Disclaimer: The bleach boys belong to Tite Kubo, I've just been a naughty girl and tempted them away for a little bit of fun.
Warnings: Blood, vampires, wereanimals, violence, dub-con, angst, and yaoi (m/m) scenes of an explicit nature.
Summary: Ichigo learns something about what it means to be other than a Reaper, Hunter, or Hollow. New introductions, and a few more questions are answered.
A/N: I'd just like to clear a little something up. Someone has asked a few questions that I can't answer through private messaging, but I was wondering if anyone else was feeling a little confused about these issues as well. I will therefore (hopefully) clarify in my public reply to Doomy-Chan on ff;
This IS a Grimmjow/Ichigo/Ulquiorra threesome fic. There is an established pairing between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra at the beginning, which will eventually lead to the inclusion of Ichigo, not just into their 'clan' but the sexual relationship as well. I am aware of how semi-stilted and boring the smut scene between Grimm and Ulqui came across, but that was entirely intentional.
As to the alpha and beta thing... I don't remember this particular fic having that theme, though I'm working (very slowly) on a one-shot that does. Starrk is Alpha as it's a common term for leader of the Pack.
Also, the huge gap between published and update dates is due to several factors, which unfortunately led to my being unable to post for around four months. I moved house over Christmas, spent a good deal of time bouncing between my sister's (net access available) and my son's nan's house (no net). I moved into a new build, which had no internet for ages. We had a construction site instead of a road out the front for six weeks, and in some cases we still don't exist on company computer systems! Added to this we have a special needs child in the house who FINALLY got shifted out of mainstream school. It's all been very frustrating and time consuming.
I'm back online now, and striving to meet a Wednesday update target every week, and hopeful that it will continue that way until this fic is complete.
Thank you so much for your review. I do appreciate each and every one, and the more detailed the better as I've mentioned to a few reviewers before; it helps me know what works and what doesn't when people tell me what they really think. And just as a general thing, I like constructive criticism. Without it I'd be flying in the dark... without Ulqui's unique talent!
oOoOoOoOoOo
Ichimaru Gin made his way through the entrance tunnels to Szayel Aporro Ganz' underground facilities with the ease of one who'd helped design them. The uniform white walls twisted in some places and opened into forked junctions in others that could lead the unwary into pre-set, and vicious traps, or simply allow them to go around and around in circular patterns until the poor trespasser was dreadfully lost. In the eight years since the place had been completed Szayel had only acquired one experiment from the process, but Gin enjoyed toying with the controls that allowed the walls to move around, making the already difficult to manoeuvre passages even more so.
There was a method to the madness, however, just like with a maze the tunnels could be navigated no matter how impossible it appeared, but he wasn't giving that information away to just anyone. Not even the sexta, who followed him now with the Reaper-Hollow hybrid.
Finding the pair of them waiting at one of Szayel's many observation towers had been a welcome surprise, and one that Szayel was going to find extremely interesting. Gin's smirk widened. It was going to be fun to see how the introduction went between them, considering Grimmjow's over protective behaviour the night before. Gin himself might like to be the cause of others squirming uncomfortably, but Szayel tended to forget his own humanity altogether, lost as he usually was in his scientific mind.
It gave people the creeps, much like Gin's smile tended to do, and with good reason.
Almost humming to himself, Gin stepped into the section of tunnels which never changed, quickly switching direction and heading toward the main laboratory where Szayel spent most of his days, and a goodly portion of his nights. They both suffered from ghastly bouts of insomnia, though for completely different reasons, and Gin had idled away many a night in the vaguely antiseptic-smelling room watching as the pink haired Hollow mixed chemicals or took notes on whatever held his fancy at the time.
A small Hollow resembling an egg on spindly insect legs waddled past with a low squeaking sound, multiple sets of eyes looking around in all directions, and completely independent from one another. It cast a curious gaze at the two strangers trailing the ex-Reaper, and spared three eyes for Gin himself, but didn't pause in it's journey. Probably best not to interrupt one of Szayel's minions (a term only Gin used to describe the bumbling creations Szayel called his Fraccion) there'd be plenty of time for that sort of amusement later.
The heavy tread of the newest member of Ulquiorra's clan, combined with the purple bruising under the boy's eyes, said he'd not slept since last they met. Gin couldn't help but wonder why that might be, though he had a few ideas.
Kurosaki Isshin, though Gin'd spent several months observing the man's wife and children, was a relatively unknown element. What Gin remembered was not particularly flattering even when you took into account the fact he'd seen right through that ridiculous act to the intelligence behind it. The man cared for his children, and he'd loved his wife, but other than dedicating his time to perfecting his performance he wasn't interesting in the slightest.
