A not-so triumphant return

[grimmjerk]

Who: grimmjerk, 1stguardian, and OPEN to any inhabitant of Nueva Last Noches!
When: Early evening, directly following his post and continuing later into the night.
Where: The baseball diamond, then en route to the castle, then the castle itself.
Summary: Grimmjow finally returns from the dead - and from a trip back home. An unfortunate side-effect is a collection of

Comments

[1stguardian]

[After going out each night for the last week, Ichigo had begun to think that Grimmjow was going to be one of the people who didn't resurrect. A few days, people had told him, and a few days had passed with no sign, not even a hint of the Espada's reiatsu. Much as it grated on his nerves, he knew that it was probably for the best: Grimmjow wouldn't be trapped in the city any longer, and the rest of the people wouldn't be trapped in there with him. But he didn't like it, didn't want to accept it

[grimmjerk]

[ Oh, right. So that's who it was.

You're always so fucking loud. ] Shouldn't...you know?

Stupid.

[ That was weird, too. He'd been staring at Ichigo's back less than five minutes ago, watching the idiot scream at that bastard Nnoitra for what any person with brains in their head would have done - any person that was an asshole, but even so. Grimmjow still didn't get it, still couldn't wrap any part of his mind around what could have possibly driven the shinigami to jump in like that and put his ass on the line over an enemy that was as good as dead, anyway. He looked at Ichigo now like he had looked at him then:

Like someone that he suddenly didn't know.

Instinct made him attempt to roll away from Ichigo's hand, though the most that he managed was a twitch and another flinch from the fresh ache that rolled across his body in steady, distracting waves. ]

Get off.

[1stguardian]

How would I-

[He cut himself off as his brain caught up with his eyes and wedged the realization in through the mounting urgency to get the hell out of there: Grimmjow had two arms again. And there was only one time that Ichigo had ever seen him when he looked the way he did right then. Nnoitra.

But that couldn't be possible. Could it? Edgeworth had come back sounding like he didn't even remember dying. Unless... Ichigo knew the Core messed with the timeline. Maybe that was what happened. Maybe this Grimmjow wasn't the one who'd been in Siren's Port before. It was crazy and impossible and it made his head hurt just thinking about it. And more importantly, there wasn't time to be worrying about it.]

Keep still.

[He let his hand drop, glanced briefly around the baseball diamond, and looked back down at him again, expression flat and serious.]Look, I know you're confused and in pain, but we don't have time for the bullshit right now. You're in a lot of trouble and if anyone finds you out here, you're going to end up locked away again

[grimmjerk]

[ For a bit there - five minutes or more, it had to be, though it felt like so much longer in his head - Grimmjow just couldn't be assed to care. Not about his condition, not about Ichigo's whining, and not about the 'trouble' that was only gradually reminding him that it had happened in the first place. Maybe it was a side-effect of leaving and coming back; the break in his perception made his first stay in Siren's Port more like a dream than anything that had really occurred. Which was funny as hell in its own way, because he couldn't remember the last time that he had dreamed. Weird how he could still recall the disorientation and lingering unease.

God, Ichigo's face was still so fucking annoying. And everything that poured out of his mouth was still annoying, too.

Guess some thing's done change.

Hard to tell what was relief and what was blood loss. Had to be the second, because the first was too pitiful for him to really stand.

Annoying. ] ...che. Whatever. [ He closed his eyes and tried to swallow, because he sounded

an hour or two later...

[holeheart]

[Shiro doesn't bother to knock. Just opens the door to Grimmjow's room and goes right on in like he owns the place. He's wearing the Arrancar-styled uniform that he received when he came here; a long white trenchcoat with a high, opened collar to show his Chain of Fate hole and a pair of hakama with a blue obi. He has a little while before he has to go to work, and he's got a mad curiosity]

Yo. Grimmjow.

[grimmjerk]

[ You'd think after seeing Ichigo like that, Grimmjow wouldn't have been surprised to find out the Hollow'd followed right along after him. Seemed like one or the other would never be far behind, but even so.

It's still weird as hell. Not right somehow, like something had gotten fucked up while he had been away.

Maybe it had. ]

Hey. [ Someone doesn't have anywhere else to go but the bed; least he's propped up, instead of flat on his back. ] Who the hell put you in white?

You blend in too fuckin' much.

[holeheart]

[Trust him, he doesn't want to be. Nueva Las Noches, right here under Aizen's thumb? No thanks. But he's not going to leave Ichigo alone here in the lion's den, so along he came. And he got a neat outfit out of it, at least.

He snickers a little, folding his arms]

Dunno. Guess it was Aizen's idea. Hehehe. I did say I would come here and blend in like a chameleon, didn't I? [his smile fades a bit] I wanted to tell you that Ichigo and I aren't gonna be stayin' here much longer.

[grimmjerk]

'Course it was his idea.

So why don't you just hurry up and get out? [ They had to know. They had to know it wasn't just benign. Aizen's intentions were impossible to guess and always had been, but you didn't set foot in Las Noches - this one, or the original - without even a hint of just how deep the shit was that you were jumping into.

That, and Ichigo had to know he didn't belong. ]

[itsatrep]

[Luppi doesn't confront Grimmjow the moment he arrives, but instead waits for him to be settled in his room, making his way down the hall a few hours later. He leans against the doorway, arms crossed and a playful smile on his lips.]

