Being his bitch again, King? I keep telling you to bite him!
"Shut… up… unh…" Ichigo moaned as that rock hard length plunged into him again, filling him with more reiatsu. The Claim was still an amazing experience, the best sex he'd ever had in his life. It was terribly draining though so despite how good it felt, they only did this once a month. That was still a huge amount of reinforcement and probably overkill, but Grimmjow wasn't taking any chances.
"You don't want to hear me talk, shinigami?"Grimmjow said from behind him. They were in the classic doggy style pose, the arrancars weight resting against his back. Ichigo panted, his arms struggling to hold him up as the pleasure washed over him again and again. "Well, too bad… you're so fucking hot, I just have to tell you." A rough hand encircled his engorged penis, but the stimulation was almost superfluous. With that honey sweet reiatsu wrapping around his core, stroking his body in a way no hands ever could, nothing could make the experience better.
Grimmjow tried though. That hand on his length, a kiss on the back of his neck, more thrusts and more reiatsu poured into him. Ichigo was whimpering with the intense pleasure by the time fangs tore at his throat. He cried out as he orgasmed, his body rocking with the force of it. Grimmjow growled as he came, filling the body under him with his seed.
Grimmjow untangled their bodies and Ichigo gasped softly as he was pulled to a clean spot on the bed. But then Grimmjow poked him in the side.
"Hey, stay awake for a moment." That was Claim enforced and Ichigo struggled to gather his wandering mind. "That hollow of yours, is he awake?"
"Huh? Yeah." Ichigo said drowsily. He really wanted to sleep. Why couldn't this wait until morning…?
"Has he been trying to get you to put a Claim on me?" That woke him up a bit and Ichigo swallowed as he heard the dangerous tone in Grimmjow's voice. He nodded hesitantly, looking over his shoulder at the arrancar. His blue eyes were like ice. "I thought so. Tell the cuntlicker that if he does it, Aizen will kill us both."
"Cuntlicker? Grimm, really?" Ichigo complained before thinking about the rest of what he was saying. "Wait, did something happen?" He asked, apprehensive. Grimmjow grunted before nodding.
"Yeah, that Lisa chick managed to get a mating Claim on Halibel. Ulquiorra spotted it and tattled like the suck-up he is." Grimmjow's voice was rough with contempt but Ichigo was worried for Lisa now. Was she…? "Aizen let it go because the bitch is only fukutaichou level. But he told Halibel that if the girl tries anything, her head would answer for it. Then he called me into a private meeting and told me you're not a fucking fukutaichou and if he catches a whiff of a Claim on me, he'll kill us both. He put it more nicely but it was pretty fucking clear."
"See? I told you." Ichigo muttered to his hollow, who didn't reply. He honestly wasn't surprised though. He was only surprised that Lisa had managed to bite Halibel. She must have taken the Espada by surprise. "Don't worry. I already thought of that, it's why we never tried." He said to Grimmjow and the Espada nodded. "So we'll never have a Mating claim." He couldn't help the hint of sadness in his voice. He wasn't sure he wanted to be chained to the violent man forever, but he would have liked to have the option. There was a pause and then Grimmjow shrugged.
"Not right now." He said quietly and a big hand caught his chin, running a thumb along his jaw in a surprisingly gentle gesture. Then Grimmjow smiled, an almost wistful expression. "Not until Aizen's opinion doesn't matter anymore." He said it lightly but Ichigo's stomach lurched at the thought.
"Don't say that." He said sharply. Aizen's opinion only wouldn't matter if Tigre and his sisters were under dire threat, or already gone. Like Grimmjow's first family… vanished, leaving him unanchored and uncaring. The Espada's smile turned a bit crooked and he shrugged.
"You never know what'll happen someday. But fuck this shit. Go to sleep." That wasn't Claim enforced but Ichigo obeyed anyway. The exhaustion that always followed the Claim was dragging him under.
