In the Belly of the Beast
By Spunky0ne
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There is the odd, the unbelievable, the unimaginable, and the thing that never should have happened. This story, requested by Queentlc, goes beyond even that. In the dark, cold sands of Hueco Mundo, something ungodly, unworldly and savagely beastly is about to happen. Zaraki Kenpachi searches for a missing comrade and finds far more than he bargained for. Worlds will be shaken and the universe will be turned on its ear as the unthinkable happens...but um, I'll let you see for yourselves. Fasten your seatbelts, folks, the ride will be pretty damned bumpy.
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Chapter 1: Vamped
"How's he doing, Kisuke?" Ichigo asked worriedly, watching as the shopkeeper leaned over an injured, dark-clad shinigami and attended to his bleeding wounds, "Is Tetsuya going to be all right?"
"Well," Kisuke said good naturedly, "Your pretty boyfriend's taken some damage, but Tetsuya's going to be just fine. Don't worry. Give me a second to finish this and I'll see if I can wake him up. I'm kinda surprised that he isn't awake already."
"Well, hurry it up," Kenpachi said impatiently, from where he leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed, "Soutaichou wants us to find Byakuya before something fucking eats him, okay?"
"Take it easy," Kisuke chuckled, "I'll have you out of here and off to find Byakuya-san in no time."
Green, healing power flared around the shopkeeper's hands, and he focused the light on Tetsuya's remaining injuries, smiling as the young man stirred and groaned sluggishly.
"That's a boy," Kisuke encouraged him, "We need you to talk to us. Tell us where your cousin is."
"You were with Byakuya," Ichigo said, squeezing Tetsuya's hand and gazing into his hazy eyes, "Do you know where he is, Tetsuya?"
"Ah..." Tetsuya panted dizzily, "I...I...he was...it was...awful."
"What was it?" Kisuke asked calmly, "Can you describe what attacked the two of you?"
Tetsuya blinked, trying to clear his mind, but only encountering odd spinning sensations, unbearable thirst, and a strange yearning of some kind that made him hold more tightly to Ichigo's reassuring hand. He moaned incoherently, breaking out in a sweat and panting harder, then managing only a few broken words before plunging back into blackness.
"S-southeast...near Ao...i-ishi no Toride!"
"The blue stone fortress?" Kisuke mused, turning to Ichigo and frowning, "That's the ruins of the first hollow king's palace. That's not good."
"Why? What's there?" Ichigo asked worriedly, "What's going on, Kisuke?"
"What's going on is that there are some really not good beasties out there that none of us want to be running into."
"Should Renji and I go after Byakuya?" Ichigo asked.
"No way you guys should be going alone," Kisuke warned him.
"Naw," Kenpachi agreed, "This isn't a job for wimps and pussies."
"HEY!" Ichigo objected, "I...!"
"Shut up," Kenpachi huffed, turning away, "Stay here and do some knitting or something. This is a job for a real man."
"Eh, not to step on your toes here, Zaraki taichou," Kisuke said nervously, "but..."
"Later," Kenpachi snapped gruffly, "We have work to do. C'mon Yachiru!"
"O-kay, Kenny!" his fukutaichou laughed, jumping up onto his shoulders.
"You sure you don't wanna wait for...?" Kisuke began.
"We're outta here!" Kenpachi snapped, cutting him off and disappearing down the hallway.
Kisuke and Ichigo exchanged bemused glances.
"Should I go drag Renji out of bed and get going?" the Shiba heir inquired.
"Renji yes, you no. I want you to stay here and make sure Tetsuya doesn't start showing any worrisome symptoms."
"All right," Ichigo said, leaning over and offering his unconscious lover a warm kiss of parting, "Be right back, Tetsuya. Just have to go and kick Renji's ass outta bed."
"Nice," Kisuke chuckled.
