His mother was coming back today.
Oh god, his mother was coming back today.
Shooting up, he quickly leaned over to peek under his bed. The absolute madman had made himself quite the comfortable little den with blankets and pillows he no doubt stole from the cupboard. Getting back up, he looked at his phone to see it was 5am. Laying back down on his bed, he shut his eyes with a prayer.
_._._._
"Aki, you coming to karaoke?" One of his friends asked at the end of the school day.
Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed to the door.
"Sorry, can't. Super busy." Was his vague reply.
The students watched as their friend rushed out of the classroom like there was a warrant out for his arrest. He was a blur as he sprinted as fast as humanly possible, hoping that Grimmjow decided to leave. The man was so unpredictable that he feared for the sanity of his mother. He made it home in a little under seven minutes, dropping his key in his haste to get the door open. Stepping in, he loudly announced his presence whilst taking off his shoes.
"Akito, you're here early. Didn't wanna hang out with your friends?"
His mother looked well. Not spooked or traumatized in any way. Always a good sign. Motherly instincts taking the helm, Himari noticed her son's skittish demeanour. Approaching him, she placed a comforting hand on his cheek.
"Aki, baby, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." She asked with a chuckle.
He laughed along, secretly screaming inside at her unintentional joke.
"I'm fine, just ah- got a lot of homework to d-"
Brazenly, the monster from under his bed meandered up behind his mother, grinning down at him like a malevolent Cheshire cat. Akito was quick to dart his eyes away and smile at his mother like everything was fine. Ushering her away, he forced the ex-espada to step out the way who just grinned.
"Hey, let's make something together in the kitchen. How about pancakes?" He suggested, hoping his mother would agree to stay in one part of the house for a prolonged amount of time.
The one-time Grimmjow could've been off doing lord knows what but he decides to stay inside. 'This man is going to be the death of me... Shit, I probably shouldn't jinx that-'
"Pancakes? At 4 in the afternoon?" She asked, opening the cupboards to see what was inside.
Akito knew he was being silly but just needed her to get away from him for as long as possible. He motioned for him to move away with a stern expression only to quickly smile again when his mum looked over.
"We have all the ingredients for a nice lemon cake, does that sound good?"
Nodding, he said how he needed to go do something first whilst inconspicuously shoving the Grimmjow up the stairs.
Back in his bedroom, Grimmjow turned to him with a grin.
"She IS hot. Why'd you lie?"
"What? Look- don't freak my mum out, okay? I'll buy all the beef jerky you want."
His eyebrows raised at the offer. As a hollow , he didn't need to eat food but the world of the living had too much good stuff to pass up. He never wanted to go too long without tasting a "flavour". Akito had taught him about them and he wanted to try them all. Placing his hand on the younger boy's head in a patronising way, Grimmjow leaned down so they were at eye level.
"That might be a hard promise to keep." He said with a grin.
Akito gulped, but didn't let his fear show on his face. Grimmjow's overwhelming presence encased him with a feeling of dread
"I will let you sleep on my bed. I'll let you win at mortal Kombat. PLEASE, just leave my family alone."
Curious, the blue haired murderer stood up straight in his usual nonchalant way. Tilting his head, he scowled at the other.
"What? You think I'm gonna eat their souls?"
It was phrased like a question but the way he said it was clearly meant to incite fear in the boy. Should that be his course of action, no one would be able to stop him and Aki was aware of this. All he could do was appease him in any way necessary so he wouldn't want to. He pushed the boy away with a snort.
"You know, seeing how scared you are at the possibility makes me wanna do it more." He chuckled, falling onto his bed.
Heart hammering in his chest, the teen clenched his fists. He had come to somewhat enjoy Grimmjow's otherworldly presence over the past week but deep down knew he couldn't be trusted.
"Stop panicking. I'm not gonna eat your fucking family. Go and make your pancakes or whatever." He drawled, making moves to exit out the window.
Akito let out a sigh of relief. Joining his mother in the kitchen, they got to making the basic dessert. Himari was only slightly shorter than him with short brown hair, Hazel eyes and a slightly darker complexion than him. They didn't bear much resemblance as he greatly took after his father. He hid it well but he didn't like how his appearance strayed far from his mother's. She was the only parent in his life after all. It sucked being reminded that he was the child of a deadbeat father every time he looked in a mirror. Setting those despondent thoughts aside, he focused on having a good time with his mum.
"So, I went on a date." Himari revealed, idly mixing the batter in the bowl.
His expression morphed multiple times, from surprised to worried to happy.
"O-oh, how was it?"