His sleep was peaceful and there were no dreams that he could remember.
Time passed by and seasons changed.
It was winter by the time Tigre began to use full sentences. And it was about that time he began to learn how to hunt. It was a hilarious sight and the little one wasn't very good at it, bundled up in a heavy coat and trying to toddle after his father. But the baby enjoyed every moment of it and he was getting bigger. Soon, he'd be up to catching things himself, not just sharing from Grimmjow's kills.
Ichigo was a bit ambivalent about that. He liked that they were spending time together but he wasn't sure he liked the thought of his little boy eating raw meat. At first he'd been concerned about parasites and things, but his hollow had laughed himself sick and asked if he really thought a child who could fix broken legs in minutes would be harmed by parasites. Ichigo had to admit it wasn't likely… unless they were made by Szayel, anyway.
Szayel was a constant fixture in their life. As the second oldest of the hybrid children, Tigre had very regular checkups. Szayel had been absolutely fascinated by his regeneration, which was unique among the children so far. He had a theory that it might fade when Tigre reached adulthood. Hollows usually had to make a choice between increased durability and high speed regeneration. Right now, Tigre's hierro was very weak. The regeneration might be a compensation. To Ichigo's mind, that didn't explain why Shimonami didn't have it. Her hierro was quite weak.
The play dates continued to occur and Ulquiorra came to several of them. Ichigo could feel his eyes on him, particularly when he talked to Orihime. But gradually, the distrust seemed to lower. He even dared to go to their house when he knew Ulquiorra would be home and request that Tigre be allowed to play with Casamir. Ulquiorra had wanted to refuse, that had been obvious, but his boy had caught wind of his favorite playmate and the Espada couldn't say no to a child tugging on his leg and looking up at him hopefully.
That meant Ichigo and Orihime got to spend more time together. It was nice, a return to normality after all the turmoil they'd gone through. Of course, that did lead to some awkward moments.
"How are you doing?" Ichigo asked quietly and Orihime gave him a small smile. There was an echo of sadness to it, though.
"I'm fine Kurosaki-kun. I love Casamir very much." She said before looking at the children. They were playing down by the river and had already fallen in once. Fortunately, Tigre could instinctively swim and Casamir had the ability to summon little bat wings. They weren't very large and he couldn't fly well, but it was enough to get him out of a chilly river. "I'm… fond of Ulquiorra-san. Although not…" She stopped and Ichigo could easily fill the rest in. Especially with the way she glanced at him, the warmth in her eyes. How had he been so blind to it before?
"Orihime, I'm gay." He said honestly. "Even if none of this had happened, there wouldn't have been anything between us." He was sure of that now. His blindness before had been a sign of it. But Orihime frowned, looking away.
"Is it what that Espada has done to you, that makes you say that?" She asked in an undertone and Ichigo shook his head.
"No. I don't know if Ulquiorra told you this, but hollows are made up of male and female souls. If they have enough control they can switch genders. So I know I'm gay." He said firmly and Orihime's eyes went wide at the thought. "And I happen to know that Ulquiorra can do it too. So if you're ever questioning your sexuality…" He said with a smile, reflecting on the fact that Grimmjow was definitely rubbing off on him. He'd never have said something like that before. Orihime's cheeks suddenly flamed red before she shrieked.
"Kurosaki-kun! I am not lesbian!" The look on her face was just… Ichigo couldn't help it, he laughed. The two boys both looked at them for a moment before deciding they were boring and incomprehensible and went back to their game. "Oh, you…!" Orihime was still blushing furiously when she called on her hairpins. "Koten Zanshun!"
"Ack!" Ichigo hadn't been expecting a laughing Tsubaki in the face. Fortunately Orihime didn't actually want to hurt him so the fairy's attack just stung a little and knocked him onto his back. "Ow!" He complained, rubbing his forehead. Orihime immediately looked horrified.
"Oh Kurosaki-kun, I'm so sorry!" She apologized but he waved it off, sitting up with a smile.
