Chapter 12 – On Top of the World
After the concert, they walked down a quiet street. As they passed under the bare light of a streetlamp, Byakuya suddenly came to a halt and Ichigo turned around to face him attentively.
"What is it?" he asked.
The noble said nothing, but levelled fervent dark eyes on him. Swiftly, Ichigo found himself grabbed by the scruff and drawn into a crushing kiss.
Ichigo released a surprised sound but melted against the powerful shinigami's demanding mouth like ice to hot stone. Amused, he wondered briefly if the concert had gotten the captain all wound up. No matter, he fiercely swept the noble up in his arms, bringing their bodies together and deepening the unexpected joining. Gawd, Byakuya was intoxicating and this possessive side of him was always turning Ichigo on! He gave Byakuya total control, which he noticed he often did, realizing he relished in this feeling of being overpowered, dominated. For once this was a battle he did not wish to struggle in or win.
Feeling frustrated by the boundaries set by his father's house rules, Ichigo wanted more than anything to see more of the captain, to taste him…to feel him.
Over the kiss, Byakuya deplored breathily, "I want out of this gigai."
"Hmmm," sounded Ichigo, half-hearing the noble's request, hands too busy moving over the other's back and over his firm rear, his mouth tugging on the man's lower lip gently.
There was a giggle and voices coming from the other side of the street. It caused Byakuya to pull away. Ichigo turned scarlet as he noted three ladies pointedly watching them. He hesitantly put space between the noble and himself.
"Um…are you hungry, Byakuya? Should we go eat?" wondered Ichigo, unsure what to do now.
"Food is the furthest thing from my mind," assured the noble, "But if you are in need, then I will wait."
He would wait, huh? Ichigo smirked. Though, he didn't think his body really wanted to wait. "Maybe we should go somewhere else," he suggested, knowing full well what he was insinuating. Sex...
Ichigo's palms began to feel damp. The very idea made him nervous and excited at the same time. Ichigo was curious about the next step and he knew in his heart that if Byakuya was willing to take it, he was willing to give it. The vizard knew of the perfect place and thought of a great addition to his proposal. He began to walk back from the way they came.
"I know exactly what we can do. Come on."
Intrigued, Byakuya decided to trust the human and followed, noting his sexually heated reiatsu. Mmm, it was like following a sweet, robust trail of blooms in the sticky heat of summer. It drove Byakuya mad. He hoped this detour wouldn't take long; he really wasn't feeling very patient. How he wished that they were back in Soul Society right now, inside his manor where not a soul would dare interrupt them. As he followed Ichigo's scent, he treated his mind to all the places in Soul Society he'd like to play with Ichigo, and thought of all the wicked things he wanted to do to him. He nearly groaned from the state he was putting his body into while still wearing pants...he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Such was the plight of being stuck in the human world.
Moments later, they arrived out front of a convenient store. Ichigo told him to wait outside and he'd be right back.
"Very well," Byakuya muttered.
There was no way Ichigo could do what he was about to do with the eyes of the Kuchiki heir watching. No way! Seeking every ounce of his bravery to accomplish what he had in mind he wandered around. Perfect, he picked up two bento boxes and a couple of drinks. Satisfied, Ichigo wandered by the produce section and stopped. He spotted an array of fruits and vegetables and grinned deviously, remembering Byakuya's and his conversation in art today—seaweed and bananas. Byakuya regarded nutrition highly, so as a playful joke, he picked up two bananas. Then finally, he went in search of the last item, the item that required every fragment of his strength. Ichigo paled at that thought and felt ready to heave. Am I crazy? Is this stuff necessary? As inexperienced as he was at these 'male' things, he understood how it was supposed to work. He had the Internet, geesh! Ichigo snatched a bottle of lubricant off the shelf and stormed to the checkout. Red as a beet, he didn't breathe or look the cashier in the eye as he paid for his purchases.
His inner Hollow was howling with laughter at him, "What a pussy! HA HA!"
Ichigo told him to shut it. Then he practically ran out of the shop and met up with Byakuya outside.
