DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Bleach or anything else associated with it. Luckily! Because, if I did, it probably wouldn't be as amazing as it is. :P

Yeah, I know what you may be thinking... The nerve of me! Starting a new story without even developing the other! Well, yes. This asked to be out of the system, so I gave it what it wanted... And, may I just point out that the second chapter of 'Pensieve' is REALLY difficult for me? OK, not that you care about Harry Potter...

Anyway, this is bound to be a HUGE series. It kind of nested in my brain that way, so you'll have to bear with me. (Also, forgive me for all grammar mistakes, please!)

Other things about the series? Well, I'm not spoiling. :P

I hope you'll be able to look past my faulty imagination and style that seems to be unnatural and stuck somewhere in the age of Shakespeare (love him!), and STILL be able to enjoy this thing, without any major misunderstandings/confusions/mindfu- you know! If you have any dilemmas or confusions about the story, feel free to ask! I'll answer, as long as the answer's not a spoiler. :P

Read the label! This is what expects you (hopefully)!

THE CAT EYE: PART 1

Description: The first part of ridiculously long 'Cat Eye' (yet-to-be) series. It focuses on how Ichigo and Grimmjow got to being able to exist next to each other without killing each other.

Pairing: GrimmIchi

Warnings: slightly AU, slightly OOC (It's unavoidable, since we all have our interpretations of characters), (maybe) slightly cheesy, fluff, slightly crack, possible mindf*, and probably definitely absurd at some points... I love absurd (life IS absurd, itself), so sometimes it's better if you turn off your logic. (I'm not as crazy as I sound. Don't expect to be confused.)

Genres: Romance, Comedy, Mystery, Horror, Drama, Absurd(?), Parody(?)

CHAPTER 1: Three Times a Meeting

#1:

The usual tension. The kind a runner feels while waiting for the shot that signalizes the start of the race.

That's what Kurosaki Ichigo felt that day exactly one minute before the bell rang for the school to end. He caught himself slightly hovering above his chair, waiting to jump up and sprint out of the classroom.

For no reason in particular, actually. It's just that his behind started hurting no matter how he sat. The usual illness of every high-schooler, that is. Especially the ones that were spending their school time in other places than classroom. Game parlours, bars, parks, hospitals. Other worlds.

However, question remains, if Ichigo knew what would happen in the following months, would he be so fast in saying his bye-byes to his friends?

The weather in Karakura that day was very nice. It was sunny and warm, but a cool, pleasant wind was blowing. The air was fresh, and the entire town felt filled with oxygen.

Ichigo was breathing deeply. He felt at ease (somehow it seemed strange to him), and he prayed that there won't be a single stupid Hollow bent on taking a walk above the park at that very moment.

He slowed down a bit near a convenience store. The scenery around there was much nicer and greener, so walking was a really pleasant thing to do. And he was thinking if he should treat himself to some cup ramen, because Yuzu went to her friend's house and won't be making lunch today.

One woman dressed in a usual manner of an office lady cut off Ichigo's path (and his train of thought) and entered the store. At the entrance, an old man, small like a child and dressed in kimono passed by the office lady out to the streets.

At that moment, Ichigo heard the unmistakable sound of things dropping on the ground. The old man's plastic bag ripped and spilled out all of it's contents.

Shifting his bag off his shoulder, Ichigo approached the little old man:

„Here. Let me help you with that, Gramps."

The old man looked him straight in the eyes, smiled sweetly and said:

„Thank you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo stopped in his tracks, and stared at the old man:

„How do you-?"

A truck passed by loudly and startled Ichigo. He stared after it, cursing inwardly.

When he turned around, the little old man was gone.

#2:

The next time Ichigo saw the old man, he had already forgotten all about him.

Rukia came to him a few nights ago, telling him that somebody broke into the Department of Research and Development and apparently stole something important. Orders from Yamamoto Genryusai were to stay alert and report anything out of the ordinary.

