Chapter Text
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I trust you yet.”, said Ichigo. Grimmjow was next to him and was growling at Ginjo.
Ginjo didn’t flinch and kept his smile on his face. “I’m sure. Well then, I’ll give you this.”
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“What is he giving him?”, mumbled Orihime.
“I can’t really see from this position.”, replied Ulquiorra.
“It’s something really small… I’m the tallest and I ain’t seeing shit.”, said Nnoitra.
“Maybe it’s a phone number…”, offered Stark.
“It is possible…”, replied Orihime.
“What’s a phone number?”, asked Ulquiorra.
“Something that humans use to contact each other.”, explained Harribel.
“And phones are these small devices that humans hold to their ears.”, explained Nel.
“Guys, don’t call us humans like that… It makes me feel like I’m talking to aliens.”, said Orihime sweatdropping.
Ulquiorra blinked before asking; “What do you consider an alien?”
“I’m getting an aneurysm.”, said Nnoitra.
“Shhh! The weird guy is leaving! We should follow him!”, said Harribel.
“Let’s split up!”, proposed Orihime. “Ulquiorra, Nel and I are going after Ichigo and Grimmjow. You three go after the weirdo.”
They all nodded at each other. Nel looked at Nnoitra with a concerned expression. “You guys take care. And don’t try anything stupid.”
Nnoitra allowed a small smirk on his face. “The same goes to you.”
And thus, they all split up again.
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“Welcome back, brother!”, shouted Yuzu as Ichigo entered the house. Suddenly she turned red and started squirming. “You too, Grimmjow.”
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the exchange and Grimmjow raised his hand in a greeting.
Yuzu’s eyes shined brightly as she approached the both of them. “Look!” She unfolded a piece of paper that wrote 95 with red letters on top. “It’s our first test for the school year and I got a 95! Isn’t’ that great?!”
Ichigo smiled and petted her head. “That’s awesome, Yuzu! Good job! You gotta show that to dad! He’ll be thrilled.” He also elbowed Grimmjow and glared at him while pointing at Yuzu.
Grimmjow growled and rubbed his injured arm, but mumbled a “Congrats kid…”
Ichigo nodded at him and then looked at Yuzu. “Speaking of dad, where is he?”
Yuzu’s excitement vanished from her face and she suddenly looked uncertain. “I dunno. He’s been out since this morning.”
Ichigo exchanged a glance with Grimmjow. “I see. Well, we’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
“Oh brother?”
“Hm? What is it Yuzu?”, asked Ichigo with a forced smile.
Yuzu was looking even more down than a few moments before. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
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Ichigo threw his bag on his bed. Grimmjow leaned against his closet. “You sister is hiding something.”
Ichigo frowned. “Yeah… Both of my sisters are. And where on earth did that bastard go?”
“You talkin about your old man?”, asked Grimmjow.
“… Can you sense his spiritual pressure?”
Grimmjow looked at him surprised. “I can try, but this body is extremely weak.”
“If I still had my powers…” Ichigo suddenly blinked and laughed awkwardly. “What am I thinking? I guess I’m still not over it.”
“Ichiiiigo! Ichiiiiigo!”, shouted someone from outside.
Both him and Grimmjow looked outside his window and saw Orihime holding a basket full of bread. She was accompanied by Nel and Ulquiorra. “Want some bread? It’s a steal!”
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The group of three joined Ichigo in his room and they all started eating the bread Orihime brought. “I’m not sure we can eat all this…”, said Ichigo.
“Speak for yourself.”, said Grimmjow with a mouthful of bread.
Ichigo simply sweatdropped. “Didn’t we eat the same amount of food today?”
“Yeah, but you eat too little. I don’t understand how you maintain yourself.”
Ichigo sighed and turned his attention to the other three. Nel was looking at the room excitedly. “Nel, really likes your room.”
“Thanks… I suppose you are in your child form…”, said Ichigo.
“She transformed in the way here.”, explained Ulquiorra. “We hope that the trash over here didn’t bother you much.”
“Hello! I’m right here!”, shouted Grimmjow while he spat bread crumps everywhere.
Ichigo dusted some of those crumbs from his shirt before replying. “Most of the time I can barely tell he is here.”
“Screw you!”, shouted Grimmjow and downed another big piece of bread.
Ichigo shook his head in annoyance. Orihime gulped her bread and looked at Ichigo with a serious expression. “Ichigo… Has something happened recently?”
Ichigo’s grip on his mug of coffee tightened and that action didn’t go unnoticed by Ulquiorra. “No. Why do you ask?”, said Ichigo with the most innocent face he could master.
