Chapter One

Expectations

"I don't want to do this," Ichigo Kurosaki said as he followed the group into the large building. He repeatedly ran his hands over his red, really orange, colored hair as his brown eyes took in everything around him. "I don't think this is right," he muttered.

Rukia Kuchiki grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I know, but whoever this demon is, they're going to execute him without you doing this."

"And why isn't that a bad thing?" Uryū Ishida asked as he shuffled along beside Ichigo.

With them were a few others from their home of Karakura Town. The smaller town had been hit hard in one of the initial demon invasions almost twelve years ago. As a suburb of Tokyo, the demons had believed that taking it over and other suburbs would lead to an easier time overtaking Tokyo.

"Because most of these demons haven't done anything, they just were caught in that raid on the encampment they'd built," Byakuya Kuchiki said as they walked. "All the demons that were convicted of murders have already been executed."

Byakuya Kuchiki was a captain in one of the military organizations that had run the operations that brought an end to the demon invasion from Hueco Mundo. They had been a covert operations group called the Shinigami, and they had been instrumental to destroying a lot of the demon networks, mostly because they themselves had stolen demon magic and used it against them. The Shinigami were now the most feared humans in existence because the changes they had enacted on themselves to fight the demons were permanent.

Ichigo crossed his arms angrily. He didn't want to tell his father and sister that he hadn't been given a choice. Well, he had. They told him if he didn't come to this, and retrieve his demon, they would execute them. Ichigo, despite his anger at losing his mother, would not have someone's death on his conscious, even a demon's. Since his father and his sisters had both said they wanted nothing to do with a demon, it had fallen to him. He only knew the consequences of denying this "honor" because he was friends with Shinigami. He'd made sure that others knew what happened if they refused to take the demons as slaves.

There was a rotund man with round glasses standing on a stage. He was smiling and chatting with uniformed men that Ichigo knew were members of the Demon Containment Force for Japan. He also knew that any demons left on that stage at the end of this would be pulled to the back and executed. That thought alone made his stomach drop.

"Welcome, proceedings will start immediately, I'm Dr. Rei Hakuma, and I welcome you. Please take your seats. Assigned prisoners will be given first, and any that have no claimants will be offered up to the group. Those remaining will face their fates, of course."

Ichigo sat down and looked down. Orihime Inoue, a girl who seemed convinced that her continued advances would incite love, sat beside him. She had lost her brother. Uryū Ishida had lost his grandfather, and his father had refused the "honor" like Ichigo's father. Byakuya had come with Rukia, as Rukia's sister and Byakuya's wife had been lost. Only those with a claim were allowed in, so Rukia's boyfriend, Renji had not been allowed to come.

The place was full, and after a while, the proceedings began. Ichigo didn't pay much attention, of course.

"Inoue," Ichigo heard and watched as Orihime went up nervously. She walked down the other side to the waiting area with a pale skinned demon that had vibrant green eyes. The demons looked human, and that was perhaps the part of their existence that made people fear them. Other than small things, their forms were human in appearance. Of course, this was the form they took on Earth. No one knew what they looked like it their home of Hueco Mundo.

"Ishida," was announced soon and Uryū finally looked up.

Uryū sighed and stood up to walk onto the stage area. There was a short discussion and Uryū walked down with a pink haired demon that looked extremely unsure of himself as he walked behind him, shackled and leashed.

There were some others that he knew that went up, because honestly most people in Karakura had lost someone to the demon forces.

"Kuchiki," came the announcement. Ichigo heard the murmur as Rukia and Byakuya went up. Everyone was aware they were Shinigami already, but the black uniforms they were required to wear confirmed it. Byakuya wore a white Haori to indicate his position. They soon passed down the other side but Ichigo couldn't get a look at the demon they had acquired.

"Kurosaki," came the announcement. Ichigo sighed and stood, straightening the t-shirt he wore and going up.

The bald, fat announcer with the round glasses was grinning as he approached. "Ah, you've got your hands full, kid, when you tire of him, bring him back. I'll personally cut his throat." The creepiest thing, though, was the announcer kept grinning as he spoke.

