted to but held back his tears and snot.
Grimmjow picked up some rubble that was set aside from all of the clean up and carried it closer to the kid. He walked about fifteen meters from it and drew a line in the sand. "Stand here and hit the rock with a Cero."
Achiim walked to the line and held out his right hand, braced himself, charged up his red Riatsu and fired it. The blast knocked him off his balance and he stumbled back. The Cero blast missed entirely. "This kid is too small for his power."
"Fire another." He ordered.
The boy pushed himself off the ground and stood to fire his Cero again.
"Square yourself."
Achiim looked back at him. "What does that mean?"
"Square your stance."
Still a blank look.
Grimmjow sighed and used his feet to hook the kid's ankles and pulled them to be wider and more stable. He then turned him at the shoulders so Achiim was standing completely square. "Now fire."
The little Arrancar charged up and fired. He was still jousted by the power but this time was able to remain standing. Achiim looked back at Grimmjow with a proud smile on his face.
"What are you so pleased for? You still missed." The man looked and sounded bored as he sat down on a smaller piece of rubble. He expected this to take a while.
"R-right!" He spoke loudly and tried again. And again... and again...
This kid really didn't have any skill. After his fifteenth Cero that also failed to make contact with the boulder he was covered in sweat and looked like he was about to collapse. "Can I take a break?"
"You're still standing so no."
"But-" Achiim tried to protest.
"And complaining. If you want a break then hit your target." Grimmjow said sternly.
Achiim took a few intentional deep breaths that wasn't just panting and took aim. He was hesitant to fire his Cero since he was exhausted. He seemed to be struggling as he charged his Rieatsu but the kid did his best to hold himself steady. When he fired off the energy he fell backwards and didn't get back up. Achiim was out cold.
Grimmjow got up from his spot and stood at the boy's side, his shadow casting over him. "Well kid. Lucky for you, you earned your break with that last shot."
The large stone chunk that sat fifteen meters away had the top left quarter of it blasted away. It wasn't a great shot, but it was the only one that touched the target so for Achiim's first day of this Grimmjow had no real choice but to accept it as good enough for now.
He walked back into Las Noches and made it about five minutes in before he ran into Nel. She was with a few Arrancar he had never seen nor cared to get to know. "Grimmjow, how is it going with Achiim?"
"He's pathetic."
The woman crossed her arms and the newcomers watched with interest. "He's still a child. He needs to be looked after."
"Do you remember how long it takes Hollows to age? I'm not looking after a kid, and I'm definitely not doing it for the next five hundred or so years!"
"Don't be silly. Children grow quickly. It should only take three hundred for him to become old enough to look after himself."
"Fuck that…"
"In the mean time…" She continued on as if not hearing his refusals. "I trust you won't do something as irresponsible as leave him somewhere to get eaten by a stray Hollow." There was an accusing tone to her voice that showed she knew that he had done just that already.
Grimmjow turned with a grumble and returned to Achiim. He picked the kid up and took him back into Las Noches. While he didn't know where the boy had been staying previously, if he was under Grimmjow's command then he should be staying in one of the rooms that had previously belonged to his old Fraccion. He opened the door to the first bedroom after he reached his area and dropped the sweaty pipsqueak onto the unused bed then left.
"I've got nothing else really that I have to do. Now's as good of a time as any to check for Yukiko I guess." He opened his garganta for a third time that day and returned to the apartment.
Nothing had moved. His dirty plate and chopsticks from the morning were still on the table. The futon was not folded or occupied. The window was still closed.
He looked through the glass rectangle. The sky was clear and blue. It was probably crisp outside as the World of the Living moved closer to their winter season. He finally picked the dirty stuff off of the table and put them in a small tub that was in the single sink beneath the drying rack. He filled it up with water without removing the clean plates and bowls, allowing the water to just run over them too.
