Bleach fic: Leap of Faith - Part II (original) (raw)

Title: Leap of Faith - Part II
Author: aviss
Pairing: Grimmjow/Ichigo
Rating: PG-13 so far
Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance
Warnings: None so far
Word Count: ~2.400 this part
Summary: Ichigo has problems adapting to the peaceful days after the war. However, they won't be peaceful for long

Part I

Part II

Ichigo stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, the low purring of his cat curled at the feet of his bed calming and strangely distracting at the same time.

He couldn't sleep.

He had a biology test the next day and lots of things to do and think about but his mind insisted in going over the same things again and again. Espada level arrancar at Karakura. Grimmjow. Rukia seeing them--the embarrassment of that last fact alone was enough to keep him awake for weeks.

Grimmjow.

If he was honest with himself he'd had to admit his disappointment at not seeing the fucker even once in the past three years. He had imagined the bloodthirsty bastard would be back to pester him once things settled on both sides, and had been surprised when Grimmjow failed to show.

After the first few months Ichigo had admitted Grimmjow wasn't going to appear in front of him again and had moved on with his life: he found a pretty girlfriend to hang out with now he didn't need to look over his shoulder every five seconds, and tried to enjoy the peaceful times.

He had failed miserably on both accounts: the peaceful times were utterly boring and his girlfriends didn't get to evoke more than a faint feeling of fondness in Ichigo.

He missed Rukia and Renji's chaotic influence in his life, missed the excitement of his previous life and missed the annoying presence of Grimmjow by his side.

He fucking missed Grimmjow, what more proof of madness did he need?

He had to be completely and utterly insane.

For a while he had believed there could be something more than forced camaraderie between the two of them, and that last battle against Aizen and Gin had been both terrifying and exhilarating. Grimmjow and he were an unbeatable combination: the Espada's bloodlust and Ichigo's power together had been a sight to behold.

And they had won, against all odds they won.

And then that kiss--it had really scrambled up Ichigo's brain for good. It had been short and little more than lips brushing and pushing against each other, a faint hint of warmness and the sharp tang of blood, gone too fast for Ichigo to even notice it was there. But he had felt it, he had felt that fucking stupid kiss more than everything else he had done with his girlfriends.

Talk about being screwed.

And now this fucking shit happened, and even though Byakuya had said they wouldn't need Ichigo's help he had the feeling he was going to get dragged into it.

Story of his life.

He just needed to convince himself he wasn't excited at the prospect.

…

Grimmjow had no problem locating the Shinigami, he never did.

It was unbelievable that all this time after the Winter War and the bastard had not yet learned to conceal that monstrous reiatsu of his, it was like a beacon for every Hollow in town. It made it easier for Grimmjow to follow him at a distance, his own reiatsu concealed as not to alert his prey.

His prey--that was what the Shinigami had always been since the moment they met, just an interesting prey. Grimmjow didn't want or need to regard him as anything else.

It had been his mistake to allow things to get to that point, and the reason Grimmjow had stayed away from the Shinigami since he was forced to return to Hueco Mundo--or so he told himself. The moment he had felt he'd rather have the Shinigami by his side than dead at his feet, Grimmjow had known how royally screwed he was.

It was a complication and a weakness, and if there was something Grimmjow didn't need were weaknesses.

Not that the time and distance had changed much, his first instinct upon seeing Kurosaki was to appear in front of him and fuck him against the nearest wall.

In truth he never intended to stay away, not for long. He might have been forced to return to Hueco Mundo while the Shinigami cleaned up after the war, and much as it irked him to admit it, Ichigo had been right: he had been in no condition to fight after the beating he got from Gin. Helping kill Gin had been truly enjoyable that day, and he had not been sorry to see His Master die.

He would have killed Aizen himself if he'd been strong enough before he had to bow to him.

He had intended to go back once he was healed and force Ichigo to keep his promise: fight him until Grimmjow was satisfied and maybe then they could get on with the fucking.