"What is that?" he asked looking at the bag and then at Ichigo, "What's the matter? Why do you look so ill?"
Ichigo made a pained sound in his throat after what he just went through. "Don't ask," he pleaded and held up the bag, "This is dinner."
Since they were stuck in their human and gigai form, Ichigo suggested they stop off at his house and leave again in soul reaper form. They did just that and quickly arrived at the destination Ichigo had in mind.
The escarpment over-looking the town...
"You brought me back here," Byakuya said attentively, admiring the city from above.
"Yeah, it's a good place to…err…get away from my house. I thought, why not bring dinner," Ichigo explained. "It's nice here and peaceful…it's a warm night, thankfully." Ichigo wanted to steer clear of his house. For just a little while he didn't want to worry about their reiatsu giving away their actions in his bedroom.
"Hmm... A picnic without a blanket or the midday sun and the shade of a tree," mused the noble.
"Yeah, sorry about that...I guess this is a little unconventional," Ichigo told him quietly.
Byakuya noted the serene natural setting, the darkest recesses of the foliage twinkling with fireflies and the rest diffused with the soft glow of the waning moon. The air smelled of flowers and earth, and he couldn't sense a soul for miles. Byakuya assured, "No, its fine."
Senbonzakura would call it romantic…
Ichigo exhaled with relief and led his guardian to an area closer to the trees and shrubbery, on softer, grassy ground. He set his purchases down and removed Zangetsu from his back placing its tethered form on the grass gently. Byakuya did the same and removed his scabbard containing his zanpakuto and set it next to Ichigo's.
Then they stood there watching each other for a moment. Not a flicker of emotion on either one's face.
"What are you thinking?" whispered Byakuya, his eyes steadied on Ichigo's even as he reached up for his scarf and delicately began to remove it.
Blinking, Ichigo tried to find words to say, but lost them completely the moment Byakuya draped his silky windflower scarf around his shoulders and used it to gently lure him closer.
Ichigo gave a goofy grin, moving in closer by controlling, yet gentle force. His heart leaped in his chest.
"Come on, tell me," Byakuya encouraged.
Body to body, they stood.
"I'm thinking that…I want you," the human shinigami murmured, his voice thick with ardour.
With a final tug on the scarf, Byakuya brought their lips together.
Byakuya wanted him, too. More than anything! He let go of the scarf and ran his hands around Ichigo's side and up the redhead's back, smoothing his palms over the black cloth and dug his fingertips into him as they kissed. Parting his lips and granting access, the captain met Ichigo's sweet tongue with his own. The sensation stirred his body back to life and he released a groan of divine pleasure as their mouth's explored sensually.
Byakuya's sounds of pleasure made Ichigo's cock twitch. He moaned his own appreciation, hoping to encourage the other soul reaper to continue with his sensual song as he kissed him fully, openly.
The Kuchiki heir swallowed their shared juices, his breath quickening. The ache he felt was becoming nearly painful as it brushed over Ichigo's equally growing stiffness. He pulled away, lips glistening by light of the moon and tugged off his wrist guards, one by one. He dropped them listlessly to the ground.
The tranquil evening was broken with mild panting as both took another moment to share a longing gaze at each other.
Ichigo slipped his hands under the Sixth Division haori and gently pushed it off Byakuya's shoulders. It landed at their feet with a soft swush. That was followed by the noble who, in one fluid motion, untied the white sash and subtly spread Ichigo's kosode, exposing his smooth, defined chest. Demanding more, Byakuya unabashedly released the material and then planted his palms, fingers spread over Ichigo's hot skin, brushing them over his pectorals and up to a pair of strong shoulders, slipping the upper layer of his uniform off. The scarf went with it to the grass.
The human soul reaper trembled and closed his eyes. "Byakuya…" he sighed, his breath coming in exulted rushes as those hands touched him.
