Bleach 1. Prologue: The Kings Great Escape

What's up guys? Jiyu here, once again bringing you crack in the form of a story from the deepest pits of her imagination.

After a long absence from writing fics, I've recently decided to write this new one to show my ever-lasting love for that blue-haired kitty from Bleach. Due to extreme laziness, I have no idea if I'm ever going to finish my other story, **Survivors: Melee in Raccoon City**. In fact, I might just discontinue it. I'll leave it up for now, though, so just tell me if I if you want me to finish it or not and we'll see.

Here's a question: Have you ever wondered what happened to Grimmjow after his battle with Ichigo? I have, so I decided to make a fic on it. In truth, I got the idea for this fic while I was bored one day and began to imagine what would happen if my character and Grimmjow got into a fight because he was beating the shit out of a guy who bumped into me on the street. Needless to say, I _had_ to make it into a story. POOF! This fic was born.

Yes people, you heard me right. Just as the summary suggests, this is going to be a fic in which Grimmjow is paired with my OC Cici. Now, I know some of you are gonna be all like, "OMG! Grimmjow is leik mine, batch!1111!" and frankly my dears, I don't give a damn. **If you can't handle an OC paired with already existing cannon characters, especially OTHER peoples OCs, then DON'T READ THIS FIC**. Plain and simple. I'm not gonna say it again.

Seeing as everyone refers to Grimmjow as a Jaguar, I chose the title _Panthera Onca_ because it's the scientific name for the Jaguar.

Ready now? On with the story!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

* * *

"Shit…!" He mumbled, gripping the wound over his chest. It wouldn't stop bleeding and it hurt like a bitch. Just his luck.

He had been wandering around this god forsaken desert for what seemed like fucking _hours_. Blood was seeping slowly from his wounds, he was covered in dirt and sweat, and he felt decidedly like shit. And though he didn't care to admit it, he was really fucking weak at the moment and his body was screaming at him to just lay the fuck down and take a rest.

Especially his legs.

Walking was a bitch.

Dragging yourself off of the ground after having your ass handed to you by an orange-haired shinigami bastard was a bitch.

Having your ass handed to you in general was a bitch.

Being saved by the same Shinigami bastard who handed your ass to you because you couldn't move from were you were laying was an even bigger bitch. Talk about adding insult to injury. Especially when you were the fucking king. Now _that_ was a bitch. He didn't even know how he got his ass handed to him in the first place. He was the strongest _Espada_ ever created.

In his own mind, that is.

But he guessed that didn't matter when you had just gotten beat down, stabbed in the fucking neck by one of your own, saved by the one who beat you down in the first place, and left there to die. Nope. Didn't matter at all.

And speaking of the bastard who stabbed him, _he_ had deserved to die. In fact, he was happy that Nnoitra was killed by that other Shinigami with the ridiculous hair. Hell, if he had felt like getting up, he would have helped that guy beat him up! Teach him to stab Grimmjow fucking Jaegerjaques in the neck and get away with it! But he didn't feel like getting up. He was injured after all. And his vision was swimming. Come to think of it, it still was.

Did he mention that blood loss was a bitch? No? Well he just did.

It was starting to get old quickly, feeling like shit. Where was that woman and her retarded little fairies when you needed her? Probably out dancing with Ulquiorra and the Shinigami. Bitch. He needed healing. Wasn't it her that said she didn't want to see him hurt anymore? Hypocrite. Didn't even heal him afterward.

And what was with not being able to gather enough _reishi_ in his fucking feet to walk in the air! If a hollow came along while he was in this state _and_ on the ground, it would probably attack, thinking it could get a quick meal just 'cause he was a bit tired.

"Fuck that..." he mumbled. He could take down any fucking hollow that tried to bother him with a _creo_ blast, even if he did feel like shit. He was still an _Espada_, after all. The _Sexta Espada_. A fact that he was very proud of.

Dumb-ass.

...But still, he should probably get his ass out of _Hueco Mundo_ while he still felt like moving. He was, after all, quite fortunate that a hollow _hadn't_ come and that Aizen hadn't sent any of his other cronies (like _Tosen_) to come and chop his arms off. _Again_. So, why stay and wait for one or the other?

Sighing, he looked up and willed a tear to open in the space above of him. At least he could still open a fucking pathway. There was a plus. He dimly rolled his eyes and let the beam of light surround him and carry him up into the opening, his limbs hanging tiredly, blood still coming out.

You'd think that they would have healed somewhat by now, him being an _Arrancar_ and all, but they were still bleeding and they still hurt like a bitch.

"Fucking great," he hissed, "just fucking great." Why did that bastard Shinigami have to go and give him so many wounds? Why? What had he ever done to him?

...Besides hold his girlfriend prisoner.

It wasn't even his fault anyway! It was Aizen's and Ulquiorra's. He had even saved that damn woman from Menoly and Loly! Where were his thanks? Figures. You try to be a good Samaritan, and all you get in return is cuts and bruises. God he was gonna be sore in the morning.

If Aizen didn't find him that is.

Speaking of which, he didn't even know where in the fuck this goddamn pathway would take him. That was the thing about these dimensional pathways. You could control the _area_ that they would take you, but not the place in the area. Sure, he was going to Karakura Town, but if he ended up in front of a Shinigami there or not was entirely random. Stupid fucking pathways.

He turned around slowly to look back at _Hueco Mundo_. Perpetual day or night, white trees that popped up in the landscape every so often, _Las Noches_, and desert for as far as the eye could see.

He wasn't going to miss it.

"Goodbye ya bitch of a dimension," he hissed, a frown on his lips, "see ya never."

With that said, he spit out into the desert that he just left, and watched it disappear as the pathway knitted itself back together, looking as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

So, what did you guys think so far? I hope I managed to keep Grimmjow in character...though I don't think he would curse so much...

Reviews are always loved!


	2. A Slightly Invisible Problem

Note: **This is a GrimmjowOC fic, so if you can't handle that, or if you just don't like him paired with anyone but yourself or another character from Bleach, then DON'T READ THIS FIC. Plain and simple.**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

He was experiencing a strange feeling at the moment. There was air rushing around him and he couldn't move his body for shit. His eyes were half-laden and he was looking at the sky. His portal was above him, closing and growing further away. The night sky was growing further away, too. Did he mention that air was rushing past him? Yeah, that was happening, too, for some reason. Like he was...falling.

...Oh.

Well fuck then.

It seemed that he had grown dizzy and light-headed due to blood loss and the extent of his injuries when the pathway had opened. Despite his best effort, he couldn't resist as his body grew heavy and he fell forward, twisting in the air to look at the sky. What a bitch.

He felt numb, so he didn't really feel any pain as he impacted with the concrete beneath him. He only really registered a sickening crack, his body throbbing all over, and then the feeling of something wet and warm on the back of his head. His head lolled to the side and he took in what he saw with fuzzy vision.

Grass and trees. A yard perhaps?

A concrete pathway and a fence. A front yard them. A porch, perhaps. And look! There was some kind of red liquid slowly making it's way into his fuzzy-vision.

Oh. That was his blood, wasn't it?

"F...fu...uck...m...me...ee..."

He passed out. Oh joy.

**. . . . .**

Why couldn't her life go right? Really, why?

Her day had been crap. Absolute shit, to be exact.

She had woken up to a zit invading her forehead (thank _God_ for foundation!), tripped over her school bag, banged her hip on the corner of her desk, and _still_ found time to turn around and burn the fuck out of her breakfast.

She never knew that eggs could turn so..._black_.

And that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg, either! She went to school and ran into an open locker, went to class and tripped over the extended foot of one of her classmates, got three weeks of detention for punching a classmate _and_ breaking his jaw, and was told that she was to pay for his medical bills.

What a bitch.

Then, to top it all off, she had forgot to bring her _bento_ and was now hungry as a hell.

She even returned home, a failed quiz in hand, only to find that she needed to go shopping! Seriously! What kind of shit was _that_!

She was only 16, for Christ sake! What did the world expect form her? What had she _done_ to deserve this?

..._Besides_ put that man from the park in the hospital.

But that was different! He deserved it for touching her fucking ass.

"Pervert," she muttered, "If that other guy didn't stop me, he would have ended up with _more_ than a few fractured ribs..."

Yes. her day was shit. Absolute shit. The scalding hot shower that she just took was the highlight of her day.

...But she had ended up with red skin. So, in truth, the shower didn't really count towards anything.

She sighed and plopped heavily onto her bed, which, she noted, was quite fluffy. Pleasantly so.

She turned her head to look into the large rectangular mirror resting in the corner of her room. It reflected everything. Everything from her plain white walls decorated with colorful pictures and posters down to her plain bed with white sheets and pillows on top of a funky blue rug. But most of all, it reflected her.

That mirror reflected her as a person, her violent nature first and foremost, and her quiet loneliness at the death of her parents three years ago right after that. She frowned and looked away sharply. She hated remembering that. She hated remembering they were dead and she was alone. She had no one now. She even lost contact with her friends and withdrew into her own little shell _because_ she felt so alone.

Thank god for relatives, though. It was only because of them and their money that she was able to keep her childhood home in the first place, bare of any family pictures though it was, but so full of memories. Like the time she was 6 and she and her father made cookies for her mother on mothers day. They were chocolate chip, if she remembered correctly. Though they didn't turn out right because her father had managed to somehow burn them. He was always a horrible cook. Her mother hadn't minded though. She had taken one bite and said that they were the most delicious things in the world. She had been like that. Always nice and forgiving. She always smiled.

God she missed them. She missed them so fucking much. She had even taken down all of their pictures to avoid missing them so goddamn much. It help in her fathers case, but not her mothers. Never her mothers.

They looked the same after all.

She had always looked exactly like her mother. Even since the day she was born. And it only became more evident as time went on and she grew older. Her black hair was the same color and length as her mothers. Short. Just below the ears, and it refused to grow. Her skin color was also the same. Smooth and tan. And her eyes. God, their eyes were so similar it was scary. Hazel. Such a bright, almost glowing hazle. The only difference was that hers were filled with pain while her mothers were always filled with warmth.

She hated her reflection. Why did she eve _have_ a stupid mirror in her room?

Oh yeah. That's right. Because it belonged to her mother when _she_ was young.

"Fuck." she growled, wiping fiercely at the hot tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. What happened to her resolve to never cry again?

She let herself fall back onto her bed and stared at her ceiling for a while. She closed her eyes and sighed. What a bitch of a day.

Yep. What a bi-

...Was that a crash?

She bolted up from her bed, rushed over to her window, and peered out. Nothing.

Well of course not, dumb-ass. It came from her front yard, not her back.

Cursing quite colorfully, she threw open her bedroom door and ran down the hallway, careful not to slide on the carpet as she did. She stopped in her living room, panting, and stared at her front door. The crash had definitely come from her front porch. Taking a few breaths to steady herself, she walked to her door calmly and pressed her ear to it smooth, white wood, listening intently.

She couldn't hear anything.

Biting her lower lip, she pulled her ear away from the door and reached for the handle. She hesitated.

What the hell? She wasn't scared! She knew she could beat the shit out of anything she found outside, so why was she hesitating?

Nodding in finality, she flung opened the door and assumed a fighting stance. She blinked and the wind blew. There was nothing out there.

"W-what?" she said, dropping her arms, "I-I thought that...?" She took a step forward-

And stepped in something cold and sticky. She yelped and jumped back, looking down at her foot. Red. Cherry sauce? Had someone thrown cherry sauce onto her porch, banged on her door and ran? She furrowed her eyebrows. No. That couldn't be right. This didn't look like cherry sauce now that she thought about it. It kind of looked like..._blood_.

Her head shot up to her porch and-

She screamed. Loud.

On her porch, covered from head to toe in dirt, lacerations and...blood, was a man. His short, spiked blue hair was scraggly and unkempt and his strange black and white outfit was ripped and torn, dirty, and bloody. He was unconscious and looked to be in extreme pain.

Her mind started back up before she did, screaming at her to help him, to call 911, _anything_. But her body was frozen.

"Wh-what?" she said, blinking. She was back. She peered down at the man again, this time, stifling her scream.

Looking around frantically, her mind struggled with what to do. Did she call the police first, or did she try to help him? after several moments, she finally notice that the puddle of blood the man was lying in was growing bigger. He was still bleeding, which meant that he was still alive.

With that thought, her mind was made up. She rushed forward and squatted next to him. Out of reflex, she checked his pulse. Faint, but there. Great, well she had already established that he was alive from the fact that he was still bleeding, so she just basically wasted a few second of what might have remained of his life checking his pulse. What was she? Some kind of doctor?

Cursing herself, she bent down and lifted his limp and bloody arm over her neck, thinking that she should to try to lift him off of the ground and into her living room. She was prepared to do just that, but found it difficult because, for a man who looked amazingly fit, he was fucking heavy! Seriously, how could you loose so much blood and still be so fucking heavy? It didn't make sense!

Clenching her teeth, she put all of her effort into standing and managed to lift him off of the ground. Somewhat. Patting herself on the back for accomplishing at least this, she proceeded to try and drag the man into her living room. She grunted.