"It's okay. But it's starting to get late, I should probably take Tigre home." It was lovely watching the children at play but Grimmjow and his sisters would be home soon. Grimm would want to give Tigre a hug and take him out for some fun before dinner. Unless he needed a nap, of course. But Tigre wasn't napping too much anymore.
"Yes, and I should get started on supper." Orihime said and Ichigo vaguely wondered how well Ulquiorra was surviving on her cooking. But then, the Espada didn't have to eat unless he wanted to and Casamir knew nothing else. By now, the little boy might like it. Just before they left Tigre impulsively hugged his friend, who hugged him back. The two adults couldn't help but aww at the cuteness.
The next few weeks passed normally, but then something unusual happened. Ulquiorra happened to be home and was with them, watching the children, when he abruptly went back into the house. Ichigo and Orihime were both rather confused by his action but it was quickly resolved as he brought a complete stranger with him into the backyard. She was an older woman with black hair, a kindly smile and a very familiar little girl in her arms.
"Katapira!" Ichigo smiled as the little girl squealed and reached for him. She was smiling, her grey eyes flashing with excitement. "Can I…?" He asked the woman and she easily handed the little girl over. Ichigo tickled her, smiling. "I don't think we've met." He said, the most tactful way he could think of to ask for her name. Her smile widened for a moment before she answered.
"I am Kuchiki Miyaki." She answered and Ichigo blinked, surprised. She laughed throatily at the look on his face. "Just a poor cousin, not one of the main clan. I'm Katapira's nanny."
"Nana!" The little girl announced happily and Ichigo smiled as he cuddled her. Just from what little he could see, he thought Kata was in good hands. That was good, the little one definitely needed some love.
The boys were reluctant to bring the little girl into their play. Kata was definitely younger. But they were building something made out of wooden sticks and they quickly found a use for her. Kata was more than willing to carry them sticks and the adults just watched the children at play. It would have been better if they could have left the little ones to play by themselves, but they knew better. There was too much tension in Soul Society, too many possible enemies. There were still explosions, still attempted assassinations. Still arrests and people simply vanishing in the night. No one was likely to forget that and the children were possible targets.
"Kurosaki-kun, look at that!" Orihime's voice interrupted him and Ichigo blinked as he followed her pointing finger. She was gesturing towards Kata and he stared as he saw what she was seeing. The little girl was carrying a stick that was really much too big for her. She was managing it because she had more than on pair of arms wrapped around it as she walked.
"Oh my. I never saw her do that before." Miyaki sounded slightly shocked. The extra arms vanished as Katapira dropped the stick. Casamir took it without comment, adding it to the structure he and Tigre were building. Was it meant to be a raft? Ichigo wondered what they planned to use for rope. Casamir was very good at planning things out, despite being so young. He might actually have an idea for that.
They watched, fascinated, as Kata managed to bring them a stick that was closer to a log. The little girl was beaming, proud of her efforts. Then Tigre noticed the extra arms.
"Hey! You have four arms!" He said and Kata looked confused.
"No, two." She said and Tigre looked just as confused before pointing at her.
"No, four." He corrected her and she looked down before gasping. The extra arms abruptly disappeared and the log immediately dragged her down. She collapsed and cried out in pain as her hands were trapped under the wood. Ichigo winced as Miyaki ran to her, helping lift the log off her little hands.
"Oh dear." She examined the wounds and Ichigo blinked as he realized that Katapira didn't have much hierro or high speed regeneration. Why had his child gotten that? Maybe it was one of the 'unusual genetic expressions' Szayel had mentioned.
You know, she's interesting. I like her better than that Shimonami girl. Maybe she'd make a good mate for Tigre. His hollow commented as Orihime called up her healing power, taking care of Kata's minor wounds.
"Okay, that is unbelievably premature." He muttered and Ulquiorra gave him an odd look. Ichigo just looked away, reminded that many Espada had excellent hearing. Ulquiorra's base form was a bat, his would be better than most. "Are they making a raft?"