Ichigo looked up to see he had a blue haired and taller demon with a severe look on his face. It was obvious that he was angry as the chain was placed in Ichigo's hand. Ichigo jerked slightly when he hissed at him suddenly. The demon smiled then, revealing feral looking teeth, as if the jawbone on the side of his face wasn't intimidating enough. Ichigo swallowed, surprised a bit, but led him down the other side as he was expected to.

Ichigo wondered if the chains were charmed because none of the demons spoke on the other side of the stage. Finally, everyone was done, and there were about fifteen that remained without humans to claim them. Before anything could be said, Byakuya went up and spoke with the announcer, and returned. Ichigo smiled to himself. Byakuya had claimed the rest of them to keep them from being executed. He was a complete asshole on the surface, but he had a good heart.

As they waited he glanced at Uryū who looked deeply annoyed. "This is still wrong," Ichigo said to him. "I don't like this, why can't they just send them home?"

"I don't know, it is one big annoyance," Uryū said as he glanced at the pink haired one that stood behind him staring at the ground. "At least mine doesn't look like he wants to eat my face," he muttered and glanced at the one that stood behind Ichigo.

Ichigo glanced behind him and saw the blue-haired demon was still glaring at him with odd grin. Ichigo sighed and waited as they were given "instructions" on dealing with their demons. Ichigo only half listened. He didn't want to know how to force them to do things. He didn't want to know how to command them or how to punish them with the shock collars. He didn't want to know those things. He sighed and walked home later with the demon he now "owned". He didn't want to own anyone.

He took him into his small apartment that he kept and once inside he didn't know what to do with him. What was he supposed to do with him?

"Um, so, my name's Ichigo Kurosaki," he said and looked at him. "Ah, I…I don't like this…" he muttered and dropped the leash to go into the living room and drop into the sofa.

The moment the leash was dropped, the binding on speech was broken. That was how it worked, the handle held the bindings. Not holding the handle released most of them. He still couldn't harm a human, but he could definitely make him think he could.

Ichigo started as he realized that the blue-haired demon was now leaning over him. "So…Ichigo. I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I belong to you, huh? You seem a little…weak."

"Get the hell off!" Ichigo said, reaching up and shoving Grimmjow back from him. "I'm not weak, you bastard! I just don't think it's fair to make slaves out of people!"

Grimmjow let him shove him back. Interesting, he thought. "But I'm not people, I'm a demon."

"That doesn't matter!" Ichigo snapped, crossing his arms and scowling at nothing. "They should have just let you go home."

Grimmjow crossed his arms now. He was sure that this human meant that. "So if you didn't want a slave, why'd you take me?"

"Because they were going to execute anyone left behind."

Grimmjow narrowed his cerulean eyes at the human. He was young, but no kid. He moved over and sat down beside him. "Hmm, well, what should we do then?"

Ichigo turned and stared at him for a minute, heart hammering in his chest. Why did the demon he got have to be so hot? "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you don't want a slave, I don't want to be a slave…" Grimmjow said. "So why don't we just have some fun."

Ichigo blinked and stared at him. "Fun?" he asked. Ichigo couldn't help the wave of arousal that was coming over him. He was so close…

"Yeah," he said and before Ichigo could say anything, he found himself pinned on his back staring up into those bright blue eyes.

Ichigo flushed red immediately. "Oh, well, look at that," Grimmjow said, hand sliding down between Ichigo's legs to squeeze at his obvious arousal. "I smelled it," Grimmjow said in answer to Ichigo's shocked face. "I can tell when you humans get wound up," he muttered and began rooting in Ichigo's hair.

Ichigo whimpered when he squeezed him through his jeans. Oh, gods, he thought, this was bad, this was bad, but he didn't want him to stop. It had been a while since he and Uryū broke up…

"I see," Grimmjow breathed into his ear. His fingers had worked the jeans open by this point. "Yer a bottom bitch, aren't ya," he said and started licking the shell of his ear. "All tough on the outside, guess you probably like fighting, by the feel of these muscles," he continued, one hand sliding in Ichigo's pants against him through his boxer shorts and the other sliding up and down his stomach muscles.