"Gah...! Fucking Heavy bastard...!" She growled through gritted teeth, shuffling her way into the house. She winced at the quick, unwanted thought that she might be skinning his knees dragging him across the ground like this.

After a few more grunts of effort and by sheer force of will, she managed to drag the strange blue-haired man into the house. She set him down none to gently and forced herself not to collapse next to him. Panting, she looked him over.

Hm, that was no good. He was face down. When the paramedics arrived, it would look like she had attacked him...wait.

She gasped.

"The paramedics!" she squeaked, "I need to call the hospital!"

Quickly, she used what remained of her strength to turn him over on his back. He groaned. A reaction! He _was_ alive!

Setting aside her new-found joy in her recent discovery, she straightened herself and ran into her kitchen, snatching her house phone off of the hook. She frantically dialed the number to the hospital, impatiently tapping her foot as it rang.

"Come on, come _on_..." she muttered, standing in the kitchen door-frame and eying the man nervously. She gave a cry of joy as she heard a woman on the other side of the phone.

"_Hello, Karakura Hospital, what's your emergency?_" she asked, her voice annoyingly nasally. She ignored it.

"There's a man bleeding to death on my living room floor! I need an ambulance!" she blurted out breathlessly. She bit her lip as she continued to eye the man, who was now bleeding all over her white carpet.

"_Miss, Miss! Please calm down and tell me your name and address and we'll send an ambulance immediately!_" the woman said. She sounded too calm for her liking.

"My name is Cici Nanoha and I live at 309 Mishiba parkway on the east end of Karakura! He's bleeding to death! _HURRY_!" she practically yelled into the phone. Cici heard talking on the other end of the line and the sound of people rushing. The woman came back on.

"_We're on our way miss, please calm down and stay on the line with me!_"

"Thank you!" she sighed, eying the man again. She felt so helpless.

It wasn't long before she heard sirens outside and she cried out in joy, hanging up the phone and rushing to her door. She flung it open and flew across her yard to were the paramedics were coming out of their van, medical supplies in hand.

"Thank god you're here!" she cried, tears brimming at the edge of her vision. She ignored them. "Please! He's dying!"

"Ma'am, calm down. We'll handle it from here." He said, motioning to his partner, who nodded. They walked past the pool of blood in the human sized crater and into the house. She followed them.

When she reached the door, she found them staring at the spot where the man was lying, not doing anything and looking confused.

One of them turned to face her. "Ma'am, where is he?" She blinked.

"Wh-what?" she looked down at where the strange blue-haired man was lying. She was suddenly filled with rage.

"What are you talking about!" She yelled, her fists balled in anger, "He's right in front of you! Look! See the blood!" God! Were they blind or something?

The man had the decency to look upset. "Yes, _Ma'am_, I _do_ see the blood!" he bellowed, "But where is the man it came from!"

"Right in front of you!" she snarled, "Are you _blind_!" The paramedic glared.

"I guess I am because all I'm seeing is a whole shit load of blood and a crazy girl covered in it! For all we know, you could have hid the body as a sick little game!" The man replied, doing his best to look imposing. Cici wasn't buying it. Her knuckles turned white.

"Excuse me?" she growled, "That man is _bleeding_ to death on the floor in front of you and you just stand here and _insult_ me!" she was screaming now, the tears from before were making their way down her face, now more angry than relieved. She wiped at them furiously.

The paramedic was about to say more when the other stepped in. He appeared to be younger and more peace-loving. He put a hand on his partners shoulder to calm him.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but my friend here is right. There _is_ a lot of blood, but from what I can see as well, there is no man."

Cici looked distressed. Why weren't they _seeing_ him! He was right there! _Right there_! Why was she the only one who could see him dying? Why?

"Ma'am," he said. She looked back at him. "I'm sorry, but if this is some twisted prank, I'm going to have to call the police. Your joke has possibly hindered us from aiding others who need our help more and-"

"That's just it!" she interrupted. The man looked surprised. "He _does_ need your help! I just don't understand why you can't see him!" The violent paramedic spoke now.

"That's quite enough!" he bellowed, " You're lucky we don't call the cops! We have better things to do than listen to a crazy girl go on about an invisible bleeding man who isn't there! We have _real_ lives to save!" He gathered his medical supplies and brushed his way past a shocked Cici. The other one followed, giving her a look as he past.

"Ma'am, I suggest you get some sleep and call a psychiatrist in the morning." he nodded to her and quickly went after his partner.

Cici stood there for a few seconds before crying out and running after them.

"Wait!" she cried, "He needs help! Please!"

"You're the one who needs help, lady!" The violent paramedic called out as the other got into the van. She heard him mutter 'crazy bitch' before driving off. She ran out into the street, coughing as the exhaust hit her.

"Wait!" she cried out. "YOU BASTARDS!" she screamed.

She picked up a stray rock and hurled it after them. It just barely missed the retreating windshield. She screamed again and turned back toward her house. It was then that she noticed her neighbors had come out to see what the commotion was all about. They were whispering and staring at her.

She twitched.

"What are _you_ fuckers looking at!" she yelled. They muttered and slowly ventured back towards their houses.

Cici stomped back into hers and slammed the door, turning around and sliding down against it. She squeezed her eyes shut and slammed the side of her fist into the wall next to her, effectively creating a dent in the plaster. She looked back up at the man on the floor and gritted her teeth in steely determination. She wasn't going to give up now. Not when she could save him. Not when she could _do_ something.

She got up slowly and speed-walked her way down the hall and into her bathroom. She tore open cabinets, determined to find what she was looking for. She gave a cry when she found her first-aid kit and rushed back down the hall, cradling it like a baby. She set it down next to him and went into her kitchen. She turned on her faucet and waited for the water to turn hot. She then grabbed a bowl from under the sink, along with a few rags, and filled it to the brim with the water. She turned off the faucet and lugged the rags and bowl into the living room, setting them carefully down next to the man. She straightened her back quickly and wiped her forehead before squatting next to the man for the second time that day.

It was going to be a long night.

**

* * *

**

And there you have it! Chapter two! This was a long one, but I hope you enjoy it!

I abused the italics button in this one! Haw!

Reviews are always loved!


	3. Quite Charming Indeed

Note: **I'm not gonna do **_**this**_** again, 'cause you're already on the third chapter…**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any if its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

Cici turned over with a groaned. Her muscles ached like a bitch.

Sighing, she sat up and looked around. Why was she in her living room again?

…What the fuck? Why was there so much blood on her-?

Oh. Yeah. That's right. The strange man with the blue hair….

Cici shifted to look beside her. He was just laying there. Sleeping she guessed. He looked a lot better compared to last night….

Her face darkened.

Last night.

Oh, yeah. She remembered last night. She remembered all too well. She remembered how she found him, bleeding and dirty, in a small crater on her porch. She also remembered calling the hospital, but the paramedics couldn't see him when they got there for some reason….

She growled. The paramedics.

Those bastards. She had yelled and screamed at them that the man was _right there_ in front of them, bleeding and in need of help, but all they did was deny his existence and call her crazy!

Psh!

Like _hell_ she needed to call a psychiatrist! Who the _fuck_ did they think they were? And they left, too, without even _trying_ to help the blue-haired man! Bitches!

Oh Yeah.

The blue-haired man.

Cici turned back to look at him again. Now that he _wasn't_ in danger of dying from blood loss, and now that she actually _looked_, she found that he was….damn sexy.

For a guy who looked like he had experienced the beating of a life time via sharp objects, that is.

His hair was an unusual shade of blue. Vivid even. It looked really soft, too. She wanted to touch it. So she did.

Oh. It _was_ soft…

Shaking her head, she pulled her hand back, cursing her cheeks for growing hot. Blinking a few times to clear her head, she went back to studying the strange man. Like she had found before, he was extremely muscular and looked to be in fantastic shape, though his skin looked a bit pale, from what she could see of it under all of the bandages she had to apply to get him to stop bleeding on her carpet, that is. The paleness was probably due to blood loss though.

Poor guy.

But hey, he survived it, didn't he?

She took in his face. He was quite handsome. An angular jaw, strong cheek bones, and smooth skin. He even had these cute turquoise colored markings on the sides of his eyes that didn't come off when she was scrubbing the blood off his face. Tattoos perhaps?

She blinked.

"Damn," she whispered. He had to be some type of bad-ass to have tattoos like that done on such a sensitive area.

"That's….kind of sexy." she muttered, reaching out to touch them. She pulled her hand back when he shifted in his sleep a bit. He looked peaceful. When she felt it safe, she continued her observations of the blue-haired stranger.

She didn't pretend to not notice the jaw-looking thing on the right side of his face. She just choose to ignore it. After all, who was _she_ to say what he should wear and what he shouldn't? In fact, he kind of looked like some sort of cosplayer with that jaw thing and his unusual cloths, ripped though they were.

But that was okay. They sort of added to his charm.

Yes. _Charm_...

She took a moment to study what she could see of his body. He was muscular, of course, and had a nice, manly v-shaped body. There was a large pink scar on his chest poking out of his bandages, though. Probably from before he got all cut up like he was.

Her eyes traveled down his body. Nice…

She froze.

Was that a-?

Did he have a-?

O-On his-?

"Wh-What the _fuck_?" she said, reaching out her hand to the spot her eyes had found. Why hadn't she seen it before? She _had_ bandaged him after all. Why didn't she notice?

She poked at it. Her hand went through.

She blinked rapidly, trying and failing to see if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her poor, tired brain.

She rubbed them.

They weren't.

"AH! WHAT THE _HELL_!" she screamed, scooting away from the man. She quickly covered her mouth after realizing that she had probably just screamed loud enough to wake up her neighbors.

Cici looked at his face. Nope. Still sleeping.

She took a deep breath through her nose to steady herself, letting it out shakily. When she was sure that she wouldn't scream anymore, she removed her hands from her mouth.

"Calm down," she whispered to herself, "Just….calm down." She took a few more breaths to steady her nerves.

"Okay."

She slowly turned her gaze back to the stranger's body, in particular, the spot in question. She stared at it for a few minutes before shaking her head, baffled.

On his lower torso, obscured slightly by part of his white _hakama_, was a large _hole_ that appeared to go all the way through his body.

"How the _hell_ are you still _alive_, stranger?" she whispered, combing a hand through her hair. "I'm surprised that you weren't dead a long time ago with that kind of hole in you…" Sighing, she pulled her hand back and saw that there was blood on it.

She freaked. Was she bleeding! How! When!

….Wait. This was _his_ blood, not hers. She let out a breath of relief. She felt a little stupid for freaking out like that, especially when she notice that, not only were her hands covered in his blood, but her blue tank top and shorts, too.

Well shit then.

That was her favorite outfit.

Looking around quickly, she noticed that the large blood stain was dry and still on her carpet as well. That meant that there was also a shit load of dried blood on her porch. And a crater.

She looked around her living room again.

There was a pleasant mess of medical supplies strewn about around her. This was happily accompanied by a bowl of pink water and bloody rags. Joy.

"Great," she muttered exasperatedly, "My house is a mess and I have a freak with a hole in his gut sleeping on my floor….Who is somehow still alive. Can my life suck even more than it does now?"

The answer: Yes. Yes it _can_ suck worse.

She had to clean up all of this shit. Alone.

She sat there lazily for a few moments before finally mustering enough will power to stand. She regretted it. God, her limbs _hurt_.

She stretched to try to loosen herself (which turned out to be quite painful) and began to gather the scattered medical supplies. She tucked them away neatly back into the first-aid kit and set it aside. She then picked up all of the bloody rags and the bowl of pink water, and brought them into her kitchen. She dumped the water in the sink and rinsed the bowl thoroughly, making sure that she left it soaking in a mix of scalding hot water and dish detergent. She contemplated ringing out the rags and washing them, but decided against that idea because, really, even bloody rags that have been washed thoroughly are _still_ unsanitary.

They went in the trash.

Cici figured that she would need to change the mans bandages again after she was done cleaning, so she left the kit next to his head and went down the hall to right the damage she most likely had done to her bathroom when she went tearing through it. Sure enough, she found that her all of her cabinets were thrown open and had their contents spilled onto the floor. Sighing, she set to work. If she was going to accomplish anything, she was going to have to work fast.

"I still need to clean up that blood in the living room," she muttered as she straightened some towels, "And I need to wash off my porch, too. And after that I should probably take a shower and change his bandages, not to mention I need to go shopping…" she took a moment to groan.

It was going to be a _long _day.

**. . . . .**

She loved showers. Really she did. She loved how they just seemed to wash away all the harshness to the day.

Especially when you had just spent hours cleaning you carpet (and getting dizzy from bleach), washing your porch, and changing the bandages of a man whose life you saved.

….Even though he _should_ already be dead because he had a hole the size of Texas on his stomach.

She was never going to get over that. How the _hell_ do you survive having a large chunk of your stomach taken out of your abdomen? There wasn't even any blood! Seriously. It was just a clean hole….

….In the middle of his stomach.

Cici shivered.

"I'm not gonna think about that anymore…" she said.

But she did. Damn it…

She didn't even go shopping because she was too paranoid to leave that man alone in her house (that and she was covered in blood…).

