Chapter Seven

Depths of Frozen Hearts

As soon as Ichigo entered Soul Society, though a wave of something washed over him and he collapsed to the sound of panicked voices. He felt Grimmjow's strong arms catching him, and he knew that he was going to be safe, even if he was passing out. He heard Tōshirō's voice keenly around him. He felt weird as the world blanked out around him, and he thought that there were so many good smells.

He woke sometime later looking up at the ceiling of the fourth division. He grabbed the sheet and tossed it off immediately, startling Isane who was standing at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, you're awake, Ichigo-san!" she said. "Are you too warm?"

"Burning up, why's it so hot in here," he muttered, rubbing his temples.

"It isn't hot, Ichigo-san, why…oh dear…" she muttered and left.

Ichigo frowned and sat up. What was happening, he wondered, loosening his Shihakuso. He found it interesting; now that his reiatsu was back to normal, his Shihakuso had altered to include a place for his tail. It had also turned into a lot more slender and form fitting version. And now he realized the material was thinner, and as he watched it was turning a strange silver color. He stared and looked up as Unohana came in.

"Unohana-taichou?" he asked. "What…what's happening…"

"Oh, as we thought," she said, coming over to scan him with her kido. "Your entrance into Soul Society triggered a heat."

"A what?" he asked, frowning, wiping sweat off his head. "What does that mean? I mean, I'm hot, and feel weird, and my Shihakuso is changing for some reason…"

"The animal side is trying to attract a mate," she said simply and Ichigo looked at her and blinked.

"What?"

Grimmjow, who was leaning against the wall shook his head. "I don't know how this is possible, but he smells like what she would do to force me to rut, but this time it isn't as strong, and for some reason it doesn't seem to be affecting me. I don't understand why this would happen when he came into Soul Society…unless…" Grimmjow's voice trailed off.

"I'm afraid this might be a problem if you attract any spiritual being. If we're lucky, you need a similar species to your own, which is complex, to say the least, but we'll…" she cut off as Renji came in with Rukia.

Immediately, Renji's eyes went wide and he looked woozy on his feet. Rukia reached up and grabbed him, looking at Unohana curiously.

"That answers that question," Unohana said with a sigh. "We may have a problem, contact the Sou-taichou, Isane…he needs to know immediately…."

Renji moved before Rukia could blink, moving up and grabbing Ichigo by the shoulders and staring at him. "What the hell…" he muttered.

"Ah, Renji!" Ichigo gasped and then shook his head. "Nope, not you!" he said and before anyone could move, Ichigo's knee shot up and cracked Renji right in the chin. Renji stumbled backward, looking dazed as Ichigo flipped backward off the bed and crouched against the wall next to Grimmjow. Grimmjow arched a brow and stared at Renji, waiting to see if he did anything again.

"Rukia, get Renji out of here, Isane, no males are to come in here at all, I want two female Shinigami on the door. The mating instinct is stronger than I would have liked. He's releasing pheromones, and there are certain males in Soul Society that will be hard pressed to keep away from him…" she said.

"I don't want a mate!" Ichigo said, sitting now on the floor and rocking back and forth. "I don't want that!"

Rukia had come back and looked at Unohana. She headed over to him. "Ichigo, come on, we understand…"

"I can't…I can't deny it, though…I have to…answer the instinct or it will tear me apart…but I don't want anyone to do that…" he said through tearful eyes. Grimmjow put an arm around him and Ichigo leaned into him with a sob.

Rukia looked up. "We can't keep him here, he'll cause problems all over your people. We can't just leave Grimmjow to roam about Soul Society, so we need a Shinigami and they need to be clear headed…" She looked at him. "Tōshirō, do you trust him?" she asked suddenly remembering that Tōshirō seemed to be the only male he'd actually been around that he didn't cringe away from or try to hit since everything had begun. The Captain of the tenth might be able to handle the situation.

She stood up and dashed out the door to find either the tenth's taichou or Matsumoto. It didn't take long, both were at the division and she convinced them they needed to come to the fourth to help figure out what to do. They'd need a captain level to keep Ichigo safe, and Ichigo definitely didn't trust Soi Fon, so that left Tōshirō. They made it back to find the place in chaos. Fights had broken out between Shinigami and the females were indeed trying to curb the problem.

