Ichigo only gets glimpses of the world now, even though she is the false God's caged songbird; she knows little of Aizen's world. However, she is not sure if she wants to see it fully. She is rarely taken out of the palace and when she is; it is for ceremony. Unlike the previous Soul King, Aizen has no desire to hide his existence from the humans on earth. He wants all three realms and all creatures to bend to his will.
Aizen's takeover of earth is not the destruction that many would thought it would be. Many welcome the new God, weary over the world where humans constantly killed each other and the earth. They welcomed the beautiful, soft spoke God. Of course, Nations rose up and tried to defeat him, but in the end they were no match for the new God. Under Aizen's control the national boarders of the earth were removed and all humans were now united under him. War was forbidden. The earth was being handled much better. In a way, many humans preferred this to the previous world order. Under Aizen the future of their children were concerned, but with a price. With Aizen there is always a price, even with his generosity. Of course, like most things with Aizen his generosity is a mere illusion.
The humans, almost like her, live in a gilded cage. They may be free of poverty, war, and pollution, but they are all under Aizen's every command. They must do as he says and not defy any law. One step out of line can summon the arrancars to their door. Ah, the arrancars, in a way they had become the monsters under the bed of the human world, except that these were all too real. The humans who committed any crime or attempt any defiance, no matter how minor, had their souls eaten by hollows and arrancars. Aizen makes no attempts to keep this a secret.
He makes the condemning of these souls into public speculates, broadcast throughout the world. Ichigo remembers a time when she was invited to attend one (of course, in reality she had no choice) she sat with the most stoic composure she could imagine as the condemned humans were lead out like the gladiators of ancient Rome into arenas were they were forced to fight against hollows. She hears the screams, but Ichigo doesn't protest. She doesn't cry. She doesn't beg Aizen for any mercies, and she doesn't look away. She just gripped the ends of her armrest until her knuckles grow white. An action not lost on the ever observant Aizen, who calmly offers her a drink to smooth her nerves. Ichigo knows that any plea of mercy she asked would likely make things worse for the humans in the arena, Aizen might prolong their deaths. The best thing to happen in the arenas is for the humans to die easily and fast.
Then a surprise comes to her that makes her let out a gasp. A shinigami forced into the arena. She doesn't recognize him and is thankful, even though it is cruel to think that way; she can not help it. Ichigo did not want a friend to see her up here sitting with Aizen as his slave, and watching their demise, helplessly. No that would have been far too much. The shinigami is not put up against a hollow, but...Grimmjow. Her eyes widened and she sat up much straighter.
She could see Aizen subtly studying her reaction out of the corner of his eye, but for once she didn't care what emotions he saw out of her. She watched as her former rival stalked out like a panther to his shinigami. To anyone watching he would have looked like he was about to enjoy the fight. But she caught a glimpse of those blue eyes and face. He had no pleasure in this. That didn't seem like Grimmjow, not to take pleasure in a fight. For once, she turns and speaks to Aizen.
"What the hell have you done to him?" She demands of him, boldly. It is for the first time in a long time she has shown such defiance to him. She can tell the ends of his mouth are resiting the urge to form into a smirk. She has handed him the reaction he wanted out of her.
"What did I do to him?" He asks in a voice, almost innocent; but she knew nothing is ever truly innocent with Aizen.
"I know Grimmjow, well enough to know when he is not himself." She states to the false God.
"You really think so? They only times you really interacted with him, my dear, was when you were fighting with him."
"Is there a better way to get to know, Grimmjow?" She asked, rhetorically. Now, he is not hiding his damn smirk.
"No, there is not, I believe. You are correct." He says nothing else and Ichigo does not feel the need to say anymore. She knows that this is another game Aizen is playing with her; and as in all Aizen's games with her, she has no idea what the rules are. So with little other choice; Ichigo sits back and watches the fight. It was a rather pathetic fight. It is clear from the start the shinigami was mere cannon fodder to Soul Society.
