Warning: Explicit sexual Content (Ggio/Soifon). This one is pretty lengthy...

With that out of the way, I want to give some context for what you're about to read. First off, one of the points of this ongoing story was to try and do things I've never seen done before. And to the best of my knowledge, no one's written an actual sex scene with these two. However, because of the circumstances of the story and the complexity of the characters involved, I had to spend a lot more time exploring the psychology of the act.

TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW

Chapter XXIII:
"The Games We Play"

Soifon smirked, cool and defiant, even with her hands were pinned above her head. The Captain found herself 'caught' between the wall at her back and the smiling Arrancar standing in her way.

They were in her private quarters, the Captain of the Black-Ops 'trapped' against the smoothed wooden panels of the wall and the cat-like ex-Fraccion in front of her. A raw intensity flickered in her dark eyes, and Ggio returned her smile with one of his own. He closed the gap between their bodies, claiming her mouth with his in a heated kiss. The Arrancar grinned, savoring the darkly sweet taste of her lips.

She felt his probing tongue upon her lips, and yielded to him. Soifon moaned into his mouth, returning his kiss with fervor of her own. Ggio released his hold on her wrists, eager to put his hands to better use as they moved down her sides, taking in the softness of her slim body. Now free of his grip, her hands moved up the back of his neck, burying her thin fingers in the softness of his dark hair. Both the Shinigami and the Arrancar knew she was more than strong enough to have broken free of his grip at any time, but she was enjoying the pretense far too much, and didn't wish to spoil the mood between them.

Ggio's hands reach the subtle curve of her hipbones, coming to rest on her narrow waist. After a while, they broke off the kiss in order to breath. In the process, Soifon found herself in the intent golden gaze of the Arrancar. She inhaled sharply, and he hesitated. She saw uncertainty in his eyes, and understood his sudden reluctance. After all, them ending up in this predicament had hardly been planned, it had just sort of happened- in the heat of the moment. However, she knew that it had begun as a natural result of the attraction shared between them, and it also felt right to her.

"Ggio..." Soifon began softly. "Please, I want this." She reassured, desperate to put him at ease, visibly blushing as she gazed into his golden eyes, so full of longing.

The ex-Fraccion blushed similarly. "Are you... certain?" Ggio asked her, conflicted, his tone was low but slightly unsteady as he spoke the words.

The small woman nodded. "Yes." Soifon answered. "I've never felt more certain about anything." She replied softly, her hands moving to cup his face as she looked into his feline eyes, tracing the red marks on his face with the pads of her thumbs. "What about you, Ggio, do you want this?"

His golden eyes went wide for a moment at this, as if the question was totally absurd. He shut his eyes briefly, collecting his thought, before meeting her gaze once more. "Soifon, I... I've wanted you- more than anything- since the moment I first saw you." His voice was strained from desire. "What I feel when I'm with you... it's almost overpowering sometimes." Ggio confessed with effort, before capturing her lips in a crushing kiss, as if to illustrate exactly how he felt.

The female Captain gasped as the Hollow invaded her mouth, his hands moving to take hold of her hips, drawing her entire body flush against his own. Soifon's eyes opened, alert, as she felt a hardness pressing against her, through their clothing. But he wasn't finished yet, and she let out a small cry as his hands descended- to where her thighs met her bottom- and he hoisted her up. But just as her feet left the floor, he silenced her with another kiss. As if by instinct, she locked her legs around his waist, just as he withdrew with her, inward toward the center of the room.

Normally, they were eye-level with each other, but cradled against him like this, Soifon noted she had to look down slightly to meet his gaze. And in that moment, more than anything, she remained acutely aware the feeling of him against her- of his maleness- and marveled at the notion that she of all people could engender such a potent reaction in someone. After all, as she herself estimated, her figure lacked the characteristics that men men desired: she was narrow-hipped, with little in the way of a bosom, or any other features that should hold the interest of another person.

And yet...

"I had to be certain you understood my intentions," Ggio continued, with such a degree of affection and reverence in his voice. "that you knew that I wanted so much more than just sex from you. I want to be with you... always." He implored, as her heart hitched in her throat. "I'm just a Fraccion, and keep trying to tell myself that I'm not worthy of you... But I can never get you out of my thoughts."

