The fine line between love and hate 11

"I can't freaking believe I'm doing this..." were Grimmjow's thoughts while he was searching his father's office. He didn't know what he was looking for... something related to the Kuchiki's, but... how the hell was he supposed to know if that kind of information was in his office?



'You must be so in love with her to do this, huh?' he heard the voice of his friend D-Roy next to him, and the blue haired guy pushed him rudely.



'Keep searching' Grimmjow commanded him, starting to regret bringing his friend with him. He wasn't the smartest of his friends, but hell, he was the most loyal and the easiest to fool. Perfect for this kind of task.



'What should I search for? There are a lot of papers and stuff over here...'



'Anything with the word Kuchiki on it' the tallest man responded, opening the desk's drawers, and messing all the cds and USB flash drives inside.



Grimmjow was getting nervous. It had cost him a lot to get into his father's office without being detected by the security men, and most probably, several cameras were recording everything, so he would be in trouble if his father discovered he had been nosing in his office... Especially if he discovered why he was doing it...



The blue haired man clucked his tongue when he found nothing interesting on the drawer.



'Yo, Grimm, I don't think your father would be that stupid to leave personal information in his office. He's very important and rich, probably he keeps all stuff that could cause damage to his image well hidden from everyone...' the grey haired guy pointed, and Grimmjow facepalmed himself, trying not to lose his patience.



He already knew his father had a safe-deposit box in his house, where he surely kept everything that could implicate him on dirty business... He wasn't idiot, Grimmjow was aware that his father used to meet and be surrounded by very suspicious people, although he had never seen or heard anything that could make him suspect, but there were many things that didn't fit... Like the missing owner of the company, the accident of his deputy director and the hiring of the young Byakuya after he sold him his company.



'D-Roy... you know what my father and yours are up to? They've been collaborating for quite long time, and let's face it, your father is just a pawn working for a mediocre company...'.



'Hey, how dare you?! Don't insult my family... And I dunno what they're up to, but since he brings a lot of money home, I guess they're doing their business, if you know what I mean...'.


"Yes, your father and mine are criminals..." Grimmjow thought, but didn't share his conclusion with his shorter friend. "But that means that insipid Byakuya is a criminal too... He's the broker, so he's the one who trades with the firm and the responsible for bringing new clients... What kind of clients is he contacting? No wonder how the company reached top 4th in a short period... It has incomes of dubious origin... Rukia is not going to like this".



'Ok, let's get out, there's nothing here' the muscled man decided, but D-Roy stopped him, raising his hand.



'Wait, I think I found something interesting...' the thin guy said, shaking an orange folder.



'What the hell is that'.



'A photo'



'Give me that!' Grimmjow demanded, snatching the picture from his friend's hand. 'And who the hell are they supposed to be?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.



'No idea, I thought that it could be important...' D-Roy was interrupted by a hard punch in the stomach.



'Moron, don't play with me...' the blue haired man said, looking at the picture again while his grey haired friend tried to recover from the brutal impact. 'Hold on a second... I think I know this lady...' he muttered, observing the photo carefully. His father was in it, a lot younger, wearing glasses and a smooth facial expresion. There was a blond guy with a strange striped hat, smiling widely. But Grimmjow's gaze was fixed in the petite lady between them... Didn't she look a lot like Rukia? How the hell could that be? Judging by the picture, they were university students, so neither him or Rukia were born yet!



Grimmjow decided to keep the picture and ask Rukia if she knew her.



Both Grimmjow and D-Roy left the room and carefully exited the building, avoiding the security guards



Unfortunately for them, every second of their stay in the office had been recorded...


******************************************************************************************


On Friday, during a photo shoot session, and tired of his weird attitude, the manager took Grimmjow apart and asked him what the hell was going on.



'I don't know, man, I'm just... distracted' Grimmjow tried to explain, running one of his hands through his blue locks.



'I see. Who is she?'



