"He's perfect." Shiro murmured as he peered out at the adjuchas from his hiding place.

"He suspects we're here." Ichigo muttered almost inaudibly and Shiro nodded his head. The panther shaped adjuchas was moving warily, his head swinging from side to side as he scented the wind and searched for reiatsu. He and Ichigo were both very good at hiding themselves – they'd learned on their father's knee – but this adjuchas was damned good. He'd caught some hint of them and it was worrying him. Bony fangs bared in a permanent snarl, he stepped lightly through the sands, wariness in every line of his body.

"That's why he's perfect." Shiro breathed. A normal adjuchas would not have sensed them. This stranger was at the very top of his class, verging on vasto lorde. A perfect choice as a mate for a young vasto lorde like himself.

After they'd left the nest, he and Ichigo had paused to consider their options. They could have joined the fights for dominance in the mountains, trying to kill or subdue an older vasto lorde and claim his or her territory. That would have been a very dangerous thing to do, though. Shiro was ranked at his mother's power and she was a middling vasto lorde. There was every chance they could run into an old terror like their father and that could get them killed or enslaved to another hollow's whims. That wouldn't be good at all, particularly for Ichigo. Shiro would make a fine mate for another vasto lorde but the odds that they would have a use for Ichigo would be slim.

So instead, they had decided to venture out into the sands of Hueco Mundo. That had the advantage of letting them experience something new. The only thing they absolutely had to do was avoid the territory Barragan controlled. Vandular knew the King of Hueco Mundo well… apparently, they'd been companions once, a long time ago… and he'd told them that the old hollow would not allow them in his territory unless they swore obedience to him and possibly mated with him. From Vandular's description that wouldn't be a terrible deal, but Shiro and Ichigo weren't interested in becoming subordinate to anyone. If they wanted that they could just stay in the mountains.

"Anything to get you to stop dry humping me at night." Ichigo muttered and Shiro put his ears back, managing to look a bit ashamed. Sexual awakening was a bit of a trial for a hollow and Shiro's hormones were acting up. He managed to hold onto his control during the day but at night he sometimes got a bit frisky, and they typically curled together for warmth. Ichigo had almost gotten molested a few times. "And he does look good." Ichigo had been hoping for something more humanoid – he had needs too and they were planning to share – but the panther had an undeniable grace. He could work with that.

"Yeah, let's do it." The both started to move, stalking the panther adjuchas with the ease of long practice. They'd hunted alone before they left the nest and they'd only gotten better at it without Van and Rin to depend on.

"Who's there?" The adjuchas stopped, turning in a circle. Ichigo marveled at his rough, almost purring voice. It was an undeniably attractive sound. "Come out, coward." The rumbling growl at the end was a challenge and the adjuchas bristled as Shiro laughed. It was a twisted, haunting sound.

"Kitty getting mad?" Shiro called mockingly before abandoning his cover. Ichigo followed a split second later, but he let Shiro take the lead in this dance. The adjuchas turned to meet the primary threat then suddenly realized the vasto lorde wasn't alone. He whirled and looked at the shinigami facing him with utter confusion.

"What the hell?" He asked and Ichigo just shrugged. It was Shiro who answered and the adjuchas turned to face him again.

"He's my brother from a different mother." Shiro said glibly and Ichigo laughed. The adjuchas laid his ears back, not amused by the obviously false answer. But then Shiro feinted at him and he growled, charging with all his not inconsiderable strength. Ichigo followed, striking at the adjuchas but in a provoking way. There was a rhythm to this sort of thing and he could feel the power rising around his brother and the adjuchas. A similar power in himself was responding and he knew his part in this.

It didn't take long for the adjuchas to recognize the purpose of the fight, the testing of his power. It was a mating dance, a ritual as old as the hollows themselves. But for a moment he stood still, glaring at them both and refusing to engage.

"I'm not interested in ending up with a belly full of your cub while you walk away, vasto lorde." He spat and Ichigo and Shiro exchanged an unsettled glance. They knew that kind of thing happened, of course. But their mother and father had both had things to say about it and they hadn't been nice.

"We're not like that." Ichigo said and the adjuchas turned his head to look at him, blue eyes hard and suspicious. "If we seed you we'll be there until the cubs are up and out of the nest."

