Chapter ten – Meeting the Competition
Normal POV
Grimmjow sat up slowly and stretched. He was in his half of the adjoining rooms at the hotel. He ran his fingers through his blue hair and smiled evilly. Next to him lay Ichigo, asleep on his stomach and thoroughly pleased from the night before. Grimmjow was far more pleased than Ichigo though because he had gotten to try out sex in the shower, sex on the bed, and sex on the wall all in one night. Ichigo was not going to move any time soon.
Grimmjow let his eyes glaze over when he looked at Ichigo's muscular back that was left out in the air due to his sheets falling over his hips and legs. Ichigo's arms were splayed onto the bed next his head, wrapping under the pillow to give the youth a bit more of a comfortable resting place. Grimmjow leaned down and gave Ichigo a kiss.
"Mmmnah," Ichigo moaned. "Not again Grimm. Please?"
"Why not? You were enjoying it last night."
"I can't even move Grimmjow," Ichigo snarled. Grimmjow tensed a bit. He didn't like it when Ichigo showed dominance but he was happy the kid had it in him to fight back. Much better than all of Grimmjow's past lays. "You have to go to Seireitei anyway."
"What if I don't want to?" Grimmjow asked as he straddled Ichigo's hips. He leaned over and placed his hands at each of Ichigo's elbows so he could lean over the youth on his hands and knees comfortably. Ichigo glanced up at the blue haired rider, his brown eyes somewhat glazed over from exhaustion and from lust. Grimmjow smirked. He knew Ichigo didn't want him to leave but he also knew Ichigo would never admit that.
"You have to," Ichigo sighed. "You're going to get a tour and meet all of the other competitors."
"I don't give a shit. You can help me get around the place!"
"I'd prefer to sleep thank you."
Grimmjow sighed but knew he wasn't going to win this one. Ichigo was just so tired that he wasn't going to do anything. No matter what, Ichigo was planning on sleeping through the day. Grimmjow growled as he got off the bed and went to change into blue jeans, a green tee, and steel toed work boots. He grabbed the keys to both rooms and the car before leaving.
"Stay inside the rooms Ichi!" he demanded as he shut the door. Ichigo rolled over and looked blearily at the dresser. No keys. He let out a silent curse and went back to sleep.
Grimmjow arrived at Seireitei in good time. He got out of the car and sighed. Las Noches was nice and all but it paled in comparison to Seireitei. Seireitei was huge. Thousands of acres of land were covered with private horse stalls and practice areas. The arena was larger and grander than what they had at Las Noches too. The fields were also greater in volume of space. Grimmjow liked this place but he kept thinking back that if Ichigo had never had that accident, Grimmjow would never have met the youth except in a competition. He hated that idea.
Entering the building, he found his co-riders and sat with them. Nel was cheery as ever and was babbling on about the facilities here. She and Ulquiorra were throwing ideas back and forth for Las Noches while Lily, Harribel, Apache, Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Tesla were all playing cards. Starrk and Nnoitra were eating eggs and bacon while Luppi was sitting a few feet away from them all.
Grimmjow was given a plate by a girl with short brown hair with a strawberry clip in it. He smiled at her kindly and thanked her. She pointed out the buffet and led the way as well. The buffet was filled with all kinds of food but Grimmjow took the simple breakfast he'd seen on Starrk and Nnoitra's plates. He ended up losing his little guide when another girl with bobbed black hair, came racing in babbling about something. It sounded like a horse had gotten free. He left knowing it was none of his business.
"Lucky bastard," Nnoitra whispered when he sat back down.
"How so?"
"That was Yuzu Kurosaki who led you the buffet you git!" Grimmjow blinked; glad he had not put any food in his mouth. He would have choked.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he whispered.
Starrk shook his head. "No. We're not kidding you."
"Fuck," he sighed combing his hand through his hair again. He glanced back to see Yuzu and the other girl putting on helmets and pulling a guy with red hair in a ponytail outside. The guy's ponytail made him look like a freaking pineapple but Grimmjow decided it was best not to mention this to the guy.
