Hehe… ^.^' Fairly explicit sexual intimacies here, all. Just a forewarning…

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Bleach storyline (such as Anzu) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

I was woken later when the bed next to me shifted. I shied away, thinking it was Aizen, only to let out a heavy sigh of relief when Shinji's much lither arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back of to him, his face nuzzling into my hair.

"Easy, Anzu…" He mumbled, "It's just me…"

I shuddered and latched onto him, burying my face against his neck and inhaling his scent deeply. Not clean and void like Aizen's. Shinji was musky and minty…

"I'm sorry…" I rasped, "I… I doubted you… All of you… I let that bastard convince me you all were monsters… And that… that you…" I looked up at him, "That… that mask…"

Shinji winced, looking away, "Right… the mask…"

"It was that first night I went home," I went on, confessing everything, "I… I had a nightmare that some man came into my room… A man with glowing eyes and a huge grin." When Shinji looked back at me and blinked, I winced and looked away, going on, "The man came back several times, and every time he came he was beaten by some… shimmering man. When Aizen came, I automatically recognized him as the man who'd saved me, and then when I saw you with the mask…"

"…I was the man from the nightmare…" Shinji mumbled, sighing. He paused, then said, "Aizen's zanpakuto is called Kyoka Suigetsu. Its power is somethin' he calls 'absolute hypnosis', and he can use it ta make anyone see whatever he wants. Yer not the first one to fall under the curse; up until a few months ago, he'd managed ta keep the whole Seireitei hypnotized fer over one hundred years."

"…The whole of the Seireitei?" I rasped, pulling back and looking up at him.

"All of 'em." Shinji nodded, somber, "…Even me. His captain…"

I winced, then winced again at the churning in my stomach, "Ugh… Shinji? Bahtroom…"

Shinji blinked, then nodded and let me go, and as soon as he did I shot out of the room, flying into the bathroom and kneeling over the toilet.

I think we all know what throwing up is like, so I won't submit you to that kind of torture by describing it. Safe to say that I will never, ever eat chickpeas again. After spending a good five minutes gargling with mouthwash I walked back out, smiling sheepishly at a worried Shinji. "Heh, sorry…"

"You sick?" He asked, frowning, "Did ya catch somethin' while you were over there?"

"Nah." I made a face, "I was thinking it might have been an allergic reaction to Aizen's nasty-ass tea."

Shinji quirked a brow, smirking widely, "Aizen had you drinking his tea?"

"Every day." I growled, glaring, "At breakfast, lunch, high noon, dinner, and after dinner. He fuckin' trained me to appreciate it— STOP LAUGHING, JACKASS! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Shinji was doubled over, clutching his stomach and laughing loudly, "He got ya to play teatime! He actually got ya to play his stupid game of teatime!"

"Shinji!" I launched myself at him and wrapped my hands around his neck, shaking his head back and forth. "Ya know what?! Yes! He did! The son of a bitch even taught me the fuckin' proper way to handle a tea ceremony!"

Shinji only laughed harder.

I screamed and jumped on him.

And ya know what?

For the first time in what seemed like ages I felt… happy.

Content.

Like I was all I could be, and that was just fine.

Yeah, everything in my life was out of whack, my monotony was ruined, and it was all this jackasses fault, but…

I couldn't bring myself to blame him.

Shinji made me feel… happy…

"Anzu?"

When I blinked and snapped out of it to find Shinji staring up at me with a curious look, I realized I must have been just sitting on his stomach for a few moments silently, staring at him.

I shook my head, then smiled and leaned down, kissing him. There were a few aggravated groans from everyone who was sitting in the room (after all, we were in the front room), but I ignored them, relaxing.

Shinji smirked and kissed me back, but I smirked, myself, and pulled away just as he'd started to respond, making him glare up at me with a devious smirk.

"Anzu, no teasin'…"

"I want you to show me your mask."

Shinji blinked, his smirk fading a bit and his head tilting in confusion, "Eh?"

"Your mask." I repeated, smirking slightly at how ridiculously adorable he looked, "I'd like to see it."

"Anzu…" Shinji began slowly, frowning slightly, "I don't think yer able to handl—"

"Aizen has his Cuatra Espada train me, personally." I cut him off, leaning in close to his face with a blank expression, "I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

Shinji blinked, then nodded, somber. "Alright. I'll show ya my mask… But first," He smirked, leaning in until our noses were touching, "Ya gotta get offa me."

I snorted, smirking back, then stood.

Shinji stood, stretching out his lanky body and throwing me a smirk, "Maybe we'll have to test to see just how much ya've grown, eh?"

I grinned, "I'm sure you saw my new ability earlier, right?"

"The reflective thing?" Shinji grinned widely, "Yeah… That was nice. You actually took down an Arrancar with it."