Grimmjow glanced at his manager dumbfounded. Was it that obvious? The muscled man cursed himself inwardly... He had to do something because he was getting seriously obsessed with that petite girl...



'Kuchiki Rukia'



The manager's green eyes slightly widened. 'A noble' he simply said.



'Yes, a noble, so what. She's the little sister of my father's pawn, their nobility doesn't matter here then'. Grimmjow didn't like to admit that she was supposedly superior to him, even though her situation wasn't favorable currently, but she had been above him since she was born... Maybe that was the main cause of his obsession... He enjoyed to submit her to him and made her feel defenseless and fragile, as that was the only way to place her below him... Grimmjow shook his head, confused. If that was truth, he should be the most despicable man in world for having that kind of feelings.



'Are you even listening to me?' he heard the monotonous voice of his manager and came out the trance.



'Sorry, man... I think I'm going to pick her up from school' the blue haired man decided, starting to walk out of the studio.



'Where does she study?'



'In Karakura town'.



'I'll go with you, my car is in the repair shop and I live quite close to Karakura' the black haired man decided, and Grimmjow raised an eyebrow skeptically.



'Ulquiorra, man, you don't need to invent a lame excuse, just recognize you want to have a look on Rukia...'.



The impassive guy looked at him boringly.



'I have no interest in your girlfriend. Just take me to Karakura and I'll take the train there' he responded, walking past him.


******************************************************************************************


'Good afternoon, Gin'



'Ah, Aizen-san, what a beautiful day...'



'The time has come'.



'Understood' Ichimaru said, grinning wickedly. 'What a pity... I always had a soft spot for her, ya know?'.



Aizen looked up at him unfazed. Then, he pointed at the huge screen behind him, where it was being displayed the security video of the day before. The silver haired man chuckled in amusement when he saw his boss' son searching in his father's office.



'It has to be today, before she gets to tell her brother something suspicious. She's of no use, but Kuchiki Byakuya is very valuable' the brown haired man spoke slowly.



'Don't ya think that Bya-Bya won't cooperate anymore if his precious little sister suffers any kind of damage?' the thin silver haired man asked, still grinning.



'Then, make sure that it all looks like an unfortunate accident...'


******************************************************************************************


'So, Kuchiki-san, are you coming to Asano-kun's party tomorrow?'



Rukia had barely heard Orihime's question. She had her eyes fixed on Ichigo's back. The orange haired boy was walking a few steps ahead, listening to Keigo and Mizuiro funny argument. They all were crossing the gates of Karakura High School.



'Kuchiki-san?' she heard, and looked up at her auburn haired friend confused.



'Oh, sorry, Inoue, I was spacey...'



Orihime waved her hand nonchalantly. 'Don't worry, Kuchiki-san! I understand, Ichigo's back is really amazing, isn't it? I often look at it and I zone out too... How is it possible that his back is much more interesting than his front? Oh, maybe that wasn't what I was trying to say, em, I mean his front is interesting too, but his back is really amazing...'



Rukia's eyes flicked from Orihime to Tatsuki, who was walking at her side, facepalming herself at Orihime's babbling.



'Are you ok, Inoue?' the petite girl asked concerned.



'Yeah, I think all she needs is a cold shower...'.



Rukia froze. She had stopped on her tracks and was now unable to turn around and greet the person who had just spoken.



'Hm? Who are you?' Orihime dared to ask, carefree.



'Delinquents! Keep your hands off of my friend, you scoundrels!'



Rukia almost choke at Tatsuki's heated words. She turned around and finally met Grimmjow, who was observing Tatsuki's fighting pose hesitantly.



'Hi, Grimmjow' she greeted, annoyed, and the blue haired guy looked at her raising an eyebrow.



'Hey, shortie' he greeted, stepping towards her. When he was close to her, he grabbed her arm and bent down to tell her: 'Who were you looking at so mindfully? Your busty friend said his name...'.



'Don't tell me you are about to make a fuss for an innocent comment...' Rukia responded in a whisper.