Tōshirō went immediately to where he was crouched in the corner of the room cradled against Grimmjow's chest, sweating and shivering at the same time.

"Ichigo?" Tōshirō asked, kneeling and putting a hand out on the back of his neck. He looked up. He practically sobbed then and grabbed onto the captain. Tōshirō shook his head. "Damn it, Ichigo. I'm not your owner, remember?"

"I know, I know, but you're the only Shinigami I trust!" he said into his shoulder. "I can't trust anyone else, they don't know everything like you do, and then they're all trying to do…to…to…and I don't…please just help me keep them away, I can't go home, and now Soul Society isn't safe, I don't know what to do!"

Tōshirō sighed and sat down beside him for a minute until he calmed down. Grimmjow continued to hold an arm around Ichigo's shoulders. Rukia and Matsumoto looked at each other with knowing grins. There was a connection between them now, something that neither of them seemed able to identify and name. The connection between Grimmjow and Ichigo was different, but no matter how much Grimmjow wanted to help, he was still an Arrancar before anything else.

"Come on, you stay with me, and I doubt anyone will try anything," he said with a sigh, helping Ichigo to his feet and staring at his clothes.

"What's with the clothes?" Tōshirō asked with a deep frown.

Ichigo looked down and grimaced. "My Shihakuso! It changed again!"

"That's your Shihakuso?" he asked, looking it over.

The kusodo was pure white now, with a silver gray trim, and the sleeves were shorter, coming to rest above his elbows. The hakama were slimmer, almost as tight as trousers from the human world, though in the same silver-gray as the trim of the kusodo. His sandals were gone, as were his tabi, and his feet seemed to have changed more, the nails more catlike, and seemed to protrude when he stepped. And of course, there was a place that let his orange tail free.

"Yeah, no idea, changed earlier…" he muttered, looking at it.

Tōshirō rolled his eyes, and they all three headed out. Apparently, Grimmjow and Tōshirō's presence was enough to keep most the Shinigami away from him. Unohana watched as most of them seemed to come back to their senses once Tōshirō showed up.

"I think Ichigo's already picked his mate," she commented to Matsumoto.

"I think so too," the fuku-taichou answered with a smile.

As they walked back to the tenth, Ichigo clung to Tōshirō's hand like a lifeline. Grimmjow had taken up a position behind them to watch for anything from behind. Ichigo was scared that Kenpachi was going to show up looking for a fight again. Or Ikkaku, or someone like that. Tōshirō didn't seem bothered, though, simply heading his direction until Ichigo was yanked roughly to the side with a squeak. Tōshirō turned and saw a couple seated Shinigami from eleventh had yanked him away. Grimmjow was standing with his hands near his waist, but his Zanpakutō was gone, of course, having been confiscated by the captains so he was less of a threat. The Arrancar also wore a limiter band.

"What is this?" muttered one of Shinigami, pulling Ichigo against him.

"Looks like a little kitty got into the Serietei," the second said. Ichigo was helpless against them, his body refusing to respond.

"Hey!" Tōshirō said, glaring at them. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

The first, a tall blonde man, looked up. "Well, just look at him, he's so…pretty. And smells nice," he said, burying his head into Ichigo's neck and biting down. Ichigo yelped and tried to push him off, claws slicing through the fabric easily and drawing beads of blood across the skin.

Tōshirō's Hyōrinmaru lifted his head upward and Grimmjow let out a deep growl. Tōshirō held a hand toward Grimmjow to make sure he didn't move. The last thing he needed was Grimmjow to hurt someone and get locked up. "I suggest you let him go."

"Oh, Hitsugaya-taichou, you're much too inexperienced to know what to do with this little toy," the other, a broad dark-haired man said, who reached down and yanked hard on the tail. Ichigo's eyes went wide and he squirmed against them. "You should let us take care of him…"

The next thing Ichigo knew he was being pulled along in a flash step, holding onto Tōshirō for dear life, two partially frozen eleventh members behind them. He heard Grimmjow's deep laugher as he followed them in his own sonido. Tōshirō was muttering about oafish brutes from the eleventh, and having to make Matsumoto have a talk with Yachiru. Finally, they reached the tenth, and Tōshirō put Ichigo into his office and then went to handle the issue with Grimmjow being so restricted. He told Grimmjow to come with him so they could arrange something for Grimmjow to be able to walk around freely with Ichigo when Tōshirō wasn't able to be with him. He left strict orders that no one was to enter his office while he was gone. Of course, he underestimated the power of the allure he'd locked inside his office.

