Night 11: The Princess and the Grim

"You want me to do what?"

"I would appreciate it if you help me. I have to leave with Goat-face to my neurology appointment and I can't bring her with me."

"Your kid sisters?" Ichigo snorted and Grimmjow had to remind himself they weren't kids anymore.

"Karin is at a soccer tournament in Chiba and Yuzu..." Grimmjow sighed and Ichigo smiled. The blunet forgot that he sent the girl to a month-long seminar at a prestigious cooking academy in Hokkaido as a birthday present.

"You come around so often, and she doesn't cry when she's with you anymore. I don't trust leaving her with a babysitter, and she's still incredibly fearful of Shiro. You're the only one I trust with her."

Grimmjow scratched his head and sighed, "okay, I'll take the kid. You'll be back soon, right?"

Ichigo chuckled at the blunet's panicked expression, "yes, we'll be back tonight." The orangette kissed him passionately and then reached down to pick up Nel.

"You'll be a good girl, right Nel?" The little girl stared at him curiously and he continued, "you're going to stay with Grimmjow until I come back. I'm going bye-bye but I'll be back soon okay?"

She tilted her head before she glanced at Grimmjow and then back at the orangette. She wrapped her arms around Ichigo's neck and squeezed him tightly before she waved her hand to him.

"Oh, you're adorable, sweet girl," Ichigo resisted the urge to just keep her in his arms and he handed her over to Grimmjow. She looked at Grimmjow and then reached her hands out to Ichigo again. Ichigo shook his head and put her hands down, "I'll be back soon. Bye-bye."

Her lip trembled and he kissed her cheeks, and then blew raspberries. She giggled and he kissed her cheeks again. She watched as he kissed Grimmjow once more before he waved as he backed away. She waved back and then he disappeared from her sight.

She wiggled in Grimmjow's arms, wanting to be put down and he set her on her feet. She trailed away and he was surprised at how quiet she was. He walked into the kitchen and saw the note left on the table.

Grimmjow,

If she cries, bribe her with a cookie, but only one so pick your battles.

The blunet snorted and he jumped as he heard the familiar crying of his newly found ward. He followed the sound into the genkan where she sat banging at the door like a lost puppy.

"Hey," he called and she startled, looked at him wide-eyed and started crying louder.

Grimmjow sighed, what did he get himself into?

He went and picked her up and brought her back into the living room. There was another note on the coffee table.

Grimmjow,

She can watch tv but only for an hour, one episode of Curious George and one episode of Sesame Street so pick your battles.

He went to grab the remote, trying to ignore the kid screaming in his ear and then he noticed the black backpack on the chair with another note.

Grimmjow,

If you decide to go out, this bag has everything you need. There's a change of clothes, pajamas, wet wipes, dry snacks, a cookie, diapers, a jacket, a few books, and a hat and sunglasses. Her outside shoes are in the genkan and her car seat is by the stairs. There's a diagram that shows how to strap her in, please do it properly. If you have any troubles, call me. I love you.

Ichiberry

Grimmjow coughed in embarrassment. His berry was too cute for his own good. He noticed the little girl had stopped crying and was just sniffling as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey," she jumped again and a cry rose in her throat and he assumed that must be a trigger word so he cleared his throat and bounced her a bit in his arm, "you wanna go out?"

She lifted her head and he wiped the tears from her red, splotchy cheeks, "yeah? Let's go outside. We can get some more clothes, and maybe some ice cream?"

She looked up at that curiously and he chuckled, "ice cream it is then."

People turned their heads and whispered and stared as the famous Grimmjow walked around downtown with a cute little girl in his arms. He wore a casual jacket and jeans and his striking blue eyes were covered by black sunglasses. Nel couldn't keep the sunglasses on her face so she just wore a large hat that covered most of her face but it didn't matter because she kept looking around in awe at the city and all the people.

Their first stop was inside of a shop he frequented that sold all kinds of expensive clothing. They sold styles of many kinds but he vaguely remembered them having a kids section somewhere in the back of his mind. He never cared to pay attention because he never thought he'd ever carry a kid in there.

"Jeagerjaques-sama!" The store manager rushed to him and bowed and Nel jumped in his arm. She squeaked in surprise and Grimmjow bounced her gently and hoped she wouldn't wail in the middle of the store.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle your daughter," Grimmjow twitched at the word and he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I'm looking for some dresses for the kid. I know nothing about dressing children," the blunet admitted and the manager curved a smile as he looked at the little girl who looked at him curiously from under the brim of her large hat.

"Mommy sent Daddy on a shopping trip, huh?"

