A/N: HAHA! I have done it! I was able to get my next chapter written and ready to go before it was too late to post it for this week. Enjoy, minna! =D
Long, sword-worn fingers drew over the gold emblem of the leather bound vellum paged book. A sword, obviously a Zanpakutou, through a rounded raised heart, nestled between two hands, one was Human, one was not. His beloved traced the dips and curves of the design with his fingertips, as if feeling every detail would impart the knowledge contained within such that he would not have to open the covers. His stomach clenched, and he reflexively swallowed. His piercing blue eyes locked on the symbols for the Four Worlds in his soulmate's hands. The blade was the Soul Society, the hands—Hell on the left and the Living World on the right, and in the middle of it all the desert of lost hearts—Hueco Mundo. There was more to this, he could feel it.
"Just open it already, Kitten." His voice broke through the other's reverie. He tried to be gentle, but the uncertainty in those now permanently gold eyes made him frown. "Ya got what ya wanted right? Old Books said that with Soul Society agreeing to the demands ya made about the half-Hollow rights and my—uh—yanno…" He trailed off, still not comfortable with officially holding the title of King of Hueco Mundo.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, Grimm. I just…" The prince trailed off too. His new powers were quickly becoming something worth fearing, the worlds were lining up to follow him, and he'd traveled to the Spirit Dimension to train for the Royal Trials. This book was supposed to help with that, but something told him that it would stand everything on its head again.
This was another side effect of the changes. They didn't need words to communicate anymore. Each other's thoughts seemed to just appear into their heads unbidden. Not words as such, but thoughts, ideas, feelings—carried across the space between them as though they were of one mind.
The orangette took a deep breath, and cracked the book. At first the pages were blank from where Grimmjow could see them. Then, as though brought about by their thoughts, words began to scrawl across the vellum.
The mood in the Central 46 was heavy and expectant. Two days prior, and exactly one month since the Ryoka boy from the Living World had demanded that the laws regarding the treatment and acceptance of what he called 'Half-Hollows' be changed, news from the Spirit Realm had thrown the gathered members into chaos. Such a state had not been seen in Soul Society since the murder of the previous Central 46 ten years prior. This meeting had been called because the same messenger from the Spirit Realm had informed Central's High Chancellor that an official envoy from the Royal Palace would arrive to announce the coronation of the new Imperial Prince. It was for this envoy that the 46 men and women who had been chosen to govern the day to day activities of the Soul Society waited.
The senate room had been rearranged to allow for the captains of the Gotei 13 and the heads of the noble houses so witness the announcement from either side of the door at the top of the stairs. The tables where the Central members gathered each day were moved into a U-shape, creating an open floor where a speaker could present his or her views without ever putting his or her back to any other member, but at the same time no one had their back to the door either. This was to prevent another massacre. It was a wonderful design because ordinarily not a single person was crowded in their seat—except for today.
As the tension grew to Menos sized proportions the doors opened at the top of the hall. The captain of the Royal Guard, flanked by two others equally as decorated, stepped inside and cleared his throat. When all eyes turned to him, Kuchiki Ginrei spoke, "Esteemed members of Central 46, Yamamoto-Sotaicho and revered Captains of the Gotei 13, cherished Lords and Ladies of the noble houses, it is my humblest honor to present, His Imperial Highness Kurosaki Ichigo."
The page cleared. "Well, that was interesting." Grimmjow's eyebrow twitched. That had been almost two weeks ago, and this was the first time the Prince had gathered the courage to actually open the book.
Ichigo paled. 'His Imperial Highness…' He swallowed—hard. "I—" His gold eyes wide and the fear growing as he met the blue-haired panther's gaze.
"Hey! Hey! Kitten, relax!" It must have just hit him. A month late, but the king of Hueco Mundo wasn't surprised. Being told he was next Spirit King was something that had to have thrown him for a loop. For Kami's sake, the kid was still technically only 27 in Human terms. Sure he'd done all of the things he'd done; save the Soul Society and the Living World too many times to mention; and single-handedly helped revolutionize how souls existed after death, but that didn't change the fact that he was still so young. Even Grimmjow had centuries on the kid.
The orangette was almost hyperventilating now. "I can't do this! I can't be the Soul King! I'm Human damnit! Grimm! I can't do this! I could barely protect my family as it was! Then the Visoreds and the Shinigami! And the Espada! How?! How can I protect everyone!? I'm just one person!" He was up and pacing.
"Kitten." The Consort tried to break through. "Kitten!" Another pass with flailing arms and shouted doubts. "KITTEN!"
"WHAT?!" Gold eyes whirled on him.