His eyes watered slightly, and he averted his gaze. "But even realizing all that... I can't bare the thought of not having you with me..." He admitted, leaving Soifon breathless at his admission, even as he continued. "I- I want you to be my mate, Soifon, and- if you deem me worthy- the mother of my cubs."

Soifon felt her heart melt at the declaration. Even if she was a bit taken aback by the revelation that he felt so strongly for her that he wanted to have a child with her some day, she felt a wave of happiness flood her as she took a moment to savor everything that he'd told her. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, as she leaned to capture his lips this time, hoping to convey her own feelings through the kiss...

"Ggio..." She started as she drew back. "I don't even know how to begin to tell you what it means to hear you say those things." She admitted. "I- I want to be with you too." She told him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Ggio, do you feel it, my heart?" Soifon asked. "Listen to the way it's beating... I can't remember feeling this happy in a long time..." The female continued. "But what I do know is that I want to find happiness, and that you're the one that I want to experience it with."

When Soifon had nervously admitted to not having any 'experience', Ggio in-turn bashfully confessed to having some experience in such matters. The Shinigami chose to defer to the Arrancar, allowing him to take the lead with the two of them. Before she realized what was happening, Ggio had slipped out of her sight, so that he was now behind her. "Ggio...?" She asked, confused.

The Hollow nuzzled her ear. "Do you trust me?" Ggio asked in huskily, a slight shiver running through the slender woman as she felt his breath tickling the sensitive shell of her ear. She managed to compose herself enough to nod. "Then just relax, it'll be easier this way." He reassured her.

"Ya know," he began leisurely. "Looking at you from behind, I can really appreciate the way that your uniform exposes your back." Ggio remarked. "It makes it much easier to touch you..." He trailed off, as he ran his fingertips up the arch of her back, eliciting another shiver from her. "Plus, like this, you don't have to be so self-conscious. Better for everyone." He smiled at the last bit.

She blushed, realizing the meaning of his words, Soifon let out a sigh as she felt his hands massaging her flesh with familiar ease, the tension ebbing from her body as Ggio worked the muscles of her back, shoulders, and neck with his skillful hands. Given her initial nervousness, she appreciated their current arrangement, as she doubted she could fully relax if she had to deal with the Arrancar's intent gaze the entire time as he went about touching her. His hands began moving downward, toward the base of her spine, before sliding under the fabric of her top and... Oh god, she felt his hand on her stomach.

He didn't linger over her belly for long, as he began to move upward. Soifon inhaled sharply, feeling a ticklish sensation as he moved up her rib cage. When she finally felt his hand brush against the swell of her small breasts, she let out a half-cry/half-hiss. Ggio remained undeterred, as he cupped her breasts in his hands and began slowly kneading the flesh. The Arrancar was soon rewarded by the sound of muffled pants coming from the woman, and the feel of her body pressing into him as she bucked slightly under the stimulation. The former Fraccion smiled to himself, once again glad that she couldn't see his face, enjoying the way that her breasts fit so perfectly into his hands.

However, when he caught the buds of her nipples between a thumb and a finger each, the sound from her lips was even better. Soifon gasped, letting off a cry of pleasure as he gently teased the peeks of her nipples into stiff buds. Ggio pinched down on them slightly and she let out a mangled curse, which in-turn was muffled by her gasping cry. He continued to tease the pebbled flesh of her nipples, only to gently bite down on her earlobe, drawing an incredibly erotic moan from her parted lips in the process. The feline-like Hollow smirked with satisfaction as he continued- alternating between gently rolling and pulling on her nipples. Her hands went back to his hips, to keep herself steady as this went on.

Soifon's entire body felt as if it was on fire. And for all the stimulation he was giving her, it still wasn't enough for her- she needed more, she needed something substantial. And as she rubbed her inner thighs together, the liquid heat between her legs becoming unbearable, it was clear to her just what exactly it was that her body was in need of... And yet, the growing warmth of her sex made it impossible to vocalize this need to her partner, leaving her praying that he would step things up. The frenzied ache she was feeling was finally answered as he began sliding a hand back down her stomach, still under the black fabric of her backless top... Until he reached the waist of her hakama. The material offered little resistance as he slipped his hand down her trousers.

