Ichigo eyed his opponents, as they slowly circled him.
He was facing Grimmjow and Feralina together, with his new sword. He'd already been taking on multiple opponents, but now they were using their more powerful forms. He was detecting a strange reluctance from Grimmjow, though. Feralina was going at it with skill and verve.
Just as he thought that, the elven woman leapt at him and Zangetsu clashed with Leona. Grimmjow attacked from the other side, but his attack was weaker and Ichigo beat him off easily before concentrating on Feralina. She swore as he slashed her armor, raising a thin line of blood.
"Stop jacking off and fight, you worthless bastard!" She screeched at Grimmjow who grimaced and attacked more strongly. Ichigo had to give more of his attention to the man and it became harder and harder to hold Feralina off. Then he saw an opening, and took it, ramming his shoulder into Grimmjow's gut and knocking the elf off his feet. Feralina's swearing was sulfurous as she thrust her sword into the ground. "I've had enough of this! Renji! Where the fuck is Renji?"
"What?" Ichigo said, perplexed, as he got off the groaning elven man. "What do we need him for?" The half-elf forester was very good, and he was teaching Ichigo to handle a bow, which Grimmjow was only middling at. But he usually didn't help them with sword work, which apparently was his weak area.
"This idiot won't go full out on you." Feralina glared at Grimmjow and Ichigo looked at him. The blue haired elf avoided his eyes. "Something about being 'afraid to hurt you'. Hah! I think he should be afraid for himself!" She jibed and Grimmjow growled at her. Ichigo stared at him, feeling hurt and offended. But then something occurred to him and he couldn't help but smile. Was Grimmjow worried because he had feelings for him?
"Well, it's not fair going at him with Pantera and Leona when he's wearing that damned collar!" Grimmjow defended himself. "You know it's not!" Feralina sneered, completely unimpressed by that argument.
"Yet, he still kicks your ass. Just go sit on the sidelines you worthless bastard. Renji! There you are!" The half-elf had come to investigate and froze in place at the enthusiastic greeting. Ichigo held back a snicker at his worried expression. "Get your sword out, you're taking over for Grimmy."
"Really? Well, if you want." Renji shrugged and pulled out his sword. Ichigo noticed it was also a spirit blade, set with a bit of jade carved to look like a snake and a monkey. "Howl, Zabimaru!" Ichigo watched as Renji changed slightly. His tattoos became more pronounced and elaborate, but that was really the only difference.
"Are you guys related?" Ichigo suddenly asked, making a connection in his mind. There was dead silence for a moment as the elves and half-elf stared at him.
"What makes you think that?" Grimmjow asked but Ichigo could tell he was just stalling. He shrugged, looking at Renji again. Now that he was looking carefully, he could see a faint resemblance in his face.
"Grind, Pantera, Roar, Leona, Howl, Zabimaru. It just seemed obvious all of a sudden." The family seemed to favor animal spirits. There was an embarrassed pause before Feralina laughed.
"We better hope we're not that transparent to the Dark King, or we're royally fucked! Yeah, you're right Ichigo. Meet our half-brother Renji." Feralina poked her half-brother and he fended her off irritably. "After she found out she was engaged to a guy my age, mamma went off her nut for a while and had a torrid love affair with one of her guards. This horrible creature was the result. Don't get too close, he might have fleas."
"If I have fleas I picked them up off of you." Renji retorted easily, hefting his sword. "Were we going to fight or just talk him to death?" Ichigo readied his sword, and not a moment too soon as Feralina attacked with abandon. Renji wasn't as good a swordsman as Grimmjow, but he was far more enthusiastic and soon Ichigo found that he was very hard pressed. His eyes narrowed as he pulled deeply on his talent, fighting past the collar, and then he blinked as he felt a silent offer.
"Shatter, Zangetsu!" He felt the power of his spirit sword flowing through him, a beautiful river of black and red. Feralina sprang back and Renji gaped in surprise. Ichigo wondered what they saw, but didn't let it distract him as he launched a brutal attack on Renji. A moment later the half-elf was on the ground, dazed from a good blow to the head and he was free to concentrate on Feralina. She was darting around like a mad thing, but he eventually managed to corner and 'kill' her.
Just in time to block a strike at his back. Ichigo turned his head to see Grimmjow grinning at him widely.
