Ichigo could still remember that morning so clearly.
There had been no reason for him to fly over the borderlands. He was not a land ward, not any kind of protector. His place in life was to tend to his garden, gently asking the land to provide them with food. The land responded to his touch, and working in his garden was always a pleasure for him.
But that morning, he had been restless, sensing a vague threat to his garden. He was not a fighter, but he'd winged out just the same, unwilling to sit idly by while something touched his senses. And his feelings were too vague for him to summon a land ward. Perhaps if he could find out what was bothering him…
He'd never expected to find something so huge, amazing and horrible. Mouth agape, he'd watched as a hideous worm had erupted from the ground. It was surrounded by sand, which most certainly did not belong in this land. But then his eyes had been dazzled by blue light and when the sparks had cleared, he'd seen a strange, feral being fighting the worm. He'd stared at white armored plating and long, blue hair that slid past his ass. He couldn't make out much more of the person fighting, but he could hear the man laughing maniacally as he dodged spines that could easily spell his death.
Ichigo lost his heart in that moment, but he would only realize that later. For now, he stared in horror and frantically tried to summon a land ward. He could feel the powers responding, but it would take some time for a land ward to reach him. Then great claws of blue ripped through the sky and he yelped, ducking as one passed overhead. They ripped into the room, who screamed and thrashed. Then, to his amazement, the blue warrior dove into its exposed guts.
Ichigo had never imagined that worms could scream, but this was no natural worm. He reeled in pain as the sound seemed to go on and on, rising to an agonizing pitch. Then it finally stopped and the worm collapsed. Ichigo came in for a landing as the body stopped twitching, searching for the blue warrior.
He flinched as part of the worm exploded in a shower of gore, then swore lightly as he was showered with blood. That was going to be impossible to get out of his yukata, and it was a rather good one. Then he blinked as the white and blue warrior stepped out. There was blood smeared across his face and in his hair, but the white armoring seemed to repel it. Ichigo studied him, fascinated, and realized the white was actually bone and appeared to be part of his body. But it covered his genitals. How did that work? Could he make it vanish when he wanted to? Presumably he had to go to the bathroom… Then he blinked as he realized the other was staring at him just as intently. Brown eyes met blue in a timeless moment, then blue eyes suddenly widened.
"LOOK OUT!" Ichigo started at the scream and began to turn just as a hard hand slapped into his shoulder, shoving him out of the way with enough force to send him tumbling. Ichigo rolled for a moment then managed to catch himself and look back.
To his absolute horror, the white warrior had been impaled on a brown, spiky limb. It had gone through his belly and up into his chest and now, blood was staining the shattered white bone. The blue haired man coughed, and blood dripped out of his mouth. Then there was a hissing chitter and the barbed limb was roughly retracted, taking bits and pieces of flesh with it. The warrior hit the ground with a thump and Ichigo went pale as he realized a strange, mantis like creature was rising out of the sand. And it was intent on him, not the man it had just killed.
Or at least, they both assumed he was dead. That assumption was extremely faulty and Ichigo's eyes went wide and disbelieving as those blue claws rent the heavens again. The monster screamed pitifully as it was slashed, and the man surged to his feet, beheading it in one smooth move. More blood splattered Ichigo's yukata but he didn't care, just staring as the warrior looked at him. His blue eyes were electric and incredibly beautiful, full of ferocity and fire. But then his eyes widened as that fire died and the warrior collapsed again.
"No!" He ran to the man, gently turning him onto his back. "No no no…" He whispered to himself as he frantically tried to do something about the injuries. He wasn't specifically a healer, but his gift with plants translated well to the healing arts.
"Heh. Are all land wards this wimpy, almost gettin' impaled by a Dweller?" He looked into the man's face, astonished that he was talking. A wicked smile was on his lips, and Ichigo could see sharp white teeth. Flexible, blue furred ears flexed as the man hissed in pain.
"I'm not a land ward. I'm a gardener." Ichigo said as he gathered healing power and let it flow into the stranger. His eyes widened, then he laughed.
"A fucking farmer! You have some guts for a farmer." Ichigo blushed at the warm growl of approval. "But you shouldn't bother tryin' to heal me. That's a mortal wound." He said it as casually as if he was saying that the sun was bright or the water was wet. Ichigo stared at him, utterly speechless. "What? I'll just go for rebirth. It's all been done before."
"No!" Ichigo couldn't accept that. "I've just met you. Who are you?" He demanded, pouring more and more healing power into the body beneath his hands. The warrior sighed, letting his eyes close for a moment.
"Grimmjow's my name, killing's my game. I'm a land guard." Ichigo's eyes widened as he recognized the term. His homeland of Lazare had land wards. The dark land of Inuziri had land guards, who performed the same functions. "Fucking thing somehow managed to burrow here. They can do that if they get a hold of a good ley line nexus, ya know. Don't know how we missed this one but I had t' clean up the mess." Then he grunted, shivering. "F-Fuck… I'm serious. You're just gonna make my death more painful and drawn out. Half those fucking barbs broke off inside me. I'm not gonna come back from that." He sounded so certain, so accepting that tears filled Ichigo's eyes for a moment.