As soon as she felt his finger begin to trace the lips of her sex through the fabric of her underwear, her knees bowed inward and Soifon let another gasp of pleasure. Slowly, Ggio began running the tip of his finger up and down her slit at a laborious pace. A second digit soon joined the first, teasing her through the material of the 'fundoshi'-style underwear she wore beneath her uniform. He lingered around the top of her slit, before circling the tips of his fingers around her sensitive bud, repeating the motion every so often between strokes. By now, a line of dampness had formed in the fabric covering her mound- along the path of his fingers- as he pleasured her. Deciding that he's teased her more than enough, he began to speed up, applying more pressure with his touch.

Soifon grit her teeth, clutching onto his shoulders as if afraid she might float away. Circling a final time over her clit, the Arrancar moved his hand upward, away from her sex- only to immediately silence any protest she may have been about to offer- as it slipped under the waistline of her underwear. She gasped as she felt his fingers against her slit. Ggio smirked, but opted not to waste any more time as he pressed onward- into the slick flesh, and was rewarded by the sound a throaty cry as he inserted his middle finger into her. The Fraccion then curled his finger inward, drawing the best sound yet from the woman as he struck at a particular spot with the hooking motion of his finger. Because of the extent of his efforts, he knew that she was close to her limit, and so he inserted another finger into her heated passage.

His other hand found her clit, which he worked between the pads of his finger and thumb. This proved to be too much for the woman, and Soifon let out a half-cry half-shriek as she climaxed, her inner walls clamping down around his his hand as she soaked it with her juices. Momentarily spent, she went slack in his arms, leaving him to support the slight weight of her body.

As the haze fled from her mind, Soifon found herself in Ggio's arms, as he move to her bed and set her down on the futon. And she once again felt herself blush under his intense, appreciative gaze, before he leaned down to kiss her, which helped to keep her at ease. He then drew back, and she started to rise up after him. But she halted as soon as his hands moved to the front of her chest, gripping the front of her backless uniform top, and let out a yelp of surprise as he drew it open. Her face turned a darker crimson color as he parted the layers of black and white material- exposing the swell of her breasts and the light pink nipples, set against milky skin. The garment went slack without the tension to keep it in place, as there was effectively nothing more than the 'collar' in the back to prevent it from falling of off her slim figure completely. Self-conscious, she tried to cover her chest, but Ggio managed to catch her wrists and gently pried them away, as he kissed her again in the hopes of reassuring her.

Truthfully, Ggio wasn't sure of the extent that he could maintain the lead, given just how powerful the woman underneath him was. Right now, she was yielding to him, but this was purely out of trust, and not because of an act of dominance on his part. And so, he resolved to do whatever it took in order to keep her from panicking, lest she try to struggle against him, and end up exerting her superior strength in a way that might prove harmful- chiefly to himself. But thinking about that was already threatening to put a damper on his mood, and he needed to stay focused (and positive).

With that in mind, he removed his hands from her wrists and cupped her cheeks. This seemed to give her pause, allowing him an opening. "Soifon," he began. "Do you trust me?"

She nodded. "Of course." And with that, she seemed to relax slightly.

Ggio smiled and arose, so that he was situated over her- in a kneeling position, with his knees at either side of her thighs- and set about loosening the knot in the sash around her waist. Understanding seemed to dawn on the woman, and after a moment's reluctance, she lifted herself up slightly and bent her head to allow him to remove the garment altogether from her.

"So pretty..." Ggio practically purred as he gazed at the woman through half-lidded eyes. She blushed under the hungry lingering gaze in his golden orbs. He reached up and drew the zip of his jacket down, exposing a bit of the lean wiry muscular of his upper body- and the small Hollow Hole at the top of his abs- as he went. The Arrancar reached down and took her small hand in his and brought it to rest, palm down, against his chest. "How does it feel?" He asked softly.

Soifon, now propped up on her elbow, smiled at the question. "Warm... it feels warm."