"If you can pull a spirit sword past a retaining collar, there ain't nothin' you can't do! Let's do this!" Ichigo laughed in pure joy and gave himself over to the pleasure of the fight. Grimmjow was better than Feralina and much, much better than Renji. He was able to attack almost full out, without fear of hurting the elf too much. In the end, it was Grimmjow that won, with a combination of treachery and experience. Raw power could only go so far, particularly with the retaining collar in place. Ichigo panted heavily, lying on the ground with Grimmjow's sword at his throat, Zangetsu several feet away. But he was pleased to see the elf was panting just as heavily, and there was blood dripping into one of his eye's from a wound Ichigo had dealt earlier. "Good job, kid." Grimmjow pulled his weapon away, his spiritual presence going down as he went back to his normal form. "You look awesome like that, by th' way."
"Really? What do I look like?" Ichigo wished he had a mirror, and Grimmjow gave him the next best thing by wiping off his sword then holding it up, so Ichigo could see a bit of himself in the mirrored surface. He blinked as he saw his hair was longer, messier and seemed to be dazzled with flecks of glittering garnets. "Huh. Uh, how do I turn it off?" He had no idea but he could feel amusement from his sword. Grimmjow seemed frozen in place.
"Turn it…" The elf lord snorted, then began to laugh. Ichigo blinked as he laughed so hard, his shoulders were shaking. "Ichigo, y'know, we usually train people to maintain it! Turning it OFF isn't supposed t'be the problem!"
"This kid is scary. Why are we training him again?" Renji asked and Feralina slapped him upside the head. "Ow!"
"Because we like scary things. Grimmy, stop laughing and tell him how to let go of Zangetsu." She ordered and Grimmjow finally complied. It took several tries, but Ichigo finally found the mental switch and managed to release his hold on his spirit sword. His power went back to more comfortable levels, and Ichigo realized how much of a strain it had been, holding onto Zangetsu despite the retaining collar. "Are you guys hungry? Because I am so hungry." Feralina held her stomach dramatically, but Ichigo didn't doubt she was really hungry, since he was starving himself.
"Oh hell yeah! Let's put the crap away and see what's cooking." Grimmjow said, sheathing his sword. Ichigo nodded and followed the elves and half-elf as they went to clean their gear, then put it away. After that chore was done they all visited the kitchen and got a bit of bread, cheese, pickled carrots and beets. Ichigo tore into the food ravenously and grinned as Feralina ate a bunch of beets and then proudly displayed her purple tongue to a pained Grimmjow.
This was quite possibly the best time of his life.
It was pure chance that led Ichigo to visit Grimmjow in his study that day.
Grimmjow always had paperwork to do. He received reports from his foresters and guardsmen, reports from mayors and judges. He had to review and sign off on any forms of capital punishment, and depending on the case, he sometimes had to go in person to seal the forms and witness the execution. Fortunately, those trips didn't happen very often, since Grimmjow always seemed very drained when he got back. Ichigo thought the elf just didn't like to see anyone die, even if they deserved it.
Today, though, Ichigo had noticed that Grimmjow hadn't come down to breakfast. He'd asked the servants and found that he hadn't asked for any food, either. So he'd decided to be helpful and gotten him his favorite breakfast, three eggs, a piece of toast, a slice of goats' cheese and some fresh tomato. Opening the door to the study, he froze as he saw what was going on inside.
Grimmjow's head was on his desk, one hand tangled in his hair in a desperate grip. Feralina was kneeling beside him and Ichigo watched in disbelief as she gently ran a hand over her brother's back. He'd never seen her treat Grimmjow gently before, and he felt ice settle in his stomach at the sight.
"I can't make the numbers work Fera. I can't make it work." Ichigo had also never heard Grimmjow sounding like he might cry. It was horrifying, seeing the proud elf brought to such a state. "What th' hell are we gonna do?"
"We'll make it work Grimmy. We can sell the china, the last of the jewelry." Fera said soothingly but Grimmjow just made a low, pained sound. "We can do another workin' in the hills. Somethin'."
"You and Renji almost fucking died last time! We can't… we can't…" Grimmjow's breath caught at the end, almost a sob, and Ichigo stared as Feralina crooned in his ear. Grimmjow suddenly grabbed her, burying his face in her shoulder as his shoulders shook with emotion.
"Renji is strong, and so am I. We won't die on you brother, and we'll get what we need. We can make it work. Stop yer whinin'." She said as she looked up, meeting Ichigo's gaze. "You're scarin' Ichigo." Grimmjow jerked, looking up sharply. Ichigo met his startled blue green eyes and realized that he probably did look very afraid. "I think he brought you some brekky." Feralina said with that same, alarming gentleness as Grimmjow shook his head.