"Yes. They're planning to use woven reeds for rope." Ulquiorra replied and Ichigo blinked at the thought. He wasn't sure how that would work. "It was Tigre's idea." That surprised him even more… but Tigre was good at coming up with fun ideas. "He's an acceptable child." That sounded lukewarm but Ichigo knew by now that it was high praise from the emotionless Espada. Ichigo smiled at that.
"Casamir is acceptable too." He said, gently teasing. The Espada blinked slowly at him, a bit surprised. "And Orihime seems to be happy." That was surprising but it was also true. Orihime had settled well into motherhood and seemed to be getting along well with her mate. Ulquiorra tensed slightly and Ichigo continued. "She's my friend, I'm glad she's happy." And she's only my friend. Ichigo hoped Ulquiorra got the message. He seemed to from the way he nodded.
The raft wasn't done when they had to break up the game. Tigre and Casamir were both unhappy but the adults assured them the sticks would still be there tomorrow. The 'rope' made out of braided reeds wasn't very good, but it was a credible first effort. Ichigo smiled as he rolled it up for them. A real rope would be much easier, but it was pretty good for a pair of little boys.
They could play with it again tomorrow.
Elsewhere, in Hueco Mundo.
Chad paused as he felt something. It was mostly instinct. Since he'd been stranded in Hueco Mundo he'd learned to trust in his instincts.
Those instincts said he was in deadly danger. Glancing around slowly, he couldn't locate the source of the threat. Whatever was in the sands was concealing itself well. He couldn't pick up a hint but his instincts knew there was –
Chad suddenly flung himself back, just in time to evade a pronged piece of bone. It hissed past him with an evil sound and suddenly, two hollows revealed themselves, leaping over a nearby dune. Their reiatsu, which had been almost undetectable before, beat on him like a storm. They were stronger than the arrancar he'd defeated and there were two of them.
Chad still fought to the best of his abilities and they were both smarting from his attacks when he was brought down. The big teen stared at the stars above him as one of them loomed over him. He was about to die. He'd fought well, done his best, but sometimes the best wasn't good enough…
"What is he?" Something poked him and Sado blinked, trying to focus. The voice was male, a surprisingly melodic tenor. It sounded like this hollow would make an excellent singer.
"Who caressss. Let usss kill him and take him to the old one." The second said, a female voice with a rasping hiss. "He will be a desssent meal."
"Mmm. True, but he's strange. Anything strange should be investigated, don't you think?" The male voice said and there was a pause. Chad blinked, his eyes clearing enough that he could really see the male above him. He seemed to be a stag? There were great branching horns on his head at least. The female beside him was definitely snake-like, with long, tangled black hair that stretched down he back.
"Ssss… you may have a point." The female allowed and Chad began to push himself up. "Hsss! Sssstay down." She snapped at him and he hesitated before obeying. These two could still kill him if they cared to.
"If we're going to take him to the great one we should let him walk, don't you think? Easier on the two of us." The stag said brightly and the snake shook her head. "Unless he's too slow. Actually, he probably is. He feels better than adjuchas strength but he's not vasto lorde." Chad blinked as he realized what these two had to be. The highest ranking of the hollow race but they were unbroken, not affiliated with Aizen. The female hissed.
"He isss not a hollow, even if he feelsss like one. You carry him, I ssshall not." She said and the stag shrugged before offering the teen a hand. He accepted it cautiously, wincing in pain as he was pulled to his feet. He honestly thought he was too badly hurt to keep up with them.