Spoken the very same way inside his dreams—his name, hearing it like that made Byakuya's heart swell and his arousal ache even more. He savoured the moment as he covetously touched, discovering every beautiful definition of Ichigo's upper body, his abdomen, his neck. He wanted to memorize every ridge, every bump, to claim each patch of flesh with his hands. Ichigo was lovely and his body in excellent shape, perfect proportions of muscle and limbs. Byakuya wanted to know if it tasted just as lovely, and brought his lips to heated flesh. He peppered kisses along Ichigo's neck, over his collarbone and drew his tongue down, swirling it over a hardened nipple before suckling it and nipping softly with his teeth.
Ichigo's entire body jerked, he gave a faint whimper.
Never had his body been touched like this before, not even by a girl. If he wasn't so turned-on, if he didn't find Byakuya so unbelievably sexy, he might have found this display embarrassing. He would probably chuckle stupidly. But, this felt so damn good. It was Byakuya making him feel this way and it felt so right. There was no blushing or stupid laughing; he just wanted to feel more of what the captain had to offer.
Byakuya was silent, save for a few delectable sighs as he embarked on a journey with his lips and his tongue, savouring the saltiness he tasted as he made a trail of wet kisses. He came to rest on his knees in the soft grass and boldly stripped Ichigo of his hakama and undergarments. It wasn't like he hadn't felt these parts of Ichigo's body, but he had yet to taste it. He smiled slyly, roving his hands up along hard naked thighs and claimed Ichigo's firm ass with them. He gave it a hard squeeze. Byakuya was tempted to order Ichigo to turn around so he could admire both sides of him, but he wanted to give Ichigo something more. He wet his lips and leaned in, drawing the tip of his tongue along the underside of Ichigo's throbbing length that stood so prominently at his attention. There was a sudden spike in human's spiritual pressure and a pair of hands abruptly tried to clasp into his hair, dislodging the kenseikan.
"Ho-ly shit…" the vizard mewled blissfully.
Pleased with himself, Byakuya paused for a moment to remove the top headpiece that was knocked askew and dropped it aimlessly to the ground. He moved in again, holding Ichigo firmly by his hips and wrapped his lips around his ample erection, tending to it slowly, moving his tongue over the silky skin as he did so. Ichigo was putty in his hands, or perhaps his mouth, Byakuya thought and produced a diminutive naughty chuckle in the back of his throat. He drew back and explored the turgid tip with his tongue, tasting the bitter-sweet tang of pre-ejaculate. Sighing, Byakuya swallowed up the length again, this time picking up his pace.
Ichigo thought his legs would forget how they were supposed to work. His body was on fire! His mind numbed from sensory overload. All he could do was direct his eyes downward and watch as Byakuya took him in that perfect mouth. It required everything he had not to come right then and there. No…he didn't want to come yet, Byakuya was still dressed! No fair!
Unsure where he found the force to do so, he pulled out of the captain's hot, talented mouth and settled on his knees on the grass before him.
"My turn," Ichigo insisted.
Byakuya rest back on his haunches and Ichigo moved in, claiming the man's lips with his own once more with sweet urgency. His hands went for raven locks again, but met another obstruction. Ichigo's left hand blindly tugged the second headpiece from the noble's hair gently. He dropped it and threaded his fingers greedily into silken tresses. Ichigo purred against Byakuya's lips and tasted the unique tang from his own body on the other man's tongue. Still wanting to sample that ivory skin, the vizard ventured away from noble lips to kiss along the captain's jaw and nuzzle under his chin.
The noble soul reaper let his head fall back with an open-mouthed sigh, exposing the pale column of his throat.
Marking the man with wet tracks, Ichigo's tongue laved up along Byakuya's neck and over a pulsing vein, tasting luscious tender skin. As he gave attention with his mouth, his hands were working the kosode off Byakuya's shoulders, pushing the material open until it hung loosely down around the noble's elbows and uncovered the upper half of his body. Ichigo drew back to admire the virtue before him, the way Byakuya sat there intimately ravaged, yet still holding his air of ethereal grace.
"Beautiful…" Ichigo murmured the one word he felt truly described this man. And he knew that saying it a million times would never be adequate, but he would try.
Grey eyes were watching, "You've always been beautiful to me, too."
The urgent need to get the Gotei captain naked right now felt more important than ever! Ichigo divested the man of every last stitch of clothing, except for their tabi socks and waraji.