He decided to go back to Hueco Mundo for the rest of the day. The old man said that she wouldn't be back for a while so it was kind of pointless for him to come back again so quickly. He'll just have to find some Hollows to kill to pass the time.
Day 7
"WE'RE BACK!" The annoying voice of Emiluo Apacci shouted through the palace. Tier's Fraccion trio had been nowhere to be seen since Grimmjow returned and he only realized it because there were fewer things annoying him. He was just walking through the hall to go outside when he encountered the women. It was horrible luck.
"Well, well, well. Look who returned! I thought for sure you were dead ass-wipe." The ever rude female taunted.
"I'm shocked. Even I never expected to see you again." Sung-sun spoke from behind her sleeve.
"Hm. You two owe me free favors." Mila Rose said proudly.
"Fuck. Why'd you have to go and bet that he would make it back?" Apacci complained.
"I liked the possibility of winning favors." The giant woman was smug.
"Here I was hoping you three finally got eaten… Why'd you shits have to come back?" Grimmjow bit back.
"How dare you?! Harribel-sama sent us on a personal errand for her! We're her most trusted Arrancar after all!" The deer Arrancar said irritatingly smugly, pointed at one large and one smaller sack that the gladiator looking woman was holding behind her shoulder.
Grimmjow laughed in her face. "You actually think being little errand girls is an honor? You really are the dumbest thing I've ever seen."
Apacchi's face reddened with anger, Sung-sun looked annoyed while Mila Rose only seemed mildly upset. "Why you-"
"You've returned." Tier spoke from behind the three women.
"Harribel-sama!" All three greeted their beloved leader with excitement.
"Apacchi and Sung-Sun, would you two please go and collect all of the Arrancar and bring them to the meeting hall?"
"Yes ma'am!" They said happily and rushed off in obedience of their leader.
"Come." Harribel said briskly to the remaining two. Grimmjow didn't have anything else to do so he complied.
Once in the meeting hall Mila Rose placed the sacks down on the table and a variety of clothes spilled out of one and shoes from the other. "What?" Grimmjow was really confused.
"We need clothing for the new members of our ranks and there is no reason for us to continue wearing the same things as well." Harribel explained.
"So she is a female…" The man thought.
"There are clothes in here that will fit you as well." Mila Rose said to him.
Well, Grimmjow was still wearing the same black shirt and pants that he had since the Quincy War. It wouldn't hurt to wear something new…
The man dug through the pile briefly. Unsurprisingly, everything in it was black and white. He didn't care much about what he wore so he grabbed the first things he didn't hate from both bags and left to go back to his bedroom to change before grabbing the kid to start their lesson for the day.
About a half hour later Grimmjow was outside wearing a sleeveless solid black shirt, black pants that fit slightly more loosely than his previous one tucked into combat boots that had different shades of black and white laces. He continued to wear his old Espada jacket and the white belt he had been using to hold his Pantera but he ditched the second one. His new shirt didn't display his scars the way his previous one did but the one Nnitora gave him still poked out. Achiim, who was shooting off Balas, was now wearing a tee shirt that had a single thick black strip going vertically down the middle and the sides were white, his zanpakuto was still across his back. With it he wore white shorts that had pockets on the outside thighs that secured shut with black buttons. He still lacked shoes though, apparently preferring to be barefoot.
The boy had actually been improving in his training since starting. Grimmjow had been forcing him to focus on one thing when working with him. His aim had improved greatly and he could accurately hit a target from forty meters which was good enough for the time being. Now Grimmjow wanted him to work successive firing. An opponent isn't going to wait for him to charge up at his own pace in a fight after all.
"Faster kid! You've got plenty of Reiatsu. You should be able to fire at least one per second." Grimmjow was getting impatient with the kid's progress but he kept himself relaxed, reclining back comfortably a few feet behind Achiim with his eyes closed, not even actually watching. He didn't need to in order to know that the kid was only firing off three in ten second intervals.
"I can't." He said the words so quietly they almost went unheard.
