Chapter Two
The Brother's Secret
The mission was simple. Stop the humans. That was all he was supposed to do. That was it. He wasn't supposed to do anything else. He was just supposed to stop them however he could.
Humans believed Dangai to be uninhabited, as well as all the surrounding moons. The problem was, Dangai, and its moons, were very much inhabited. The problem was that humans were unable to perceive the resident species. The species, who had no real name for themselves, found themselves in a rather unpleasant predicament. The humans were a minor nuisance when they surrounded the star they called Sol One. Then, they moved to Dangai's moons. This alone would have been tolerable, after all, the human corporeal nature made interacting with the Danae (a name they decided on after their planet was named Dangai) impossible. The species itself thrived on the gas giant the humans had named Dangai, under their influence. The name itself was what the natives of the planet called it, and the human that named it had been whispered the name by one of their kind.
Then, the humans started syphoning power from Dangai's constant storms. To do this, they launched a generator that floated in the atmosphere. The closest moon became an unmanned outpost, and the funnel of energy flowed from their planet into quaint little containers that belonged to the humans. On an even interval, a ship would come, and gather full containers of the energy. The problem with the situation was that the energy they were using wasn't energy, it was the Danae themselves. Millions of their species were being sucked away and they had no way to even tell these humans what was happening.
He had been sent to find a way to stop them, by any means necessary. To do this, the Danae decided to use a human vessel to copy and create a corporeal form that could interact with the humans. The body of a pregnant female was chosen on the moon the humans called Karakura. Once inside the body of the human host, he'd used his innate energy to copy the developing fetus. The problem was, with no understanding of humans, the Danae's emissary became trapped in a corporeal form with only echoes of his memories. The body developed, and with it, the mind, but the incorporeal form of the Danae that resided in the body was hidden, and his mission forgotten.
Now, he was hiding in this new city he had found himself in, and his mind was only focused on the only thing that mattered: Ichigo. Shiro knew he wasn't like him, and he knew that he was something else entirely, but he could not put his finger on what he was. He was aware now that he should have known what he was. It didn't help, though. Instead, he focused on getting his Ichigo back. That was really how he saw him, as his and anyone that tried to take him was to be destroyed.
Shiro had sat long enough, so he took a breath and started to dart out of the alleyway he was hiding in. His head exploded in white as something slammed right into him. He staggered back to see a big guy with blue hair. Shiro dropped to a crouch and glared at him.
"Move," Shiro growled.
"Look, come quietly, I'll take you to your brother or whatever the fuck he is. What the fuck are you anyway?" the blue haired interloped asked, standing there, looking at ease despite the odd situation. "I'm Grimmjow, one of the leaders around here. So, come on."
"I don't trust you," Shiro growled at him again.
Grimmjow sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you want to see him or not?"
Shiro was now at an impasse. He wanted to rip this guy's throat out, and he was sure he could; he didn't seem fast enough to avoid him. If they had moved Ichigo, though, he had no way to find him again. He didn't trust him, though. So instead he smirked at the tall, blue haired Arrancar and spoke again. "Catch me, blue baby."
With that, he moved like a coiled spring and leaped up, using the building as a springboard to push himself to land behind Grimmjow. Grimmjow moved to follow him, but immediately realized that this creature, for he was in no way human now that he saw him move, was faster than anyone except Starrk. Scarily, he might have been faster than the Primera. He took off, though, following his scent rather than trusting his eyes. His scent was sweet and like nothing Grimmjow had ever smelled.
Shiro had never been so close to panic in his life. He doubted what Grimmjow said, but what if he couldn't find him in this place? He quickly realized he was never going to navigate this like he usually could. There was no higher ground to get a vantage from the way it was built going upward. He stopped short in several allies, sure that he had been going toward the big building only to find himself backwards completely. Finally, he decided to cut through a building. He skidded to a stop in a kitchen with a very shocked looking Arrancar in the middle of cooking. He stared for a minute then wasn't sure what to do.
The Arrancar, a female by appearance with curly purple hair stared back. "What are you doing in my house? Do you need help?" she asked, setting the pan on the stove.
Shiro shook his head and sprinted toward the back door and was out in an open alley. He took a ramp that seemed to be going up, but found himself skidding to a stop in some kind of bedroom. There were two girls in the bed, it seemed in the middle of something. One was blond, the other had black hair. He didn't look much beyond that as he turned from them. He heard one of them yell at him, asking if he needed help and he shook it off and dashed to the open window. He dropped down, nearly landing on what looked like an oversized dog. He stared for a minute because it was taller than he was but it was definitely canine. It was the size of a horse, though. He stumbled backward and almost into an Arrancar. He felt hands on him, and he turned to see someone with dark hair asking if he was okay. He turned to go down the street the other way but a flimsy, flickering appearing figure appeared right in front of him saying something about not running anymore.
