Author's Note: Next chapter will be from Grimmjow's perspective and it's going to seriously suck. So just enjoy the sweetness! :)

Grimmjow's plan went off perfectly, although there were some details he hadn't mentioned to Shiro.

Primary among them was the need for a body to incinerate. Grimmjow took care of that in a direct and brutal fashion, by finding a hapless victim to murder then sneaking the body back to the whorehouse. Shiro only found out about it after the deed was done and he wasn't too happy.

"Damnit Grimm! I know I gotta get out of here but you just killed someone, just like that?" He demanded, his voice a painful rasp. Nel's work on him had given him a fever and a sore throat, but nothing she couldn't undo quickly. Grimmjow just looked at him, his eyes cold as a northern winter.

"Yeah, I did." He said gruffly and Shiro looked away. "Don't be so horrified. I didn't just pick some poor bastard off the street. I caught the fucker knifing a whore instead of paying her." He said roughly and Shiro looked up, startled. "No one'll miss him."

"…Oh." Shiro said quietly. He still didn't like it but he could see Grimmjow's point. They needed a body so he'd found someone he felt didn't deserve to be breathing. "Grimm…" Shiro leaned over to hug the overseer, burying his face in soft blue hair. "I love you." Despite the things you have to do. Grimmjow's arms went around him, tightening for a moment and Shiro thought he understood.

"I love you too. Now, it's time for you to get dressed." He said quietly and Shiro nodded, pulling himself out of bed with a wince. He had a foul headache, probably from the unnatural fever. "I'll get Nel." Shiro nodded again as Grimmjow left the room and he began pulling on his clothing. It was nothing like the things the slaves wore. Instead of a revealing loincloth or patched and darned winter clothing, this was heavy, serviceable pants with an ugly but new shirt and a thick, enveloping cloak.

Soon Nel joined them, her face pinched with worry as she worked to remove the fever she'd placed on him. Shiro winced as fresh pain went through his head. Nel's magic was abusing his body but he didn't complain. It was nothing compared to what would happen if he didn't escape.

"Shiro, this is a very bad way to use my magic." She said quietly. "There is a chance your body could turn against itself, giving you a kind of disease. Over the next few weeks try to stay warm and eat well. Meat and eggs are best, vegetables and fruit are fine. Beans are acceptable but bread should be avoided, it can make this sort of thing worse." Shiro frowned and nodded. Although…

"I'm going on a river boat, Nel. I might not have much choice." He pointed out and Nel nodded with a small sigh. "I'll do my best." The ship might have chickens for eggs. "Unh?" Shiro blinked as Grimmjow pressed a purse in his hands. It was oddly large and Shiro curiously opened it. "Grimm! How th' hell?" It wasn't a fortune but it was more money than the blue slave should have had. "I could get a horse with this!" He said, amazed.

"No. A horse would make you more attractive to bandits and if your description goes around people would be sure to think you've stolen it. Stick with the plan." Grimmjow said gruffly and Shiro frowned before tucking the purse away. The plan was for him to buy passage to the next Kingdom on a river boat. He wasn't a born slave so as soon as he was out of this place his status as a slave would effectively vanish. Even born slaves often tried that and if they weren't particularly valuable like Grimmjow, they could manage it. It would add more time to his trip home but it was safer. If Grimm's ruse was found out and he was still in this kingdom, well, he was very easy to spot.

"How'd you get this much money?" Shiro asked, worried. "You haven't been stealing from Aizen, have you?" He could only imagine what would happen to Grimm if the archmage found out about something like that.

"Oh fuck no! He'd give me to Yammy for a week." Grimmjow said with a scowl and Shiro winced at the thought. "If I weren't so special, he'd just have me killed. But I'm too valuable to be gutted. No… it's a bit of a dodge. You know how the customers sometimes give you jewelry?" He asked and Shiro nodded, remembering the gold and onyx bracelet. "If it's below a gold in value Aizen doesn't require me to sell it. The really cheap things I let the boys and girls have, but if it's something worth a few silver I sell it on my own and keep the money." Shiro frowned as Grimmjow gave him a tight smile. "I mostly use it as a slush fund for building repairs. Anything I spend money on goes against my earnings. I can't just stick money into the accounts or Aizen would know, but if I pretend the buildings fine and pay for it with that Aizen can't tell the difference." He shrugged then. "I'm sure he knows what I'm doing but he doesn't care." Shiro nodded. That made sense, it was just more money for Aizen really. And the only one Grimm was stealing from was the slaves, who wouldn't really care about bits of cheap jewelry.

