A/N- I killed off both of the main characters in the last chapter. Come to think of it, I killed off Ichigo earlier, too. Man, I'm becoming some sort of butcher. Ah well, at least it isn't permanent! And sorry for the delay on this. To tell the truth, this story is quite difficult to write. Keeping the details straight is really tough, and I keep writing myself into corners. Thanks for the patience, though. Enjoy!

Pairings/Disclaimer/Warnings- It's the same old stuff. Except some language, I guess. It's no big deal, really.

Chapter 7- Q&A

"Hey… Ichi!"

A voice broke through the blackness that was my sleep. I began to slowly wake up from my slumber. I looked around and saw that the day hadn't quite broken yet. It was the pale blue that you often see in the early mornings. I didn't spend much time reflecting on that, though, because standing next to my window was Grimmjow.

I'm not proud to admit this, but I panicked for a moment.

"What the hell are you doing in my room!" I demanded.

Grimmjow winced "Shhhhh! Everyone's still asleep!"

I glared at him, but silently agreed to make as little noise as possible. Grimmjow listened intently for any sign of movement from the other parts of my house. When he didn't hear anything, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We got killed yesterday." Grimmjow stated matter-of-factly.

I agreed with him "It's become depressingly normal for me."

Grimmjow nodded thoughtfully before asking me a question "So, how much do you remember before you… died?"

I thought back "Well, first you were shot. When I tried to figure out how to stop the bleeding, it seemed like you weren't breathing. Before I could confirm that, though, I was shot in the shoulder. I looked around for the shooter, and found him or her, but I couldn't make out their face or tell anything about them before I was shot again, which is where my memory cuts out. Is that how you remember everything?"

Grimmjow blinked before answering "Yep. That's exactly how I remember it."

Liar.

That bastard had just lied to me! I'd been letting him get away with it because it hadn't seemed all that important and to be honest, I just didn't know the guy that well. But this was unacceptable! We'd not just almost been killed we HAD been! If that didn't get the guy to tell the truth I had no clue what would! At any rate, I wasn't about to let him get away with it again.

"You lie a lot." I murmured in the silence, sure he would hear me.

He looked surprised, but then he owned up to it "Yeah."

"Why?"

"To protect you."

"Me specifically?"

"More like everyone I meet who asks questions. You just ask a lot of questions." He said with a grin.

I felt the urge to grin back, but I wanted to keep the conversation serious, so I suppressed it.

After a few silent minutes, me still in my bed and he still standing by the window, I shifted to sit on one side of the bed and gestured for him to sit on the other half. He took me up on my offer and we lay side by side on the bed. We didn't face each other, but rather just looked up at the ceiling and rested for the day ahead. Another few minutes passed and I decided to break the silence.

"Protect me from what?"

He sighed "Dangerous people."

"People like Gin?"

"Yeah."

"And Aizen?"

"How'd you know?" He asked, though he didn't sound surprised in the least.

"You said it would be dangerous to investigate him." I reminded him.

Grimmjow just sighed again, it was clear that he had little or no desire to continue the conversation, but I was finally getting somewhere with him and I wasn't about to let this opportunity go.

"How do you know they're dangerous?" I questioned him.

"I used to work for them. Well, Aizen anyway. He's the leader of an… organization around here. That and he owns and runs the Karakura Paranormal Society."

He shifted in his spot, and rose up to lean against the headboard. He could look down at me if he wanted to, but didn't. I just looked at him and waited for him to go on with his story.

"I met Aizen when I was walking outside that building. He was just leaving for the day. At the time, I was unemployed and strapped for cash. Whenever I worked at a job, I always got into fights with customers or other employees, be it a physical or a verbal fight. Regardless, it was usually my fault and I got fired a lot. For whatever reason, Aizen offered me a job on the spot. No questions asked, no credentials needed."

"What kind of job was it?" I asked.

He glanced down at me, then answered "Espionage."

"Ha ha, very funny." I said sarcastically.

He looked into my eyes and held the gaze before he started to speak.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," He began in a mechanical tone, "hair color: Orange, eye color: Brown, blood type: A, height: 5'9", weight: 134 lbs, birthday: July 15th, favorite food: chocolate and spicy things, looks up to: William Shakespeare, hobbies: karate and schoolwork, Special Abilities: Fighting and…"

Grimmjow trailed off there. That second special ability was fairly obvious anyway. What wasn't as obvious was how he know all this crap about me. I mean, none of them were big secrets of mine, but it's not like I go shouting around that I like Shakespeare.

"How do you know all that?" I questioned him.

"I told you. Espionage." He answered, not smiling.

"But I never saw you… how could you find all this out without actually following me?" I demanded.

He grinned again, "You'd be surprised how much you can find out about a person without meeting them. Find out who your friends and tail them, they'll talk about you eventually. Also, just because you can't see someone doesn't mean you can't hear them. Who said I had to be in your sight range at all? … and I kind of like to think I'm good at my job."

I considered that, deciding not to act emotionally until I got all the facts, "When I first met you, though, you didn't seem to react as if you knew me."