What the hell? He thought as he sprinted away and up a wall. He felt eyes on him, as apparently, he was in a populated area now and people were muttering as they saw him dash past them. He was actually starting to panic because he couldn't figure out how to get out of this place. He gasped as someone put hands on him again and he saw it was the blue haired guy again.
"Hey, come on now, calm down," he said in a quiet voice. Shiro couldn't, not really. He shook him off and tried to back away only to be faced with another figure, this one at least a foot taller than himself with black hair and a bandana over one eye. He was penned in. His eyes went upward and he didn't have enough clearance to leap again, and he wasn't sure he had the energy.
"I need him," he gasped out finally, looking between the other two as he backed into the wall. He flattened against it, his palms contacting the cool stone. It felt good against his heated skin. "I need him…I can't…I can't…"
Grimmjow moved to pin him then and Shiro flinched looking up as he put his hands on his shoulders. "Come on, I told you. I'll take you to him, okay? He's safe, and so are you. No one here will hurt you."
Shiro couldn't run anymore, he was tired. He nodded to this Grimmjow, but he felt his knees give out. He felt him catch him under the arms as the world began to waver in his vision. "I got you, okay?" he heard as his mind began to shut down.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Szayel stared at the figure on his table, currently unconscious. Grimmjow stood to the side. "I have no idea what he is," he muttered and looked at Grimmjow as Starrk came into the med bay. "He's not human, though it appears that his body is based off human structure."
"Is he a genetic mutation like some of the others? An experiment?" Starrk asked.
Szayel looked at him. "You aren't understanding me. This…this creature isn't human at all. It…it is almost like a bad copy of a human." Szayel read the confusing in the others. "Okay, the DNA sequences, on the surface, look human. And a cursory glance would make you think they are human. But once you look deeper, they're…blank. Like someone brewed a mock up human body."
"His appearance is close to the orange haired sex slave. One of the laborers called him his twin brother," Starrk said slowly. "But if what you're saying is that he's not human…"
Grimmjow looked at Starrk. "Maybe we're not as alone as we thought."
Shiro groaned then, getting them all to look at him. "Ow…" he muttered.
Starrk started to move, but to his amusement found Grimmjow moved up by his head as Shiro's eyes opened. "Hey, you."
Shiro locked his oddly colored eyes on the blue ones. "Whaddaya want?" he grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his head.
Szayel moved around. "How are you feeling?"
"The fuck are you supposed to be, glamour boy?" Shiro looked at him with narrowed eyes.
With a snort, Szayel smiled at him. "I'm the doctor and scientist here, and you're in the castle. You've been out a few hours. I wasn't sure what to do with you."
"Not much to do but wait it out," Shiro sighed and swung his legs off the bed, glaring at Grimmjow. "How the fuck did you track me?"
"Well, for one thing, I live here, so I know how to get around, but the other is that you have a very unique scent I can follow," Grimmjow said, arching a brow.
"Figures," Shiro said as he looked at Starrk. "You were the one that busted in the sale."
Starrk nodded, bowing his head a bit. "Yes, Cayote Starrk. I'm the Primera Espada of Hueco Mundo, and this city is Las Noches. I have your companion, the one with the orange hair-"
"Where is he?" Shiro interrupted and was in front of Starrk a second later, surprising everyone that he appeared to flash from one place to another.
Shiro flinched as he felt hands on his arms again. "Hold on, sweetheart," Grimmjow muttered. "We'll get you there. First, can you give any explanation to the fact you aren't human?"
"Ah, what?" Shiro said, looking over his shoulder at Grimmjow.
Szayel walked around and looked at him for a long time. "You don't know that you aren't human, do you?"
"I was born with Ichigo, I'm…I'm…what…how am I not human?" he asked, starting to feel something tickle at the back of his brain.
Stop them at all costs. We're dying.
Shiro shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."
Szayel glanced at Grimmjow and Starrk before he looked at Shiro again. "Your DNA is a bad copy of his. Shiro is what they call you?"
"Shiro, white," he muttered and shook his head. "I'm different, but that doesn't mean I'm not human, wait, a bad copy? I don't understand."
