A/N: I would like to thank these people for their reviews on chapter 7: Melynn and fanfic fanatic. Also for the people I'd already replied to. Especially to Kittens Hellfire. Happy birthday!

You guys asked me questions. It will be answered as the chapter goes on. Hold on tight to your seat!

Disclaimer: I don't use big word and I don't own Bleach. My work is not beta'd either

Grimmjow still remember the day Ulquiorra came up to him and told him (more like ordered him) to follow him to a kendo tournament. Grimmjow who was curious quickly agreed. If Ulquiorra, a total social outcast, asked him to go somewhere, especially if it was a tournament that he was not participating, then there was definitely something interesting going on.

Besides the few friends that he grew up with, Ulquiorra did not get along well with anyone else. He was always so reserved and acted as what was expected of him, which most of the time drove Grimmjow up the wall. Even though the rest of the cliques were pretty close, Ulquiorra is actually his best friend and vice versa. Ulquiorra only trusted Grimmjow with his deepest secret.

That was why when he saw what it was that caught Ulquiorra's interest at the tournament, it totally blew his mind away. That day, Ulquiorra who seldom (more like never) had any readable emotions, was for the first time perhaps in his life, opened up like a book. That was the first time for Grimmjow to see Ulquiorra showed so many emotions. It definitely took him by surprised. He didn't think that Ulquiorra even have those emotions. But more than anything, he was glad to know that Ulquiorra is not such a heartless stuck up bastard. That he too can feel with his heart.

His green emerald eyes lighted up when he saw a small petit kendoka having her way with her opponent who almost twice her height. She made it looked so effortless. She was unbeatable. Grimmjow thought that she was so similar to Ulquiorra in that way, whenever he held a shinai in his hand. Both he and Ulquiorra could not tear their eyes away from her.

"I want her," Ulquiorra said after the girl was declared victorious. Grimmjow's neck almost snapped as he turned to Ulquiorra in disbelieved because this friend of his had never shown even the slightest interest in the opposite sex before (A/N: No, I'm NOT implying he's gay).

"Huh?"

"You heard me, Grimmjow."

Grimmjow chuckled heartily after the whole idea of Ulquiorra liking someone sunk in. "Indeed I did. Now what?"

"Now we meet her."

They both walked up to the girl and almost got their head knocked off with her shinai. She had mistaken them as another harasser. Once again Grimmjow was amazed at her amazing reflexes.

"Whoa… feisty, ain't you?" chuckled Grimmjow as he stopped her shinai with his left hand. Rukia eyes turned to slit as she looked at him.

"What do you want?"

"You were pretty impressive back there."

The girl did not lower her guard. She just glared at the two of them. This made Grimmjow chuckled even more. He decided that he really like this girl.

"I can see why you like her, Schiffer."

Ulquiorra glanced warningly at Grimmjow but the blue haired teen ignored him. Grimmjow just wanted to see the girl's reaction when she knew with whom she was dealing with. Everyone knows who Schiffer is in this part of the world so usually when girls learned who he is; they started to act all bitchy, clingy and shit. Grimmjow hated that, so did Ulquiorra. Unconsciously Grimmjow prayed that this girl is not like the many bitches he knew.

Slowly her gazed fell upon Ulquiorra. Their eyes met and something just clicked. Grimmjow knew it sounded cliché but hell it was the fucking truth.

Grimmjow saw a flicker of recognition in the girl's deep purple eyes but she remained in her position, defiant as ever whilst her shinai was still in Grimmjow's grasp. Grimmjow can see the blushes that creep up on her cheeks though at the realization of what he just said and he thought that she looked kinda cute. Well scratched that. Grimmjow thought that she looked incredibly cute.

"I asked you what you want," repeated the girl, still very feisty. Grimmjow thought he saw Ulquiorra breaths a sigh of relieve, knowing that this girl is not the average girls he usually acquainted with. It reminded him that he was unconsciously holding his breath too. He lets the air filled his lungs once again.

"We… I want to congratulate you," said Ulquiorra. Grimmjow smirked. He thought Ulquiorra was so smitten he allowed the cat to get a hold of his tongue.

At Ulquiorra's words, the girl carefully slackened her grip on her shinai before let it down at her side.