"No!" He couldn't help the small sob he made and the man looked at him in surprise. "I'm Ichigo. We have good healers here, and the land wards will be coming soon. We can fix you." He wasn't sure of that at all, but he knew he had to try. "You can't die for me." That hurt more than anything. If he hadn't been stupid, Grimmjow would be just fine right now. The land guard huffed out a laugh.
"Dying is what I'm for, just like your land wards – ah, that's pretty sight." Ichigo followed his gaze and saw three land wards spiralling in for a landing. Grimmjow was right, the way their feathered wings glittered in the sun was beautiful. "I always wondered why you people have wings. I can fly too, but I don't use wings for it. But I do run on the ground a lot… wears me out to fly a lot. Does it wear you people out?" Ichigo looked at him, surprised, and realized the warrior was trying to distract himself from the pain.
"No, flying is natural for us." He answered honestly. "And with the floating islands, it's necessary." Half of Lazare was high in the sky, floating over the world. Grimmjow blinked.
"Floating islands? Seriously?" Ichigo couldn't help but smile at the disbelief in the land guard's voice. But then, he'd never seen Lazare. Then the land wards were there, two of them tending to the man as the third pulled him to the side. Ichigo looked at Grimmjow, seeing the man had turned his head to keep watching him.
"What happened here?" The land ward said, cool and businesslike. Ichigo took a deep breath and gave a quick report of the encounter. He could tell the land ward was less than impressed with his decision to investigate his feelings. And he was even less impressed with Grimmjow's presence in Lazare. "Return to your home." The land ward told him but Ichigo shook his head. He couldn't leave without knowing what was going to happen to Grimmjow. The three land wards conferred for a moment and he saw the female of the three shaking her head. The man he'd spoken to nodded, and drew his sword.
"No!" The land ward swore as Ichigo grabbed his wrist, preventing him from putting the blade through the fallen warrior. "What are you doing? He killed it! We need to heal him!"
"He is going to die." The female warrior tried to sound gentle as Ichigo stared at her, tears filling his eyes. "I'm sorry, but this is the only merciful thing to do."
"No! We can take him to the hospital in Ryoko." He said sharply. Of course, no Inuziri was supposed to go there, but right now Ichigo did not care. The land wards all looked at him in disbelief. "He fought to save our land, he doesn't deserve to die!" He shoved them out of the way, letting his power shine for a moment. Ichigo knew he was very strong for a gardener, and in some ways his power could eclipse a land ward. It took immense strength to tend a garden as large as his.
"Hmph. As you will, lord." The man said, making the title a curse. Ichigo winced but stayed firm, gathering Grimmjow up in his arms. "But if it were one of us, we would do the same thing. You are only prolonging his pain." Ichigo shook his head, refusing to believe that. Then an arm went around his shoulders and he blinked, looking into Grimmjow's face.
"I'm willin' to suffer a bit longer." He whispered, looking raptly into Ichigo's face. Ichigo blushed lightly at the intent look in those blue eyes. "To see a bit more of you." Ichigo could sense the land ward's puzzlement, but ignored them as he took to the sky.
Grimmjow was not going to die. He was going to make sure of it.
That had been a week ago, and Ichigo was beginning to face the fact that he was wrong.
The hospital in Ryoko had given the Inuziri man wonderful care. They'd carefully extracted all the barbs, and done their best to counteract the poison. Grimmjow and the land wards hadn't mentioned that, but Ichigo was certain they had known. It explained why they had been so sure he would die.
And they were right. The wound was festering despite everything the medics could do, and while most of the time Grimmjow was perfectly lucid and in minimal pain, his eyes sometimes glazed over and his expression turned agonized. He never made a sound during those episodes, but Ichigo wanted to grip his shoulders and weep into his skin. He'd done the wrong thing, bringing the land guard here.
"Calm down." Ichigo blinked as Grimmjow's voice came back. The blue haired man was smiling at him now, only beads of sweat on his skin to show how much pain he was in. "I could'a said no, y'know. I wanted to see Lazare. It's pretty, ain't it?"
"Y-Yes." Ichigo choked the word out, tears filling his eyes again. He was crying so much lately. Why did Grimmjow mean so much to him? There was a grumble in his mind and Ichigo froze as he felt the touch of a greater power.
He is not for you. He is Inuziri, his soul is cold and cannot bond with yours. Ichigo winced as he heard the words of the Creator. All the inhabitants of Lazare sometimes heard him, usually when they were doing something he very much did not approve of. And he knew the Creator was right about the bonding. Grimmjow's soul could not join with his, only his body… and, perhaps, his heart.
"Grimmjow…" Ichigo touched a black, clawed hand and waited for blue eyes to meet brown. "I – would you like to have sex with me?" He blurted out, to the land guard's astonishment. Grimmjow stared at him in shock for a moment, then tossed his head back in a wild laugh.
"A pity fuck, is it? Well, you're out of my mind if you think I'll say no." Ichigo stared as Grimmjow pulled the blanket off himself, exposing his body. A bit of the armor vanished, revealing his privates. Well, that answered the question of how he went to the bathroom. Ichigo blushed at the thought and stared at the beautiful, feral form. "Well? Ugh." Grimmjow grunted in pain as he tried to sit up. Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly gripped his shoulders, pushing him back.
