Yay! I wrote another chapter! Frankly I surprised myself since I didn't really remember that well where this story was going. Thankfully today I was attacked by plot bunnies and I wrote it all down.

I wrote this today, that is the same day I'm publishing it so if there are grammar mistakes I apologize, I reread it several times but I always find something I missed before.

Must I repeat myself like in all other chapters? I'll do it just in case. Bleach does not belong to me it belongs to Tite Kubo, if it were it'd be a yaoi. A steamy one. Rated "M" right now for swearing.

Nel was beginning to grow desperate, not only had she left her precious companions behind she had not managed to see Ichigo at all since the fight. She was going to have to go get them and bring them along; she feared she would loose them to a mean hollow or loose arrancar.

Grimmjow was sulky and in a bad mood, he had already managed to pick a fight with about a dozen different men on the street and had no inclination to stop anytime soon. She didn't want to leave him behind but things weren't looking too good here at the moment.

Ever since the fight Grimmjow has evaded going anywhere near Ichigo's home. They could tell where it was by the reiatsu similar to his that could only be his father, whom they managed to catch a glimpse of as he had been walking near Urahara's shop.

Arrancars still seemed to be loose in Karakura, but it seemed not all of them worked for the same team. There was definitely one team set up permanently in Karakura and Nel had made it her mission to find their hideout with a reluctant Grimmjow providing backup.

However, the two of them were not enough to cover so much ground. So she soon found herself gazing at the open garganta on her way back to Hueco Mundo to fetch her dear brothers and any help she could find.

"I don't see the point in going back too." Grimmjow drawled sitting in the cushion he had stolen in the dirty floor of "their" apartment. "Your idiots don't like me that much and I don't like them. Besides, there aren't that many arrancars left alive, much less any that will help you keep Ichigo safe."

"I need to try Grimm," Nel said stepping lightly onto the garganta. "Ichigo is my friend. Besides, if you helped him then why would anyone else refuse to help him?"

"I did not help him!"

"Yes you did," she said poker faced.

"Nope." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I'm pretty sure you did."

"I just needed answers that's all."

"So why don't you go ask him them?" Nel crossed her arms as well.

"His stupid friends will just attack me!"

"So? You'll probably enjoy tearing them apart."

"But Ichigo will get mad."

"You're not his friend so why does it matter? All you need are answers after all."

Grimmjow did not answer. He stared at the wall, clearly conflicted by something but Nel felt it was not time to pressure him. He would mend his ways little by little on his own. He just needed good friends who could help guide him and she was sure Ichigo would be one of them.

'All in due time,' she thought as she left without further discussion.

Grimmjow was having a bad day; in fact he was having a bad week. It all started ever since he stood in front of Ichigo and his brain decided to turn on his conscience and the useless hormones that create "feelings" and not the good kind either.

He was disgusted with himself.

He was feeling guilty, there he said it… He did not regret attacking Ichigo in the past, but he felt guilty for some unknown reason. He had only been doing what he was ordered to do.

Okay maybe not "ordered" but implied right? He was made for ass-kicking so obviously Aizen had no other reason to allow him to go to Karakura other than to fight the orange-haired idiot.

He had opted to evade him like the plague until he managed to get a hold of himself again. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to ask Ichigo anymore. It felt like a pretty dumb idea now that he thought about it.

Ichigo clearly had a hero complex so the fact that he prevented Nnoitra from killing him was just him being the hero again. It's like Nel said; they weren't friends.

He hated the time he spent away from Nel, not because he would miss her but because her annoying presence and never ending chatter about her favorite gay scientist and his pervy daughter (she had been smart enough not to speak of the tall captain that had almost kicked his ass, which obviously would not have happened if he had been fully fed) had drowned out the current thoughts that had been plaguing him recently.

Now in the silent room they shared that no longer smelled as musty but of the scraps of food left from the meal they had managed to obtain, his annoying brain once again managed to go into thought overdrive.

He got up and moved his cushion closer to the window where the afternoon sun hit in just the right angle and heat for a nap. He laid face down as comfortably as he could almost purring from the feeling of the sun in his back and closed his eyes. Sleep would not come to him. A part of him already knew it wouldn't, since it would not be the first time in this very crappy week.