A moment later Ichigo found himself on his back. Byakuya had him brusquely pinned down, a predatory look gleaming in his eye.
Tender lips joined in a heated frenzy and pent up lust. Byakuya ground himself against the vizard's hardness, eliciting a whiney moan from himself and the man beneath him. Ichigo's strong hands were on his rear, grabbing painful handfuls which pressed his erection into him even harder.
"Ahh…y-yeah, Ichigo," the noble breathed jaggedly.
Ichigo held onto Byakuya tightly, marvelling at how fucking amazing it felt to be flesh to flesh like this with the sexiest soul reaper in Soul Society. "Nnn! I love how you feel," Ichigo growled past swollen lips. He demanded urgently, "Take me Byakuya…please, do it...do it before I lose my nerve. I want to feel you."
Byakuya pushed himself up, straddling Ichigo's waist, his full arousal resting across the other man's navel. He studied the younger man carefully, blinking behind a scattered curtain of hair in front of his eyes.
"Please," Ichigo urged again, reaching over to the bag they'd brought and dug around in it. A moment later he thrust something at Byakuya.
The captain completely understood now why Ichigo had looked ready to vomit when he came out of that store. How charming. How very devious. Ichigo was sanctioning him to fuck him. Byakuya got the message; he didn't need to be told twice. Just like Ichigo, he might have never partaken in male affairs, but he had an idea how it was supposed to work. And there was nothing he wanted more right now than to bury himself as deep into Ichigo as he could, his cock twitched excitedly with the thought.
Wetting his fingers, he sidled up beside the redhead, his length pressed against Ichigo's hip as they lay side by side on the grass and their discarded clothing. He searched for the vizard's lips with his own as his fingers searched for that tight opening. His fingers brushed over Ichigo's erection, stopping to caress the hard flesh with his hand before it went lower. Ichigo bucked against him as one finger dipped into the hot well of his body. Byakuya explored, moving his finger this way and that, pressing his finger towards them in a come-hither motion.
Ichigo suddenly cried out passionately.
That nearly caused Byakuya to lose himself. Watching Ichigo in the throes of ecstasy was the sweetest gift of all. He tortured the man with pleasure until he was nearly begging him to fuck him. Oh hell, he couldn't wait any longer! He used the much grateful lubrication on himself, stroking his erection to warm the fluid. Ichigo's eyes were on him the entire time. Crawling over top, he nudged Ichigo's legs apart with his knees and guided himself in gently.
So tight! Byakuya gasped.
Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut. He felt a mixed surge of pain and pleasure rush throughout him. Gritting his teeth, he clung onto the noble so fiercely it was like he was drowning.
"Relax," Byakuya whispered, "Shall I stop?"
"No…"
"Then relax, Ichigo. You feel so good," Byakuya assured ardently. He heard Ichigo try to breathe slower, felt him release his nervous hold on him a little. Byakuya began to move his hips and closed his eyes in delicious ecstasy. So good, mmm...yes. Gliding gently, he moved in and out of Ichigo's perfectly tight body.
Byakuya was nearly purring like a big cat.
Ichigo focused on the pleasurable sounds the noble made and the pain began to subside slowly. Each stroke drove him closer and closer to madness, wonderful madness! Soon he was unable to hold back his own moans of pleasure, lips parted helplessly. He concentrated on Byakuya's determined face, his brow deeply furrowed. Ichigo let his hands roam again. He filled them with Byakuya's undulating rear. Searing waves of white heat coursed through him, each thrust made him hiss and pant and dig his fingernails into the firm flesh in his grasp. He spread his legs wider and eventually drove his own hips up to meet Byakuya's strokes, driving the other man even deeper inside.
Panting steadily, Byakuya began to lose all control of his willpower to take it slow and increased his rhythm, driving into Ichigo with primal demand. The vizard mewled and whined, tossing his head back as if gasping for much needed oxygen. Byakuya propped himself up, hands planted on either side of Ichigo's chest for better leverage and banged even harder into the man under him.