"Thanks," said the girl. She eyed them warily as she started to gather up her things. The awkward silence continued for a few minutes longer until the girl finished her packing and was ready to leave. "Thanks again. I got to go now," said the girl, this time with a genuine smile on her lips.

Needless to say, they were both taken aback with how beautiful the smile was.

"Wait!"

The girl stopped short in her track and looked back at the two of them. Even Grimmjow is curious with what Ulquiorra had in mind.

"We can send you back," Ulquiorra said in a tone more like an order instead of an offer. Grimmjow had to stop himself from face-palming.

As Grimmjow expected, the smile was gone. Once again her guard was up.

"No, thank you. I can manage on my own. Now, if you'll excuse me –"

"Ulquiorra."

The girl looked at Ulquiorra and then at Grimmjow bewilderedly. "Huh?"

"His name is Ulquiorra. I'm Grimmjow," said Grimmjow quickly, trying to engage her attention once again. He wasn't sure why he bothered but he knew he did not want this girl to go just yet and it seems like Ulquiorra did not mind if he took the lead either.

"Oh…"

Awkward silence once again.

"Look… I really have to go."

"We didn't catch you name," stated Grimmjow.

It was obvious the girl seemed reluctant to tell them anything. Grimmjow knew he had to do something but before he got the chance to act, Ulquiorra already took the necessary action.

He offered her a place in the school, and be part of the kendo club. Grimmjow was so surprised he choked on his saliva where else the girl just looked incredulously at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra had never used his influence anywhere before, especially not at school even though his parent has made the largest donation in the history of the school. He was not one to use his position as a Schiffer to get what he wanted and yet…

"Ulquior –"

The glared he received from the emerald eyed teen shut Grimmjow up. He knew that look all too well. Ulquiorra has made his mind up and nothing could change that. Grimmjow glanced at the girl who looked confused than anything else, and back at Ulquiorra again. Damn, his friend is serious about wanting this chick.

"I… even if I want to, I… I couldn't afford the fees," replied the girl honestly almost inaudible.

"Just say yes," said Ulquiorra coolly. If Grimmjow did not know any better, he would think that Ulquiorra has no interest whatsoever towards this girl.

"Why are you doing this? It's not funny," the girl said. The look of hurt and disappointment passed her features. Grimmjow understood why. The offer was a rare opportunity. It was too good to be true. The school was only for the elitist which provided exceptional curriculum. By the look of it, this girl does not belong in that society. Hell, he doubt if she can even afford the uniform.

"I was not cracking any jokes," said Ulquiorra flatly.

The girl looked Ulquiorra straight in the eyes. The hurtful look has been replaced with anger. Before she turned to leave, Grimmjow heard she mumbled the word bastards underneath her breath. Grimmjow cannot blame the girl for being so defensive. He would too if anyone out of the blue offered him something that seemed so out of reach. It did feel like they were mocking her.

"So… that went well," Grimmjow tried to see Ulquiorra's reaction.

"I'm not done with her," with that said, Ulquiorra turned the other way and started walking leaving Grimmjow grinning all too knowingly.

True to his words, Ulquiorra found out every little thing that he needed to know about the girl. With his family connection, it took less than a week to found out where she lived or where she worked at. Grimmjow never thought that Ulquiorra as a stalker type but that girl just simply changed his friend. Grimmjow had never seen his friend so restless before. He even lost at a kendo sparring. The one and only time Grimmjow managed to beat him. Too bad no one would believe him since the others had already gone home after the practice was over.

The two of them lied down on the wooden floor, panting from the exertions. Ulquiorra could not believe he had just lost. Neither can Grimmjow. Both of their shinais were placed besides them.

"What happened to you?" asked Grimmjow, eyes staring at the fluorescent light on the ceilings. Tiredly he covered his face with a towel. He suddenly did not like how bright it was.

Ulquiorra said nothing. He held his right hand up which was still slightly shaking from the sparring. The light got through his opened fingers, creating shadows on his feature. After a few minute of silence and still no respond from Ulquiorra, Grimmjow lazily took the towel off of his face and turned to his friend. The quiet was unnerving even though Grimmjow thought that he had gotten used to it. Ulquiorra still played with his fingers and the shadows created made him looked even more mysterious. Just as Grimmjow was about to repeat the question, Ulquiorra dropped his hand to his side and sighed.

