"I killed the hollow."
Those four words. All it took was those four words for Grimmjow to truly regard the teen with the respect he had been craving. A goal he had once thought impossible had now been put behind him and it felt so good. The ex-espada grabbed him and spun him around like a ragdoll, blabbering about something to do with "never forgetting your first time" which he couldn't help but relate to something not safe for work. Released from the man's grip, Akito fell on his butt with a yelp. He wanted to yell at him for being so reckless but conceded Grimmjow was just didn't know how to appropriately express joy without hurting someone.
"We should celebrate your first kill." He suggested, grinning maniacally.
"Celebrate how?" Akito asked whilst standing and brushing the grass stains from his trousers.
"By killing another one, duh!"
Leaving his town was a very uncommon occurrence for Akito. His family wasn't well off and so didn't have many opportunities to travel. Grimmjow suddenly suggesting he head away with him to hunt stronger hollows was both enthralling and terrifying. The difference between them became palpable when Grimmjow expressed confusion to Akito's well-placed trepidation. He didn't have to worry about finding a place to sleep, or having money to eat as he was essentially an immortal ghost man who lived off souls. Akito did have an impressive amount of money saved from his shoe refurbishing gig but wasn't about to dig into to it so he could appease his friend's bloodlust.
"I've got something figured out."
Of course, before he could even think about leaving, he would have to ask his mother for permission. Despite it being a very normal thing to do, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He'd never had to ask her to leave for such a prolonged time. Rationalising, he reminded himself that he could take care of himself and would be perfectly safe with Grimmjow by his side. He stood in the kitchen, leaning against the island as he awkwardly waited for his mum to finish her phone conversation. She glanced at him from her place at the cooker where she was making dinner. Pressing her phone against her chest, she finally gave him her attention.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Rubbing his hands together, he tried to find the best words to make his request sound less extreme.
"Can I go on a trip with Grimm?" he asked as plainly as possible.
Himari smiled and nodded, asking what time he'd be back.
"Uh, Sunday."
The ladle clattered as it fell into the pot of sauce. Her eyes were wide with shock, not all expecting such a long time frame.
"For two nights!? Who will you be staying with?"
Caught off guard, Akito looked at Grimmjow who was leaning against the other counter with his arms folded.
"Grimm said he'd sort that out."
"Honey, Grimm's a ghost. How could he possibly find you a place to stay?"
Slightly annoyed, Akito clenched his fists, desperately grasping at this chance of independence and a new experience outside of his town.
"I'll be fine, mum! I can protect myself. And even if I can't, Grimmjow will never let something happen to me."
The concerned mother looked away for a moment, considering his clear determination. She relented.
_._._._
The house was much bigger than Akito had been expecting. He felt very out of place standing on the doorstep, hands clutching his straps. How Grimmjow knew the owner, he had no idea. He just hoped no crime or intimidation was involved. He jumped when Grimmjow suddenly pounded on the door so hard he thought it was going to break. A moment later, the door was opened by a man Akito could only describe as very bright. He had to wrench his gaze away from the tall man's fiery head of hair, shoving down any comments relating to a myriad of fruits.
"Grimmjow!" he happily greeted, seemingly unaware of the hollow's constant state of violence.
Akito immediately felt the man's supressed spiritual pressure. It felt odd. A mixture of conflicting things somehow finding harmony. His brown eyes fell from the blue haired menace to Akito who gulped.
"And you must be Akito." The man said with a warm smile.
Stuttering out his own greeting, Akito bowed deeply only for Grimmjow to yank him back up by his collar.
"Ichigo! Where are the good hollow spots? This shrimp's got celebratory killing to do!"
He never imagined he would be sat around a cosy kotatsu with the family of the politest man he'd ever met while discussing killing ghost demons.
"Grimmjow, you know killing hollows isn't my main focus anymore." Ichigo put down, laying his hand over his wife's much smaller one.
"Grimmjow thought I knew you and almost killed me because he thought I was lying." Akito suddenly confessed, head dipped low as he held onto his cup of tea.
He's not sure why he brought it up. He supposed it was amazing the ever elusive "Ichigo" person Grimmjow was always griping about killing was real. Said man looked to Grimmjow with an unimpressed frown.
"Do you just have a thing for trying to kill teenaged boys?" he joked though Grimmjow didn't take it too lightly.
"My boy's killed a hollow! How many has your runt done in?"
Akito felt his heart skip a beat at Grimmjow's rather endearing way of referring to him. He dipped his nose further into his cup to hide his flushed face.
"None. He's seven."