Ichigo sat down at the desk and looked through all the paperwork that Tōshirō had to put up with. He felt a little sorry that he had to do so much. He leaned back in the chair and proceeded to doze off again. The cat nap thing was annoying him, though. He'd never slept so much in his life. But his nap was short lived as he woke up feeling someone leaning over him, hands petting his hair and scratching the ears on top of his head. He hummed his appreciation, because it did feel good. Then his eyes opened and he was staring at a Shinigami he didn't know who was in the chair with him, knees planted on either side of his hips and elbows resting beside his head.

"Hello, there kitty," came the low voice of the dark eyed man. His hair was a wild black mess on top of his head, and his eyes a deep brownish black. Ichigo's breath caught as he stared.

"Who…who…are you?" he said.

"I'm one of Hitsugaya-taichou's aids. And I was dropping off some paperwork and found such a sweet morsel lying out in his chair. Goodness, does he even know what to do with you?" he asked, sitting back on Ichigo's legs and causing the chair to snap down to a sitting position. Ichigo stared as one of his hands traveled down his chest toward his obi. "I can take care of you, you know, make you feel less…hot."

Ichigo shook his head. "No, no, stop it," he said, pushing back on him, but he was incredibly weak ever since this heat thing started. He guessed it was to keep him from throwing all potential mates away. But it was annoying right now. "Get off!" he said, louder.

"I can't do that, look here," he said, and grabbed Ichigo's hand and pressed it against the hardness in his hakama. "You can't leave me to suffer, can you?"

Ichigo felt his vision blur and images rushed into him with a vengeance as every instance that Grimmjow had taken him and the men in the warehouse and he sobbed. "No, no, don't…you can't…" He began to fight him harder and the Shinigami over him backhanded him suddenly. Ichigo gasped and found his hands pinned to the top of the chair in a hard grip.

"Shut up, you can't deny it, you want this," he said, licking at his throat. Ichigo sobbed again.

"Tōshirō!" he said softly. "Please, Tōshirō…no, stop, stop, please, no!"

His head snapped aside again as this Shinigami slapped him hard. "The taichou is busy right now, he can't help you…and by the time…"

"Get. Out," came a very clear and cold voice from the doorway.

The man over him scrambled off Ichigo. Ichigo jumped out of the chair and scrambled to Tōshirō. He dropped to the floor behind him against the wall. Ichigo grabbed onto Tōshirō's hakama hem tightly, as though he was going to escape before he sent the man away. Grimmjow wasn't there.

"I said, get out," Tōshirō said, his voice tight and obviously annoyed. "I believe I said no one was to enter."

"I'm sorry, taichou, I just was bringing paperwork, and I didn't know there was anyone, and he was sleeping there and I don't know what happened… He…he enticed me somehow, it wasn't my fault!" he stammered, glaring at Ichigo, who was pressed against the wall beside the door with one hand tangled in the hem of Tōshirō's hakama still.

"Do not blame him for your inability to control yourself," Tōshirō said with a glare. "Yes, he is releasing pheromones that influence you, but that doesn't mean you get to jump him and rape him in the middle of my office!"

"But…but he…he…" he stammered, still frozen by the ice captain's gaze.

"He nothing. You came in here and he was asleep, you said so yourself. If you had left him like that, nothing would have occurred, would it? You're trying to tell me he indicated while sleeping he wanted you to molest him," he said calmly.

The Shinigami was obviously flustered and just stared at Ichigo, who still sat with his back to the wall. "Well, yes, I mean, no, but the smell was strong and obviously he wanted to…"

"Wanted to?" asked Tōshirō, white brow arching. "So he wanted to by crying and telling you to stop." It wasn't a question and the man's eyes dropped. "Get out of my office. And if I see you again, you will meet my Bankai full force. I suggest you put in for a transfer to a unit more in line with your personality, like the brutes at the eleventh."

