Toshiro paced the halls of the palace, searching for his charge Prince Ogichi. The albino had been gone for longer than usual. Normally the Prince's hunting trips only lasted a day or two but it had been almost four now with no word from the demonic looking royal. As the Prince's personal guard it was Toshiro's job to remain at the man's side at all times. However Shiro always demanded that him and his father allow him to go on his hunting trips alone. And for whatever reason the king had granted his son's wish. Leaving the small white haired guard to worry endlessly while his charge was away in the Menos forest.
The young guard was pulled from his thoughts as the sound of yelling and running came from the front gate. Without hesitation, Toshiro made his way to the front of the palace only to be nearly trampled by a massive hell hound running straight through the front gates. Luckily the small guard had reflexively rolled out of the beasts path, leaving him to stare bewildered as he watched his charge and some green haired busty woman climb down from the flaming body of the beast holding a large blue haired male who seemed to be unconscious.
Quickly, Toshiro made his way over to the three, staying out of his Prince's way as him and the green haired woman carried the other towards the Palace, the hell hound returning to hell, leaving a pile of ash in it's place. Toshiro starred at the pile for a moment confused. He had never seen his Prince summon a demonic being before but from what he had seen just now he could only assume the hell hound was one of the albino's tamed ones. "Toshiro," Shiro greeted quickly, pulling Toshiro's attention from the pile of ash, before ordering his personal guard to go get Retsu, the royal doctor, after listing off Grimmjow's injures to the white haired man.
"Right away your highness." Swiftly Toshiro made his way into the Palace to fulfill his charges orders, leaving Shiro and Nel to carry the unconscious male into the infirmary. Servants that had witnessed the hell hound stared in terror at their Prince as he and the new woman carried the blue haired male inside.
Once inside the infirmary the two laid Grimmjow on one of the tables in the room. Shiro noted that Nel was shaking like a leaf. "He's going to be okay Nel. He hasn't lost any more blood since I cast that spell on him earlier. Retsu will fix him right up. I promise," Shiro tried to assure the other but got no response as she only stared at her brother's sleeping form. Watching as his chest rose and fell at uneven intervals, tears fell freely from her eyes now that she wasn't focused on getting her brother help. Shiro frowned, unable to think of anything else to say. Not that his words meant much anyway. They had only just met after all and he was kind of surprised she had helped him get her brother here in the first place.
"Been awhile since I heard you speak in that manner, Prince Shiro," Retsu commented as she entered the infirmary, followed by Toshiro. Her voice seemed to snap Nel out of her thoughts as her head shot up to regard the two who had just entered the room. One was a short white haired male with ice cold blue eyes, wearing a pair of loose white pants and a black v-neck shirt. A katana was strapped to his back with a green sash. The other was a woman a little shorter than Nel, with long black hair she kept braided and pulled in front of her shoulder. The doctor wore lose black pants and a white coat. She had kind blue eyes that helped Nel relax despite never having met the woman before. "Don't worry Hun, your brother is going to be just fine," she assured, placing her hand lightly on Nel's shoulder before setting to work on her brother.
"We should leave her to her work Nel," Shiro suggested, putting his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the room. She allowed him to lead her, but not before giving her brother one last long look. He looked so pale and his breathing had only gotten worse since they'd set him down. Could this woman really save him? Nel wasn't sure, but she hoped that she could.
Toshiro watched the two curiously, never having seen his charge show such compassion before. Normally the Prince was rather aloof and didn't seem to care about anyone but his brother, the first Prince, and their sisters, Yuzu and Karin. But it seemed Shiro had taken interest in this busty green haired woman. So much so that he had dropped his usual way of speaking to try and comfort the woman, though it didn't seem to be having the effect the Prince would have liked.
Following the two out into the hall Toshiro waited until his charge had led Nel into the lobby of the palace before he spoke. "Sire, who exactly are these people you've brought home and where did you find them?"
Shiro turned from Nel to regard his protector. "Found em' on tha otha en' of tha cav I normally camp out in wel' huntin'. They seemed ta be on tha run from somthin' or otha'. But tha big fella was beat up real bad so I figured I'd give em' a hand ya see? As fer' Who they ar' I don got a clue. Just tha this cutey here is called Nel and the big fella is Grimm," Shiro explained with a carefree shrug, his speech pattern returning to normal.
"Um, if I may. My brother's name is actually Grimmjow," Nel informed them, keeping her eyes low as to avoid making direct eye contact with the albino Prince. It was now very clear to her that the man who had saved the two of them was indeed a Prince based on how everyone was treating the man. And as such she was not to look him in the eyes. She was surprised that she hadn't already been punished for having done so on the way here.