The Hollow seemed pleased with the comment, as he released her hand, leaving her to support herself with both elbows, watching intently as he slipped his jacket off. What instantly drew her attention were the stripes- the same vibrant red as the ones on his cheeks- across his shoulders and his chest, along his sides (across his ribs), and his upper arms. Soifon also noted that, so far, her assumption about his lack of body hair was correct. Ggio couldn't help but grin at the appreciative look in her eyes, and made a mental note to make sure she got a good look at the rest his markings later on.

Wordlessly, almost reverently, the Fraccion took each of her ankles in hand and removed her slippers, revealing the "stirrups" of her black leggings- hugging the arches of her delicate feet- as he calmly set the footwear aside. He next returned to her waist, and finished undoing the knot holding her ninja-style hakama in place, the slits on the sides opening up as it came undone. Soifon raised her hips, so that he could slide the garment down, the dark material bunching around her knees. Easing herself back down, the Shinigami lifted her legs up as he finished removing her hakama. The Hollow then cast them aside, along with the growing pile of clothing beside the bedding.

It was at this point, that something seemed to catch Soifon's attention, as she sat up, dressed only in her slinky black arm-slips and leggings, and the fundoshi-style underwear. The slender woman shifted onto her knees and tentatively extended a hand out toward him. Ggio watched in surprise as her small hand came to rest on the obvious bulge in his own white hakama, then let out a muffled gasp as she gingerly gripped him through the fabric. She tried to trace his length through the material, and was rewarded with another, slightly more pronounced gasp this time.

Soifon looked up to see his face flushed a similar shade of pink as she clumsily stroked him. There was something in Ggio's breathless- almost helpless- expression, as he sat before, that filled her with a sense of satisfaction. "C-can I see it?" She asked, slightly unsteady, embarrassed at her forwardness.

Blushing even more, Ggio nodded after a moment, and reached down to undo the black sash around his waist while avoiding direct eye-contact. The cat-like Arrancar jumped slightly when he felt her palm on his flat stomach, as she slid her hand down the front of his unpleated hakama. He fell back into a sitting posture, his hakama sliding down his hips several inches in the process. He watched, slightly dazed, as the woman regarded his manhood- gripped gently in her hand- with a look that appeared to be a mix of nervousness and curiosity on her face. She briefly took note of the stripes on his hips, before wrapping her slender fingers around the girth of his shaft. Emboldened, Soifon began to slowly stroke him a few times, eliciting a grunt of pleasure from him in the process.

His prolonged state of arousal had left him hyper-sensitive, so Ggio nearly cried out when he felt her begin to circle the pad of her thumb against the head of his painfully hard member. He realized, with a grunt, that he was close to release... so close.

"Crap, not yet!"

He reached out to her slender shoulders, abruptly halting her pleasant touch in the process. The timely interruption provided Ggio with a moment to collect his thoughts. He'd almost just cum from her hand, so he desperately need to calm down and reign himself in. And he didn't want to end up spent this early on in their encounter. But still, god, she looked so erotic, knelt over with her hand wrapped around him. Before Soifon could offer any comment, he moved in and kissed her- hungrily, urgently- effectively silencing anything she might have been about to say.

His lips on hers, she moaned into his mouth. She ran her fingers through hair as black as her own, only mildly disappointed when she met the cool hard surface of Ggio's Hollow Mask. She was so engrossed in the moment, that Soifon didn't even register as he pushed her back down onto the futon, but she did take notice of the way he nuzzled affectionately against her neck. "Soifon," he whispered huskily into her ear, the delicate skin prickling under his breath. "Are... you ready?"

The female Captain understood what he was asking of her, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she gathered her courage. "Yes." She murmured softly.

He nodded, planting a quick kiss on her lips as he finished kicking his hakama off, as he began making his way down her, stopping above her navel. Ggio hooked the wound-up cloth straps of her underwear with his fingers and pulled it down- past the curves of her hip bones, and down her slender legs. Soifon abruptly averted her gaze away to the side as he finished removing her underwear and tossed them onto their combined pile of discarded clothing. Ggio paused to take in the sight before him. She was slender, yet still elegant, with a firm flat stomach, and perfect legs for her height. Her breasts, while small, felt perfect in his calloused hands, both capped off by delicate pink nipples. Looking further down, above the glistening lips of her sex, was a small forest of fine dark curls.

