Reirse, Hiena!

Lightning_Skies

Spoilers/Disclaimer/Pairing – See first chapter

Quick and Dirty Bleach Vocab -
Several people have commented that they've never seen/read Bleach and my vocab is getting a little confusing.

Reiatsu - Spiritual power

Gigai - Technically everyone in Bleach, except the humans, is dead and invisible to normal humans. They need to use a fake body to look like/interact with humans.

Gikongan/Mod Soul - When hopping out of their fake bodies, shinigami leave artificially created AI/souls in control so that they aren't leaving unconscious bodies laying around.

Shunpo (Flash Step)/Sonido - When a character moves so ridiculously fast that they seem to teleport. It also allows characters to stand on air, as technically they are gathering spirit particles under their feet to ride on. Shinigami shunpo, arrancar sonido

Zanpakuto (soul-cutting sword) - Main weapon for shingami and arrancar. Can cut spirits, each has a different name and ability. In their sealed state they look like normal swords, short swords or knives. Released with a catchphrase yelled by the wielder.. such as "REIRSE, HIENA!" (Laugh, Hyena!) [I sense some foreshadowing… Hint, hint.]

Shikai - First release, the zanpakuto changes from a sword to a more original shape (ex. razor sharp sakura petals or ash cloud, shuriken, segmented whip sword, rapier, mace etc.)

Bankai - Second release, for the most part only Captains are strong enough to release this powerful form, usually a more extreme version of the shikai, this is when the really bizarre powers come in

Resurreccion - Arrancar only have one release and instead of their sword evolving, they absorb their sword and take on a 'released form' physically

Plus Soul/Pluses - Normal ghosts, have a Chain of Fate that used to tie them to their bodies, if it erodes away they become hollows

Hollows/Menos - 'Evil' spirits, former plus souls that have lost their hearts to despair/hatred/fear/anger etc. They have a mask made out of bone and a large hole through their chest (as they evolve the location can change) They survive and get stronger by eating pluses, other hollows and shinigami.

Gillian/Menos Grande - The first evolution of hollows, when they consume enough souls, hollows become giant black shrouded Gillians, they are huge, slow, stupid and very common in Hueco Mundo.

Adjuchas - Second evolution of Hollows, a Gillian that retains it's sense of self can evolve into a smaller, more unique looking menos. (Grimmjow was a panther and Xander was a hyena)

Vasto Lorde - Last evolution of a hollow, they are tiny (human sized) and incredibly powerful, supposedly there are less than five in a all of Hueco Mundo

Arrancar - Hollow that has removed it's mask and gained shinigami powers, they appear human but still have a mask fragment and hollow hole. Part of their massive power separates from them and becomes a zanpakuto.

Espada - Aizen's 10 strongest arrancar, they are ranked 1-10 according to their power levels. Grimmjow is 6 (Sexta) and Szayel is 8 (Octava) They each have a number tattoo

Privarion Espada - Demoted Espada that have been ousted by more powerful arrancar

Numeros - Most powerful arrancar after the Espada (and Privarion Espada)

Fraccion - Numeros assigned to work for certain Espada

Hueco Mundo - 'Hell' full of hollows, it's a desert with endless sand dunes and crystalized dead trees. Always nighttime, everything is white, from the hollow's bone-skin to the sand and dead trees

Las Noches - Aizen's huge fortress in Hueco Mundo, entirely made out of white stone

Garganta - Arrancar power. They can tear a hole between dimensions and move back and forth through the worlds

Cero - General hollow power. Destructive blast of reiatsu, can vary in forms and strength as they practice and modify it

Hierro (Steel skin) - Natural hollow ability where reiatsu strengthens the skin and makes it impervious to damage. Leads to awesome sword catching and deflecting moves

Shinigami - 'Death Gods' who guide plus souls to the afterlife and purify hollows by breaking their masks