"This is as basic as it gets kid. I haven't even started you on real combat yet. So suck it up and get to work."
"You do it if it's so easy." Achiim had been growing a bit bolder these past few days too.
He never moved from his spot, never opened his eyes. He held out his fist and fired off five Balas in quick succession, all under a second. He had them all curve around the little Arrancar since he was in the way and they blasted the rubble that was being used as targets.
"You have five seconds to do what takes me less than one. Now get to it." He only now looked at Achiim.
The boy looked like he was still trying to understand what just happened. When his brain finally caught up he looked determined. There were no more complaints from Achiim for the rest of the afternoon.
Same as usual, after the young Arrancar exhausted himself until he collapsed Grimmjow took him back inside and then went to the apartment to check for Yukiko.
It had been a full week since she was sent away and she still had not returned. Every time he went there was no change to the room. He looked at the sink where his used dishes still sat in the cold water. "Should I do something about that?" He wondered with no interest.
Day 15
Achiim was now at an acceptable level of skill with ranged attacks so Grimmjow had decided to start him on the most basic thing of combat. Punching. The boy couldn't even make a fist properly so before anything else that needed to be corrected.
He stood next to the boy in front one of the few surviving red stone columns. He punched the smooth, hard surface, pulling his strength as much as he could so it wouldn't get damaged and they wouldn't have to go to another one. "Now do that."
Achiim flinched at the sight of Grimmjow punching the stone so when the boy tried, it went about as well as was expected.
The young boy tried to punch but pulled it at the last second and caused the wrong part of his hand to make the initial contact, hurting him a lot more.
Grimmjow crossed his arms. "We're not going anywhere until you can punch properly."
"I'm going to break my hand if I punch this." He complained.
"It'll heal and you'll learn. Now do it."
Achiim didn't do it. He instead looked at Grimmjow, worried. "Why can't we use something else?"
Grimmjow grinned. "The only other things here is the actual building and the other Arrancar, and you've obviously never hit a Hierro. This is the softest thing here."
"Nel-san is softer." The kid mumbled quietly.
The older Arrancar raised an eyebrow and had an amused grin. "Know that for a fact, do ya?"
Achiim jumped with a red tint to his face. "W-well… Why don't we go to the World of the Living for a change? You go there every day. Just take me with you."
"I'm not doing anything for you. If you want to get there, then open your own garganta."
"If you don't want to do anything for me then why do you take me to bed every time I fall asleep out here?"
There's an easy question. "If you get eaten out here Harribel or Nelliel will be up my ass."
"Why do you go to the human's world every day?" There was an innocent curiosity in the question. He was a child and children never know how to stop pestering people with questions.
"Punch properly." He ordered the kid.
Grimmjow forced Achiim to continue with his punches long after his knuckles started bleeding. Eventually the boy stopped whining and hissing in pain and just punched. It was a much more immediate improvement than he showed with Cero and Bala. After an hour of the child punching the stone pillar it was too boring to continue. There was plenty of time in the day to keep working the boy but Grimmjow knew he wouldn't be able to repeat the same training tomorrow so he'd rather save correcting his kicks for then.
"See you later kid." Was all he said before opening his garganta and checking Yukiko's apartment. There was still no change. So he returned to Hueco Mundo and went looking for a Hollow to fight. He was feeling too stagnant.
Day 25
Achiim had graduated from attacking a rock to fighting Grimmjow; or at least attempting to strike Grimmjow. The more experienced Arrancar never used his Sonido to avoid, he never needed to. Achiim was far slower and couldn't hit him.
This time, as long as he kept his form proper Grimmjow remained on defense but if the kid slipped up he would get hit with enough force to knock him down for at least a minute. It was a good incentive to keep his joints stacked and knuckles straight when he punched. The sparring session continued for multiple hours without breaks. Achiim's stamina had also improved since the first day.
When the boy was so tired he couldn't see straight and had thrown up three times Grimmjow agreed to end it there.