"Yeah, I saw…" I glanced over at the warehouse door, my grin fading slightly, "…Her name was Moana. She was supposed to be one of my escorts…"

"…Escorts?" Shinji asked. I could tell he wanted to ask more (they all did), but I guess after what they'd seen yesterday they didn't want to press.

"We were going for a walk around Las Noches…" I muttered, frowning slightly as I tried to remember, "I… There was an open garganta… I ran through… They… followed…" I winced, pressing a hand to my forehead.

That was the truth… right? It seemed right… It was the last thing I remembered… But my head hurt the more I tried to think about it…

"It's alright, Anzu." Shinji said, setting a hand on my shoulder, "They're dead. Yer safe."

I paused, then glanced at him, "They'll come after me… Aizen won't let me go that easily."

"They won't find ya." Shinji assured, nodding, "Not here." I just nodded slightly. "…Come on." He have a half smirk and tugged on my shoulder when I turned to him, "Mask time, right? And maybe we'll test yer new skills while we're down there."

I smirked slightly, then turned and followed him downstairs.

"I'm tellin' ya, Anzu." Shinji insisted, crossing his arms and frowning, "Step back some more."

"And I'm telling you," I frowned back at him, twitching and glaring stubbornly, "That I'm fine. My barrier will adjust itself to its highest level if needed, and I probably won't feel a thing. Just put on the goddamned mask already."

"…Fine." Shinji grumbled, muttering and taking a step back, glaring when I smirked and took a step forward, keeping only ten feet between us. Shinji grumbled a bit more, then raised his hand and grabbed at something in front of his face.

As he slowly raked his curled fingers down, I dredged up my barrier and flicked my wrist slightly, making it flare to life but keeping it at a fairly low level.

When Shinji's spiritual pressure shot up I twitched slightly, my barrier darkening a hint. I tensed at Shinji's masked face, but otherwise didn't respond.

"…Scary, ain't it?" Shinji mumbled after a moment, his voice a bit distorted.

"No." I answered.

"Yer lyin'…" Shinji sighed, "This mask was the whole reason you 'nd I started to separate at the end… When ya started gettin' scared of me."

I blinked, then walked forward. My barrier tried to flare and lash out at him, but I pushed it back and forced it down as much as I could, ignoring how uncomfortable it felt to be so close to him with his reiatsu as it was.

Shinji blinked, the muscles in his throat tensing as if he were trying to say something.

Before he could I reached up, touching his mask.

Shinji tensed slightly.

I stared at the bone in front of me, my fingers still brushing over the lower area of the mandible. I raised my other hand and traced up the mandible, up the strip that divided the left and right sections of his teeth (I skipped touching those), over his cheeks, to the ridge above the holes for his eyes…

Shinji shuddered, his black-sclera, bronze-iris eyes slipping shut.

I smirked slightly, "Aww, yer not that scary at all, are ya? Yer just a big, pharaoh-faced teddy bear…"

Shinji twitched, one eye opening and narrowing down at me, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat.

I grinned up at him.

"…Teddy bear, am I?" Shinji growled, a hint of a smirk evident in his voice.

"That's right." I nodded, my grin widening slightly. I was bent over in a flash, Shinji's lips sealed over mine with his mask pushed back over his head and his eyes narrowed down at me, a smirk on his lips. I smirked back, then pressed up against him, closing my eyes and relishing in the feel of him.

There was no point in holding back anymore.

The last time I'd held back, I'd almost never seen him again…

That wouldn't happen again.

No holding back ever.

I raised my hand and curled my fingers around the back of his neck, pulling his lips down more firmly against mine.

Shinji startled slightly at the forwardness, then returned with fervor, his lips parting slightly so his tongue could snake out.

I opened my mouth and drew him in, both arms going up to wrap around his neck with one hand clamping down on his mask.

Shinji's hands pressed against my lower back, one playing with the hem of my shirt for a moment before it slipped under the cloth so his fingers could play against my skin.

I arched and gasped.

The feel of Shinji's hands was far, far different from Aizen's. Each stroke, each brush of his calloused fingers and palms against my skin sent warm shivers shooting through my body, making my breasts and groin tingle.

"Shinji…" I rasped hoarsely, rubbing up against him.

Shinji jerked slightly, then groaned and grabbed my ass, squeezing.

I twitched and nipped his lip sharply, making him smirk. "Fucking pervert…"

"Maybe…" He chuckled, biting my neck, "But I'm your pervert." He squeezed my butt again, his finger flicking out and brushing between my legs.

I gasped again, groaning.

His smirk widening, Shinji scooped me up into his arms and banished his mask.

I had to close my eyes against the uncomfortable, nauseating feel of his flash steps, and when I opened them again I was laying on my back on his bed, Shinji's grinning face hovering above mine.

