"Damn." Ichigo glanced up with a frown. Grimmjow was lying on the floor of his room, chewing on the end of his pencil. "Can you help me out a bit with this? Math is fucking hard." He said and Ichigo sighed, putting aside his book and going to see what was bothering the arrancar. The problem was actually rather difficult and he worked the man through every step, making sure he understood before going back to his novel.

"Why are you hanging out in my room, anyway?" He asked. Grimmjow had been put up in Rukia's old room, which was equipped with a bed and a desk. The Espada flicked him a glance.

"It makes me feel good to be around you." He said briefly and Ichigo wanted to kill him. "Oi, stop glaring. You feel the same way too, even if you don't want to admit it. Instincts."

He's right King. There's a reason no one would ever use a mating bond this way… it's fucking with our instincts, big time. His hollow muttered. And I'm getting the worst of it so stop being a bitch. That sounded really peeved and Ichigo tried to go back to his book. He hated to admit it, but having Grimmjow in the room did make him feel more relaxed. When he was out of sight it was like… like he was missing something important, something he couldn't afford to lose.

"Of course, the other reason is because you can help me with this." Grimmjow said casually and Ichigo considered throwing the book at his head. He didn't want to be the arrancar's tutor! "What are you reading?" He asked absently and Ichigo grimaced. He hated it when people asked him that while he was trying to read.

"Shakespeare." He said shortly before trying to concentrate. He really wanted to –

"He was a fucking dick!" Ichigo looked up, startled, to see Grimmjow sitting up and glaring at him. "Why the hell would you read anything that fucker wrote? What is it, a fucking broadsheet?"

"What?" He asked blankly before he abruptly understood. "Wait, you KNEW Shakespeare?!" He asked, stunned. Plenty of shinigami were old enough to have known him but they were culture snobs. While shinigami covered the entire world, they largely had no interest in the people they visited. Grimmjow's glare intensified.

"Knew him? He broke my fucking nose!" He snarled and Ichigo vaguely noticed that his accent was becoming far more intense. So the arrancar hadn't learned that way of speaking, he'd just stopped suppressing it? "And he hit my woman and threatened to have his goons break my arms if he ever saw us around again. Motherfucker!" Grimmjow sounded incensed just remembering. "Seriously, what the hell are you reading? That fucker was barely literate." He suddenly moved and Ichigo recoiled, trying to keep the book away from him. "King Lear… are you fucking serious?"

"What's wrong with King Lear?" He asked, struggling to process all of this. Grimmjow had lived in England and he'd actually met Shakespeare, the greatest literary figure of all time? The Espada gave him a scowl before yanking the book away. "HEY!" He tried to grab it back but the arrancar dodged, glaring at the cover.

"You seriously think Shakespeare wrote this?" He asked and Ichigo stared, shocked. "He wrote the fucking advertisements for it! It was the fucking Earl of Oxford who wrote the fucking play! Shakespeare was a fucking hick! The Earl just used his name because the theatre is a fucking disgrace, nothing a nob could get involved with. You seriously think he wrote this?"

"Can you calm it down with the fucks?" Ichigo asked, glancing at the door. His dad wouldn't like it if he heard that kind of language. "If Shakespeare didn't write it, why is his name on it?" He asked, stalling for time. He wasn't sure he believed any of this. On the other hand, why would Grimmjow lie about something like this? The arrancar snorted, tossing the book back.

"I told you, it would have ruined the Earl's reputation if it got out that he was writing for the theatre." Grimmjow closed his eyes for a moment, clearly getting a grip on himself. When he spoke again his accent was almost non-existent. "Sorry. Seeing that name pulled out my primary personality strongly there. Hundreds of years and still carrying a grudge, hah." Grimmjow managed a smile and Ichigo smiled back, without thinking. Then he looked at the book in his hands.

"Grimmjow, what was the theatre like? What was England like?" He suddenly asked. He wasn't sure he believed the arrancar about Shakespeare, but this was still like seeing a fragment of history. What stories could the hollows of Hueco Mundo tell? Grimmjow laid back down on the floor, going back to his homework.

"Dirty." He said shortly as he began to puzzle out the next math problem. "London was the armpit of the universe. Edinburgh was the asshole." He added and Ichigo choked. "Not that I ever saw that, but my woman did. She was a scot, came to London when things got a bit too hot for her. As for the theatre, I didn't get to see it. Broke like always… we tried to sneak in when the Globe was still all new and shiny, but Shakespeare caught us at it and took exception. Avaricious bastard. Probably would have charged a man for raping his wife." Ichigo felt a moment of violent disgust and Grimmjow looked up, surprised, as the feeling hit him. "…Oh. Sorry." He sounded genuinely apologetic but Ichigo just shook his head.

