During the cool embrace of the night, a man sat on an abandoned picnic table in the park, one leg pulled up and his elbow resting on his knee. He placed his chin on his forearm, his sky-blue orbs staring at the lake's sparkling, moonlit glow. He felt the cool autumn breeze filter over him, rustling his aqua colored hair. The wind cooled his heated body, but it wasn't doing much for the anger he felt. Grimmjow gazed at the cloudy night sky. He frowned at the way he was acting. Sure, he liked Michiko since they were kids, but that didn't mean he should sulk here like a love-struck teenager. He was a man now. Twenty-six years old meant that he needed to put that childish feeling away. Besides, it was out of his usual cocky and arrogant attitude.

"Keh," he scoffed. "Her fault, stupid bitch."

Grimmjow's words read anger, but the hurt etched deep in his core in a way he refused to acknowledge. He and Michiko had been friends since they were in elementary. He remembered their first encounter like it happened yesterday.

"Class, we have a new student," Mr. Arema, teacher of their fourth-grade class, said while smiling. "This is Michiko Takahashi."

A small girl hid behind the teacher's legs. Her burgundy hair filtered from the side of his tan khaki pants. Mr. Arema gazed down at her. "Don't be shy Michiko. Say hello to everyone."

"Hello," she whispered.

Grimmjow thought she was weird looking. It made the nine-year-old curious about the new student. Later, at recess, Grimmjow got a closer look. She was sitting in the sandbox by herself when Grimmjow walked over to her.

"You know," he started as he locked his hands behind his head and looked down at her. "You're kind of funny looking."

"Why?" she asked, doe eyes gazing up at him.

"Cause your eyes are that weird blue," he answered. "They shouldn't be that dark."

He looked closer. "They even got green in them."

"But your eyes are blue," she responded timidly. "Your hair is too so doesn't that make you weird looking?"

"No way," he said as he sat down next to her. "I'm Grimmjow."

She smiled at him in return.

They were inseparable from that moment on. As they got older, Michiko grew out of her shy nature and became bolder once junior high hit. Grimmjow was twelve when the realization that "she's a girl" hit him. She was the same age, developed breasts, and she was losing her lanky figure for a curvier one.

During high school, Michiko had a crush on a boy in her class. Grimmjow wanted him to get run over by a truck. Anytime he saw them walking in the hallways, him with that seductive smile and her giggling like a child; it burned him up. Something was off about that dickhead. He remembered walking home from school after wrestling practice and hearing voices in an alleyway a few blocks from the school. As he moved closer he heard, "Please stop, I don't want to do this". He jumped into action without a second thought.

As Grimmjow ran into the alleyway, he saw Michiko's boyfriend pressing her into the ground. He had her legs pinned underneath him and was trying to unbutton her grey blouse. Her attacker hiked her blue jean skirt over her hips, exposing pink panties. When Grimmjow saw the tears streaming down her face, his vision turned red. Grimmjow beat him until his face was unrecognizable. Michiko pulled him off, dragged him away, and ran. She didn't stop until they reached the spot by the lake where they always hung out. She sat on the bench and stared at the ground, fingers entwined in her lap and her burgundy hair falling over her face.

"I told you not to go anywhere alone with him!" Grimmjow yelled at her. "What would have happened if I wasn't there? I swear sometimes you're so fucking stupid!"

He stopped shouting when the hitched sounds of her crying reached his ears. She jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and wept into his shoulder. Her abrupt actions took him by surprise. Sure, she hugged him plenty of times before, but this was different. It was like she was running to him for protection. He exhaled and locked his arms around her waist. He was her protector and would keep her safe from all danger. It was at that moment Grimmjow realized how much she meant to him. He placed a hand on the back of her head and laid it against his chest. She was much shorter than him, so her head stopped at the base of his neck, but he liked it. Her size made it even more obvious that Michiko needed his strength to remain safe.

"Do something like that again and I'll beat you to a pulp," he murmured as he held her tighter.

"I know," she answered, closing her eyes and leaning her weight into his muscled form. "Thank you, Grimmjow."

An uncomfortable twinge in his chest surfaced as Grimmjow reminisced about their childhood together. It was true, he protected her from all he could until one day, she turned him away. Michiko found a man who she cared for more than him despite how she tried to deny it at first.

