Connections

"Focus, God dammit! It isn't that hard!" Grimmjow yelled, pressing his foot against the boy's back in a way he thought was encouraging

After pleading and persuading the ex-espada  with as much food he had to offer, Grimmjow agreed to teach Akito about Zanpakutous and how to awaken his. Unfortunately, he was having trouble grasping the concept of putting his spirit energy into his blade, which he learned was called an asauchi. Unsurprisingly, Grimmjow's form of teaching wasn't very productive as all he had gained were a few new bruises and cuts.

"It's not that easy! Are you forgetting I'm only human!" Akito retorted, catching the bottom of his foot before it hit him again.

Grimmjow smirked at his attempt to stop him, pressing down until his foot was against his chest.

"You're not gonna get anywhere if I go easy on you."

"I definitely won't get anywhere if I'm dead!"

"I'm dead and I'm just fine."

Face red from a mixture of anger and frustration, Akito shoved his foot off him before rolling away and standing up. He pointed an accusatory finger, knowing full well Grimmjow could snap it off at any moment yet he knew he wouldn't.

"You are the worst teacher I've ever had."

"Quit bitchin'. Not my fault you're a weakling who can't even kill a hollow."

Clenching the hilt of his sword, Aki felt something bubble up inside him, fuelled by Grimmjow's degrading words. Seeing the effect he was producing, he kept talking.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you can even lift that sword."

Wind began to swirl around Aki's feet as his breaths deepened and muscles became tense. It was a rather surreal scene that would've shocked any passer-by's for sure. They were in a usually secluded area so there was a very low risk of anyone seeing him-

"Akito?"

'SHOOT!'

Off to the side a little way away was a certain, popular girl from his class. Short, brown hair swaying in the wind. Their eyes met and for a moment, Akito thought his heart would explode.

"M-Miya!?" He exclaimed, quickly putting his sword away.

Annoyed that their training session was abruptly ended by the arrival of a female, Grimmjow glowered at the young girl.

"Oi, who's this broad?"

His question went unanswered by Akito who looked like a man dying of dehydration seeing a river. Grimmjow was both concerned and amused however both those feelings were quickly overshadowed by a feeling of annoyance.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.

The teen felt his cheeks flush at the basic behaviour, finding everything she did to be twice as nice for some reason.

"Oh, I'm just- uh, working out! Exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle and all." He lied with a nervous chuckle.

He struggled to remain composed with Grimmjow glaring daggers at him.

"Oi! Stop ignoring me!" He growled, grabbing a fistful of the boy's black hair.

Akito's head was roughly jerked to the side, though to Miya, it looked like he was just enthusiastically tilting his head.

"What are you doing? G-going for a walk?" He stuttered, doing a good job of masking the pain of his scalp almost being torn off. Grimmjow really didn't know his own strength; it amazed Aki that he was still alive after all his training.

She nodded, explaining how she liked to go on walks every now and then so she wasn't inside all day. Freeing himself from the Grimmjow's grip, he started backing up.

"Cool, cool. I gotta head back right now so, uh, see ya!"

Both Miya and Grimmjow watched as he ran away, sIlently blinking when he tripped over and ate grass. Grimmjow's haggling increased ten-fold following that botched interaction. Akito was especially annoyed, seeing as Grimmjow was the one who made it so awkward. Then again, he probably still would've been weird even if he wasn't there.

"You can't go round calling girls broads. Especially not Miya." He stated as they walked back home.

Blue eyebrow rose with intrigue, sharp canines being put on display. He'd let the disrespectful demand slide as he found something more interesting to dwell on.

"Oh? Is she your mate?"

Hearing that word was enough to make him red in the face to the point even his ears became hot.

"What!? No! That sounds so... Gross."

He'd described Grimmjow as animalistic in his head before but this was overkill. The bluenette was unbothered by the other's rejection of his assessment, instead choosing to give what he thought was excellent advice. He was like a dad that had absolutely no experience dealing with anyone except himself.

"Just over power her and sink your teeth into her neck. She looks like she can barely lift her own body weight. Pathetic if you ask me."

Aki's mouth opened to counter but instead, he just let out a breathy chuckle which evolved into a full-blown laugh. The ex-espada  wasn't too happy at being laughed at, demanding to know what he found so funny.

"It's not YOU, it's..."

Shaking his head, Aki wiped a tear from his eye.

"Thank you, Grimm." He said, earnestly.

Grimmjow was at a loss for a moment. An unfamiliar emotion swirled inside him, mixing up his insides and making it hard for his gut instinct to tell him what to do. His instincts were always attuned to any and all situations, except for this one apparently. Kissing his teeth, he continued walking forward.

"Whatever."