"It's fine. Tell me more." He was determined to get what he could out of this. It wasn't every day he spoke to someone who had met Shakespeare in person. Grimmjow frowned and began to describe his everyday life in Victorian England as Ichigo listened intently.

"I suppose I should start with myself. William Blutt is my name, the one I was born with. My father was a common laborer and my mother was a homemaker. We didn't have much but we got by, until he died in the factory. They didn't give a fig about worker safety back then and some piece of equipment turned him to so much mangled meat." Grimmjow said and Ichigo swallowed. "We lost the house quickly enough and mother died not long after that. She just couldn't survive in the streets. But I was a tough little bastard and I could manage it. I think I was, mm, twelve when this happened? Not really a child."

"I decided that I wasn't going to follow in my father's footsteps. No, I wanted something better for myself than working in a factory, cut off from the daylight and slaving away for a pittance. Not that I really got much more." Grimmjow smiled slightly as he remembered. "I was a trickster, a shyster. I've got a gift for gab, I'm sure you've noticed." Ichigo nodded although what he was noticing right now was that Grimmjow's accent was coming back. "And a gift for using my fists, too. Most of the time I made my living swindling fools. A lot of men learned that no one sells a diamond ring for a few shillings." Grimmjow sounded amused. "And other little dodges. Sometimes, I was an extortionist."

"Wait, an extortionist? I don't understand." Ichigo interrupted and Grimmjow paused, a bit confused.

"You know… shove a blade in someone's back and demand their purse?" He said and Ichigo winced.

"We call that mugging and people who do it are muggers." He told the Espada and Grimmjow shrugged.

"Alright, I was a mugger. And after I met Mary, we added a bit of prostitution to that." He said and Ichigo bit his lip. So that was why the arrancar had been so willing to trade his favors to Kisuke. "That was my woman. Lovely girl, flame red hair and eyes of green… she was beautiful and I worshipped her. Couldn't stomach the thought of being a pimp so when times got really bad, we sold ourselves as a set. It was safer for her anyway, having me there." Grimmjow looked at his math book, frowning at a particularly difficult problem. "But you wanted to know more about the city, didn't you? It was grim and dirty and ugly. Never realized how dirty it was until I saw this place. We didn't have toilets, you understand. Chamberpots and you dumped them in the street. Filth everywhere. We lived in the worst part of town so there were whores, beggers, pimps and tots starving in the streets." He said plainly and Ichigo nodded. He wasn't too surprised, really. "I can't really tell you much else. Didn't get to see the play, thanks to fucking Shakespeare."

"Oh." Ichigo sighed, vaguely wishing Grimmjow knew more. The picture he'd already painted was ugly. He wondered for a moment how he'd died but then decided he didn't want to know. That was probably ugly as well. "Well, I don't really care who wrote King Lear. It's an excellent play. Maybe I'll take you to see it sometime." He said without thinking and Grimmjow looked up, startled.

"…I'd kind of like that. Although I'd prefer a Midsummer's Night's Dream, that was the one we tried to sneak into." He said and Ichigo nodded before going back to his book. Although he wondered why he'd made that offer. Maybe because it seemed so wrong that someone who'd lived at the same time as Shakespeare had never gotten to see his plays. Not that he had much compassion for Grimmjow. He sounded like he'd been a thug.

Pretty much the same as he was now, really.

Pantera shifted in a combination of discomfort and pain.

He'd been spending most of his time lately monitoring the feelings coming through the mating bond. The self-imposed duty was becoming actively painful. Who could have imagined a young man could carry so much negativity around? The zanpakuto had honestly never experienced anything like it.

Grimmjow could be very negative, of course. For a while after Aizen's betrayal and Gin's revelations, his inner world had become a wasteland. Gradually, though, it had recovered. The place Pantera lived was a beautiful mountain forest, completely at odds with Grimmjow's life as a living man. But not really. Pantera knew that deep in his heart his master had always longed for true freedom. The forest was true to his nature.

The feelings he was sensing from Kurosaki Ichigo made Pantera wonder what his inner world would be like. It was an interesting question. There was a great deal of negativity towards Grimmjow of course, but that was expected. However, there was also just a huge amount of general negativity radiating off the teen. It seemed like he lived in a constant state of being mildly unhappy. That was quite a contrast from Grimmjow. His natural state was to be cheerful about something.

"They really don't seem very compatible." Pantera murmured before sighing softly. Although, Kurosaki would need someone who could lift him out of his constant depression. How could his master do that, though? "I wonder…" Pantera turned an idea over in his mind. He'd been considering it for a while. Maybe now was the time.