Kisuke watched as Ichigo left, then turned back to continue his work, just missing the moment when Tetsuya's eyelids fluttered and his reiatsu sparked, then his mouth opened for a moment, as though starving for the return of that sweetness it had just tasted. He shuddered softly and fell still again, the shaky rise and fall of his breathing, the only signs of movement as he slept.
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"The path splits up ahead, Kenny!" Yachiru called out cheerfully, hopping down off of the big man's shoulders, "I'll go down the right and you can check the left."
"And we'll meet back here," Kenpachi said approvingly.
He paused and watched for a moment as his pink-haired fukutaichou disappeared into the blackness, down the right hand trail, before turning towards the cold, black dunes on the left. A grin crept onto his face as he sensed several presences lurking in amongst the sand and boulders.
"Heh, she left me the fun path, eh? Good girl, Yachiru..."
Laughing to himself and keeping one hand near the hilt of his sword, he set off down the trail, peering into the darkness ahead and looking for his missing comrade.
Kuchiki wouldn't have abandoned his cousin if he knew Tetsuya was hurt. Something bad happened. I know it. I'm sure if I keep going, there'll be something worth putting my sword to. Just have to find it...
He ran faster, regretting only briefly that even though he had learned to use his shikai, he might have paid better attention when Byakuya had tried to instruct him in his flash step.
"I'm fast enough without a goddamned flash step," he complained, his words slurring from drunkenness.
"Hmmm," Byakuya mused, as well as he could after partaking of the particularly strong sake they had been drinking to kill the pain of their injuries, "But think of how many more things you'll be able to hack up with that ragged sword of yours if you can move faster."
Kenpachi gave him a crooked smile.
"Sweet! All right. Hit me."
"Oh, don't tempt me," Byakuya muttered under his breath, "Close your eyes and envisiion where you're going to end up when you are finished flash stepping...like, over there," he said, pointing.
"Okay," Kenpachi said, nodding briefly and closing his eyes.
He flinched and suffered an odd, lusty twinge in his loins for a moment as Byakuya's soft hand touched his belly, just over his core spirit center.
Feel your reiatsu move through this place and focus on that image of where you want to be. You will get there far faster than running."
"Sure. All right. But you know, you shouldn't be touching me there if we're not on a date, Kuchiki."
"I assure you, I won't be asking to date you anytime soon," Byakuya answered dryly, "If we were sober, I would hurt you for even the insinuation."
Kenpachi grinned.
"You talk pretty, don't you, princess?" he chuckled, smirking.
Byakuya's reiatsu flared around him and his steely eyes darkened ominously. His lips twitched as though he wanted to say something, but he just withdrew his hands and turned away.
"Aw, was it something I said?" Kenpachi complained, "I thought you were teaching me to flash step!"
"I don't teach tricks to uncultured monkeys," Byakuya said off-handedly, "You would only flash step into a wall and end up unconscious probably."
"Yeah, probably..."
He sighed unhappily.
I hope you're not dead, Kuchiki. You're someone I'd really not want to miss fighting before you die.
He continued down the path, ignoring the weaker reiatsu he sensed and honing in on signs of someone stronger. He sensed flickers of Byakuya's reiatsu, though it seemed strangely faint, suggesting that the sixth division taichou had been injured and staggering badly as he had come that way.
He also hadn't been alone.
Someone was following him, and he knew it. He altered the trail here, so that the hollow wouldn't be able to find him, but so that a comrade could. I almost missed the signs myself.
Shit...
He looked around and extended his senses again.
"C'mon, where are you, Byakuya?" he whispered, tilting his head back and sniffing the air.
A smile crept onto his face as the slightest hint of sakura reached him. He turned in the direction the scent had come from, ignoring everything else and closing in on a small, barely visible cave entrance that appeared ahead of him.
Let's hope whatever this thing was, that it didn't find you and finish the job. I've always kinda liked you, Kuchiki. You're a nasty little bitch princess sometimes, but I respect your fighting skill. We should spar when we get home...well, after you're healed up and ready to go.
