WARNING, CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT.

maybe at the end of the journey…

With a crestfallen look on her young face, Akako followed Ichigo as he and Grimmjow headed to Himura's main gate. "Do you… do you have to leave now, Ichi-nii?" she asked, eyes beginning to tear up.

Coming to a stop in front of the gate, Ichigo looked down to Akako, "Yes. I'm sorry, but I have a very long journey ahead of me and I don't want to prolong it. My friend is out there waiting for me to find her, and I told this guy I'd get his arm healed for him." He replied.

"My parents said you could as long as you need to! We all really like you!"

"Thank you for the offer, and thanks for the hospitality you showed us. You offer is very tempting, but we really have to get going."

Grimmjow stuffed his hand into his pocket and started walking again, ready to leave the village. Getting the sight of those creatures out of his head, and also avoiding whatever monsters were running around the forest to the east were things he couldn't do any quicker.

Ichigo noticed Grimmjow walking on ahead and then started after him.

"Wait! Take this!" Akako shouted.

The orange-head turned and saw her holding a small, white bag up to him, "What's this?" he asked.

"It's a medical kit my sister made for you guys. She's taking on responsibility as the village doctor, so I guess she put everything you need in here. Also, there's a map of the west with other villages my dad included for you. Plus there's a place for you to put the crystals you find." The girl said, offering the bag to Ichigo.

Ichigo took it and smiled, "Well thank you. And it's great to hear that you all still have a doctor. Tell your parents I appreciate them putting us up, and tell Akiko I wish her the best luck and that she should follow her own path." He said. His eyes grew wide when Akako grabbed him into a hug… well, his legs anyway.

"Be careful, Ichi-nii."

"I will. See you later, Akako." Ichigo said, and then left said girl standing at the gate, "Take care of yourself and your family! Oh, and the chickens, too!" he called over his shoulder as he hurried after his travel companion.

"Goodbye, Ichigo! Come back and visit us sometime! You too, Mr. Grumpyjow!"

Grimmjow turned and furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could say anything about his nickname, Ichigo caught up to him, "What's with that grin?"

"Heh, that nickname suits you so well." The orange-haired boy said while stifling chuckles.

"You are just as childish as she is." Grimmjow riposted, and then turned his attention to the road ahead.

Ichigo sighed. Alone with Grimmjow again. This would definitely be a long journey…

Late evening.

"So where are we going now?" Grimmjow asked out of the blue, breaking the evening silence as he and Ichigo headed down the road that led further west.

Ichigo pulled out the map Akako's father had given them and skimmed it. "It seems like the closest temple to us is the jungle temple. If we keep going, we can reach the start of the jungle by nightfall." He replied.

"We're not stopping for the night. We'll press through the jungle until we reach the temple."

Almost angirly, Ichigo stopped in the middle of the road. "I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but we're going to need to rest. We'd be no good if our trial was a battle and we weren't well prepared."

Irritated, Grimmjow also stopped and then turned to Ichigo. "We'll never get anywhere if we keep making pit stops when you lose your breath! We already wasted enough time in that village!"

"Humans need rest, Grimmjow. Not everyone is a hybrid and advanced creature like you are." The shorter man said, then immediately regretted it. Grimmjow looked a little displeased at hearing that, and when he started walking without retort, Ichigo followed him somberly.

…

Now off the road, since it was going to lead them away from the temple, Ichigo climbed a grassy hill and looked up at the sky above. It was nighttime now, and the moon and stars were out shining as bright as they ever had. Up ahead, Grimmjow was stalking through the grass, climbing the hill without effort. Seeing his almost silhouetted form made the boy feel guilt coming back from his earlier comment. He hadn't meant to say something like that, but sometimes Grimmjow just asked for it. His orange eyebrows rose when Grimmjow stopped at the top of the hill and turned. "What?"

"The jungle is right down there. Hurry up." The bluenette said.

Ichigo did just that and quickly climbed the hill to be at Grimmjow's side. Indeed, the jungle was waiting for them a little bit from the bottom of the hill. When Grimmjow started down the hill, Ichigo followed him closely, intent on keeping up. It wasn't that difficult, because going down a slope was certainly easier than fighting gravity by going up one.

"I guess you'll be able to keep up as we go down the hill, huh?" Grimmjow remarked, then started on his way down.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but followed right behind the Arrancar.

When they came to the bottom of the hill and the jungle was just ahead of them, the two, particularly Ichigo, noticed how ominous it seemed as the moon cast its white light down through the trees' canopies. It was mostly dark and very similar to the forest they'd traveled through to reach Himura.

Ichigo looked around for a suitable place to sleep, and then saw one up in a tree where the branches all spread out from the center so there was an opening that was the perfect place to spend the night.

Grimmjow watched as Ichigo walked over to a tree and then jumped up onto one of the branches. His cerulean eyes turned away when the boy looked back to him.