He had forgotten--or rather not taken into account--how differently time flowed between the two worlds. By the time Grimmjow thought to go back a whole new set of complications arose and there was no point going back to how things were before.

That didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Or that Grimmjow didn't intend to change things again.

…

This time when the Hollows came Ichigo was ready for them.

He had been on the way to Inoue's home when he felt the disturbance. He couldn't remember making the conscious decision of going there; at some point in the night he had fallen asleep and when he woke up in the morning, late and panicked believing he would not get to the exam, he had just known he was going to visit Inoue.

It had been weeks since the last time they were together, it would be good to talk to her again.

He felt it when he was almost there, a change in pressure and a ripple, like the fabric of reality had been torn and recomposed in a few seconds, and had no doubt of what that mean. Something had crossed from Hueco Mundo through a Garganta.

Ichigo readied himself for the fight, shedding his living body and putting it in a safe place.

There were at least three Hollows waiting for him, all of them ugly as sin. Ichigo tried to defeat them with just his Shikai, hoping they were the garden-variety Hollow instead of the new crap; he didn't have time for this shit. Not today.

He wasn't that lucky.

And there was something more, that eerie feeling of being watched was back. A niggling on the back of his mind telling him he should be paying more attention to his surroundings, that there was something--someone--known close by.

Tired of the game and with all his senses telling him the greater danger was behind him, Ichigo released his Bankai. He didn't have time to attack, though. The moment the Hollows reformed and regrouped they were blasted into nothingness by a cero.

"You've gotten weaker, Kurosaki," Grimmjow said landing gently in front of him, the dust settling anew where the last Hollow had been. "Trash like that would have never given you trouble before."

Ichigo stared at him, mouth agape, brain trying to understand what had just happened.

Grimmjow, the fucking psycho he had been thinking about was right in front of him after all that time. A thousand words were chasing each other in Ichigo's mind, none of them finding the path to his mouth, So it was really you. What the fuck are you doing here? It was really you. Why the fuck didn't you show yourself sooner? It is you. Where the fuck have you been? His hand gripped Zangestu tighter, itching to release the stopped attack on the fucker.

His jaw unlocked, his mouth finally working. "Getsuga Tenshou," Ichigo heard himself saying, feeling the attack being released from his body into the sword, the black light spreading from the metal.

Grimmjow didn't look surprised or angry; he just laughed and deflected the attack as if it was nothing; Ichigo felt his blood boiling, his entire body itching to beat the shit out of the fucker for having the nerve to disappear on him after that mind job of a kiss only to appear again now.

He took a deep breath, visibly calming himself and sealed his Bankai so he wouldn't feel too tempted to use it against Grimmjow. He wasn't going to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing how much his presence was upsetting him.

"What are you doing here Grimmjow?" he said as coldly as he could, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Taking care of the trash," Grimmjow said with a shrug. He took a step toward Ichigo, not threatening in any manner but Ichigo couldn't help but take a step back, keeping the distance between them; Grimmjow noticed and smirked.

"You sound like Ulquiorra," Ichigo said inanely, still trying to figure out why was Grimmjow there and how he felt about it.

Another shrug. "I spend too much time with the fucker, only half interesting his going on there now."

What? Ichigo stared at him, blinking, the meaning of those words registering in his brain. "What do you mean?"

"Fucker is more interested in spending time with his woman than anything else." Ichigo could hear the scorn dripping from that word and was trying to understand what Grimmjow was saying without much luck.

"Ulquiorra is dead," he finally said, his brow furrowing, "I killed him."

Grimmjow laughed, "You sure did, Kurosaki," he took another step toward Ichigo who took another step back, "and then that woman you were so intent in rescuing from him asked me to take her back so she could save his life. I still had a score to settle with him so it suited me just fine."

"You're lying."