The mating bond had some very interesting effects and Pantera used one of them, sliding his way from one inner world to another. As he materialized in Ichigo's inner world the hollow zanpakuto looked around, wide eyed with wonder and a bit of dismay.

"An underwater world?" He'd never seen the like. A furry blue tail flicked and Pantera shivered slightly as he saw his long hair floating in the air. "It's cold." It was also rather dark. It was like they were deep under the water, with only a bit of light filtering through to the ground. The buildings looked like Karakura town. "…Hm…" Pantera launched himself off the roof of the building, swimming through the water a touch awkwardly. Grimmjow only knew how to dog paddle and Pantera's knowledge was just as limited.

"Whaddaya think of that, Zangetsu?" Ichigo's inner hollow asked, watching the intruder with interest. "Shit he's cute." He'd thought that Grimmjow was hot but this guy was hot to the nth degree. His hair was long and flowing, a gorgeous sky blue. His ears were long and fluffy, green furred on top and blue below, and the green led to markings beside his eyes. His body was mostly feline, what little they could see of it. He was wearing a soft white robe that mostly hid his body except for tantalizing peeks. And his face… The hollow smiled as he got a good look at his face. He looked like a younger, sweeter version of Grimmjow. Right now he was looking at Ichigo's inner world with innocent wonder.

"He must be Pantera." Zangetsu said, regarding the foreign zanpakuto with a small frown. The hollow knew what he was thinking. Zangetsu did not approve of Ichigo's half-formed plans in the least, littlest bit. Since his King had come up with them the atmosphere in here had darkened slightly. Of course, the hollow didn't much care. It was all the same to him really.

"Well, well. Hasn't he heard…" The hollow reached over his shoulder and gripped the hilt of his sword, grinning wickedly. "That curiosity killed the cat?" He launched himself off the building with a laugh and Zangetsu just watched as the hollow came up behind Pantera. Grimmjow's zanpakuto appeared to be looking the other way, completely oblivious.

But appearances were deceptive. The zanpakuto turned in a lightning fast move just as the hollow closed in, and claws clashed against Zangetsu's blade. Pantera grinned, showing off his sharp fangs as he beheld the startled, white version of Kurosaki Ichigo. Then he attacked, the robe parting in paces to reveal pale skin and blue fur. Wickedly sharp claws slashed through a white shihakushdo, staining the cloth with blood. Ichigo's hollow leapt away, surprised and Pantera laughed. The tone was higher than Grimmjow's voice, light and somehow younger.

"You must be Ichigo's zanpakuto. Greetings, I am Pantera." He said confidently then blinked as the one across from him suddenly laughed. "Huh?" That was unexpected. The white Ichigo grinned at him. The expression seemed more than a little insane.

"As if! Zangetsu's such a drag. I'm a lot more interesting than him." He said mockingly ,resting his sword over his shoulder. Pantera tilted his head to one side before things clicked.

"Oh! You're his inner hollow." He said and the hollow applauded him mockingly. Pantera flicked his ears, more amused than anything. "I was looking for you." Really, his idea had more to do with the hollow than it did the zanpakuto. He'd met a shinigami zanpakuto only once before but he assumed they would be rather stuffy about such things. The hollow gave him a narrow eyed look.

"Oh yeah? What do you want with me?" He asked and to his surprise, Pantera actually blushed a little. The panther looked down for a moment before giving him a shy glance through thick blue eyelashes.

"Well." He said, fiddling with the ties to his robes. "It just occurred to me that the mating bond must be bothering you… and there's really no reason we have to follow our masters' lead." He said and the hollow began to grin. "My master is being very hands off, while yours seems rather hostile, but we don't have to be like that… do we?" Pantera said, hoping this would work. It wasn't just that he was horny – he was – but he wanted to make peace with the other hollow. Maybe that would help to defuse the tension between his master and Ichigo.

"Huh." The hollow was in front of him then, so close it was almost terrifying. But Pantera didn't even blink, meeting those black and gold eyes fearlessly as the hollow gripped his chin, turning his face to the side. "Interesting. Grimm might have let us ride him, but he's a dominant bastard. You though… you're a pretty little uke, aren't you?" Pantera blushed and nodded slightly as the hollow let go of his chin. "Tell me. Did Grimmjow let Aizen fuck him? Or did he fuck Aizen?" The hollow asked, his voice full of insinuations. Pantera swallowed hard before responding.

"Aizen fucked him. He was so much more powerful… there's nothing wrong in submitting to a greater power." He said, his voice husky. He knew that would resonate with the other hollow on many levels. Sure enough, his grin widened and he dropped his sword, letting it fall onto the roof of the building below them. The he gripped Pantera's robes, dragging him down to the same building.