Ichigo was so focused on thinking about that task, that he completely forgot everything about the little man.

The next time he saw him was also on a sunny day.

It was Sunday, and although the heat was becoming slightly unbearable, he chose to spend his day outside with Karin and Yuzu. They did some shopping (Yuzu bought a sweet pink skirt, and Karin bought a pair of trainers, although she would very much preferred the red bicycle they saw, which, sadly, exceeded their budget by far), and now they were heading towards the park.

Ichigo, wiping the sweat off his brow with his sleeve, was looking forward to eating his ice cream in the shadow of a tree. While his thoughts fleeted across the recent events in Seiretei, something caught his eye.

It was that same little old man. He was sitting on a bench, smiling gently at a street cat eating a can of cat food.

Then the little man raised his head, and his eyes met Ichigo's. His smile grew wider, and Ichigo's frown deepened.

„Ichi-nii, your ice cream is melting." – Karin said passing him a tissue.

He broke out of his trance and busied himself with the ice cream and the paper tissue.

When he raised his head, this time he wasn't surprised to find the old man gone. Again.

He frowned thinking whether he should tell Rukia about his encounter with the mysterious grandpa.

#3:

New information from Seireitei. The artifact that was stolen from the Department is a sort of Reishi manipulating device. It pretty much enables it's user to control the amount of Reiatsu radiating from anybody in a certain radius from the device. The Head Commander called in an emergency Captain's meeting. Kurotsuchi-taichou was furious. Rukia later told Ichigo and his friends that the four of them were instructed to keep a strict watch over Karakura. They will receive assistance of Urahara, Yoruichi, Renji and herself. If need be, a special team consisting of Hitsugaya Toushirou, Matsumoto Rangiku, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika will be sent as back-up.

Everything out of the ordinary is to be reported immediately.

And yet, Kurosaki Ichigo never mentioned the old man to anybody. Somehow he knew that the old man is not something he should discard as not being important. But, something told him, a little voice in his head, that never mentioning the old man is actually a right thing to do. Anyway, Kurosaki Ichigo could not forget about him, even for a moment...

That day, it seemed as the sky broke down. It was raining heavily. Just an umbrella couldn't protect you from getting wet. Heck, it looked like you'd be equally drenched no matter if you had one.

And Ichigo was going back home after school. He had an umbrella. But, it couldn't shield him from his worries.

But, there was a person standing at the entrance to the convenience store that had no umbrella. Yes, it was the little old man.

When Ichigo saw him, for some reason he felt hope rise inside his gut. There was his chance to (maybe) find out something more about this case! He rushed to the spot where the man was standing, and yelled through the loud rain:

„What's wrong, Gramps? Don't have an umbrella? Here! I can walk you to your house, if you wish!"

The little old man gave Ichigo a wide, warm smile, and gladly accepted his offer.

Ichigo actually found himself wishing he simply passed by the old man without even glancing at him, let alone offering something stupid as to walk him home.

Because, it turned out the man was a sort of a monk who lived in a temple dedicated to some cat deity (Ichigo wasn't paying attention to that part, so he didn't hear it exactly). The catch was – it was all outside Karakura. Normally, it would probably take a few hours on foot to reach the Town from there, but as it was raining Ichigo could swear he wasted his entire afternoon on this quest. Not to mention the roads (if they can be called that) got him all covered in mud up to his waist (exaggeration). So, when they finally arrived, he was dirty, sweaty, wet, tired and pissed off. And he found himself weirdly admiring the old man, who seemed to be absolutely fine with everything from the above.

The old man („Nekozawa Yamato" -, he introduced himself.) was kind enough to invite Ichigo in for the tea.

Ichigo then found himself listening to quite a long lesson on the history of that temple, and what-not-more. He actually wasn't paying attention. He was too tired, and in desperate need of a warm bath and a set of clean cloathes. The tea did help a bit. And the view he had through the open slide doors on the great portions of lake water (and a patio smack in the middle of it all), did wonders to his foul mood. He did catch something about the temple being almost forgotten, as well as something about important scrolls being kept deep inside the building.

