Karin was annoyed, very annoyed. She was sort of okay with the thought of having a child, even though she wasn't positive she was ready to have one, but six was absurd. The fact Grimmjow seemed smug about it was what had earned him the large bruise on his side. He was learning quickly how foolish it was to anger a woman, especially one with pregnancy hormones. The fact she was suffering an increasingly queasy tummy didn't help matters either.
"Good morning, Karin-san, Grimmjow-san. It's cleaning day today. Can you please move to the inner cage?" Hana asked them politely.
"As soon as my stomach settles," she moaned unhappily.
"Oh. Ummm," Hana glanced around nervously. "I can help, if you want," he offered hesitantly.
"Sure," Grimmjow grunted, rising to his feet. "You ain't worth eating anyhow."
Hana offered them a smile and scuttled about so he could enter through the safety cage with help from Harunobo. Karin thought he was being damn brave, but Grimmjow had confessed he knew the lad from being stationed at Las Noches and it did seem foolish to eat the one that was going to be delivering your young. While respectful of the dangerous predator he was now in a cell with, Hana didn't seem scared of Grimmjow at all.
While she moaned unhappily in a corner, Hana helped Grimmjow shake out the clothing and move it into the centre room before helping her over. "I can get you a jug of mint and ginger tea later if you think it will help," he offered.
"Do you think you can get me a few, and Nanao as well," she asked.
Hana looked at her, looked and Grimmjow, moved in closer. "You found a way to escape?" he asked softly.
"We think so, but the girls are going to need provisions," Grimmjow answered without hesitation, taking Karin completely by surprise at the trust he was showing this young boy.
"I can get you jugs of tea, a lot of the pregnant women suffer morning sickness so it's not unusual. I can substitute some of them with plain water. I will try to get you some oil sacks you can slip the pickled vegetables into from each meal, and another for dry goods like rice cakes, raw vegetables and dried seaweed. If you can find a way to let me know when you plan to make your run, I will try to leave a sack or two of provisions where you can grab them on your way out."
That was all he was able to say for he had finished helping her into the safety cage and moved back into the main one so he could start cleaning. A guard had watched them suspiciously, but unlike the last fool, simply moved on instead of making a fuss when it was clear Hana was helping her because she was sick. Apparently, none of them were dumb enough to make a scene over something trivial and end up as hollow food out of stupidity.
"How are you feeling?" Grimmjow asked concern as she rested against the wall.
"Like shit," she growled. "Escape is going to be a pain if I have to stop and throw up every five seconds. If we are lucky, it will pass before we are ready to go. If not, well, I got a feeling there will be enough adrenaline going through my veins I won't notice an upset stomach until we are out of immediate danger. The ginger tea will probably help too."
"It does," Hana assured them with a small smile.
Once their cell was clean, Hana once more locked himself in with them to help move the nest back into place and get her settled into it. She wondered briefly if he did the same for the other women who were suffering like she was. Somehow, she had the feeling that every hollow in the pit knew who it was that would be delivering their offspring and tending to their… 'mates?' Grimmjow had quickly placed her at such a level and she wondered if the other hollows thought the same after the initial rape. Well, there was one person who would know.
"Grimmjow, do the others treat their slaves as mates after they whelp?" she asked curiously.
"A good number," he answered with a grunt. "Not all humans are the same, so why would you assume all hollows are the same once they regain their mental functions?" he pointed out with a snort.
"True enough. Not all Shinigami are the same either, nor do all Quincy seem to be the same. I wonder if there are any that think this whole war is wrong, but are too weak to be able to protest, or too scared."
"Probably," Nanao answered from her cell. "Ryuuken is definitely neutral and has even tended to our wounded on occasion. He doesn't like us, but he doesn't hate us either, at least as far as I can tell."
"Oh, Nanao, ask Harunobo for some pitchers of tea. Hana said it's not uncommon for pregnant woman to get them."
"I will. Maybe I can beg for some snacks claiming hunger, dry crackers and such help a queasy stomach too. With eight brats inside of me, being extra hungry probably wouldn't be taken amiss."
"A good point, especially with how fast yours are developing. I don't know how I am not hearing your stomach growl in hunger from here already."
"Several layers of nest," Nanao answered with a sigh.