"That so? Well, I expect to see a bit of submission then… Pantera." The hollow whispered, his voice a malign purr. Pantera shuddered in desire at the tone and lifted his chin, baring his throat for the stronger. Blunt teeth found pale skin, biting down and leaving marks. "By the way, you can call me Shiro."

"Shiro." Pantera murmured the name, rolling his hips against the other. His robes were so easy to open, they just slipped away, revealing his body. Then his hips were gripped and he was surprised as the hollow flipped him onto his stomach. He started to push himself up onto his hands and knees then yelped as he was shoved down roughly.

"Uh uh." The hollow sang behind him and Pantera shivered as he felt a hand on his ass. Then he yelped again as he felt a stinging pain and heard a ringing slap. "This is for fucking Kisuke." Another slap. Pantera yelped, then whined, his ears flat against his hair. It hurt but… was he supposed to be getting turned on by this? "You're a little whore, aren't you?" Another slap. Pantera panted helplessly, painfully aware of his erection rubbing against the ground. "You like it, don't you? Tell me how much you like it." Another slap. Pantera whined, tossing his head back.

"Yes, I – I do! More, please!" He begged and there was an echoing laugh followed by another smack. Then warm hands were gripping his rosy ass, exploring the overheated skin. "Nnn, ah!" Pantera gasped as fingers began invading him, parting his legs and exploring his insides. He tried to push himself up again and this time Shiro let him, let him go to his hands and knees. "Oh…" Pantera moaned as a white hand encircled his balls, slowly squeezing and teasing them as fingers toyed with his insides.

"So responsive. I bet you don't get much more action than I do… this is going to be my first time." The hollow murmured, which didn't surprise Pantera much. He'd managed to visit Aizen's zanpakuto once but it had just been rather boring. She hadn't been the least bit interested.

"My first time too… really…" Pantera said, gasping as those fingers kept stretching him out. He'd shared in Grimmjow's matings, of course, but it wasn't really the same as doing it himself. Shiro no doubt felt the same. The fingers vanished then and were replaced with something much larger. Pantera yelped sharply as he felt Shiro sliding into his virgin passage. "Oh!" The panther gasped as a white hand slid around his cock, playing with his erection as the owner of that hand laughed.

"Shit, you feel so fucking tight." The hollow groaned, giving him a moment to adjust before pulling out and pounding back in, hard. Pantera yowled, the sound of a cat mating bouncing off the walls of the inner world. "Yeah! Scream louder! Wake up King… fucker… hahaha!" The hollow cackled madly as he set a punishing pace, ramming into Pantera with all his not inconsiderable strength. A blue tail slid around his waist, fur rubbing against skin as the zanpakuto beneath him howled again and again.

The water above them was churning but neither of them cared. All that mattered was the raw, animal sex, the power and passion between them. Pantera's cheeks were rosy, his breath coming in heavy pants as a bit of saliva ran down his chin, unnoticed and disregarded. Shiro was equally intent on the act, his black and gold eyes narrowed and his breath coming in quick gasps. He gripped the base of Pantera's tail, yanking him back as he slammed in even harder, trying to claim the zanpakuto from the inside out. Pantera howled, tossing his head back. Blue hair flew around them both and Shiro lowered his head, letting his white hair mingle with those blue strands.

It didn't last long but it wasn't really meant to. Shiro knew he was acting on borrowed time and Pantera didn't care, simply experiencing the moment. Shiro snarled, a guttural, hollow sound and thrust in harder and faster, feeling his orgasm quickly coming. But he was determined to make the weaker male cum first and he wrapped his hand around Pantera's weeping erection, jerking him off with brutal efficiency. The zanpakuto screamed a final time before releasing, his whole body spasming with the force of it, his cum coating Shiro's hand and the ground under them. The inner hollow grinned and kept moving, finding his own release a few strokes later.

The moment of pleasure came at precisely the right time. As soon as the spasms were over someone familiar and unwelcome appeared. The Horse looked at his King with a cocky grin as Pantera froze, taking on a deer in the headlights expression. To Shiro, the shock, anger and near horror on Ichigo's face was truly priceless.

"Hi King. Had another wet dream tonight?" Shiro asked as Ichigo just stared at them. Then Pantera squeaked, looking frantically for his robe. This wasn't what he'd imagined at all… but he'd forgotten that Ichigo would sense what his hollow was doing.

"You…!" That was all Pantera heard before blade clashed against blade. Shiro was laughing as the zanpakuto frantically found his clothing and fled the chaos he had caused.

He didn't know what the repercussions of this would be but he didn't think it would be good.