"Do you have all the prisoner shinigami fight in these arenas on earth?" She asks him, she shouldn't, but curiosity gets the best of her. What she is curious about; she is not sure. Perhaps it is to know how Aizen deals with shinigami who go against him. Perhaps it is too merely see how cruel he is. That is the part of Aizen that is most scary; you can never tell the depths of his cruelty because he almost never directly reveals in it. She remembers hearing the story of how Grimmjow lost his arm to Tousen. She could tell immediately that the benevolent master act that Aizen showed was just that. An act. He had manipulate Tousen into doing something horrible to Grimmjow. In a way that made Aizen even more frightening. If he didn't hurt you, he could easily manipulate others to do it for him.
"No not all." He answers her. His hands grasp a tea cup and he sips it. It is almost humorous with the rowdy drunkenness that surrounded this place; the man who is the cause of this, is merely sipping tea. As though he is in at an art show, or a sophisticated smoothing event. Then again, with Aizen this just might be a smoothing artful event to him.
"What happens to the other shinigami prisoners?" She has no idea where her sudden curiosity is coming from. What good would it do her to know what is happening to the shinigami prisoners? Some people naively believed that since she was the woman to share Aizen's bed; that he must have some sort of soft spot for her. Oh, the sheer naivety of that disgusts her. It is true, as long as she doesn't fall for Aizen's provocations and doesn't attack him he will not harm her. And even when he does it is just spiritual pressure. She knows it is not because he cares about her. He just doesn't want to ruin his prize.
"They are kept locked away in Soul Society for proper trial and judgment." At this she gives him a look of disbelief. No, not disbelief, because she knows he's lying. And he knows damn well that she knows he's lying.
"Aizen, don't play this game with me. What can I do about what happens to the shinigami in Soul Society?" He looks at her.
"Oh..that's a good question. What can you do?" Another test. One that Ichigo doesn't want to take; instead she looks back at the arena to see that Grimmjow has already left his opponent a bloody pulp on the ground. The crowd roars and cheers. She wants shout and scream at them. You damn fools, can't you see that you are cheering for your own oppression? This isn't for the benefit of humans. It was a reminder of their place in this new God's world. The crowd begins to chant Grimmjow's name. She takes from this that he must be a crowd favorite; that he has been out here before. She studies her old rivals expression and it's not a happy one. She remembers the glee in those mad blue eyes when they first meet and fought as he beat her face to a bloody pulp. There is none of that joy of fighting in there. What the hell has happened to you, Grimmjow, she wonders. Then he turns his head up to Aizen's seat and his eyes widen in shock. She knows what the shock is. It's her being here. Their eyes lock on each other. Then Grimmjow's eyes narrow into a glare at her and he turns and stalks out. This action is unnoticed by the crowd as they continue to cheer his name.
That was the last time she saw Grimmjow or any of the Espada for the next several months.
Grimmjow doesn't cross her mind, very much after that. Another thing has started to worry her; her health. She finds herself being sick almost every morning. Ichigo can hardly keep her breakfast down. Aizen asks her if she wants to see a doctor, but she says no. He doesn't push the subject. She wonders if Aizen doesn't care about keeping his prize healthy anymore, or if he thinks it isn't a big. However, she comes to realize his lack of concern is the fact that he knew exactly what was the cause of her sickness.
One morning when she is dressing, she notices a bulge in her stomach. She doesn't understand. She has been throwing up most of her food. She shouldn't have any weight gain. Then it all comes together...her sickness and the bulge. She almost stops breathing at the realization. She lets out a scream and starts tearing at the ends of her dress. She lets out a string of swears and cuss words. The stoic composer she has worked so hard to build is completely breaks down as she runs around the room as a mad woman.
And she is truly a mad woman. She rips down curtains knocks down furniture, book cases, and all sorts of paintings and vases. Her screams continue to echo the room. Tears are streaming down her face as she collapses in a heap. She stops her screams and just begins to weep, as she balls up her fists until her knuckles are a pure white. Ichigo barely registers the door opening and a gasp.
It is her female arrancar attendant.
"What's going on here?" She cries, and Ichigo hears footsteps approach her and a hand lay hesitantly on her back.