…Even if he _was_ unconscious…

For some reason, she had just kept picturing him waking up and screaming in pain, then bleeding on her now clean, bleach-smelling carpet, and screaming about a hole in his gut.

…Okay so it was a weird little thought, but she wasn't going to risk it, damn it!

The shopping could wait until tomorrow….

….When she wasn't feeling so lazy….

But she had an excuse! What if he did wake up and no one was there to tell him what the fuck was going on! That would be horrible!

….That and it was 11:30 at night….

I took _forever_ to get that blood out of her white carpet. Even with two whole bottles of bleach and carpet cleaner.

Cici sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her torso, then wiped the condensation off of her mirror, stopping to look at herself.

She still looked like her mother.

She frowned and went for the door, reaching for the handle and opening it quickly. The air outside was cold and it made her shiver.

Doing her best to ignore it, she stepped across the hall and into her room. Drying herself quickly, she reached into her closet, taking out a pair gray of sweatpants and another blue tank top. Satisfied with her new attire, she took up the towel and began to dry her hair as she made her way out her room and down the hall. It was time to check on her guest.

As she made her way into the living room, towel around her neck, Cici felt that something was….off.

Not way off, but…off.

As hazel met rich blue, she soon found out why.

Her guest was awake.

**

* * *

**

Review please!


	4. Give A Cat A View, And He'll Stare

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

He was coming out of it. He knew he was. He could feel the feeling returning to his body, slowly but surely.

But here was a question: Why did it hurt so _fucking_ much?

No, seriously. His head was killing him. In fact, his whole _body_ was killing him.

Almost everywhere was sore. His head, his stomach, his chest….

But mostly his head.

Groaning, he attempted to move his limbs. His finger twitched. That was a good sign, right? Right. He tried again. Hand movement. Good. On his third try, he managed to move his arm up, heavy though it was.

Did his fight with that Shinigami bastard really take so much out of him that he couldn't even lift his own _arm_ without trouble?

….Yes. _Duh_. Of course it did.

Growling he lifted his heavier-than-usual arm and brought his hand to his forehead. Man it was killing him…

…Uh. Hey. Since when did he have bandages on his forehead?

He blinked and moved his hand away from his face to look at his arm. There were bandages on that, too. He began to wonder….

Lifting his head the best he could without trying hurt his already sore neck, he inspected what he could see of his body. That meant is chest.

Yep. Suspicions confirmed.

He had bandages there, too.

"Tch…" he mumbled.

Did he mention that his throat hurt, too? His tongue also had this thick, swollen feeling to it…like he needed water or something…

Whatever.

After applying some more effort, he lifted his other arm and began to feel around the floor. It definitely didn't _feel_ like the concrete he had landed on when he fell out of the sky. In fact, it felt kind of…._fluffy_. Like carpet.

Was he in a house? Or did Aizen manage to find him and bring him back to _Hueco Mundo_ while he was unconscious? That was a possibility. He _could_ be back in _Las Noches_ right now.

Though he wasn't sure if he remembered anywhere in that godforsaken place that had a fluffy carpet, so that probably wasn't it, either. And anyway, because he had went and practically disobeyed Aizen in various ways during his fight with the Shinigami, that bastard would have probably left him to die wherever the fuck he had ended up. Because he sucked like that. So, it was safe to assume he was still in Karakura.

But _where_ exactly was the primary question at the moment.

Ignoring the pain of lifting his neck again, Grimmjow did his best to look around. He was definitely in a house. That much was certain. And he was right about the floor being made of carpet, too, so that was a plus on his behalf.

Someone of high spiritual power must have found him, dragged him into their house (which he thought was quite drab to say the least. Really, this place was so plain with its white color scheme and not enough furniture to fill the room. The owner needed a few tip on how to decorate in his opinion), and fixed him up. _That_ would explain his bandaged up state.

Hah! Take _that_ Ulquiorra, you probably dead bastard! He could _so_ put two-and-two together!

But that was beside the point. In his opinion, whoever had found him needed to improve their bedside manner. It left much to be desired. Really, who left an injured man on their _floor_ without even a _pillow_ to rest his head on? Even if they _did_ save his life. It was just plain rude!

He _should_ put a _cero_ through the guy.

But he wouldn't. He _did_ have _some_ form of honor, after all.

He would repay the guy for saving him and _then_ put a _cero_ through their head. It was the perfect plan. All he needed to do was gain back his strength and, presto! Instant-kill!

Chuckling at his little semi-threat, he set his head back down, wincing as he realized that it hurt like hell. He probably had gotten a fractured skull from his fall. Great. He'd have to thank the person who saved him for forgetting to bandage the back of his fucking head.

Speaking of the bitch, where was his savior?

Putting his super _Arrancar _senses to use for the first time since he woke up, he noticed that the house was laced with quite a bit of _reiatsu_. It smelled delicious, too. His savior was obviously quite powerful in that particular department. He might even have to force himself not to eat them until he repaid his debt. Whatever. He could manage.

His keen ears picked up the sound of a faucet squeaking and footsteps walking about the hall. Turning his head, he waited patiently and expectantly for the person making the noises to walk in.

He needed to thank them, after all.

His patients began to ware thin as a few minutes passed. Just as he was about to yell for the person, he saw a shadow approaching from the hall.

"About fucking time," he muttered.

He found himself a bit on edge as the powerfully delicious smelling _reiatsu_ grew closer.

He watched as the person made their way into the living room, stopping when they noticed that he was awake. They looked shocked.

His rich, blue eyes met the glowing hazel of the person in front of him and he just stared.

It seemed that the person who had rescued him was not a man. No. They were far from it.

His savior was, indeed, a woman.

And she had quite a nice rack.

Yes, leave it to Grimmjow to become perverted towards a big-chested girl with delicious smelling powerful _reiatsu_. He was just like that. But there was also something about a powerful woman that he just found….._attractive_.

Yeah. So what? He was a pervert. Deal with it.

Putting that aside in his mind, he turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. She appeared to still be in shock and was still staring at him. So, he stared back. After quite a bit of staring was done, Grimmjow began to get quite annoyed.

She obviously wasn't going to say anything first, so he was going to.

His first words you ask?

"What the fuck are _you_ staring at, _onna_?"

Needless to say, this broke Cici out of her shocked state very quickly. She looked pissed. Grimmjow found it funny.

"_Excuse_ me?" she asked, her voice livid, "I think _I_ should be asking that question to _you_!" She hotly walked over towards him and, in one swift motion, squatted next to him, her face close to his. Her eyes looked like they were glowing with how much angry _reiatsu_ she was giving off.

He just smirked.

"I don't think that you're inclined to ask any questions, mister-"

"Grimmjow," he said, his raspy voice laced with amusement, "Grimmjow Jaegerjaques."

She huffed. "Right then, mister _Jaegerjaques_, like I said, I don't think that you're inclined to ask any question at the moment! Ohhhh no! _You_ are going to answer _my_ questions first!" she let out another huff.

The amused look never left his face. His eyes were dancing with it.

"And what might those questions be miss-?"

"Cici," she said with a frown, "Cici Nanoha."

"Right." he drawled, "_Onna_." He did his best to emphasize that last part. It worked. She looked insulted.

She was about to comment on his refusal to use her name, but he cut her off, his face gaining a more Grimmjow like look. Devious. With just a hint of that bastard sarcasm.

"Let me clarify something first though," he said. He was just giddy at the displeased look on her face. He could tell that he was going to enjoy screwing with her. Grimmjow style.

She wrinkled her nose. "And what, pray tell, is that?"

"You _can_ see me, right, _Onna_?"

She blinked and stared at him for a few seconds. Straightening up from where she was leaning over him, she gave him a wary look.

"Yes…?" she said. What was he going on about? Could this have anything to do with why those paramedic bastards _couldn't_ see him?

"Good. Then I was right about your _reiatsu_." Of course. With as much as she was leaking out, it was a wonder why she didn't get visited by ghosts and hollow on a daily basis. She gave him a hard look.

"Okay. Really. You need to stop asking questions." she frowned and crossed her arms "I think _you_ owe me an explanation. As well as money. You caused quite a bit of damage to my front porch if you hadn't noticed, and the least you could do in exchange for me _saving your life_ is pay for my porch to get fixed!" She stared down at him from her nose, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "And I _want_ answers. _Tonight_! Not tomorrow or later, _now_." She paused, "Or I _will_ call the cops and have your ass arrested! No bail!"

He looked at her. _Really_ looked at her. From her face, he could tell that she _honestly_ thought that the cops could do anything to him! Hah! And that wasn't even the funny part. Those retarded bitches couldn't even _see_ him let alone try to _arrest_ him!

Despite the protests of his dry throat and sore tongue, he began to laugh.

"What!" she yelled. She was getting pissed at the man. She was five seconds away from punching his face in. Who gave a _fuck_ if he was still injured? She didn't! No sir! Not right now!

"Stop laughing!"

But of course, he didn't. In fact, his laughter grew even louder. Even that weird mask thing he had on the side of his jaw seemed to be laughing. Though he began to cough after a few seconds.

_Shit_ it really fucking _hurt_ to have a sore throat and chest when laughing.

"What are you, _stupid_?" he asked rasped, "_Baka-onna_!" He began to laugh again, despite the protest his body was putting up. His gut hurt.

Cici twitched. "_B-Baka-onnaaaa_!" She yelled. Reaching out quickly, she grabbed him by the collar and lifted his face close to hers. A vein in her fist throbbed in anger.

"I am _NOT_ a '_Baka-onna_'!"she screeched in his face. If she wasn't so pissed, she would have enjoyed the fact that such a handsome man was so close to her, but she was. Pissed that is. Oh yes. She _was_.

He kept laughing for a few seconds, stopping when the pain it caused in his gut was too much. He reached up and wiped the tears from the sides of his eyes. He hadn't laughed so hard in for fucking _ever_.

Grimmjow looked into her livid hazel eyes, his grin never fading. Even his mask remnant kept grinning.

"Yes," he said, "You are." He didn't even flinch as she snarled and tightened her grip on his collar.

"Do you honestly think that some weak little humans with _barely_ any _reiatsu_ are going to be able to see _me_? Let alone _hurt_ me?" he snorted. She gave him a disgusted look, but her grip on his shirt lessened.

"W-What do you mean?" she asked, a bit confused. Her anger rose again, "and what is this _reiatsu_ you keep talking about! Arg! You're getting really annoying right now!" she glared at him. He just kept grinning.

Is this how Ichimaru _always_ felt? Man, what a _high_!

"I'll tell you" he began, still grinning, "If you put me down." She glared at him for a few more moments before dropping him. Hard.

He winced as the back of his head made contact with the floor. "Ow! You fucking _bitch_! I should put a _cero_ through your fucking _face_!"

She crossed her arms again and stared down at him.

"I think it's time that you and I had a little….talk."

They glared at each other, their power struggle evident. If he wasn't so weak, he would crush her under his_ reiatsu_ and _show_ her exactly _who_ was boss. But lucky her, he still felt like something an _Adjuchas_ dragged in.

As he stared into her eyes, he could make out exactly _what_ she was thinking.

'_Operation interrogate the patient is a-go!_'

It was going to be _another_ long night, and he didn't need to be told otherwise.

And _fuck _did his head hurt….

**

* * *

**

And there we go! Fourth chapter is up!

For some reason, this one seemed to flow more easily than the last ones.

I think I'm improving my writing skills as I go on?

Anyway, what did you think? Please Review! Okay? Thanks!


	5. A Seductively Cruel Game

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

"So, you're a…a what?"

"An _Arrancar_."

"Riiight….and what's that again?"

Grimmjow sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the hour that he had been explaining things to this…this…._Baka-onna_. He didn't know why he was even bothering. She was just another human after all.

Goddamn his honor code.

As soon as he felt that he had repaid his debt, the bitch was going to get a _cero_ to the _face_.

Especially after what she did to make him talk in the first place…

**. . . . .**

_Their glaring contest had been going on for at least an hour by now and neither appeared to be giving in anytime soon._

"_Tell me what I want to know." Cici said, her hazel orbs narrowed into dangerous slits._

"_If you can make me." he replied cockily. He didn't _actually_ believe that she could do anything to him, powerful _reiatsu_ or not._

_He was wrong._

_As soon as he had said it, a dangerous grin made its way onto her face and he found himself on his stomach within seconds. With her on his back pinning his arms._

_And it fucking _hurt_._

"_Ah! You _bitch_!" he snarled. He could feel the wound in his chest opening up again._

"_Give me an explanation and I'll get off." she said in a sing-song voice. He couldn't see it, but he could tell that she was grinning in triumph._

_Great. She was the forceful type. Joy._

"_No!" he growled through gritted teeth._

_She bounced a little._

_It fucking hurt. More._

"_AH! _Fuck_!" he yelled "_Okay_! Just get the fuck _off_ and I'll tell you!" Did she know that she was fucking _heavy_ for such a petite girl? Were those boobs of hers made of lead or something?_

_He felt her lean down next to his ear._

"_Good boy." she said, patting the top of his head with the hand that wasn't pinning him. He growled again. The grin was still in her voice._

_Cici got off of him._

_He coughed and rolled himself onto his back, sitting so that he was leaning on his elbows._

_He glared at her._

_She smirked._

"_Well," she began, crossing her arms, "Start talking!"_

**. . . . .**

He pulled himself out of his memory and sighed.