"Don't worry about it now, we'll run some tests, for now go to your companion," Szayel said as he turned back to the tests he was running.
Starrk nodded to Grimmjow and let him lead Shiro out the door behind him.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Rukia leaned against Ichigo and glanced over where Renji and the others were huddled.
"Why hasn't he come talked to us? We've been in here free to do what we want for a couple hours already, and they haven't moved," Rukia said with frustration.
Ichigo glanced over, a similar thought having run through his mind. "Maybe they're disgusted with us," he said quietly. "I mean, they did turn us into whores."
Ichigo looked over to see Rangiku and Kira were huddled together. Before they were kidnapped, they had both been in a triad relationship with another Shinigami that was one of the captains, but Ichigo couldn't remember the name. Since they'd been left on their own by these Arrancar, they'd been sitting together and holding each other. He saw that two of the gladiators, Kensei and Shūhei, had also paired off and were sitting knee to knee on the floor to the side. Hiyori, the female gladiator was pacing the room and didn't talk to anyone. Rose had sat down with Lisa and they sat with their hands intertwined for comfort. Chizuru and Orihime were likewise leaning against each other. Rukia and Ichigo had sat on their cot back to back as they waited. The laborers were just huddled together for some reason.
Rukia got up suddenly, almost making Ichigo fall backward as she stormed over to the redheaded Renji.
"What the hell is your problem, all of you?" she asked, glaring around at the laborer group. "You don't want anything to do with us anymore?" She gestured behind her where the eight of them had spread out in pairs or alone. Ichigo lowered his head, not wanting to hear an answer that confirmed his fear.
Renji stared at Rukia and stammered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She looked over at the others and back at him. They all had the same completely ashamed look. None of them would meet her eyes.
"Are we not good enough for you now?" Rukia stated, her eyes locking on Renji's. "Are we nothing but common whores to you?"
Renji's eyes went wide. "No, Rukia, no, just…" He trailed off and looked away.
"Just what? What is the problem?"
"They used us." Uryū finally spoke. "They made us…do…things to you all. When they 'trained' you. They would have us…do it."
Rukia stared for a moment before she looked at all of them. "So fucking what?" she snapped.
They all looked at her, eyes wide and staring. "Rukia, I can't forgive myself for…"
Before Renji could move, she'd slapped him. He turned back at her and stared. "How dare you treat us differently. So what? So they made you fuck us. They made us do that and worse. Do you see me fucking ignoring Ichigo just because he had to fuck me for them to watch? Do you see me turning away from him, or Rose? Or Kira? Or because they made us girls fuck them with things? Do you fucking think it wasn't like that? Don't give me that bullshit excuse. We were all made do things." She turned on her heels and fell down onto the cot into Ichigo's arms. He put his arms around her and they sat like that in silence for a long time.
The silence was broken when the door opened.
"Ichi Baby!" he heard and stood just in time to get tackled over the cot and roll on the floor.
Ichigo gasped as he was being mauled by Shiro's kisses. He started to laugh as he buried his face in his neck. "Shiro! Let go, I can't breathe!"
Finally, Ichigo dislodged Shiro enough that they sat up. Shiro wouldn't let go, though, hanging on him like second skin. He sighed and put his arms around him. Considering they had been able to see each other only briefly over the last year, and hadn't touched since they were separated, Shiro wasn't going to let him go.
They had all been provided pants and a shirt by the Arrancar, but Shiro was still in his gladiator clothes. "Shiro, the metal…" Ichigo complained.
Shiro leaned back and pulled it off, clanging the metal off the floor as he threw it before throwing his arms around Ichigo again. "I missed you," he whined.
Ichigo sighed and ran his hands over Shiro's head. "I know, I know."
From the doorway, Starrk and Grimmjow watched with interest. "That's not the reaction of brothers," Starrk observed. "More like long lost lovers."
Grimmjow nodded. "I'm unsure what to make of the whole situation."
"Yo, boss," came a new voice from behind them. Both turned to see Nnoitra standing there with his hands in his pockets. "The Shinigami boss is on the com."
Starrk nodded and looked to Grimmjow. "Stay with them, and keep an eye on this Shiro. I'll talk to the Shinigami and find out what they wish us to do with their people."
Starrk walked the ramp that led to the upper level communication room. He nodded to Harribel who was on duty this morning.
"The leader of the Shinigami people is on the line for you, Cayote."