The Shinigami was gone in a moment, the door slamming behind him. Ichigo let go of Tōshirō's hakama and buried his head in his hands as he leaned against his knees. He felt a hand on his back.

"I can't…I can't do this!" he sobbed and felt Tōshirō pull him against him. "I just…I just want to be normal again…before those guys in the warehouse…before that woman…before all this! I'm…I'm just nothing anymore, look at what I have become…"

Tōshirō pulled him up, wrapping one arm around his neck and tucking him down onto his lap swiftly, and running one hand over his head repeatedly. "How…how…I just…I…I don't know what to do. I'm so lonely and tired of being lonely, Tōshirō," he sobbed, his whole body shaking. "The warehouse, I didn't want to deal with it, and…and then…that woman what she made Grimmjow do… He…he…." A sob interrupted his words. "When he did that the first time, I hurt so much…how can it hurt that much? I don't want to feel like that again," he said, pulling Tōshirō's hakama with his hands into his face. "And now, I have to do that again? Because of what that Fullbringer did to me? I can't…it hurts to much, how can I do anything like that…I'd rather die than…"

Tōshirō pushed him up and turned his face to him suddenly, leaving Ichigo gasping in surprise. "No, don't say you'd rather die. Because that's not what happens here. You have the choice now. Those men in that warehouse, they didn't give you a choice. That horrid woman didn't give you a choice in anything, what she did to you, how she changed your body, and she intended to use you to his own ends without your choice. But now you do have a choice. Just now, you told him no. He should have listened to you. You told those two men earlier no, and you told Renji no. Because you have a choice about who can touch you, be near you, or love you even," he said, hands gripping the sides of his face firmly but not hard enough to even redden the skin.

"But…but I'm too weak, if you hadn't been there earlier, and just now…they would have…have…" Tōshirō shook his head.

"Renji stopped, right?" Tōshirō asked softly.

Ichigo nodded slowly. Renji had left after he told him no, he hadn't even really tried to touch him at all in a wrong way. "Ichigo, there are people who won't respect a person no matter what. And there are people like Renji who are perfectly capable of both respecting a person and controlling themselves. Do you think I've been immune?" he asked, head tilting.

Ichigo blinked. "But…you haven't said anything or done anything…or…"

"Of course not, Ichigo. Like Renji, I have control of myself. I am completely able to feel the same things as those others. And I feel the influence of the pheromones you release. But I respect your choices, Ichigo, and I know that if you desire a person you will tell them. And until this is over, I will stand beside you and keep those with no self-control off you and those that don't respect your right to say no," Tōshirō said with a soft smile. "In fact, that's what I was doing. Figuring out something with the Sou-Taichou about Grimmjow so he can serve as your guardian around here when I'm not available. I'll be here for you, and he will too."

"But I'm more of an animal…" Ichigo said, eyes starting to brim with tears again.

"No, you aren't an animal. You are a very powerful Shinigami that had a terrible thing happen to him and was turned into a hybrid of sorts. You have some animal traits, and you have human ones. It doesn't make you less at all. Just because you have those animal traits does not mean anyone gets to treat you like an animal," Tōshirō said, his hands still cupping Ichigo's face.

Ichigo's eyes overflowed then. "But who would want me if not for the animal?"

Tōshirō frowned, staring into the wide brown eyes with their strange vertical pupil. "What do you mean?"

"I'm damaged and a freak, and used already, why would anyone want me except because of the stupid animal calling them? They wouldn't want me if they knew what had happened, about the warehouse and how weak I was and let those men do that to me, and then that woman got to me because of it, and then how pitiful I've become…"

Ichigo's tirade was cut off by an extremely soft and cool pair of lips pressing gently against his own, shocking him into complete silence. Tōshirō pulled back after the gentle touch and Ichigo had to wonder if it had happened at all. He blinked owlishly at the ice captain.