Soul Society - The afterlife Shinigami send plus souls to, looks like ancient Japan and supposed to be 'heaven' but it is much like the living world and has it's own hardships

Seireitei - Center of Soul Society, this is where all nobles/shinigami live and operate, separated from the poorer Rukongai section by massive walls

Gotei 13 - The 13 squads/divisions of the shinigami, each lead by a Captain and Vice-Captain. Aizen, Gin and Tousen were Captains before betraying Soul Society

Kido (Demon Arts) - Shinigami spells. Can be offensive, defensive, barriers, restraints or healing abilities. Each spell has a name, is numbered 1-99 to indicate power level and difficulty and is categorized Hado (way of destruction), Bakudo (Way of binding) or Healing (which are unnumbered or named)

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Chapter 6 - Horror Movie Rules: It's Always Behind You =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Xander was human.

That thought had stuck in Grimmjow's head for hours. Xander was human. He was alive… in every sense of the word. It was more than the feline having been wrong about his disappearance meaning the destruction of his spirit form, he was alive in the way that came with a body and mortal weaknesses. While Grimmjow had been working constantly on being stronger and faster and better than ever before, Xander had been forced backwards in his evolution, his strength and power ripped from him. He was a frail shell of himself and it infuriated Grimmjow to see someone who was once his equal forced into the position of victim.

As an adjuchas, the hyena had been an unstoppable force. It was because of his personality as much as it was about physical power. Nothing fazed him and nothing seemed to scare him. That much was still true. He had ignored and joked with Aizen in a way that Grimmjow couldn't even imagine trying. He'd always been the most rebellious of the Espada, but even he knew to show deference and respect to the shinigami. Not so with Xander. He had an innate ability to present himself as an equal to everyone he met. No one was made to feel lesser and no one was allowed to assume authority over him and he did it so casually, so naturally, that it wasn't questioned or considered to be overstepping his bounds.

As a human, Xander was both stronger and weaker than Grimmjow had ever seen him. Physically he was nothing. His healing prevented his death, but there wasn't much he could do to defend himself in any way. He had to endure whatever the powerful beings around him decided was his due. Which was his strength. He had to know how incredibly outmatched he was here in the devil's own home. His life was in their hands and the could choose to tear him apart and there was nothing he could do about it, but he never showed any fear, never faltered in his self assurance. He maintained the attitude that he was equal to them, despite the obvious power gap, and that seemed to actually earn him some measure of respect in this den of killers.

"What happened to you?" He murmured into the dark hair tucked under his chin. His rooms only had one bed after all, and Aizen had ordered him to take care of his human. As if he needed the order. Xander was never going anywhere without him again. He obviously couldn't take care of himself, so Grimmjow was taking the decision out of his hands. If he wasn't going to keep himself healthy, then the blunette would just have to do it for him. Anyone who wanted to say otherwise could present their arguments to his claws, fangs and Pantera's blade.

Grimmjow drifted in a semiconscious state, basking in the heat radiating from the warm body in his embrace and wreathed in the familiar scents of lime and sun warmed grass. Grimmjow had always loved the hyena's scent. It was different from anything else he'd scented in their dead world of sand and even the blood that had covered Xander's claws never fully overpowered it. There was always a trace of that warm and fresh scent, lacing through the blood and old death.

He jolted awake when citrus sharpened into ozone and lightning, and images of glassy red sand invaded his peace. His hold tightened reflexively around his human. He would die before allowing Xander to escape him again, and he would shred anyone who tried to take him. He had become strong for this purpose, to keep hold of anything precious to him, to never again feel regret for not having the power to protect what was his. He'd sworn that day that human, shinigami or arrancar it didn't matter, anyone who underestimated him would be smashed to pieces. He was the panther king, and what was his would never be taken by force.

Never again.

He couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different if he had given up on waiting for their perfect fight and just marked the hyena as his. He would have been beside Grimmjow all this time and would be one of his fraction like Shawlong and the others. At the time he hadn't been willing to forfeit that tantalizing unspoken promise that one day they would have a reckoning, one day they would stare each other down across a true battle field and would tear into each other in earnest.