He looked around to make sure no hollows were watching, then drew his sword and pushed aside the brush so he could enter the cave. All was silent and dark inside, but he sensed only Byakuya's weakened reiatsu ahead of him and moved forward as soon as his eyes had adjusted. He spotted the collapsed taichou near the back wall of the cave, lying in a lovely, bloodstained heap.
"Hey Kuchiki," he called softly, "You all right? You're not dead, I hope."
A twinge went through his insides at the lack of a response of any kind. The Kuchiki leader laid perfectly still and made no sound as Kenpachi moved closer and knelt at his side. He placed his hands over the fallen shinigami and examined him quickly.
"Well, you're alive, at least. Though you look kinda beat up. Let me give you a little juice and see if you won't wake up for me, okay?"
He meant to only send a gentle flicker of his reiatsu through the connection he had formed, but instead, a large pulse of golden light flashed between them and Byakuya jumped awake suddenly.
"Sorry about that," Kenpachi laughed, waiting for a scathing reply from his fellow taichou.
He froze as Byakuya's glittering and oddly glowing eyes met his and seemed to sink down into his core. Byakuya's chest heaved softly and his mouth opened and moved, not speaking, but seeking and hungry. It fastened roughly on the eleventh division taichou's and bit down painfully.
"Damn, Kuchiki!" Kenpachi swore, pulling away, only to let out a loud grunt as he was tackled and brought down onto his back.
His head struck the hard floor of the cave and stars filled the air, obscuring his vision. He could feel Byakuya's feisty mouth clamping down on his again and kissing so hard he drew blood. Kenpachi took a coppery tasting breath and felt dizziness sweep over him. His loins throbbed painfully as Byakuya's cool tongue thrust into his mouth and slid seductively along his. The noble's fast heartbeat, purred against his chest and sweet sakura teased his senses unmercifully.
"Ah...! What're you doin' Byakuya?" he panted, "Something's not right with you."
He met Byakuya's eyes again and felt ice shoot through his veins as his body went still and refused to move, no matter how his mind screamed at what was happening.
Whatever got hold of you was a creepy little son of a bitch, wasn't it? he mused, I really hope you're not gonna kill me.
But having gotten the upper hand, the noble simply held him transfixed and fed warmly on his mouth, rubbing against him seductively and very slowly beginning to undress him.
What the hell?
What are you doing?
Damn, you feel like silk, sliding along my body! A guy's never made me hard like this before. I think only a good enemy ever has made me this hard. It feels damned good, but...are you just teasing me or what?
He groaned and strained upward, trying to turn the tables on his lovely comrade, but still filled with that strange weakness that had come over him. He struggled beneath Byakuya's hands as the noble methodically bared him, then glared down into his eyes and sent his mind into a long, heady spiral. Everything after that seemed to be distorted and hazy. He felt touches that were invasive, but at the same time felt powerfully erotic. He saw brief flashes of Byakuya, lit in eerie grey light and writhing atop his trapped form. It seemed that the bewitched noble's softness reached him everywhere at once, from his panting lips to the very depths of his core. A strange feeling of intense heat blossomed inside him and his own body seized wickedly, loosing long pulses of blazing reiatsu and steaming seed. He heard himself groan and began to lose consciousness, still staring raptly into Byakuya's deadly grey eyes.
Damn, I think you killed me.
What a beautiful way to go, though, looking into your pretty eyes.
I really hope this isn't the end, but if it is...
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"Tetsuya?" Ichigo said softly, stepping into the room where his lover slept and moving towards the bed, "Are you awake?"
He could see that the noble was panting very softly, and that his eyes were closed.
"Tetsuya?"
He reached the bed and paused, gazing down at his beloved and reaching out to touch his face.
As he made contact, Tetsuya's sapphire eyes opened suddenly, freezing the Shiba heir in place with a powerful blue glow that seemed to reach down into his chest and squeeze out all of the air inside him. A grasping hand yanked him down onto the bed and Tetsuya turned and rolled him onto his back.
"Tetsuya!" Ichigo gasped, reeling as his lover's eyes glared wickedly into his, bewitching his surprised body into stillness.