A sad smile and shake of her head was all he needed to know.
Akito was old enough to understand the different needs of people and could sympathise with his mother. She had been raising him by herself since he was born, meaning he never had a father figure. Yui wasn't actually his sister but in fact his cousin his mother legally adopted after the passing of her parents. Luckily, they turned out okay contrary to how statistics predicted their outcome. He sympathised with her and never opposed her endeavour to find a partner; promising himself not to immediately hate the person she chose.
_._._._
Grimmjow didn't return for the rest of the day, making him glad but at the same time a little upset at his absence. 'I know I told him to leave my family alone but I didn't literally mean LEAVE' he thought whilst organising his laundry. The end of the day eventually rolled around, Akito flopping down onto his bed for a good night's rest.
"Oi, wake up, shitty hair."
Jolting awake, Aki blinked rapidly to wake himself up. There was only one person who called him that, much to his chagrin. He'd rather not be given a customised insult inspired by his unruly hair. Leaning over the side of the bed, he saw Grimmjow's head poking out with an annoyed frown. His normally messy blue hair was especially rowdy.
"Wha-"
"I sense a hollow. You gonna kill it or what?"
Standing on the roof wearing a black tracksuit he had frantically put on, Akito let out a loud yawn.
"It's 3am. I don't patrol every night, you know." He groaned, rubbing his eyes.
The response he got was a kick to his back, almost making him tumble off the roof. He managed to steady himself before he could fall off and break his bones.
"Hey! You're just bored, aren't you? Why do you need me to kill it?" He yelled, audibly and visibly tired of Grimmjow's antics.
"I don't wanna be roommates with a weakling who can't kill a lowly hollow."
"Then go live with someone else!"
Both heads turned as they sensed the spiritual pressure of a hollow.This time, it was very snake-like, slithering down the streets as it hungrily looked for prey. Akito crouched down on the roof, a hand under his chin as he formulated his plan of action.
"Stop thinking and just use your zanpakuto." Grimmjow advised, pressing his foot against the boy's back again.
Akito slowly turned to him, expression conveying nothing but exasperation.
"I don't know why you assume I know all of these things. The hell is a za- Xanax?"
He pressed down harder, muttering a slew of expletives before placing his foot back down.
"Your weapon! It transforms when you put your spiritual power into it."
The black-haired boy sadly smiled, at a complete and utter loss. Cupping his face with his hands, he made a sound similar to a laugh mixed with a sob.
"What does that meeeean!"
Growling, Grimmjow grabbed the handle of his pantera.
"Watch and learn, you dumb Shinigami."
Once again, Akito was taught another lesson about the supernatural world of hollows and Shinigamis. The sight of what Grimmjow called his "release" form had him in awe. His unruly blue hair became long flowing locks. Grimmjow was almost unrecognisable with his white suit and digitigrade legs. The most notable features however were the large slash on his chest above a sizable hole in his abdomen. All at once, Akito felt an immense, crushing pressure all across his body. It was like gravity itself had tripled in Grimmjow's immediate area. Kneeling down, he focused on steadying his breathing as the pressure began to slowly subside as Grimmjow suppressed it again. To make a long story short: the hollow did not have a good time.
Returning to the roof, Grimmjow quirked an eyebrow when Akito began clapping like he had witnessed a stunning performance. Overwhelmed with excitement, his brain to mouth filter suffered somewhat.
"You look like a scary cat." He commented, an image of Grimmjow playing with a ball of yarn appearing in his head.
Reaching forward, the ex-espada grabbed the human's face like he was a large apple.
"I'm not a fucking cat! I'm a Panther! King of the jungle, you brat!" He seethed as the boy clawed at his wrist.
Freeing his face, Akito beamed, unperturbed at Grimmjow's man handling. The hollow felt uneasy at being victim to Akito's mirthful expression.
"Does that mean I can learn to do that?"
Grimmjow tilted his head, his transformation dissipating in black smoke as he returned to his base form.
"What? No. A Shinigami's zanpakuto release only changes their swords. But there are bankais that can affect their appearance..." He said, scratching his cheek.
Akito pouted while folding his arms, annoyed that he had yet another topic to learn about.
"All this stuff is so convoluted." He sighed.
Right on cue, his body reminded him what time it was by ripping a loud yawn out of him. Tuckered out, Akito simply let his body fall back on the roof, eyelids closing due to their suddenly increased weight. Grimmjow glanced at the boy only to do a double take.
"Oi! Don't fall asleep out here you idiot!"
Dragging him back was hardly a taxing task.