He stared down at the exposed throat just inches from his fangs. He still wanted that glorious fight, but the arrival of that day seemed farther than ever before. He wanted to devour Xander and be devoured in return. He wanted to crack open the marrow of the hyena's bones and replace it with himself. He wanted the other to split open his ribcage and bury himself so deep in Grimmjow's chest that he could never claw him out. He wanted nothing more than to rend Xander's flesh and mark him permanently. He wanted to take and claim and fully consume every part of him and he wanted Xander to do the same.

"It wouldn't mean anything." Grimmjow was startled to hear Xander speak, he'd been so focused that he hadn't heard the altered breathing and alertness lacing Xander's reiatsu."If you bit me- it wouldn't mean anything."

Grimmjow stiffened and moved his arm from where it had been comfortably holding the smaller man against his chest. He was stopped when one of Xander's hands darted out to grab his and hold him in place. "I'm human. Biting doesn't mean anything. It's just another scar and with my 'condition' it wouldn't even be that. If you bit me the mark would fade in a matter of minutes and it would be like it didn't matter at all." He turned on his back to look up at Grimmjow seriously, lacing their fingers together. "I want you to bite me. I want to be yours… but- I want it to mean something when you do."

With a possessive growl, the Sexta rolled himself over the smaller male and pressed him down into the sheets, arms caging his head on either side. "You are mine. Mark or no mark. Bite or no bite. You. Are. Mine. Never forget that."

Xander groaned at the full body contact, their matching hardness molded together perfectly. "Yours." He agreed breathlessly, staring up at the dangerous predator that had him trapped and helpless. God, there must be something wrong with him to find such menace the hottest thing he'd ever seen. Then again, considering his history, he'd always been drawn to people who could kill him. Maybe there was something incredibly right about this. He certainly couldn't see any problems with it at the moment. Of course, he doubted he was thinking very clearly with his upstairs brain, the other one knew exactly what he wanted and wasn't afraid to broadcast it as he pressed up into the man pinning him.

Xander raised his new hand and traced the edges of Grimmjow's mask fragment, the sensation tingling through his re-grown nerves. Grimmjow's eyes went half-lidded and he leaned into the touch like a house cat would, a deep rumble vibrating in his chest. "Never meant to leave you." Grimmjow growled in displeasure at the thought, low in his throat, sending a thrill down Xander's spine. How could such a perfectly deadly creature want him? "Keep me forever." He begged, searching the piercing blue eyes staring down at him. "Never let them take me away."

"Never." His panther growled, blanketing Xander with his larger frame and pressing a mask-adorned face into the curve of his neck. He gave Xander's collarbone a series of small, sharp nips, and soothed them with his tongue. "Never again. Mine."

Xander wrapped his arms around Grimmjow, pulling him impossibly closer. They were both lulled into sleep, seduced by the simple comfort of being curled together and no longer haunted by lightning or the cutting edges of glass.

-/-/-/-\-\-\-

Hours later, they were pulled out of their peaceful sleep when Edorado stuck his head in the door. "If you two are done with your snuggling, Szayel's been hovering outside for over an hour trying to work up the guts to bother you."

"Go 'way, Ed." Xander demanded, burying his face in Grimmjow's shoulder with a groan. He did not want to deal with the world right now, especially if the world's chosen representative was a mad scientist that wanted to take him apart and was a bit too handy with the drugs. Being poked and prodded or snuggling with his cat? There was no contest.

Unless his cat wanted to poke and prod him. That he could go for. Anya had enlightened him of the fun that could be had while playing naughty nurse. It was just too bad that he seriously doubted Grimmjow would wear a short skirt or nylon stockings and garter for him. Nurse Grimmy would be hot. Oh, no sir. This is a rectal thermometer. Xander shivered and barely held in a moan. God bless Anya, in whatever afterlife she ended up in, may it be full of money and a personal harem primed for her pleasure.

