"DAMN IT!" Ichigo roars as the Garganta closes on them while Rukia breaks down on the ground next to him. They had barely started their lunch in 6th Division, when they first heard the explosion along with Renji's reiatsu raising and immediately shunpo as fast as they could to his location. Although they were the first to arrive, it was still too late to save Renji. The sight of the fukutaichou's anguish haunts Ichigo's thoughts, fueling his determination to ensure his best friend's safety as soon as possible.
Just a moment later, Byakuya arrives with Yoruichi and Shunsui followed closely by Shūhei, Rangiku, Yumichika, and Ikkaku. Rangiku rushes to console Rukia in her arms although a bit perplexes with the cause of her tears. The others are just observing the situation as their higher ups are also there already, they might as well wait for orders before anything else.
"What happened here, Kurosaki? Where is Abarai?" Byakuya instantly cuts through his mental anguish with a direct question as usual. His eyes flickers to his younger sister for a second but nothing betrays his composure.
"I'm sorry, Byakuya. When we arrived, it was just in time to see Renji being dragged inside Garganta by Grimmjow." Ichigo averts his eyes at the last part. He knows this is going to raise questions that even he doesn't have an answer to. He just feels so guilty about not being able to save Renji in time. Knowing that it was done by Grimmjow make the situation even more confusing.
"What does he wants with my fukutaichou?" Byakuya's furrowed eyebrows are the only indicator of how perplexed he feels while he tries his hardest to keep his voice level and maintain his impassivity. Yoruichi seems to read further than that as she raises one eyebrow at Byakuya but said nothing.
"Byakuya-kun, I'm sure Ichigo-kun doesn't know the reason or else he would have informed us already. Let's try to figure this out in my office." Shunsui says with a voice that leaves no room for argument. He clearly doesn't want any eavesdropper to gain any info that can cause panic amongst the civilians when they have been doing their best to show a united front to boost morale.
The shock of the attack, so soon after the war, leaves them all reeling. They can't understand why Grimmjow of all people would want to kidnap Renji, seeing as they never even met or fought together. As everyone shunpo to the first division and quietly enters Shunsui's new office, Ichigo is running through other possibilities internally with Zangetsu and Shiro to know if Shiro can teach him to open a Garganta but even they can't give him any answer at the moment. He suspects they are still recovering after Aizen and won't be of much help anytime soon.
As they all settle down in the office, suddenly they can feel a few Espada's' level reiatsu coming towards them and surprisingly lead themselves in through the open door that leads to the private garden of the 1st Division. Everyone responds by unsheathing their zanpakutō except Shunsui, Yoruichi and Byakuya surprisingly.
Nel merrily shouts "Itsygo!" shortly before running full force, making Ichigo let out an oomph as he's tackled to the ground, but he thankfully manages to avoid skewing her with Zangetsu in the process. The others seem pretty dumbfounded at their display but he can hear Harribel and Starrk's quiet chuckles in the doorway.
"I see that you managed to survive our fight, Starrk-san." Shunsui grins as he stands facing his former opponent on the battlefield. Ichigo doesn't know what happened between them, but he's relieved to see Shunsui's genuine delight, which also brings a kind smile to Yoruichi's lips.
Byakuya and the rest remain on guard until Shunsui's relaxed demeanor prompts everyone, except for Ichigo, to lower their zanpakutō. He had already sheathed his earlier, freeing his hands to carry Nel in his arms. Taking care of her has always demanded his undivided attention.
"You can thank Nel here for that," Starrk replies fondly with a nod towards her who's trying to chew Ichigo's hair to no avail, not the slightest care about the awkward tension in the room or the glances thrown their way.
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Grimmjow groans out loud as his head hurts like crazy when he tries to open his eyes. He abruptly realizes that he's lying down on top of someone and horrified to find that he's still inside of this person. He's not even sure if this is a guy or a girl due to the red long hair but they seem still in deep sleep which will hopefully give him a bit more time to figure out what's going on.
He carefully and slowly detangles himself to take a step back. He shakes and rubs his head to try to remember but the pieces that starts to come back makes him feel even shittier than ever.
He decides to just let his memories come back slowly since they're not even good ones to begin with, and proceed to check out his companion's state whom he ascertains is a guy. This person seems pretty torn up with his robe having cuts here and there with bloods. But the one that causes Grimmjow's blood to run cold is the fact that his robe is torn from hips downwards and he hopes that this situation is not what he thinks it is.
Seeing dried blood and cum on the person's slightly tan tattooed thigh makes him curses inwardly as he has never hurt his bed partners before no matter how rough he seems to everyone else. He knows he's an asshole but not to that extent. He takes pride in ensuring that they have the best time of their lives when he takes them. He's no Barragan or Nnoitra who are complete sadist in everything. He loathes people like them and to be in this situation that goes against his principles is really fucked up.
Thankfully they're in his personal cave so he straightaway fetches a towel and soaks them with water from the mini pond hidden even further inside. After deeming them wet enough, he brought it back to gently clean the blood and semen that he saw. He repeatedly went back and forth to the mini pond because he doesn't have any container to bring the water nearer to the bed.