Nel looked at him in confusion, and then looked at Grimmjow who raised an eyebrow at her and back to the manager.

"Manager, if you're going to waste my time, I can go elsewhere."

The manager bowed apologetically, "please pardon my rudeness, please follow me. I will send in Sasaki-san soon to assist you in your shopping experience. She specializes in fitting children's clothing."

The manager led Grimmjow toward the back end of the large boutique where another large room was situated with an assortment of colours in dresses, boy suits, casual clothes, and other things Grimmjow had no familiarity with.

Nel wiggled in his arm and he let her down and she looked up at him curiously. He nodded and took off her hat, "go ahead, look around." He ushered to the entire room.

She ran off and he watched her disappear into the sea of clothing racks. Everything was closer to the ground which allowed children to pick out the clothes that they liked instead of having to wait for an adult to do it for them which promoted independence. Grimmjow thought it was just a plot so that rich parents wouldn't feel bad about leaving their kids alone because it promoted independence.

"Jeagerjaques-sama, I have come to assist you in your shopping experience," Grimmjow glanced behind him at the woman who entered the room. She was petite with a pretty face and if he had never met Ichigo he'd probably take her to bed but he was glad the thought didn't cross his mind. He couldn't see himself with anyone else in his life.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm just looking to get a couple of different things," he watched as Nel rushed back to him with a plain dress the same color as the ugly teal sweatshirt thing she liked to wear around the house. She was dressed similarly to that, with a large teal jacket that drowned her but he remembered Ichigo saying it was a comfort thing and he was able to get her into regular clothes every once in a while but she preferred the large teal shirt he found her in. He picked her up and took the dress from her hands.

"You like this?" He asked the girl and she stared at him blankly and he forgot that Ichigo usually spent the time to iterate the words he was saying to the girl to make sure she understood.

"She's cute," Sasaki commented behind him and Grimmjow finally noticed her again.

"Yeah, thanks," he replied awkwardly, "anyway, stuff similar to this color. Simple things, and if you can get her to try on pants, it would be appreciated. If not, more of the-" Grimmjow struggled with the word Ichigo said to him once before, "diaper pant things will do."

"Bloomers?" Sasaki helped although her lips curved slightly in amusement.

"Yeah, those." Grimmjow scratched his head. He was really bad at this kid stuff.

Sasaki approached him slowly and leaned down so that she was face to face with Nel in Grimmjow's arms, "want to try on the dress?"

Nel gave her a blank stare and then she turned away from the woman and buried her face into Grimmjow's chest. "I wouldn't worry about trying to communicate, just pick a few things that would look good together."

"Of course, the dressing area is there," Sasaki pointed to a door and Grimmjow went over and stood Nel on the raised platform. He held up the dress she picked, "let's change clothes."

He unzipped her jacket and removed it and she raised her arms and when he pulled her shirt up so it could be removed. He paused for a split second as he noticed all of the different scars that marred her skin and he sucked in a breath. It wasn't the time. He left the bloomers and pulled the dress over her head and helped her put her arms through. He sat her in front of the mirror and she flinched away from the mirror and crawled back to Grimmjow with a cry.

"What's it now?" It made Grimmjow wonder just how much abuse the girl went through for her to be afraid of her own reflection.

He approached the mirror and she pushed back into him as she hid her face. "Look, it's you." She peeked out and he lifted her arm so that she could see it was her moving in the reflection. She lifted her head slightly and he waved his hand. She looked up at him and then to the mirror again, and he took another step toward it. He reached out and touched the glass and the thought crossed his mind that it wasn't the reflection she was afraid of, it was the mirror itself. The glass.

She peered up at him and he wondered if that was how she got the scar on her face that ran from her hairline to the side of her nose. "Want to touch it?"

She looked at his hand touching the glass and she hesitated before she reached and touched it too before pulling her hand back quickly. She curled back up and Grimmjow turned to see Sasaki standing with an armful of different outfits.

Grimmjow was able to get Nel to cooperate and put on two different outfits before she had a fit. She cried and reached out for him and she didn't even want to put the shirt she came in back on.

The blunet decided he never wanted another kid in his life.

"Jeagerjaques-sama," Grimmjow looked at Sasaki who had been incredibly patient with the entire situation and she held up a long dress, plain like the shirt Nel wore at home and a stylish teal jacket and Nel immediately went for it.

They had been unable to get Nel into pants but she left the store in her new dress and jacket and the rest of her clothes would be shipped to the clinic the next day. He was also able to settle the sunglasses on her face and she must have been exhausted because she didn't move or look around after that.