"I could not get her out of my mind," said Ulquiorra, putting his left arm to cover his eyes from the light. Grimmjow knew exactly who he was referring to. He had an idea of what was bothering his friend but he did not know that it was bothering him to this extend. Ulquiorra simply seemed to lost focus.

Grimmjow chuckled which warrant a glare from Ulquiorra.

"You are so hopeless Ulquiorra," said Grimmjow as he sat up and undone his bogu. Ulquiorra did the same.

"When are you going to meet that girl again?" asked Grimmjow.

"Her name is Rukia"

"Rukia what?"

"Just Rukia"

"Whoa, no family name?"

Ulquiorra did not answer the question. He did not have to. Now Grimmjow knew why it bothered Ulquiorra so much. Coming from his background, befriending a common people is already an offense. But to have fallen for a girl with no background was just asking for trouble.

"What exactly did you find out about her?"

Ulquiorra sighed again, a tell tale sign that it was not anything good. "She is involved with some really dubious people."

"Don't tell me that she belongs in a gang –"

Ulquiorra shook his head slightly, denying whatever Grimmjow was saying but refused to say anything else. Grimmjow knew that it was not time for him to find out about it.

"You know what this fucking means then, don't you?"

Ulquiorra nodded.

Grimmjow felt sorry for the guy yet at the same time had never been so proud of him. He never imagined that he would see the day Ulquiorra opposing and taking charge of his life. Grimmjow got to hand it to that girl – Rukia. She has just become even more intriguing.

"Are you ready to do this then?"

Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow as if he was retarded. Grimmjow ignored the condescending look. He got up and dusted his butt, a wide grin on his face.

"So why the fuck are you still sitting here mopping about it? Let's go and get the bi –"

Ulquiorra was up in an instant and had Grimmjow by the neck.

"Call her that and see your tongue on the floor," warned Ulquiorra. He was not even kidding about it. Grimmjow chuckled as a respond to the threat as he slowly peeled Ulquiorra fingers from his neck.

"I got it, I got it. Sheesh, relax Ulquiorra. People would have the wrong idea. They would have thought that you are in love with this girl or something," teased Grimmjow as he picked up his shinai. It pleased him to notice the red tinge of blush crept up on Ulquiorra's cheek. The old Ulquiorra would never be affected with such words. Like he said, his friend was hopeless.

They showered and hurriedly went to Rukia's work place where she worked as a waitress. Just by luck, she was the one who came to serve. Once she saw them, Grimmjow can tell she was fuming. She must have thought that they were there to mock her again. Without bothering to order anything, Grimmjow then requested to see the manager. The look of dismay passed her feature when she heard that and reluctantly brought Grimmjow to meet the manager in charge. He had discussed this with Ulquiorra. There was no way they were going to spend time in this dingy restaurant eating contaminated foods, even if it's for Rukia. That was why he came up with a plan of bribing the manager to release Rukia early from her shift so that they can talk to her. As expected, the manager quickly agreed when he saw the amount of dough offered.

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra dragged Rukia out of that restaurant with her still wearing her waitress uniform. They did not give a damn about the other people who were staring at them. They practically kidnapped Rukia that day. Rukia did not struggled much until after they put her in the car. She was too shocked to react accordingly.

Grimmjow drove the car while Ulquiorra sat with her at the back seat. She was ready to jump out of the car if Ulquiorra did not stop her. Grimmjow just love how feisty she was.

"What the hell do you guys want with me?" asked Rukia. A valid question, Grimmjow thought. But he was not going to say anything. From now onwards, the show belongs to Ulquiorra… who was quiet as a mouse. Grimmjow facepalmed.

"Relax lady, we are not going to harm you," said Grimmjow to cover up for Ulquiorra. Rukia scoffed.

"Did Gin send you guys?"

Grimmjow was not prepared to hear that name from her lips. Was this what Ulquiorra meant? He chanced a glance at Ulquiorra who did not look please at all but still refused to utter a word. Sometimes Grimmjow just wanted to kick his ass. He would too if he was not too busy being his chauffeur!

"We have nothing to do with that bastard," answered Grimmjow flatly.

"Then where are you taking me?" Grimmjow can tell that she has relaxed a bit though still wary of them. That was good. Now if only Ulquiorra stop being so –

"We thought that this is the only way that you would hear me out," Ulquiorra began.

"About what?" asked Rukia.

"The offer –"

"What offer?"