"Un! Byakuya!"
"Oh fuck!" Byakuya cussed, devoid of proper etiquette. He grunted with every thrust.
Face scrunched up with divine torment, Ichigo released strangled cries, his hands gripped onto Byakuya's biceps. He could feel the onslaught of orgasm tearing through his body.
Driving his final thrusts, panting with physical effort and joy, Byakuya watched as Ichigo came. The vizard squeezed his eyes shut, lips parted as he whimpered and shuddered beneath him, sending ribbons of pearly fluid across his own stomach. What a stunning sight. It simply drove Byakuya over the edge.
The noble gave one last hard stab and charged the serene night with his own climatic cry.
When Byakuya opened his eyes the world was nearly back to normal. He slipped himself out and stayed just how he was, propped over top of Ichigo waiting for him to look up at him. And he did. The expression on Ichigo's face was that of mild shock and total awe. Slowly, the vizard's hand came to brush damp hair from his face lovingly as he caught his breath and just watched him carefully. The hand moved lower and Ichigo swept his thumb delicately across his parched lips, over the top first and then across the bottom. For Byakuya, these touches meant everything after what they'd just done.
"Ichigo..." he murmured.
Ichigo had no words to say yet, all he could do was touch. He was revelling in what this man just made him feel and wrapped his arms around the spent captain, drawing him down for a sweet, sticky embrace. The noble didn't resist and Ichigo was thankful, he couldn't help but harbour a shred of fear just like he had the night they first kissed in his bedroom. Briefly, he worried again that Byakuya would come to his senses and become utterly disgusted with him. But something told him he was being ridiculous. Right now he felt the furthest thing from disgust, he felt fucking amazing!
Kon could kiss his…
"I don't know about you, but I'm famished," the noble muttered next to his ear.
Ichigo laughed loudly.
"Well, I have the perfect thing," he alleged and urged Byakuya up, "But I think we should get dressed first—find those head thingies of yours before we step on them."
"Agreed," was the solitary reply.
They got dressed in their respective uniforms quietly studying each other.
Suddenly Byakuya frowned, eyes steadied on Ichigo's collarbone, "You're not wearing the charm I gave you. Why?"
Shit! Why did Byakuya have to notice that right now? He didn't notice for the last couple of days, but he does so at this instant. Ichigo forced himself to play his best poker face. It was a matter of protecting the man he'd just given his virginity to! He sighed and answered, "I misplaced it…it's probably at home somewhere in my room. I'm sure it's safe." It wasn't a total lie, was it? Ok…it was a big lie.
The noble's face hardened and Ichigo felt like a shit for causing that after such an amazing thing they just shared. "I'm sorry," he said and meant it. "Please, don't be upset…not tonight."
Grey eyes softened a little, "You're so careless. Just don't do anything stupid, and don't depart from my sight."
"I think I can handle that. Now look what I brought you," Ichigo said, quickly changing the subject back to happier things. He handed Byakuya the bag from the store.
The noble dug out the bento boxes, the drinks and then a banana. He settled nonplused eyes on Ichigo while holding the fruit. "Is this is your attempt to tease me further? I really don't see the big deal," he said apathetically.
Ichigo was already howling with laughter with the look on Byakuya's face.
Coolly, Byakuya handed Ichigo the other banana, "Eat up, Ichigo. You're going to need it for round two."
The laughter died and Ichigo blinked at Byakuya stupefied, "Round two?"
Byakuya smiled coyly.
For the last few days Ukitake Jushiro and Shunsui Kyoraku spent most of their time indoors, sat at a table under the beam of a dreary desk lamp. They were inside the Archives building searching through mountains of documents and compilations of records. Their searching brought nothing but a sore stiff butt.
"Meh, I'm tired of looking through all this stuff," complained Shunsui, his head bare of his sakkat and his eyes lazy from sake consumption. He leaned back in his chair and slumped dejectedly, rubbing a hand over his stubbly chin, "I'm not sure this is fair. While Byakuya-kun is off gallivanting around in the human world, we're stuck in this depressing place collecting dust like all these books."