"You can be such a fool, Ichigo Kurosaki," he said. "That had nothing to do with the animal. And everything to do with who you are. You are selfless and loyal to a fault. You are fearless and brave to a foolish extent. You don't care where people come from, what their past is, you judge people based on who is right in front of you and you refuse to back down from what you believe in. Even in the face of what happened, you were worried about your sisters and father, and how it would affect those around you so much that you came to Soul Society to protect them. No, you are a good soul, Ichigo. A very good soul. And that is all there is to it."

Ichigo stared at him a moment longer, brown eyes locked on those unearthly teal eyes. Then he leaned forward and pressed his own lips against Tōshirō's. This time Tōshirō's tongue flicked out and surprised him, and scared him a bit, but he parted his lips a little and Tōshirō took the opportunity, sliding his tongue into his mouth gently, with no aggression. Ichigo responded by touching against his tongue with his own and then found himself leaning back against the wall as Tōshirō moved forward, pressing him against the wall fully. And this time it didn't feel scary, it felt okay. It was gentle and exploring, and he melted into the hands of the captain.

A knock startled both of them and Tōshirō stood up, brushing a hand over his Shihakuso to straighten it. Ichigo sat where he was, face flushed and nearly panting. The heat was boiling over inside him now. Unlike the other times when he'd been touched, this time he was growing aroused and hot all over.

"Taichou?" came Rangiku's voice.

"What is it, Matsumoto?" he asked, opening the door. Ichigo was hidden by the door.

"Is Ichigo still with you?" she asked, glancing in the room.

"Of course, where else would he be?" he asked, annoyed with his fuku-taichou.

She arched a brow at him. "Um, I got a transfer request from…"

"Approve it."

"What happened?" she asked.

Tōshirō sighed. "He couldn't understand a simple order to stay out of my office and took it upon himself to try and take advantage of Ichigo in his current situation."

"Oh," she said. "Right away then, I'll have him out before the hour is up, Taichou."

She turned and left, saving the smile until she was well down the hall from her taichou's office. She hadn't missed the fact that his sash was crooked, or his lips were puffy. Obviously, he was finally figuring things out for himself.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The Sou-Taichou stared at Grimmjow and for a few minutes, the Arrancar was afraid that this very old, very stern looking Shinigami was going to send him back to Hueco Mundo again.

"Hitsugaya-taichou vouches for you in this instance and despite my hesitation, I will allow you freedom within the Serietei only. I understand the problem with Kurosaki, and since you seem to be immune to this strange pheromone that he is emitting, you will be the optimal choice to serve as a guardian to him. I will, however, revoke your privileges if you step out of line."

"I understand," Grimmjow said and nodded to the head captain. Around him, the other captains besides Tōshirō had gathered to listen.

"Sir, this is unprecedented, and I am afraid…" Kurotsuchi-taichou began.

"I have made my choice. Your request to take Kurosaki to examine him for experimentation purposes is denied. Ichigo Kurosaki is no to be used in such a fashion. He is to be protected. I want the second division on high alert. Please, Kurotsuchi-taichou, you need to be on alert for this Fullbringer in the case that she or the other one tries to cross into Soul Society," the Sou-Taichou said with a decisive nod.

Kurotsuchi looked at Grimmjow. "Come along, I'll adjust the monitoring band so that you can move freely within the confines of the Seireitei."

From the shadows, Fumiki smiled. She wasn't going to cross the Dangai, she already had. It had been surprisingly easy to walk through by altering the environment around her at the chemical level to hide her. These Shinigami were not nearly as smart as they believed they were. However, she was going to observe her suject for a while. This perhaps was the best-case scenario for her. She could watch the mating process and perhaps the implantation would occur. Then, once the child was born, she would take it and escape back to a hiding place between the worlds. Yes, that would be ideal.

She knew that the last implantation had succeeded, though. She had seen the scans as the spiritual energies began to form. She had no idea why the subject was still in heat if the implantation had been successful. Unless she had not anticipated the strength of the need to bond. Grimmjow wasn't the one the subject bonded with. She smiled. Of course, the subject had already chosen a mate before she acquired him, and the forced bonding didn't take because there was an existing bond. That was a brilliant thought, and now she understood. She was curious then what would happen to the implanted offspring already present. Would only one be born, or would a second implantation occur? Or would the fact that the subject was still in heat mean that like felines, his offspring could have multiple fathers. She believed that just might be the case…