"Put him through here," Starrk said as he fell into the seat, adjusting his jacket as he did so. He should have worn something less heavy today with as much walking as he was doing. The Arrancar always wore a variety of styles, and Starrk tended to favor plain, loose clothing with layers. It helped since he had a habit of falling asleep in random locations. The screen showed a wizened old man with a white beard and bald head wearing a formal looking white overcoat. "Cayote Starrk," he answered.
"My people informed me that you have a group of my missing people as well as some from the Karakura Moon settlement. You indicated they had been held by the Bounts on Slavers' Moon. I am the head captain of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto. We are the ruling authority over the Seiretei and the moons we have terraformed like Karakura," the old man stated seriously. Starrk saw another man at his right shoulder.
"Yes, the Bounts were attempting to use one of our casinos' conference areas for sale of the slaves. We captured all by the leader, and we have all the people they were selling in our custody," he said, trying to avoid yawning. It had been a busy day, and he needed a nap.
The old man gave a curt nod. "What are the names of those that you have rescued and what have they endured?"
Starrk licked his lips. "Ah, yes, there were three groups being sold, laborer slaves, gladiator slaves, and pleasure slaves."
There was a pause. "Continue please."
Starrk leaned over the console and tapped into it to pull up the list. "Our records show that from your world, we have Rukia Kuchiki, Rangiku Matsumoto, Izuru Kira, Shūhei Hisagi, Rose Ōtoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, Lisa Yadōmaru, Hiyori Sarugaki, Renji Abarai, and Hachigen Ushōda. From Karakura Moon, Ichigo Kurosaki, Shiro Kurosaki, Chad Yasutora, Uryū Ishida, Chizuru Honshō, Orihime Inoue, and Keigo Asano."
In the background, Starrk heard the scribbling. "Very well, I will send out a ship with their loved ones. They will be very glad to have them back. It has nearly been a year and a half since the raid on Karakura Moon when they were taken. Do you have any idea how they were treated and if they have been any other places besides the Slavers' Moon?"
"From what I understand, they were being sold for the first time. I do know that the group has been divided since they were put together. There appears to be some sort of rift between the eight that were trained as pleasure slaves and those that were used as laborers and gladiators."
"Am I to assume the female victims were used as the pleasure slaves?" he asked.
Starrk arched a brow, clearing his throat. "Ah, not all. The short Shinigami, Hiyori, was among the gladiators, and the Shinigami Rose and Kira as well as the Karakura boy, Ichigo, were among the pleasure slaves. That actually brings me to a concern about those three."
Yamamoto nodded. "I recognize the names. They all have the genetic mutation that places them between male and female."
Starrk nodded. "And the one, Shiro."
Yamamoto stared at him for a moment. "You uncovered his non-human nature."
"We did. Do you know what he is?"
"We do not, our researcher has been continuing to unravel that mystery since before he was abducted. We were unsure that we were ever going to be able understand his biology. I will send my research scientist and head medical officer to your location as well. Please, if you could ensure that the Kurosaki twins remain in place."
"Twins is a misnomer, isn't it?" Starrk asked with a narrowed glance.
"The reference is only to the manner of their birth. Ichigo Kurosaki's father is well aware that Shiro is not actually his child in the same sense."
"And his mother?" he asked, curious.
"His mother is deceased. She was not officially aware of the nature of her non-human child, but it could be assumed that she was aware. She herself was a scientist. Her husband, however, has gone underground since his son was kidnapped. There is a concern that Masaki Kurosaki's death, and Ichigo's targeting might be connected," Yamamoto admitted.
"Wait, you believe that the Kurosaki boys were targeted because of the non-human nature of the Shiro boy?" Starrk asked, a bit shocked.
"The only reason that we can come up with that their father and their twin sisters disappeared right after they were abducted. For this reason, it is imperative that those two stay safe. They may be the only link we have to life outside of human," Yamamoto warned. "This means, that if it becomes known that they are no longer under the slavers' control, you might be in danger."
"But it makes no sense to sell them to a random individual," Starrk stated. "If they are important…"
"There might have been a specific buyer in place for the pair, or if not a buyer, someone would have been in place to take them into possession from the buyer," Yamamoto replied.
"We allowed the sales to take place, and the two were purchased by one of our people. They overbid everyone else, but I will go over the records to see who had been trying to buy the two boys," he said as he shut down the communication link.
Harribel looked at him. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" she asked.
"I believe we have gotten ourselves into a lot of trouble," he sighed as he headed back down to the room where the slaves were housed.