"Mistress?" The arrancar females asks hesitantly, "Are you all right." Ichigo slowly raises up.
"No." She answers her and wipes the wetness from her eyes. She then gets up, and the arrancar is at her side
"Mistress, tell me what's wrong? I am sure I can help you." You could only help me know, if you happened to have the power to cause an abortion, Ichigo thinks bitterly, but then her mind flashes back to Grimmjow and the look of disgust he had given her. This gives her an idea; a hope.
"I am going out." She announced to the female arrancar. She hears a gasp,
"But mistress, the skirt of your dress is in shreds." Ichigo looks down to realize the damage she had done to her dress in her rage is worse than she realized.
"I'll change." She turns back in the direction of the closet, stepping over the fallen furniture. She hears the arrancar following her.
"Mistress!" She calls again, "I can't stop you; but I advise you not to go out. You just destroyed an entire room!" Ichigo doesn't turn back to the arrancar and goes into the closet and pulls off the tattered dress and changes into a fresh one.
"I am going out." She tells the arrancar much to the obvious disappointment on her face. Ichigo walks past her.
"Well, I best...clean up." The female arrancar sighs. Ichigo knows she should feel guilty about causing such a mess for another to clean up, but right now she has more important things on her mind. Like finding Grimmjow. She left her room and started walking to a place she hadn't gone since she first entered this place. The front of the palace. Slowly, the halls started to get more populated. She got more looks at surprised that Aizen's prize concubine and former enemy was among them without an escort, or any sign of Aizen. She ignored them, but she did catch glares from several female arrancar, but ignored them. She could hear whispers in her wake, but ignored them as well. Then she began asking for Grimmjow. She knew word would get back to Aizen about this, but right now she didn't give a single fuck about what Aizen heard.
Finally, she made her way outside into a sparing area. It took several moments, but she finally located Grimmjow in the air, sparing with, what she guessed, was a new member of his fraction. For a good while she said nothing and just stared up at him. Finally, the fight came to an end and the sixth Espada came back down to earth. Then he spotted her. Her heart was beating fast as this blue eyes laid on her. He blinked a few times, as though he wasn't sure she was a vision or something else. Then she stepped forward. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes like daggers at her, but he floated over to her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice graveled, "Did Aizen-Sama let you out of your cage?" His tone is harsh and mocking, as it usually is. However, she had been with Aizen long enough to not rise to any bait so easily.
"I want to speak with you...alone." Grimmjow hesitates and cuts his eyes to the side, as he thinks. For a moment, Ichigo fears that he'll just blow her off, but his eyes cut back toward her.
"Better make it damn quick." Ichigo nods at him and together they walk into an empty corridor. Now the former rivals are alone.
"I know you don't like me." Ichigo says and Grimmjow snorts.
"At least I could respect you back then, but now your Aizen's whore."
"You say that like it was my choice." She responds evenly, Grimmjow turns and looks as though he is about to leave.
"I'm pregnant." She tells him and this stops him in his tracks. He doesn't look back at her and Ichigo calmly walks up behind him.
"I am giving you a chance for revenge on Aizen and me. Beat me up, as hard as you can, and as long as you want." At this request, Grimmjow makes a sharp turn to her.
"Have you lost your fuckin' mind woman! Has fucking Aizen made you loose your mind. If I make you lose that baby; Aizen would kill me." Ichigo winces at Grimmjow's harsh, but truthful tone.
"He doesn't have to know."
"You really have lost your mind, woman. Of course, he knows. You really think he would have a kid on accident?" She looks away. He speaks the truth, she knows. But at the same time she has gone mad, she destroyed her room.
"Grimmjow...I'm sorry." She whispers.
"Go away, woman and throw yourself down the fuckin stairs." He got closer to her. Then Ichigo stands on her tiptoes and kisses the beast on his forehead. He is startled for a moment, but then backs away. She stars at him.
"Thank you, Grimmjow...and goodbye." With that she leaves him to what? She doubt even the true God knows.