"Relax. Why don't we go visit your Pride? You always feel better with a few of your pets around." It bothered the panther a little bit that he wasn't enough to keep his King stable, but he accepted it as part of being mated to the most powerful being in the four worlds. If Ichigo was the type that could be kept healthy with one person, he wouldn't be Spirit King.
Long boned hands scrubbed over the orangette's face and he took a deep breath. "Alright. We can check on how they're settling in. I still don't like that they're spread out across the three worlds, but I guess there isn't much we can do about it."
"Hueco Mundo first then? Since Spider Legs and Lazy Ass should have Los Noches set up by now." At his King's nod, Grimmjow ripped open a Garganta.
The pair stepped into the throne room of Aizen's former base. They were impressive. Ichigo dressed in his royal livery, complete with gold circlet just under his bangs, and Grimmjow in similar fine silk hakama and ornate collar with turquoise gems. And their reiatsu was enough to flatten even the strongest of Hollows should they need to.
"Ah, Kurosaki-dono! Welcome to Los Noches!" the Primera approached them, looking more awake than usual.
Instantly Grimmjow's stomach sank because he knew something was wrong if the normally lazy Arrancar was alert. "What's wrong, Starrk?" He growled.
"We seem to be under attack." The brunette looked off to the side, uncomfortable that both his King and Emperor were here at just this moment.
To underline what he'd told them the walls groaned and shuddered as something exploded on the outer wall. Construction had redesigned the place to be more in the style of a traditional castle than the mutated laboratory it had been under Aizen. The outer most wall was connected by bridges to the central building, but most of what had been under false sky before was now open to the moonlight, which was the way Hollows preferred it.
Sighing Ichigo led the trio to the edge of the wall nearest to the explosion by way of one of the bridges. At the base of it a group of black clothed figures were launching kido at the white stone. The orangette twitched and his hands clenched the edge of the wall. His reiatsu rose without him saying anything and the rogue Shinigami below him froze, paralyzed by the feeling. They looked up as one into his smoldering glare. Just by himself, the Imperial Prince was intimidating, but at the moment he was flanked by the King and Viceroy of Hueco Mundo.
"I don't even care what you think you're doing. Don't move from that spot." His voice wasn't raised, but it carried down to the assaulting group anyway. He turned from the sight and began to walk back inside. "Starrk, get Ulquiorra. Grimm, we're going to Soul Society." The orders came naturally, the blunette noted, but his King didn't seem to notice.
The Primera was back with the Quatro in the blink of an eye, joining the King and Prince in the courtyard of the castle. Someone had brought the offending Shinigami, all nameless and without any symbols to indicate their division, inside the wall in kido handcuffs. Ichigo noted the efficiency, as all were without their Zanpakutous as well.
"Your Numeros is well trained, General." The orangette complimented when the emerald-eyed Arrancar approached the group.
He bowed deeply, "My humblest thanks, Denka." His uniform hadn't changed much, but across the front of his jacket now hung four lines of emeralds set in silver, matching Grimmjow's turquoise. He also wore cuffs of the same silver set with emeralds on his wrists. Both were symbols of his status as General of Hueco Mundo's army; yet another thing Aizen had abolished during his reign.
"How goes things with Orihime?" A small smile twitching the corner of the Prince's mouth.
Ulquiorra flushed as he straightened. "Very well, Denka. She has settled in well to her new chambers here. We both thank you for allowing us this chance. Aizen-sama was restrictive regarding emotional attachments."
Ichigo waved his hand dismissively. "Give her my love." Then he turned to Starrk. "Is the Senkaimon ready?"
The Primera was now dressed in his own status symbols. His coat resembled his release form, with grey fur on the collar and cuffs, but the front was lined with aquamarine stones instead of its regular buttons. He word tailored black pants and with the change in leadership had forgone forcing his Zanpakutou into katana form. It now hung in a pair of silver-decorated pistols at his hips, easy to draw and use in the same way as his release, but without having to sacrifice Lilinette for it. He bowed, "Yes, Denka."
"Good, when we return promise me you'll take some time and spend it with the cubs." The Prince seemed to know everything so the brunette simply nodded smiling.
Then they were in Soul Society, sending the members of Central into a tizzy and scaring the Stealth Force because they were unannounced; for some reason the Shinigami assumed that danger was around every corner when the Royals left the Spirit Dimension. Ichigo sighed as messengers scrambled almost faster than the Hell Butterflies. The look of disdain on his face almost broke Grimmjow's composure.