"He's too badly hurt." Sado blinked at the odd echoing of his thought. "I'll carry him. What's your name? I'm Cynnbel Brittanwyvar." He introduced himself cheerfully. Chad thought it was rather strange, speaking so nicely to someone you likely intended to devour. "This is Natwa, no last name she'll give me. I think she doesn't like me, I am very sad." He did sound very sad but the snake just sniffed in disgust. "My, you're large. Oh well…" Chad blinked as the male hollow knelt down in front of him. "Piggy back! Easiest way, if I try to carry you my claws would dig in." He said and Sado really thought that was quite likely. He briefly considered trying to strike at the hollow and escape, but quickly discarded the thought. The snake woman was watching him and he had no doubt she would kill him, even if she didn't particularly care for her companion.
Wrapping his arms around the hollow's neck, Sado noticed that he was tall and lightly built. Despite that, Cynnbel lifted him as easily as a twig. Soon they were coursing through the sands, moving with a speed the teen could only envy. He was fast but not this fast.
They slowed and finally arrived at what looked like a large, greenish blue stone. Then it unfolded and Chad caught his breath as he felt the weight of a dark, heavy reiatsu. The body that uncurled was long and lean, powerfully built with a predatory appearance. The face was mostly bare, aside from what looked like a chinguard of bone, and was covered in black tattoos. But instead of hair, it looked like the hollow was wearing a helmet made from the head of a shark. And the shark theme did not stop there… There were razor sharp fins on his legs and arms, as well as slits in the sides of his throat that mimicked gills. They were bone, though, and clattered faintly as Sado met the creatures' eyes. They were dark grey, cold and pitiless.
"What is this thing?" The monster rumbled, its voice so deep it was like listening to boulders rubbing against each other. The male answered.
"We don't know, really, great one. He doesn't seem to talk much." The stag knelt so Chad could easily dismount as the ancient hollow grunted. Those grey eyes studied him for a moment before the hollow drew his own conclusions.
"A human. Why are you here, in our land of lost souls?" He asked and Chad hesitated a moment. But that cold gaze demanded an answer. "Do you belong to Aizen?" There was no inflection, no change in that deep voice, but Sado quickly shook his head.
"No. I came to rescue a friend from him." He said honestly and the hollow regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "I am his enemy." Chad was very glad he could say that truthfully. The hollow grunted before nodding.
"As am I, although he knows me not." There was anger in that deep voice, powerful and unrelenting. "I am Nngato Taniwha. Some call me the sea monster." The hollow regarded him for a moment more before nodding. "An enemy of Aizen is worth preserving. So. I give you a choice. Come hunt for me as I try to save what is already lost, or I will devour you now and put your life energies to good use." That wasn't much of a choice. But Chad did have a question.
"What is already lost?" That didn't make a great deal of sense. The sea monster just grunted, scratching his side with one taloned hand.
"Aizen has not properly claimed the Throne of Heaven. Even now, the barriers weaken. We cannot stop this, only delay it. If nothing is done, she will return." The ancient hollow spat the word 'she' with venom. "I barely survived the last time, and it was less bad. This will be a nightmare brought to life." He muttered and Chad felt truly confused. What was the male talking about? Fortunately the hollow sensed his confusion. "She is sometimes called the Red Queen, but she has no name. She exists in the cast off bits, the pieces of the three worlds that failed and were discarded. Cut off from the passage of time, they simmer and stagnate, giving rise to horrors that desire nothing more than to be real. But to become real they must steal our reality… our lives, our souls, our names. Our time." The hollow said and Chad wondered if this was some kind of bizarre fantasy. It sounded very strange. "I see you do not believe me yet. But you will. She is coming. She will be here soon."
"I really didn't want to hear that again. It's extremely creepy." The stag said nervously and Chad glanced at him. He could see the other hollow believed it. "Really, I think the dragon explained it better."
"No. He dessscribed what happensss when they kill you. It wasss awful." Natwa corrected as the sea monster chuckled, a sound like boulders grinding together. "And they will affect everything. There isss no sssafety, even in death." She sounded grim and Sado could see she believed it as well. Hesitating, he considered it. But his other option was being eaten. That made things rather simple.