Urahara was another matter entirely and one Gin was all too familiar with. The other ex-Reaper had fled Seireitei once Aizen had laid the blame for his own early experiments to create hybrids at the man's feet. Urahara hadn't even attempted to fight against the accusations thrown his way. But Gin was not fooled; Urahara wasn't a coward, and hadn't run from the possibility of a fight. The verifiable genius had been playing for time, and just hadn't cared how guilty it made him look.
Urahara Kisuke was dangerous, and crafty, and just the kind of man Gin admired. Just like Aizen.
Gin had been at Aizen's side since he was first brought into the ranks of Seireitei's armed forces, otherwise known as the Reapers. The Reapers had been split into thirteen squads, which were each commanded by a Captain, and the Captains were the most powerful, and capable of the Reapers, lead by Yamomoto himself, who was so old no one could remember exactly when he'd become Head Captain, but neither did they question it.
Until Aizen.
Aizen was ambitious. He didn't just want to control Seireitei, he wanted to rule the entire world, and his attempts to find the knowledge to do just that was what had led him to the discovery that they all descended from one human bloodline. The rest, as they say, was history. Gin had been a child genius, outdoing his predecessor with little effort. Unfortunately his intelligence seemed to come at the price of friendship. It wasn't that Gin was lonely, but he wanted to be respected, and he couldn't understand why people hated him so much.
That was when Gin started people-watching with a vengence, a hobby that had coloured many a dull day, and kept him endlessly amused.
Aizen had accepted Gin just as he was, and had offered his guidance to the young Reaper as he learned the ins and outs of his duties. Gin had appreciated it, and followed the other into exile several years later alongside Tosen a fellow Captain because he'd believed in Aizen's cause, though perhaps not for the same reasons as one might expect. Tosen had been all about the injustices in the world that needed to be corrected, the way Aizen was about becoming a god, and ruling everyone. Gin had merely followed the interesting developments with child-like enthusiasm.
Ulquiorra had been an unexpected acquisition, one of the earlier recruits to Aizen's army, and devoted to the would be god in a way that bordered on fanatical. It had been deliberate on Aizen's part to bring the vampire close and to encourage the rivalry that developed between both Gin and Ulquiorra.
Gin wasn't truly the jealous type, and didn't mind sharing Aizen's attention, but what was the harm in playing to the tune of a man who'd taken him under his wing, and shown him the only real affection Gin had ever known? It wasn't that Ulquiorra was emotionless either so much as he constantly controlled himself, which had fascinated Gin no end. Well, fascinated was one way of describing that terrible urge to poke the vampire until he let slip some of the emotion he'd rather pretend he didn't have, and if it entertained Aizen at the same time? Bonus.
Ulquiorra had been annoyed, and his pet werepanther had stalked around the place growling and flashing fangs at everyone because of it, but it had been worth it to see the gleam of amusement in Aizen's expression whenever one of their little spats resulted in subdued mayhem.
It was very likely that the information Gin had fed Ichigo the night before had sent the boy back to town and straight into a confrontation with one, if not both of the ex-Reapers living there. If so, it would explain both his and Grimmjow's presence here in Szayel's territory, as Gin had deliberately given his offer of help just in case his prediction of Urahara's willingness to stand up and fight came to pass.
"Here ya go!" Gin spoke happily as he swung the Lab door open, though he kept his tone light and respectful. The fun was only just about to begin.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Ichigo was swaying on his feet by the time Gin finally paused before a set of double doors. He turned to them with a bright smile that nevertheless sent cold shivers throughout Ichigo's body. They'd arrived at long last, but exactly why they were there Grimmjow had yet to explain, other than the need to meet with the Hollows' only real scientific mind. Or so Ichigo'd been told. What exactly the man might be more precisely which type of Nightbeast he was had yet to be disclosed.
It was all too much for Ichigo's tired mind to take in, or decipher, and as the door opened with a flourish, Ichigo's sight turned grey, and the world tilted sideways.
The last thing he was aware of was the feel of something catching him just before he hit the floor.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Maybe he should have demanded the kid took an hour or so to rest before heading into Szayel's territory, but Grimmjow was never one so sit idly by. Unfortunately he'd not taken into account how oddly fragile his newest clan-mate was, nor had he anticipated the fact that Ichigo wouldn't complain, and would in fact wait until he collapsed before admitting he needed to rest.