He let out a pent-up moan and panted as his hands grabbed Grimmjow's shirt. "Yeah," Grimmjow muttered. He slipped his hand down the front of the boxers and went straight for his prize. Ichigo arched up under him as he twisted two fingers into him roughly. "And you like it rough, eh," he muttered against the damp flesh of his throat now.

"Please," Ichigo begged, but even he didn't know what exactly he was begging for.

"I'll please you," Grimmjow said as he began harshly thrusting fingers into him, crooking them until he struck the spot he was looking for. Ichigo gasped and arched up under him. "Want me to continue? Master…"

Ichigo whimpered as he removed his hand from inside his jeans. He was panting and painfully hard right then, and he didn't want him to stop. "Don't stop," he gasped out, tears pricking his eyes from frustration.

"Come on, you got a bed?" Grimmjow said and stood up.

Ichigo nodded, making it to his feet and leading him into the bedroom. It was neat as a pin, with the sheets made up already from the night before.

"Take it off," Grimmjow growled, grabbing Ichigo around the waist and rubbing himself against his ass through the thin pants he was wearing.

Ichigo was more worked up than he remembered being in a long time as he wriggled out of the tight jeans he was wearing. He had no idea what he was doing with this demon, but he knew it felt good when he touched him. He didn't know what to feel as he was lifted up and deposited on the bed with Grimmjow standing between his legs as he sat on the side of it. He was panting as Grimmjow started nipping at his collarbone and throat. He reached down and started to stroke Ichigo's hardness with one hand while he pulled himself free with the other. Ichigo wasn't disappointed as he pressed their cocks together, stroking both of them a few times.

"Lube, nightstand," he gasped out as Grimmjow pushed him to his back.

There was a second until he rummaged around and found the bottle. He coated his fingers and slipped his hand between his legs to slip two of his thick digits into him. Ichigo arched again as he worked his fingers in and out of him. He crawled up between his legs and rubbed lightly against him, grinding down after a few seconds of teasing.

"You want this inside you?" Grimmjow growled, still teasing him between his thighs, barely rubbing against his entrance.

"Yeah, hurry up," Ichigo gasped out as he tried to get as much contact as he could from Grimmjow's body.

Grimmjow chuckled. "Needy bottom bitch, eh?"

He slowly found his way into the tight heat and groaned as he pushed forward, taking his time until he was buried in to the base. He paused, holding himself still. Then he began to thrust into the body under him slowly. Ichigo clenched down on him as he found a slow and steady rhythm. Ichigo couldn't imagine how good he felt even if it did hurt a bit at first. He grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him down. Grimmjow responded, returning to sucking bites into the flesh of his neck and throat. He felt like he was close as the demon began to speed up.

Ichigo couldn't hold back his voice as he felt his whole being come undone. He felt the orgasm crash into him fast, sending him over the edge and spilling on his belly. Grimmjow thrust a couple more times before releasing inside him. Grimmjow leaned up and smirked.

"Maybe being your slave won't be so bad…" he said as he leaned down again to lick at a bite he'd left on Ichigo's collarbone.

Ichigo moaned as he felt him pull out, the sensation of fluid dripping out of him a little uncomfortable, but he had to admit, he hadn't had a fuck like that in a long damn time, if ever. He covered his face, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Whatsamatter, strawberry?" Grimmjow asked as he pulled Ichigo's hand away from his face.

"I've never slept with someone I just met," he gasped, realizing exactly what he'd just done.

"Well, I'm not a someone, I'm your property now, so you can do what you like with me. I don't mind fucking you if that's what you want, was fun," Grimmjow said as he rolled onto his back beside Ichigo.

Ichigo was mortified though. Was it really consensual since he couldn't say no to him? Was it right?

