WARNINGS: This IS a SLASH story! If you do not like it, then do not read my story. If you do not like it and still read it, it is your own fault, so do not flame me because you do not like my choice in pairings. Thank you.
Pairings: GimmIchi (Grimmjow/Ichigo)
Rating: T for language
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters.
Beta Reader: Willowsnake
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The sun floated in the sky, shedding its warm light over the forest below. A faint breeze murmured through the leaves along the grass covered ground. A pair of honey-brown colored eyes peered through the thicket of a bush, set on a scurrying mouse just feet away. The hunter eased forward lightly, making sure not to alarm its prey.
Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping close by alerted both predator and prey of another presence. The hunter watched with dismay as the mouse raced off out of sight. Growling in frustration, the hunter stood up from its perch and cursed.
Climbing out from behind the bush stood a lean, slightly muscular male hybrid. His orange hair matching his equally orange, white-tipped ears that sat on the top of his head and a large white-tipped tail swaying irritably behind him.
"Damnit," the fox hybrid cursed again. His ears perked slightly as a mocking laugh came from behind him. Turning around, the young hybrid spotted another, older male hybrid.
This hybrid was taller than the other by a few inches, with a bigger build. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned back against a surrounding tree, a smug grin set on his handsome features. A pair of jet black ears was perched on top of his head, nearly drowned by the oddly colored blue hair around them. An equally black tail swayed elegantly behind him.
The fox hybrid growled as he narrowed his eyes at the newcomer with anger and annoyance.
"Now, now Ichigo, you won't be getting anything with that attitude." Ichigo, now known as the fox hybrid, scoffed at the other with distaste.
"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?" Said hybrid's grin simply widened at the question.
"What, I can't come and see how you're doing?" Ichigo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"No. Now what is it that you want?" Grimmjow pushed himself away from the tree and placed a hand over his heart.
"Ichigo, you wound me. I only came by to see how you were doing with your hunting," Grimmjow stated, feigning a look of hurt.
"Yeah, right," Ichigo mumbled in disbelief. Grimmjow snickered as he gave up his wounded look for a smugger one.
"By the looks of it, you're not doing too well." Ichigo glared at the other hybrid.
"Yeah, because you scared it off."
"Pfft, whatever," Grimmjow said as he waved his hand dismissively. The panther hybrid then walked over to the spot where the mouse had once been and looked off into the surrounding trees.
"What are you doing hunting out here so close to the boundaries anyway?" Grimmjow asked as he looked back over at Ichigo.
"Everywhere else is getting scarce with food. I had to do something." Grimmjow snorted as he turned to the other hybrid.
"Alright. You're just lucky I had followed you or else you could have been snatched up by the humans." Ichigo sighed.
"Yeah, real lucky. Look, just because Rukia made us leave to get food and firewood, doesn't mean we have to be near each other. So why don't you go off and leave me alone," Ichigo snapped as he turned away from the other male, about to head off again in search for food.
"Now hold on there, bushy tail, I don't take orders from you or anyone else," Grimmjow growled as he glared at the younger hybrid. Ichigo scoffed.
"Whatever. Just leave me alone, kitty." Grimmjow gritted his teeth as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Ichigo's shirt. The orange-haired hybrid grunted as he was tugged toward the bigger male. He glared up into vibrant blue eyes that simple glared right back.
"I told you never to call me that," Grimmjow hissed in a low and dangerous voice. Ichigo reached up and grabbed onto Grimmjow's wrist.
"Back off." The two continued to glare at each other before Grimmjow pushed Ichigo away from him. The fox hybrid stumbled slightly before he caught his footing. The panther sniffed with distaste before turning around and walking off.
"See you back at camp then, bushy tail." Ichigo growled, fully irritated with the other hybrid before a glint caught his eye. Focusing on it, Ichigo realized with fear that it was another trap set up by the humans, hidden by fallen leaves and moss. And it was right in Grimmjow's path.
Ichigo waited to see if the other had noticed it, but when he didn't give a hint that he had, Ichigo darted after the panther hybrid. Grimmjow heard the other's footsteps and looked over his shoulder to see Ichigo running after him. His eyebrows drew together in confusion.
"What is it that you want now, ki-" Before Grimmjow could even finish his sentence, he grunted as Ichigo collided right into him, causing him to stumble, his feet missing barely the trap set in front of him.