The next thing she knew, Ggio was kissing her on the lips. The next kiss landed below her mouth, then he kissed her jaw, leaving a searing trail of kissed down her neck. Soifon gasped and arched her back as she felt him bight gently on her collarbone- though not hard enough to leave a mark- before continuing on to leave a trail of kisses down her body. It wasn't long at all before he reached her flat stomach, kissing her skin just above her navel, before moving between her legs. She felt his hand at the back of her knees, lifting her legs up, then his breath tickling her sex. The lithe woman was about to protest, before he gave a playful lick on one of her thighs, then moved to her sex. Soifon cried out as she felt his tongue inside her, her hands clenching as she squirmed at the contact.

Once he was satisfied that she was sufficiently prepared for him, Ggio ceased. Licking his lips, he rose up onto his knees and positioned himself between her thighs. "Um... Just try to relax... and stay focused on looking into my eyes." He offered nervously. She nodded, which seemed to relieve the Arrancar a bit. The truth was she'd lost her barrier years ago, through physical exertion, however, this meant that things wouldn't be effortless on her part. But she realized that fixating over semantics wouldn't help with the situation, given that both of them were nervous enough already...

She was already wet enough that the initial contact between them went unremarked. Slowly, her outer lips parted for the head of his length as he pressed into her. Ggio remained apprehensive, he suspected that she lacked a barrier, given all her years spent as warrior. However, she was very tight, leading him to opt for taking it slow... It was less about a sudden sharp pain, and more the lingering discomfort her body would experience, being unaccustomed to this. Soifon gave a low groan through her grit teeth, as she felt a dull throbbing pain in her lower body as she stretched to accommodate him. When he finally stopped, she guessed he was fully inside of her now.

Ggio's eyes, which had been shut at the moment, quickly went wide as she locked her ankles behind his lower back, and pulled his body down onto hers. The Arrancar noticed that her eyes were watering, and kissed her forehead. He then kissed the thin trickles of tears from the corners of her eyes off her cheeks, then moved to capture her lips. Soifon's arms were still holding him tightly, so his options were limited in terms of movement. He finally settled on drawing his hips back and forth in a gentle rocking motion. She offered no protests, eventually removing her arms from his back. He rose up, propping himself up on his hands (at either side of her head). He withdrew partially from the tight grip of her insides, then thrust back into her. She gasped, but made no other sound, so he repeated the action.

He pulled out with his hips, then pushed back inside, repeating the thrusting motion a few more times, gradually building the pace and depth as he found the right rhythm. After a little while, Soifon began making a soft mewling sound that indicated pleasure, gradually building into subdued moans. Ggio took this as a good sign, and began upping the tempo and depth of his thrusts. He felt the sweat on his skin, his black hair damp and clinging to the skin of his forehead and cheeks. He cast his gaze downward, looking to the woman that lay under him, her slim figure flush and glistened.

Soifon could feel him deep inside of her, deeper than she would have thought possible in the past. She let off an agonized cry of pleasure as the feline-like Arrancar pushed (what she had presumed to be) the limits of what her small body could take. Ggio was now hitting a particularly pleasant spot as he moved within her, and Soifon knew enough to recognize the building tightness in her lower abdomen. She was almost at her limit, and guessed that her partner was in a similar state. Looking up, she saw that Ggio's eyes were tightly shut, his arms were as stiff as pillars- muscles tensed from supporting his weight.

Ggio's thrust became more frantic and relentless, as he neared his limit. In response, Soifon's insides began to spasm around his shaft, her back arching- her pelvis pushing upward- while her shoulders and backside remained on the floor, as if her body were a footbridge. And then, she felt a series of "sparks" firing of inside of her, as her body were electrified. For his part, Ggio was seeing white-hot "stars", followed by the devastating feeling her inner walls clamped down around his shaft, trapping him in her warmth... And he finally lost all semblance of control, cumming inside of her. Her insides gripped him, milking him for all he was worth, followed by the flood of her own release as she climaxed.

