Chapter Seven: Dates, Promises, Idiot Employees, and Annoying Friends
Grimmjow looked down from atop the building he was perched on. A feral smirk played across his lips. He could feel the raw power coursing through is veins like fire and breathed in the calm night air. He could feel something in him stir and shift into place. Bone like armor covered his body, a tail growing from a place in his spine, furry, catlike ears growing into place, teeth growing sharp and pointed, hair growing back out to its long length with a wild look, and green accentuated lines around his eyes extending to his ears. His bone like tail swished back and forth behind him as he crouched down on reshaped legs in the form of the hind legs of a big cat on the ledge he was perched on. With a powerful spring of his hind legs, he bounded up into the air and began trailing along the rooftops.
The rooftops flew by under his feet until he reached the main part of the city. He hunched down on a roof ledge in front of a Jewelry store. Catty eyes blinked curiously as he watched people mill about down below. A smirk of amusement played across his lips at the aspect of having a little bit of fun this evening. Let the games begin.
As he continued his journey across the rooftops, the large, panther-like, teal haired man didn’t realize he was being followed by a set of golden eyes, watching curiously from higher up. Watery sounding mad giggles ripped through the quiet air. “So Pantera-kun is out to play? How fun. We’ll have to make contact soon, then. For now, little Panther, learn about this new power and we’ll see how you turn out.” With a steady jump, dark gold, almost orange hair flying around him, he pursued on behind Grimmjow quietly.
---
Grimmjow woke with a lazy yawn, sprawled out on his couch in nothing more than a pair of drawstring pants and a long sleeved, white, button up shirt. He blearily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings and sat up, stretching his arms. After blinking his eyes open he ran a hand through his hair, stopping dead when he felt short hair instead of his normal long locks. What the- He shot up off the couch and darted across the apartment to his bathroom. He shot inside and stared at his reflection with wide eyes. He reached up and tugged on his lightly blue locks of hair with wide eyes. He brought a hand down his face and fingered teal colored tattoos around his eyes. “What the ******** happened to me last night?”
“Grimmy.” Nel whined as she dragged herself over to the bathroom door, eyes halfway open, sleep clinging to her frame. “Why are you making so much noise this... morn...ing?” Her eyes widened as she took sight of someone in the bathroom that certainly did NOT look anything like her brother. She back pedaled and opened her mouth to screech out.
Grimmjow rushed forward and covered her mouth quickly with his hands, shushing her as she attempted to thrash in his grasp. “Nel! It’s me!” Her eyes widened once more as she calmed down, realizing it was her brother. She tugged his hand down away from her mouth. “Grimm, what the hell happened to you?” Grimmjow blinked, not entirely sure himself and not knowing how to answer that. “I... don’t know...” He placed a hand on his head. “I don’t... remember much of last night.”
He frowned lightly as images played across his mind, but it was far too wild to be real. He could see himself as a large... cat? He was jumping from rooftop to rooftop like some kind of supernatural being or something. He almost laughed at the insane notions of his dreams. There was no way he could of done all that last night. No possible way... right? No! No way in hell had he been jumping across rooftops like a giant cat. He almost laughed at his own stupidity.
Nel reached up and tugged on his hair, fingering it with a fond smile. “You washed all the dye out and resumed your natural color. I... I’d forgotten how beautiful your hair was in its natural shade.” She let her hand rest by her side. “Won’t the guys just love this.” She giggled lightly to herself.
“********, the guys! What time is it, Nel?!” Grimmjow scrambled out of the bathroom and off through the apartment. “s**t! I’ll be late if I don’t get my a** in gear!” He began to run scrambling through the apartment, throwing on clothes as he rushed back and forth getting ready.
Nel shook her head at her dim witted older brother. In the midst of Grimmjow’s blind search, the phone began ringing. After a shout from Grimmjow to answer it, Nel picked up the phone and clicked it on. “Hello~! Grimmjow’s apartment, his Little Sister Nel speaking!” Her voice was bright and cheery as she spoke a bit childishly into the phone.
“Nel-san?” At the familiar voice, Nel squealed. “Ichigo-kun~! So nice to hear from you! Are you calling to talk to Grimm?” She giggled lightly to herself. Oh how fun. Now Ichigo was calling her big brother for something? She couldn’t help but be curious. She thought back on Szayel’s words to her last night and internally broke out into an evil, amused grin. Oh, so that’s what they were up to. Well, she never pegged her brother as the dating type, especially with Ichigo, that’s for sure.
“Erm, yes... Is he there, or has he left for work already?” Ichigo’s voice was hesitant, almost nervous, only making the green haired girl giggle even more.