Once he got his footing, he stood up and glared viciously at the other hybrid as Ichigo, too, tried to get his footing. But just as Grimmjow opened his mouth, about to yell at the other for being a complete idiot, Ichigo stepped back to right himself, only to step right into another hidden trap. The sound of the trigger being released was the only warning for the two hybrids before the trap sprung, snapping its metal jaws shut around Ichigo's leg.
The young fox hybrid howled in pain as the metal teeth of the trap dug deep into his leg, causing him to fall to his knees in excruciating pain. Suddenly, another sound caught the attention of the two men. It was a soft click before the sound of chains echoed around them. Both panther and fox hybrid looked up only to see a metal cage falling over them seconds before it hit the ground, trapping Ichigo inside.
Snapping out of his shock of what had just happened, Grimmjow rushed forward and tried to lift the cage, but it wouldn't budge; it was just too heavy. Seeing the other's struggle, Ichigo stood up carefully, wincing at every movement that jarred his injured leg.
"Grimmjow, it's no use. It's not going to move." Grimmjow growled as he tried to lift the cage again, his tail swaying back and forth behind him, his black ears lying flat against his head.
"Like hell it won't." Ichigo's ears suddenly perked as he heard the faint sound of barking and yelling. Glancing over his shoulder, Ichigo could hear the noises getting closer and closer with each second. Turning back to the panther hybrid, Ichigo gripped the metal bars of the cage.
"Grimmjow, listen to me, it's not going to work. Just get out of here." But Grimmjow simply ignored Ichigo as he switched his grip on the cage. Narrowing his eyes at the stubborn male before him, Ichigo reached out through the bars and grabbed onto Grimmjow's shirt, stopping the other instantly. Conflicted blue eyes met determined honey-brown.
"You have to leave, Grimmjow! The humans are coming! It would be stupid for you to get caught, too!" Ichigo yelled. Why couldn't the panther just listen to him for once? The two male hybrids stared at each other, both breathing heavily for two different reasons.
Ichigo's thoughts were broken when he heard the dogs barking. Knowing that he didn't have much time, Ichigo shoved the other with all his strength, causing Grimmjow to stumble away from the cage. The blue-haired panther quickly caught his footing before taking a step back toward the cage, only to have Ichigo hiss at him, stopping him dead in his tracks. Grimmjow stared in surprise as Ichigo hissed. Never had the other done this to him. No matter how annoyed or angry he made the fox hybrid, he had never hissed at him.
Ichigo knew he had shocked the other, but he didn't care about that right now. All he cared about was getting the other to leave, so he wouldn't meet the same fate as himself. Narrowing his eyes at the other, Ichigo made sure that Grimmjow finally listened to him.
"Go Grimmjow. Just go. Now!" Ichigo's voice left no room for argument. He watched as Grimmjow hesitated, knowing he was thinking of ignoring him and just going to try to lift the cage again. But his choice was made when one of the dogs barked again, just on the other side of the bushes, signaling the humans' arrival.
Grimmjow quickly turned and ran into the surrounding foliage, disappearing just seconds before three dogs burst into the small clearing, followed by four humans, each one holding a shotgun. Ichigo turned to glare at the intruders, low warning growls escaping from his throat.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" one of the humans stated happily as his eyes fell onto Ichigo. Another one moved up to the side of the cage and gazed down at Ichigo, a crooked smirk on his rough features.
"Well, you're quite a sight, now, aren't you?" the man said as he reached his hand through, his hand moving toward one of Ichigo's ears. But the fox hybrid wasn't going to let these monsters touch him. He swiped at the man, a vicious hiss passing by his pulled back lips. He then quickly moved to the other side of the cage, trying to get as much space between him and the ugly human.
The man simply laughed at Ichigo's actions while the dogs barked at the hybrid, barely contained by the man holding onto their leashes.
"He's a feisty one. We can make big bucks from him," another one stated as he watched the encounter closely. The other three grinned greedily at the man's words.
"Well then, let's get him back to the cabin." With that said, the man that had reached into the cage stretched over his shoulder and pulled out another gun and aimed it straight at Ichigo. The fox hybrid had no time to react as the man shot a dart into his side. The orange-haired hybrid yelped as the dart pierced his skin. He glanced down at the dart, now in his side, before his vision began to faze in and out of focus. Ichigo took one last glance at the humans before his world faded into black.
The four humans watched as the fox hybrid fell to the ground, unconscious. The man placed his gun down as he pulled out a set of keys before unlocking the door of the cage. He reached into the pouch strapped to his leg and pulled out several zip-ties. He quickly restrained Ichigo before he released his leg from the bear trap.