Jushiro was a lot more patient than his long time friend Shunsui, but even he sighed hopelessly at this point. "Indeed, the outlook of finding something useful here seems discouraging. We only collected a few names of shinigami's that went to the living world and became deserters. There is no record of Zero's signature listed anywhere, if only we had his real name. Maybe we need to search farther back."
"What do you think those two are up to anyways?" the Captain of the Eighth wondered, ignoring the topic at hand.
Ukitake's soft brown eyes looked up from a fat registry book he was studying, "I couldn't be sure."
Shunsui chuckled and joked, "Probably slappin' each other around."
Amused, Ukitake chuckled softly which became a mild cough. He caught his breath and replied, "I don't think they'd behave that childishly. Byakuya-kun has long since grown from that short fuse of his."
"I suppose you're right, Jushiro...but it still amazes me that our high and mighty lil' Captain of the Sixth has taken it upon himself to provide the young Kurosaki with his exclusive protection. Am I the only one that senses something risqué?" Shunsui finally admitted jovially. Half of his day was spent daydreaming about risqué stuff, he felt somewhat a master of these things.
"Risqué?" repeated Ukitake, "If by that you mean…"
A victorious smirk appeared on Kyoraku's face as a red streak blossomed on the crests of his best friend's cheeks, he gave a deep hearty laugh.
"Ha ha! Now you see where I'm going with this, Jushiro-chan."
The white-haired shinigami blinked, his face mildly surprised. He advised, "I think that is their business not ours, Shunsui. We really should be working on finding something more about their adversary." Suddenly, Ukitake had a thought with all this indecent dialogue, "What if there are hidden records…maybe Zero was caught up in a scandal with Soul Society, do you think? Perhaps we need to dig deeper."
Shunsui sighed. "Alright, alright…then that means we need to visit the twelfth division. That guy can get us into encrypted records…let's get out of this dump," he claimed with relief and plunked his sakkat back on his head.
Kyoraku and Ukitake entered the twelfth division pavilion and headed for Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's office which was more of a laboratory. The large, dark room was filled with the latest gadgetry belonging to Soul Society. Mysterious devices flashed and beeped and hummed. Gurgling noises came from random directions and so did cables of every variety and colour underfoot.
Mayuri was seated at his large terminal with his pretty, yet melancholic-looking daughter Nemu standing behind him.
She said without expression in her green eyes or her voice, "Kurotsuchi-taicho, we have visitors. Kyoraku-taicho and Ukitake-taicho are here."
The pharaoh-like captain swivelled around in his chair, his made-up face and yellow eyes glowing with a blue tinge from the screen. He said with mocking innocence, "I wondered how long it would take before you decided to come here." Blindly, he reached over, his eyes never leaving the captains and pressed a single button with one long finger.
On the screen blinked open an image of a blonde-haired man with distinctive eyes, one blue and one red. It appeared to be a profile.
Shunsui and Jushiro looked on surprised.
"Is that…?"
"His name: Arashi Akahoshi, born a human one hundred and three years ago in Osaka, Japan. He was a former lieutenant among the ranks of the Tokugawa Shogunate…a military man. Real world records claimed him to be a 'killing machine' with the highest number of enemy deaths. Once I was able to analyze the spirit signature we captured, I divided it into three parts...Human, Hollow and Shinigami."
"How long have you known this information?" Shunsui asked dryly
"That's of no importance," claimed the scientist.
Ukitake sighed, "And when were you going to share it with us?"
"Oh dear, oh dear…you see, this matter holds no interest for me. Clearly the information will not help you in your search, and I don't care what the outcome is."
"Just tell us what you know then," the Captain of the Eighth requested, there was no point arguing with Kurotsuchi-taicho.
"Nemu—explain," ordered Mayuri.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama," she said and began to speak in monotone. "After breaking down the three parts we were able to track down the owner of the human soul to Akahoshi. We then found a trace of the shinigami that transferred his powers into this man, although what his relationship was with him and why he transferred his power remains unknown. Although…"
The Captain of the Twelfth tapped at his terminal and a new image of a medium-height man, with a bush of black hair and blue eyes appeared. He was a very handsome young shinigami.