He kept reliving the fight he had had with the arrancar and the pleasure he had felt destroying him. However, he was no longer sure where the pleasure was originating from; the bloodshed he loves causing so much or the fact that he was ensuring Ichigo's safety.

He groaned into his pillow, digging his face in deeper. His fingernails were restlessly scratching the floor from desperation. It was like that man who smelled of piss and wine he had fought two nights ago.

The homeless man had been jumpy with a desperate, crazed look in his eyes. It was clear that he had not had anything to drink in some time enough for him to have sobered up. Maybe that was what was happening to him.

What did they call it? Oh yeah, withdrawal.

He was withdrawing from mindless murder and mass destruction. What a sad way to go, death by conscience. Stupid brain.

He had tried to go back to his old ways, he really did. But every time he started beating up the human he had picked as his victim, Ichigo's face would continue to pop up and he'd soon give up. Black eyes and some broken bones were the only things he had inflicted on his victims. No torture, no over-the-top bloodshed and most definitely no kills.

He was disappointed at himself.

"I've gone soft," his growled confession only heard by his new friend the cushion. "I'm ruined."

He did not notice how fast the time went by until he felt a cold breeze on his back. The sun was well on his way to settling down for the night as darkness replaced him with its companion the moon.

What a waste of good sunlight that had been. He had not even enjoyed it one bit in blissful sleep.

He was at a loss on what to do next. Usually Nel would be the one moving him around looking for food or the "enemy" or as he likes to call "the arrancar that were still mentally healthy enough to want Ichigo's head on a platter".

He wasn't sure when she'll be back but since it would be embarrassingly enough to die of sleep deprivation he was not about to add starvation to it. The food left from their earlier meal was no more than a few crumbs, definitely not enough to satisfy him.

He collected the hard pizza crusts and made his way outside the building throwing them in a nearby trashcan… or what used to be the homeless man's "home" before Grimmjow decided to evict him.

He looked up and down the streets; the buildings that surrounded his were just as depilated and ready to fall down at any moment as the one housing them.. No one except criminals and people of questionable hygiene ever came to the zone.

He hoped his cushion and small possessions he and Nel had acquired in this past week would be safe from thieves for the moment. His growling stomach reminded him of the hour and so he set out at a relatively slow pace with his hands firmly tucked inside his jean pockets, shivering slightly from the cool breeze.

Hey, just 'cuz he's badass didn't mean he was immune to the cold.

It was fully dark out when he arrived at a more commercial friendly area. The different smells coming from the restaurants were making his mouth water; he had some money left that his victims had so kindly given to him as exchange for a no-kill pass. Obviously that hadn't worked out for them so good.

Well, maybe a little since he hadn't actually killed them anyway thanks to Ichigo's ever present face in his mind.

"No! Stop thinking about him!" He said out loud, rubbing his hair in an attempt to rub him out of his head. The people walking near him, which were freaked out enough about his blue hair and tough-guy clothes, began to give him an even wider berth.

He began to walk faster going in the direction of a ramen shop when he bumped into someone. He turned around ready to cuss out the person when he stopped in his tracks, looking at his would-be victim.

Fuck. Just his luck.

How the hell is he supposed to get the ex-shinigami out of his damn head when he's got him right in front of him?

'Shit'

"I've been looking for you." The orange-haired teen said seriously.

'Double shit'

"Yuroichi told me Urahara had sold you a gigai." He continued when Grimmjow remained silent. "My friends said you were the one who saved me from the arrancar. Is it true?"

"Blind idiots can't tell blue from green and male from female." Grimmjow lied gritting his teeth.

"So it's not true." Ichigo tilted his head thoughtfully. "Then why didn't you attack me? It's clear to me you were there since you know what I was talking about."

"What would I gain from fighting your weak ass?" The bluenette sneered looking down on the ex-shinigami. His frustration and anger were intensifying now that he was in front of the bane of his existence.

"Shut up!" Ichigo bit back, "in that gigai I can kick your ass."

"You keep telling yourself that maybe one day you'll believe it." Grimmjow grinned turning his back on Ichigo and making his dignified exit from the conversation. His victory was short lasted as he heard Ichigo's footsteps behind him.

"What idiot goes looking for the person that tried to kill him not long ago?" He asked despite himself.

"My enemy was Aizen. I have no quarrel with you." Ichigo said speeding up his steps to walk besides him.