I flushed, then froze, shying away from his wandering hands, "Sh-Shinji, don't…"

"…'m not Aizen, Anzu…" He murmured after a moment, his smirk fading, "And yer not under any kind of mind control. If ya don't want to, we won't. That simple. But…" He leaned in a bit, his hands gently caressing down my sides and to my hips, "I think ya do want it."

A small whimper escaped my lips and I sighed when his hands traveled over my thighs, his breath hot against my neck as he kissed from my jaw down to the curve. "…Y… You'll… take it…slow…?"

"Slow as ya need me to." Came his husky answer, and he paused before pulling his head back and giving me a cocky smirk, "At first. I promise, you'll be beggin' for me to keep goin' faster 'nd faster 'nd fa—"

I flushed and punched his chest, jerking away from his hands.

Shinji chuckled, whispering soothing, nonsensical things to me before he even thought about bringing his hands back to my sides and letting them wander down and tug at my top. "…So?"

I swallowed, then reached up and started fumbling with the buttons on his dress shirt with shaky hands.

"Hey…" He took my hands in his, forcing me to stop. "Relax… Let me take care of it."

I shuddered, my hands falling uselessly to my sides. When he shed his shirt a few seconds later I looked away, my breathing ragged.

Another chuckle, then his hand cupped my jaw and tilted my head back up, Shinji pressing a searing kiss to my lips and coaxing my mouth open.

I complied, hardly noticing when his hands unzipped my top and eased my hakama off…

He must have been waiting until he thought I was asleep to make his move, because Shinji reclined there, awake, for hours before finally trying to move away.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, opening my eyes and looking up at him, "Where are you going?"

Shinji frowned slightly, then smirked and quirked a brow, "How long've you been waitin'?"

"Long enough." I frowned, "Now, where are you going that you had to wait until I was 'asleep' to make your move?"

"…The war is here." Shinji sighed, "I'm goin' to fight."

"Not without me, you're not." I growled, sitting up and slipping my leg over his body to straddle his bare stomach. I glared down at him, "If you're going to fight that son of a bitch, you're taking me with you."

"Anzu…" Shinji sighed again. He paused, then reached out and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, jerking me down against his body. He smirked when I flushed, "You're staying. This isn't a battle for humans."

I twitched slightly, then quirked a brow and reached behind me, grabbing him.

Shinji choked, flushed and groaned, his head lolling back as I slid off of him and stroked his flaccid member slowly, the skin twitching when my thumb flicked over it.

"You're not leaving me here." I said evenly, my cheeks burning slightly as he started to harden.

"Y-Yes…" Shinji gasped, his head rolling forward so he could regard me as seriously as he could through lust-hazed eyes, "I am. You're st-stayin'…"

"Going." I gave him a particularly hard jerk.

Shinji yelped, clamping his eyes shut and hissing out, "Stayin'."

"Going." I jerked again, kissing his abdomen just above his diaphragm.

"St-Stayin'!"

I quirked a brow, surprised he could still talk. …I'd have to take care of that. Scooting my body down the bed a bit, I laid out half of my naked body on one of his legs, moving slowly as he watched me. Hand still on him, I lowered my head and kissed his abdomen just a few inches below his bellybutton, still staring up and meeting his eyes. At the same time, I gave him another sound jerk.

"Going."

Shinji groaned loudly, and I yelped as he grabbed me and flipped me over, pinning me in a flash with my head against his pillows and his body positioned between my legs.

"Stayin'." He growled, thrusting in.

I inhaled sharply and moaned, reaching up and grabbing his hair to jerk him down into a kiss. I was already so close… Just from being so near him, just from the fact that I was still recovering from earlier, I was already close to a climax.

But he stopped and nearly pulled all the way out at the last possible second, smirking when I wailed and writhed against him.

"Stayin'." He repeated firmly, grabbing my chin and forcing me to meet his eyes, "Is that clear?"

"Nnnn…" I glared, then shuddered and wrapped my legs around his waist, trying do draw him in closer. He wouldn't move. "Nnnngh… FINE!!"

Shinji grinned, then thrust back in fully one final time, making my body arch and my toes curl, a cry tearing from my throat only to be muffled by his lips against mine.

"Good girl, Anzu…" He mumbled, his arms wrapping around me as we both came back down from our respective highs. "You stay here, where it's safe…"

I glared up at him weakly, grinding my teeth and forcing the burning in my eyes to keep at bay, "You had better fucking live or I'm following you."

Shinji smiled, cupping my jaw, "Don't worry about that, Anzu. I'm comin' back."

I leaned into him, closing my eyes as he kissed me before letting him go and curling up against his chest, sighing happily when he indulged me and laid back down for a few more hours of rest.

"…Go now, Gin. Retrieve her."