"Where's Ichigo?" Ulquiorra asked calmly.
"Sleeping in. I told him he didn't have to come here today since he claims to know the place."
"He knows this place?" Nel asked. Grimmjow nodded.
"His sisters ride here," Harribel said. "It makes sense that he knows the layout."
"Grimmjow stole the keys to their rooms before leaving," Ulquiorra muttered. Grimmjow glared at him.
"Shut up Emo Boy," he snarled. Ulquiorra shot him a deadly glare but before he could say anything the Rukia girl showed up. She had her riding gear on and looked like she had been dumped. Grimmjow held back a smirk.
"Liar," she snarled.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Grimmjow replied.
"I see you had a chance to look at our paperwork," Ulquiorra said. "I'm sorry for Grimmjow's behavior toward you yesterday."
"Apology accepted," she said sarcastically. "Mr. Jaggerjaques, I do hope you're treating Mr. Kurosaki well as your…stable hand."
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed at the girl's hesitation to say Ichigo's current job. He also disliked the tone around the words stable hand. It was as if she were saying he degraded Ichigo for putting him in a job Ichigo had applied for. Ichigo was happy with his job, Grimmjow knew that. Grimmjow was happy to have this guy as his stable hand and lover.
"I'm treating Ichigo just fine Midget," Grimmjow growled. "Maybe you should keep your hands off him."
"I can hug a friend if I want to."
"Not if he doesn't want you to touch him."
The others stared at Grimmjow while he and Rukia had the argument. They all knew they were missing half of the conversation. Ulquiorra had even gotten lost due to his not knowing – him of all people – what Grimmjow – off all people – knew. Luppi glanced at him slightly confused but very interested. What did Grimmjow know? What was the half of the conversation that was only lost on the older riders and stable hands? Oh yes. Luppi was interested.
"Whatever," Rukia stated dismissively. "My brother and his stable hand – if they catch Shiro – will be your guides. Be seeing you all later."
"Goodbye," Starrk, Harribel, Nnoitra, and Ulquiorra chorused as Rukia turned to leave. Rukia smiled at them and waved her farewells. Her brother beckoned her over and they spoke for a moment before some of the girls that Grimmjow had noticed looking at Ichigo the day before pulled her over to another table. Grimmjow looked over Byakuya Kuchiki carefully. The other man was probably a bit older than Starrk, had long black hair tied in a tail near his neck, and was as stone faced as Ulquiorra. Grimmjow instantly hated him. He didn't know why he just did.
"Can you try to not start a fight?" Nnoitra hissed. "We need this!"
"If they don't start anything, I won't react."
Simple logic that. Grimmjow may have been the kind of guy who would start fights but he usually waited for people to take it a certain way. He let people piss him off and implicate themselves for starting it all before attacking them. Rukia may be different though. Grimmjow felt she was a little too loud mouthed. He was keeping that secret damn it!
Other riders came over and introduced themselves. The big group was from Vizard Stables. Shinji, the leader, had short blonde hair and was repeatedly attacked by a blonde haired girl named Hiyori. The other team members were kinder and quieter. They gave a few hints and ideas for how to take care of their horses around here. They mentioned they did not trust the riders here and trusted only themselves and newcomers like them. Their advice was taken into consideration.
Byakuya came over when he was finished, a boy with chin length brown hair cleaning his plate away, and introduced himself stone faced. He mentioned something along the lines of his time was important so it would be best if they did not waste it with silly questions that were going to be answered during the tour. Grimmjow saw him as a rich bastard who had been lucky before because of his money and because Ichigo happened to ride here.
They followed Byakuya, despite the fact that his stable hand was not with them. Byakuya was a dull tour guide. He pointed out places and mentioned what they were used for. He did not elaborate in anyway. Ulquiorra seemed to like the man already. Grimmjow found himself hating him more and more. Lily whispered in Starrk's ear about bird's of a feather which made Starrk chuckle.
