Panther and the Flower

"You've got a whole lot of nerve to be walkin' all up in Las Noches alone, you know?"

As the figure made their way out the shadows, their voice echoed through the corridor, their spiky-blue hair creeping out from beneath their cloak.

"Grimmjow…" I sighed, a smile creeping up my face.

I had to admit, it was out of character for me. To find myself excited at a potentially dangerous man was absurd to me, but the adrenaline running through my veins was undeniable. I was pumped.

"Huh? You startin' a fight or somethin', Vasto Lorde?

'Someone's on edge…'

"I'm not… I have been looking for you, though." I replied, releasing my reiatsu again.

Grimmjow was a strong, bad mannered guy with a short fuse. He was the very definition of 'temperamental'. Though, dealing with him would likely be relatively easy, in theory at least.

Proving he was stronger off the bat was necessary for me to gain his trust. If he, even for a second, suspected I thought of myself as being the stronger out of us, he'd kill me. That was just the kind of person he was.

After all, what sort of King would dear have his strength questioned?

Ripping his cloak off, he revealed a sadistic smile creeping up his face, reiatsu bursting off him like a explosion, directly colliding with my own.

A battle of reiatsu ensued, both our distinct colors clashing like rams. His vivid-blue seeped out from behind him like a tidal wave, clashing against my seemingly tranquil wall of lilac, only to be stopped in its tracks, both forces bouncing back and forth as they struggled for control.

Keeping up with him was taking a toll on my concentration, while he stood idle, hands in his pockets nonchalantly. Even if while holding back, I still felt such a battle would be hard if I were to go at him with my full strength.

"Hey! You ain't half bad… You ain't worth a fight, though!" He roared.

Grimmjow suddenly increased his output by an alarming amount, his reiatsu overpowering my own within a split second, instantly launching me back as the corridor caved in on itself, leaving us suspended in the air.

'Better now than never…'

Noticing Grimmjow stood idly, glancing down from above as debris fell around me, I began condensing reiatsu below me, forming an invisible platform to stand on.

At first it was unstable, morphing in under the pressure of my weight, leaving me stumbling for a couple moments. I soon found my footing after a couple attempts, now using sonido to reach the ground unscathed.

"For a Vasto Lorde, you ain't half-bad. Got a name?" Grimmjow asked, his tone surprisingly calm.

'Was intentionally losing to him worth it?'

In a battle of reiatsu alone, I was fairly certain I would win, but that didn't matter. Winning a fight with Grimmjow would effectively sign my death warrant. I needed this guy on my side, and what better way than to offer him the highest seat within hollow hierarchy than lose a fight of strength.

'Ah, shit… My name… A hollow wouldn't have some generic name, would it?'

This wasn't something I'd thought about yet. Ashido had failed at essentially every stage when it came to having a civilized conversation, so I'd never had the chance to reveal my name to him.

"It's Lance…" I said, taking a couple steps back.

Grimmjow stood unphazed, glancing towards one of the walls to his side. An enormous amount of reiatsu was dwelling beyond it…

"Damn Quincy… What're you doin' here, Lance?"

Despite my thoughts, he seemed relatively easy going. How this man had succeeded in participating in a real conversation over a Soul-Reaper was baffling to me, but I went along with it either way.

"I'm looking for a certain Soul-Reaper… I need to become an Arrancar…" I said, pointing one of my claws at the visor obstructing my eyes.

Grimmjow smiled menacingly, "oh yeah? Why didn't you say so before?!"

He suddenly appeared in front of me with sonido, catching me by surprise.

"W- Wait?!" I panicked, tripping over the foot he'd placed behind me.

"I'll get this over quickly!"

He dug one of his hands into my visor and began prying it off.

A surge of pain shot through my body, one unlike anything I'd ever felt, as if the very essence of who I was, was being split apart by brute force.

My vision soon blacked out, my body unable to handle the pain.