"Okay." Shiro took a deep breath before winding a scarf around his face. It was cold enough outside that it wouldn't seem strange and it would keep his face hidden. The boatmen would see him, of course, but they would be heading out of the kingdom. "I'll be back for you." He promised, his voice a little muffled by the scarf. Grimmjow just shook his head. "I will!" He wanted to give Grimmjow that, a tiny ray of hope. But the overseer just looked at him with dead eyes.

"Shiro." Warm arms were around him again and Grimmjow nuzzled his cheek, just above the scarf. "Don't waste your life trying to afford me. I know you're a noble but unless you have massive estates, you can't pay what Aizen will ask." He said gently and Shiro bit his lip. He knew that was probably true. Even if he sold his entire estate he thought it would only amount to two hundred golds. But maybe Ichigo would help, he was the real heir. Shiro only had a few smaller properties that had belonged to his mother. "I told you, there's no hope for me. Be safe." He said softly and Shiro hugged him, giving his lover a firm squeeze before letting go.

"Love you Grimm." He whispered and saw pain flash through those bright blue eyes. Then he turned and walked away.

There was nothing else he could do.

"Home." Shiro breathed the word as he walked through the woods, following the well-tended road. "Finally."

He'd been walking for almost two weeks. Mindful of Grimmjow's advice, he hadn't purchased a horse or anything that might make him look prosperous. He couldn't afford a weapon other than the butcher knife Grimm had given him, so looking too wealthy was a bad idea. If any bandits had spotted him they'd let him pass by. The worst things he'd encountered on the trip had been bad food and lice. He'd been mindful of Nel's advice and had tried to eat decently, but money had gotten short these past few days.

But he recognized the woods now. He was going to be home well before sundown and that speeded his steps. What he wouldn't give for a bath and a real bed… and he would finally see Ichigo again. That thought made him worry though. Was Ichigo alright? If something had happened to him…

Shoving that thought away Shiro just concentrated on the road. There was nothing he could do but get home and find out. Although worrying about Ichigo naturally turned to worrying about Grimmjow. If Aizen found out about his actions he would visit a monstrous punishment on the blue man.

Shiro took a deep breath and forced that thought away too, concentrating on the cold, crisp air and the sound of birdsong. There was the faintest hint of spring in the air, a few daring buds poking out from beneath the snow. He'd been gone almost a year. How would things have changed? Probably not much, the biggest change was within himself.

The walls of the keep suddenly loomed out of the trees and Shiro just stopped for a moment, looking at his ancestral home. The trees stopped abruptly quite a distance from the walls, so any invaders would be obvious to the defenders. The walls weren't meant to repel an army but they would do an excellent job on smaller raiding forces, which was all that other nobles could send against them without raising the King's ire. If an actual war broke out it couldn't hold, but if that happened they would retreat to the nearest town. City fortifications were better. Bandits could never break through and would never try. No one was that stupid.

Taking a deep breath, Shiro walked towards the grey stone. He would be very obvious and it was a little disconcerting, almost unreal, but he still felt a great joy. Home. He was finally home.

"What do you want?" Someone from the walls called down and Shiro grinned. Not the sort of greeting a noble usually got from his home guard, but he looked about as noble as a turd at the moment.

"It's Kurosaki Shiro and I want t' see my cousin." He called up and to his surprise there was derisive laughter.

"You liar! He's dead." That set Shiro back on his heels. Scowling, he yanked down his hooded cloak and glared up at the speaker. "Oh my god it's a ghost!" Now he sounded panicked and Shiro thought he recognized the voice.

"Ganju you useless bastard! Get down here and let me in, it's fucking freezing out here!" Shiro called up. Ganju was a penniless second cousin and not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but solid and dependable. He had a high place in the guards. There was a curse and a flurry of activity. Shiro just waited patiently for the gates to open. They did with a loud squeal of hinges. "And oil those things for fucks sake!" He complained as he walked through the open gate. Everyone was staring at him wide eyed. "What?"

"You're really alive?" Ganju seemed awed, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Shiro scowled at him. "Where were you? What happened?"