"An _Arrancar_," he began wearily, "is a hollow that's had its mask almost completely removed."

Cici nodded. "And a hollow is what you call those giant black monster things that I sometimes see walking around street corners chasing those….um…spirits?" she gave him a look and he responded with a grunt.

"And, "she continued, trying to remember the explanation of hollows he just gave her, "hollows grow bigger and stronger and are able to evolve if they start to eat their own, not just those spirits they chase, right?"

"Ah." he said in confirmation, sitting up straighter. The wound in his chest had opened again and he could feel the blood leaking through. Great.

"And those spirits that they chase are those of humans, right?" she waited for him to nod before continuing.

"So, those spirits become hollows if they are overtaken by grief or have their spirit chain yanked out or something, huh?" she paused. "That must suck. Especially if one of those Shinigami people that you were talking about doesn't get to them in time."

"Bastards." he interjected with a grunt. She blinked at him. "You forgot to add 'bastards' after Shinigami."

"And the whole spirit chain being in your chest when you die thing," she continued, ignoring his input, "is why _you_ have that _hole_ in your…uh…lower abdomen, right? You lost it when you became a hollow." He nodded, rolling his eyes and looking exasperated.

His chest was still starting to bleed again and it wasn't getting any better. He squirmed a bit.

"Oi, _Baka-onna_," he panted. Why was sitting up so hard for him to do? "My wound opened up thanks to your _gigantic_ _ass_. Re-bandage it."

Cici glared at him, her cheeks turning hot with anger. She wasn't so much upset about how he was _still_ calling her _Baka-onna_. No. She was okay with that now. It was because he had just called her _fat_ in his own little way that she was so pissed.

"Excuse me?" she huffed, "You have _some_ nerve on you, ya blue-haired _freak_!" Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at this. "I don't think it's very polite to call a person _fat_ and then ask them to help you in the same breath!"

She did her best to emphasize the fat part.

He didn't care.

"And another thing-"

Rolling his eyes, Grimmjow tuned her out and reached for the first-aid kit that was lying on the floor next to him. Apparently, the _Baka-onna_ had been planning on changing his bandages earlier, but hadn't gotten to it. He opened it and picked out a roll of gauze that looked to be the kind he was currently sporting. Satisfied with his comparison, he began to remove his jacket.

Cici stopped mid-sentence and squeaked.

"Wh-what are you _doing_!" she yelled, her hands flying up to cover her eyes. Her face was crimson.

Grimmjow stopped. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing, _Baka-onna_?" he asked, placing his jacket on the floor next to him. "I'm changing my bandages, since you refuse to. Thanks by the way." He felt around his abdomen until he found the end of the gauze and began to unravel it.

Cici peeked through her fingers. She squeaked when she saw that he was almost half-way done and she could see the majority of his well-muscled chest, scarred though it was. She closed her fingers.

"S-stop that! Don't undress in front of me!"

He paused and gave her a funny look. He was about to say something smart-assed when an idea popped into his head. He grinned. Payback for earlier.

"What's the matter?" he said in a husky voice. His already present rasp helped deepen the effect. Cici squeaked again and appeared to turn even redder underneath her hands.

Success.

"Didn't you take off my jacket before when you were bandaging me?" he made sure to take off the rest of the gauze extra slow and look at her sideways through half-laden eyes.

A whimper.

Even more success. He was enjoying this.

"N-no!" she screeched, "I-it felt intrusive! I couldn't!"

"Aww," he cooed. He was getting a kick out of this. "You're blushing."

Cici shook her head. "No I'm _not_." she mumbled through her hands.

On the inside, he was dying of laughter. But on the outside-

"Yes. You are."

-He was in full seduction mode.

"Fuck you!" she yelled, removing her hand from her face so that she could flip him off. She froze when she realized what she had just done and her eyes grew wide.

Turning even redder slowly, her jaw seemed to unhinge itself and she began to stutter incoherently. And then….

Her nose started to leak.

Yep. Nosebleed.

'_Objective achieved. Subject had just succumbed to a full on nosebleed._'

He couldn't hold in his laughter any longer. Loosing his seductive front quickly, Grimmjow began to, quite literally, roll on the floor in laughter. He even had to hold his exposed chest in order to keep it from bleeding, he was laughing so hard.

Cici's hand flew up to her nose and a look of rage crept onto her face.

"Shut up you asshole!" she yelled, standing up and practically running to the kitchen, "You did that on purpose!"

"You bet your _ass_ I did!" he said, his laughter dying down to a deep chuckle. He picked up the gauze and started wrapping his chest.

Dear _lord_ that was funny! He would have to do it again sometime. And soon, too. I was just _too_ much fun fucking with this girls head.

Yes. He knew. He was a sadistic _bastard_, but he loved it.

He was just finishing wrapping his chest when Cici walked out of the kitchen, two small pieces of paper towel sticking out of either nostril and a pissy look on her face. She didn't even look at him as she started down the hall.

"Aww," he cooed, putting up the gauze and closing the kit, "did I upset you? Where ya going?"

Man, teasing her was quickly becoming like crack to him.

She didn't stop, instead, opting to giving him the 'cold shoulder' treatment.

"Is this any way to treat your injured guest?" he teased. No answer.

He watched as she made her way to her room, went in, and slammed the door, leaving the walls shaking in her wake.

Sighing at this and the initial lack of response on her part, he set the kit aside, retrieved his jacket and proceeded to stand up, the act not only a bit painful, but also slightly dizzying. He shook it off. Like a pro. Though a pro at _what_ exactly, he wasn't sure.

Using the still resonating walls as support, he made his way to the door of the room she had entered and leaned against it. He tested the knob. Locked. He sighed.

"Open up." he commanded.

No response. She was obviously still pissed at him for teasing her.

"Open up or I'll bust your door down." he said. Again, no response. She seemed to be refusing to talk to him now. What happened to her fighting spirit?

"Alright," he muttered. With barely any effort, he twisted the knob, breaking the lock.

If he were feeling better, he would have gone for maximum damage and would have either kicked her door in or blasted it open with a _cero_. Either one of those, _or_, he would have just _created_ his own door right next to hers. Just for effect, of course. But he didn't. Lucky her.

He threw the door open, revealing a shocked and obviously more pissed Cici sitting on her bed.

"What?" he asked, strolling in to her room unceremoniously with his hands in his pockets, "I warned you, didn't I?" He ignored her as she fumed on her bed and fired off a few curse words at him.

Ignoring her, he decided to take some time to observe her room.

It was small and quite dull. The walls were white and covered in colorful posters of what he assumed to be rock bands and other such things, probably placed there in an attempt to liven the place up.

It didn't help.

The bed she was sitting on was small and white and situated in the middle in the room on top of a blue rug with a nightstand on its left. The far right wall was dominated by a large wooden wardrobe that he assumed was where she kept her cloths. In the right corner next to it, there was a tall, rectangular mirror that faced the bed and reflected her as she sat there.

From her reflection, he could tell that she was about five seconds away from getting up, ripping off his _face_, and throwing him out on his ass onto the streets.

Or at least _attempting_ to anyway. Despite the fact that he was injured, he was still a trained fighter and an _Arrancar_. And an _Espada_ at that. She wasn't. So, even if she thought she could, she couldn't lay a _finger_ on him. All he would need to do to stop her if she tried anything was give her a quick punch to the jaw and that would be enough to break her skinny little human neck.

That or black her out if it failed to do the former.

If she turned out to be _extremely_ resilient against _both_ of those, he might even have to use his _sword_.

….Huh.

Now that he though about it, he even still had _Pantera_ at his side. Apparently, she hadn't taken it from him whenever she had dragged him in the house and fixed him up. That was a plus. At least he had _some_ form of protection if anything decided that it wanted to come and fuck with him and this human girl.

…..What?

Despite him wanting to rip off her head with a _cero_, he was still going to go through with his plan to repay her, even _if_ it meant keeping her alive for the time being. Besides, fucking with her was just _too_ much fucking fun. Who knew, he might even feel a little sad when the time came for him to kill her off.

_Maybe_.

His train of thought was broken when he heard her speak.

"Hm?" he asked, turning to look at her. She was facing away from him, but from what he could tell (and _hear_ for that matter), she was still mad. Pissed in fact.

"I said _get out_." she repeated, still not looking at him. He gave her back a defiant look and strolled over, plopping himself down onto her bed and leaning back onto her pillow, putting his hand behind his head (and wincing visibly at how much it hurt).

"No." he stated. His sudden action obviously wasn't anticipated because she turned to look at him from her position on the other side of the bed, shock evident on her features. He stared back.

"I don't think I will."

Her shock quickly turned into rage and she lunged at him. Once again, he didn't even flinch as she gathered up his jacket collar and pulled his face close to hers for the second time that day.

"_What_," she snarled (he could practically _feel_ the naked hostility in her tone), "did you just _say_?"

"I don't think I will." he repeated, his features never changing. Even now as he noted that, in her rage, she had unknowingly straddled his hips when she lunged at him.

That broke the camels back.

She let go of his shirt, threw back her head and screamed in frustration, and then proceeded to yell at him about just _why_ she found him an annoying jackass.

But he wasn't paying attention.

All the while she was screaming at him, he was paying close attention to how she was unintentionally grinding her hips against his when she was making gestures to emphasize her points.

Now, the screaming he could have done without, but _this_? Oh, he was liking _this_.

When she was finished, panting in exertion, he looked up at her, a mock disappointment in his eyes.

"_Aw_, why'd you stop?" he asked.

"Wh-what?" she said, looking down at him, her previous rage forgotten. She was confused.

He looked pointedly at where she was straddling him.

Slowly, reluctantly, she followed his gaze. As she finally got to where he was staring, she squeaked-

-And jumped ten feet into the air.

No kidding. She landed on the floor, too.

On her ass to be exact.

"Wh-why didn't you _tell_ me I was straddling you, you _fucker_!" she screech, her face so red it put the reddest of roses to shame.

"I don't know," he said, looking at her sideways, "because even though I'm a fucking hollow, I'm still a _man_?" She let out another scream of frustration.

"Is that, like, you mating call or something, _Baka-onna_?" he asked, putting on his husky tone again, "'Cause that's kinda _kinky_."

Yep. He was screwing with her mind again. Double-time.

He laughed as she turned redder and stood up from her position on the floor.

"That's _it_!" she screamed, pointing at him, "You are _out_ of my room and _out_ of my house! To hell with the fact that you're injured! I don't give a _fuck_ anymore!" With this said, she proceeded to _try_ to push him off her bed.

She was failing hard, too.

Why did he have to be so fucking _heavy_?

At first, he found it amusing that she was trying to push him on the floor, but, after a while, it got _annoying_. Growling, her grabbed the wrist of the hand that was pushing against his shoulder and pulled her onto the bed with him using brute force. She squeaked and fell onto his chest.

Hissing at the pain this action caused, he quickly repositioned her so that she was lying next to him, held in place by his firm grip.

Who said he wasn't still strong just because he was hurt?

Cici struggled against his grip but soon stopped when she realize that, even with all the strength in the _world_, she couldn't get free.

"I _hate_ you." she spit. He could hear the acid dripping from her word.

"Shut up, _Baka-onna_." he sighed, trying to find a comfortable position _without_ losing his grip on her. Who knew, if he were to loosen his grip even just a _little_, she might pounce and chop off his _balls_.

"_No_. I-"

She didn't get the chance to finish. He was too quick. In one swift motion, he had shifted her so that she was facing him and looking directly into his eyes. What she saw there not only shut her up instantly-

-It scared her shitless.

In his eyes, there was the most terrifying look she had ever had the misfortune to experience. And it was all directed at her.

She gulped.

"I said, _shut-up_." His tone was dangerously low.

"_Okay_?"

She nodded, not even able to speak. She was paralyzed by his gaze.

"Good," he said, shifting her so that she was beside him. He even let go. He was confident that he had scared her _enough_ to not move for the rest of the night. It filled him with glee.

"I'm tired," he said, closing his eyes and settling into the bed. This was much better than the floor he slept on the night prior. "Good night."

She didn't reply. She was too scared to.

As he relaxed and slowly drifted off, Cici thought to herself that she should have never helped the man.

"Never again." she whispered to herself, scooting as far away from him as she could without falling off the bed. "Never again."

As she drifted off into a tense sleep (despite the protests of her mind), she though to herself that she didn't find this stranger attractive _anymore_.

…_Maybe_.

**

* * *

**

Review Please!


	6. Annoying To No End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

Cici sighed contently from her position. The wall that she currently curled against was surprisingly warm and comfortable. She liked it. Her body just seemed to fit right into the little indent it had.

Snuggling up to it more, she smiled and basked in how firm and cozy it felt. It even _smelled_ nice! Like warmth. Warmth and a slight hint of salt.

….What? Warmth had a smell, too!