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes and looked at Grimmjow who glanced back at him with a knowing look.
“Huh?!Uuuuh, a feeling… I guess?”, replied Orihime awkwardly.
“Feeling?”, asked Ichigo.
“Yeah, it’s just…. I thought maybe you were being followed by some stranger… Or you were in trouble or something.”, said Orihime.
“Me? Being followed? People wanna start stuff with me all the time, but followed? You’re a lot more likely to be stalked than me?”, said Ichigo. “Ask, Grimmjow if you don’t believe me.”
Grimmjow looked at Orihime with a serious expression. “Nothing is going on. I would have informed you guys if that was the case.”
Ulquiorra nodded and Nel smiled in an innocent way.
“Okay, then. I guess my feeling was off the mark.”, said Orihime. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made assumptions and gotten worried.”
“It’s no big deal. It’s a good thing that you do that.”, said Ichigo. “Besides, an assumption is the reason that the Espada are by your side right now.”
Orihime smiled and she turned to Ulquiorra. “I did believe in them.”
Ulquiorra nodded at her and held her gaze for a moment.
Ichigo stood up. “Oh, yeah. I’ll give you back that comic you let me borrow.”
“Oh, it’s okay, I’m in no hurry for it. We should go back home soon, because it’s getting dark.”, said Orihime.
“I’ll take you guys downstairs.”, said Grimmjow. “I’ll stay with him tonight too.”
Orihime nodded.
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“A card you say?”, asked Nel.
“It writes XCUTION on it. It has an address on it, but I barely saw what it was written there.”, explained Grimmjow. They were waiting right outside of Ichigo’s house. “Where are the others?”
“Following that weird guy.”, explained Ulquiorra. “You should probably go up with him, before he realizes you told us all that.”
“To be fair, you guys knew a lot of shit, so I didn’t say much.”
“Keep an eye on him.”, said Orihime. “If you guys need help, give me a sign with your spiritual pressure.”
Grimmjow nodded. “See you later, I suppose.”
“Yup. We’re going to visit Tatsuki as well. I want to ask her if she knows anything.”, explained Orihime.
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Ichigo was looking quite down when Grimmjow returned to the room. He was holding the card Ginjo had given him. “My dad hasn’t returned yet…”, he mumbled.
Before Grimmjow could say anything, a loud noise was heard from outside. Ichigo turned at his window confused. “Those aren’t far away. Where are they coming from?”
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Nnoitra sighed in annoyance. “I can’t believe we lost that bastard.”
“He seemed to know that we were following him.”, said Stark.
“Still! You can’t tell me it isn’t weird that this guy just vanished! He just disappeared into thin air!”, exclaimed Nnoitra.
Harribel was looking in the distance, seemingly lost in thought. They had managed to follow the weird guy till he led them to a dead end. And he was nowhere to be seen.
“Something is pretty fishy about that guy…”, mumbled Stark. “He could have lured us into a trap…”
“Yeah, then where the hell is he?!”, shouted Nnoitra. “We’ve been here for at least fifteen minutes and he could have easily jumped us! There are no doors in any building surrounding this shithole and no stairs to climb, so where the hell did he go?!”
Stark looked up. “Maybe he used his spiritual pressure to fly… If he has any…”
“This shit is weird man…” Nnoitra then looked at Harribel annoyed. “And where the hell are you looking at?!”
Harribel sighed. “The fact that I’m not telling you anything about your vile language should tell you that I’m focused on something.”
“You are not my mom and we don’t have Nel with us!”
“That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t bother me. Still if you two focused a little more, you would be able to feel it too.”
“Feel what?”, said Nnoitra with a raised eyebrow.
Stark suddenly looked at the direction Harribel was looking at. “I feel it. It is barely there but it exists.”
“What are you guys talking about?”
“A strong spiritual pressure.”, explained Harribel. “This body doesn’t do the best job in picking it up, but it is strong enough for it to feel it.”
“So where is it coming from?”, asked Nnoitra.
“It’s moving.”, replied Stark.
“There is also another one close to where it’s headed. I’ve felt this spiritual pressure before.”, said Harribel.
Suddenly both Harribel and Stark gasped. “What’s going on?”, asked Nnoitra.
“They both just… vanished.”, said Harribel.
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Orihime was putting on her pjs while Nel was cooking alongside Ulquiorra. “You guys know that you don’t have to do this right?”
Ulquiorra barely glanced at her before replying. “We want to do this. It’s a way of thanking you.”
“Plus, Nel really wants to remember how to cook.”