That kind of stubbornness was going to serve him well in the future if things descended into war as Grimmjow suspected they would. Right now it was more of a hindrance as Grimmjow didn't trust the combination of Szayel and Gin at his back for very long, and Ichigo's safety was now his primary concern. If Ulquiorra was here which he would have been had Grimmjow bothered to wait until the sun had set it wouldn't have been a problem. Luckily Grimmjow had some experience being one of only two trusted allies in a room full of potential enemies, thanks to long years of only himself and Ulquiorra to worry about.
He wasn't going to think about the time before that, and what he'd lost.
Having scooped the young man into his arms, and used his foot to keep the door open despite Gin's unobtrusive attempt to help him Grimmjow glanced around for somewhere safe to deposit his cargo. There were rows of shelving, and tables that looked something like the ones Aizen had once used. All shiny metal with removable restraints, and little drainage trays to collect the run-off, whatever that might be at the time.
The closest one was empty, dry, and unstained. Grimmjow eyed it's position, debating whether he could defend a prone figure on it for any length of time, and finally set Ichigo down. It wasn't very warm, and the craziest of madmen called this place his own, but Grimmjow figured it would do for the minute.
Then he turned to meet the golden gaze which had settled on him. The effeminate man had been speaking the entire time, but Grimmjow had taken no notice. Szayel Aporro Granz glared at him from behind white-rimmed glasses, his pink hair a colour natural only to flowers sliding forward to frame his face, and particularly the thinly-pressed lips.
"Is that a new specimen?" Szayel asked indifferently.
Grimmjow growled in annoyance, as the other sniffed in disdain at his behaviour. "No he fucking isn't. Ya must have some inklin' by now as ta who this is."
Szayel's lips twitched at the accusation, proving Grimmjow's words to be true. How exasperating that the man had to be contrary just for the sake of it? Szayel was almost as bad as Gin in that department.
"Is there a reason the hybrid's unconscious? Nerves? Some sort of disorder, or illness I might need to take a closer look at?" One delicate pink brow arched in question, just for a moment, and then Szayel turned around and stalked over to a line of glass vials. "I expect he's at least partially dehydrated, from the looks of him, and probably exhausted himself with all this."
"Maybe," Grimmjow conceded, aware that Szayel might be a strange individual who'd stab just about anyone in the back to get what he wanted, but he was a damned fine doctor. When he kept to healing and didn't go altering anything just for his own entertainment.
"This is basically a stimulant," Szayel informed a frowning Grimmjow as he held out a pink and blue pill alongside a vial of yellowish liquid, "The substance in here will rehydrate him roughly four times as efficiently as water alone."
"I'm not giving him some weird concoction you've created, I remember how ill ya made me when I had my arm reattached!"
"That was a perfectly understandable mistake, considering I'd never operated on a werepanther before. I wasn't to know you'd have an adverse reaction to that anaesthetic," Szayel retorted with a light huff of irritation.
"Yeah, and you don't know how that stuff is going to mess with his biology, either!" Grimmjow lowered his voice into an annoyed, accusing growl, warning him to shut up.
"Well, I guess we's gotta wait a li'l while ta talk wit Ichi," Gin interrupted, before things could escalate any further.
Grimmjow redirected his attention to the silvery-haired ex Reaper. "Don't call 'im that, he doesn't like it."
"He's an underwhelming example of... well anything, isn't he?" Szayel pushed his glasses back up his nose, golden eyes roaming over Ichigo's vulnerable form with a speculative gleam. Either ignoring or not caring how insensitive he sounded. "Are you quite sure he's what you thought he was?" That last was directed at Gin, who nodded and grinned wider.
"Aizen was sure a it, an' tha' a stronger Reaper woulda had an even more powerful result," Gin moved between the table and Szayel, effectively acting as a buffer between the other two men.
"The Reapers aren't trainin' him right," Grimmjow interjected, still bitter over that fact. Everyone should have the chance to learn important skills like self-preservation. That Ichigo had been left so unguarded, and ignorant stank of intentional neglect.
"I assume you planned to use the facilities on the next level?" At Grimmjow's nod the pink-haired scientist tutted, gaze dropping to the vial he was twiddling with in his hand. "Considering what little I was able to piece together using Aizen's cryptic notes, and what he let slip during those years he was working with us, Ichigo has almost unlimited potential. I'm just not convinced he'll be able to tap into that power if he's so cut off from it as to pass out like this."
"He had a rough night," Grimmjow defended, slightly confused as his rational mind locked on to that thought. "I've felt the strength of his reiatsu and I'd have said he could easily take Starrk, if he knew how to fight."