Her wall shifted and moved away a little. She didn't like that. Frowning and letting out a little growl, she scooted forward and reached out to clutch a piece of fabric that was hanging from its side.

Smiling in triumph, she buried her face into its softness and snuggled up more. Her wall seemed to like that because it growled, shifted towards her, and wrapped what felt like muscular arms around her waist.

She giggled. It was tickling her with its breath!

Smiling again, she settled in.

….Wait.

She tensed.

Walls didn't breath. And the last time she checked, they _certainly_ didn't have arms. _Especially_ muscular arms. And they didn't _move_, either! Or growl!

…Come to think of it, her bed wasn't even _against_ a wall! Maybe the one _behind_ it, but not on the side of it!

Cici gulped and squirmed a bit. Her heart skipped a beat as the wall growled again and tightened its grip around her waist.

Fuck.

Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to mentally calm her rapid heart.

It wasn't working.

"You can do this, Cici," she whispered, "Just open your eyes, and everything will be okay…..hopefully."

She whimpered.

"This is a dream….a dream a dream a dream…"

She opened her eyes-

-And nearly had a heart attack.

It wasn't a dream.

Not only was she curled up into the chest of _Grimmjow Jaegerjaques_, but she was _clinging_ to him. And he had his _face_ buried in her _hair_ with his _arms_ around her _waist_.

Double fuck.

She screamed and started to struggle. He snarled and woke up.

"The fuck is your problem, _Baka-onna_!" he muttered, his voice clearly conveying his irritation. Apparently, he didn't like being woken up by screaming, struggling girls. Especially ones that he was holding so goddamn _close_ to him.

She stopped, blinked at him, and began to struggle again.

"Let _go_ of me you bastard!" she screamed, trying to bang her fists into his chest and failing horribly.

Apparently, he didn't like _that_ either. Growling, he tightened his grip and glared at her.

"Calm down." he said. She stilled instantly. His voice. It held the same tone now that it did last night.

She shivered.

"Good." he sighed, settling in once more. She growled, glaring into his neck.

"You gonna let me go?" she asked stiffly. Her body was tense and she was too busy mentally chiding herself for blushing that she didn't notice him mumbling something.

"Yeah." he said gruffly, slipping his arms from her waist and pushing her away, "_Baka-onna_'s like you don't make good pillows." He turned over and closed his eyes.

"…." she glared at him in hate from her stiff position by his side, her cheeks still red.

Huffing in exasperation, Cici attempted to roll over so that she wasn't facing him and-

…She rolled off the bed.

Letting out a cry of surprise, she twisted in the air as best she could and-

-Landed on all fours. Like a cat.

Grimmjow turned back over and gave her a look of surprise. Smirking, Cici stood up quickly and crossed her arms, laughing in triumph.

"Thought I was going to land on my face?" she asked, a smirk in place on her lips, "Think again!"

Grimmjow stared at her. She stared back. After a while, he gave a grunt and turned back over.

"Whatever, _Baka-onna_."

And, for some reason, that pissed her off.

_A lot_.

Growling, she reached out for the nearest blunt object to pound his face in with and-

…She picked up a clock. Not very impressive, but oh well.

Grinning, Cici raised the clock next to her head and prepared to throw it. She was about to do just that when the time on the clock caught her eye.

She blinked. And almost choked.

"E-_eight o'clock_!" She screeched, staring at it with wide eyes, "I'm late for school!"

Dropping the clock, she frantically began to run around her room, trying to get ready. Throwing open her wardrobe, Cici selected a clean uniform and began to throw off her cloths in a frenzy.

Grimmjow sat up and stared at her, letting his eyes travel up and down her now half-naked form. She had nice curves. A nice ass, too.

"Why don't you just stay home?" he asked, examining her further. She snorted.

"Yeah! As if I wanna deal with _you_ for another fucking day!" she slipped off her shirt.

"And besides!" she continued, "I have an exam around the corner and I've missed two days of school thanks to your sorry ass! I'm already late as it is!" she quickly threw off her pants, tossing them aside along with her shirt.

"What's the hurry?" he asked in a low voice, a smirk growing on his lips, "strip teasing is only fun when you do it _slowly_." She snorted.

"What are you-" Cici froze when she realized what he meant, her cheek growing hot. She was getting undressed. With Grimmjow still in the room.

Squeaking in surprise and anger, she picked up a shoe from the floor of her wardrobe, covered her chest the best she could, and turned around, hurling the shoe straight at his face.

"Get _out_ you jackass!" she fumed as his hand shot up to catch the shoe just before it hit him.

"Aww," he cooed, moving the shoe out of his field of vision, "does that mean I don't get a strip tease?" he pouted and she snarled, picking up the other shoe and hurling it at his face once more. He dodged.

"_GET OUT_!" she screamed, glaring at him with all the malice and hate she could muster. He laughed.

Covering his eyes, he turned away slightly, a grin plastered to his face.

"I won't look! Promise." he said. His voice was too nice.

After glaring an imaginary hole in his head for a few more minutes, Cici snorted in disgust and turned away. She could feel his eyes on her back as she got dressed.

"Pig," she muttered, adjusting the red bow on her shirt. She took out her school shoes, slipped them on, closed her wardrobe with a resounding shut, and turned to face Grimmjow. He no longer had his hands covering his face and was smirking at her.

"Nice ass." he said, giving her a perverted smile. She ignored him.

Going over and picking her bag off the floor, she walked out without even looking at him. She could deal with her messy room later. Pouting, Grimmjow got up and followed her, reaching the living room just as she was about to walk out the door.

"Oi, _Baka-onna_," she paused as she prepared to twist the knob, "You're just gonna leave me here? Alone? Me, an _Arrancar_ who could not only destroy your house, but everyone in the entire fucking vicinity?" she seemed to consider this.

Turning to face him, she raised her eyes to his, locking their gaze. Hazel stared deep into blue and refused to let go. After a while, she broke contact and began to smirk. He snorted.

"What is it, _Baka-onna_?" he put his hand in his pockets and gave her a weary look. "What's so funny?"

"You," she said, looking at him with laughing eyes, "You're what's so funny." He gave her a frustrated look and huffed.

"And what does that mean, _Baka-onna_?"

"It means," she said, opening the door, "that I know you won't do anything. You're still injured. And besides," She paused, a smile spreading across her face.

She looked up at him, a fierceness sparkling in her eyes.

"I'd have to kick your ass if you did!"

His eyes widened slightly. Who _was_ this girl?

He turned his head away and snorted.

"If you don't hurry along to you precious human gathering ground, you'll miss P.E." he gave her a wicked smirk, "Don't want your nice little ass getting fat on me, now do I?"

Cici gave an insulted huff and stormed out the house, leaving a laughing Grimmjow in her wake. He was about to turn around to go mess with her room when-

"And _DON'T_ touch my stuff!"

She was extremely loud. Shrugging, he decided to look through her drawers anyway.

Outside, Cici was blushing in heated anger and firing off muttered curse words like it was nothing. She sighed and leaned against the door for a few seconds before glancing at her wrist watch. She choked.

"Shit!" And she was off.

**. . . . .**

Cici tiredly made her way down the street. Her day had been exhausting to say the least and she was tired.

To start, she had arrived at school after sprinting the full fifteen minutes, only to get more detention for being late. And, if that wasn't bad enough, her whole day had been comprised of weird looks and questions about ambulances and mental stability. The counselor had even approached her and said if she needed to talk, she was there to listen. As if!

She didn't _need_ to talk to anyone!

…Unless they could conjure up some magic portal to send that freeloading perverted jackass back to wherever he had come from! But other than that, no, she did _not_ need to talk to someone!

She made her way around the corner to her street, rubbing her temples. As she made her way to her porch, she was tempted to turn around and find a park to sleep in. Her head was killing her and the last thing she needed was to deal with a certain blue-haired man staying in her house.

Reluctantly, she opened her door and braced herself for the verbal onslaught of sarcasm that was, no doubt, about to assault her as soon as she set foot in the house. When she walked in, she was surprised to find that nothing happened.

"What?" she asked quietly, looking around her living room. No Grimmjow in sight.

Looking confused, she quietly shut the door behind her and removed her shoes, setting them next to the door along with her bag. Where was he?

Walking slowly to the kitchen, she peered through the door and was surprised to find it empty. Perhaps he had finally gone home?

Smiling happily at that prospect, she skipped to her bathroom to retrieve something for her head. Downing the pain relievers in one gulp, she sighed and tried to make sense of the feelings of sadness and loneliness that were creeping up in her heart.

Shaking it off, she made her way into her room-

-Only to find Grimmjow lounging on her bed with her diary from fifth grade. She blinked.

"Oh," he said, not even looking up from his reading, "You're back." She stared at him.

"Wha….y-you're still here?" her sudden feelings of happiness and relief were quickly squished by anger as she realized exactly what he was reading, indicated by her open night stand.

"AND YOU'RE READING MY _DIARY_!" she lunged at him, getting a face full of pillow as he dodged.

"Did you really make out with your cat in your sleep? 'Cause that's kind of sick." She blushed.

"Well I was only ten and I had a problem with sleep-walking back then and it was a crazy dream.…" She stopped. "HEY!" Cici screamed in rage and lunged at him again, this time successfully tackling him and grabbing the diary.

"Success!" she screamed as she jumped off of a winded Grimmjow. Closing the diary and placing it back into her drawer, she turned back to him, a pissed-off look on her features. She crossed her arms.

"I thought I told you _not_ to touch my things!" he snorted, checking his chest for bleeding. When he was sure that it was fine, he returned her glare.

"You better be lucky that you didn't reopen my wounds, _Baka-onna_, or I'd have to _cero_ your face off as soon as you fell asleep!"

"Don't change the subject!" she screeched, glaring harder. If looks could kill, he would be _thirty_ feet under and covered in concrete by now.

He sat back against a pillow and shrugged. "It was interesting," he said, giving her a look, "I never thought that an eleven-year-old could look so-"

"Never-mind that!" she interrupted, a blush rising on her cheeks. She had forgotten that she had put pictures in there as well. "Just don't touch my stuff!"

"Fine," he said, raising his hands in mock defeat, "I won't touch your stuff anymore." To her dismay, his eyes told a different story.

"Unless you're away and I'm bored."

"GRIMMJOW!" she seethed in rage as he laughed at her.

Wholly frustrated, she went over to her wardrobe and retrieved some cloths for the night. Slamming the doors behind her, she started for the bathroom, intending to storm out of her room in a huff. But of course, Grimmjow wasn't having that.

"Where ya going?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. She frowned and turned towards him slightly.

"To take a shower." she said, giving him a warning look as his eyes began to shine with mischief. "And if you even _think_ about trying to walk in on me, I'll _castrate_ you." He, once again, raised his hands in defeat and she nodded approvingly.

"Good." and she walked into her bathroom. She began to take off her school uniform when realization crossed her mind. She locked the door.

"Take _that_ Grimmjow, you fucking pervert." She smiled in triumph and started her shower.

After today, she needed it.

Outside the door, Grimmjow frowned. Locked. Damn it...

**. . . . .**

After cleansing herself thoroughly, Cici made her way over to her room. She was expecting to argue with Grimmjow once more before she could actually get some sleep and had prepared a few witty comebacks just for the occasion. To her surprise, however, he was already asleep on one side of the bed when she walked in.

A little confused, she walked over to the empty side and stared at him wearily. He was sleeping peacefully. Or as peacefully as one could sleep when you were injured, she figured. Frowning, she patted the sheet carefully, inspecting them for any traps or such that he could have set for her just for a laugh.

She didn't find any.

Shrugging, yet still a little confused, she climbed into bed and settled herself against her pillow. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she sighed a little, allowing a tiny smile to creep onto her face. She was actually very glad that he had stayed.

…But of course she would deny it if you asked her. She wouldn't give that bastard the satisfaction of knowing that she at least _partly_ enjoyed his company. Because he annoyed her to no end. And he didn't deserve to know that. So there.

Chuckling silently, she turned her back to him and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Grimmjow." she whispered, still smiling.

**

* * *

**

Review please!


	7. A Battle Fought For A Precious Soul

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

It was the feel of a powerful _reiatsu_ that woke him up before anything else.

His eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, the action making him wince as his chest began to throb.

Goddamn his wounds.

Growling, he peered around the room. Normal. He heard a shifting sound and his eyes snapped over to look at the form of the sleeping girl next to him. She had her back to him and her breathing was steady. If she could sense the _reiatsu_ as well, she made no indication. She shifted in her sleep again and sighed.

He snorted.

"_Baka-onna_…." he muttered. Didn't she know that there was a powerful hollow lurking outside her house?

He turned his gaze to his hand and flexed his fingers. He could feel the muscles in his arms and legs twitching from under his bandages in anticipation of a fight. A wicked grin made its way onto his face and he let out a dark chuckle.

"Looks like I'll finally get to blast something."

Swinging out of bed, he rolled his shoulders as he approached the door, the grin never leaving his face. He paused for a second and looked back, an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his non-existent stomach.

This girl. This _human_ girl. This _Baka-onna_. She was what it was after. Her soul. Her _reiatsu_.