Shiro tilted his head at Nel's change in behaviour. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding looking him in the eyes, keeping her own trained on the ground. "Ther' somthin' interesting on the groun' ther' Nel?" He inquired, taking a careful step towards her but stepping back again when she flinched like she was expecting him to lash out at her.
"No your highness."
"Then wha' ya' starring at the floor fer'?" Shiro was confused to say the least. Nel hadn't seemed like the shy type back in the cave or on the way here. In fact Shiro had seen an almost deadly calm look in her eyes when he had summoned Rayne earlier. Like she knew she could trust him but was ready to tear his head off if she was wrong and he became a threat to her injured brother. That look had sparked his interest, but now she almost seemed like a scared child, and it wasn't due to her brothers condition.
"One should never look Royalty in the eye lest they wish to be punished," Nel recited as if straight out of some book, her eyes having lost any light that had been there before even if it had already been dimmed by sadness. It looked like she had switched off her brain and was just reciting things she was trained to say. Shiro didn't like it. Nor did he like what he was hearing.
"I don't know who ingrained such a thing into your head Nel but that isn't how things are here. You can look me in the eyes all you like. No harm will come to you. However things worked back where you came from, this is Soul Society and though I am a Prince that does not give me the right to be cruel or unjust. If any punishment is ever to be dealt it will be after a trial, and most certainly not for looking a Prince in the eyes," Shiro explained, stepping towards Nel again and with a gentle hand under her chin lifted her head to make her look him in the eyes.
Her eyes widened as she was made to stare into gold on black pools that stared softly back at her. "So you don't have to worry about being punished for anything okay?" Shiro prompted, stepping back from Nel and removing his hand from her chin, offering her a small smile as he did so. He hoped his words would reach her. He had liked the light he saw in her eyes earlier and he wanted to see it return.
"Yes sire," Nel nodded, still a little shocked by the princes kindness and drastic change in manor of speaking once more. Her face seemed to have heated up a little due to the moment of close proximity between herself and the royal. The man was handsome at the very least and the small smile he had graced her with made her heart flutter. It was a feeling she hadn't felt before and she wasn't too sure what to do with it. But she liked it. A lot.
"Shiro, you caused quite the commotion out by the front gates. What were you thinking charging through the gates on the back of a hell hound?" A low baritone sounded from the top of the stairs, pulling the attention of everyone in the room. Walking down the long marble staircase was a tall, lithe male with short bright orange hair that seemed to shine like the sun when the light hit it. Calm brown eyes regarded the three with mild interest as the man descended the stairs. Behind him a black wolf followed quietly, it's grey eyes settling on Nel for a moment before returning to looking at nothing in-particular, the creature seemingly rather bored.
"Hinhin. Sorry about that, King, but we had ta get the big guy to Retsu real quick," Shiro apologized, turning towards his brother with a shrug and getting a scowl from his twin, the other obviously not impressed. The albino knew there would be trouble with the people again after having been reminded that their prince could summon and tame demonic creatures. But Rayne was the fastest of the beings he could summon, demonic or otherwise.
"Big guy? Do you mean that blue haired man you have Retsu treating right now?" Ichigo inquired with a raised brow. The orange haired Prince was annoyed with his brother, bringing a hell hound straight through the front gates was probably one of the stupidest things his brother had done. The people of Soul Society regarded those who could summon demonic beings as devils themselves. To have a Prince not only summon such a being but tame the thing was a huge problem for the royal family. It made the public question their father's sanity and right to rule, even if the Kurosaki's had been the royal family of Soul Society for more than two hundred years. This incident was sure to cause problems for their father.
"Sure do Ichi-nii. Found em' in tha cave I camp in while huntin, along with this cutey er'" Shiro basically chirped, skipping up to his brother and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Wha ya mad at me king?" He added smirking at his brother. He knew his brother wasn't exactly mad at him, just a little annoyed, so he wasn't worried about it.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at his sibling, shrugging off the albino's arm and sauntering over to stand in front of Nel. "And you are?" Ichigo inquired coolly, fixing Nel with an annoyed glare, watching as the woman shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. The woman was quite a bit shorter than him but still tall for a female. She wore a green dress that only reached about half way down her thighs and it looked like it had been all but torn to shreds, the fabric fraying every which way. But she didn't seem to care so he ignored it.
"Come on King. Ther' ain't no need ta be so cold now," Shiro chided playfully, hoping to lighten the mood a little. Ichigo's scowl seemed to be making Nel even more uneasy than she already was.