“Nope, not yet. He’s running around the apartment trying to get ready. Quite comical, really.” She let out a wry grin before placing her hand over the receiver and calling out a shrill, “Grimm-chan!” As Grimmjow barked out a harsh ‘What?!’ the green haired girl grinned lightly. She could hear Ichigo’s stifled laughter at the nickname. “Ichi-chan’s on the phone for you~!”
Grimmjow scrambled out of the bathroom quickly before his sister could pry and do too much damage. He waved his hand and snatched the phone out of her grasp. “Gimme that!” He growled as his little sister stuck out her tongue at him. He lifted the phone to his ear, rubbing his head idly. “Yo.”
“Good morning to you, too. Sounds like you’re off to a lovely start of the morning.” The voice that came through the phone was playful, yet sarcastic, and purely Ichigo. At Grimmjow’s laughter he continued hesitantly. “I was... just calling to confirm our lunch today...”
“Oh, yeah, that.” Grimmjow turned away from his sister as she kept mouthing and asking what he was talking about. “Everything’s still a go on my end.” He was talking as calmly as he could, even when he could feel his heart palpitating in his chest. He could never, in all of his years, ever be this nervous when going on a first date with someone. He was normally leveled headed and calm, but he felt, as sickening as it was, like a school girl talking to her first boyfriend. He almost snorted derisively at the ridiculous thought.
There was a sigh, of what Grimmjow thought was relief and nervousness on the other end. “Oh! Great!” The relief in the young orange haired male’s voice made Grimmjow grin lightly in amusement. So he was just as nervous, huh? Maybe Grimmjow would have a little fun with that. “What, you didn’t think I’d flake on you last minute, did you?” Ichigo’s surprised spluttering made the teal haired male start laughing. “N-NO! Of course not! I’d never think something like- Grimmjow, stop laughing at me! It’s NOT FUNNY!”
Nel observed silently from beside her brother as he laughed and poked fun at Ichigo. It wasn’t often she got to see her brother loosened up and relaxed like this, or nervous for that matter. She did wonder what they were saying though. An idea popped into her head and she dashed off silently to the other phone in the kitchen, picking it up and tuning into the conversation.
“Is too funny.” Grimmjow grinned lightly to himself and he could picture the look on Ichigo’s face, cheeks flushed bright red and a scowl on his face. A tongue raked across his bottom lip unconsciously at the prospect.
“It is not!” Ichigo’s tone was flustered and irritated. “Oh, and we’re still meeting at the Café, right?” He received a hum of agreement from Grimmjow. “Alright. And I’ll dissuade Renji and Uryu from following... They’re trying to get me to tell them where it is, and it isn’t working so far. I wouldn’t put it past them to follow me.”
Grimmjow gave a derisive snort. “Szay and Nnoi are bound to do the same. So, this is probably going to end up with EVERYONE in one place. Which will only mean hell for us.”
“No kidding.” A sigh sounded through the phone. “Why can’t they just leave us to our lunch date in peace?”
“Because they’re our friends, that’s why.” At Ichigo’s laugh, Grimmjow cracked a wry smile. “Well, I have to finish getting ready. I’ll see your around eleven thirty, give or take. Oh, and Ichigo? Don’t... Don’t freak when you see me.”
“Why?”
Grimmjow grinned lightly to himself in amusement. “I look... just a bit different today.” Yeah, just a little. Understatement of the ******** year.
“I’ll try my best.” A chuckle erupted from the other end of the phone. “Alright, I’ll see you then.”
Grimmjow abruptly hung up the phone and threw it on the couch before rushing back into his room to go through his clothes and tossing them out of his closet, trying to find something decent to wear today. He had to look decent, didn’t he? Wait, why was he so worried in the first place? Oh, right, because he was very attracted to the orange haired male, that was why.
---
Ichigo smiled lightly and was about the pull the phone away from his ear and click it off before he heard another voice call his name through the phone. “Neliel-chan.” He smiled lightly to himself. “I thought I heard you click onto the line earlier.”
Neliel giggled on the other end. “I’ve never seen Grimm so frantic. You really have quite the effect on him, Ichi-chan.” He could picture her wide grin, which he could feel through the phone. “And lunch date? My, my, you work very quick, Ichi-chan. It’s unheard of that you are so smitten with someone after only just meeting them; with my brother no less.”
“It’s just a date, Nel.” Ichigo sighed in exasperation as he tugged on his shirt and buttoned it up. He looked at himself in the mirror with a slight frown. “Dark blue or forest green, Nel?”
“Dark blue, it’ll compliment your hair, nicely. And just a date? I find that hard to believe, Ichi-chan.”