_This_ girl. _She_ was its target, and he could feel it. Like a sixth sense, he could feel it.

And that was why he felt so unnaturally…_pissed_. And it made no sense.

Why did _he_ care if that hollow ripped her soul to shreds? Her loss, his win. If it ate her, he could just eat _them_ and heal his wounds completely. _Plus_, he would be free from this violent she-beast. He wins and the hollow wins…

...for a short time, that is.

And, he figured, that was a good thing. So, why was he about to go out of his way to keep a hollow from killing a girl he only met a couple of days ago, regardless of the fact that she saved his life? He _wanted_ to put a _cero_ through her face, so why?

A snarl unconsciously escaped his lips. This sort of thinking was hurting his head and was pissing him off further.

So his reasoning? It was his honor code.

Yes. That was it. That goddamn honor code that put him in this position in the first place. That's why he was slowly unsheathing _Pantera_ as he made his way to the front door. His honor code. As soon as he took care of that bastard, his debt would be paid off and he wouldn't have to see her again.

_Ever_.

Something in his chest tightened and gave him a sudden sense of impending loss.

And he didn't like it.

Growling, he raised his foot in front of him and kicked open the door. From the cracking sound it gave off and the small splinters of painted wood raining down onto the floor, he could tell that he broke the frame. But at the moment, he didn't give a shit.

Stepping out onto the porch with _Pantera_ firmly gripped in his hand, he looked around the yard and curled back his lip into an ugly snarl.

"Come out you bastard," he growled, "I can _smell_ your _reiatsu_, so stop hiding."

A ground shaking roar answered his call and he smirked. He would make sure this bastard didn't lay a _finger_ on Cici.

Even if he had to chop them off one-by-one himself.

**. . . . .**

It was that feeling again. Like a thousand weights crushing her. Like she was drowning in air. Like she was stuck in the water and her lungs were filling to the brim. _That_ feeling.

It was back. Just like last week, it was back.

Gasping, Cici shot up from bed, a cold sweat rolling down her forehead. Why had it suddenly gotten so hard to breathe?

"G-Grimmjow…?" she gasped, looking over to the other side of the bed. Gone. He was gone. Where was he?

An earsplitting sound broke the air. Her eyes widened and her heart jumped into her throat. Her breath quickened and an inexplicit feeling of dread began to clutch at her mind.

A roar. So huge that it shook her house. So colossal that the lamp on her desk fell to the floor and shattered into what seemed like a million pieces.

Something was outside, and she knew exactly what it was.

A hollow. A powerful one. And it was angry. Enraged. So much so that it made her body go numb with fear.

She couldn't feel herself breathe.

As soon as she found herself able to move, she stumbled out of bed, shaking and cold with fright. She didn't feel safe. She didn't feel sane. She needed to find Grimmjow before she lost it. Yes. Grimmjow. He could protect her. He was strong. He could…

Ignoring the newly formed cuts on the soles of her feet from the shattered lamp, she stumbled her way down the hall, her breath ragged and her senses disoriented. She had to cling to the wall to keep from falling.

What kind of power did this thing have to make her so weak? What kind of power?

"No…Grimmjow…!" suddenly fearing for his safety, she began to run as best she could towards the sounds of battle filling her ears, wincing at the pain this caused her feet.

As she reached the living room, she saw that the door was busted down. Wood splinters were scattered on the floor everywhere, and, worse yet, Grimmjow was nowhere in sight. Panicked, she began to run for the door.

Just as she was nearing the porch, a blue ball of energy appeared out of the sky and crashed into the ground outside her door. The blast from the explosion it caused sent her flying back into the center of the room. She screamed in pain as her side hit the floor and her head, the coffee table.

Smoke from the blast was entering the house, leaving her vision foggy and brown. Groaning, she sat up, an action that caused her tremendous pain in its own right. She could feel a warm liquid dripping down the side of her head. She was bleeding. But she quickly pushed that out of her mind.

He was out there battling that thing. She knew it. She could feel it.

She needed to be out there _with_ him.

The thought that her being there could possibly hinder him from battling crossed her mind, but she pushed _it_ away as well. Ignoring the pain she felt as she stood up, she shook the fuzziness from her head and looked towards the door, now revealing itself as the smoke settled.

From what she could see, her porch was no more. Replacing it, instead, was a large crater that looked almost as if it were created by a bomb.

"Was that….was that a _cero_?" she whispered to herself in horror. Grimmjow had talked about using them on her, but she had never imagined that they could be _that_ devastating. _That_ horrifying…

Shaking away the fear that was trying to creep its way into her heart, she made a dash for the door once more, careful to mind the crater and keep an eye out for another blast. She found that it was even harder to breathe outside. The air had suddenly become _much_ heavier.

Panting in effort, she looked around her yard frantically. She found it to be filled with craters similar to the one she was currently standing next to, but no Grimmjow.

Crying out in dismay, she ran out into her yard, spinning around in an attempt to locate him wherever he had gone. She was about to call out his name when the ground began to shake from what felt like a powerful impact.

Cici crouched and screamed, holding her head in an attempt to protect herself from the shaking. The earth stilled after a few seconds, but something in the air was filling her lungs and making her eyes water. Coughing, she looked up.

Smoke. There was more smoke in the air. And it was coming from the street beyond the tall concrete fence encasing her land.

"Grimmjow?" she coughed, standing up slowly. She ran out into the street, stopping as she found that there was a massive crater in it. And in the center of it, bleeding once more was-

"GRIMMJOW!" she screamed, horrified.

"Cici...?" he whispered, inclining his head towards her voice. As he stood up, she couldn't stop the tears from forming at the edge of her vision.

Not only was he bleeding immensely once more, but his wounds had reopened. He was covered from head to toe in new lacerations, some crossing over his old ones and creating larger openings in his flesh. She could tell that his breathing was ragged from the way his shoulders heaved themselves. He was in more pain than he was to begin with.

He turned to her, an expression of horror crossing his face. It quickly turned to rage.

"What are you _doing_ out here!" he screamed. She flinched. "LEAVE! NOW!"

"Grimmjow," she whispered, biting her lip. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves and began to wipe furiously at her tears.

"S-shut up!" She screamed, a smiled playing at her lips. Fresh tears defied her will and made their way down her cheeks. "You jackass! You look awful! You better not be losing on me! I'll have to castrate you!" He gave her a look of shocked surprise before smirking and letting out a short laugh. A sadistic look crossed his face.

"As if, _Baka-onna_," he snorted, "The day I lose is the day hell itself freezes over and those bastard Shinigami step off their high pedestals!" She smiled and wiped at her tears again, nodding.

"Now stay the fuck back!" he said, his face taking on a more serious expression, "If you die before I get to kill you myself, I'll have to obliterate your soul!"

She was about to yell something back when another roar shook the area. The fear that she had pushed aside came back and hit her ten-fold. Her throat began to constrict itself as the air grew heavy once more. Horror crossed her face, a look which Grimmjow didn't miss.

Snarling in rage, he turned towards the sound, seemingly unaffected by this change in atmosphere. He, too, was a hollow after all.

His rage and Cici's fear grew as a cold, yet feminine voice began to laugh from beyond the smoke.

"_You didn't _die_, did you?_" It sneered, "_What a pity! Here I thought that an _Arrancar_ would be strong! Especially the _Sexta Espada _Grimmjow Jaegerjaques! How disappointing!"_

To Cici's horror, an enormous black beast made its way towards them. Its body was large enough to put a fully loaded school bus to shame and the cold, glowing yellow eyes in the center of its white skull-like mask were shining with the bitterest kind of malice imaginable.

It was a true monster.

"Th-that's a _hollow_?" Cici whispered. Her vision began to grow blurry with the dizzying amount of energy it was exerting. Looking down at her body, she saw that she herself was trembling in the utmost fear. Even her teeth were chattering with terror.

She gulped and turned her gaze back to the monstrous being that was called a hollow. She was horrified to find that its beady yellow eyes were now trained on her form. She nearly collapsed in fright as it began to laugh, its raspy voice shaking the air and sending shivers down her spine.

"_Oh! I see! You were trying to protect this girl! How _sad_!_" it laughed, a long red tongue piercing its teeth and licking at its face, "_But I can see why. Her _reiatsu_…it smells delicious. Give her to me._" Grimmjow snarled.

He was in front of her in seconds. Cici blinked. His speed….it was dizzying…Even for someone so hurt…

"_Never_." he spat. Cici couldn't help but shiver at how evil his voice sounded. Could this be the same man she was playfully arguing with last night?

"_Oh! You intend to _fight_ me for her!_" it laughed, "_You are pitifully weak from your wounds, _Arrancar_, and yet you insist on protecting this girl in _your_ sorry state? Hah! Fine by me! Come! I shall gain pleasure from defeating an _Espada_ and feasting on the soul he wished to protect!_" It roared once more and lunged forward with surprising speed.

Grimmjow was faster, however, and met the beast halfway. He stood holding it in place with his sword, the metal of his blade clashing with its massive jaws. He pushed it back and it jumped a few yards away, roaring in anger.

He turned swiftly to look at Cici.

"_RUN_!" he screamed. But she was frozen. Even as her mind screamed desperately for her to run away, her legs refused to move.

"I-I can't…." she whispered quietly.

"_LEAVE_!"

The beast lunged forward again, this time, aiming to kill.

Cici's eyes widened.

Grimmjow turned as swiftly as he could.

Crimson blood sprayed across the ground and a limp body was thrown into the concrete walls lining the street.

"_**GRIMMJOW**_!"

**

* * *

**

EVIL CLIFFAHANGER OF _DOOM_ AND _STRIFE_!

Review please!


	8. The Mother's Undying Anguish

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the Joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

Cici found herself facing a monster like that out of a child's worst nightmare. Its massive black body towered over her, creating a dark shadow that all but consumed her and the ground she stood on. Its ever-smiling skeletal face with cold, glowing yellow eyes glared down at her trembling form. Her body and mind were shaking. She was sure that even her _soul_ was trembling within her skin as tears had begun to blur her vision against her will.

Shivers ran through her spine as it laughed at her. All she knew at that moment was fear. Pure, ungodly fear. And it was crushing her to the point that she had little hope of return. Even the prospect of permanent mental trauma because of this moment didn't seem so far-fetched.

Should she survive, that is.

And that in itself was also highly unlikely.

After all, her only hope for survival had just been flung fifteen feet into a wall of solid concrete and was buried beneath large chunks of crumbled gray rubble.

As she stared beyond the beast in front of her at the plume of smoke making its was towards the sky, any and all hope of being rescued died with each passing second of whole-hearted terror.

"_What's the matter?_" it hissed, the sneer evident in its voice, "_My dear! You're trembling! Are you _scared_?_" it began to laugh once more, its harsh rasp filling the air.

She closed her watering eyes in an attempt to shake off the dread at the coming of her impending death. What hope did she have, anyway? She herself was not spiritually strong enough to deal with this creature as Grimmjow had. And any being capable of doing so was probably another dimension away sitting high on their thrones of marble stone.

Squeezing her eyes shut tighter, Cici prepared for death to come. She knew her soul would be eaten and she knew that after, she would cease to exist, but, if she was to die, she would die ready.

Silently thanking Grimmjow for all that he had done, she found herself unwilling and unable to stop the tears from flowing as memories flashed across her mind.

Her face and body relaxed visibly.

Yes. That was right. He was a special person. He had changed her life for the past few days. She would never forget him. Never.

Realization dawned on her when she figured out her train of thought. Was she thinking about _dying_? Was she giving up so easily? What was _wrong_ with her? Cici Nanoha would _never_ do such a thing, even in the face of impending doom.

Her fists clenched and she opened her eyes to glare at the beast, her tears drying themselves almost as soon as she did. She assumed a fighting stance and narrowed her eyes. She was still shaking, but her feelings of sadness and dread where slowly giving way to ones of rage and loathing.

Yes. This was it. _This_ was Cici Nanoha. _This_ was who she was. A girl that, even when faced with the prospect of death, would _never_ go down with out a fight.

And even if she failed, she would know that she had tried her hardest and fought for her life until the end. And she would do it. Not only for herself, but for her parents and their memory.

_And_ for Grimmjow, that _bastard_. She would fight for him, too, even if he _did_ just lose on her.

If she somehow managed to survive, she promised herself that she would follow through with her plan to castrate him.

If he was still alive, that is.

She balled her fists tighter until she could feel her nails biting her skin and her knuckles go white with the pressure. She _was not_ going to think that way. She _refused_.

Glaring more firmly than before at the colossal hollow, she raised her fists to solidify her stance.

"I won't go down without a fight." she said firmly. Though her voice still held a few traces of fear, she refused to acknowledge it. Her will to fight only grew stronger as it began to laugh once more.

"_So,_" it began as its laughter died into a chuckle, "_You intend to fight me, pathetic human? You have no unique spiritual powers, and you intend to try and defeat _me?_ A hollow of far greater strength than yourself?_"

It laughed once more and Cici couldn't help but think that it sounded melancholy. Sad even. Almost as if it didn't have the will to fight her.

Was that a good thing? Or was it an insult to her strength?