"Are you going to come up here with me?" Ichigo asked.

"No, I'm fine down here." Grimmjow replied.

With a sigh, Ichigo jumped down and walked back over to where Grimmjow was standing. Taking him by the arm, he walked him over to the tree and then jumped up with him. After forcing him to sit down, he took a seat across from him. "Grimmjow. I'm really sorry for what I said earlier. You just need to realize that not everyone has the endurance you have as an Arrancar."

Putting his hand into his pocket, Grimmjow leaned back against one of the branches and closed his eyes.

Ichigo sighed again, but decided to be a bit more aggressive with the man. "Grimm, tell me about how you became an Espada."

"What do you wanna know that for?"

"Well, I am involved with this ancient race conflict now, so I want to know what Aizen and the Doctor were up to. It can only be helpful to our journey. Besides… I also want to know more about you."

Grimmjow opened his eyes and was met with Ichigo sitting very close in front of him with the moonlight illuminating his face. He looked away to avoid the awkwardness and decided to enlighten Ichigo, since he wanted to know so badly.

"I was an orphan. Just six years old and roaming the streets of an old and decrepit town with my men who fell in your kingdom. I had no family, no money, and no reason to keep living, but I did. A lot of people told me I was better off dead when they caught me stealing from them, but that didn't faze me. After all, I'm Grimmjow fucking Jaegerjaques. I don't beg for anything, I take what I want and I don't care who thinks what about it."

Ichigo looked down, "I guess you had it rough…"

"What didn't kill me only made me stronger." Grimmjow said with a slight air of confidence, "So anyway, one day I got caught stealing by one of the men who owned a stand in the market and he let me have it. That was honestly one of the toughest times in my life since I had yet to learn to defend myself. Then when I thought it was over, he brought me in to his store and forced me to work for him. That was when I met Aizen."

"Aizen worked for a market vender?"

Grimmjow squinted for a moment, "No, dipshit. The market salesman owned a tea shop. Aizen fucking loves tea, and one day he came in to do some shopping. I was supposed to help him, but he came to me with a proposition. He told me he had seen me getting beaten and told me he knew I could be strong one day. That I could even be king of a desert kingdom. I don't recall much after him telling me that except leaving the shop with him. After getting my followers, we all went with Aizen and he took us to Los Noches."

"…" Ichigo stared at the mask on Grimmjow's face, then recalled the hole under his jacket.

"Aizen told us to train hard with each other, to go out into the city and learn the ways of the backstreets and the underworld so we could fight. Then a few months before my seventh birthday, he took me into a lab and started running tests on me. It was then that he told me I would never be the same, that I would never be weak or beaten again, and then he injected me with Skifenian blood. It was difficult to adjust to it at first, but then when my mask and hole came in, I started noticing abilities I hadn't had before. I could jump up to the clouds with ease, fire Ceros that left the desert scarred, and most importantly, I could transform into a powerful and armored demon-like creature. Instead of simply surviving, I started thriving. My transformation was difficult to perform, and I only mastered it during my teenage years, but I knew that with it up my sleeve, there was no one I couldn't beat. The rest of my story is history… Well, apart from picking your ass up, which fucked me completely."

"You did that by choice. Anyway, thank you for telling me all of that, Grimmjow. I feel like I know a lot more about you now." Ichigo said, smiling when he was finished talking.

"What did hearing any of that teach you?"

"Well, apart from learning more about you, I learned what Aizen did to you to make you this way. You started out as a human… in this life… and now you're still human. Just, you're a human with mystical abilities. You Arrancar are similar to us Court Guards, even though we Court Guards earn our abilities through training with our Zanpakutō spirits. Aizen seems to be trying to recreate what we all know as power, but I can't figure out why."

"Maybe because he's a power-hungry tea sipper?" Grimmjow offered, then closed his eyes again.

Ichigo chuckled and crawled forward, then laid down beside Grimmjow. After a few minutes, he felt himself growing nervous and erect with Grimmjow being so close to him. He just wanted to be with him, he wanted to feel everything that he was now that he knew the whole truth surrounding the mystery that he was.

Slowly, he reached his hand out and lifted Grimmjow's jacket. When the black hole in the man's lower abdomen came into his sight, Ichigo slipped his hand inside and closed his eyes as the heavy feeling overtook his hand. It was like reaching into space and feeling a cold-burning star in the palm of his hand.

Grimmjow reached down and took Ichigo by the arm, alarming the boy, "What have I told you about doing that?" he asked him.

Ichigo took Grimmjow's arm with his free hand so he couldn't pull his hand out of the hole. The two of them sat there staring at each other for a moment, then Ichigo leaned up and pressed his lips to Grimmjow's. "Grimm…" he breathed out against said man's lips.

"What?"