"Yeah, and we gotta deal to offer you." Shiro took up the ball and the hollow's head turned towards him. "I'm natural born and young. This's a hard time in my life, I need to get established and I need a real mate, not just a bang." Ichigo nodded. With his power so new and strong, Shiro's body was screaming at him to mate. A single night would help but it wouldn't entirely take care of the ache. "Come with us and we'll feed ya. We'll get ya to vasto lorde. You have it in you, I can feel it."

"Hm." The hollow mulled it over for a moment before moving slowly towards Shiro on silent feet. He rubbed himself along the humanoid hollow, leaving scent markings behind. Shiro fell to his knees and returned the favor, stroking himself along the panther adjuchas. Ichigo hesitated a moment before following their lead, running his face and body across hard bone. He had no scent glands but he used his reiatsu instead, leaving a perfume that would linger on the hollow for some time. "What are your names?" The panther asked, his voice a warm purr.

"I'm Shiro Vuurenijs." His brother said softly, clawed hands exploring bone. That last name was new and the translation was 'flame and ice.' Just like their father had called himself storm dragon, the name reflected Shiro's power.

"I'm Ichigo Zangetsu." Ichigo introduced himself. He knew shinigami put their last names first but hollows didn't and he didn't want to confuse the adjuchas. "What's yours?" He asked and the panther chuckled.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He said and Ichigo met Shiro's eyes, a moment of understanding passing between them. Adjuchas class hollows were both genders and that could lead to some very interesting things. "Hey, what the hell are you – unh…" Grimmjow's protest turned into a grunt as Ichigo slipped between his four legs, finding his sex and exploring what he found there. It was surprisingly big and he had a very full sac, heavy in his hands.

"So responsive. You haven't been playing much, have you?" Shiro purred as Ichigo moved closer. It was a little awkward but he slid his tongue over the panther's length, earning a surprised gasp from the adjuchas. Then there was a curse and Ichigo felt Shiro's power rising in slow, delicious wave. It caressed his skin with sensual energy and made him shudder. Glancing up he saw his brother taking Grimmjow slowly, easing into the clutching warmth.

Impatient with his own clothing, Ichigo pushed away his robe and began stroking himself as he claimed the adjuchas' length, sucking greedily on the dead white skin. It was uncovered from bone now and more human than panther, which was probably a good thing. He could feel the power crashing over him from his brother and his mate, and it inflamed his own lusts. As he touched himself he imagined what it would be like to be Shiro right now, taking the beautiful, dangerous hollow they were courting. How it would feel to be buried in that slick, tight body, that tail lashing against him…

If he'd been raised with shinigami this would all have seemed terribly perverted. But like a baby chick seeing a dog instead of his mother, Ichigo had bonded with a different species. Mating with Shiro would have been strange, but sharing Grimmjow between them was nothing. Ichigo swallowed around that heavy length, his breath coming more quickly as he felt the dark power bearing down on all of them. Shiro's strength was mind numbing when he was fully aroused and Grimmjow howled as with a quick series of jerks, the vasto lorde emptied himself inside him. The adjuchas came without warning but Ichigo was ready, swallowing the seed and reiatsu as he found his own moment of pleasure. He gave his own power to Grimmjow, letting the adjuchas soak up the energy of his release. It would just go to waste otherwise.

"Damn that was good." Shiro sounded completely out of it, high on his release and the satisfying of instincts. Grimmjow gave a growling purr before looking down at the shinigami between his legs.

"Really was. Never could have imagined getting blown off by a shinigami while a vasto lorde fucked me." He observed and Ichigo snorted as he pulled himself out and sat up. That did sound like some bizarre fantasy. "Now what is this bullshit about being his brother from a different mother?" The adjuchas asked and Ichigo sat back with a laugh as Shiro groaned.

"Not that story again! I've heard that story a thousand times." He complained but Ichigo snorted.

"He hasn't heard it, and it's a good story." He pointed out and Shiro laid his ears back, annoyed. But he pulled away from Grimmjow before flopping into the sands in a huff. "When Shiro's sire was flying over the sands of Hueco Mundo, he caught the scent of a strange place…" Ichigo told Grimmjow the story, just as Vandular had told it to him. It was definitely an old story but still a good one and having a fresh audience made it even better.

Some things were always good, no matter how old they were.

An unknowable amount of time passed.

Ichigo and Shiro found themselves well satisfied by their choice of mate. Despite being the weakest of the trio, Grimmjow was no one's bitch. He would stand up to them fiercely if he thought they were wrong, and he was absolutely vicious in a fight. He wasn't some weakling they had to protect, he was a power in his own right and he was growing stronger with every kill they helped him make. Not that the panther needed help, but the young vasto lorde they had just brought down would have been far beyond him.