He opened the door to find Grimmjow leaning against the wall beside Nnoitra and watching. Shiro and Ichigo were sitting, legs overlapped, with Shiro resting his head on Ichigo's chest. The short Shinigami with dark hair was standing with her back to the rest of the room and looked to be extremely angry.
"Please, I wanted to tell you all that the ship from the Seireitei will be arriving within the week. I anticipate that you will all be heading home at that point. I know that several of your families will be coming with them," Starrk said from his position at the door. He saw the hopeful look the one named Ichigo was giving him. It struck him that if his family had disappeared after he was abducted, no one would come for him. He sighed and walked toward where the two sat entwined. He knelt. "Would you come with me, the two of you?" he asked gently.
Shiro turned his eyes toward him and nodded as they both stood, Shiro clutching Ichigo's hand as they moved. Starrk nodded toward Grimmjow as he passed him. Grimmjow followed him silently as Starrk led the two toward his garden. He opened the door and let them both through, then followed.
Ichigo blinked in surprise. There were blue flowers everywhere in this room. Artificially lights ran over the high ceiling to give the proper light to the flowers.
"Wow," he muttered.
"They're hyacinths," Starrk said as he smiled at the two of them. Grimmjow was leaning against the door they entered. "I love flowers from Earth of Old. This one in particular. It represents true emotion, and the smell is easily my favorite."
After a few moments of examining the flowers with Shiro, they both turned to him. "Why did you want to see us alone?" Ichigo asked.
"When I contacted the Shinigami, I was informed that your father and sisters has been missing since your abduction. I didn't want you to expect them with the others," Starrk said with a sad look. "I thought that my garden might sooth the sting of such a thing."
Ichigo nodded. "It…it is just as well. I don't think they would see me as the same as before anyway."
Starrk moved and turned Ichigo toward him, meeting his eyes. "Ah, you put yourself down so, my lovely one. Do not do so."
Ichigo felt every bit of blood rush to his cheeks faced with this man. He stood taller than him, with his wavy brown hair framing his face. He felt his breath catch and for a second, all he could focus on was his eyes and his hands on his arms. Then he was pulled back by Shiro, breaking whatever spell he had been under.
"Yeah," Shiro said, glaring at Starrk.
Starrk smiled at Shiro. "So protective of him, are you? He protected the others, and you protect him. I sense a great deal of heart in both of you. Do either of you know why it is that your father would hide?"
Ichigo dislodged Shiro's hand and shook his head. "I think it has to do with him," he thumbed toward Shiro, and me." His hands moved to his stomach. "Pop realized something was wrong when I saw the doctor when I was about six. They felt something else in my stomach, something that shouldn't be there. They sent me for tests and found out I was different. He tried to hide it, him and my mom, but people found out anyway. I couldn't hide the physical features, the slight curves and the smell."
"Smell?" Starrk asked, frowning.
"Sweet, something sweet, the other two gave it off too, Kira and Rose. We don't know why. Some sort of pheromone. They couldn't explain it. When…when they picked us up, that day, the guy that got away, Jin, he said he'd been told to look for the ones like us," he said as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "Said that he had to put us on the same contraceptives he put the girls on. It worked, none of us ever got pregnant."
Shiro had sat down on the path and was plucking flowers from the bush dejectedly. "I couldn't help, they…"
Ichigo turned to him. "Of course not, you got your dumb ass locked in that box the first week!"
Shiro looked up at him. "What else was I supposed to do? I had to try and help get you out of there!"
"Well, you ended up only hurting yourself!" Ichigo snarled and stormed to the other side of the garden. Shiro didn't move, but Starrk went after him.
Grimmjow sat down beside Shiro then, surprising him. "Hey, you did what you had to do. You wanted to help him, so you did what you thought was best."
"All it did was make it so we couldn't even see each other," he said with a sigh. "I fought them every time they let me out. I killed a few of 'em. I know I did. That's why they kept me boxed up like that. I woulda killed more if they hadn't've. I could see, you know, that was the worst. They would make me watch what they did to him. I could hear him crying and when they beat him for not doing what they said. I didn't care about me, but it killed me to hear him."
With a deep sigh, Grimmjow put an arm around him. "Don't beat yerself up. Okay?" he said, and then, to his surprise, Shiro leaned against him. Grimmjow tightened his grip.
On the opposite side of the garden, Ichigo stood staring at a random bush when Starrk put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped a bit and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Apologies, I did not mean to startle you. He only wants to see you safe and happy," Starrk told him. "I believe that most would feel this way."