Ichigo nodded to himself and threw his other shirt back into his closet. “Thank you. And yes, just a date. That’s ALL. We’re going to have lunch and get to know each other a bit better. We seemingly have a mutual attraction to each other, so we’re going to see if the relationship, IF possible, could work.” He balanced the phone between his shoulder and his ear and he tugged on his watch, trying to keep his voice level and calm, but failing miserably in the process.
“And you’re both acting like chickens with their heads cut off in the process. Ichigo, you’re a nervous wreck, I can hear that much. If its any consolation, Grimm is too, so you aren’t alone. Grimm’s scrambling around attempting to find nice clothes to wear. It sounds like he’s tearing his wardrobe apart trying.” Neliel giggled lightly. “I better go help him, though.”
“Oh hush.” Ichigo nodded and switched the phone to his hand again. “Good luck with that.” He grinned lightly to himself and surveyed himself in the mirror, nodding in satisfaction before grabbing his coat and badge for work.
“Yeah, I’ll NEED luck.” She giggled to herself once again before pausing. “Oi, Ichigo-chan?” Ichigo hummed questioningly. “Please... take care of Grimm... He’s... the only family I have left... I’d hate myself if I ever lost him... I wouldn’t know what to do without him...” She grew silent again. “Please, Zangetsu-kun.” Her voice was deepened slightly, taking on a slightly gravelly tone to it.
Ichigo’s eyes softened at her words and her serious voice of her inner being. “I promise, Gamuza-chan.” His voice was duel toned and watery sounding now. His eyes flashed a slight golden color in his seriousness. “No harm will come over your brother. We will protect him, no matter what.”
“Arigato, Zangetsu-kun.” Nel grew quiet for a moment before chirping back into her regular voice, bright and cheery sounding. “Well, later, Ichi-chan~! Try not to do anything stupid~!” The line clicked off and Ichigo stared at the phone before shaking his head in exasperation. His eyes flashed golden one more time before he turned and left his apartment silently.
---
Nel leaned against the doorway as Grimmjow tore apart his wardrobe in an attempt to find clothes. She giggled lightly as he gave a growl of frustration. Grimmjow rounded on her with an annoyed look. His eyes narrowed as she grinned evilly at him. “What?” His biting tone only made Nel widen her grin. She held up the phone in her hand. “Lunch date, huh?”
Grimmjow’s face paled considerably. “Please tell me you did not hear all that...” Nel’s grin only widened and Grimmjow gave a loud groan and buried his head in his hands. Nel walked over slowly and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Grimmy, I’ll help you look fabulous for your date~!” Ignoring the dry look he sent her, Nel began tearing through his wardrobe, throwing things out and onto his bed. “Griiiiimm. Why do you not have anything decent?!”
“Because I don’t have that many nice clothes,” was the snarky reply from the teal haired man.
Nel pouted at him over her shoulder. “You NEED some. Desperately.” At the glare sent at her, Nel shrugged and went back to her search. She grinned with a cry of triumph and took out a teal blue, button up shirt, and a white undershirt. She threw them at her brother’s head with a demand to put them on. After screeching out his irritation, Grimmjow bade as he was told. A pair of nice khaki pants was chucked at his head next. Grimmjow snarled at his little sister before tugging on the khaki’s after kicking off the drawstring pants he wore previously.
Nel surveyed him before brightening and turning around to dig through his things for a moment before pulling out a small necklace, hidden deep in his stash of clothes along with something else. She tied the necklace around his neck with a soft smile. It was an old one that belonged to their mother once upon a time. “For luck”, she said softly. He then handed him a few small earrings. “Trust me, you’ll look better with them... Though, put them on after, or just before, you leave the office.” A nod was her only reply. “I think you’re ready! Now, get going!”
Grimmjow surveyed himself in the mirror one final time before nodding. He bent down and kissed his sister lightly on the forehead and hugged her to him. “Thank you, Nel.” His voice was soft spoken and quiet. Before he exited his room however, he grabbed one of his hats and jammed it over his head, tucking teal strands inside of it. At his sister’s cry of protest, he glared lightly. “I absolutely REFUSE to be seen with this hair until I can bear the sight of it myself. So for now, the hat stays. I don’t care if it doesn’t match, it stays... Until lunch...”
Nel huffed in annoyance but consented anyhow. “Fine”, she said in annoyance, “Get going, Big Brother!”
“I’m going, I’m going. Later, Nel. Don’t tear anything up while I’m gone!” Before he could give Neliel the chance to reply, he was already out the door with his stuff in hand.