"Ulquiorra, take the prisoners to a holding cell at the Sixth. Byakuya will know why. Then you and he join us at the First. Starrk, please inform Central of the real reason for our visit. They will want to convene on the matter of the rogues. Grimm, go to Yama-jii and do the same. I will join you all after I check in on the Visoreds. If there are problems in Hueco Mundo, I'm sure there are problems here." The orangette rolled his eyes and moved off in a confident stride toward the first district of the Runkongai, where the Visoreds who chose to live in Soul Society had set up homes. He knew the others would do what he'd asked without needing to stick around to watch.
Grimmjow shook his head. He didn't like the idea of Ichigo going off alone, but if the show in Los Noches had been any indication, the doubts that plagued his beloved only existed in his own mind. As Starrk and Ulquiorra left on their missions, he took to the rooftops to avoid having to work his way through too many Shinigami. He may not strictly be a Hollow anymore, as Consort to the Imperial Prince, but the nitwits that didn't hold seats in the divisions didn't seem to fully grasp that idea. So the fewer to try his patience the better.
He dropped down to the ground again upon reaching the doors of the First. Drawing himself up to his full six and a half feet, and lashing his tail behind him, he glared down his sensitive nose at the doorman. "Tell yer boss the Prince wants ta see him." He should be more formal, but that would've required that he actually respect the trash that were most Shinigami, and the day he respected trash was the day he cut off his own tail and turned in his sword.
The worm scrambled away, and a few moments later the First's vice-captain arrive. "Grimmjow-sama." He bowed. "Right this way. Yamamoto-Sotaicho will be glad to meet with you."
He was led into the general's office, where the old man was working with some papers. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Grimmjow-Hidenka?" There was sarcasm skillfully woven into the old man's tone, but that was fine. The former Sexta didn't really care too much for the old man either.
"Some o' yer Shinigami were causin' trouble where they don't belong, Jiisan." The blunette used the same edge of sarcasm. "Wasn't their lucky day though. We happened ta be makin' a visit at the time that they were tryin' ta take down the wall. Figure if it weren't fer my Kitten bein' there you'd be down by about—oh, a dozen Shinigamis." He grinned, displaying his sharpened teeth in more of a threat than a smile.
"Bring the offenders to me and I will see to it that they are suitably punished for their actions. We do not wish to cause an inter-worldly incident." Yamamoto tried not to sigh. Many of the younger Shinigami, who had not participated in the fight against Aizen or the complicated clean up that had been the first several years after the dictator's fall, were over eager regarding purifying Hollows. And now, with the new laws regarding jurisdiction of where Hollows had to be in order for Shinigami to be allowed to purify them, many of the non-seated officers were champing at the bit, itching to kill regardless of the cost. It was something he'd been trying to curtail since the official announcement of Ichigo's coronation.
At that moment the door exploded off of its hinges. "YAMAMOTO!" Came the growled voice of the panther's beloved, and oh was he pissed.
"Kurosaki-Denka." The old man weathered the lashing waves of reiatsu that alternately burned, froze, stung, and pressed heavily against him.
"Why are Our Pride members living in squalor!?" He was using the Royal duplicity; it shot Grimmjow's eyebrows up into his bangs. Just how bad was it?
"The half-Hollows have been given the same treatment as any other soul not associated with the Shinigami." It grew harder for the old man to hold his eyes open against the Imperial reiatsu.
Visibly shaking, Ichigo closed his eyes, trying desperately to reign in his massive power before he killed someone. "We thought We made Ourselves perfectly clear, Sotaicho." He drew a deep breath, and his eyes lit up for a moment. "Come with Us, Yamamoto. Once again, We must address the Central 46." He stormed out of the First as violently as he entered, drawing the attention of the rest of the captains.
At the Central building, the aged members shivered in their seats as the storm of anger quickly approached them. Several whimpered unconsciously, and all froze, holding their breath, when the doors blew open to slam against the walls. He stood bathed in light and wind whipping around him borne of his unrestrained power. He stalked down the steps, Starrk, who had been refused entrance to the meeting chamber, on his left shoulder, and Grimmjow on his right. Ulquiorra was behind them both, having flashed to his Emperor's side the moment he'd felt the anger. After the foursome came the captains of the Gotei 13. Something major was going down, and not a single one of them want to miss it.
"High Chancellor, why are We forced to come here in person to have Our concerns addressed?" The orangette descended the stairs with the air of absolute control that most predators held. Even the heads of nobility had nothing on the way the Imperial Prince carried himself. The long-haired elder could do nothing but gape. So Ichigo waved him off, "Nevermind. We are here, and as such We will address it Ourselves. The Half-Hollows are still being treated abhorrently. Those living here in the Soul Society are living in abject poverty. Those in Hueco Mundo are being assaulted by rogue Shinigami out to make a name for themselves. Has this council lost its control on the Seireitei? Shall We appoint Our own representatives to ensure that Our wishes are carried out? Do We need to invoke Royal Privilege in this matter?" The anger burned under the surface, simmering just outside of painful, making all of his gathered targets squirm uncomfortably.