Held spellbound by those glowing orbs, he barely felt himself being bared and swiftly prepared and taken by his normally submissive mate. He was only aware of the gripping beauty of the noble as his naked body danced atop Ichigo's, his pretty lips parted and loosing soft, ethereal cries of rising pleasure.
In some part of Ichigo's dazed mind, he registered the oddness of what was happening, but unable to object, he only watched with lusty eyes as Tetsuya's movements grew rougher and more disjointed until he stiffened for a moment, then unleashed a blinding shriek of completion.
Ichigo groaned delightedly, loosing his own release as Tetsuya's heat burned him to the core. The blue-eyed noble crashed down on top of him, burying his hungry mouth in a thrill of finishing kisses, that ended with the two sweetly entangled in a mess of seed splashed bedding.
Neither heard the muted thumping on the wall or the sound of an irritated and sleepy voice seeping into the room.
"Will you two knock it off? People are trying to sleep here!"
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Byakuya woke to the odd feeling of being naked and scandalously pressed up against another naked male body, his nose buried beneath the other man's chin and his thoughts scattered as a rumbling snore sounded. The noble's eyes squinted as strong flickers of pain shot through his head. Holding a hand to the affected area, he disentangled himself from the other and sat up. Instantly, stars danced before his eyes and he crashed down again. He woke a second time and found he had somehow crawled a short distance from his equally naked comrade and wrangled his tattered uniform back into some kind of order. He blushed at the connotations of how he had found himself upon waking the first time, and checked swiftly to be sure that his fellow taichou had not used the opportunity for more dubious purposes than sleeping. But despite the telltale stickiness that suggested a nocturnal emission on his part, he found no sign that his own body had been violated. He looked back at the collapsed eleventh division taichou, sighed and shook his head reprovingly before adjusting Kenpachi's clothing to cover his ample genitals.
"Kenpachi," he said, shaking his comrade gently, then more firmly, "Kenpachi, wake up."
The eleventh division taichou snorted loudly and came awake, swatting the air with an angry hand as Byakuya moved to avoid it.
"Wh-what the fuck, Kuchiki?" he grumbled, "It ain't even light yet! Are you out of your fucking mind? Get away from me!"
"You fool!" Byakuya snapped, making the other man grunt and grab his head, "We are in Hueco Mundo. There is no daylight!"
"Ugh...whatever. Go to hell, all right?"
"Wake up Kenny!" called Yachiru's cheerful voice from the cave entrance, "You found Byakushi, ne? We should get back, now that you two had your nap!"
"Eh, fine, whatever..." Kenpachi grunted, "clambering to his feet and swaying slightly, "We found what we were lookin' for. You okay, Byakuya?"
"Fine," the noble answered dryly, "Although I'm not sure who found who, as we woke up together."
"Oh, Kenny found you," Yachiru announced happily, "and you made a lot of noise and went to sleep, so I stood watch."
"Then, I suppose I owe you my gratitude," Byakuya said, slightly less icily.
"What took you so long to come back?" Kenpachi complained, "Soutaichou had us busting our asses, looking for you and you don't even look hurt."
"I suppose you must have healed my injuries before falling asleep," Byakuya surmised.
"Can we just go?" Kenpachi muttered, "This is boring. I need to get back and do some training."
"Very well," Byakuya sighed, heading for the cave entrance, "But has Tetsuya been found? I lost sight of him when we were attacked."
"Your cousin's fine," Kenpachi assured him, "Kisuke and Ichigo were taking care of him when I left. I imagine by now that Shiba boy's all wrapped around Tetsuya and enjoying a nice hot tango. I could use one of those, myself."
"I thought you were into fighting, not lovemaking," Byakuya mused disapprovingly.
"Well," Kenpachi said, grinning, "They both get you hot, damp and excited. Can't complain about getting either one."
"Lovely," Byakuya said, rolling his eyes as he headed out into the darkness and turned for home.