But, what alerted his attention was the sudden silence at the opposite corner.

Nekozawa was gripping his cup with both his hands tightly, staring at it. It seemed as he wanted to say something.

After some time he spoke:

„Can I ask a favor from you, Substitute Shinigami-san?"

Ichigo's frown deepened, his fingers ready to snatch the Substitute Badge hanging off his belt, and retorted with a question:

„I was wondering about it for a while. How did you know my name? And how do you know that I'm a shinigami?"

Nekozawa smiled mysteriously and eyed the Substitute Badge.

„That's not hard to tell."

Silence fell upon them. The rain had stopped. Ichigo was staring intently at Nekozawa as if trying to read his mind. Nekozawa smiled nervously at Ichigo and returned to looking at his cup. He feared Ichigo wouldn't want to listen to him.

„About that favor..." – he started, and his words drowned in silence. At that moment, speaking seemed unnatural, and every sound that could be heard seemed loud and ruff.

„What is it?" – asked Ichigo, surprised at how soft his words came out of his mouth.

Nekozawa raised his eyes to look at Ichigo. He breathed in, and started, obviously encouraged by the softness in Ichigo's voice:

„Well... I'm not exactly sure is there a good way to ask you this, seeing as you will probably refuse to offer your help..."

„Well, you won't know that if you don't ask me." – interrupted Ichigo, frowning at the polite way of speaking Nekozawa used in his last sentence.

Nekozawa nodded lightly, and continued a bit uncertainly with a bit of stuttering:

„Well... Well, let's say that I've, in a last few weeks, been sort of taking care of... let's say... a cat?"

Ichigo raised his eyebrows, and interrupted yet again:

„A cat? You want me to help you take care of a cat?"

Nekozawa smiled gently at Ichigo, and added:

„It's a spirit."

„Ah! I see! It's a spirit." –Ichigo nodded lightly, and then frowned: -„I don't get it. Why would you need my help to take care of a cat even if it's a spirit?"

„Well, it's not exactly a house cat..." –added Nekozawa.

They both fell silent, nodding lightly to no one in particular. Nekozawa's fear of not getting Ichigo's help probably found him once more, because he started anew, in a convincing tone:

„You know, he really seems rough at first. But, (I believe) he's really nice when you meet him. He's..."

„It's alright, Gramps." – Ichigo smiled at him, interrupting him once more: „I don't see why shouldn't I help you."

Nekozawa sighed and smiled at Ichigo. They sat there smiling at each other for a bit. Then Nekozawa leaned in a bit conspiraciously and said in a low voice:

„Maybe I should warn you. He's quite a bit aggressive."

Ichigo opened his mouth to reassure Nekozawa that everything will be alright, and ended up frowning a bit deeper after every next word Nekozawa Yamato said:

„And territorial. And blood-thirsty. And sadistic. And destructive..."

Then he quickly added after seeing Ichigo's face:

„B-But! If you know how to handle him, it'll be alright! Trust me, Kurosaki-san! You'll know how to handle him! I'll help you!"

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted with a deep, loud drawl and a banging sound of the rough opening of the slide-doors.

„Oi, Old Man! Where d'ya keep towels?"

A sudden flash of blue came into Ichigo's sight as terror and mortification washed over him. He inwardly cursed the star under which he was born, that led him into making stupid, stupid, stupid promises.

There was the damned 'cat spirit' in question!

In front of him, stood Grimmjow Jaegerjaques in all of his naked glory.

I know you saw that coming! I'm not trying to surprise you... :P

Well, I hope you (mostly) enjoyed this. Reviews are appreciated very much! You may be sure that I'll read and reply to it... As long it's not rude.

And, yes... 'Conspiraciously'... I almost definitely invented that word. It pretty much means something like 'in a plotting manner; conspiracy-like'. :P Grammar Nazis! Please, forgive me!