"I almost feel bad about it." Ichigo said quietly as he watched Grimmjow feast on the kill. The vasto lorde had been a deer type, from what he could tell. Shiro looked at him quizzically. "I think he was a natural born like you. Someone put a lot of effort into raising him." That saddened him. Their kill had been on the low end of the vasto lorde scale, but someone had still put years into him before sending him into the world. Shiro shrugged.

"We got to eat so we got to kill Ichi. You know that." He said gently and Ichigo sighed before nodding. He did know that. Van and Rin had taught them both to kill quickly, mercifully, to avoid causing unnecessary pain. But they'd also taught their sons that death was an unavoidable part of life and to survive and thrive, they had to kill. "Just his bad luck that we met Grimm before we ran into him. If we'd found him first he'd've been our mate." The fact that the other vasto lorde was male wouldn't have mattered. They were all composed of male and female souls, gender didn't matter too much when it came to conception. "Oh shit!" Shiro's head went up and Ichigo looked over sharply as they felt a power rising and heard a pained, mournful howl.

Grimmjow was bent over the kill, all his muscles straining as his body began to warp. Ichigo and Shiro watched, wide eyed, as the hollow evolved in front of their eyes. The process was a bit hard to watch, as his body and reiatsu swirled and pulsed.

But then it was over and they both marveled at the new being in front of them. As a panther Grimmjow had been graceful but as a vasto lorde, he was grace itself. Pawed feet hit the sands like they owned it and pride was evident in every line of his body. He had a full mask like Shiro's, completely human now but with pointed bone ears that were vaguely catlike. A wave of blue hair spilled behind him and Ichigo couldn't wait to bury his hands in it. It looked as soft and cuddly as Shiro's pelt. The rest of Grimmjow's body was where his adjuchas heritage showed up. His hands and feet were still black and his legs hinged in a way that screamed 'cat'. As they watched the newly made vasto lorde extended a hand and admired his fingers, spreading them and flexing the new appendages.

"Hands. I swear, I've wanted hands even more than power." Grimmjow sounded so pleased that Ichigo couldn't help but smile. "Finally, I finally have hands."

"It's the little things sometimes." Shiro agreed and Ichigo nodded. They both knew how that felt although they'd never experienced anything as profound as this. "You look really fucking sexy like this." He said admiringly and Ichigo grinned as Grimmjow almost preened.

"Yeah? Well, you're looking good too Shiro." He purred and Ichigo felt the power rising. It was no surprise. A freshly turned vasto lorde would feel a powerful drive to mate. "But I think…" That was all the warning Ichigo got before the panther sprang at him. He went down with a surprised yelp as clawed hands began pulling off his clothing with surprising delicacy. But then, Grimmjow knew that replacing his robes would be a pain in the ass. "I want to fuck you." His voice was a deep growl and Ichigo scowled.

"You think I'm weaker than you?" He raised his reiatsu, forcing Grimmjow back with a pained grunt. "I don't think so." Grimmjow was vasto lorde but Ichigo had cut his teeth fighting against his father and Shiro. He wasn't afraid of the panther. There was a lilting laugh and Shiro was pressed up against Grimmjow from behind, white fingers sliding over his new vasto lorde form.

"Yah, my brother's as strong as me." Shiro said mockingly as Grimmjow growled and snarled in frustration. "If anyone's getting fucked it's you Grimmy."

"Fuck! You bastard… uh…" Grimmjow arched as Shiro bit his throat, his horns carefully angled in front of Grimmjow. "Shit. You fuckers make it worth it." He said, his voice husky and warm with lust. Ichigo started to get up but Shiro lifted his head, black and gold eyes fixing on him.

"Stay there Ichi. But get yer clothin' off." He said and Ichigo obeyed, settling back. Shiro might say they were the same strength and perhaps they were, but of the three of them Shiro was the alpha. He was second in ranking with Grimmjow taking up the lowest spot. Not that that mattered much, with a three member pack.

After a few moments, though, he was regretting listening to Shiro. His brother was exploring Grimmjow's new body and using the cat's flexibility against him. One leg was hooked over Shiro's shoulder, the black paw digging into white bone as his brother claimed his mate with quick, powerful thrusts. Grimmjow's rumbling curses rose over the sands as Shiro laughed and Ichigo swallowed hard, shifting. He was so aroused it was almost painful and he reached down to stroke himself, watching the two hollows going at it.

