Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo-sensei
Nelliel marched through the school yard towards her locker. Anyone with half a brain would steer clear of the Angel while they had the chance. For the first time, she even ignored everyone who said hello and good morning to her, that's how furious she is right now.
Those who noticed the school Angel-sama bad mood that morning even start talking amongst themselves:
"Hey, what happened to Nelliel-san? She seems in a bad state."
"Did you see how furious Angel-sama this morning? I've never seen her like that before."
"She looks beautiful even when she's angry. So lucky."
As people continue whispering about Nellie's distressed state. "How dare he!" She fumed internally. Who does he think he is, trying to throw all that absurd social hierarchy nonsense on her. She knows exactly how people want her to behave, succeed in her studies, and speak a certain way. But this is her life, damn it! She should be free to be whoever she wants and hang out with whoever she wants and date whoever she wants. This is so unfair!
Harribel had barely made it to the school entrance when she overheard others gossiping about her best friend. She understood the severity of the situation when chatter about Nelliel's sour mood began circulating. Throughout the years of their friendship, she had never witnessed the green-haired beauty display any signs of displeasure towards others, let alone give them the cold shoulder. Sigh, "Something must have happened between them," she thought pensively.
As she made her way to her locker, she saw Nelliel slamming her books against it. "Poor locker. Must be hard being the receiving end." she thought to herself.
Approaching her friend carefully, "If I didn't know any better, it seems to me like you're trying to murder your locker." Harribel muse loudly. Nelliel turned her head sharply towards her best friend, "Life is unfair, Harribel." The blonde girl raised an eyebrow, silently asking for more clarification on her friend's words. "Can't people just leave me alone, even for a moment?" Nelliel continued, trying hard to keep her tears at bay.
The blonde pondered silently, "There must have been something that happened between them for her to cry about it."
"Let's take a walk, Nelliel." Harribel suggested. The green haired beauty looked at her friend, "We have class in less than 15 minutes. Don't be absurd." Harribel flashed a smile, "It's just self study. We can head to the library if you'd like?"
She thought about what her friend had suggested and realized it was a smarter choice than heading straight to class. She knows how much of a mess she currently is. The girls grab their files and stationery before heading over to the school library.
They arrived at the library located on the north side of the school. Their Friday schedule is more relaxed since they only have self-study and PE class in the evening. It is safe to say that they have plenty of time to themselves.
After finding a quiet spot in the back of the library, away from the other students, "So, what happened?" Harribel started asking.
Nelliel began to cry once more, prompting a smile from Harribel. She is well aware of her friend's tendency to cry easily. However, it has been quite some time since she last saw the girl in front of her shed tears in such a manner.
Amidst tears, Nelliel started her lengthy explanation, "I encountered Grimmjow yesterday, covered in blood." Harribel noted her friend and her crush are now on a first name basis, which is great.
"Despite his claims of being fine, I could sense his pain. I didn't realize I was crying until he hugged me, trying to console me. It felt wrong. I should have been the one comforting him, not the other way around. To top it off, after the hug, it seemed like we were on the verge of kissing! If it weren't for that damn call, but what the hell right?"
"Ah, so that's why she is frustrated. Their relationship somehow escalated quite quickly. Wow, I've never expected that, especially from the shy Nelliel." Harribel mused silently.
"Adding insult to injury, he insisted I return home, rejecting my offer to help tend to his wounds or prepare dinner. He is damn rude!" That statement actually shocked Harribel. "She was at his home? Haaa. That's interesting. I think I am missing more pieces from the puzzle but I guess I should ask her about that later."
"Then, this morning, he was unusually talkative and requested that I address him by his name. I thought our friendship was progressing, but as we approached the school grounds, he abruptly wanted to part ways. He claimed we shouldn't interfere with how the school hierarchy works. That brute! How dare he?! And...He didn't even realize the effort I put into looking pretty today. I even took the time to braid my hair!"
Harribel chuckled at Nelliel's final statement. She refrained from interrupting her friend's explanation, understanding that the girl needed an outlet to release her frustrations.
After a few silent moments, Nelliel finally begins to relax, taking a few deep breath. Harribel reaches out and takes her hands, offering comfort. "It seemed to me like you're in love," she remarks.
Nelliel's eyes widen in shock as she responds, "Absolutely not. No way Harribel!"
Harribel smiled at her friend, "You know, we're seniors now. Let's make the most of our last year in school. Why not have some fun, huh?" she proposed. "It won't hurt your grades, and it's been ages since I've seen you this happy. Just go out there and live it up!" Harribel said nonchalantly.
Both girls burst into laughter after that comment. Nelliel couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed for getting so worked up over something so trivial but she was grateful to have her best friend by her side. Maybe it's time to start living life on her own terms. "Let them gossip, I'm done caring," she mused to herself.
"So, Harribel. I noticed you and Cifer-san being all friendly." Nelliel said suggestively. Harribel appeared surprised by her observation but simply smiled without saying anything else.