"Which is all well and good, but without understanding how to use his potential he's like a baby throwing it's weight around, only he'd capable of levelling the building over our heads."
oOoOoOoOoOo
Ichigo woke to the sound of voices. Grimmjow's was strangely familiar, and a pleasant surprise after the past week of waking to the memory of his eyes and often Ulquiorra's as well but finding himself alone when the dream wore off.
Then his brain caught up with the conversation going on over his head. Something about his powers not being utilised to their full potential, and Grimmjow trying to stand up for him. Warmth suffused his cheeks at the protectiveness of Grimmjow's statement. Then Ichigo frowned at the next comment.
He -Ichigo- could fight Starrk on even footing? Beat him even? How? The werewolf was so insanely powerful he'd made Ichigo feel like a weakling when they'd first met.
Before Ichigo could fully comprehend that idea, a condescending tone cut the air, deriding Ichigo's abilities and basically calling him a hazard to everyone around him. Bristling at the insult, Ichigo turned his head and squinted against the bright light at the source of that voice. He blinked, temporarily stunned stupid. Surely not. Pink? What kind of man wanted to be seen with pink hair?
There was movement to the side, and Ichigo turned to look up at Grimmjow, who somehow managed to give the impression he was watching everyone in the room at once. Feeling strangely calm with the werepanther so close to him, Ichigo closed his eyes again, and suppressed a groan as he remembered why he was laying down in the middle of this conversation. How embarrassing! He'd passed out like a freaking girl.
"When was the last time you ate?"
Ichigo sat up, legs dangling off the autopsy table he was occupying. It was hard to think about things like food, but he met that strange golden gaze with determination. Maybe he hadn't given the best impression of his worth and abilities, but he'd be damned if he acted any more the damsel in distress.
"Sometime around dawn, but it was only a cup of tea and a biscuit, before that was yesterday afternoon; late lunch," Ichigo shrugged. He should have thought of that. So much for being a doctor's intern, he couldn't even look after himself.
"Gin?" The pink-haired Hollow made the ex-Reaper's name sound like a question, and Ichigo watched as Gin nodded and disappeared through a set of swinging doors. "While he goes to find something suitable to restore you, do you mind if I examine you?"
Grimmjow growled, the sound all animal. Ichigo held up a hand to stall the warning he could practically feel coming, and shook his head. "No need, I'm fine. I was stupid to forget to eat when I haven't slept in so long. I'll be fine once I've had a chance to lay down."
"Very well," the man huffed, "I'm Szayel Aporro Granz." There was no offer of a hand shake.
"Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Might I enquire why you've both dropped in on me so unexpectedly? I was in the middle of an experiment," Szayel informed them drily.
"Yeah, there's another war on the horizon," Grimmjow stated with enthusiasm. Ichigo frowned over one shoulder at him, then slid off the autopsy table. Not only was it cold, it was giving him the creeps.
"Would that be an actual war, or just the Reapers trying to pick up where they left off last time?" Szayel's tone implied that either way he was going to be put out.
"It's only a matter of time before they realise what I am," Ichigo was resigned to this fact, though he didn't have to like it.
"I'm not so sure they don't already. If they're refusing to properly train you, and kept you under quarantine, it's only logical to assume they see you as dangerous and haven't yet decided what to do with you," Szayel pushed his glasses up his nose, and stared at Ichigo. The look made the Hunter extremely uncomfortable.
Gin chose that moment to return carrying a steaming plastic pot of convenience-store Ramen and a can of chilled green tea. Food had arrived.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Wow," Ichigo glanced around with wide eyes. They were on the second subterranean level of Szayel's underground facility, Gin leading the way as they entered a huge space he'd been assured was designed to withstand Espada training. Though there was some doubt as to whether it would manage someone as powerful as Stark if he chose to really let rip.
The walls were made of some sort of metal compound, with removable panelling, so it would be easier to replace damaged sections. There were varying types of equipment which could be moved into the room, too, but they weren't here to play with reinforced punching bags. Grimmjow wanted to fight using swords.
Which made no sense, unless Grimmjow was going to have him face off against Gin.
Maybe Grimmjow was counting on his armour in his werepanther form to protect him from Zangetsu's keen edge, but Ichigo was not so convinced.
"Get your sword out," Grimmjow ordered.
Ichigo frowned, glanced around, and then at Grimmjow only to see the werepanther grinning insanely, and casually holding a slender sword in one hand. Gaping, he was nearly too slow to duck out of the way when Grimmjow then took a swipe at him.