"Ha! Pathetic."
They bickered like this for a bit more until they turned their attention to Akito.
"So, you're half soul reaper? I swear, more hybrids keeps cropping up everyday."
Akito rubbed the back of his neck bashfully while stating he didn't actually know who his father was, though he was likely a soul reaper. To his luck, Ichigo was far more informative than Grimmjow ever was when it came to answering his questions. The end of the day rolled around and Orihime showed them the spare bedroom they would be staying in. He didn't even get to put his bag down before he was getting snagged by his collar again. He was both glad and annoyed he had grown used to Grimmjow man handling him like a ragdoll.
"Ichihoe said this town's a magnet for hollow activity because of all the spiritually aware people. We're gonna be feasting tonight!" he cackled like an eager jackal.
With a roll of his eyes and flick of his wrist, Akito summoned his Zanpakutou, resting it on his shoulder. Scratching his cheek, he looked up into the night sky in wonderment.
"Hey, do you think you can teach me to walk on air?" he asked.
Turning, he saw Grimmjow was already walking away with a very delinquent like gait, in search of prey. The teen rushed to catch up to him, yelling at him to stop doing that.
To Grimmjow's delight, they did in fact come across a hollow with little searching. It was by no means strong but enough to get his hate filled blood pumping. By the time Akito had summoned his Shikai, Grimmjow had already stomped it into the ground. He was a panther overwhelming a mouse without a chance. Surprisingly, he apologised for killing it, not intending to infringe of Akito's victory kill. It was mildly concerning the only time he was sorry was due to killing someone else's intended victim.
The next one they found was a bit more impressive in terms of size and spiritual pressure. Something so big and aggressive should strike fear into Akito but his confidence in his abilities sky rocketed with Grimmjow watching him. The ex-espada lingered on the side-lines, giving Akito advice such as "go for the throat" and "tear his arms off". He appreciated the sentiment behind his encouragement but found it more annoying than anything else.
Finally, their hollow hunting escapade came to an end as the morning sun began its ascent into the slowly brightening sky. Letting out a satisfied sigh, Akito spun on his heel to face his blue haired mentor who was yet again strolling away. Annoyed, Akito sprinted in front of him.
"Hey! Do you have to walk away every two sec-"
"I'm sensing something."
His tone was serious, blue brows furrowed as he sneered. He looked as if he had smelt something less than appetizing and the only way to get rid of the smell was by killing it. Just up ahead, they saw a very casual looking man leaning against a lamp post. He was wearing a dark orange sweater, black jeans and white trainers. His hair was black and messy, swaying in the breeze as he smoked a cigarette. Grimmjow put a hand out in front of Akito, narrowing his blue eyes at the enigma. It was far too early for someone to be out without a motive.
Kicking off the large metallic object, the man took one last drag as he approached the curious pair. Tossing the tobacco stick on the ground, he stomped it out. Looking up at them, he gave them a warm smile. He was a bird flying precariously close to a hungry lion.
"You got a problem?" Grimmjow asked, feeling it necessary to instigate a fight whenever possible.
The man just rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle, dark blue eyes glinting in the light. Subtly, Grimmjow leaned towards Akito slightly.
"You know this guy?"
The teen vigorously shook his head, dismissing any thoughts about their resemblance even though it was palpable.
The stranger didn't grace Grimmjow with an answer, instead focusing on Akito.
"Sword's pretty cool, right? I knew it would make a good present."
His words were cryptic to Grimmjow but struck a chord within Akito who pushed past his protective arm. He summoned said object only to unsheathe it and point it at the man menacingly. Anger flowed through his veins at an unprecedented rate at what his words implied.
"Who are you!?"
The stranger's smile widened, eyes creasing with mirth. Stretching out his arms, regarding Akito like they were old friends.
"The name's Kenji Testumaru. But if that's too much of a mouthful- you can just call me dad."
Pure horror. His stomach dropped as a plethora of emotions mixed and swelled inside him. They eventually congealed into utter fury. His reiatsu became unstable, leaking out at a rate much higher than before. The wind picked up around them, making their clothes and leaves on the trees rustle.
Kenji was completely unaffected by his show of power, instead seemingly impressed by it. Grimmjow saw the sheer animosity etched into the boys face, making him grin slightly.
"You're lying!" he shouted, hand hurting from how hard he was gripping the hilt. "You really expect me to just believe that?"
Kenji shrugged, motioning to Grimmjow.
"I can see your espada friend over there. That not proof enough?"