"I attacked you." Pantera's wielder stopped, facing the teen. The thoughts that had been swirling in his head for weeks were now finally pushing their way out of Jaggerjack's mouth.

"So? I attacked you too. The fight is over, the war is over." Ichigo stopped to turning towards him and trapping him with his intense brown eyes. "It was you who saved me wasn't it?"

"Why did you save me from Nnoitra's attack?" Grimmjow countered.

"Because you were on the ground, he had no right to do that when you couldn't defend yourself properly." Ichigo said fiercely. "Why did you help me?"

"I just wanted to kill the arrancar, you just happened to be there."

"Bullshit. Do you really expect me to believe that?" Ichigo sighed as in defeat shaking his head. "This pettiness is getting us nowhere."

"Then leave me be." Grimmjow turned to the ramen shop that was now only a few feet from him.

"I just wanted to thank you." He heard softly behind him.

'Triple shit'

"You have to be the must insufferable enemy in the history of enemies." The blue-haired arrancar said tilting his head up to the sky where the stars and the moon shined softly.

He snapped his head back to his unwanted companion when he heard the latter's laughter.

"I just don't like holding grudges." Ichigo looked at the shop Grimmjow was heading to still smiling. "What do you say I buy you some ramen as thanks for saving me?"

"No thanks, I rather eat by myself."

"I don't plan on budging; I still have many questions left unanswered." Ichigo headed into the shop without looking back, knowing that Grimmjow had no choice but to follow him if he ever wanted to be free of his presence.

'Death by starvation doesn't sound so bad now.'

Grimmjow entered the shop, following the mop of orange hair.

Meanwhile in Soul Society:

Renji drank his tea thoughtfully as he stared at the man in front of him.

His Captain had been looking a bit less than his usual perfectly-composed self recently. In fact, he had been looking a bit sad ever since the news of Captain Zaraki's (mind-blowing) relationship with Captain Kurotsuchi had come to light.

Renji really couldn't see why his Captain would look sad; he expected disgust, contempt, and trauma from mental pictures of the two of them together in bed (he knew he had a few).

Another thing was the clear evasion of Zaraki towards Byakuya. Usually his ex-Captain would be pestering Kuchiki for a fight, taunting him. Now though, only a nodded salute was all he gave to the nobleman.

Something smelled rotten, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Say taicho…" Renji said slowly trying to fish out a conversation. "Why did the Soutaicho held a meeting today so suddenly?"

"Something has happened in Karakura that needs our attention." Kuchiki Byakuya said with a monotone voice. He placed down his cup of tea and looked out the window.

There it was again! The sad look.

"What happened there? Is Ichigo okay?" Renji asked, hoping for his friend's wellbeing.

"Yes, but the safety status of the city has changed." The nobleman said looking directly at his Lieutenant and his endless pile of unfinished paperwork. "Arrancars have begun entering the city; one of them tried to attack Kurosaki Ichigo but failed."

"Failed? But Ichigo can't defend himself." The red head wondered.

"It was not him who defeated the arrancar. It was another arrancar, one you are familiar with." The Sixth Division Captain rose from his seat setting the last of his paperwork down. "The Soutaicho doesn't know what to make of all this so he's sending one of us to assess the situation."

"Who? Hitsugaya-taicho? He's always sending him." Renji asked hoping he could join the mission. Anything other than paperwork sounded like music to his ears, not to mention it would give him an excuse to see how his friends were doing.

"This time, I volunteered to go." He paused looking out the window again, and said before his Lieutenant could speak. "Yes you can come."

"Yes!" The red-head smiled putting down his brush and stretching out his arms and back, groaning in pleasure when they cracked back into place. "When will we be leaving?"

"Tomorrow at midday. However, we will be keeping our presence secret unless it is absolutely necessary to contact Kurosaki or his gang." With that the Captain made his graceful way out the door and towards his home.

Renji could jump for joy, not only was he skipping out on work but he would have the Captain all by himself to find out what's wrong with him.

And did he mention no paperwork!

That's it my dear readers, did you enjoy it? Did you not? Do you hate me 'cuz I took so long to update? It's alright you can tell me by writing down a review. I promise not to take so long next time.

Oh, and if you're reading my other story I'm updating that one tomorrow after I comb it thoroughly for errors.