Orihime sweatdropped. “Be careful Nel. I’m not sure whether your child form is as capable as your adult one…”
“I’m keeping an eye on her.”, said Ulquiorra.
Orihime sighed in defeat, but smiled at them. “Thank you, guys.”
Suddenly, Orihime’s phone started ringing. “Who’d be calling me at this hour?” She took a look at the screen. “Oh. It’s Uryu.”
Ulquiorra stared at her with a curious expression as she picked up. “Hello? What’s up? Huh?! Yes. Um… What?”
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Karin and Yuzu were having dinner when Grimmjow and Ichigo got downstairs. Grimmjow didn’t hear what they were talking about, but Yuzu suddenly sprinted out of the room. “I don’t think that about him! Oh, I don’t care anymore!”, shouted Yuzu as she ran.
“Wait! I’m sorry I made fun of you, Yuzu! Come on!”, shouted Karin.
“I’m done talking to you! It’s your turn to clean up after dinner anyway, Karin!”, shouted Yuzu.
Ichigo rolled his eyes and Grimmjow smirked. “Having sisters sounds fun.”
Karin didn’t seem to hear them as she mumbled to herself. “Great… I guess it’s because Ichigo was cold to her again.”
Ichigo picked up his jacket and opened the door. “Yuzu?”, asked Karin.
Karin almost caught up to them and Grimmjow heard her clearly shouting. “Bro?! Wait a minute! Where are you going?! Bro!!”
Ichigo had closed the door and had started walking away. Grimmjow followed right behind him. “You are a little too cold.”, said Grimmjow.
“She is hiding stuff from me.”, replied Ichigo. “I don’t owe her an explanation… Besides, you heard the call. It’s an emergency and we should hurry.”
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They arrived at the Katakura hospital quickly and Ichigo ran towards the room they pointed at him. “Uryu!!”
He came across Orihime and Ulquiorra instead. Grimmjow appeared behind him after a while as well.
“Ichigo! Grimmjow!”, mumbled Orihime.
“Orihime! You’re already here!”, said Ichigo, not acknowledging Ulquiorra’s presence. “Where’s Chad?”
“He didn’t pick up. I think that he is at his construction job right now.”, replied Orihime.
“Did he call you too? Sheesh, what a bother. I never asked him to do that…”, said suddenly someone behind the hospital curtain. It was the person lying on the bed.
“Uryu…”, whispered Ichigo.
“What a bother? As always, you talk like a grown up, but that’s all.”. A doctor had entered the room. Grimmjow could easily pick up the similarities between him and the young Quincy. It was the boy’s father.
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to have any visitors. What if my condition worsens from all these intruders barging in? They are with the Espada too…”, shouted Uryu.
“Don’t be foolish. Who do you think performed the operation? Your wounds aren’t going to get worse from this.”, said Uryu’s father. “You’re an amateur who got slashed by the enemy and almost died. Don’t you dare go telling the doctor what he can and cannot do.”
Ichigo and Grimmjow froze. “He got slashed?! What is he talking about Uryu?!”, shouted Ichigo.
“It’s none of your business.”, replied Uryu.
“Of course it is! You were attacked! If you couldn’t handle him on your own, then we’ve all got to pitch in! We are not alone! We have the Espada on our side too!”, shouted Ichigo.
Grimmjow glanced at Ulquiorra. The other Espada stared back at him, but it from the look in his eyes, he also seemed to be in the dark. Uryu hadn’t told him or Orihime anything either.
Uryu remained silent. Ichigo shook as he spoke his next words. “Say something!”
“It’s important to share information. Don’t waste the kindness I’ve shown you.”, said his father. Grimmjow glared at him. This man was insufferable.
“You be quiet!”, shouted Uryu.
“Aww… Too bad. Had you raised your voice about 5 hz higher, you would have reopened your wounds.”, said his father.
Grimmjow growled at him. He didn’t particularly like the Quincy kid, but this man was pushing it too much. The man barely raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment.
“Uryu…”, said Orihime suddenly.
Uryu’s voice sounded calmer when he spoke this time. “I’m sorry Orihime. There really isn’t anything I can say to you right now. Please go home.”
Grimmjow stared at Orihime. She seemed defeated. “Okay…”, she whispered.
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“Ichigo…”, said Orihime as she approached the other teen. He looked extremely exhausted. Yet he immediately smiled and faked an energetic attitude.
“Oh, hey! You must be exhausted. If you want to, we can walk you and Ulquiorra home.”
“Well… The rest of the Espada are waiting outside. Thank you for your offer, but I don’t want to put you in extra trouble for us.”