'Rukia, is this guy bothering you?' they heard and Rukia closed her eyes, wishing to just vanish with the wind.



'He's not... . Ichigo... he's Grimmjow. My... boyfriend'.



Everyone fell silent for a while. Rukia's cheeks were furiously burning and Grimmjow was greatly surprised by Rukia's reaction. He wasn't expecting to be introduced as “a boyfriend”, he wasn't expecting to be introduced in any way, to be honest.



'Oh, n-nice to meet you, Grimmjow-kun' Orihime was the first to react, and she was acting carefree and kindly, as always. 'I didn't know Kuchiki-san had such a famous boyfriend, hehe' she added, rubbing the back of her head nervously. Then, she noticed the palest man she had ever seen, with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning on the school gates and staring at them impassive. 'Em... is he a friend of yours, Grimmjow-kun?'



Grimmjow simply nodded, and Orihime didn't dare to ask him anything else, she observed briefly the pale black haired guy and then said goodbye to everyone, mentioning something about dinner, beans and fresh cream. Arisawa Tatsuki followed her without saying a word.



'Rukia...' Ichigo called, flicking his eyes from her to the huge guy. He was still grabbing Rukia's tiny arm and Ichigo was sure that he was hurting her, even though she'd never admit it. 'Will you please let her go? There's no need to cut her circulation off' the orange haired boy asked him, pointing at Rukia's arm.



'I see you have big balls, kiddo...' Grimmjow responded amused, releasing Rukia's arm.



'Shut up both of you' the petite girl intervened, eyeing at Ichigo eloquently, thinking "let him be. He will destroy you without hesitation".



The orange haired boy decided to give up and leave Rukia alone. Whatever she was up to, she wasn't going to tell him in front of that two weird guys. Besides, he felt somehow annoyed and angry... That blue haired boy seemed the type of guy any smart girl should avoid.



'See you tomorrow, Rukia. Unharmed and happy. Like every other day'.



Grimmjow chuckled, enjoying the teenager's subtle warning.



When they were alone, Rukia turned to meet Grimmjow's gaze and punched him hard on his upper arm.



'Idiot! I told you to let me know whenever you come to my school!' the raven haired girl shouted.



'She doesn't behave like a noble' they heard the monotonous voice of Ulquiorra.



'Who is he and why is he here with you?' Rukia asked, studying the strange guy.



'He's my manager, Ulquiorra. He wanted to know who was the cause of my continuous distractions and here he is' the blue haired guy responded sarcastically.



'Are you talking about me with everyone?' she mumbled, staring at her supposed boyfriend with her eyes wide open.



'Unlike you, I'm not hiding my relationship from my friends' Grimmjow answered, and although he tried to sound indifferent, Rukia noticed a hint of dissapointment in his voice.



The slender girl sighed, rolling her eyes. She had avoided mentioning him, firstly because they hadn't a normal relationship, and secondly because she was unwilling to accept that he would become an important part of her life. But he was becoming important...  and Rukia hated that. She felt like he had forced her to finally accept him, despite all the horrible things he had done to her.



'I'll take the train home. Bye now' Ulquiorra said, interrupting her thoughts.



'See you on Monday man' Grimmjow replied. 'Rukia, we need to talk. I'm pretty sure that my father is into dark business. Unfortunately for you, it's highly probable that your brother is involved into these dirty business too. As you know, he's responsible of bringing new clients...' He then gestured to his car and Rukia followed him a bit unsure.



When they were running through the streets, much more faster than she wanted, Rukia finally asked him for more information.



'What I told you it's all I know... But I have something to show you' the blue haired guy replied, handing her the picture he had found in his father's office.



Rukia took the picture and observed it closely.



'Where did you find it?' she asked faintly.



'In my father's office' he replied. 'It's the only thing I found that looked suspicious. Do you know her?'



'Of course I do. She's my mother. Kuchiki Hisana'.


******************************************************************************************


Rukia was still studying the picture when Grimmjow placed a cup of caffe latte in front of her. She grabbed it with both hands, her eyes wandering round the coffee shop.