"Don't be overthinking shit," Grimmjow said as he pushed at Ichigo's face from the side. "I fucked ya cuz I wanted to, and you wanted me to do it too. So that's all there is to it."

"I don't know where this falls under relationship status," Ichigo said as he sat up, looking for his jeans.

"Whatever, I'm stuck here, so…"

The doorbell rang just then, surprising Ichigo into scrambling for his pants. He was regretting the tightness of most of his jeans right then as he managed to get into them. Grimmjow snickered as he struggled to get dressed quickly. He was somewhat mortified at having to get dressed before he'd even cleaned himself up. He finally managed to button his jeans as he got to the door.

"Coming," he said as he straightened his shirt and opened the door.

"Uryū," Ichigo stated, surprised at the visit. He was leading the demon with him.

"Ichi," he said and adjusted his glasses. "I wanted to check on you. How have you done with your demon?"

"Um, okay, come in," he said and stepped to the side, allowing him into the apartment.

"This one is quiet, does yours talk much?" Uryū asked, looking around for Grimmjow. He narrowed his eyes at the demon exited the bedroom.

"Yeah, I told him I didn't like the idea of owning anyone, so we're just going to take it from there," Ichigo said, hoping that Uryū didn't catch on. He really didn't want to answer questions.

"Szayel, you can go talk to that one if you want while we talk in the kitchen," Uryū said, releasing the lead and walking toward the kitchen. Ichigo shrugged and followed after him.

Szayel grinned at Grimmjow. "Already?"

"Already. What about you?" Grimmjow said with a smirk.

"He's a bit uptight, might take a while, but we'll see. Humans are so easy to control through their desires," Szayel commented as he looked in the kitchen where the two humans were talking about them. He could easily pick up the conversation from there. "They also don't understand us at all. My human doesn't want a demon slave."

"Neither does mine, but he's a good lay, so I don't mind hanging around until things change. Maybe I'll keep him and take him home with me," he said with another grin.

"You really think we'll be able to go back to Hueco Mundo?" Szayel asked, pushing his hair behind his ear.

"I know we'll get back one day, I have to become the king after all…"

In the kitchen, Uryū looked frustrated. "Where are you going to put him?"

"On the sofa, I guess," Ichigo growled. This was one of the reasons they broke up. Uryū tried to micromanage his life.

"You don't have enough space, you should have let Kuchiki-taichou take him," Uryū said with a glare over at the two demons. "At least my house is big enough for an extra person. I'm sure if you asked him, he'd take him off your hands."

"Uryū, I can handle him, I don't need to get rid of him. I like having the company," Ichigo said and crossed his arms.

"He's a demon and he looks like…" Uryū began.

"You and others have demons too! If you can handle them, so can I!"

"Look, I just don't want you getting hurt!" Uryū insisted with a frown. "You don't have enough room to properly give him a room to himself, don't you think he should have someplace to his own?"

"He's fine here, he said so," Ichigo stated, glaring at Uryū. "You aren't in a relationship with me anymore, so you need to lay off. I get to do what I want to do without your influence."

Uryū gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, but when you end up mauled, don't say I didn't warn you."

"He's fine," Ichigo grumbled and turned to leave the kitchen.

"I just wish you'd listen to reason," Uryū tried as Ichigo disappeared out the door back into the living room.

"I listen to reason fine, you're just being unreasonable," Ichigo said as he flopped down on the couch again.

Uryū shook his head and looked at Szayel. "Come on, we're going back home."

"Okay, sir," Szayel said politely and followed Uryū out of the apartment.

Grimmjow came over and sat down on the couch beside Ichigo. "You used to date him, eh?"

"Yeah, but he liked to try and tell me what to do. I didn't take to well to it, so we broke up. Kinda awkward since we're still in the same circle of friends and we've slept together. He still tries to tell me what he thinks I should do." Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest again. "He would freak out if he found out what we did."

"Let him freak," Grimmjow said and leaned closer to him. "What we do is our business, right, master?"