"K-Kurosaki-Denka! W-we don't know what you're referring to!" The High Chancellor panted. "We have given the half-Hollows here the same living conditions as any soul outside of Seireitei. As for the rogue group of Shinigami, I swear we knew nothing about it. Yamamoto-Sotaicho is in charge of controlling the Shinigami. We assume that if he doesn't make a report of it that everything is running smoothly! Honest!"
"That's bullshit!" The voice of the Sixth's vice-captain broke through the crowd. Apparently other Shinigami had followed their captains.
"Oh?" Ichigo turned to scan the crowd at the door for his friend.
The redhead pushed his way through to the front, most standing out of the way. The few who did not, Ulquiorra and Starrk, merely parted to allow Renji to stand alongside them. Gesturing vehemently to the council, he shouted, "They won't even give Hirako-Taicho and the others captain's quarters at their divisions! And the Sotaicho has reported dissent among the lower ranked Shinigami after every captains' meeting!"
Gold eyes swung back around and pinned the High Chancellor with a glare. The air tingled for a moment, and Grimmjow recognized the pulse of the special World Step that only Ichigo could perform. He stepped up to take his beloved's hand, as the baritone voice that had power over most of the Shinigami and all of the Espada spoke, "Fix it. You have one month, during which General Ulquiorra will remain here to aide Yamamoto-Sotaicho in dealing with the rogue Shinigami. When We return after that time, We expect the living conditions of the half-Hollows both here and in Hueco Mundo to have been improved, or We will take matters into Our own hands. Have We made Ourselves clear, High Chancellor?"
He didn't wait for an answer, merely Stepped them back to the Spirit Dimension, where he could let loose the built up reiatsu he'd been holding back. "ARGH!" He roared, the paintings of tranquil scenes hanging on the walls of their sitting room rattled, and in the doorway Ginrei merely blinked, having been aware immediately of their return. The stoic captain was unfazed by his temperamental Prince.
The blue-haired Consort flopped back into a pile of pillows that he'd arranged next to the fireplace with a huff. The trip hadn't been more than an hour or so including travel time, but he definitely could use a cat nap. Maybe it had something to do with being the primary buffer between the Royal Reiatsu and the rest of the universe, but he was bushed. He was pleased though. If his Kitten's pacing and aggravation was any indication, the nerves from before were gone.
"Heh." The blunette couldn't stop the sound of satisfaction from escaping his lips.
"And what has you so entertained over there?" The Prince whirled on him.
Cracking an eye he hadn't realized falling closed, cerulean sparkled up at Ichigo. "Just that ya were all worried about bein' able to handle bein' the King, an' yet, ya stepped up as soon as a problem showed up, handled the situation wi'out battin' an eyelash, an' settled ev'rything fairly I think."
The orangette's pacing was brought up short, and he looked shocked. "Heh. You're right." He rubbed the back of his head, and a smile spread the corners of his mouth. "I guess that's why you've always been the Consort, huh?"
Grimmjow shrugged. "I dunno. I can't remember mah past lives any more than ya can, but maybe." His eyes caught sight of the book again. "Think we should sit down and read a bit more? Maybe git some idea of what ya gotta face in the next month?"
"Yeah." Ichigo sighed, grabbed the book, and plopped down ungracefully into Grimmjow's lap. He leaned back against the strong feline with a contented smile. Then he hit his head on the jewels decorating the collar around the blunette's neck. He sat up and glared at it until a chuckle burbled out of the figure under him.
"I hate 'em too, but they won't let me leave the bathroom in the mornin' 'til I'm decked out like a trophy." The King of Hueco Mundo reached up and removed the complicated collar, revealing the toned planes of his chest.
The Prince nodded once and leaned back again, this time comfortably cradled by the warmth and security of the one person in four worlds who'd captured his heart. It didn't matter that it had taken ten years for them to be together, or that things were still up in the air, or that unspeakable troubles loomed on the horizon. All that mattered was the fact that evidently in all of Grimmjow's lifetimes, he had always been the one person to balance out the fiery orangette, to bring him peace and safety. So with those thoughts in mind, he cracked the book again. A small flare of gold light neither had noticed before flashed up from the pages, and words appeared for the pair to read:
"My dear Ichigo;
As this will be the last entry I have the power and energy to create, by the time you read this, I will have Faded completely. I'm sure the first thing you notice is that I am speaking to you one-on-one. In here, I am not the Spirit King, I am just a man who has walked this road before you. I cannot give you much, but I hope that these words will help you in the month to come..."