"Do you want to… you know…"

"It's kind of hard to move when you have your fucking hand in my hole."

Ichigo pulled away and apologized before removing his hand. "I didn't know."

"I was actually fine. Just having your hand there is annoying." The bluenette said with a devious smirk. Then slowly, he slid his hand down Ichigo's stomach until he reached the hem line of his pants, "There's no stopping me when I'm like this. I won't back off even if you tell me it's too much." He continued.

"That's okay, because I want this." Ichigo moaned, then closed his eyes as Grimmjow's hand found its way into his pants to rest on his groin.

"Take your pants off." Grimmjow ordered with a whisper, then pulled his hand back so he could slip out of his own.

Eagerly, Ichigo did as he was told. After pulling his feet out from his pants, he spread his legs so Grimmjow could have room. "I'm ready."

"Cum for me."

"What?" he asked, looking at the bluenette questionably.

"I need some kind of lubrication. And besides, you want to cum for me, don't you?"

Ichigo nodded and closed his eyes. Reaching down, he took his penis into his warm hand and started stroking it. Not knowing what to do to build up to a climax, he opened his eyes and looked at Grimmjow, who was also no longer in his pants. His brown eyes went wide when Grimmjow leaned forward and licked the small of his neck. "Ugh!" he groaned when the man lightly sunk his teeth down into his skin.

"You can do it." Grimmjow's words came out just as warm as his breath was.

"Mhmm…" Ichigo panted and turned so his nose was buried in Grimmjow's cerulean hair. His scent was so overpowering, something Ichigo wanted to breathe in for hours on end. Everything about Grimmjow was just intoxicating. The fact that he'd managed to earn his attention for physical pleasure was emotionally endearing. What he really wanted now was to shout out his love, but held his tongue. He didn't have much time to think because Grimmjow bit down into his skin again and reached down to help him along, sending him over the top. "Grimmjow…!" he moaned.

Grimmjow grinned and took as much of Ichigo's semen as he could to wet his two fingers. He'd been more than aroused helping Ichigo out and wasted no time sending his wet fingers into the boy's hole.

Ichigo's rosy red cheeks, moist skin, and the look of pleasurable pain on his face were something Grimmjow didn't normally pay attention to. However, tonight, they were broadcast to him in the pale moonlight. Surprisingly, he felt no anger or malice when the boy's brown eyes opened and met his.

Once he'd finished using his fingers, Grimmjow ran what was left of Ichigo's warm essence over his own member and then slowly slid inside the warm and inviting hole.

"Shit, you're always so tight." He said, as he entered all the way.

Ichigo closed his eyes once more and started breathing heavily as Grimmjow started his rhythm. For some reason he never stopped feeling pain when Grimmjow fucked him. Though, no matter how painful, it was always coupled with pleasure. Since it was Grimmjow, he endured the pain because he didn't want to feel like he was weaker than him. But also, he endured it because he loved him. This was also pleasurable for Grimmjow and he knew it.

After speeding up his pace a bit, Grimmjow leaned forward and licked the bite marks on Ichigo's neck when he felt the boy's arms wrap around him. The feeling of those hands running up his backside and playing around near his rear end sent chills up his spine.

"Grimm, I'm gonna cum again…"

Grimmjow smirked, "You just can't help yourself with me, can you?"

Ichigo shook his head in lieu of answering, then tightly wrapped his legs around Grimmjow's waist as he came again. He was intent on letting the man continue, but Grimmjow slowed down as well and he could feel him going limp inside. "You're finished?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Grimmjow replied, then relaxed on top of Ichigo. The feeling of the boy clenching around him is what sent him to his peak.

Ichigo smiled and reached down to grab the medical bag Akako had given him. "Are you gonna pull out of me anytime soon?" he asked.

"I can sleep like this. You're nice and warm inside and out." The larger man said.

Instead of telling him to get up, Ichigo pulled the map out from the bag, then put it underneath his head as a sort of pillow. As best he could with Grimmjow lying on top of him, he opened the map and looked it over. From what he could see, if they went to the center of the jungle, they would reach the temple. Though, the jungle itself had a note by it that said it was very vast.

For a moment, he allowed himself to wonder about just what kind of powers the crystals contained. What was possible when holding all of them at once?

"Don't… don't you do it…" he heard Grimmjow say.

"Huh?"

"Shit…"

Grimmjow was talking in his sleep. "Baka…" he mumbled, then put the map away so he could wrap his arms around the Arrancar's torso. He wanted so badly to tell him how he felt. He wanted Grimmjow to know there was someone who wanted him to stay alive and cared about his well being. But doing that would prove problematic, as Grimmjow would most likely lord it over him or even ridicule him for it.

Closing his eyes, he let his breathing regulate in time with Grimmjow's. "Maybe when we reach the end of this journey… maybe I'll be able to tell him…"