"I'm far stronger than _you'll_ ever know, _hollow_." She spat the name so spitefully that it made even herself flinch back some. Was this her? Did she really sound this way?

The creature laughed in that sad tone one more. Upon inspecting its features, Cici found that it even _looked_ sad. But why?

"_Really,_" it sighed. Now even its _voice_ matched its look. What was going on?

"_Do you really intend on fighting me, Cici?_" it asked. How did it know her name?

She tightened her stance a little more. "How do you know my name?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes. Though her tone expressed hate, she couldn't help but let a little curiosity slip through. It sighed.

"_Have you truly forgotten?_" it asked sadly, "_It's only been three years, Cici, and yet you have forgotten my voice so easily. Perhaps you don't love your mother any longer._"

Cici's eyes widened in shock and she nearly choked in surprised.

"W-_what_?" she sputtered, her stance slackening.

She examined the creature. It was large and black and ugly. Yet its presence and face held an air of sadness. And its voice. Chilling to the bone, but so painfully familiar. Was this truly her mother?

"No." she said, taking her stance once more, "That's impossible! My mother has been dead for three years! If you were her, you would have gone to the Soul Society along with my father by now! A shinigami would have-"

"_Think,_" it butted in, the sadness in its voice stronger than before, "_Is it really so impossible?_"

This caught her off-guard.

"I…..I…." Cici lowered her stance again, backing up some. Her head was full of conflicting feelings. Her eyes widened as what Grimmjow told her crossed her mind.

**. . . . .**

_Cici stared at Grimmjow with her arms crossed as he lay there, glaring in hatred at her._

"_Well?" she asked impatiently, "You gonna give me an explanation or not?" She leaned in._ "_I _do_ have all night you know."_

_He stared at her. She stared back._

_Sighing exasperatedly, he gave her a weary look and began to talk, much to Cici's satisfaction._

"_First off," he said irritably, glaring at her, "A soul is the spirit of a being after it's died. The soul of said being is connected to either its body or a specific object or location via a long chain in the center of its chest called a spirit chain. If the soul is not sent to a place called the Soul Society by one Shinigami Bastard, the chain will eventually corrode away and the soul it's connected to will either become a hollow or gain spiritual powers and become a Shinigami bastard if they have a high amount of spiritual energy._

"_If a person who dies has a strong connection with another person who is still living, the soul stays behind in this world to look after said person." he paused, "If it doesn't get eaten by a hollow, that is." He chuckled at this and Cici shot him a dirty look. Snorting, he continued._

"_After a while, the soul who has stayed behind will eventually have its chain completely eaten away and it will get overtaken by a strong negative emotion and become a hollow, at which point its first target will become the person or people it cared for the most and has stayed behind to protect if it is not taken care of right away."_

_Cici's eyes widened and she gave him a horrified look._

"_S-so, the hollow will…" she trailed off._

"_That right," he said, a sick smile spreading across his face, "The hollow will _eat_ the souls of the people it most cherished. So you could say that their love literally _killed_ their loved ones in the end."_

_He chuckled at this, earning a smack to the side of the head via Cici's hand._

**. . . . .**

"No…." Cici said, "No….I-it can't be…"

Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to stumble backwards, her head shaking in denial.

"No…..Mom…."

"_It's true, Cici,_" the creature sighed in its sad rasp, "_I am your mother. Look at me. _Look_ at what I have become._"

"No!" She screamed, falling to her knee with tears leaking out of her eyes. She cursed them. "No….mom….what-?"

"_What happened?_" is rasped. It let out a sickening sound that was probably meant to be a snort and took a step forward.

"_You father and I,_" it began, setting in cold yet sorrowful gaze on Cici's trembling form, "_just a week ago we were spirits watching over you. Our chains were low, yes, but we were just happy to be near you. Of course, we did out best to protect you while still staying hidden from your sight. We even went so far as to lead hollows away from the house in order to protect you._" Cici eyes widened.

So the spirits being chased by hollow that she would glance on occasion were-

"Mom…?" she asked weakly, cold shiver wracking her shoulders as the tears kept flowing. Her heart ached like no other at the thought of a beast the size of the one in front of her trying to devour her mother and father.

Even if they _were_ trying to protect her, it was almost too much to handle without her sanity temporarily slipping.

The creature continued.

"_But, little by little, we began to fully accept that you had forgotten us._" The skeletal face was suddenly only inches away from her face, its jaws parted slightly and it's cold eyes staring deep into hers, captivating her in the most horrible way.

"_You have no idea how much it _hurt_ to see you throw away all of our pictures! You don't know the pain it caused us to realize that you wanted to _forget_ us! Oh, how it hurt!_" it screeched, the sadness evident in its gaze.

Her heart pulled at her chest. She wanted to reach out and touch the face of this beast. To comfort it. To assure it that everything was okay.

But she didn't. She didn't for fear that her hand would no longer be attached to her wrist when she pulled back. For fear that if she moved, her soul would no longer be in her body.

And she hated herself for it.

"Mom…"

"_And yet,_" it started again, its voice rough with the sadness so eager to be conveyed, "_and yet we _still_ continued to protect you! We risked our beings to lead away hollows and make sure that you survived another day! But you wanted to remove us from your mind!_

"_But last week,_" it said, its voice gaining a hint of slight hysteria, "_Last week it happened. The chain in my chest disappeared and abandoned me like _you_ abandoned me! It left and all I could feel was pain as I was taken over from the inside out! Oh how it hurt._" the tears in Cici's eyes were free-flowing by now and there was no stopping them.

"Mom…" she sobbed, holding her shoulder to try to stop her shaking. It didn't help.

"_And then_," it continued. "_I stopped screaming and found that I had changed-_"

"NO!" Cici cried, squeezing her eyes shut and lowering her head, "STOP! I don't….I don't want to hear anymore! Mom….please…!"

"_I had changed into _this_,_" it said, ignoring the cries and pleas from the girl in front of it, just _inches_ away from its jaws, "_And your father. Oh, your father! He sank away in fear. It hurt to see him look at me with such terror. It hurt so much. So, to make him stop looking at me so, I-_"

"No…don't say it….please…!"

"_I _ATE_ HIM!_"

"_**NO**_!" Cici screamed in horror and doubled-over in sorrow, her tears quickly creating a puddle on the ground that, to her, felt so vast and so large. Like the ocean.

An ocean of her own sorrowful anguish.

"_YES!_" it screeched, its cold laughter shaking the air and earth. It pierced her heart like no sword or needle ever could.

The laughter. It sounded so utterly and completely mad. It was nothing like the mother she remembered.

No.

This creature couldn't even be _called_ by that name. If she doubted it before, she was more than sure that this creature, this _monster_, was not and had never once been her mother.

It was an abomination.

"Shut _UP_!" Cici snarled, glaring at it through her tears, "You _MONSTER_! I hope you rot in _hell_ for this!"

"_Now now!_" it cackled, "_Is that any way to speak you your _mother_ young lady?_"

"You aren't my mother." she replied with dagger-filled words, her tears transforming into the poison that tipped each and every one. "You were _never_ my mother! You _BASTARD_!"

"_Such a mouth!_" it said, its ugly jaws parting further as it leaned forward into Cici's face, "_It will be a lovely accent to the taste of your soul!_"

Rearing back, it let out another earth shattering roar. But Cici wasn't scared.

Her soul was now filled with such poison that she new just one bite from that beast would send it straight to hell.

With eyes as cold as frozen steel and poisonous tears, she watched as the hollow that was never her mother lunged forward to strike, waiting patiently for the blow that would surely end her life.

**. . . . .**

She had anticipated dying with the jaws of a beast firmly clamped onto her shoulder as it crushed her bones and devoured her anguished, poison-filled soul.

…Which is why she was so surprised to find that the face of the hollow whom had lunged at her a few moments ago was pinned to the ground by a long, steel blade after an explosion behind it shook the earth. Even more surprising was the person whom was _holding_ the blade by its hilt and pressing it further into the ground, making the hollow screech in pain.

Her eyes were wide with disbelief and she could feel her heart clenching in a pool of mixed emotions. Her jaw began to work, but no word came out. The tears began to flow again, showing no sign of stopping.

She didn't believe it at first, but, as the seconds ticked by, the beast remained pinned by the neck in the ground with the man pinning it still standing there.

Bleeding though he was, he showed no signs of disappearing spontaneously.

"Grimmjow…" she whispered, her eyes shining with an unsung happiness, "Y-you're alive….."

But he wasn't paying any attention to her. Instead, his loathing gaze was fixed upon the hollow writhing under his blade.

"You _bitch_," he snarled, his lip curling back to reveal his sharp canines, "How _dare_ you even _try_ to touch her!" he sank the blade deeper and grinned sadistically as it screamed out in even greater pain.

"For that," he spat, his eyes and body beginning to glow with a blue light, kicking up the dust surrounding him, "You are as good as dead."

The hollow squirmed and writhed, trying desperately to escape. But it was futile. Grimmjow parted his lips and began to suck at the air, drawing in a light breeze that played at Cici's hair and kicked up even more dirt.

She could feel her soul stir within her body as her vision blurred slightly. It stayed in place, however, something that she felt grateful for. Even if she didn't understand why.

And as Grimmjow continued to suck at the air, all she could do was watches in silent awe as the gigantic creature before her was slowly consumed by the man she would forever know as her savior.

Despite the fact that he _himself _was a hollow, that is.

Closing his mouth as the last bit of the hollow went in, his eyes drifted shut and he swallowed, a look of peace crossing his feature. She looked on in open-mouthed, captivated silence as his wounds began to repair themselves, leaving behind only slight scars that would most likely heal over time.

"Grimmjow…?" she whispered, her eyes still leaking salty tears.

Her breathe hitched in her throat as he opened his eyes and looked over at her, an all-too familiar cocky smirk finding his way onto his lips.

"Yo, _Baka-onna_." she cried out in happiness and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waste and burying her face into his newly-healed chest.

"You're alive!" she cried, smiling and laughing, "You're _alive_!"

"Oi," he said quietly, hiding his own smile with a tiny frown, "Get off of me or I'll eat _your_ ass, too."

But he made no move to push her away or hug her back. He simply stood there and accepted her embrace.

After a few moments, coupled by a few giant sniffs on Cici's part, she detached herself form his torso and stepped back, placing her hand on her hips and gaining a look of irritation.

"You _jackass_!" she yelled, furrowing her eyebrows, "I was worried about you! Tell me the next time you get yourself flung half-way across the street and into a wall! I thought you were dead, you fucker!"

He scoffed.

"I'll take that as an 'I'm glad you're okay, Grimmjow' and forget the fact that you just called me two different insulting names in a single sentence and forgive you this time." She laughed scornfully.

"Whatever! I'll forget that you practically lost on me and forgive _you_ this time!" She jabbed a finger into his chest for emphasis. He just frowned.

"What?" he asked, "No kiss for your hero?"

It was Cici's turn to scoff.

"As if! Didn't you just hear what I said?" she paused and began to smile deviously as a plan formed in her mind.

"However," She said slowly, "I _will_ reward you by training me!" she said slyly, starting towards the house, purposely ignoring the destroyed street behind her. He gave have her a funny look.

"I just got done kicking the ass of a hollow after getting injured, and you want me to _train_ you? What kind of shit is that? And _why_ would I train a _Baka-onna_ like _you_ anyway?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well you're okay now!" She frowned. "And to answer your other question, because you don't want me to die before you can kill me should another hollow attack in the near future. Simple." She paused again.

"Plus, I wanna learn to do that cool _cero_ thing that you used!" she glared. "Even though it _blew up my porch_! By the way, thanks for that you asshole!"

Though he scoffed once more, from the look her gave her, she could tell that she had won.

"Feh. Whatever. You can't learn the _cero_, but it would be interesting to fight you on equal terms and learn your powers." he paused. "Fine. I'll train you." She squealed in delight.

"But only if I get a kiss." he said in a husky voice, giving her a perverted smile. She cried out in surprise and punched his side, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"As if!" she muttered.

But then again…..

"No."

"Aww. Damn." she grinned cruelly at his dejected tone.

Yes. These next few days of training would be…..quite interesting, to say the least.

But she was completely fine with that.

**

* * *

**

Review please!


	9. No, YOUR Mom

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. That is the joy of Tite Kubo.

**

* * *

**

In the woods just outside of Karakura lay a field of brown with tiny green sprouts speckled throughout its vastness. It was a place with a strange air of dull power that radiated from the somewhat dusty soil as it fluttered in the air when a lightest breeze past through on warm summer evenings or cool, crisp winter mornings. It was a barren field open to the elements and, despite popular belief, was not naturally made.

No. In fact, the trees in that particular spot had not been felled by nature or lumberjack, but spirits and souls.

More specifically, Shinigami and hollow.

And it was this place, an ancient, earthen battleground for the other side that had absorbed the power given off by the field's combatants, which they had chosen as their training grounds.

Or at least Grimmjow did.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

A nod.

"Bring it on."

This time, a snort.

"Alright. Your funeral, _Baka-onna_."