"My name is Nel sire, it is a great honor to meat you," Nel addressed the first prince formally and bowed. She wasn't sure if her greeting had been the proper one but she hoped at least that it was close. It seemed that this Prince held more power here than the albino Prince did and she didn't want to offend him, risking getting herself and her brother punished for it.
"And where are you from?"
"Um, I would prefer not to say sire," Nel replied, making Ichigo narrow his eyes at her. Seeing the Prince's obvious distaste for that answer Nel quickly explained the situation hoping not to get on the Royal's bad side. "I'm from Heuco Mondo sire. But that is not a place I wish to call home nor do I ever wish to return there. Our king is a cruel man and we only barely managed to escape from him this morning. If we hadn't fallen into that cave, and if Prince Ogichi hadn't found us, my brother would surely be dead and myself likely thrown into a cell and tortured for who knows how long. If King Aizen didn't decided to simply kill me that is." Nel bowed her head as she finished talking, too afraid to look at the imposing prince.
"I see and the two of you are what to King Aizen exactly?" Ichigo continued to prod but his brown eyes had softened now as he watched the woman before him start to shake. He had no doubt she was telling the truth but he needed to know more before he could make any decisions regarding the two strangers.
"We were two of his most elite warriors. Sold to him by our parents at a young age we were trained in the art of war and some magic. Grimmjow knows more magic than I though as his teacher seemed to secretly teach him things Aizen did not want him to know," Nel freely gave the information knowing there was no real reason to hide it, however she still could not bring herself to look up at either Prince as she spoke.
Ichigo's scowl softened as she spoke. It was clear to him that to two siblings had been through a lot in their lifetime. Having had their childhood stolen from them and forced to train in what the prince could only guess were hellish conditions. Gently he raised Nel's head to look at him with only one finger. "We'll see to it that you and your brother are well taken care of. However, I will have to ask that you stay here until my father decides if we should allow you into our kingdom as citizens or if we'll have to send you away. Though I doubt he would do that." Ichigo smiled at Nel. She was mesmerized by the expression, never having seen someone smile so before. It warmed her very soul like the heat of the sun warmed her body on a bright and sunny day.
"Thank you your highness," Nel exclaimed, her own smile splitting her face as she bowed in thanks to the royal before turning to Shiro and thanking him for saving the two of them as well. She was ecstatic that Ichigo had understood and believed her.
Shiro's heart skipped a beat when Nel smiled at him and his brother. She was gorgeous like no one he had ever seen before and her smile was that of an angel. He felt heat rise in his cheeks and he turned his head away from her hoping she wouldn't notice. But she did. As did his twin, who chuckled low in has throat at the sight. "Don' worry bout it sweetheart it was nothin'" Shiro mumbled, making Nel giggle at his sudden shyness. The demonic looking prince was kind of cute when he did that, she thought.
"I think it would be best if you stayed in the infirmary with your brother, Nel. It wouldn't do to have him panic when he wakes up and go searching the palace for you." Nel nodded, taking the Prince's words as an order. She headed back the way Shiro had lead her earlier, quickly disappearing around the corner.
"Go with her Zan," Ichigo ordered, looking down at the black wolf that sat off to his left. The canine nodded and trotted off after Nel.
"I almost thowt, ya' wer' gonna kick em' out ther' King." Shiro wrapped his arm around his brother once more, getting a raised eyebrow in response. "But I'm gla' ya' didn't. Thanks fer' that Ichi." Shiro fixed his brother with a soft smile of thanks and headed off up the stairs to his quarters.
Ichigo smiled and shook his head at his brother. "So you've taken quite the liking to her then. Hum Shiro? I don't think I've ever seen you show an interest in anyone before. What makes her so special?" he prodded, catching up to his twin and matching his stride.
Shiro thought for a moment. Nel was beautiful that was for sure. More so than any other woman Shiro had seen. But that wasn't what drew him to the warrior. It was something else, but he couldn't really figure out what. "Ta be honest king I ain't too sure," he replied solemnly watching his feet as they walked. There was a strange warmth in his chest that he hadn't felt before. He kinda liked it though.
Nothing more to be said, the twins split ways and headed off to their own quarters.
Back in the lobby, Toshiro stood not sure what to do with himself. He wanted to follow his charge and take up his usual post but he felt he may better serve his highness by joining Zangestsu, Prince Ichigo's guardian wolf, and watching over the two newcomers. After one last glance up the stairs after his charge, Toshiro turned and did just that. Shiro seemed to want a little more alone time any way. He wouldn't be missed at the Prince's door.
GrimmjowXDJaggerjack: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And don't worry the Grimmjow X Ichigo will start happening in the next chapter to stay tuned! XD