"That is the event arena," Byakuya stated. "It's our largest arena and one of the best in the nation."
Grimmjow glanced over to the large arena that looked very much like a larger indoor arena. There seemed to be no real change other than the fact that it was bigger. It was probably set up as a stadium. Grimmjow huffed slightly annoyed at how bluntly obvious it was that this place was richer than Las Noches. It really annoyed him how rich people flaunted their money.
Ichigo didn't do that. Grimmjow smiled at yet another reason why he loved Ichigo. When Grimmjow learned that Ichigo was Shiro Zangetsu, he was pleased to know that Ichigo had honest to god work to climb up through the horse world. Here and after he left this place.
"That's it," Byakuya said. "Now, you may go to your rooms and – oh damn it!"As he had been speaking he had been rotating his head to look out in the fields. His outburst – My god he has those? Grimmjow thought – had happened when he had laid eyes on his stable hand, the Kurosaki girls, and Isshin chasing Shiro Zangetsu's insane Arabian through the fields. Grimmjow turned and gawked when he saw the horse that he knew belonged to Ichigo.
"Holy crap!" Luppi exclaimed.
"No shit," Byakuya growled as he put his helmet on. "Stay here please." He spoke hurriedly and then ran toward the Kurosaki family and his stable hand. Shiro reared and kicked. He did not wish to be caught again. The horse was done with these humans who were not his master. The girls and Isshin understood this completely and did not disagree.
"Well then," Starrk murmured. "I guess we have nothing to do but wait." He sat down on a bench that sat in a nearby garden. Lily went to his side with Harribel. Grimmjow began to realize yet again that Harribel and Starrk were more like good childhood friends rather than lovers. Oh how they probably envied him and Ichigo. They would never tell Grimmjow that they envied how close those two were but they had spoken of it multiple times while they were alone.
They had no problem with Grimmjow and Ichigo's relationship but they really did hope that Grimmjow didn't accidentally do something stupid that made Ichigo leave him. They had seen it happen before. They knew Annwyl was a friend of Grimmjow's but they also knew that she had given him Pantera as a truce gift. Actually, the horse was a revenge tool for something they were unaware of – Grimmjow beat the living daylights out of one of her friends because he felt the guy was being rude to her. The guy had been her boyfriend.
"Has Annwyl ever forgiven you for whatever it was that made her give you Pantera?" Harribel asked as Grimmjow sat next to her.
"I didn't ask about it when I visited her with Ichigo," he sighed. He really needed to do that.
While they watched Shiro prance away from his "handlers," Ichigo had rolled out of bed and gotten dressed. He had called Annwyl who had texted him saying she had arrived safely. Her brother was driving her around with his new boyfriend – Garth – as a helpful hand. Both boys were trusted with her safety. He skipped down the steps to the parking lot. There, waiting for him, was a van of a gray color.
The passenger door opened and Brainy hopped out of the seat smiling. His blonde hair was in casual spikes and his skin had become tan since Ichigo had seen him. He was a few inches shorter than Ichigo but was just as lithe. As Ichigo hugged Brainy, Garth who was as tall as Ichigo was busy helping Annwyl get out of the car.
Garth had hair that was as vibrant as Ichigo's – actually a bit less so. His hair was longer as well. It fell over his face messily on the top and fell lazily over his shoulders. It was basically a mullet but it was well kept up. His sky blue eyes were mischievous and filled with laughter. Annwyl was light for him to lift and he placed her gently in her wheelchair.
"My goodness!" Annwyl gushed. "Did he really leave you without keys?"
"Yes," Ichigo sighed. "I'm feeling better. I think I can try to go to Seireitei to see my old horses."
She smiled and beckoned the youth over. He moved quickly and they hugged like siblings. Garth laughed and pushed them apart so he could get her back into the van. They drove down to Seireitei, easy conversation flowing happily between them all. Ichigo congratulated Garth for beating up Brainy's last boyfriend and for being the knight in shining armor that Brainy needed.