"Acting's just a part of the job, Ichigo." He countered.

"So why were you watching me?" I asked.

He frowned, "I don't know, actually I wasn't that high up in the organization. After awhile, though, I started to get the sense that they weren't on the up and up. I may have fewer scruples than most, but I'm pretty sure I had more than them. Anyway, whatever they wanted me to watch you for, it probably wasn't anything good, and you seemed like a good kid, so I ended my affiliation with them."

"This is crazy. Things like this don't happen!" I shouted.

"Shh!" He cautioned "Your sisters!"

I stood up off the bed and glared at them "You've been following me and my friends for who knows how long and all you can tell me is to quiet down! What's the matter with you!"

At least the bastard had the decency to look guilty.

He grimaced and looked away "I know I'm asking something unreasonable, but could you look past it? At least until we figure out what's going on? I think we should work together."

I gave him my angriest glare. 'something unreasonable' is a bit of an understatement. He wanted me to just ignore the fact that he'd been stalking me! On the other hand, he could be valuable in investigating all the mysteries that were going on in my life right now. It was a tough call. Various parts of my mind fought it out and in the end I settled on a middle of the road course of action.

"Look, you're somehow involved in all of this, so I can't just cut you out, but at the same time I'm still furious at you for spying on me." I told him "So, we're going to spend some time apart. I don't care what you do, but just stay out of my way for today and find me tomorrow."

Grimmjow nodded, seemingly relieved.

"What are you going to be doing?" He asked.

"I'm going to go to class." I answered.

"We got murdered yesterday and your top priority is schoolwork!" He yelled incredulously.

I glared at him "Quiet, you idiot! And of course it isn't! Aizen is a professor at my school, remember? I'm going to investigate him."

Grimmjow looked shocked "You never told me that."

"Didn't I?" I wondered aloud "Whatever. I'm telling you now."

He didn't look amused. In fact he looked a little anxious, if anything. If Aizen was someone that made Grimmjow nervous then he must certainly have a few secrets to hide. I was going to find them out, one way or another.

"Just be careful. You have no idea what he's capable of." Grimmjow warned.

"And you are?" I scoffed "Don't worry. Worse comes to worst he'll kill me and I'll just wake up today."

"Death's not the worst thing that can happen to a person." Cautioned Grimmjow.

"And what do you mean by that?" I asked.

He ignored my question and instead said "I should get going. Be careful."

With that he was climbing out my open window. I watched as he made his way across a tree branch that was conveniently close to the window. He shimmied himself down the tree, looked at me, gave a wave, and then was off to do whatever it was he had planned.

I sighed, still mad at him, but finding the mood harder to maintain now that I didn't have the person there to actively rage at. Glancing at the clock I noticed that it was about time for me to be getting up, so I decided to preemptively turn my alarm off and jump in the shower.

I like to take long showers, so by the time I got out Karin was at the breakfast table and Yuzu was starting breakfast. Yuzu said good morning and I said the same. Karin nodded at me in greeting and I nodded back. We made small talk for a few minutes before Yuzu announced that breakfast was ready.

I was just about to bite into a slice of toast when knocking was heard at the door. Yuzu started to get up, but I stood up and was walking before she could even protest. I already knew who was at the door anyway.

I opened the door, and before I even looked or the person had a chance to say hello the words were already coming out of my mouth.

"Hey, Rukia." I said.

She blinked "Hello, Ichigo! How did you know it was me?"

"You're too predictable. I always know when you're coming over." I covered quickly.

She 'hmmm'd' thoughtfully, seeming to accept my answer.

"Well?" She said.

"Well what?" I asked back.

"Invite me in!" She demanded.

That was Rukia for you. She might be nice most of the time, but she was rather blunt and didn't have any problems saying what she meant.

I held the door open for her as she crossed the threshold into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. Whenever Rukia comes over in the mornings, she's always somehow just in time for breakfast.

"Oh, hello Rukia! Will you be joining us for breakfast?" Yuzu called, simultaneously greeting and inviting her over.

Rukia was quick to smile at her "I think I just might, if that's alright."

"Hey." Karin said by way of greeting.

"Hello." Rukia responded.

I believe I mentioned this about Rukia, but one of my favorite things about her was the way she both created and took control of conversations. That way there were never any awkward silences and I didn't have to participate much. That's the way I liked it.

Conversation continued on for several minutes before I finally finished breakfast. Rukia was free to hang around if she wanted, but I didn't feel like waiting. I had to figure out what was going on with Aizen. I got up and grabbed my backpack and headed for the door. Rukia saw this and wasn't far behind.

"You could tell me when you're leaving every now and then. You'd only have to wait for about a minute…" Rukia said as we began walking to school.

"Well, the result would be the same, so what's the difference?" I countered.

She sighed, but didn't continue the argument. She probably sensed that she wouldn't get very far with me, I was too stubborn.

She decided to change the subject "So, the other day, Orihime was telling me about how she's never had a boyfriend. I couldn't believe it! She's so cute, it's surprising. You think she's cute, right Ichigo?"