"Don't call me that, I don't like it," Ichigo said with a glare at Grimmjow. "Just call me by my name. I don't want you calling me anything weird."

So that was how it started. Ichigo and Grimmjow carried on a relationship hidden from the rest of the world, one that Ichigo tried to desperately say was just about sex. He couldn't help his affection for the demon that seemed to grow. Soon, their life looked more like a pair of lovers, with Grimmjow sleeping nightly with him.

Then the day came that the demons had been waiting for. A strong magical current could be felt throughout the world, originating from Hueco Mundo. This current interfered with the bindings that were on the demons; it allowed them to do whatever they desired, even open a portal to their home. The humans didn't feel it, and some didn't notice their demon do anything at all because they were happy with their life.

Grimmjow, though, was intent on returning home. However, he wasn't about to go home without his human. As soon as he felt the bindings dissipate he stood up and grinned. He found Ichigo in the kitchen, humming to himself as he fixed a pot of tea.

"Ichigo, I think we should go on a little trip," Grimmjow said.

Ichigo looked up from the teapot and turned off the burner. "Where to? We can go wherever you like," Ichigo said with a soft smile.

"Yeah, we're going to my home," he said with a wicked looking grin. "Now."

Ichigo blinked, staring at him for a moment before he heard the radio beep with an emergency announcement.

"Attention, a state of emergency is announced. Some force has removed the bindings from the demons in our midst…"

"What? What happened?" Ichigo asked and glared at the radio.

"Someone figured out how to release us, come on," he said with a grin still on his face.

"I don't want to go to Hueco Mundo!" he gasped as he turned to run out of the kitchen.

Ichigo was a human, though, and the demon easily grabbed him around the waist. He easily lifted him and threw him over his shoulder. He flicked his hand to open the portal in space.

"Please, no!" Ichigo begged, not wanting to leave the human world behind.

"You got no choice, I've claimed you for mine, so you're comin' with me," Grimmjow said and stepped through the portal.

Grimmjow emerged on the other side in the barren landscape of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo still tried to thrash against him, but his strength was no match for Grimmjow's. Ichigo twisted around to see where they were going and saw a large, white structure.

"That's Las Noches, where we live. I'm one of the more powerful demons in the realm, working on becoming king one day, so you're in luck. No one will bother you once I've marked ya as mine," Grimmjow said proudly as they moved at incredible speed toward the building in the distance.

Once at the gate, Ichigo tried to struggle again, but he found it to no avail. He knew Grimmjow's strength; he'd felt it many times even under restraint. There was no escaping his grip. He was in the realm of demons and there was no way home for him. Only a demon could open a portal, though the Shinigami had some capabilities toward portals if they put their resources into it like they had before.

"What's this, you brought a worm with you?" a voice came from nearby. Ichigo turned to see a freakishly tall demon with a bandana over one eye. "Ya planning on eating him? Some brought the humans that mistreated them along to punish them…"

"Nah, this one is mine, and I'll kill ya if ya touch him," Grimmjow said as he made his way down the corridors to a room marked with a number six. He opened the door and proceeded to dump Ichigo on the bed.

"Why?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide. "Why'd you do this?"

"Because you belong to me," Grimmjow said with a smirk.

Before Ichigo could move, Grimmjow was on him, pressing him down into the bed. He screamed against Grimmjow's hold, but Grimmjow just leaned down and bit down on Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo gasped, arching up in pain and something else as some kind of force slammed into him. On his skin, the bloody bite wound healed immediately and he was left with the number six on his shoulder in the center of the scar from the bite.

"There, now yer marked."

"Please, let me go home, you know how important my family is to me, please," Ichigo begged, putting his hand to the mark on his neck.

"Sorry, yer mine here. You wanted a lover instead of a slave, so I gave that to ya, now ya are gonna be mine from now on. If you're a good boy, I might let you go home to visit, but that mark on you makes you mine from here out." Grimmjow stood up and grinned at him again. "You aren't a prisoner, but I wouldn't walk around too far away from this room. Other demons aren't as nice as I am."