"Right… right. Guess I should eat somethin'. Sorry about that Ichigo." Grimmjow sounded more like himself and Ichigo set the tray down nervously.
"What's wrong?" He asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he had to ask. Grimmjow sighed as Feralina stole a piece of his tomato, casually munching on the vegetable.
"Special levy from th' King. He wants fifty gold pieces." Grimmjow said shortly and Ichigo felt his eyes widen. That was enough gold to buy the entire manor! Well, maybe not, the manor was rather big. But it was a lot of money.
"H-How… doesn't he know this is a poor place?" Ichigo asked and almost cringed as Grimmjow vented a bitter laugh. Feralina paused her eating for a moment, then finished the tomato slice.
"'Course he does. That's the point. If I put out a levy for all that, people'll be starvin' in the winter. S'what he wants. He feeds on pain." He said, his tone bitter and angry but also filled with a soul deep weariness. Ichigo swallowed hard. He'd known the Dark King fed on pain, everyone knew it, but he hadn't guessed he could feed at such a remove. It explained a lot about how the elves ruled. "And I won't do it. I won't. I'll find a way, even if I have to sell myself in a fucking whorehouse!" Feralina broke into a giggle fit and Grimmjow gave her a jaundiced look as Ichigo choked. "What d'you think is so funny? You think no one'd buy me?"
"I think mamma'd die of the shame! And I'd have to go with you, so she'd die twice!" Feralina smiled then and patted Grimmjow on the shoulder. "Glad you're feelin' better though. We'll make it through, see if we don't." Grimmjow just looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. Ichigo had the feeling that something was being left unsaid, but he didn't know what.
"Thanks for the food, Ichi. I'll meet you for talent lessons in, oh, an hour up on the roof, alright?" He said. Ichigo nodded, ducking out of the office and made a silent vow not to go in there again.
He really didn't want to see Grimmjow struggling to deal with the King's impossible demands.
Byakuya looked down at the paper on his desk, wondering if he should write back. It was, perhaps, a bit scandalous to be writing to an unmarried young woman when he was already married. Of course, she was his daughter-in-law. Technically, it was quite alright to be writing to a relative.
But even by elven standards, his marriage was a grotesque sham. Lady Garana was much, much older than him. That wasn't necessarily unusual for elves – May/December romances could happen – but they were not in love. Which made the fact that his son-in-law was old enough to be Byakuya's father absolutely cringe worthy. His daughter-in-law was actually his peer in terms of age.
He'd met Feralina before, of course. But that had been in the Enchanted forest, when they were both nothing more than babies. He vaguely remembered dipping her hair in an ink well, and being soundly slapped by the feisty elven girl. He also remembered both their mothers scolding them. And now he was married to her mother, the same woman who had scolded him as a child. There was no more effective deterrent to desire than that memory.
Feralina had been at the wedding, of course. Byakuya remembered how lovely she'd been in her gown of light blue silk, and the sour look she'd worn as her mother had made the vows. Grimmjow had taken it better, wishing him luck and a happy marriage. Then Feralina had proceeded to stay with him and his new wife for a month, as Grimmjow went back to his estates.
That month had been both traumatic and thrilling. Feralina was a rude, crude little barbarian and Lady Garana was constantly trying to tame her, without much success. She'd turned things upside down in his calm life, and Byakuya had found himself trying to tame her as well… when he wasn't quietly admiring her spirit and zest for life.
And that was the crux of the problem. Byakuya found her attractive. She was his age, quite beautiful and vivacious. Her lack of manners drove him quietly insane, but she still inspired far more passion than Lady Garana, even if much of the passion was directed towards the desire to throttle her. And she was even more charming in letters, where her personality shone through without the most irritating parts.
It had been good that she'd gone to go live with Grimmjow. They had been on the verge of impropriety, and the fact that Garana would probably just smile didn't help. The whole thing felt incestuous, and Byakuya had needed Feralina to go as much as Grimmjow had needed her at home. But now he couldn't stop writing her letters.
The news about the special levy wasn't good. Byakuya hesitated before picking up his pen again. Foolish or not, impropriety or not, he had an excellent reason to write Feralina back this time. His estates had not been assessed a special levy. He would have to check with his relatives, but he was willing to bet they hadn't either. That meant Grimmjow was in particular trouble, not exactly a surprise, but definitely something he needed to know.
Maybe there was even something he could do about it.
"You're sure about this, Ichigo?" Grimmjow asked for the third time. Ichigo scowled and punched him on the arm. "Hey!"