Grimmjow shrugged again, still advancing toward Ichigo, the old infuriating smirk on his face. It still annoyed the hell out of Ichigo. "Whatever," he stopped and studied Ichigo, still keeping the distance between them, that cocky smirk widening. "Are you afraid of me now, Kurosaki?"

A wave of anger, red hot and so familiar, stopped Ichigo's retreat. He glared at Grimmjow as if he wanted to incinerate him on the spot, and with a jolt Ichigo realized that was the most emotion he had felt in the past three years. God, he was so fucked it wasn't even funny. "Fuck you, Grimmjow," he spat, forcing himself to stay still when the bastard started advancing again, closing the distance. "Tell me what the hell you are doing here now. What do you have to do with those fucking weird things? And what the fuck is that about Ulquiorra?"

"Nothing, they're just pests I'm getting rid of."

"Grimmjow," Ichigo growled, his patience wearing thin. How on earth could he have missed this annoying fucker?

Grimmjow seemed to be enjoying himself, closing the distance between the two of them, Ichigo stubbornly refusing to back out now. "You really don't know," he said amused. "Your woman, the one you almost died to save, went back to save Ulquiorra and has been fucking him ever since."

Ichigo shook his head; it had to be a lie. Orihime would not do something like that, she wouldn't. But--Ichigo had noticed how she had been changing, withdrawing slowly and keeping to herself.

"You're lying," he insisted.

"You know I'm not, and I don't care what you believe. I didn't come here to talk about Ulquiorra or his woman's life."

"What did you come here for, Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked finally, eyeing him warily.

Grimmjow stopped mere inches from him, so close Ichigo could almost feel the heat from his body.

"Don't you know, Kurosaki?"

He did know; he could tell by the way Grimmjow kept approaching him but he'd be damned if he was going to say it, or let him fuck with his mind again.

"We have unfinished business, Kurosaki," Grimmjow said leaning forward, their faces mere inches apart. Ichigo held his ground, forcing himself to stay still and not move away--or close the distance between them. "You owe me a fight."

Ichigo blinked, tightening his hold on Zangetsu and then glared a Grimmjow. A fight? A fucking fight? After all that time and the bastard still wanted--well, right now he also felt like killing Grimmjow. He jumped back and gathered his reiatsu, feeling the energy crackle around him and focusing around his body and suddenly Grimmjow was on him, grabbing his sword arm in a vice grip and pulling him against his body.

The kiss this time was nothing like the one Ichigo remembered, it was hungry and demanding, teeth clashing, tongues hungrily chasing each other from mouth to mouth, bodies pressed together almost painfully. Ichigo hear a dull thud when his sword fell to the ground but he couldn't care less, this was what he had wanted for three fucking long years.

He grabbed Grimmjow's hair with his now free hands and pulled him even closer, trying to devour his mouth.

He heard some noise around them but paid no attention to it, they were in their spiritual forms so the people around them would not see anything. He wasn't sure he'd care even of they could see them.

"Friends of yours, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked breaking the kiss and Ichigo turned slowly.

We'll send someone to investigate the issue. That was what Byakuya had said, and Ichigo, idiot that he could sometimes be, had already forgotten that. Of course Soul Society was going to dispatch people the moment they felt a Garganta being opened. He should have known.

Feeling his face heating to the point of burning Ichigo looked at Rukia and Renji, both of them staring at him with twin expressions of amused disbelief. Fuck. Not too far from them were Kira and Shuuhei, swords ready in their hands but frozen on the spot.

He felt Grimmjow moving away from him, Ichigo still frozen in horror staring at the recently arrived Shinigami, and he felt the telling ripple of a Garganta opening again.

"Ichigo, get away from him!" Rukia exclaimed releasing her sword.

Ichigo looked at his friends and then turned to look at Grimmjow who was already moving to cross to Hueco Mundo. He made his decision in a split second and with an apologetic look to his friends he rushed after Grimmjow.

…

Part III