He also has to stop every time this person stirs to prevent them from waking up. He knows that he was completely in the wrong here since his mind was able to fully remember everything now. The guilt also comes in stride something that Grimmjow has no idea he could even feel to this extent. He always thought things through no matter how briefly the thought process was, to make sure he can minimize doing things that he would regret afterwards. He doesn't have the faintest conviction that he can settle this situation.
However, asking Pantera seems to yield no results whatsoever. It just doesn't make sense why would he suddenly took over his body and went through the trouble to go to Soul Society to bring back this guy. He really need to find some time and go inside his inner world to drag the answer out. It seems to be the only course of action that he can take now.
Once the thighs are completely cleaned up, he knows it's time to turn the redhead around and he most probably will wake up this time. He inwardly cusses as he knows he most probably have to console him once he wakes up. The whole situation must have been very traumatizing for the red head.
'I think I might as well get some answers from Pantera first before he wakes up,' Grimmjow decides to change his mind because he might not have a suitable time to do this later.
He promptly makes himself comfortable on the floor a bit farther from the bed, preparing to start meditating. Once he's in his inner world which is filled with sands just like Hueco Mundo but has greeneries all around it similar to an overgrown jungle, he starts to walk around trying to locate Pantera before he just stops and groans out since he knows the panther is not going to come out when he doesn't want to and Grimmjow is in his territory this time.
"Come out now, I don't have much time to waste. What the hell have you done this time?" Grimmjow almost growls out his question due to anger he's feeling from the situation.
"Oh, now you want to talk? I have been trying to reach you for months now to tell you everything and you kept ignoring me," Pantera didn't show itself but the accusing voice carried over loud and clear with the low timber of a predator.
Grimmjow can feel how enraged the panther is right now and he knows with the wrong move, they can be stuck here for hours just taking all the frustration out on each other. So he needs to exercise caution this time since time is not on his side.
"I ain't apologizing for that crap if that's what you're expecting. Don't forget, I was busy fighting off fatal wounds and scoping out a new place outside of Las Noches, all while dealing with a swarm of hollows on my ass!" Grimmjow can't help the frustration he felt from showing up although he's trying his damn hardest to be more tact. It's just not his forte.
He cuts through the resounding growls he hears in response before things take turn for the worse. "What I want to know is what exactly caused you to take over without my consent and screw everything up. That shinigami you practically kidnapped and raped is one of Kurosaki's buddies and there will be hell to pay for this," he hisses while still seeking the Panther in vain.
"I did what you should have done instead. Looked for our mate and claimed him. I'm not going to apologize for that either. You can tell that brat to shut up on things he knows nothing about. He's lucky he's only half hollow or he would have been in the same state as you," Pantera calmly asserts, yet not bothering to show itself.
"WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEANT BY THAT?! I was FINE before until you brought this problem upon us." Grimmjow roars out loud with rage. Caution is the last thing on his mind now. The explanation he got only filled him with rage that he didn't even know he can feel towards his own zanpakutō and he has been through a lot in his lifespan.
"You were not fine. You were angsty, agitated and unfocused for months now. You could have gotten us killed or went rampage on everyone around you," Pantera jeers as he purposefully emerges from the biggest tree around, looking directly at Grimmjow. If it's not a part of his own soul, Grimmjow can easily tell it would have killed him on sight. The murderous intent in those eyes are so palpable that Grimmjow has no choice but to listen. He might look like a deranged serial killer, but he's no fool. He can admit facts when it's presented to him.
"Your first rut as a matured Espada started since there's no danger suppressing you anymore and you have never claimed anyone before. If only you have spent more time with your comrades, they would have been able to tell you more but you went out alone the minute you recovered fully," the white panther sneers at him, tempting Grimmjow to snap back. Yet, he only reacts with a fierce glare, his muscles tense and jaw clenched tightly biting back his response, knowing that clock is ticking.
Pantera circles him like a predator staring at his meal. Grimmjow can only fold his arms and huffs out stubbornly. He recognizes that Pantera is spot-on about the problems he had faced, but he refuses to concede defeat. How was he supposed to know those things when everyone else acts like it's no big deal?!
The frustration boils within him, his chest tightening with each passing second. It feels like another weakness, one that other people have the upper hand over him. Nonetheless, he pushes it down, channeling his energy into finding a solution to their predicament.
"What the hell do I need to do now?" Grimmjow demands, cutting through to the main reason he came here despite all this frustration; what he cares most is how to move forward. Arguing back and forth over things that has happened is futile to him. He knows he's walking on a razor's edge, fighting the urge to unleash his fury at Pantera's accusations. But time is running out, and he can't afford to waste it on pointless arguments.
"I have solved the most important part of our problem, to find and claim a mate for us. You can figure out the rest but no worries, you'll realize that your instincts will naturally guides you. I will help you where I see fit but if you choose to ignore me again, you will learn the lesson the hard way again." Pantera pounces on him and topples him backwards right back to the real world, not allowing him any reply whatsoever.
Grumbling from the pain of the impact, he falls silent upon recognizing his surroundings. Looking up on the bed at his mate, the word still gives him weird feelings, he promptly gets up and proceed to do what he planned before he went into his inner world. This time around, he realizes he's as ready as he'll ever be. Time to face the music.