"I'm just as sure as I was the last time you asked." He said irritably, fingering his collar. For the first time in over a year, he would be taking it off. And the fact that this task could very well kill him didn't matter. He was going to do it anyway.
There was simply no way the elves could meet the special levy without inflicting severe hardship on the people. They'd raised about ten gold pieces from the farms and townsfolk, but anymore and there would be starvation. They'd raised five more golds catching game and selling furs. The china and jewelry was still unsold, mainly because there wasn't much point in selling it. The china would only fetch about a gold, and Feralina's jewelry might make two golds on a good day. Apparently, they'd sold all the best pieces during the flood Grimmjow had told him about.
Grimmjow and Feralina had some savings set aside, but that had amounted to only five golds. So even if they got the full value of Feralina's jewelry, which wasn't likely, they were hovering around seventeen gold pieces. That was ridiculously short of where they needed to be, so they were making a special trip to the hills.
There was a special metal in the hills. Known as adamantium, Ichigo had been surprised to find out it was the same stuff his sword was made out of. Elves treasured it, since it could be used to create the most powerful of spirit swords, but they very rarely had any of it. That was because the process they used to extract it from the ground was difficult at best, fatal at worst. Adamantium was buried so deeply in the ground that mining would have been absurdly difficult, so they called it to the surface with spirit talent.
Unfortunately, the cost in power was ghastly, and once the ritual was started it could not be stopped. Ichigo glanced at Renji and Feralina. Feralina seemed completely calm and composed, but Renji was looking like a man heading to his execution. Although, come to think of it, Feralina wasn't joking or acting up like she usually did. He could only assume they were both showing the strain in their own ways. Grimmjow was worried about everyone except himself, but that was no surprise. Four of his most trusted guardsmen were along for the ride, since when the ritual was done all of the elves would be completely unable to defend themselves. They would be drained, unconscious, or worse.
"Sorry. It's just, you're not obligated t'do this." Grimmjow said and Ichigo resisted the urge to punch him again.
"Grimm, I know what special levies do to people. I've been one of those people." Ichigo said and Grimmjow winced. "The guy you sold our village to never paid out of his own pocket. So just shut up, alright? I'm ready to do this." He wasn't happy, and he was willing to admit that he was scared, but he was ready.
"Right." Grimmjow sounded as enthusiastic as Renji looked. They finally reached the spot the area they wanted, a lightly wooded hillside. It wasn't hard to find a nice, big rock to work on. "We've never done it here before, so the adamantium should still be pretty close to the surface." Grimmjow said, trying to put the best face on it he could as he pulled out some silk cords from his saddlebags. Ichigo watched curiously as he laid out the cords in a particular pattern. It reminded him a little of a dreamcatcher, with a cord running along the outside and many cords forming a pattern with a hole inside. The outer cord was looped so there were places for them to stand.
"That depends on how much adamantium there is here." Renji muttered, taking his spot in the pattern. "We have done a survey, right?"
"Yes, it was marginal." Feralina said, her voice calm and controlled as she took her spot. "But it's the best we have left." Renji shuddered and looked away as Grimmjow and Ichigo took their spots. Ichigo took a deep breath as Grimmjow reached over and unhooked his collar. He controlled his spiritual pressure almost instantly but still saw the elves wince at the burst.
"Still need t' work on your control, Ichigo. Are we ready?" Ichigo and the others nodded. They'd gone through the ritual ahead of time, although really, there wasn't much for the three of them to do except serve as power sources for Grimmjow. As the oldest and most experienced, it was his duty to channel their power. Ichigo might have been able to channel it easier, given that he was the strongest in terms of raw power, but he didn't have the control to direct the flow the way it needed.
Power rose up in the circle and Ichigo closed his eyes as the ritual began. There was no chanting, no drums, nothing but silence and the rising thunder of spiritual talent. Ichigo felt a gentle suction on his strength, and at first he wondered why everyone had been so afraid. It didn't seem very painful or dangerous. But it kept going on, and on, and the pressure began to gradually increase. Ichigo felt his strength begin to decrease and a pain began, behind his left ear and travelling down his spine.
"How long does this take?" He gasped out and Grimmjow answered through gritted teeth.