"Good morning to you too, Sparky." Edorado laughed and left well enough alone, he wasn't sure Grimmjow would let him live if he genuinely upset the human. Things were always more interesting with the hyena around, and he was glad to see the little brat hadn't died on them.

"Fuckin' mornin' pe'ple. Should piss off n' die." Xander mumbled into Grimmjow's chest.

Grimmjow produced a rusty rumbling noise of amusement deep in his chest that sounded like it probably hurt his throat. He had never had much cause for genuine laughter in his life and was a little out of practice. He sat up and watched as Xander rolled into the vacated warm spot and snuggled against his hip with the sheets pulled up over his ears. "So, we've finally found something you can't just laugh off. Who knew, that your fatal weakness could be something simple like getting up in the morning."

"Shut up, Grimmjow. It's never morning in Hueco Mundo, so technically you're waking me up in the middle of the night. My skin itches, my muscles burn, my bones ache, my nerves are over sensitized and stabbing at me. I'm nauseous and tired and cranky. I've got the worst hangover ever from the evil roofie of doom, and I just remembered that I spilt my milk. Do you have any idea how long it took me to decide what to buy? If you continue bothering me, I WILL find a way to scratch your eyes out with blunt fingernails."

A devious smirk crossed the feline's face, perfectly suited to a cat who has just caught a mouse and plans to torment it relentlessly. With one smooth movement, he had snatched up the sheet covered Xander burrito and dragged him out of bed.

"Nooooo." Xander whined, hanging limply in Grimmjow's arms, willing himself to be as heavy as possible. "You're so evil. Bad kitty."

Grimmjow just chuckled. This was becoming a disturbing pattern. He got no respect at all.

He was deposited, none too gently on a couch and bounced a little with the impact. He wriggled pathetically until he managed to pop his head out of his twisted cocoon and looked around. The cruel asshole had dropped him in a living room, or a dead room, whatever- it looked like Grimmjow and his Fraccion shared an apartment with their bedrooms all branching off of this communal room. Xander could see the open door to Grimmjow's room across from him and as he twisted around, he could see the cat himself disappearing into what looked like a bathroom behind his couch.

Everything was white, white floors, white walls, white ceilings (no wait, only one ceiling) even the sofas and the sheets he was twisted up in were the same damn color. He wondered if he covered his head and lay back down, if he could blend into the couch well enough that Grimmjow couldn't find him. It was a nice thought, but since being resurrected he didn't have the ability to mask his reiatsu, so it would be kinda pointless to try and hide.

"Good morning, Xander-brother." Yllfordt chirped brightly as he and Edorado entered through a hallway that branched off to where Xander assumed their rooms were. Surprise, surprise, they were wearing white. With his pale skin and brilliant blonde hair Yllfordt looked washed out and his skinny form would have been easily overlooked if he didn't talk so much. He was like a swishy, long haired, cheerful Spike. Which is to say that he really didn't have anything in common with the vampire outside of coloring and their unique dead and not-quite-gone status. Edorado by contrast, was a huge hulk of a man at least six and a half feet tall, with long bright red hair juxtaposed sharply with the half of his head that was shaved close and dyed black. His skin was much darker and he seemed to pop out of the background due to his coloring, rather than sink into it.

"There's nothing good about it." Xander grumped, wiggling down into his sheets with a full blown power-glower at the far wall, trying to regain his bubble of warm comfort. It just wasn't the same without a big, hot, purring body pillow.

"Aw, don't be like that, brat." Edorado plopped down next to him and grabbed him in a headlock. "We can't be happy to see you? We thought you were dead, you know."