Annwyl was reminiscing about her time at Seireitei when they pulled up to the stables. Garth parked with ease. He turned the car off and got out quickly. He was helping Annwyl out again while Brainy and Ichigo and Brainy hopped out laughing about something from the past.
"Loose horse!"Someone cried out right as Garth was about to put Annwyl down. The four's heads snapped to attention as a tall white Arabian raced over to them and leapt over the fence. Garth swung Annwyl back into his arms and dive bombed into the back of the car with her. Ichigo shoved Brainy into the car and dived in after him. They lay in a pile as Shiro raced past them.
"Dear god Ichi," Brainy hissed. "Can't you control your damn horse?"
"Oh man," Ichigo whined. "Damn it."
"I agree," Annwyl whispered. "Worse than Pantera."
"And you gave him that horse because he beat up your boyfriend," Brainy said.
"You what?" Ichigo nearly screamed.
"He beat up my boyfriend Ichi!"
"That's no excuse!"
"Can we worry about this later?" Garth asked. "We have a loose horse out there."
"Shine Ichi," Brainy whispered.
"I hate you two," Ichigo hissed to Annwyl and her brother. He jumped out of the van and let out a shrill whistle. Shiro stopped in his tracks at the sound of the whistle. The horse turned and whinnied happily. The horse trotted over to him glad to see his master again. Shiro nuzzled his nose against Ichigo's body and the boy patted his neck. That wasn't enough affection in the horse's opinion and he showed it by nudging Ichigo roughly.
"Oh knock that off you annoying horse!" Ichigo hissed. Shiro nickered. That was his master.
"Ichigo?" Renji's voice called behind him.
"I knew it!" Rukia chimed.
"Garth? Could you?" Annwyl murmured. Garth chuckled and pulled her out and set her in her wheelchair. Brainy crawled out of the car after her. When she was situated, she wheeled over to Rukia and Renji who stare in horror.
"What happened?" Renji asked.
"I fell from my horse," Annwyl said judiciously. "Ichigo is not here to ride. He's a stable hand. Remember that please." She spun around and rejoined them smiling.
"Channeling your Scottish-Irish ancestry are we?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes."
"Good girl!" Garth laughed, clapping her on the back. "Use the family traits to your advantage!"
"Don't set her up to die here," Brainy sighed.
"Die Brainy?"
"Yes…They will kill her if she uses it too often."
"He'd know," Annwyl chuckled.
"Ichigo? What are you doing here?" Grimmjow yelled from behind Renji and Rukia.
"Shit!" Ichigo hissed. "I called Ann to get me over here. I should take the tour."
"I told you that you didn't have to come today," Grimmjow said calmly, his teeth clenching, as he walked over to them.
"Grimmjow," Annwyl warned, her voice becoming very deep and with the hint of an Irish or Scottish accent. She whirled around and smiled. "Why don't you arrange for Ichigo to get a tour of the place?"
"He knows this place inside out!" Grimmjow hissed, leaning down to look into her eyes. "He doesn't need a tour and I don't want him out of my sight!"
"Get over it Grimm!" she hissed back.
"No! I don't want him alone with these people!"
"Grimmjow!" Ulquiorra called calmly. Grimmjow spun to face the pale rider. "I have arranged for Ichigo to get a tour of the stables here."
"Ulquiorra," Grimmjow hissed.
"Don't start," Ulquiorra hissed. Grimmjow faltered to a stop. He glanced at Ichigo apologetically and scornfully. Ichigo flinched.
Renji pulled Ichigo and Shiro away. He whispered to Ulquiorra that he would give Ichigo a tour. Ichigo did not wish to get a tour alone and he looked back pleadingly at Grimmjow. Grimmjow clenched his fists but Ulquiorra cornered him.
"You're hiding something from me," Ulquiorra growled. Shit.