"Hours. Shut up." Ichigo didn't take offense, just letting out a soft moan as the power drain continued. Hours of this? They all endured, but after perhaps another half-hour Ichigo could see and feel Renji wavering. The aura of the redhead's suffering was palpable, and he could feel Grimmjow delicately lessening the burden on his half-brother. He couldn't remove Renji from the link, but he could cut the power drain from him to almost nothing. But that meant the burden was thrown on Ichigo and Feralina. Grimmjow himself was putting almost no power into the ritual, too busy monitoring their reactions and gauging how much talent he could safely channel. Ichigo glanced at the center of the circle and saw bits of black metal beginning to appear. They were getting close now, but how much longer would it be?
Feralina was the next to fail, and Ichigo felt it as Grimmjow cut her participation down to almost nothing. Then it was just him and the elf lord, and Grimmjow's power joined the circle in a steadily rising tide of blue fire. Ichigo whimpered as he felt Grimmjow finally cut him out as well, and watched as the elven lord spent his own power in a slow, final pulse. Then he closed the ritual and Ichigo cried out as pain exploded behind his eyes. Something about the ritual had cushioned him from the full shock, but now it was over and he was conscious of the anguish.
Mercifully, he passed out.
Ichigo came to his senses to find himself in a tent.
At first, he had no idea where he was. But then he glanced around and saw Renji and Feralina, both curled up in the boneless way of people so deeply asleep, not even an earthquake could wake them. He tried to sit up and a spike of pain went through his head, making him gasp. Then Ichigo blinked as he realized he couldn't feel his own spiritual pressure. Normally, he was always aware of it, and the presence of the restraining collar. Right now, he might as well have been a perfectly normal boy. Even Zangetsu's presence was absent. Ichigo looked up as the tent flap opened and Grimmjow ducked inside.
"I figgered you'd be the first one t' wake up." Ichigo met Grimmjow's eyes and could see the pain and weariness on the elven lord's face. "Here, eat, you need it." Ichigo eyed the food with revulsion. He felt so drained that even eating seemed like a chore, but he took the bowl of porridge anyway. After a few bites, his hunger suddenly kindled and he devoured the food more quickly. "Careful, don't choke." Grimmjow warned as he ate his own porridge and Ichigo nodded, mouth full.
"Grimm? Did it work?" He asked as he came up for air. Grimmjow nodded.
"Better'n I thought it would. We have a hundred gold pieces worth of adamantium." Ichigo swallowed at the number, although Grimmjow seemed too worn to get much pleasure out of it. "We'll lose at least a tenth of it on wholesale, but that's still ninety golds, and the stuff is in demand. We won't sell it all at once, though. Word might get out an' then there'll be another levy t' clean us out. Just sellin' what we need." Ichigo nodded, looking down into his empty bowl. "I'll get you another."
"I can – grk." Ichigo gasped as he tried to stand and the pain in his head seemed to flow down his spine. Grimmjow took the bowl, shaking his head.
"Nah, you're drained, don't strain yerself. I'll get the guards t'do it, actually." Ichigo relaxed at that. He was sure Grimmjow felt every bit as bad as he did, even if he was better at hiding it. The next bowl he was given had more than porridge, it had some sliced meat and pickled vegetables on top to give it more substance. Ichigo devoured it greedily, beginning to feel a bit better as the food hit his system. Then Feralina stirred.
"Oh…" She moaned softly, eyes screwed shut as both Ichigo and her brother looked at her. "Must be alive… want to die…" Renji whimpered in his sleep, and Ichigo could tell he was going to be waking up soon as well. Grimmjow stuck his head out of the tent to ask for more food as Feralina tentatively opened her eyes. "Please kill me…"
"Sorry, no can do, mamma would have my hide if I done killed my sister." Grimmjow managed a credible grin as he brought Feralina a bowl of porridge. "S'temptin', though. Here, eat up."
"Mmnmm." Feralina took the bowl and just scooped it up with her fingers, ignoring he spoon, and slowly licked off her digits. She didn't bother to sit up, eating it as she lay on her side. "S'good. Is Renji dead? …Oh." Renji had just woken up with a gasp of pain, almost kicking Feralina in the side. "No. What a shame."
"Be nice now." Grimmjow admonished as he put the last bowl of porridge beside Renji. The redheaded half-elf looked at it like he wasn't sure what it was. "Food. You eat it." Grimmjow prompted him but Renji just looked at him in a daze. "I hope yer brains ain't permanently fried."
"Wouldn't make much difference. S'cuse me, I'm goin' back t'sleep." Feralina whispered before burrowing under her blanket. Ichigo decided that sounded like an excellent idea and settled back down on his blankets.
Sleep came very quickly and was uninterrupted by any dreams.