Suddenly, Uryu’s father placed his arm on Orihime’s shoulder. “I’ll drive them home. You and the other hollow should get going as well. If I keep you out too late, your old man will throw a fit.”
Grimmjow glared at him and was about to say something, but Ichigo held him back. “I understand, thank you.”
Ichigo the pulled Grimmjow and started running towards the exit. Orihime looked at them surprised. “Ichigo! I’ll see you at school tomorrow!”
“Hey. Don’t yell so loud in the hospital.”, said Uryu’s father.
Orihime closed her mouth with her hands. “Oh! I’m sorry…”
“He doesn’t seem like he’ll be much help, so I’ll tell you this.”, said Uryu’s father. A small glare was directed towards Ulquiorra, but the Espada didn’t flinch at all. “Uryu wasn’t attacked by a Hollow.”
Orihime looked surprised, but Ulquiorra nodded. “I didn’t feel any Spiritual Pressure from one either.”
Uryu’s father nodded in acknowledgement. “It wasn’t a soul reaper either. There is something peculiar about this whole ordeal. I’m not sure that we call the lingering spiritual pressure even that. I have never come across such a spiritual energy.”
“What does it mean?”, asked Orihime.
“Don’t ask me.” Uryu’s father started walking away and Orihime and Ulquiorra had to follow him to hear what he had to say. “I’ve already told you everything I know. And Uryu himself didn’t know what him. That’s why he didn’t talk to you guys. Because he didn’t know what to say.”
“But..”, started Orihime.
Uryu’s father stopped for a moment. “This is just my hypothesis but… The enemy might have come into possession of a power we know nothing about.” He then looked at them with a dead serious expression in his eyes. “But they are human. Not at all like a soul reaper. More close to what you and Sado are. If I had to say it, I’d fit Uryu in that category too. If I were to suppose that the attack on Uryu was an attack on humans of a similar breed… Then the next to be attacked is either you or Sado.”
Ulquiorra noticed Orihime’s uneasy expression and he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked at him surprised and he simply nodded at her, reminding her that she had his full support.
Uryu’s father was staring at them with a seemingly curious expression. He looked outside a window and he was reminded of how late it actually was. “I’ll take you all home now.”
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“What’s going on?!”, shouted Ichigo. He and Grimmjow had ran off to an empty alley nearby. “Dammit! What happened right under my nose?! Isn’t there anything I can do?!”
Grimmjow sighed in annoyance. “Stop acting so dramatic. The way you are now you would probably have gotten yourself as injured as the Quincy if not worse. Hell, I am useless in this body. So, neither of us could actually do shit. Beating yourself up about this ain’t gonna fix it.”
Ichigo suddenly stood straight. “You’re right…”
Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. “That ain’t something I hear quite often. Maybe I’m getting wiser…. Hey what are you doing?”
Ichigo was dialing something on his phone. Grimmjow froze when he heard the voice from the phone. “Hello. You’ve reached XCUTION. This number isn’t showing up in our registry. I take it you’re a new member? Please state your name.”
“Kurosaki what are you doing?!”, shouted Grimmjow.
“Ichigo Kurosaki.”, Ichigo replied to the unknown voice while staring blanky at Grimmjow.
“Ichigo Kurosaki, I see. We’ve been expecting you. Welcome to XCUTION.”
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The ride home was quiet. The other Espada were obviously curious as to what had transpired in the hospital, but they were waiting to reach Orihime’s house before they asked anything. Orihime was quiet throughout the ride home and she looked a little worried in Ulquiorra’s eyes.
The moment they reached her home she almost jumped from her seat. She quickly thanked Uryu’s father for the ride and went to open the door.
“So, what the hell is going on?”, asked Nnoitra.
Ulquiorra looked at the other Espada. He met Stark’s eyes and it was obvious that he got the hint. “It’s late. We should sleep. We will talk tomorrow.”, said Stark.
Nnoitra was about to protest but Hallibel shushed him. Ulquiorra followed after Orihime. She was looking outside her window with an obviously worried expression. “We will stop whoever is behind this.”, he said.
Orihime looked down. “What if… What if I am next?”
“I won’t allow anything to harm you.”, said Ulquiorra. “I’ll be with you as much as possible, so that I can protect you. It’s the least I can do after everything I’ve put you through.”
Orihime smiled at him. “Thank you.”
Ulquiorra allowed a small smirk to appear on his face. It was hard for him to do it because he wasn’t certain about the emotion it actually expressed, but Orihime seemed to understand since her smile widened. And that’s all Ulquiorra needed.