'My mother died of a pancreatic cancer when I was a baby, so I have no memory of her. My brother and I were dumped by our father two years later. I ignore if he's still alive. And I don't really care. He was just an alcoholic and a drug addict who didn't care about us'. Rukia paused to take a sip of coffee. Grimmjow didn't say anything, and although he looked bored and indifferent, he really wanted to hear more about her past. He had lost her mother when he was six, so he could understand the emptiness she felt when talking about her.


'My brother doesn't talk about her often, and when he does, he's rather terse. Apparently my mother dishonored the clan by marrying my father, a man with no heritage, nor significant ascendency. I haven't heard how they met or how was their matrimony, but my brother has mentioned that our father changed after my mother passed away, so I guess he was absolutely devastated... Not like I'm justifying him, because what he did to us is unforgivable...'.



'He's a worthless piece of shit' Grimmjow pointed, trying to help her in her awkwardness while explaining her deepest feelings.



'I know... Well, the thing is that I had no idea your father and my mother studied in the same University' she said, again looking down at the picture. Her brother had a very beautiful picture of Hisana in his study in which she seemed older and peaceful than in the photograph she was holding. The Hisana of this picture looked young, fresh and unworried, and she seemed to be very comfortable between that two guys...'By the way, who's the guy with the striped hat?'



'Hm, I've been thinking on that and I got to the conclusion that he's the former owner of my father's company. As I mentioned you before, my father and his best friend created Soul Society, they went to the university together, so I thought that he could be him. Urahara Kisuke'.



The pieces were falling into place. The connection between Aizen and her past was her own mother. She had so many questions to ask to her brother.



'Let's go, I'll give you a ride home' Grimmjow said, standing up and leaving the coffee shop, followed by a pensive Rukia. 'Cheer up, shortie, you'll finally know the truth'.


******************************************************************************************


The silver haired man observed how they left the coffee shop through the windshield of his BMW X6. His permanent smirk grew wider. It wasn't going to be easy to trap the little bunny if the boss's son was all the time around her.


Patience. He wanted to enjoy the hunt, so he needed to be patient for that. The best option would be to wait nearby her house. Sooner or later, the little bunny would have to leave her safe burrow...



******************************************************************************************


Once the car was circulating through the streets, Rukia dared to point out another one of her worries: 'Do you still have the video, Grimmjow?'



The muscled man gave her a sideways look, caught off guard.



'I won't tell you. What if I have it? I'm not going to share it with anyone, if that's your major worry'.



Rukia was about to sigh relieved, but her relief suddenly vanished when she remembered how he got that video tape...



'I cannot trust in your word... You have threatened me with that stupid video, I've done all I did on Tuesday to get it back and so sleep properly in the nights, but thinking on what you said about online storages, it seems that I failed...' the slender girl said, sighing deeply.



'Shit...' exclaimed Grimmjow, avoiding to look at her directly. How did this little bitch manage to make him feel guilty every time she mentioned the damned tape? She should be now worried of what they've talked in the coffee shop, not the stupid tape!... Well, to be honest, there were so many things she had to worry about, and it was only natural trying to solve at least one of them.

"Shit and more shit... This little bitch...". 'Ok, I don't have the video anymore, happy now?'



Rukia managed to keep herself impassive, still not believing him. Grimmjow couldn't blame her, it was a lie, actually he still had a copy of the video, even though he wasn't planning to sell it out, the idea of everybody watching at HIS girl completely nude and uninhibited made him boil in rage. He would kill anyone who dared to look at her in that way without a second thought... She was just his!



'Thank you'.



Grimmjow blinked stunned, totally caught off guard by her unexpected gratitude.



'Thanks for what?' he wanted to know.



Rukia's lips curved into a shy smile: 'For helping me. I know that it mustn't be easy for you, after all is your father...'.



'Shut up' he snapped, more confused than annoyed.



Rukia shook her head half amused, half offended. This guy was incorrigible.