"I was sold into slavery." He said shortly. He might as well tell them that much, they would find out anyway. But he wasn't going to tell them anything more. Ichigo would need to know everything but he'd rather his new expertise didn't get around. He'd never live it down. "Come on, take me to Ichi." He was impatient to see his brother and Ganju finally saluted before shouting to the other guards to get back to their posts. Then he led Shiro away. "Why'd you think I was dead anyway?" He asked, feeling a strange pain in his heart and head. Ichigo hadn't been coming. If he'd known that when he first got to the whorehouse, he'd probably have made Grimmjow kill him. All through his time there the prospect of being rescued had been his candle in the dark. If he'd known it was a false hope…

"Those bastards who murdered your escort… we caught them on the way back to the Kuchiki lands and Ichigo fought the leader personally. He said he'd killed you." Ganju said unhappily and Shiro blinked. That was… tremendously malicious. What had that cocksucker had against him and Ichi? But then, the feud between the clans was bitter. "Ichigo wasn't sure so he had Zangetsu search for you." That was Ichigo's mentor and a powerful wizard. Not archmage level, but powerful. "He couldn't find you even with a relic so we thought…"

"Ugh." Shiro muttered. He knew exactly why Zangetsu hadn't been able to find him. Grimmjow's magic filled the whorehouse and it obliterated most others. Grimmjow had mentioned once that unless he was the focus of the magic, Aizen didn't like to do complex workings around him. To a mage, cutting through his power was like wading through heavy water. Doable but annoying and from a distance it would obfuscate any scrying. "Well, at least I'll get to see the look on Ichi's face." That was going to be good. Ganju gave him a tentative smile and Shiro thought he was still wondering if he might be a ghost.

To Shiro's surprise, Ichigo was in his father's study. Ganju knocked politely.

"My lord? You have a visitor." He said and Shiro froze for a moment. When he'd left Ichigo's title had been young lord. Had something happened to Isshin? There was an irritated voice from behind the door.

"It can wait." He sounded grumpy and Shiro grinned, gripping Ganju's shoulder and pulling him away before opening the door and sending it crashing against the wall. Ichigo looked up from his papers, shocked and offended. But then his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as Shiro walked into the room.

"It fucking well can't." Shiro planted his hands on the papers, leaning in to glare at his King. "So I hear you gave me up for dead!" He snarled and Ichigo stared, brown eyes wide with shock. "You thought the Horse could be killed that easily? I'm ashamed of you Ichi! I was waiting for you this whole time!" He'd meant to tease Ichigo but he couldn't help a bit of the pain that made it into his voice. He'd been so sure Ichigo was coming for him, so sure the King would come for his Horse. "You're lucky I'm not dead or I'd be haunting you!" He managed to say that lightly though. It wasn't Ichigo's fault that everything had pointed to his death. Shiro could forgive him… he was just glad he hadn't known the truth.

"Sh-Sh-Shiro?" Ichigo stammered and Shiro snorted a laugh. His King was looking and sounding spectacularly stupid today. "H-H-How…?" He choked out and Shiro grinned wickedly.

"Well, I was taken and sold into slavery and – ooph!" He wasn't expecting Ichigo to practically vault over the desk and hug him. "Hey ow!" Shiro squirmed, gagging a little at the pressure. "Ichi, that hurts…!" He managed to say and Ichigo eased up his grip, hiding his face against his neck. Shiro hugged him back and blinked as he felt his cousin trembling violently. "Hey, it's okay, I'm fine." He said softly although he knew it was a bit of a lie. It would be years before he fully recovered from his trauma. But he would recover, Grimmjow was right about that.

"Shiro… Shiro…" Ichigo whispered his name again and again and Shiro remembered what he'd thought before, that he wasn't sure how Ichigo would get by without him. He could hear the pain and joy in his King's voice. "I've missed you so much." He whispered and Shiro gently patted his shoulder, holding him close.

"I missed you too Ichi." He glanced at the door and saw Ganju watching. Giving the man a scowl he jerked his head and his relative got the hint, giving him a quick grin and wave before shutting the door. "Ichi… we gotta send agents to a guy named Aizen Sosuke in Alundra. We need to buy a couple slaves from him." He said softly before swallowing. "They… they might be really expensive." He wanted to get Nel too, if he could. Grimmjow would want his mother. Ichigo let him go before looking at him in bewilderment.

"What? Shiro, what are you talking about?" He asked and Shiro sighed to himself. "You… did they help you escape?" He asked and Shiro nodded.

"Yeah. Ichi, sit down, I need to tell you what happened." It would hurt Ichigo cruelly, knowing what had happened to his cousin and best friend, but he had to tell him. He needed to know why Grimmjow was so important to him. "It started after I was sold…" He told the story but didn't dwell on the details. At first Ichigo was furious at Grimmjow, but Shiro quickly corrected him. And as the story went on righteous anger faded into horror and sickness. Shiro left plenty of things out – they didn't have all day – but he included, in a cold, clipped tone, what Ulquiorra had done. That was too important to leave out.