"Oi! You could have cut my head off!" Ichigo spluttered indignantly.
"So stop stalling and get serious already," Grimmjow grumbled, again attacking without warning.
Having been in enough mock fights with Urahara to recognise that Grimmjow did actually know what he was doing and that this was barely even a warm-up Ichigo summoned Zangetsu. The two swords clashed with an arm-jarring jolt, the sound ringing loudly in the air and echoing strangely from the metal walls. Ichigo ducked another blow and quickly took advantage of Grimmjow's slight overreaching. "How do you have a soul sword?"
"Che, yer an idiot if ya ain't worked that out yet, Kurosaki, and it's called a zanpakuto," Grimmjow's grin was nearly splitting his face in two as he gracefully stepped aside from another attack.
"Aizen was combining Hollow and Reaper, I get that, but I didn't know you could summon a zanpakuto" Ichigo stumbled over the word, then leapt backwards and barely got Zangetsu up in time to stop his arm being removed at the shoulder. It was almost as though Grimmjow was trying to kill him for real!
"Come on, Ichi," Grimmjow taunted, "Put some effort into it, yer not even tryin' ta fight me!"
"I am trying!"
"'Xcuse me?" Gin held up a hand but was ignored.
"Then damned well hit me," Grimmjow growled back in exasperation.
There was a sudden blast of reiatsu accompanied by a bright light. Both combatants stalled in their attacks as they threw up an arm to protect their eyes.
"What the fuck?"
"Gin, do that again and I'm kicking your ass!" Grimmjow snarled out almost simultaneously.
"S'okay, I jus' wanna say sumthin'," Gin walked closer, both hands hidden in the folds of his robe, eyes practically closed. "Urahara's not stupid, if he's been trainin' Ichigo, it's not technique ya gatta teach him, Grimm. Ya need to get him ta tap inta his Hollow side."
"You call that technique? He was slashing at me like a madman!" Ichigo grumbled, glaring at the pair of them.
"Ichigo," Gin waited until Ichigo met his gaze then drew a hand from the opposite sleeve, "Dodge this."
There was a vacuum, something only part of Ichigo's confused mind registered before he realised the man was fucking shooting at him! Another explosion of power, of the reiatsu that Ichigo had always thought of as a person's aura. The energy of all living things. It gathered in the palm of Gins hand so rapidly it made the air move, then Ichigo was suddenly aware of a release of some kind that sent that ball of faintly glowing power right at him.
There was no chance to dodge, and with it hurtling at him so fast he was stuck for ideas on how to counter it, but he didn't have the time to think about it, either. Ichigo managed to get his left arm up to guard his face, terrified that that thing was going to blow his head off the way he'd seen Urahara's spells decimate rock, only something strange happened when the edges of power met his own.
Ichigo could have sworn time slowed down, because he suddenly had all the time in the world to feel the two energies, his own aura, and Gin's created power-ball touch, press against each other and the slow build up in pressure. There was that same sense he'd had a few times when he'd taken a particularly strong blow to the head; slightly spacey, and not altogether there. As the pressure built he could vaguely hear a roaring sound, but he wasn't sure what it was, or why he cared with his too realistic possibility of death staring him in the eye.
No. There were people depending on him. Ichigo thought about his sisters, their faces so clear in his mind. His father, too. There was Chad, and Orihime who'd already been injured, and he'd been unable to help her. The entirety of Karakura Town needed someone to protect them, but who stood up for the Hollows? Who protected, not on merit of accident of birth, but intent? If he died here and now nothing would change. The Reapers would eventually kill his family, the Hollows would continue to fight in a war they couldn't win. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Starrk and his Pack, Gin and Szayel, they'd all eventually fall. Everything would be for nothing. Kurosaki Misaki would have died to keep the ignorance going.
Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't die and let everyone down, he felt it in the core of his being.
All of this happened in the time it took for the two powers to meet, and before the pressure burst and Gin's reiatsu-charged spell could push through his natural defences, Ichigo retaliated. He understood basic physics well enough to know that two apposing waves cancelled each other out, and that every action had an equal and opposite reaction. What he didn't think about, or calculate was the sheer amount of raw power he'd kept hidden inside of himself and from himself. That his aura had been suppressed so he could move around almost undetectable, he'd known, but it hadn't been something he'd done on purpose. Instinct had played it's part in that, too. Now it unfolded as everything he had access to pushed back against a spell that was never intended to do much of anything.
The resulting explosion scattered them around the room, loosened panels falling from the walls and power fizzling in cracks and over fabric like static electricity.