---
Breathe, Szayel told himself, just breathe and calm down. The little s**t isn’t worth it. Oh how he was VERY close to committing murder, however. Szayel and Nnoitra both were ready to kill the new little s**t that had taken over Grimmjow’s place as the sixth. Everyone, upon the new one’s arrival, thought Grimmjow had been fired, considering the altercation yesterday. Only Szayel and Nnoitra had known otherwise and therefore kept quiet. Though, both Nnoitra and Szayel were deeply considering killing the stupid idiot Sexta if he didn’t shut up.
“God, these work spaces are so tiny and awful.”
And there the little ******** went again. Think happy thoughts, Szayel, happy thoughts. Don’t give into the temptation of strangling the little p***k into oblivion. Just breathe.
“And the people around here are NO help at all. They’re so noisy. How can you all work like this?”
“What noise?” Nnoitra glared over the top of his cubicle at the whining new Sexta. The young man, at least Nnoitra thought he was since that was what he was introduced as, had short black hair with a crown hair piece clipping part of it out of his face. His large violet eyes showed irritation, lips set to a frown. His face was effeminate, as was his body build and structure. He looked innocent on the outside, but so far, Nnoitra and Szayel had seen the annoying inner side to the effeminate male. He was rude, whiney, callous, self-centered, degrading of others and their work, and arrogant as hell. So far, the impression the two got of him was that he was annoying.
“All this noise”, the effeminate male said with a dramatic flourish, a whining clinginess to his voice, “The constant chatter and disruptive behavior! It’s annoying! I can’t work like this.”
“Get used to it,” Nnoitra said with a harsh sneer on his face, giving in to his urges to piss the little ******** off, “This is what you get to live with from now on. Either learn to adapt or get the ******** out.” With that, Nnoitra ducked back down behind the dividers as the Sexta screeched, causing irritated stares of the people on the floor to send in his direction.
“Brother, Nnoitra-san.”
The brunette and black heads shot up simultaneously at the sound of a very familiar voice. Szayel was the first to speak, a breath of relief shooting out. “Ilforte-nii. Please tell me we’re needed somewhere or being summoned.”
Ilforte brushed a few locks of blonde hair over his shoulder flippantly. He stared down at his younger brother and Nnoitra with an amused smile. “That is exactly the case of my visit... The new Segunda requests your presence in his office.”
“The new Segunda? What new Segunda?”
Ilforte’s eyes drifted over to the effeminate man sitting on the desk that used to belong to Grimmjow. He blinked a few times before registering that this was the new Sexta and that he probably wasn’t aware that the former segunda had retired. “You are the new Sexta Espada, Luppi Antenor, yes?” He received a nod in return. “Well, our former Segunda Espada of the Art Department, Barragan Luisenbarn, finally retired. So, Aizen-sama appointed a new Segunda. I am one of his Fraccion now.”
“Weren’t you the Fraccion of the former Sexta?”
Ilforte’s lips twitched at the ends. “I was, yes. Grimmjow-sama held me as his Fraccion for a very long time. With his... circumstances as they are... I now follow the Segunda Espada.”
“Was your former Espada as bad of a drawer as I’ve heard?”
Ilforte frowned lightly at this. “Pardon me? Care to repeat the question?”
Luppi smirked lightly. “I heard his drawings were awful and that Aizen-sama hated them. I bet I’m so much better than he ever was.”
“Do not make such vast assumptions.” Ilforte’s tone held a dark undertone to it. “Grimmjow-sama has a talent you couldn’t even begin to dream of. The things he drew while here were the most amazing drawing anyone at this company ever produced. Do not think for a second because you got put here that you have the right to say you are better than everyone else. Come, Brother, Nnoitra-san.” He turned on his heel and began to walk away.
Szayel and Nnoitra followed quickly on his heels and once they were out in the halls, Szayel gripped his brother into a tight hug from behind. “********, I’m so proud that you said something that no one else would. I love you, Big Brother. And thank you for getting us OUT of there.”
“My pleasure.” Ilforte grimaced. “That idiot was annoying... I assume you are already plotting his untimely demise at the hands of whatever concoction you create or experiment you put him through.” At the mad grin from the brunette, the blonde man shook his head and continued on his way. He walked up the one of the doors in the long hall and paused, turning his head. “Oh, and I was also meant to relay a message before you are to go inside. It is, and I quote, ‘If you ******** mention one thing about my hair or how I’m dressed, you’re DEAD’.”
Nnoitra rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but snort at the flat look Ilforte had said the words with, holding up his fist in a mock threatening manner. “Typical Grimmjow.”
Ilforte cracked a light smirk, dropping his arm back to his side, and turned once again to the door and, this time, knocked lightly. An audible ‘Come in’ sounded through the door. Ilforte slipped open the door and stepped inside the office, Szayel and Nnoitra following him inside close behind. “Grimmjow-sama... Szayel and Nnoitra-san are both here to see you. Was there anything else you needed?”