"Oh my god." Ichigo looked sickened and Shiro nodded, taking slow, deep breaths. It helped to cope with the memories. "Shiro I'm – I'm sorry." He said and Shiro could tell how useless it felt to him. He just shrugged and reached out to grip Ichigo's hands.

"Nothing you could've done." He said simply before continuing the story. After he'd explained what Grimmjow and Nel had done for him and how they were related to each other there was a steely look of determination in his cousins eyes. "Grimm said the last time someone asked for him Aizen tried to charge three hundred golds." He said and Ichigo winced. "I'll sell all my stuff, every bit of it. I have to get them out of there." Shiro said, determined. Nel would probably cost another hundred golds, maybe fifty at the least. Elves were expensive. Ichigo took a deep breath and squeezed his hands.

"We'll find out what he wants and make it work. I'll send out an agent tomorrow." He said quietly then sighed. "At least the dowry will help." That threw Shiro for a loop but then his eyes went wide as he understood.

"Dowry? You're getting married? Who are you marrying?" He asked and Ichigo grimaced a bit.

"She's… I've never met her." He admitted and that shocked Shiro. Isshin had wanted his son to marry for love. "Shiro, dad's dead." He said with quiet grief and Shiro stiffened, a bolt of pain shooting through him. Isshin Kurosaki had been his father too, really. "Ginrei Kuchiki is dead too. There was a pitched battle and they – they fought, personally." Ichigo swallowed before giving him a small smile. "He took your death really hard." He explained and Shiro winced. "Ginrei died on the field but dad lingered for a few days… he asked me to try to find peace with the Kuchiki clan."

"And they agreed?" Shiro said wonderingly. Ginrei had been the most recalcitrant, stubborn old goat they'd ever seen. His own son had been killed in the feud a long time ago, before Isshin was clan leader and he'd never let up since. Ichigo nodded.

"Byakuya, Ginrei's grandson, is the clan leader now. He says there's no point in continuing this feud and to seal the deal I'm marrying his sister, Rukia Kuchiki." Ichigo explained and Shiro frowned. He'd heard that name before.

"Ain't she adopted?" Not that that bothered him anymore. Noble blood was a ridiculous concept in general and after having his pride humbled at a whorehouse it was even moreso. "Doesn't she have a half-human kid?" He vaguely recalled there had been a huge scandal at the time. No one knew what Rukia's kid was, exactly. She'd never told anyone the identity of the father and the racial combination was so bizarre not even the wizards could figure it out. Ichigo looked a little pained.

"Yes. Part of the agreement is that if we don't produce an heir, her girl will be the heir to the Kurosaki clan." Ichigo said and Shiro's eyes went wide before he laughed, a high pitched cackle.

"Bet the elders love that!" He said merrily and Ichigo gave him an irritated look. "Get me my sword and some practice Ichi, you'll need me watching your back!"

"Oh shut up. It's not funny." He retorted and Shiro smiled. The smile faded, though, as he thought about the situation. Ichigo was right, it wasn't really funny. There might be assassination attempts over it. Non-humans were not held in high regard in general, except elves. And from what he'd heard the girl wasn't a half-elf.

"The Kuchiki clan's getting the better part of this deal." He observed and Ichigo shrugged with a sigh. "I can see why Byakuya asked for it." Some kind of blackmail was the only way he'd get his sister married off, with all the strikes against her. And Ichigo was an eminently eligible bachelor, young and strong and the head of a clan. It would be an excellent way to forge a bond between the clans, too. Supposing no one managed to screw it up.

"Yeah. Well, nevermind that. I'll send an agent off to Aizen starting tomorrow." Ichigo said and Shiro nodded. "And I'll see if Zangetsu can make a sending stone for him." That was an item that let the possessor send messages to the person with the matching stone. It would save them the whole tedious and expensive process of sending letters. Letters had to go through merchants so they sometimes got lost, and the merchants usually charged a lot if they were willing to take them at all. Magic was a much better way to send messages back and forth, although they could often be intercepted and decoded. Fortunately that didn't matter much for this.

"Thanks Ichi." Shiro said gratefully. "Now what's for supper? I'm starvin'." Not quite literally but rations had been getting a bit short on the last leg of his trip. Ichigo smiled, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder.

"Roasted duck with crispy potatoes in gravy." He said and Shiro's mouth watered. It sounded delicious. "Also a pickled carrot and onion dish with cream sauce." That sounded great too. Shiro had to swallow a bit of drool.

"I can't wait." Shiro said, remembering all the years they'd had roasted duck. It was a sign spring was coming, when the waterfowl started arriving again. Spring was the time for duck and he couldn't wait.

Finally, at last, he was home.