Conceding, Akito reigned in his reiatsu so he could focus more. He took a deep breath to calm himself but it didn't have much help in ebbing away the anger.
"Why did you leave my mother!?"
Kenji's nonchalance pissed off Akito even more; he was clearly apathetic to Himari's well being.
"Listen, kid, I'm gonna be real with you- I was a Shinigami sent to patrol the living world. It's a privilege, really. So of course, I wanted to have fun, ya know?"
Akito wanted to lunge at him. Wanted to do him in like he did to all those hollows. He couldn't see a difference between them. Kenji continued.
"Ya see, these gigais just simulate a human appearance. But mine sort of... Developed in a way that wasn't foreseen." He said in a tone that hinted at something mildly inappropriate. "To get straight to the point, twelve years ago, my captain realized that hybrids have a lot of latent potential. One of these hybrids caused quite a stir, I'm sure you're aware of him."
Ichigo.
"Being the helpful soul I am, I informed him that during my time in the living world, I may have accidentally made a Shinigami-human hybrid. Low and behold, there you were. So, he suggested to give you an asauchi and the end product is far better than he could've hoped for. With the current state of the seireitei, post war, utilising hybrids could turn the odds in our favour forever. You're the beginning of a new generation." He finished, extending a hand.
"Mayuri Kurotsuchi awaits your presence."
Irritated by his constant stream of nonsense, Grimmjow stomped hard enough to leave a dent in the concrete. Throughout his spiel, he only managed to zone in on one word.
"Product?" he whispered, voice quiet but agitation loud as horns. "Is that all Akito is to you? A fucking PRODUCT?" He seethed, cracking his knuckles in a way that made even Akito flinch.
Kenji's lackadaisical demeanour changed to a slightly more alert stance, smile fading.
"He was an experiment. An extremely successful one. Not only did he manage to extend his soul into the asauchi, he can summon at will which is a power even I haven't seen before. He has no idea of the potential that lies within him."
Grimmjow stalked towards the pompous Shinigami, his intent to harm shining clear in his eyes. He grabbed a fist full of his horrid sweater only for Kenji to simply step back out of his gigai, causing it to fall limp. Now in his shihakusho, he stood off against the ex-espada. Tossing the disguise away, Grimmjow tilted his chin up in a cocksure manner.
"Akito's no fucking product. You might be his father, but you sure ain't his fucking dad." He spat.
With that, Grimmjow expanded his own spiritual pressure, enough to make Akito's knees buckle and breath hitch. Kenji frowned, gripping onto his Zanpakutou. He knew he wasn't a match for the sixth espada and wasn't planning on clashing. His protectiveness was intriguing to him.
"Why do you care about him anyway? I thought hollows just fought and ate each other?" He asked in a derisive tone.
"We eat more than just other hollows." Grimmjow shot back, showing off his terrifying canines.
Kenji looked over at Akito who had stood up again, face contorted into a hard frown. Flicking his wrist, he procured an immaculate letter with a symbol neither were familiar with. Using shunpo, he moved in front of Akito who flinched. Pressing the letter to his chest, he leaned down so his mouth was beside his ear.
"Consider it."
He vanished right before Grimmjow managed to snag him. Looking back, he saw Kenji lifting his gigai onto his shoulder, that aggravating smile returning to his face.
"See you later, son."
He vanished.
Swearing, Grimmjow kicked the air, the force of the wind slashing a tree in half. Looking over at Akito he saw him tear the letter in half, visibly upset at the turn of events. He knew his father was a dead beat but wasn't expecting him to be that level of awful. Upon feeling a lump in his throat, he immediately turned away from Grimmjow to begin walking back to Ichigo's house.
"I'm going home. Hollow hunt's over." He said, voice a little shaky.
The largely pissed off part of Grimmjow's mood was quickly tackled by another feeling that took hold of him. Closing the distance between them, he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. That touch stirred something within Akito who suddenly crashed into Grimmjow's body, shoulders shaking as he cried.
"All my life! All I've wanted is-" his sentence was cut off by sobs and hiccups as he continued to cry.
Caught off guard, Grimmjow went stiff but eventually relaxed. Before, he would've told him to suck it up and stop being a cry baby but it was different now. He knew Akito was strong, he'd seen what he had accomplished and couldn't fault him for having a moment of weakness like this. Gently he placed a comforting hand on his head.
"C'mon, forget about that asshole."
Pushing him back, he gave a toothy grin.
"Next time we see that bastard, we'll kick his teeth into next Tuesday!"
That little bit of violent positivity urged a smile out of the forlorn boy.
"Definitely."