The former blonde looked up from his drawing, all of his hair jammed into that ridiculous hat of his, and shook his head no. “That’ll be all. Thank you, Ilforte.” The blonde only bowed in return and swiftly left the room. When he noticed the other two occupants of the room, Grimmjow nodded at the two chairs in front of his desk.
Szayel and Nnoitra both crossed the room and sat down. Szayel raised an eyebrow at Grimmjow. “Well, don’t you look nice. Though, the attire would look a lot better without the hat.”
“Shaddup”, Grimmjow barked in annoyance, hunching over his drawing again, “It’s getting thrown in the far corner of the room as soon as I leave for lunch anyways. For now, it serves its purpose for hiding my hair.”
“How th’ hell did ya manage t’ fit all o’ yer hair in tha’ stupid thing?” Nnoitra raised an eyebrow questioningly. Grimmjow mumbled his response. “What?” Another mumbled response. “Grimm, speak the ******** up or quit workin’ on that damned thing long enough t’ talk!”
A glare was sent towards the black haired man. “Fine. I cut and dyed my hair. If I show ya, will ya shut up? And I’ll only show ya stupid ******** if ya shut th’ ******** up and don’t say a damned word. I’m well aware I look ********’ ridiculous.”
“We won’t say anything. Promise.” Szayel smiled innocently while crossing his fingers behind his back. Nnoitra repeated the gesture. Grimmjow’s eyes only rolled before he reached up and removed his hat, tossing it onto his desk. Szayel and Nnoitra’s jaws simultaneously dropped open in surprise. Jeez did he look different. Before Grimmjow had looked like a shy, effeminate college boy. Now? He looked a lot more muscled and looked, in Nnoitra’s opinion, badass. Szayel mused silently to himself about the transformation, however. So, its already begun, has it? It started faster than I expected.
“The ******** did you DO?!” A glare was sent Nnoitra’s way for the outburst.
“Cut and dyed it obviously.”
“I can see that, a*****e! WHY did you cut it all off and dye it?!”
“If I could remember doing it, I’d probably tell you why.”
“Your memory lapses are getting stranger and stranger, Grimmjow. You might want to have either Ichigo or Uryu run tests to see what happened to your brain. It could be serious, or contagious. And I don’t want any of your memory erasing germs anywhere near me.”
“CAN IT, SZAYEL!” Grimmjow gritted his teeth in annoyance. “Oh, and I didn’t dye it by the way... I washed all the dye OUT of it.” At the two confused looks he received, Grimmjow sighed softly and leaned back in his chair. “This is my natural hair color... Many don’t believe so, but it actually is. Nel and I’s fathers, though different people, both had a very dark tinted blue hair. As a product with my mother, Nel and I ended up with funky a** hair, hers green and mine blue.”
“Why’d ya’ start dying it?” Nnoitra blinked curiously as he watched the light blue haired man move around slowly.
Grimmjow sighed once again and ran a hand through his hair, a habit he was developing quickly now that all of his hair was gone. He felt almost naked without his long hair. “School... Kids made fun of me because I didn’t have much money growing up... Couple that with odd colored hair, and you have a prime target for bullying. Now, mind you, I learned how to fight back later, but this was in first or second grade. I didn’t learn to fight till almost middle school. So, I was defenseless, especially against verbal attacks. I eventually asked my step father to let me and Nel dye our hair so the teasing would stop. It was ridiculous and the problem was escalating, so he relented and let the two of us dye our hair to more natural colors.”
Szayel and Nnoitra both nodded lightly in understanding. As Grimmjow hunched over his drawing again, Szayel blinked before studying Grimmjow’s outfit with a critical eye. He surveyed the teal haired man before humming lightly and sitting against the desk, leaning on it. “Your outfit, while looking actually decent for a change, so Miss Neliel must have picked it out for you- do not give me that look Grimmjow, you have a shitty fashion sense, so I don’t believe for a MINUTE that you picked that out! Anyways, while it’s actually very good, it seems to be... missing something... But I don’t know what.”
Grimmjow blinked a few times before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the earrings Nel gave him earlier. He held out his hand, the earrings in his open palm. “Perhaps these? Nel gave them to me this morning and told me to put them in later before I leave. She said it would complete the look.”
Szayel leaned down and examined the earrings closely and his eyes twinkled in a mischievous light. “Oh, wonderful~! That will help immensely. Neliel-san seems to like helping you get ready for your date.”
“Apparent- SHUT UP! It AIN’T a date!”