"Don't do that." Ichigo said, suddenly concerned that copulation might kill the land guard. But he was dying anyway. He could give the man this last moment of glory and pleasure. Grimmjow settled back as Ichigo undid his yukata, tossing the soft fabric onto the floor. Beneath it, he wore nothing. Ichigo paused as he saw Grimmjow looking at him appreciatively.
"You're fucking beautiful. I love those little feathers." Ichigo blushed as a clawed hand an over his peach colored skin, finding the soft, downy feathers that sparkled on his body. They were the same gold as his wings, and he'd been told before how beautiful they were. Feathers on the body was not really a common trait. "Pretty angel."
"Mmm." Ichigo didn't quite agree with that term. He'd known too many Lazare who were anything but angelic. But he wasn't going to disagree right now, and he lowered his face to Grimmjow's crotch, exploring soft skin with lips and tongue. To his surprise, he found that Grimmjow was lightly furred in unexpected places. It was soft, surprisingly soft for hair in that spot. To his further surprise, the land guard smelled good. Like salty sweat, musk and vanilla. He didn't taste bad, either, and Ichigo enjoyed taking the man into his mouth.
This is very foolish, what you are doing. Ichigo ignored the warning, bobbing his head up and down on the man in front of him. Grimmjow was moaning and spreading his legs, clawed hands digging into the bed. He is not for you.
"Don't care." Ichigo breathed as he slowly licked Grimmjow's straining member. The land guard's eyes were fluttering and he could see the man was in pain as his abdomen tensed, but he didn't stop. He could tell Grimmjow wanted this, no matter how pain it required. "Mmm." Ichigo closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment. There was no reason male Lazare could not copulate with other males, and the Creator had made it possible for them to do so without pain. Satisfied that he was ready, Ichigo climbed up the straining body and gripped Grimmjow's cock, easing himself down onto the hot, thick flesh. "Ah!" There was no pain, only pleasure as his muscles closed over the Inuziri man. Grimmjow made a low, primal sound that ignited a fire in Ichigo's belly and made his head spin.
"You are fucking gorgeous." Grimmjow panted out as he thrust up into the body that was riding his. "Yeah… yeah…" Then he groaned, a sound so full of pain that Ichigo shivered. "Fuck!" Ichigo's eyes went wide as the Inuziri suddenly changed their positions, flipping him onto his back and thrusting into him harshly. Ichigo moaned wantonly at the intense heat in Grimmjow's eyes, the primal desire of the man who was fucking him. He'd had lovers before, but it had always been… gentle. Not hard and hot and primitive like the land guard. Clawed fingers raised little lines of blood on his sides, but Ichigo didn't care, the pain blending with the pleasure into a stunning, glorious whole. He'd never known he liked pain during sex before…
You should not. This is wrong. The Creator's disapproval could have been cut with a knife, but Ichigo was too far gone to care. He moaned out Grimmjow's name, gripping blue hair and drowning in the other man's mouth. The hot, thick flesh inside him was torturing him in all the best ways, rubbing against his prostate again and again in their quest for pleasure. Then he heard Grimmjow gasp.
"Sh-Shit… too far… fuck!" Ichigo blinked as he felt something wet against his stomach. "Fucking me to death, what a beautiful way to go." That concerned him for a moment, but then Grimmjow nailed his prostate again and the young angel arched, crying out as his release suddenly came close.
"Grimmjow. Grimmjow!" He panted out the other man's name, not caring who might hear, not caring about anything except the hot pleasure and the warrior who was giving it to him. "Yes!" He cried out his affirmation as his pleasure skyrocketed, his seed spilling between the two of them. He felt Grimmjow pause for just a moment, then thrust into him even more powerfully. Limp and spent, Ichigo smiled as he felt the other man tense, the power of his orgasm sending a ripple through his body.
But it might not have been his orgasm, but rather, something ripping inside. Ichigo's eyes went wide in horror as a torrent of hot wetness suddenly drenched his belly. It was not his seed, not anything that should ever be outside the body. And Grimmjow was collapsed on him, trying to muffle his coughs with a pillow. The pillow was bright red with blood.
"Grimmjow!" Ichigo tried to separate from him, tried to get him help, but the land guard held him in place with a surprisingly strong grip.
"Fucking to death… best way to go." Grimmjow's voice was faint and Ichigo turned his head to meet dying blue eyes. There was blood all over his lips, dripping down his chin, and those lovely eyes were going dark. "Thanks, Ichigo." The land guard nuzzled his cheek for a moment before dropping his head, and Ichigo felt the soft tickle of breath against his skin. A feeling that stopped a moment later.
"GRIMMJOW!" The agonized scream shook his whole body, and Ichigo touched Grimmjow's throat, trying to find a pulse. There was nothing, just warm and pliant skin. Skin that would be cold, soon. "No! Grimmjow… no…" Ichigo sobbed, holding the man he had just met, yet somehow felt that he loved.
Love that had ended far too soon.