"F-Fuck… bastard… hell…?" Grimmjow's groan made him blink and Ichigo swallowed as he saw that Shiro has stopped and was looking at him. There was a mischievous glint in those black and gold eyes and he slowly pulled away from Grimmjow, making the panther curse him again.

"Don' get your tail in a knot. We just need to bring my brother into this." Shiro advised him and blue eyes narrowed before the elder vasto lorde pulled him towards the recumbent shinigami. He positioned a puzzled Grimmjow over Ichigo and he thought he knew what was going on. He gripped Grimmjow's cock and trapped it with his as Shiro dove back into the cat from behind. Grimmjow gasped, his arms trembling but holding him up as a new rhythm was set.

"Oh…" Ichigo groaned, feeling incredibly turned on by this. The sight of his brother and his mate above him, the hot length in his fist, throbbing in time with his own… it was all gorgeous, amazing. He couldn't get enough of it. Then Shiro laughed and Ichigo met his eyes, seeing more mischief and burning anticipation in those strange orbs.

"That's good but I had more in mind…" He purred before reaching down and giving Ichigo's length a teasing pump. White claws scraped across his skin but were easily defeated by his hierro, giving only a pleasant stimulation. "Like this." He breathed and Ichigo's mind went blank with shock as Shiro aligned him with Grimmjow's opening. He couldn't seriously…?

"Unh!?" Ichigo arched with a primitive, ecstatic sound as he was forced to follow his brother into that clutching warmth. Grimmjow's yowl was more pain than pleasure and his hands spasmed, raising furrows in the dirt beside Ichigo's head. By mutual agreement they paused, giving the panther a moment to adjust. He was trembling between them, his breathing ragged and gasping.

"Fuck you… both… ungh…!" Grimmjow's hands dug into the sand again as Shiro chuckled softly and began to move. It took Ichigo a moment but he found his brother's rhythm and they pounded into their mate together. "Shit…!" Grimmjow's voice was going husky with pleasure again and Ichigo was glad to hear it. He reached up, wrapping one arm around Grimmjow's shoulders as the other hand went to his lower back, gently rubbing him and attempting to give comfort. "Nnn… ah…" Trapped between the two of them and tormented by relentless pleasure, Grimmjow made soft, kittenish growling sounds.

Ichigo groaned as the incredible tightness surrounding him. The feeling of his mate's body, coupled with the sensation of Shiro's length beside his… he'd never imagined anything like this, would never have believed it was possible. He gently kissed the jawbone of Grimmjow's mask, feeling the warmed bone beneath his lips. As he did Shiro bit down on Grimm's throat, his head pointed carefully to avoid hurting Ichigo with his horns. The panther arched between them, crying out in pleasure. His insides contracted around them as creamy cum suddenly erupted, spraying across Ichigo's chest. Ichigo gasped, his brown eyes wide as he felt those hot insides clamp down on them both. He couldn't have resisted even if he'd wanted to and he found his own moment of pleasure, his cry drowned out by Shiro's roar. That sound would have terrified any adjuchas but to his mates, the pleasure in it was clear. Grimmjow's arms finally gave out and he collapsed on top of Ichigo, who made a small oomph sound as Shiro's weight also joined him.

"Nnn… you guys… fucking heavy…!" He squirmed, trying futiley to escape. He definitely hadn't anticipated this and it was getting hard to breath. There was a soft, amused laugh from his brother before Shiro pulled away, falling back onto his knees in the sand. "Grimm!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." The cat said wearily before lifting himself up and sliding off Ichigo's member. He sighed in relief at the loss of the weight then frowned at himself. He was a mess and Grimmjow wasn't much better, cum stuck to his bone armor. Picking up a bit of sand he was about to start cleaning himself when Shiro gripped his wrist. Ichigo looked up, startled and his brother gave him a grin. Not that he could really see it with the bone in the way but he knew his body language.

"Let me take care o' that." He said and Ichigo smiled before settling back. Shiro began grooming him, licking away the fluids and they both glanced over as Grimmjow grumbled. He was taking care of himself by himself, his natural flexibility finding a use as he groomed himself with a catlike tongue. Shiro chuckled softly before going back to his task and Ichigo sighed, closing his eyes.

This felt so good, having his brother and their mate.