“Pardon me, a lunch get together.” A glare was his only reply. “It’s true. And if isn’t a date, why are you dressed so nicely, today?” A scowl was sent his way that time. “I want to look semi-decent!” A derisive snort sounded from the brunette as the teal haired man was sent a dry look. “Oh I’m sure.” Szayel ducked as his head was swiped at.
“No one asked you!” Grimmjow ducked back down over his work and continued drawing, ignoring the heat creeping up his neck. Both Szayel and Nnoitra only grinned at each other in amusement. Never had either seen Grimmjow like this before, so it was a nice change. A change they were going to milk and have fun with as long as they could. With that thought in mind, Szayel leaned down on the desk to the left of the teal haired artist and Nnoitra mimicked his moves and leaned down on the right. Both smirked idly at Grimmjow as he worked. When the teal haired man looked up, feeling the prying eyes, found the two staring at him with identical smirks, which he knew meant trouble. “What?!” He barked out his snarky reply.
“Seems like you have a crush”, Szayel teased with a lilting voice.
“I do ******** NOT!”
“Oh? Then why are your ears turning red, hm? Ah ha! I knew it!” Szayel cackled, a bit maniacally. “You DO like him!” He doubled over with laughter, mirth filling him. “I can’t believe it; the famous Pantera actually does have a heart beneath that tough exterior! AND he’s blushing!” Szayel took off around the desk as Grimmjow shot up and began chasing him, soon grabbing Szayel into a quick but sturdy headlock.
“You better shut up RIGHT NOW before I pop your head off!”
“Ah ha! You wouldn’t do that to me. Besides, Uryu would kill you in a second flat.”
“I don’t give a s**t what that idiot will do! Now either take that back or I strangle you to death!”
“No! I won’t- GUH! Grimmjow, let go of me this instant-” Immense coughing ensued as the grip around the young brunette’s throat tightened. “A little HELP would be very appreciative right now, Nnoi!”
“Nah, I think yer doin’ juss’ fine, Pinky.”
“Do NOT call me that you overgrown oaf! Get him off- Grimmjow, AIR! You’re cutting off my air supply- Mercy! MERCY, I say!” Szayel’s neck was released from the vise like grip and he coughed harshly, sucking in as much air as he could. “Kami-sama... I knew you weren’t weak since you can match Nnoi move for move, but I didn’t know you were that strong. Cripe!” He rubbed his aching neck gingerly. “I believe you almost succeeded in crushing my windpipe!”
“Does that mean I’d never have to listen to you speak again? If so, I’ll gladly crush it.” He barked out a laugh as Szayel pushed away from him and scrambled back over to where Nnoitra was, hiding behind the tall black haired man.
Nnoitra stared at Szayel with an amused sneer before shooting a toothy grin at the teal haired man. “Nice job, Pantera. Very nicely done. Fitting of the former Sexta, now Segunda, Espada.”
Grimmjow shot him a wry grin in return before remembering. “Oh, right, that reminds me, who did they get to replace me as Sexta?” He raised an eyebrow as Nnoitra and Szayel shot each other twin looks of annoyance. “Already got a bad impression, huh?”
“He’s whiney, arrogant, stuck up, and a pain in the ********’ a**!” Nnoitra gritted his teeth. “ONE MORE WORD comes outta’ tha’ little ******** mouth and I’ll knock his pretty little teeth in.” He huffed out a breath of annoyance. “An’ I swear to god, th’ little ******** is t’ feminine lookin’ fer ‘is own good! I thought ‘e was a chick when ‘e first came in! Then someone called him a he.” At Nnoitra’s grimace, Grimmjow covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing, covering it with a very unconvincing cough, to which Nnoitra shot him a glare for.
“He complains about EVERYTHING.” Szayel rolled his eyes in exasperation. “‘I don’t like these supplies.’ ‘This cubicle is too small!’ ‘How can you all work in this noise?’ KAMI I’ve been concocting several methods of skinning him alive or using him for experimentation to get RID of him.” Szayel tugged on his hair in frustration.
Grimmjow felt his lips twitch upwards into amusement. “Oh really? That bad, huh?”
“Not to mention that IMBECILE had the audacity to smart off about you!”
Grimmjow paused and his eyes narrowed in confusion. “He smarted off... about me?”
“YES! That little p***k. Ilforte had just come to fetch us when Luppi- that’s the replacement’s name, and yes, he’s very loopy- started asking all kinds of nosy questions. And he said that he had heard that you were a horrible drawer and said HE could draw better than you! I’ve SEEN the drawing the little p***k started. My FRACCION can draw better than that! And you know how stupid Lumina and Verona are!”