"Grimmjow-sama was most upset about your abrupt disappearance." Xander twisted awkwardly in the crook of Edorado's elbow to see Shawlong looking down at him. Everything about Shawlong was long and pointy. He broke six feet by a good margin but was whip thin and severe looking. His strong asian features and rigid posture made him look like a sternly disapproving disciplinarian. He was the kind of person who's presence made you feel inadequate and distasteful, like you were a misbehaving child. He kinda reminded Xander of early Giles, before the Watcher had relaxed.

"That's sweet, really guys." He wheezed. It was a little heartwarming that despite being hollows, they had mourned, in their own way, when they had thought he was gone. Even if it was only regret that his loss had apparently made their leader, Grimmjow go off the deep end. He smacked at the huge, muscle corded arm crushing his windpipe. "Ed, can't breathe."

Edorado quickly released him, and settled for messing up his hair with one huge meaty hand instead. "Forgot how fragile you are now, Princess."

"You couldn't even dodge Grimmjow-brother's fist or Tousen-sama's kido. Are humans all that slow?" Yllfordt questioned.

"Fuck you both." Xander glared at them. Despite the fact that they were tactless hollows, he couldn't believe how much he had missed these guys. During his life, all of his friends were girls, but here he was surrounded by men and it was nice. It was like having a family of brothers. Yllfordt may be infecting his brain with all that brother crap, but it felt right to call them family. A serial killing, soul devouring, evil family, but then again no one is perfect and every family has it's faults.

"I think Grimmjow may have a problem with that." Edorado laughed, his huge booming voice echoing strangely off of the bare walls. His eyes were focused mischeiviously over Xander's shoulder.

With a sense of dreadful anticipation, Xander turned to see Grimmjow standing right behind him and looking down on him with the most gleefully smug expression Xander had ever seen. An echo of the shock he'd felt on first having seen his panther's human form ran through him. He was really here, Grimmjow was really here- and staring down at him like he was about to pounce. The warm feeling abruptly faded. Before he'd thought it through, Xander had lurched up off the couch in an attempt to escape, but his feet and legs were still tangled and bound by the sheets, so he didn't get very far before running became falling. As he braced for the face/floor impact that was coming, he felt an arm loop around his waist and tug him back against a now familiar firm chest.

A chest that rumbled with laughter again. He could get used to that sound- as long as it didn't mean constantly humiliating himself. "Looks like I found a way to keep you from running. I just have to keep you in my bed at all times."

Xander's mind fuzzed up immediately with that smokey voice curling in his ear, whispering delightful things. "I have no problem with that." Wait, what. Who'd hijacked his tongue. He blushed bright red and finally found the motivation to struggle. Not that it was anything but a token gesture. Grimmjow wasn't letting him go anywhere. Still, some insecure part of Xander made him struggle in order to force Grimmjow into proving that he could back up his words and would fight for him. "I mean- no thanks, I'm good."

It was then that he was reminded of his audience as they all laughed at him. Bastards, the whole lot of them. No respect.

"Is that so." Oh, no. The voice was back. He could feel his knees getting all rubbery. Thank god he wasn't standing under his own power. He'd have to let Grimmjow hold him up for now. It wasn't as if he had a fluffy bunny's chance in Hueco Mundo chance to escape anyways. "I'll just have to convince you then."

Oh god. Xander had never wanted to have someone try to change his mind so bad in his life. He didn't fight when Grimmjow lifted him onto his shoulder again and began walking, until the fact that they were heading AWAY from the bedroom processed in his totally blown mind. "Grimmjow, wha-"

He was cut off when the door slammed behind them and he was thrust, sheets and all into a hot shower. He would deny until his next dying day that he screeched like a little girl in his shock, but the muffled laughter coming from behind the door meant that there was no one who would believe him. He was going to get some sort of complex about this respect thing. He wished horrible fates on them all.

"What the HELL was that for?" He demanded, glaring up at the blunette who was smirking at him in pleasure, enjoying his irritation. He was very aware of the water trickling across his scalp, damping his hair down and the futility of clutching the drenched sheet closer in an attempt to protect himself from the water. This proved, once and for all, that hiding under the sheets did not make the monsters go away. It just gave them an excuse to torment you.