Not bothering to wait and ensure Achiim made it inside, Grimmjow returned to the apartment. It was still unchanged and the window as still closed. He was about to leave again but glanced at the sink. The plate and chopsticks he had used weeks ago still sat there. He sighed and rolled his eyes but finally decided to clean them.
He shoved his hands into the disgustingly cold and stagnant water to pull out the plate and scrubbed it with a sponge that was sitting on the drying rack. He gripped and wiped the plate too hard and it shattered in his hand. Grimmjow growled and threw the pieces in his hand to the floor. He looked at the window. It was latched shut. Without thinking, he grabbed the drying rack now behind him and chucked the whole thing at the exposed concrete flooring. The glass plates and bowls shattered loudly and it made him feel slightly better. He left the apartment again.
Day 30
Grimmjow followed his routine of working with Achiim and then immediately returning to Yukiko's unchanging, empty apartment. Only now he no longer bothered to step out of his garganta. When he returned from the dark corridor he was still outside of the palace. He wanted to just walk back to his room instead of being there immediately. Besides, he might run into someone and bullying the new Arrancar was mildly enjoyable.
His steps quickly caught up the Achiim, who moved slowly due to his soreness, but they didn't speak. Nelliel was the first person they encountered and she was with a new Arrancar. The woman was tall and had knee length sky blue hair with many streaks of red, yellow, orange, green, a darker blue and purple. She was heterochromatic with one brown eyes and one green eye, and her mask fragment looked like an old Greek head band and her hole was peeking out just above her collarbone in her throat. She was tall and curvaceous like the two Tres Espada women but she had not even received proper clothes yet.
"Grimmjow. This is our newest member: Ipoa Iris."
"Good for her." He said, not even slowing in his stride.
"Grimmjow-san…" Iris' voice had a slight melodic trait to it.
"I found this." She held up a tall, thin envelope from the World of the Living. He looked at it, at first with disinterest but that changed drastically when he saw that his name was written on it.
"There was also one addressed to Harribel-san. Do you know anything about who might send these to Hueco Mundo?" Nel asked.
He however wasn't listening. Grimmjow yanked the envelope from the woman and returned to his room at Sonido speed. Once there he slammed shut and latched the pointless lock that anyone could break through. He removed his Pantera from his side and leaned it against his bed as he tore through the envelope and dumped its contents. Two measly pieces of paper floated out. One was a pencil drawing the other was a note. The drawing was them. Yukiko drew herself as she was during the festival, smiling a very happy smile to the black cat that was him, lying comfortably across her nape and shoulders. Grimmjow's feline face had a content feeling to it that made him wonder if he really had that type of feeling with her.
He looked back to the woman's face and focused on it. He was with her every day for some time and now it had been a month since he last saw her. It was such a miniscule amount of time even for a human; a negligible amount for a Hollow. But the past month felt like it dragged on. He inspected every line of her face in the picture; it seemed to match how he remembered her face. It was a testament to her artistic skill, drawing a self-portrait so perfectly.
His expression fell considerably sullen and he knew, though ignored it. Eventually he looked at the other paper. The words were few and quick to read.
{"How does it feel to be back in your real form? Much better I'm sure. I miss having a cat with me but I'm excited to meet you properly. We will… Someday soon I'm sure. Grimmjow… I miss you. We'll meet soon. I'm excited for that day. I hope you are too. Take care of yourself until then please.
Yukiko"}
Grimmjow read through the letter once then looked back at the picture. It was a good night, the festival. He enjoyed it, enjoyed being with her. He could feel Nelliel coming to his room so he pulled the sketchbook from its place beneath his pillow and stored the pages inside.
He went to the door, unlocked and opened it as the woman raised her hand to knock. "Grimmjow?"
She looked at him confused and maybe even a little worried. Was he still making a weird face?
"What the fuck do you want?" He asked crudely.