"I will help you." He said. He'd been feeding on hollows for some time, hunting them down for this vasto lorde wouldn't be much harder. And maybe after a while watching him, Chad would understand what he was doing.
He could only hope.
Starrk scowled as he stalked the streets of the Rukongai. He was in his full resurrection and Lilinette was in the holsters he'd had made for her some time ago. His guns were snoring peacefully, keeping to her daylight schedule even as the Primera stalked the streets.
His duty was fairly urgent. The Rukongai was in a panic over a particularly terrible serial killer. Given that people regularly fought and died in the Rukongai and corpses could often be found in job lots, that was really saying something. But from what Starrk had heard, this killer was leaving behind the kind of bodies that should have required Szayel's expertise and many, many hours of careful work in a medical lab. Or perhaps, the attentions of the late Mayuri Kurotsuchi. And it was being done insanely quickly. Several times a person was gone for just a few minutes before friends found the body in… interesting condition.
The hysteria was spreading through the Rukongai like a rash. People were saying the arrancar were behind it. Given all the things they had done, that was a reasonable fear but Starrk knew it wasn't correct. Several arrancar had vanished too, but their bodies had not been found at all. And he wasn't in the Rukongai to sniff the thing out. No, his reiatsu was quite overpowering in full release, he couldn't hope to hide it. Starrk was there was bait. Aizen thought whatever was doing this might be quite stupid and unable to resist the allure of an Espada in full release.
That made Starrk nervous. He was reasonably sure this had something to do with his stalker. Had something finally… arrived? Something more solid than the thing spying on him? He really didn't want to be doing this. On the other hand, it would be a relief to finally confront the thing that had been making his patrols a misery –
There was a soft rattle and Starrk stopped dead, slowly turning. The sound was not repeated but Starrks' single eye narrowed, his hand dropping to his gun. He hadn't imagined that. There was something here. His mind rapidly identified all the available sounds – the wind turning a weather vane, the soft rustle of the leaves on an oak tree. Nothing quite matched the rattle he'd heard. Drawing his gun, Starrk settled in to wait. He could be patient. And also…
"Lilinette, wake up. You need to take my back." There was a grumbling protest from his guns but then a spirit wolf appeared, yawning widely. It took a position at his back, preventing anything from taking him by surprise. The standoff continued for a while before Starrk heard an exasperated hiss.
Then something attacked. Starrk didn't really catch a very good glimpse of it. It was red yet oddly translucent, as if it was made of gel. It moved very fast but the Primera moved faster and he lashed out, fetching it a brutal kick before using his guns. He had to calibrate the blasts very carefully and even so, he knew he would be damaging some of the buildings. It didn't matter. This thing needed to be eliminated.
It really wasn't very strong and he quickly defeated it. When it was dead Starrk examined it for a moment, fascinated. It really did look like a red gel with black, organ like things deep inside. He tried to pick up the corpse, intending to bring it to Szayel. But it quickly dissolved in his hands. As it did, Starrk felt an odd tug on his souls but he easily ignored it. Frowning, the Coyote watched as the creature turned into a puddle of goo. He wondered if he should try to gather some for Szayel, then shook his head. He didn't have any specimen bottles, no way to carry the gel.
"Eww. Gross!" Starrk blinked at that and looked at Lilinette. The wolf body she was using was nudging at something in an alleyway. "Cool though. I wonder how it did this? It didn't even have hands!" Starrk walked towards her and blanched as he saw what she was regarding with ghoulish enthusiasm.
"Lilinette, get away from that!" He said, absolutely repulsed. The person in question hadn't been skinned per se. No… it was like their skin had been turned inside out. It was still alive, too, and suffering horribly. Starrk corrected that with a single shot from his gun. The wolf vanished as Lilinette returned fully to his weapons. "We need to report to Aizen." Starrk had no idea what that creature had been but it made his skin crawl. And it was suspiciously weak. That made him wonder if it was merely a scout of some kind. But for what?
He would probably find out eventually.