"You're still covered in blood and it was starting to smell bad."

He peeled the wet sheet away from himself to look down at his shredded, bloody clothing and sighed. He carefully untangled himself and balled the sheet up. His clothes were ruined, but when you get hit by a fireball that is pretty much to be expected. A devious thought crossed his mind and without looking up, he chucked the sheets directly at Grimmjow. The cat reflexively grabbed the blood, ash and plaster covered bundle before it could hit him, but the loose ends swung forward and slapped him wetly across the face. Xander burst out laughing at the shocked and affronted look on Grimmjow's face.

"Serves you right." He snorted.

Grimmjow glared at him, but his smirk returned quickly, making Xander's heart thump in dreadful anticipation. It got worse when the feline all but purred, "You got me all dirty, now I have to take a shower."

Xander stared at him in shock as he moved towards the shower, and incidentally Xander himself, stripping his white jacket off in the process.

"What? No. You can't- You aren't- You wouldn't-" He couldn't manage to complete a thought as the blunette continued stripping and coming closer. His brain stuttered and died when the white hakama hit the floor.

"I wouldn't, would I?" Grimmjow questioned, his bare body a mere foot from Xander as he leaned forward and filled his ear with his treacherously silky voice. "It sounds like a wonderful idea to me, after all I had some convincing to do."

"Gah." Xander scrambled backwards until the white tile wall betrayed him by creeping up behind him and preventing his escape. Grimmjow just took the extra space provided and stepped into the shower, closing the curtain behind him and enclosing them both in their own private steam filled world. Xander was pretty sure he was having a heart attack and was harder than he'd ever been in his life.

Grimmjow kept advancing on his cornered prey. "You are mine, and I'm not letting you escape again." He took a final step, deep into Xander's personal space and pressed the human into the wall. Grimmjow seemed to pour himself onto Xander, molding every inch of his height onto the human, chest to panting chest, stomach to fluttery stomach and groin to very interested groin, as the hot water streamed down around them. Xander watched brilliant blue eyes darken with possession and want. He was going to say something, but his mouth was suddenly occupied doing much better things.

Grimmjow's tilted Xander's chin up and nipped at his lower lip, making him gasp and lurch forward, rubbing their bodies together and sending delicious sparks through him. The moment he opened his mouth there were lips slanted over his and a tongue tracing the inside of his cheek. Grimmjow was kissing him, and oh, fucking hell, that felt good. He angled his head a little to make something perfect that much better and pressed back, tongue flicking out against the rough wetness laving the roof of his mouth. A warm tingling started low in his stomach when he realized that even in human form Grimm had a rough feline tongue. His knees went boneless as he imagined how that tongue would feel, rasping over his skin. Especially with his super sensitive nerves.

"You are mine." Grimmjow growled against his lips. A hand snaked up under the hem of his shirt and caressed it's way across his chest, tracing his abs. With a jerk of Grimmjow's wrist, the remains of Xander's shirt were gone.

"This is mine." The hand splayed across his stomach, scorching his sensitive skin. Xander made a needy little whimpering noise when their wet chests glided together without any obstruction. That incredible hand traced across the over stimulated skin that had regrown along his side, making him shiver and pant into Grimmjow's mouth. The arrancar rumbled his satisfaction in what could only be described as a pleased purr.

Xander's hand was in Grimmjow's hair. He had no idea when that had happened, but as he tightened his grip and tugged his panther closer by his blue hair and reattached their lips, Xander decided it was the perfect place for a hand to live. Which got him thinking of the caresses on his hip and where their other hands could have gotten to. When he found his, it had crept it's way down to Grimmjow's waist and was heading south fast. It jerked up to clutch at Grimmjow's back for balance as Xander's pants suddenly went missing. Ah, that's what Grimmjow's other hand had been doing.