Grimmjow knew that Ulquiorra does not like people interrupting him so he expected at least a death glare to be thrown at the girl. What he saw however was the opposite. Ulquiorra's eyes were full of life as he looked at the girl, no doubt admiring her beauty. Because she does has that unconventional beauty about her, Grimmjow thought to himself as he stole a glance at her from the rear view mirror.

"I want you to join our kendo club –"

"And I thought I told you I can't afford it so yeah, you can dropped me off here," Rukia tapped Grimmjow's shoulder signaling him to stop the car.

"Continue driving, Grimmjow," ordered Ulquiorra. Grimmjow gritted his teeth. He did not sign up for this. And why was he feeling so hot tempered all of a sudden. He was the one who planned all of these. He chanced another look at the girl from the rear view mirror. Her face was flushed and she was pouting.

Aww… how cute.

And he was jealous.

Whoa… where the fuck was that thought coming from? Grimmjow shook his head. He must concentrate on the road.

"You don't have to worry about the fees –"

Once again Grimmjow can hear her scoffed. "What do you want in return then?"

"Nothing –"

The girl snickered at that. Grimmjow found himself snickering too. God, this girl was infectious!

"Nothing in this world is for free, Mr. Schiffer," Grimmjow cringed at her tone. "You might think so because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. But for the likes of me, we have to earn every crumb of bread that goes into our mouth."

Both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra have no words to say to that. Knowing that her feelings had finally got to their heads, she once again instructed Grimmjow to stop the car but this time, Grimmjow did not need an order from Ulquiorra. He kept his foot on the pedal gas. This girl is just too interesting. He knew exactly how Ulquiorra was feeling now and he silently begged for Ulquiorra to say something, anything that prevented her from forever be gone out of their lives.

"What can I do to change your mind?" as if on queue, Ulquiorra questioned Rukia.

"Nothing," was the adamant answer. "Now send me back to my work place."

"I will not allow you to leave this car until we have reached an agreement."

Rukia glared dagger at Ulquiorra then. They are already on the highway so jumping out of the car was no longer an option. Rukia wished she has someone she can call for help at that moment.

"Why me?"

"Because you are an exceptional kendoka." Grimmjow shook his head in silent at Ulquiorra's answer. That was not the answer to convince the girl and both he and Ulquiorra knew it.

"That's bullshit."

"No, you really are fucking amazing at it, lady," said Grimmjow trying to convince her but of course the said lady ignored him.

"You don't need me. You're the reigning state champion –"

"I still want you…" Ulquiorra looked at Rukia straight on. She blushes all shades of red when that deep green eyes of his bored into her own purple orbs. "As part of my team," added Ulquiorra as an after thought.

Way to kill the fucking mood, Ulquiorra.

The three of them drove in silence afterwards for almost 10 minutes before Rukia timidly asked whether or not her fees will settle through scholarship or study loans. Grimmjow could not help but burst out laughing. The school they went to does not give out loans or scholarship. It is for the elitist. You can be a student in that school either because you are rich or you got a sponsor.

"Just say yes and consider the fees settled."

"No."

God this girl is stubborn!

"Let's have a spar. If I win, I can walk away from whatever sick game you guys are playing me right now," she said with confidence.

"What if you lost?" asked Grimmjow.

"Then I'll accept your offer."

Grimmjow chuckled. "You sound confident that you can beat him."

"He knows I can."

Grimmjow chuckled turned to a laughing fit. Ulquiorra accepted the challenge but he has his own condition too. If he wins, she must granted whatever he wanted from her. Because she is a proud girl, she too agreed with his condition without asking what it was that he desired.

Grimmjow brought them to Ulquiorra's place since he has a fully equip dojo. Surprisingly she was not taken with how grand the place is. Her mind was definitely focused on the sparring. The determination of these two people kind of making him nervous and he had all the right to feel like that because the spar was intense. He thought that they were similar before when he first saw her at the tournament but he didn't expect her to be this good. She sure got Ulquiorra a run for his money. Her confidence was just not empty talk. She backed it up with stunning skills that will put his to shame. Watching the fight was like watching two beautiful people dancing. They were both so fucking good at it was exhilarating. Even though physically Ulquiorra has the advantage, mentally Rukia has the upper hand. Ulquiorra has finally met his match.