The manager bid him goodbye as he left and a part of him knew he'd get accosted by paparazzi when he went out in public but he didn't expect it to be so many.

"Jeagerjaques-sama! Is that your daughter?"

"We heard you had a new lover, is this child the product of the relationship?"

"This reporter would like to know the name of your lover!"

Grimmjow made sure to keep Nel's face hidden from the cameras as he held her closer to his chest.

"Get outta my face," Grimmjow growled as he pushed through the reporters. They followed him as he went to his car instead of toward the ice cream shop as intended and buckled Nel in the back seat. He tried to keep her face covered as he strapped her in because the idiotic reporters tried to go around his car to get photos of her inside.

"Touch my car and I'll splatter you across the ground," Grimmjow growled as he slammed the door shut. The reporters moved out of his way as he climbed in and drove away, some of them jumped to avoid getting hit.

Grimmjow huffed as Nel cried in the back seat. The situation was overwhelming and slamming the door probably wasn't the best idea. He drove back towards Ichigo's place, his fury rising at the nerve of the paparazzi when he noticed the ice cream place.

He took a deep breath and slowed down to a more reasonable speed and pulled into the parking lot. He got out and got Nel from her seat. She sniffled tiredly as she buried her face in his neck and he grimaced at the wet tears and snot that slid down his neck.

He walked into the ice cream shop and he rolled his eyes as the chatter immediately started. A woman came from behind the counter and greeted him with a charming grin. At this point, he didn't want to stay but he thought about the possibility of melting ice cream in his car sent dread down his spine.

"I need privacy," Grimmjow demanded and the woman nodded.

"Of course, we have a party room you can use." She led him into a room with windows to the outside and he sat in a booth facing the door. She pulled the blinds for most of the windows and Nel looked around curiously.

The woman approached the table again and he asked for a simple vanilla cup with half the normal amount of ice cream and a strawberry cone. She smiled and nodded and left for a short moment before returning with the ice cream.

Grimmjow had an inclination as to how messy a two-year-old and ice cream combo was going to be but he severely underestimated the amount of mess the little girl made with her tiny amount of ice cream.

He grimaced at his soiled clothes as he carried her into the bathroom to clean her up a little before returning to the clinic. He shook his head at the stains on her new dress and jacket and sighed.

"You're so messy," he chided lightly as he wiped her face and neck with a wet paper towel. She smiled at him with a tiny toothed grin and he sighed. "It wasn't a compliment."

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Grimmjow looked into the mirror at the man who called his name and turned his body while holding onto Nel on the sink and shielding her body with his, "who's asking?"

The man wore sunglasses and a long trench coat but the gun strapped to his hip didn't escape Grimmjow's eyes. He took Nel off the sink and placed her on the floor and she held onto his leg as he faced the man. Grimmjow clenched his teeth, he was at a severe disadvantage having Nel with him. Ichigo would never forgive him if someone happened to her.

"My boss has extended an invitation to your lover he will not want to ignore," the man held out an envelope to Grimmjow and Grimmjow stared at it skeptically before he reached out and snatched it quickly. He did not take his eyes off the man in front of him as he stuffed the envelope in his pocket.

"That's all?" Grimmjow asked tensely.

The man nodded and turned away, "that is all."

Grimmjow watched the man leave the bathroom and waited a few minutes more just in case. He picked up Nel and walked out of the bathroom. The parlour was still quiet, moving like normal. He didn't let his guard down even as he walked out of the parlour and to his car. He looked around before he opened the door to put Nel in her car seat.

But it wasn't enough.

He grunted as he was knocked into his car and he turned his body to fend off his assailant but Nel was stolen from his arm with a scream and a silencer barrel was pressed to his abdomen.

"My boss gives his best to Kurosaki Ichigo and hopes to see him soon."

All Grimmjow could hear were Nel's screams and the beating of his own heart. The bullet tore through his abdomen and the man escaped with his colleagues. He tried to run after them but the blood just slipped through his fingers no matter how hard he pressed. He watched them disappear into a black van before he fell to his knees.

He laid on the ground and tried to breathe normally. Someone screamed and he closed his eyes, his hand still pressed to his bleeding wound. Would he die here? Ichigo's face flashed across his mind and he smiled. No, he couldn't. Not yet.

He grunted as his hand was removed and replaced by another and he squinted his eyes open. Someone leaned over him and spoke to him but he couldn't understand their words. He felt the mask placed over his face and his eyes rolled back.

"Don't worry Jaegerjaquez-sama, we've got you now."

If he didn't die from blood loss, Ichigo was going to kill him instead.