"A fifth seat, now deceased, once belonged to the Fifth Division, Daiki Horiuchi. He was sent on a mission in the Osaka region at the same time Akahoshi was stationed there. The transfer of shinigami powers was done exactly twenty-one days after. Hidden deep under encrypted records we found an order that Horiuchi was to terminate Akahoshi, otherwise the execution order placed on Horiuchi for fraternizing with a human would be upheld if Horiuchi failed. Our information shows that Horiuchi fled to the living world to carry out his order, and that was when his powers were given to Akahoshi. There appeared to be a battle, a medical prognosis shows Horiuchi was injured when he returned to Soul Society. An order of execution was placed on Horiuchi for failing, but he escaped Soul Society and disappeared. However, we know that Akahoshi could not have entirely died. Instead he survived encroachment, which suggests his chain of fate was severed when he'd momentarily lost his shinigami power, became human again and Horiuchi didn't finish the job. As well, there was a top-secret order given to a group of shinigami to hunt down Akahoshi and Horiuchi. But they never found either one of them. The record shows that that fifth seat shinigami died in the human world about forty years after the incident."
"That's some story," Shunsui murmured, "Did Akahoshi kill the shinigami?"
"I wonder what possessed him to break the law and give Akahoshi his power?" wondered Ukitake.
"We may never know the answer to that," Nemu answered evenly.
"The only interesting fact about this trivial nonsense is that this enemy is built almost exactly like Kurosaki Ichigo," Mayuri muttered, "Almost, but there is one significant difference—I shall not bore you with details. I would estimate that this, Zero—as he so wishes to call himself now, is Espada level according to his Hollow signature, definitely stronger than a captain, but I would not label him as such. Hmm, what do you think we should name this new sub-species, Nemu?"
"Err…I do not know."
"You useless idiot!" cried Nemu's father impatiently, but resumed his portentous naming, "I know…I shall call them, Soul Eaters."
"But there is only one that we know of," Shunsui reminded Mayuri, "I certainly hope there aren't others."
The strange scientist narrowed his eyes, disliking having his thunder stolen from him and swivelled his chair towards his terminal again. "If you are done here then I would like to get back to my work."
"One more thing," Ukitake claimed urgently, "Where is Zero now?"
Kurotsuchi didn't turn around as his fingers flew over buttons, eyes on his work. "His ability to conceal his spiritual energy is probably greater than yours or mine. I believe he has been able to crossover from Hueco Mundo and the real world, devouring souls for regeneration and growth. And it's just a theory, but he might spend his time residing in other inner worlds, which makes it nearly impossible to locate him." He thought of the enchanted charm Ichigo was wearing. "I believe we will be notified when Zero returns. Nemu show our guests out."
"Yes, Mayuri-sama."
A/N: The lemon AND a deeper look into the enemy, Zero. I really hope you enjoy! As for the lemon...I'm the kind of fangirl that likes to give the chars lube! XD! I figured just like the kiss...Ichigo had to be the one to reveal he was ready. I also wanted to show he wasn't sexually inept and actually braved with his purchasing of the lube lol! Something to show his maturity over the years. Next chapter Rukia and Renji come to visit.
Reviewers:
ladywolfinmt - Thanks so much! -squishes- Ichigo can be so silly. Queen rawks! I love them, too!
claudea - YAY! Thank you for showing your support!
kestrels - Waa! Your words make it all better! I was really iffy about that last chapter, so many, many thanks! Oh yes, Byakuya will have something to say about that charm, and the result...well, you'll see! It will all come together :) Thank you so much hun for your wonderful comments and encouragement. OH! I nearly forgot. Your mention of spanking gave me inspiration for a small bit in the final scene I'm writing for this fic...gah! It's a tough last chapter. BUT! It's totally dedicated to you! You'll see in chapter 17. -hugs!-
HaruHaruGD - I cannot express how awesome it is that you, and so many others continue to enjoy this fic! Your comments are cherished and uplifting! Once again thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy! -mega squishes- :P