And as they got into position, Grimmjow began to smirk quite dangerously, leading to the quick thought that training with this psycho of an _Arrancar_ might not have been one of her smarter ideas. In fact, Cici was beginning to wonder if this whole thing sprung up from a freak, inconveniently placed blond moment due to ugly-hollow induced trauma.

It wouldn't have been the first time that happened to her. The freak, inconveniently placed blond moment, that is. Not the ugly-hollow induced trauma.

But there was no time to dwell on that now.

Like he had done numerous times before in the past few days, Grimmjow lunged forward and, just as he was mere inches from her face, disappeared, a move almost too fast for Cici's novice eyes to catch. And, like always, his _reiatsu_ signature (which Cici had trained herself to recognize after learning _how_ to read it) was gone. She tensed her muscles, readying her body for the inevitable impact of a well-place punch or kick approaching from only god knew where.

She felt her pulse quicken as her breathing increased and the queasy, antsy feeling of nervousness began to rear its ugly head.

Just like all those other times before. And every time she found herself getting this particular combination of feelings, she lost control of the situation. Every time.

It all ended in her loss every time.

Her loss and the punishment of facing a smirking and even more cocky Grimmjow for the rest of the week until she got a chance to face him in training once more.

Well not this time.

"Not this time." she whispered, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Closing her eyes, Cici did her best to calm her nerves and let her senses take over, just as he taught her.

The wind ruffled her hair as the sounds of the forest filled her ears. She could smell the scents of the green blades of grass bellow her feet and the leaves protruding from the branches only yards away. She could hear the birds chattering in their nests. Sighing, she relaxed and let her mind wander.

Then she felt it.

"There!" she yelled, whirling around and blocking just in time to stop a fist aimed directly for her side, effectively catching Grimmjow off guard.

"Caught you, _sensei_." He stared at her, alarmed. She smirked at him.

After a few short seconds, his initial shock was quickly replaced by a devilish smirk of his own.

Fuck.

In a blur of movements, Cici suddenly found herself unable to move. It appeared that her wrists were being pinned to her back in a very uncomfortable position, and her previously found sensei was now missing from her direct vision.

What a strange predicament…

"No," came a low voice from behind her, "I don't think you _have_."

…Or maybe it wasn't as strange as she had previously thought.

"H-how the hell did you…? Wh-_when_ did you…?" she blinked. "Okay, just, what the fuck?" He chuckled, and she could feel the vibrations it caused through her back. It made her shiver.

Curse her body.

"You've gotten better," he admitted, leaning in to her ear, "and you've gotten stronger, but you aren't even close to catching me." She silently swore to herself at the way his breath on the side her neck was making her feel. Was he doing this on purpose?

"Right," she said, squirming a little and swearing more when he tightened his grip in response, "c-can you let me go now?"

"What?" he asked, grinning wickedly and pressing into her, earning a squeak as he did, "You don't like me?" Leaning in and touching his lips to her neck, he had to fight the urge to laugh as she let out an involuntary gasp. He could see her cheeks turn red.

"_Check and mate._" he thought happily, reviling in the way she was shaking.

Truth be told, on the inside, he was dying of laughter. Call it a flaw, but he _loved_ to tease her. Oh so very much.

…What?

Yes. He knew that he was supposed to be training her and not nibbling on her neck, but this was much more fun and it amused him greatly.

Too bad Cici didn't share the sentiment. No, she was too busy trying to control her hormones and firing off strings of curses to find anything even _remotely_ amusing. _Why_ did she have to be a teenager? And _why_ was the fact that Grimmjow's _lips_ were so close to her bring back unpleasant memories of lapses in control and awkward silences?

Oh yeah. Because they _did_.

**. . . . .**

_It was their first day of training and their first time fighting each other…_

…_Physically._

_And though this was their first time fighting, it was only the second time she had ever felt so nervous in her life. And the feeling only grew as she gazed upon her opponent. Bored though he looked, Cici knew that he could rip her head off with just the tiniest effort, and that wasn't helping her nerves in the slightest._

_What had she been _thinking_?_

"_You ready, _Baka-onna_?" he asked, his voice every bit as bored as his expression was-_

_-Which managed to piss her off a bit._

_From his tone, she, in her indignity, deduced that he didn't think she could give him a challenge! Hah! As if! He had better watch his _Arrancar_ ass if he even _dared_ to think such a thing!_

…_Did she ever mention that she was easy to piss off? Yeah, well, she was. Call it a flaw, if you will, but she was._

_So, insulted by his tone, and like the daring vixen she was when anger heated her vision, she opened her mouth and the first words to fall out were, as quoted-_

"Your mom._"_

_And a bad choice of words it was._

_His face went from bored to angry and his lips curled back into an ugly snarl. His hands tightened into fists, an action that made his muscles appear to pulse beneath the black and white jacket that she had mended just last week._

_It appeared that he was not amused._

"_What?" he growled. She gulped. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling as daring and angry as she had been before._

"_Uh-"_

_But he was gone._

_Before she could tell what had happened, her vision was swimming from impact and he was suddenly straddling her, pinning her arms to the ground on either side of her head while staring down at her with a predatory grin. She blinked, wide-eyed._

_Suddenly afraid, she felt justified to squeak and squeezed her eyes shut as he began to open his mouth, convinced that he was finally going to follow through with his word and end her with a _cero_ blast._

_Imagine her surprise when, instead of a _cero_, she heard laughter._

"_Wh-what?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at him. He was wearing a wicked smirk._

"_No, _your_ mom."_

_And that was all it took to make her mouth fall open._

"_Wh-what the _fuck_!" she screeched, her cheeks turning a light shade of crimson. He laughed at her. "You jackass! I thought-"_

"_Are you retarded, _Baka-onna_? Hollows don't have moms." he said, looking down at her, his eyes shining with cruel laughter._

_Her cheeks grew hot and she huffed, turning her head to the side._

"_Sh-shut the hell up! I-I knew that!" He laughed at her again, making her cheeks grow hotter. His laughter faded into a chuckle and soon stopped altogether._

"Baka_." he said softly, shaking his head. Her eye twitched._

"_Hey! I-" she said, whipping her back head to look at him, stopping as she noticed the funny look he was giving her._

"_G-Grimmjow?"_

_His features had relaxed to a point where his eyes were no longer laughing, but smoldering. As he began to lean in closer, she got the distinct feeling that something was amiss. She wanted to move, but found herself unable to. He was holding her captive with his gaze._

_And so, she was helpless as his face drew closer to her own, only ceasing to move when his lips were just centimeters from her own. Oh, this did _not_ bode well. Especially with his _face_ so close to hers!_

_After a while of enduring his hypnotic gaze, she let out a somewhat frightened whimpered, the sudden sound seemingly bringing him out of his trance as he began to blink rapidly._

_He looked into her hazel eyes._

_She looked into his blue ones-_

_-And almost cried out in relief when he pulled back so quick she though he might break his back. Success! But he was still straddling her, which made her very uncomfortable. She squirmed._

"_C-can you get off?" she asked meekly, damning her cheeks to hell and back for still being so hot that she was sure the color they retained would make a rose cry._

_He stared at her for a few seconds before getting up and backing off, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his head turned, no doubt in an attempt to hide a blush of his own. She coughed and sat up, rubbing her wrists and fighting to sort the conflicted feeling raging war inside her head._

_After a heavy and awkward silence in which no one would look at each other, Grimmjow eventually grew impatient and cleared his throat. Cici tensed._

"_Cici, I-"_

"_We should go home." she interrupted quickly, suddenly afraid of what he might have wanted to say. He gave her a slightly alarmed look that quickly faded into a scowl. He tried to study her face, a feat that proved to be impossible, seeing as locks of black hair were covering everything but her trembling lips._

_Trembling._

_He cursed to himself. What had he done?_

"_Yeah." he finally said with a sigh of defeat. He was sure that the air had become less oppressed after that._

"_Good." she said, standing up and dusting off her noticeably dirty clothing with shaking hands. He winced. God had he just fucked up big time…_

…_Wait. What was that?_

_Frowning, he took a hand out of his pocket and reached out, grabbing her wrist in one swift movement, earning a cry of alarm from the owner of said wrist._

"_Let go!" she said, trying in vain to yank her hand away from his iron grip. He frowned at how desperately it seemed she was trying to get away from him. In truth, it kind of…hurt._

"_Shut up." he mumbled, turning her wrist over in his hand, his eyes narrowing at the confirmation this gave his sudden discovery._

_There were bruises on her wrists._

_The worst part?_

He_ was the reason they were there. Him and his goddamn loss of control._

_Snorting in self disgust, he released her wrist a little harder than her had intended to, causing her to stumble a little. He winced again. What was his problem?_

"_Found what you were looking for?" she asked in a surprisingly cold, yet shaking voice. She was rubbing her wrists again, almost as if she were trying to erase his touch. He scowled, but said nothing in reply._

_Examining his face for a brief second, she put on a scowl of her own._

"_Fine," she said, "let's go then." She walked past him without so much as a look. It took him a couple of seconds, but eventually he followed, his eyes trained on the ground._

_After what seemed like ages of uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke the words that were begging to escape his lips._

"I'm sorry_."_

_Cici paused for a brief second before continuing. She didn't say anything at first, but as they were approaching the edge of the forest, she stopped and turned around towards him, caught off guard for a second when she discovered that he had been looking at her, but recovering quickly._

"_You're forgiven for now, you jackass." _

_And all he could do was stare at her as she walked away once more._

_It appeared that the winner of this particular training match was none other than the fiery vixen herself._

**. . . . .**

And that was exactly how she though it was going to end if she didn't manage to get this bastard off of her.

Determined to do just that, Cici Growled and lifted her foot, bringing it down on her captor's toes with as much force as she could-

-Earning a satisfying grunt. Encouraged by the fact that she had managed to cause her blue-haired _Arrancar_ some pain, she leaned her head forward and thrust it back, straight into his nose.

Grimmjow, who had not been expecting these sudden attacks from his pupil, cried out in a mix of shock and pain, stumbling backwards a little, letting his grip on Cici wrists go in favor of nursing his nose and possibly firing a _cero_ at the bitch. Bad move.

Grinning at the fact that she could now move her body, Cici whipped around and proceeded to use what she like to call the 'Woman's ultimate trump card' all over the unsuspecting Grimmjow.

What did she do, you ask?

Well, to put it quite simply, she kicked him in his manhood. As hard as she could.

The worst part? He never saw it coming.

Crying out and doubling over, Grimmjow fell to his knees, moaning and clutching his now sore family jewels.

"Y-you _bitch_…!" he gasped, trying to look up at the now triumphantly grinning Cici. She laughed.

"Call it payback, if you will." she leaned in, smiling wickedly, "You deserved it!"

Straightening up and turning on her heel, Cici headed for home, feeling the best she had in weeks.

She knew that when Grimmjow had gotten over his pain and managed to get back on his feet that he would come after her, but she chose not to fret over it much.

After all, she had just found his weak point, and you better believe she was going to abuse it.

Oh yes. Revenge was going to be sweet.

* * *

I don't like this chapter much. May be I'm slipping...?

Review please!


	10. Author's Appology Letter

**EDIT:** I will, at this moment in time, be focusing my attention on a new fanfic under the _NiGHTS _fandom called "_La Volonte du Soleil_", French for "_The Will of the Sun_". So, if you're interested, please come check it out! NiGHTS Needs more fans! D:

Dear Readers,

First off, allow me to grovel at your feet. Ahem,

OMG I AS SOOOOO SORRY! DON'T _SPEAR_ ME! D:

….Ahem. Yes, well, as you can tell, I haven updated my story in over two months and I'm sure that those of you who have been waiting for the last two chapters have found yourselves disappointed and bored with waiting. For that, let me apologize again.

To tell you the truth, I've kind of lost my will to write this fic any longer. In fact, I've lost my entire Bleach mo-jo. And why is that you ask? Well, dear reader, in the span of only a month, my computer has crashed a total of three different times, and I'm sure you can only imagine the amount of data that I lost.

_It was a lot_.

And amongst the lost data saved onto my computer was the last chapter of _Panthera Onca_ and its Epilogue. The epilogue was of no great loss, as it was only a mere two-an-a-half pages long, but the last chapter…..oh…that was an entirely _different_ story! At the tome of the crash, said chapter had a total of _23_ pages on Microsoft word.

Yes, you heard me right. _23 fucking pages of back-breaking, late night hard. Fucking. Work._ Lost all in a matter of only an hour! Coupled with school and family issues, I'm worn the fuck out. So please forgive me when I say that _I'm fucking tired_.

And for those of you who are wondering if this marks the last of this fic: No. No it doesn't. I have put too much work into this story to just let it die in a fire like that. I will, at some point in the future which is unknown to even myself, attempt those long 23 pages once more, but I'm not a miracle worker and Rome wasn't built in a day, so don't expect an update at any point in the near future. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince myself to make a New Years resolution to get off my lazy, despondent ass and finish this goddamn fic, but hey, let's not shoot for the moon so soon, okay?

Anyways, I do apologize (_again_) for this long-assed period of no chapters, but I'm sure all is forgiven, right?

……Right?

Please forgive me,

Jiyu Nanohana


End file.

Bleach, Drama, Romance