"This is all mine. No one else's." He shivered at the possessive words demanding his submission as warm water sluiced over him, his body bare except for his drenched boxers, which were molded to his heated skin. Grimmjow abandoned his mouth and began licking and nipping his way down Xander's neck as his hands traced the elastic hem of his boxers. Xander felt those fingers begin to slide under the elastic and his breath caught.

"Grimmjow!" And that was the exact moment when Szayel knocked impatiently on the bathroom door. He had chosen the worst possible time to finally work up his nerve.

Xander sighed and pushed at Grimmjow's chest as he ignored the Octava and continued doing things that melted Xander's insides. He reached down and grabbed Grimmjow's hands to stop him. "If he tells Aizen we were stalling.." Grimmjow growled ferally against Xander's throat, making him shiver. The growl trailed off into a pleased rumble as Grimmjow gave one long, slow rasp of his tongue up Xander's neck and behind his ear, earning a whimper. "Not fair. It's not MY fault his timing is terrible."

The rest of their shower went much faster without distractions, although there was still a lot of quick groping and Grimmjow had watched appreciatively as Xander took off his boxers. Xander wasn't even allowed to wash his own hair and body. Oh no, he'd had to endure Grimmjow's wicked hands all slippery with soap and caressing him everywhere. The cat definitely got the better end of that deal, since he hadn't allowed Xander to return the attention and he'd left the one part that really needed some love for Xander to do himself. He decided that he officially hated the color pink and cats were terrible teases. Although, it could probably be argued that this was karmic revenge for all the times he'd left Grimmjow high and dry without any satisfaction. Goddamn, karma.

-/-/-/-\-\-\-

"Really, I have much more important things to do than wait on you hand and foot." Szayel complained as Xander sat himself on the metal operating table again. Szayel had brought him an extra uniform that had a similar style to Grimmjow's, meaning it left his entire chest, stomach and lower back exposed. Xander had refused to wear it, until Yllfordt had offered one of his extra jackets. It had a wide collar that tended to gape open, revealing a large bit of his chest, but at least the bottom hem covered everything else. He didn't want any weird breezes and didn't know how Grimmjow could stand it.

Maybe it was his high body temperature. Xander could testify to the incredible amount of raw heat the arrancar radiated. It made for a luxurious sleeping partner. Come to think of it, he didn't think he'd be telling anyone that little fact. They'd want his panther, and that just wasn't allowed to happen. They'd have to find their own, this one was taken.

Xander hadn't known at the time that Szayel was the one who designed the uniforms, but he'd been made aware on the long walk to the mad scientist's labs. Szayel was a flamboyant narcissist and had taken offense to being required to track them down and deliver his clothing. He felt that they should have arrived in his lab on his schedule rather than their own. Rejecting his choices was apparently the highest of offenses. It was more believable than ever that he was Yllfordt's younger brother when Xander took into account the fact that he never shut up.

He was so glad that this was the arrancar in charge of figuring out what was wrong with him. He was just brimming with confidence about the whole thing. At least Grimmjow was here and could intimidate the drama queen science geek into treating him properly and not just dissecting him. The glint he caught in pinky's eyes suggested that it would have been his preferred method of investigation. Again, Xander just felt himself overflowing with confidence in this guy's abilities and sanity.

It began slowly, with Szayel's glowing hands held over his head and heart like he was some kind of faith healer. After long minutes, and several death glares when Xander decided to fidget, Szayel made a noncommittal noise of contemplation, as if he'd found something interesting and reached for what turned out to be a scanning device that beeped, chirped and whistled at Xander as it was run over his body. He had no idea if that was a good or bad sign.

The next thing that Szayel picked up was a fingerless glove. Xander stared at it in confusion as the arrancar pulled it on. "What is that?"