"Alright, boys, let's start heading back. We'll leave in the morning and find a buyer." As the four humans grabbed everything, including Ichigo, they began setting off toward their cabin, unaware of a pair of cold blue eyes watching them from the trees above.
~ # ~
It was already night when the humans got back to their cabin, the full moon floating high in the sky casting shadows over the world below.
"Alright, boys, let's get settled. We have a big day in the morning." The others agreed as they chuckled at the thought of all the money they would be making the next day. The man who was carrying Ichigo released his grip on him and simply let him fall to the hardwood flooring on the small cabin. The man sniffed at him before turning away and walking off into the adjoined bedroom. When they were all in their own rooms, the doors closed. Silence fell over the cabin, the noise of the forest around them the only thing they could hear.
As the night grew on, a shadow passed over one of the windows of the cabin. A pair of sharp blue eyes glanced in through the glass, taking in everything within the small building. As Grimmjow searched the cabin for any sign of the humans, he caught a striking orange form the corner of his eye. Quickly looking over, he realized that the orange thing was Ichigo lying on the hardwood floor.
Growling at the treatment the hybrid was under, Grimmjow focused on the window in front of him. Noticing that is wasn't locked on the inside, he carefully pushed open the window, desperately trying not the make any noise to alert the humans.
Once the window was wide open, Grimmjow swiftly jumped through it before landing deftly on the floor in a crouch. For a split second, he stopped, his ears twitching at any sudden sound. When he was sure that he had not awoken the humans, the panther hybrid slowly crept over to Ichigo.
"Ichigo, come on, wake up. We gotta go," Grimmjow whispered as he shook Ichigo's shoulder, trying to wake the fox hybrid. But when he didn't wake, Grimmjow cursed as he realized that the tranquilizer those humans used was probably still in effect. Cursing the humans, Grimmjow carefully lifted Ichigo up from the floor, conscious of his injured leg.
Once Ichigo was safely in his arms, Grimmjow silently walked back over to the window. With only slight difficulty, he managed to get both Ichigo and himself out of the cabin, unnoticed and unharmed.
~ # ~
Ichigo groaned as he felt himself get pulled out of his drug-induced sleep. Shifting slightly, Ichigo hissed as he was reminded of his earlier leg injury.
"Take it easy. I haven't been able to wrap that yet." Surprised by the sudden voice, Ichigo's eyes snapped open, only to see Grimmjow standing at the mouth of the cave.
By the looks of it, it was raining outside. Not taking notice of both his and Grimmjow's wet clothes, Ichigo realized that Grimmjow must have brought them to the cave in need of shelter from the pouring rain. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Ichigo glared at the back of Grimmjow's head.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Grimmjow turned around with a confused and angry look on his face.
"What am I doing here? I'm saving your ass, bushy tail. I would think that you would have realized that by now. What, with you not being with the humans anymore and everything." Ichigo growled with agitation.
"That's not what I meant! I meant, what did you think you were doing? You could have gotten caught and had both of us in more trouble!" Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the fox hybrid before he walked toward him.
"You think I cared about what could have happened to me? I didn't give a shit! I just wanted to get you out of there." Ichigo's eyes widened. Did he just hear him right? Grimmjow was . . . worried about him? No, he was just . . . imagining things. Shaking his head, Ichigo opened his mouth, about to go on, but was cut off.
"You don't get it, do you, bushy tail?" Taken aback by Grimmjow yelling at him, Ichigo was shocked as he was suddenly pulled up from the ground and was standing in front of the panther hybrid, staring into fiercely lit blue eyes.
"I didn't care about what would have happened to me if the humans had woken up. I didn't care if they would have captured and sold me, or just killed me right there. I only cared about getting you back." With that said, Grimmjow once again shocked Ichigo as he swooped down and smashed his lips to Ichigo's. The fox hybrid gasped at the sudden action, giving Grimmjow access to his mouth.
At first, Ichigo's instincts told him to push the other away and run into the rain to get as far away from him as possible, not without punching first of course, but Ichigo only found himself leaning into the kiss.
As their tongues began to fight for dominance, Ichigo vaguely wondered how he could go from hating the hybrid before him one day to kissing him in a cave as it rained outside the next. But as Grimmjow finally won dominance, Ichigo found himself not really caring how it happened, just wishing that Grimmjow wouldn't stop.
~End~