In the end, they were tied and since they were both agreed before the sparring started that Grimmjow will be the only referee present, he decided the winner through Hantei.

They were both lying on the wooden floor of the dojo, exhausted from the sparring, much like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were that afternoon. The blue haired guy walked over to them and handed them a bottle of water prepared by the servants earlier on. He then squatted next to Ulquiorra.

"He wins," Grimmjow said declaring the winner.

Her pride did not allow her to complain about it. "He won," she confirmed.

Ulquiorra slowly sat up and looked at Rukia. He knew the three of them knew that the result should be hiki-wake so it astounded him that Rukia did not protest.

"I won," he repeated, just to see what her reaction would be.

Rukia sighed as she sat up as well. "Yes, you did."

Grimmjow hugged Ulquiorra then. Mission accomplished but he can sense that Ulquiorra was not happy. Grimmjow has been friends with Ulquiorra long enough to know to read the signs. He knew Ulquiorra could never say whatever he planned to say to her if he was around so he reluctantly excused himself.

They sat in silence for a long time after Grimmjow had left. Ulquiorra has never felt so vulnerable as he did at that moment. His body then moved on its own accord, finding the courage. He went to where Rukia was, got on his knees, and cupped her cheeks with both of his hands so that she looked up to him. His green eyes pierced into hers which left her speechless.

"Free me, Rukia," pleaded Ulquiorra before he leans down and kissed her. Rukia understood then that this was what he meant when he set his condition earlier. Looking into those deep green eyes of his, she only saw a boy drowning, waiting to be rescued. She was not sure what has gotten into her but she found herself kissing him back.

She tasted as good and as sweet as he had imagined her would be. Ulquiorra was intoxicated.

They ended up doing more than just kissing that night.

Grimmjow found out what happened the next day from Ulquiorra. He made him promised that this stayed between the two of them. It was understandable. A scandal would probably mean conflict with the neighboring country since he is practically engaged to the royal princess.

"I assumed she knew about the engagement?" asked Grimmjow warily. Even though he is his friend, he did not like the idea of seeing Rukia hurting.

"I would assume the same thing since it was all over the news."

"And she is okay with it?"

"We didn't actually discuss the subject last night," said Ulquiorra flatly. Grimmjow facepalmed.

"You both are crazy fuckers, you know that right?"

Ulquiorra laughed. He actually laughed out loud!

"She definitely is –"

"Oh shut up, Ulquiorra!"

And that was how their relationship started. Rukia got into the school several weeks later. Ulquiorra paid for her school fees but she made him signed a contract saying that it was a study loans and she will pay him back. Knowing by now how stubborn she was, Ulquiorra signed the papers.

Turned out she knew about the engagement only after the day she lost her virginity to him. She called Ulquiorra up and asked about it straight up. Ulquiorra explained the situation. Amazingly, she was very calm about it which made Grimmjow respects her even more but according to Ulquiorra they never did sleep together again after that. Grimmjow felt sorry for his sexually frustrated friend sometimes.

Rukia also made Ulquiorra promised not to reveal their relationship to anyone which means that he cannot protect her from the bullies. He tried once but Rukia was so furious about it, Ulquiorra had to back off. Then there were the issue of jealousy. He might not look like it but Ulquiorra got extremely jealous when it comes to Rukia. He detests Renji and his friends because they were all too chummy with her. When he found out that Rukia changed job as a maid café waitress, he secretly bought the place and instructed the manager to close down the place whenever she was on shift with pretense that he had booked the place for that day.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Ulquiorra and Rukia both knew that they were playing with fire and they were both ready for the consequences.

Grimmjow does not believe in God but for these two people, he will get on his knees and pray that they will be alright.

###

Several weeks have passed since the day at the café where he humiliated himself. Rukia is still ignoring him outside the dojo and during sparring she is ruthless and merciless as always. Ichigo could not get the chance to talk to her properly and apologize. Ichigo knows that she has every right to treat him this way but it is still a bruise to his ego. It only gets worse when he sees her and Ulquiorra together.

It makes him rage.

She deserves more than that.

She deserves someone who really loves her, not just as substitute.

But first he needs to make her remembers. He has think long and hard of the most strategic way to win her over.

Ichigo fishes out his cell phone and dials Urahara number. He answers after the second rings. "Get the money ready," instructs Ichigo.

"As you wish," replies Urahara gleefully.

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