That did the trick, and the woman's expression hardened slightly. "You ignored my question earlier. Do you know who might have sent these?"
"Obviously." He said, arms crossed and looking at her like she as stupid.
Her face turned a little red and she growled under her breath. "Why would this person send such a strange letter to Hueco Mundo, and more specifically to Harribel-san?"
Grimmjow started rubbing his little finger in his ear, still holding his same expression. "No clue."
"Well what was in the envelope addressed to you?" Nel's voice was getting a little higher pitched as her annoyance heightened.
"None of your business."
"GRIMM-" She started to yell but he slammed the door in her face. She hit it but didn't break it down and he could sense her moving away, probably stomping off. He returned to his bed and lay down. He reached under his head and pillow and felt a string, pulling it and removed the little charm from the book. He looked at it. Yukiko had folded and tied a little strip of blue fabric and string around the paper charm so that he could protected and more easily carried around, but he hadn't been. He looked over at his Pantera, looped the string around the crest of the sheath about where it would catch on his belt then took a nap.
Day 40
Grimmjow followed his routine of working with Achiim and then immediately returning to Yukiko's unchangingly, and increasingly dusty, empty apartment.
Day 48
Grimmjow took Achiim to fight a Gillian. He was kicked but otherwise did fine. He later opened a garganta to check Yukiko's apartment but it was still not changed.
Day 49
Grimmjow worked on Achiim then fought against Harribel's Fraccion trio. They fused into their chimera monster but still lost horribly. Yukiko's apartment was unchanged.
Day 50
After Grimmjow trained Achiim he went into the dark corridor to check Yukiko's apartment. All of her things were gone.
AnnaSkydrac: Thank you so much for the kind words. If you almost cried then that scene was a success. The whole point of it was to convey how hard it hit Grimmjow to realize without the benefit of a distraction that Yukiko was gone. As far as my grammar and spelling goes… They were subjects that I never really excelled in. Sometimes it is purposeful when the grammar is poor though. It might be because I'm American and Floridian (which is sometimes considered a separate planet full of stupid people by others) but colloquially, people don't consistently use proper grammar so I will knowingly use poor grammar then. This is especially apparent when writing Grimmjow's speech because he has a very rough way of talking and I try to make it more or less apparent according to his mood. The more riled up he is the more crude his speech becomes. All other poor grammar choices are just my own poor grammar though.
Emzy2k11: Thank you
Savage Kill: To come up with Yukiko's vision images I have specific symbols assigned to each character or general species (like a skeleton for Hollows) and then I just think about the situation that they are going to be involved in. Physically, no. Grimmjow isn't growing a heart. Emotionally, a bit ;)
I can't tell you who Rin is but let's just say she isn't someone you want to meet in a dark alley… or a brightly lit meadow for that matter.
Silent Songstress Sorceress: Yeah… I think he loved it.
Mrs. Swordslover : It was just that it meant that he was living there and it was emphasized a bit more in this chapter that living somewhere and having a specific home was something he never really felt. In Las Noches he never made his room quite his because he didn't intend on it being permanent, even though it was indefinite. You'll see how Yukiko handles her situation in the next chapter.
No, Yukiko is totally mute and there is a reason for it which will come up further down the story. I write when I can as a hobby which is why the releases are so all over the place. As great as it would be for me to have a scheduled time of the day where I would be able to write guaranteed, unfortunately I can only write when I have the time. That said if I realized it would be so long before I could get another chapter finished I would have put off posting the previous one. I'm sorry about that.
Beautiful-note2895: Grimmjow getting Shimata was possibly the most satisfying thing I've written in a while :) I agree, it was a combination of finally getting to release his spiritual pressure and the emotions he couldn't really process that lead to his rampage. I'm glad you like the story and thank you for being patient.
SSGT IronHide: Thank you very much :)
Musicisalifestyle: Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I updated as quickly as I could get to it, but I know it was a bit of a wait.