Grimmjow snorted lightly. “Obviously he’s just a cocky little s**t. Don’t let it get to you. Besides, you know my own thoughts on my drawings. They all suck like s**t anyways. But, if you’re dead set on proving that the little s**t can’t draw, how about we set up a friendly little contest?”
Nnoitra tipped his head to the side in confusion. “Contest?”
“Yes, a contest. Everyone in the department strives to make the best piece of artwork for the company in four hours. Their time ends when it’s time for their lunch break. We’d get to compare all the art in the department. Aizen and Gin would be the judges. We could have overall winners from the numeros, one for the Espadas, one from the Fraccion, and one from the whole department?”
“Sounds fun.” Szayel grinned. “We’ll gouge how good of a drawer we are, and possibly Aizen-san will see either potential Espada, or move ranks around. Ohhhh, how fun~!” He clapped his hands together excitedly. “Perhaps now we can all show up that little b*****d!”
Grimmjow smirked idly in amusement. “Well, I’ll go talk to Aizen about it now...” He looked up at the clock and frowned. “I should have enough time.” He turned to the other two. “Now, outta’ my office!”
“Fine, fine.” Szayel and Nnoitra both sauntered out of the office, Grimmjow following behind them and shutting the door afterwards. “Has Aizen-sama seen your new hair?”
“Nope. He gets to see it now, though.” Grimmjow grinned wolfishly. “I’ll see you guys later.” With that, he sauntered off on down the hallway.
Szayel and Nnoitra both turned and started back towards the main room where they worked. “He’s changed so drastically”, Szayel commented lazily to his companion, amber eyes flashing to a dark burnt orange as the pitch of his voice rose an octave higher, “I never would have guessed he would go through the transformation so quickly... None of us ever went through it that quick, besides Zangetsu-kun. Perhaps, however, he is a perfect mixture, like Zangetsu-kun is. It would be wonderful if he was.”
“Who knows?” Nnoitra spoke this time, voice also in a higher pitch, but toned down more than Szayel. His eyes, once black, were now a steel grey. “We’ll watch him closely. I’m worried though... None of us have ever had black outs about our deaths and the night we died. We may have thought it was all a dream, but we never not remembered. Do you think something’s wrong?”
“I’m not quite sure myself. Like you said, no one has ever not remembered their death. Without a doubt, however, he WILL remember at some point, but for now, let us wait and see how it goes. Perhaps his mind just hasn’t caught up to his death yet. Soon enough, he’ll start questioning everything... Then, we’ll show him our world.” His burnt orange eyes glittered in the light, mischief reflecting in them.
Nnoitra began laughing like a maniac as the two’s eye colors and voices changed back to normal as they entered the large room and seated themselves in their cubicles once more. The two resumed working on their pieces after vowing to secretly follow Grimmjow out of the building for lunch. Both worked with wry grins, plotting ways to make Grimmjow’s life more of a hell than it already was.
---
Grimmjow knocked on the door leading to Aizen’s main office. A sharp ‘come in’ sounded from inside and the teal haired man gave a light smirk before opening the door and slipping in quickly. He crossed the room with an amused smile as Aizen barked orders into his phone the back of his chair facing Grimmjow, so Aizen had yet to notice what the teal haired man looked like. “You were supposed to have these papers to me YESTERDAY.” He paused, and Grimmjow grinned wolfishly as he could feel the steam coming out of Aizen’s ears. “I don’t want to hear your excuses! I specifically asked that they be done yesterday! We are behind enough as is and if we get more delayed things like this, it will place the unveiling of this new line of cosmetics back a week!” He paused again and gave a frustrated shout. “I don’t CARE what your test results say! Get the final product ready for mass distribution on the DOUBLE.” He slammed the phone down in its cradle in an act of momentary violence.
At Aizen’s final words, something sparked in Grimmjow’s mind. He could remember being in the warehouse where the products of the company were made. He remembered hiding in the machinery, taking sketches to Aizen. He was stopped outside the doors leading to the lab, hearing what the scientists were saying inside. He remembered the words monster, hollow, and transformation. He snapped out of his little spell after a few seconds and looked over at Aizen once again, who was holding his head in his hands, griping about idiot scientists ruining his unveiling date.
Aizen seemed to remember someone was in the room with him, and without looking up, posed his question. “Yes, what did you need?” His voice was tired and a bit strained.
Grimmjow laid a folder on the brunette’s desk. “Your sketches, Aizen-sama. I finished them already and I came to ask you about something.”
Aizen sighed lightly in relief at the voice he had come to know without looking at the man to confirm it was him. He turned in his chair and picked up the folder, beginning to look over the designs, an eyebrow raising. “By far more of the better work I’ve seen from you, Grimmjow. It seems you’ve been holding out on me.”