"Sure." I agreed easily.

"We should get her a boyfriend." she said, staring at me intently.

I saw what she was getting at, but I just don't see Orihime that way. However, that wasn't really a conversation that I wanted to have with Rukia, so I decided to just play dumb for as long as possible.

"I agree. We should get Uryu to ask her out." I suggested.

"Uryu!" She exclaimed "Why him?"

"Well," I started to explain "he doesn't have a girlfriend and he gets along better with her much better than he gets along with most people. Plus, they both have their strange habits, so I think they're a good match."

To my shock and satisfaction she actually seemed to consider it! If this got her off my case and onto Uryu's then this was officially the best offhand comment I'd ever made. Of course, poor Orihime would actually have to go out with Uryu, but it was the lesser of two evils. It's not that I hated Uryu or anything, but the guy was difficult to deal with on his best day. Rukia opened her mouth to say something, probably to hint at me asking Orihime out yet again, but she was interrupted.

"Hey Rukiaaaaa! Ichigooooo!"

Speak of the devil, it was the girl herself. She sprinted about a block and a half to catch up to us. When she did, she doubled over, breathing hard to catch her breath. She apparently wasn't much of a runner because, to me, she hadn't even seemed to be going that fast.

"Glad… I… caught… you…" she panted heavily.

Rukia seemed concerned "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… fine." She reassured us, finally getting control over herself.

We started walking towards school, the girls' chatter washing over me. Every now and then a sense of déjà vu would come over me, but I knew it was because I vaguely recognized their conversation from the last time I'd ignored it. Man, that seemed like a lifetime ago.

"So, before you found us, Orihime, we were talking about Uryu." Rukia said "What do you think of him?"

"Oh, um…" she trailed off as she considered the question "Well, he's pretty nice, he's good at sewing, and he's really smart. He always helps me when I don't get something about homework! I like him."

"Oh really?" Rukia asked with a mischievous grin.

If it was me, I'd have gotten her implication, that maybe Orihime liked Uryu. Sadly, she wasn't talking to me and Orihime was clueless. With Rukia's fondness for subtlety in conversation, and Orihime's denseness towards anyone who didn't say something straight out, this conversation had to potential to continue into eternity. I had no desire to wait that long. The faster we got Uryu to ask Orihime out the faster Rukia would get off my case!

"We thought maybe you'd like to go out with him sometime." I blurted out.

That little comment got two pairs of eyes to lock firmly with mine. Rukia was annoyed at me, probably for ruining her fun. Orihime, on the other hand, was caught totally off guard. Her face was red and getting redder.

"Oh! I… uh…" she sputtered "He's… um, nice and sweet. Uh, I don't know… maybe?"

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. She apparently hadn't thought she'd say that. Maybe she knew more about who Orihime liked than she had previously let on. I'd asked her awhile back, but she said that Orihime didn't have her eye on anyone.

"But Orihime, what about…?"

Rukia let the question die there, but it was enough. Bingo. Orihime has a crush. Probably on me, but maybe I shouldn't assume that.

Orihime avoided looking at either of us "Well, waiting's not working, is it? Maybe I should try something different…"

With that, the three of us reached to school gates. Orihime snapped out of her little daze and looked around. She waved us a quick goodbye and ran off into the school, leaving Rukia and me to wonder about her behavior.

"Well, time to work on Uryu, I guess." Rukia sighed.

"As opposed to me?" I said under my breath.

Rukia turned to look at me "What?"

"Er, nothing." I said, not wanting to reveal that I knew.

She looked at me. Her face expressionless. She sighed and turned towards the school building.

"Whatever." she breathed "Let's just get to class."

If she wasn't going to press, then I wasn't going to complain. Together, we began to head into the building. Something didn't feel right. Was I forgetting something?

Oh yeah.

Aizen.

A/N- Not the most action filled chapter, I know. Still, some info on Grimmjow, and set up for next time. To tell you the truth, I'm having trouble with the pacing of this story. Should I speed it up? Keep it the same? I dunno… either way the stakes will be raised in a couple chapters or so. In more ways than one.

Thanks for reading, drop a review if you feel like it!

Now I answer your totally awesome reviews!

KamiKaze43v3r- Thank you! I honestly don't like action because I don't think I'm very good at it, but if you approve, I guess it's not as bad as I thought.

Eternal Love's Eclipse- You… laughed? Aaaah, that's why I hate writing action! I'm no good at it! Ah well, at least you had a strong positive reaction to it, right? Ha ha, silver lining for the win! Thanks. Pacing is one of my biggest concerns in this story. There's so much detail to keep track of, it makes MY head spin and I'm the one that wrote it! Bah, I sort of want to wrap up certain storylines just to shelve them, but then it wouldn't be as good…

Kichi Hisaki- You review about how he doesn't have to go to school and that's the first place I send him! Odd coincidence. Anyway! There's some Grimmjow information for you! Is that all there is to him or is there more? Beats me. I "write in the moment" so to speak.

Amaya21- Ha ha, thanks for the review. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.