The Arrancar toppled forward, falling across her, as they rode out their orgasms...

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

The two of them lay there, on the futon, with the weight of his body on her back, while their breathing gradually slowed and the haze clouding their minds began to clear. After a while, when their bodies didn't feel so limp and heavy. The cat-like Arrancar finally rose up onto his elbows, grinning as he leaned in to affectionately nuzzle the neck of the woman underneath him.

In the aftermath of their coupling, Soifon felt uncomfortably clammy and sticky, and Ggio felt hot and slick against her body. He withdrew himself from her, and she felt as their fluids trickled messily down her inner thighs. Frowning, she to took his hand in hers and lead them over to the adjoining washroom, sliding the door aside to reveal the bath built into the tiled floor. The Captain wasted no time in heating up the water for the tub. In the meantime, she retrieved a bucket and filled it from the faucet under the detachable shower head. Ggio watched, transfixed, as she held the bucket over her head and upturned the contents onto herself- the water cascading down her slender body.

A shiver coursed through Soifon as the cold water spilled down across her pale flesh. She bent down, oblivious to the Arrancar creeping up on her, and reached down to wipe off her thighs. She turned right into Ggio, who planted a kiss on her lips, grinning playfully at her as her entire face turned scarlet. His victory was short-lived, though, as he felt the spray of the shower-head, as she blasted him in the face. He withdrew, promptly issuing apologies to the woman- who now sported a far too cool expression for someone who was soaking-wet and completely naked at the moment.

After that, they ended up together in the heated bath together. Soifon, blushing faintly, presently found herself nestled in Ggio's arms, with the tiger's smiling face nestled contently against the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She blinked, feeling his chest reverberating against her back, almost as the Arrancar were purring. Though, when Soifon considered who was that was keeping her company, she smiled at the realization that such a reaction from his was rather apt.

The feeling of his face buried in her hair- the combination of the warmth of his flesh and the coolness of his Hollow Mask- made her aware of the fact that she could now feel her own hair tickling the back of her neck. "Ggio," she started. "Do you think I'd look better if I grew my hair out?"

"Hmm, why do you ask?" Came his murmured reply.

"I'm not the same person I was." She began. "It's almost like... I've finally shed the angry bitter person who lead the Second Division for over a century." Soifon mused. "That persona, it informed everything about me- the way I interacted with the people around me, how that I comported myself, even my appearance..." She finally admitted, as much to herself as him. "It's time that I shed the last of my old self... and, it's time for a change." Soifon proclaimed softly.

"Whatever you chose to do, my only concern is that it makes you happy." Ggio replied softly, before going on to tighten his embrace of her, the water undulating with their motions.

"Are Arrancar men normally this clingy?" Soifon asked coyly.

"Clingy?" Ggio replied, grinning, before he kissed the shell of her ear. "You make it sound like a bad thing..." He spoke, ticking her with his breath. "Both of us know you're one of the strongest females in this realm, but it's instinctive that I'd want to be close to my mate."

Soifon turned around in his arms, looking into his golden eyes. "You're serious then, about the two of us, about this whole 'mate' thing?" The words sounded more like a statement than a question.

He nodded. "Soifon, it's not something I'd idly speak of." Ggio replied, his hands moving to the small of her back as she balanced on his lap. "What about you?" His tone was even.

"I've never done anything halfway." She replied. "And the same goes for this." Soifon added, before leaning in to share a kiss with him. After a moment, her blush returned and she withdrew her lips from his own, fixing the Hollow with an accusing look. "Seriously, again?" She asked, her dark eyes flitting downward briefly, then back to him. "Honestly, you're insatiable."

(- End of Chapter XXIII... -)

I'm not sure if I got Soifon's character quite right in this chapter. If she seems more vulnerable in this, it's because this isn't just a depiction of sex, but a deliberate act of commitment on their part (especially Soifon).

While I believe this was a necessary detour- in order to explore Soifon and Ggio's growing relationship- the next chapter will return the focus back to the main narrative, and I hope that you guys will continue to follow this story with me.