My, my Sexta-san. I would say, "Look what the cat dragged in," but...

[He refuses to show his worry.]

[grimmjerk]

[ Luppi's smart to have stayed in the doorway. Grimmjow might not be able to do much, but he can at least lift his arms. Maybe not enough to put it through him, but the thought of crushing his throat isn't a bad alternative.

Have a smile. ]

But you decided to keep your annoying mouth shut this time?

[itsatrep]

[He just smiles at that. They both know that's not going to happen.

For all that he's here mainly to be a nuisance to Grimmjow, Luppi is also curious.]

Were you dead before you got brought back here or do you just look like it?

[grimmjerk]

Wouldn't you like to know? [ And why waste time beating around the fucking bush? ] Let's say I was alive.

That makes you...what was the word? Baggage? Or just leftovers?

[alapimp]

[ He lets Grimmjow's rescue occur without incident, waiting until his original Sexta is bedded down and comfortable (able to discuss matters at length) before approaching the injured arrancar's chambers. He couldn't give each of them a palace on the accursed island and very much felt that his Espada lived in cramped quarters that would, one day, result in someone or something being blown sky-high. Rules applied, of course, just as they had in Hueco Mundo, but the living hadn't been harassing his generals back there

[grimmjerk]

[ If Grimmjow had had the capacity, he would have gotten up anyway. There was the idea of healthy, intentional respect, sure; no Espada that was any number higher than two would face Aizen any other way than on their feet. He wanted to, right then, but there'd been more than time enough to realize just how fucked up he was and would be for a while. Being caught laying down embedded one last little thorn in his pride, but it would be nothing compared to attempting to stand and failing to like he knew that he would.

But there was also the instinctual fear, the bone-deep sensation of being weak and vulnerable in front of a predator. It wasn't something he could really control; living for as long as he had in the way that he had made for an automatic reaction that never left and never quieted.

Grimmjow could act like it wasn't there, but the hairs on the back of his neck still stood on end just the same. ]

Better. [ Honesty in his own way. At least he wasn't bleeding all over everything anymore. ] It's nothing I can't handle.

[

[alapimp]

[ Stepping further into the room, he walked toward the end of the bed, scanning him from head to toe with a flicker of interest, silence hanging. Finally, he tilted his head and commented. ]

You're already looking healthier than when you first arrived, despite Nnoitra's interference.

[ His memories of Las Noches were still fresh, replaying Ichigo's fight against Grimmjow. He had yet to witness that of Ulquiorra's, but it was doubtful Ichigo hadn't tried to exert the same mercy. Grimmjow owed the boy so much, doubly now. Surely he was aware of it, as much as he would be that Sousuke saw everything that went on under his own sky. ]

What do you remember from your time in this city, prior to your departure?

[grimmjerk]

[ Grimmjow was too tired to hide his surprise, but after it made its way onto his face he realized how stupid it was. Of course Aizen would have known how that fight ended. He'd always known, no matter how vast the interiors of Las Noches had been.

He had more bandages on him than uniform at this point, which at the very least hid the types and severity of his injuries. Nnoitra's handiwork was too distinctive to disguise, but the important wound, the slim incision where Ichigo's zanpakuto had slid in one side and out the other, remained out of sight.

He could have aimed higher. ] I remember all of it.

[ He stopped, and when he started again, something cracked bitterly at the ends of his words. ] Someone told me the lawyer came back.

[gamuzadeclares]

[Nelliel didn't respond with her NV. Her modelling shoot for the day had finished late, and she'd taken care to escort her co-workers to their homes before turning on her NV. By then, the message was received too late to go and find him herself. Instead, she stopped by shortly after Ichigo had left Grimmjow in his room.

It was interesting how time worked in this place - how she couldn't remember Grimmjow with only one arm, but she could remember his fight with Ichigo and Nnoitra attacking him. She remembered Ichigo defending him in spite of their fight, and then finally regaining her memories when she became afraid enough for Ichigo's well being.

Grimmjow wouldn't want pity. She knew that. Perhaps he would accept a small and considerate gesture instead. She poked her head into his doorway.]

Hi. I was on my way downstairs to make myself some tea, so I thought I'd stop by and see if there was anything on you wanted while I'm there.

[grimmjerk]

[ Grimmjow didn't know how to take kindness. It wasn't just that he was more inclined to punch someone in the face than return the gesture,but who the hell would even do that kind of thing for a Hollow? Something as mundane as consideration struck him as fucking bizarre, even now, because who among their number would even bother with that?

Nel would, apparently, for reasons he couldn't even begin to guess at. When she showed her face, he didn't quite have the attention necessary to keep the surprise off his own. ]

You...what? [ Grimmjow frowned, and was able to pull off something close to a shrug. ] ...sure, fine.

[ A long pause, an awkward one. ] Is it the same tea as always?

[gamuzadeclares]

[Given the choice between fighting with a person or having a civil, or even friendly relationship with a person, Nelliel would choose the latter, every time. Just because she could fight well didn't mean that she enjoyed it. It was also preferable to get along with the people she had to live with...as best as their varied personalities would allow.]

The tea? It can be, if you would like a cup of it. Or I have a few specialty flavours I bought last month if you wanted to try something new.

[grimmjerk]

[ He could have laughed. He did, a little, letting his head fall back on the pillows and running his hand through his hair. ]

I'll take whatever new shit you've got. Doesn't matter which one.