Ichigo's POV
As Renji pulls me away from the others, I can feel my heart leaping into my throat. No. I do not want to be alone with these people. Annwyl scares them. She always did. Grimmjow is terrifying alone and I love that about him. I also love the fact that he can be gentle. Annwyl is like that too. She's gentle to her loved ones. Grimmjow loves me and is gentle with me. He's gentle to me and Annwyl. Annwyl did not seem to care about him all that much.
I wonder why.
"It's great to see you again," Renji whispered.
"Sure."
"Sarcasm isn't needed."
"Yes it is. You guys just want me back so you can win a few more titles!"
"That and your horses are running amuck! They hate us. They only listen to you!"
"They listen to Karin and Yuzu!"
"They listen to you more Ichigo!"
"Forget it! I gave up being Shiro Zangetsu two years ago! I'm not going back to that life!"
"Ichigo," he whispered.
"Don't!" I stormed off. He followed after me, Shiro trotting behind him. "I don't want to be here as anything other than my job description. I'm Grimmjow's stable hand and that's all!"
I open the pen I know is Shiro's as I rant. Renji puts Shiro away and races back out.
"Look," he said. "We've all missed you greatly. Not just for the ribbons and awards you brought in but also for…" He trailed off. I glared at him but was shocked that he didn't continue. I knew he had had a crush on me. I had found nothing to prove he had given up on me.
"Come off it. I know you have a crush on me," I muttered.
"Then you understand why I'm pained to do this," Renji whispered. I stared at him confused. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to the event arena. He tossed me into the tack room and slammed the door closed. I pounced at the door and pounded my fists against the door.
"Renji! Let me out!" I screamed.
"Sorry Ichigo! I'm not the only one who liked you though," he called back. I froze. What?
Arms wrapped around my waist. I knew them.
"Byakuya," I whimpered.
"Do be silent would you?" he hissed to me. I squirmed. "Now stop that! I have waited a long time to do this Kurosaki."
"LET GO!" I screamed as his hands slipped under my shirt.
"No," he hissed. He kissed my neck as his hands went for my nipples. No! No!
"N-no!"
He paused and then yanked my head to the side. I cried out a bit as he yanked my hair out of my skull.
"What is this?" His fingers brushed one of the hickeys my neck that Grimmjow had left me. There were more littering my body. I knew from the fact I had seen them.
"A gift from my boyfriend!" I yelled. I saw his eyes widen in amazement. "Get off me!"
"Not happening," he hissed.
Normal POV
"Where is he?" Grimmjow growled to Renji.
"I-," he murmured.
Yelling ensued from the tack room. Grimmjow stiffened as he heard the words. He shoved Renji away and kicked the door in. There stood Ichigo being held by:
"Byakuya!" Grimmjow lunged at the man. Byakuya instantly let go of Ichigo, who stumbled over to Grimmjow. Grimmjow caught him and growled at Byakuya. The other man snarled back. Then Annwyl rolled over, Garth and Brainy with her.
"Enough!" Annwyl yelled. "Grimm? Take Ichigo to his hotel. Byakuya? You're going to have a long talk with me!"
They did as she commanded.
At the hotel, Ichigo leaned into Grimmjow's chest tears stinging his eyes. Grimmjow was still seething. No one touched Ichigo like that if they weren't Grimmjow.
"Did he get very far?"
"No."
Silence.
"Are there any others?"
"Pretty much everyone but my family and some of the guys – the ones I beat up at least."
"Then I'll fight them all off."
Seireitei
Luppi lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He mulled over what he had heard Renji and Ichigo argue about. Now, the conversation made sense.
"Ichigo Kurosaki is Shiro Zangetsu," he whispered. "I have to beat Ichigo."
Then he remembered something. Grimmjow was everywhere Ichigo went. Grimmjow was closer to Ichigo. What was so great about Grimmjow? Why did he get to be so close to the great rider?
"I have to beat Grimmjow first."