"Hmm. Oh, I'm so glad you asked." Szayel admired the glove in a way that reminded Xander of Cordelia showing off her latest manicure. "This is a device called a Gokon Tekko. Aizen-sama had mentioned in passing that the Shinigami Research and Development Institute had created them, and I decided to make my own. It really is quite an ingenious creation, mine of course is far superior to that created in Seireitei."

"He want's to know what the fuck it does, you big pink fairy." Grimmjow growled from where he was propping up the wall and scrutinizing Szayel's every move for hints of aggression. His glare told a gruesome story about what the consequences would be if the glove was in any way harmful. His concern warmed Xander's heart. Grimmjow had started acting adorably overprotective since he'd decided Xander was his. It was more care than anyone had ever shown him and he loved every minute of it.

"It's quite simple. The glove is designed to separate a soul from it's body. It would force a shinigami out of their gigai or a plus soul out of their mortal shell. The fastest way to discover the state of his soul is to view it directly." Szayel put his glove covered palm against Xander's forehead and shoved.

For an instant Xander just saw Szayel's forearm disappearing into his head and a strange internal pressure, but then something released and there was a rushing sensation and intense sensation of vertigo. He thought for a moment he was in two places at once, but he was quickly drawn back into his body and everything stabilized. He heard the jingle of chains and a strange cold feeling inside, like something was missing and he'd been hollowed out. With a bizarre pull against his skull, Szayel slowly withdrew his hand. His eyes were focused behind Xander, wide with surprise.

There was an ominous silence while Xander waited for someone to say something. Grimmjow and Szayel just stared behind him in shock, neither moving. Grimmjow looked horrified and Szayel shifted his glasses and laughed in a way that grated on Xander's raw nerves. "Now this is interesting. I've never seen anything like it."

He finally turned to Xander, grabbing one of the human's hands and bending the fingers one at a time and pinching his palm. "How do you feel? Is there any pain? Can you sense and control your extremities?"

"A little cold, kinda freaked out." He answered honestly, obediently flexing his fingers against Szayel's hand. "What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong per se, it's just a fascinating occurrence. You recall that I told you I was going to separate your soul and your body, yes?" Xander nodded slowly, not sure if he wanted to be agreeing. "The way the glove works it leaves the body empty and motionless while the soul retains consciousness. That is obviously not what occured. Aizen-sama will have to be informed about this."

With one last lingering look behind Xander, he hurried out to find Aizen.

Xander was afraid to turn around, he felt like the victim in a horror movie. The hair on the back of his neck prickled with the knowledge that there was something terrible behind him. This was his soul they were talking about. He didn't want something to be wrong with it, with him. "Grimmjow?" He called, his voice wavering uncertainly, he didn't know what was going on. Shocked blue eyes met his and he felt his stomach drop at the horror he could see there. His morbid curiosity and years as a Scooby created a terrible and undeniable need in him to know exactly how bad things were and he turned slowly to see. "What's.."

In a flash of speed, Grimmjow was standing in front of him, between his legs and holding his face, preventing him from looking. "Don't."

Xander felt himself begin to tremble. What was wrong? Grimmjow was scaring him. To his dismay he felt tears beginning to prick at the back of his eyes. "Grimmjow?"

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A/N:

Hakama - the pleated, puffy pant things the shinigami/arrancar wear

This was my first ever smexy scene. I hope it wasn't awful. A friend of mine once said that the reason I never wrote sex was b/c I didn't have the guts, and she was probably right. It was horribly embarrassing writing this, but also an incredibly guilty pleasure. I think it turned out alright. I have a very smutty mind, I just had to figure out how to let it flow into my story.

All of your, "This is awesome PLEEZE write more" reviews have actually inspired me. Keep them coming and I may remember to write the next bit sometime soon. After all, I think this is the most evil cliffhanger I've ever written... I'm sure you're grateful.

Distribution: FFN (Lightning_Skies), Twisting the Hellmouth (LightningSkies)
Author has given no other permissions.
5,441 Words - 02/18/11