Grimmjow shrugged idly. “Just never found the correct inspiration, I suppose. I’m still not happy with them, regardless.”
“Most artists never are with any of their work.” Aizen gave an amused breath before flopping the folder on his desk, leaning back in his chair with closed eyes and folding his arms behind his head. “What else did you need to see me about?”
Grimmjow smiled in amusement as his boss had still yet to notice his change in attire and hair. He sat down in the chair in front of Aizen’s desk. “I was talking to Pinky and Piano Teeth-” At the nicknames, Aizen gave an amused snort. “And we all thought it might be a good idea for the entire Art Department to have a drawing contest.”
“A drawing contest?”
“Mhm. A drawing contest. We would all get four hours to work on an ad for the new cosmetics line. Everyone in the department would be working on a design. We could have it either numbered based on our number in the company, or make it completely random and only categorize the paintings by class, such as Espada, Fraccion, Numeros and such with no one’s names written on the paintings. We could have winners from each category that way. And maybe a winner overall. You and Gin-sama could be our judges.”
Aizen hummed lightly in response, mulling over the idea. “Perhaps... The company has been on strain as of late, with the new line coming out in a week. This might help everyone wind down just a bit. Plus, I think it would be amusing to see how well everyone does. Perhaps could give me an insight to see who’s good in their position and who isn’t worthy of it. I haven’t shuffled ranks in a while so perhaps now is as good of a time as ever.” He hummed light in amusement. “I believe this to be a good idea, Grimmjow. However, what would I reward the winners?”
Grimmjow shrugged nonchalantly. “I was leaving that up to you. You’re the boss after all.” He almost snorted derisively to himself. Yeah, boss my a**.
“Hm... I suppose I’ll think of something. Perhaps extended lunch or allowed to come in a little later. Perhaps the overall winner’s ad design will be featured during the unveiling of our product.” Aizen smiled in amusement. “That might lead people to work a lot harder.”
Grimmjow nodded lightly, sitting back in his chair. “Perhaps.” He gave a light grin. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed yet.” His comment was off handed as he looked off to the side, towards the window.
Aizen opened one eye in confusion. “What do you-” He paused, taking in the new appearance of his employee in almost surprise. He certainly hadn’t expected the former blonde to have changed so drastically overnight. “Well, I have now.” Aizen raised one eyebrow in mock curiosity. “Is there any reason for such a change?”
Grimmjow shrugged nonchalantly. “I felt like a change. Besides, I got tired of my sister nagging me about my hair and its color. So, I changed it.”
Aizen nodded lightly. “You are also dressed quite nicely today. A special occasion?”
“Having lunch with a friend.” Grimmjow gave an amused smile. “Decided to dress up nicely for it.”
“I see.” Aizen’s brow raised mockingly. “Well, if that’s the case, I should let you go then. Your lunch break has started just now.”
Grimmjow looked up at the clock to confirm the time and nodded lightly as he stood up. “Thank you, Aizen-sama, that was all I needed.” With that, he sauntered out of the room quickly but silently.
Aizen looked over his shoulder at the wall behind him with a raised brow. “Are you coming out now? I know you’ve been listening.”
The grinning silvered haired man appeared as the secret door opened up. “Aw, Sosuke, ya’ sound upset. Things goin’ sour?” At the glare he received, Gin’s grin only widened. “He’s changin’ real quick. Never saw one tha’ changed tha’ quick before. An’ ‘is hair is such a pretty blue.”
Aizen closed his eyes and nodded his head ever so slightly, beckoning Gin over to him. When weight was added to his lap and a head placed in the crook of his neck, he gave a soft sigh, letting the tension in his shoulders and back release. “His transformation was the quickest I’ve ever seen. He’s gone through the process flawlessly. He’ll be strong, I can already tell that much.”
Gin hummed softly. “Will he remember what we did to him?”
Aizen’s eyes opened and he looked down at the head of silver hair. “Perhaps in time, but it seems his mind has yet to catch up to his death. That may prove, however, to be in our favor. The less he knows about what really happened, the more he’ll trust us.”
“Maybe so.” Gin nuzzled his nose gently into his husband’s neck with his normal grin still in place. “Ya need ‘im t’ trust ya’ at this point, ya know? It’s still early in th’ stage o’ development, so it’s best to get close t’ ‘im now.”
Aizen nodded softly before shifting slightly, sitting up straight in his chair. “Come along, Gin, we have work to do.” As the silver haired man got up, the brown haired company head smirked lightly and looked down at the sketches on the desk. Oh what a wonderful pawn Grimmjow would make.
