Chapter 3

"C'mon Ichi, it's just around the corner here."

Grimmjow said as the two cats trotted through an old alleyway, surrounded by old and worn down buildings. The orange cat glanced around with a small frown, wondering where his mate was taking him. "Grimm, where exactly are we going?" He asked the other cat, staring warily at a very rusty fire escape staircase, which creaked in the small breeze. "I'm takin' ya' ta' meet some of my old friends, I need ta' make sure that they know that yer' mine now, don't want them getting' any ideas." The blue cat said with a small grin and gave the tabby's ear a small nibble. Ichigo huffed and pawed at his face, making the other chuckle. "C'mon, we're almost there." Grimmjow said and turned a corner, and suddenly the alley panned out into a moderately sized plaza type location, surrounded by old apartment buildings, and in the center stood a small park-like area.

The blue cat led his mate over to a building with a small hole in the wall, which he climbed through, Ichigo reluctantly following. The first thing Ichigo noticed when he walked inside was the distinctly masculine scent that covered the whole place, and he immediately noted at least five different scents. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the scents, but he didn't see anything. Grimmjow gestured for him to follow the blue cat through a corridor and ended up in what seemed to be an old, slightly run down living room.

"Time ta' come back now, eh Grimmjow?"

Ichigo almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice, quickly looking around to try to locate said voice's owner. "Tch, fuck you Nnoitra, I had things ta' take care of." The blue cat said and turned towards and old, scrawny table where a tall, lanky looking black cat was perched, looking down at him with a deep purple eye. Ichigo briefly noted that the other one seem to have been gouged out at some point. "Things ta' take care o', eh?" The black cat said as his remaining eye moved over to Ichigo. "What sort 'a things?" He asked with a big grin, showing off his almost piano like teeth. Ichigo felt slightly creeped out by the slim cat's demeanor, but he didn't let it show. "Was spendin' some time with my new mate." Grimmjow answered with a big grin, curling his tail around the orange cat's. Ichigo growled slightly, he wasn't a big fan of p.d.a, something his mate constantly subjected him to, always grinning smugly.

"Mate eh?"

The black cat said while studying Ichigo. "Didn't think ya' had it in ya Grimmy'." He said and chuckled through his wide grin. "Shut up Nnoitra." The blue cat hissed and bared his teeth towards the taller cat. "Now now boys." A deep, oily voice suddenly interrupted the two's bickering, and Ichigo looked up to see a deep brown, muscular looking cat, perched comfortably on a dark leather lounge chair. He was smiling down at the three of them, brown eyes holding a calculating gleam in them. Ichigo felt a little bit uncomfortable, as if the other cat was staring into his soul, but the smile seemed genuine. By the brown cats side laid a slightly smaller and thinner looking, pale lavender cat, whose smile was bordering on creepy, and seemed to be staring down at Ichigo even though his eyes were closed.

"Let's not fight, shall we? We have a guest after all."

The brown cat said and turned his full attention to Ichigo, who straightened slightly, now on full alert. He was after all, even if his mate ha brought him there, in someone else's territory. "So, you are Grimmjow's mate?" The brown cat said, and the lavender cat's ears twitched in interest. "Yeah." Ichigo mumbled and Grimmjow's tail tugged slightly on his own, it's owner grinning up at the two cat's on the chair. "And what might your name be?"

"Ichigo."

The tabby said and the lavender cat's ears twitched again, grin widening. "Strawberry, eh? That's nice." He said and the orange cat's fur puffed up in irritation. "It's 'One who protects'!" He hissed out and the fox-like cat laughed. "Feisty. I like ya'." He said, nuzzling into the brown cat's side. "Whatcha' think, eh Sousuke?" The brown cat smiled down at his mate, giving the top of his pale head a small nudge. "I think Grimmjow has made a good choice." He said and smiled down at Ichigo again. "What do you say, Ulqiorra?" He added and looked back at the table, where a smaller black cat with teal colored streaks down his cheeks had appeared, deep teal eyes looking down at Ichigo with a blank look in them. "If Aizen-sama approves of him, I have no objections." The cat said with a glance at the orange cat, who frowned slightly. "Excellent." Aizen said and stood up, stretching a bit while licking the top of the lavender cat's head. "Now, Ichigo." He said and jumped down from his perch on the chair, slowly walking over to the two cats. "I'd like to welcome you to the Espada." He said and gave the tabby a small lick on the head, chuckling deeply when Ichigo mewled in protest. "I'm not a kitten…" He mumbled, only causing the brown cat to chuckle again. "Maybe not, but you are most likely the youngest in our little group now." Aizen said, his brown tail lazily waving back and forth.

The lavender cat suddenly jumped off of the chair and trotted over to them, happily humming to himself. "Sousuke's right Ichi', whenever you're with us, ya'll always be tha' kitten." He said and repeated the brown cat's actions, licking at the tabby's head. Ichigo grumbled out something suspiciously close to 'stupid fox-face', which only made the other cat laugh again. "Aw, you wound me Ichi'." He said, his lavender ears twitching again. "Well, let's introduce ourselves, ne?" He said and gestured for the two black cats to come down. "This." He said and gestured towards the smallest of the 'Espada', as they called themselves. "Is Ulqiorra, he may seem a bit cold, but he's a real' softie on tha' inside." The black catlet out a small 'tch' at his words and looked away, seeming comepletely uninterested in the other cats. "And that one over there." The lavender cat continued and nodded towards the tallest of the cats. "Is Nnoitra, he's eh… just don't provoke him, kay' Ichi?" He said and the lanky looking cat grinned again, showing off his strange piano teeth again. "And I'm Gin, and this one over here is Sousuke." He said and nuzzled his head against the brown cat again, purring softly. "There's some other ones who're out right now, but I'm sure you'll see them anotha' time." Ichigo nodded in understanding, his brain desperately trying to process all the names and try to remember who was who. "Now, why don't we all make ourselves comfortable, so we can get to know each other a bit more." The brown cat said, slowly making his way over to the dark leather chair again. He and Gin both jumped up and made themselves comfortable again, and Ichigo followed Grimmjow up onto the plush looking couch where the blue cat insisted on curling himself around the smaller cat, grinning widely the entire time. They stayed and talked to the other cat's for a few hours, and Ichigo felt that he actually enjoyed the time spent with what Grimmjow most likely deemed to be his family. The orange and blue cats ended up falling asleep on their perch after a few hours, the remaining cats quietly observing them. "Aw, ain't that cute." Gin said, laying nuzzled up against Sousuke's warm side. The brown cat chuckled and rested his head on top of his mates who purred in response. "Maybe he'll finally stop being so rowdy all the time now, hm Gin?" Sousuke said and licked the lavender cat's ears. "Heh, maybe." His mate answered, wide grin softening to a pleased smile. "Now we just need ta' play match-makers fer' Nnoitra, and everything will be perfect…" He added, the brown cat chuckling lowly.

"Oi, I heard that! Fucking bastard!"

Gin just laughed and ignored the black cat, curling his body into his mate's. "Yep, we definitely need ta' help him…" He mumbled and Sousuke chuckled again, letting his mate fall asleep against him as he watched the tall black cat being pushed off the table by the smaller one, hissing in anger.

"Fuck off Ulqiorra!"

Hi there everyone! :) I just wanna thank you so much for all the positive feedback 3 I don't know how long this story is going to be and how it's gonna end, but I will try to update it as often as I can, I just love writing it 3 And in some future chapter I will give Nnoitra a mate. Im trying to decide between Szayel and Shinji (don't ask, I just love the pairing) and if you have any requests for situations or pairings, be sure to tell me ;)

See you in the next chapter!