"Satoshi, you bastard," Grimmjow whispered, clenching his fists in anger.

It was because of him that Michiko was growing further away from him. Even though he told her he never cared for anyone like he did her, it wasn't enough. She stared at the floor and breathed," I'm sorry."

Grimmjow broke down the door and left. When he stopped, he was at that same spot from those many years ago when he vowed to protect her. Fury welled up inside him. She betrayed him, and his trust. He refused to have anything else to do with her. If she wanted to throw away over a decade of friendship because of her shitty boyfriend, fine.

"I can't wait to hate you," he sang barely over a whisper.

Michiko loved that about him. She would lean against his shoulder and ask to hear him sing, a gesture that always made him cave. His voice plus his hard exterior and good looks drew women to him. It didn't matter though because it wasn't enough to get the one girl he wanted. He continued to sing, emotions that irked him bubbling up, so he shoved them away. Grimmjow looked out over the dark lake again, not seeing it.

Someone stood a few feet away. She stopped when she heard a male singing with a voice that matched his handsome looks. She sensed the hurt and anger in his voice with every note. Her heart went out to him even though she didn't know him. Grimmjow's arms remained crossed over his knees, still oblivious to his spectator. He hated these feelings. They were for the weak, yet he allowed himself to visualize Michiko, those blue-green eyes bombarding his mind.

There was a part of the song that spoke of wanting to break through all the emotions and Grimmjow agreed. He wasn't going to lie; he'd put up a facade, but her rejection would sting longer than he cared to admit. He wished for Michiko to feel the same pain. He hoped with no remorse that Satoshi would break her heart. If he did, she would come to her senses. By then, Grimmjow would refuse to rekindle their relationship.

"You have an amazing voice."

Grimmjow turned toward the woman's speaking. He studied her form, eyes moving over her raven hair that caressed her shoulders in the cool breeze. Her white knee-length dress filtered around her, hugging her slim figure close; however, her shape isn't what caused his fixation.

Those eyes, he thought.

Not even a moment later, Grimmjow faced his back towards the woman and stood up. "Thanks," he said.

He turned to leave, but the woman grasped his arm. His sharp blue eyes gazed at her. "What do you want?!"

She blinked at his rudeness but brushed it off. "What's your name?"

"Why the hell does it matter?!" he snapped. "It's not like I'll see you again."

The woman shrugged. "Most likely. My name is Rukia Kuchiki and if I do run into you again, I want you to sing."

Grimmjow snorted, raising an eyebrow at her and giving her a cocky expression. "You're lucky that you got that much."

He yanked his arm from her and continued his way. Rukia took hold of his arm once more and pulled him back in annoyance. "Okay, so you're an ass. For putting up with your attitude, tell me your name."

"It's Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Happy?!"

"Content," she responded, using her free hand to hook strands of ebony hair behind her ear.

"Look, lady," he said forcing his irritation down. "I'm not in the mood to flirt so let go of me and I'll be on my way."

She frowned and released him, watching Grimmjow walk away. He didn't bother to look back. It was unusual for Rukia to allow someone to be so crass with her. If she were feeling like her usual self, she would have returned his sass. She sighed. Rukia didn't get angry at him for being so unsocial. She expected it since she could tell he was already going through a difficult time.

Lightning forked through the rolling clouds and rain filtered from the sky. Rukia turned to walk the in the opposite direction, the man's beautiful voice echoing through her mind. As the rain fell, she meandered along the water's edge. Why did she worry about him, anyway? She had her own problems to deal with. Rukia's boyfriend, well she should say, ex-boyfriend, Ichigo broke things off with her the day before. He said they were drifting apart and didn't think he loved her the same.

"Oh, I know why your feelings changed," Rukia said to herself bitterly, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

Ichigo became friends with a girl named Orihime. The moment he introduced the two, she knew, but she tried hard to keep their relationship going. They were in their sixth year of dating. Ever since they were sixteen years old. They were both now twenty-two and Rukia found it impossible to break a bond like theirs unless involvement from another person occurred. It tore her heart to pieces to know that Ichigo chose Orihime over her. After everything, he left her. Tears formed in her eyes just thinking about it. She wiped them away before they could fall.

Rukia stopped and turned her eyes upwards. Even it seemed gloomy that night. The rain poured and drenched her, but she stayed, staring into the darkness of the sky.