"You don't know what they did. What we did."
"It does not matter. Even should you have made the choice to act out sexual desires, it would not change who you are. I suppose the free way that Arrancar see sex may be to blame for many of my reactions. To be forced into any act without consent is deplorable, but otherwise, sexual acts are normal and commonplace here. We do not hold sex in the same sort of way that your Shinigami and other humans do. It is simply an act of pleasure or love. It is not something to hide or be judged on."
Ichigo nodded. "So, it isn't odd to have many lovers here?"
"Of course not. You may love someone or you may simply have a pleasurable encounter. Either is common," Starrk said with a smile at him. "We have no experience with those forced into sexual slavery like this. We have freed slaves before, but normally the pleasure slaves from Slavers' Moon do not come to the other moons, they go to Earth Prime."
"Why is that?" Ichigo asked, turning toward him again.
"Such slavery is allowed there, and I prohibit it here."
"So you, you're like really the leader of this place?" he asked, looking around at the blue blooms that surrounded them.
"I suppose. They gave me the title of Primera, the first. I suppose it is better than king or emperor. I rely on my council, my other Espada. I took the mantle after my father died, and the others elected me to fill his spot. My family descends from the first inhabitants that were marooned here hundreds of years ago by the scientists of Earth Prime," Starrk said. "My name, Cayote, is for the canine DNA that was combined with our family. My father's name was also Cayote. My family has led this world for many generations."
Ichigo felt strange around him, as though some primal instinct was pulling him toward him. It was somewhat disconcerting, but at the same time, this Starrk made him feel safe for the first time in a very long time. He glanced over where Shiro was leaning into the other Arrancar, the one with blue hair.
"I think Shiro likes him."
"Grimmjow?" Starrk said, looking at them and smiling. "He is of a panther's descent. With the ferocity of Shiro's heart, it is no wonder he is drawn toward him. Grimmjow is powerful and one of our best combatants. Like Shiro, no doubt."
Ichigo swallowed and turned a reddening face away from them. "That's good."
"You and Shiro have been lovers, have you not?" Starrk asked. Ichigo's head snapped toward him.
"Why would you say that? We…we're brothers…we're…"
"Not really brothers, now are you?" Starrk said with a gentle smile.
Ichigo's face had turned an even darker shade of red. "I've never told anyone what we…" he whispered.
"Love is love. You were reared in the same house, but I imagine it was obvious early on that he was not of your blood. The connection between you is not one of brotherhood. I am sorry for being blunt, but the reactions were far too obvious." Starrk rested his hand on Ichigo's shoulder again, but this time, Ichigo didn't flinch or push him away.
"I don't know what I feel right now," Ichigo said and relaxed as he felt Starrk place another hand on his shoulders.
"You are adjusting. I feel that there is much more going on than is immediately obvious, so I would ask if you would come and stay in my private rooms, with Shiro as well. I've spoken to Grimmjow, and he would come as well, so that there would be two of us to keep an eye on you. There is danger in your future, and I would try and protect you from it," Starrk spoke, pulling Ichigo against his body to offer a level of warmth and comfort. "Nothing is expected of you, not by me or Grimmjow. I simply wish to keep you beside me until we know what is happening."
Ichigo nodded. "Okay," he said, his mind already slipping into the docile mindset that had been forced onto him. In a way, he equated Starrk to being his master already. He'd been sold, and even if it hadn't been the way intended, he felt that he was transferred to the leader of the world's ownership, and he was comfortable with that. It was as it should be. As he had been forced to expect.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
"You promised that you would have them brought to me," the deep voice said over the speaker.
"Your buyer was outbid," Jin answered. The Arrancar didn't scare him. This person did. "I was ready to have him killed and the two of them handed over, but the stupid Starrk interrupted the auction and then took them all into custody. I lost three good men-"
"I don't wish to hear of your losses."
"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining." Jin was starting to worry now.
"Very well. I'll have to deal with this Starrk and his people. I will have the two of them. They are far too important for me to lose now. I should have taken them when you brought them from Karakura but you convinced me that breaking their spirit would be of benefit."
"Again, sir, it would have been ideal. I feared taking them to Prime would end up with someone we could not control gaining them in the bidding."
"It would have been unfortunate if my competitors got them. I will deal with it, Jin. Continue the operations on the Moon. I'll need another shipment for Earth Two soon."
The line cut out and Jin began to worry. The one person he didn't want to cross was the man who had just contacted him.