At the same time that day
Grimmjow strolled casually towards his locker when he caught wind of some quiet whisper about a familiar face. He usually didn't pay much attention to gossip, but he couldn't resist eavesdropping this time, especially since the girl in their topic seemed to be in a foul mood that morning.
"Morning, Grimm." Ulquiorra greeted. "Looks like Odelschwanck-san isn't in the best of moods. I wonder what happened?" he added with a knowing look.
Grimmjow felt a vein pulse on his forehead. "Why are you staring at me for, Ulqui?" he shot back.
He grinned and simply shrugged, choosing not to say anything else. "So, did you get into a fight yesterday? Your face looks bruised," Ulquiorra asked.
Grimmjow let out an annoyed sigh, "That wuss Luppi jumped me out of the blue." Ulquiorra simply nodded, "You did take down one of his guys just for fun last time. I suppose it makes sense they'd want to get back at you eventually." Grimmjow just shot him a glare but didn't say anything to defend himself.
Ulquiorra chuckled and continued, "So, any plans for the weekend?" Grimmjow mumbled something about cleaning his house. "Sorry, what was that?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow repeated, "I need to clean my house, okay? Are you deaf or something?" Ulquiorra burst out laughing, "You, cleaning? That's a first!" After composing himself, he teased, "Who are you and what have you done with Grimmjow?" Grimmjow just rolled his eyes and told Ulquiorra to shut up.
They walked into the classroom and saw that there weren't many students around, including Nelliel and Harribel. It wasn't too surprising since they had self-study for the entire morning. He made his way to his assigned table and started his own self-study, with Ulquiorra trailing behind him.
A couple of hours later, Grimmjow called out to Ulquiorra. The latter raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment while maintaining his focus on the notepad before him. "He called me yesterday. Said the paperwork is all set," Grimmjow mentioned, looking thoughtful. "Are you planning to go back there?" Ulquiorra asked. "Isn't it obvious?" Grimmjow replied. "I can always join you if you want some company," Ulquiorra offered. "Nah, you have practice. I don't want to bother you. Plus, I think it's better if I handle this on my own. It might take more than a few days to sort everything out."
After a brief pause, Ulquiorra inquired, "When do you intend to leave?" The response was a casual, "I plan to go during Golden Week. This way, I won't have to be away from school for too long." Ulquiorra then pressed, "Will you be visiting her grave?" At this point, he fixed his intense green gaze on his companion, who remained silent, as anticipated. With a sigh, Ulquiorra added, "You need to stop holding yourself responsible, Grimmjow. At least she is no longer in pain."
Then both of them continue with their studies, both in their own thoughts.
It's lunchtime and it appears that it is becoming customary for the quartet to share their meals together. Despite this, people still speculate about the Angel and the Devil being friends, even though there's no evidence of them dating. They're always in a group and never alone.
As the boys saw the girls waiting on the rooftop, Grimmjow anticipated Nelliel to be in a bad mood or at least scowling. To his surprise, she was actually beaming at him, shining like the sun, which kind of scared him. "Okay, she's scaring me now." he thought to himself.
"Hye, Grimmjow-san." Nelliel greeted him in a toothy grin. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow in response. "She's calling him by his name so casually in front of us? Quite surprising," Harribel and Ulquiorra thought to themselves.
The group settled down, preparing to eat their meal. Grimmjow couldn't help but notice how close Nelliel was sitting next to him. It was so close that anyone who saw them would surely assume they were in a relationship.
Harribel smiled upon witnessing her friend's antics, "It seems she's really taking my advice to heart. Poor Jaegerjaquez-san."
"Grimmjow-san, would you like to try some of my fried tofu? Say ahhh." Nelliel was ready to feed him but Grimmjow quickly backed away, blushing slightly. "What's wrong with you, woman? We're having the same thing right? Why are you acting so friendly with me all of the sudden?"
Harribel couldn't hold back her laughter at what she was seeing. Ulquiorra adorning a smirk on his face. "What's so funny, Tier Harribel?" Grimmjow asked, looking totally baffled.
"A word of advice, Grimmjow-san." Harribel emphasizes his name, a playful grin on her face "Just act naturally. Nelliel here doesn't bite." She winked at her friend.
Confused with the situation, he opted to move closer to Ulquiorra instead of sitting next to the girl. Nelliel slumped as she watched her crush change seats, then proceeded to eat her lunch quietly, a pout visible on her face.
After the four of them finished their lunch, Nelliel got up and said, "Um, Grimmjow-san, would you mind coming with me to get some crepes?" She asked shyly.
With a sigh, he figured he might as well take Harribel's advice seriously and they headed over to the crepe stand together. Nelliel beamed happily at his willingness to join her.
"So, Tier-san." Ulquiorra started. "What in the world happened this morning?"
Harribel smiled, eyes still fixed at the front looking at their friends retreating backs. "Let's just say, the Angel has fallen deep in love with the Devil and she intended for the world to know about it." Ulquiorra hum in response. "Oh, by the way, please call me Harribel." She added later. "Ulquiorra." He responded to her.