'I'll help you and you don't need to thank me. Ain't doing you a favor, you'll repay me... shortie' he said, grinning cockily.



There he was, ruining her mood again. How did he manage to appear like a total heartless bastard after showing a hint of humanity, blowing away any possibility for her to think different about him? This man was a pain in the ass... And she was giving him to much power... She had even confided to him, showing her feelings and talking about very intimate things he shouldn't ever know...



"You'll repay me"...
Rukia surprised herself wondering when she'd repay him, causing her to gasp horrified, shaking her head violently, as if to get rid of the stupid thoughts that were torturing her. Grimmjow cocked his head aside, raising an eyebrow.



'C'mon, stop dreaming, Miss Drama, we arrived' he said, getting out the car.



Rukia followed him after a couple of seconds, still shocked by her thoughts.



'Ok, here you are. Safe, unharmed and happy' Grimmjow said sardonically, and Rukia couldn't help laughing, remembering how Ichigo has subtly threatened Grimmjow recently. 'So are we still on for a date tomorrow?'



Rukia blushed slightly, trying to imagine how could be a date with him. A normal date. With a normal boyfriend... Nah, they were everything but normal. But she was still curious about having a date with that guy. 'Ok' she answered quietly.



Grimmjow wrapped his arms around her delicate frame, lifting her and kissing her fiercely. Rukia entwined her fingers between his blue locks, debating if she should pull him apart and cancel their date, because after all the shit she had been thinking she was unwilling to keep their deal. She didn't want to be the slut of the school, his whore, the shame of her clan and friends... Her stomach cringed with the idea of being unmasked by either Byakuya, Renji... or Ichigo... what would they think about her, offering her body for just information? Ok, she wanted to know the truth, but, at what price?



'What's up with you, Rukia? You're so freaking tense!' Grimmjow noticed. 'Stop mindfucking yourself, shit! I told you before, don't think on what's wrong or right, just let yourself go, do whatever the heck you want to do'.



Rukia looked up at him bewildered. How could he guess what she was thinking? Do whatever you want to do... But what did she want? Why was she so confused about her feelings towards him? Why was she hating him and the next minute wondering when they'll lie together again? And most important... What did he think about her? Was he in love with her or was he just using her for his own pleasure? She needed to order her thoughts that were spinning uncontrollably in her brain.



'Fine, let's see how this ends' she said aloud inadvertently, but Grimmjow didn't ask her why she'd said that.



Renji clenched his fists and roared in rage inside the limousine, slamming his palm onto the steering wheel. He had parked a couple of meters away from his boss' house and was about to leave now that Byakuya was home. Fortunately, they weren't visible from the house, so her brother wouldn't watch this scene... He had witnessed all. So it was true, they were dating!

How he hated the way he was kissing her, so forcefully, overpowering her, holding her as if she was his property. What the hell what's wrong with his friend? How could she obviate his rude behavior?


Something was going on here, he'd been suspecting this since their first meeting in the park.. He couldn't accept they were a couple. Something else was happening and he would find out what it was, even if that meant to lose her as a friend. She needed him, despite she wouldn't admit it, but he'll be there. For her.


******************************************************************************************


Later that night, during one of the most terrible nightmares she could recall, Rukia awakened covered in sweat and trembling like a leaf. Suddenly, she jumped from her bed and rushed to her desk, violently opening the drawer and throwing her stuff out until she found a piece of crumpled paper.


She wanted to slap herself for been obviating the words Isshin had told her days ago. "If you want further information, I'm afraid you'll have to contact this guy, Rukia-chan. He's the only reliable source when it comes to unresolved cases".



Rukia unfolded the paper and gasped while reading the words Isshin had written down. "Urahara Kisuke. Urahara Shop. Karakura Town".

The petite girl glanced at her desk clock. It was too late to call Grimmjow and ask him to take her to Karakura. She'd have to wait until tomorrow.



Rukia couldn't sleep properly for the rest of the night.