The rest of the cells and pit were cleaned with new sand laid down. Lunch was delivered and Hana was true to his word, delivering a thermos of ginger and mint tea, as well as a sack of crackers, to her cell. The tea did help settle her stomach, but she saved the sack of crackers for their eventual escape. Once the tea was done, she refilled the thermos with water and buried it and the sack under sand and clothes. The water would probably be tepid when they made their escape, but that wouldn't matter when it came to keeping them hydrated.
The next day brought more sport, which she watched dispassionately from the nest. Since she was with child, they both agreed that it was unlikely she would be removed from his cell now and it was safe enough for her to remain while he ate his 'lunch.' Nanao occasionally recognized the poor soul tossed down here to be eaten, but Karin never recognized anyone else. It wasn't like the list of Shinigami she knew was extensive after all with maybe two dozen names and faces on it at most.
The show ended with nothing special today other than it was Grimmjow and Starrk's turns to feed. Grimmjow was unrepentant, but Starrk always look depressed when he was done eating and returned to his cell with head, ear and tail dropped as if he suspected Nanao would attack him or reject him for killing and eating her comrades. It was hard to say how Nanao was feeling about all this and Karin was just thankful it wasn't her few friends that were being tossed into the pit.
Granted, Tatsuki is vindictive enough to kick out whoever was in charge of the host and take over herself, she mused, remembering what she'd learned on how the higher ranks of hollow evolution worked.
"Are you feeling better?" Grimmjow asked as she rubbed him down before her meal, getting the blood from places he couldn't easily reach with his tongue.
"A little. The tea helps and Hana has managed to slip us two more containers for water. If we are going to make a run for it, it's going to have to be before the end of the month and the next cleaning day. Hopefully, they will take us out so Nanao can do what she needs to do to access Starrk's power."
She was coming along quickly now with Grimmjow's. She could form a bala of good strength. She wished she dared practice with a cero, but it would be a little noticeable if she was firing out laser beams from her fingers. She was positive she could do it, but until it was time to escape, it would be foolish to let the quincy know she had access to offensive spells.
The pattern continued of feed and rest days. Her nausea didn't get any better, but at least it didn't get any worse. Halfway through the month another woman was trussed up and sent down for breeding. The horrified gasp from Nanao caught her by surprise until she realized that her co-conspirator hadn't seen a set rape yet. They still didn't know what happened to the other woman the ram had taken when Nanao had been tossed down here, but Karin doubted he'd saved her out of the kindness of his nonexistent heart.
"Is this how the others are impregnated?" Nanao asked horrified as they watched three chosen hollows, including jackal, square off and snarl at each other while the trussed-up woman sobbed brokenly and struggled against the ropes holding her legs apart and her body suspended in the air at a height that would make raping her easier on the larger hollows.
"I am afraid so," Karin answered softly, mindful of the fact Nanao seemed to know this poor soul.
Jackal, boar and what looked like an eel or snake, continued to growl, squeal and hiss at each other while circling the poor sobbing woman who looked ready to die of a heart attack at this rate. Karin didn't need a mastery of combat to know why the three were circling. As soon as one attacked the other, the third one would be able to either go in and claim the woman or attack them while they were tangled with each other. A fourth one had also been chosen, but the spiny-lizard like hollow seemed content to bask in the 'sun' and watch.
"It's my turn to breed," Jackal snarled at the other two. "You can have the next ones, or maybe mount your chosen bitch of a meal instead of eating it. It worked for those two," he growled, tipping his head slightly towards where their cells were.
"Then do it yourself," Boar snarled.
"I have been given nothing but men to eat," he snarled. "You are the two to have wasted your chances for paltry meals."
"He's got a point," spiny lizard snorted from his place of observation before his cell.
Karin barely held back a groan as they got into an argument over who got to rape the poor terrified woman and she swore she heard a sniffled sob from Nanao. The pregnancies were going to be playing hell with their hormones, and Nanao was much further along than she was despite the fact they had the same conception date.
Forget the hormones, I think I would be ready to sob, or murder, if I had to listen to three men shaped like monsters argue over who got to rape and impregnate someone I knew. It's bad enough as it is not even knowing who she is.
Boar finally lost his temper and charged Jackal, who smirked before leaping over the creature and charging the eel? Snake? Worm? Whatever the other one was. Unable to stop his momentum, Boar almost barreled into Spiny lizard, who snapped at him. The fangs missed, but the spikes cut a large gash into Boar's side. Now wounded, Boar quickly retreated to the safety of his cell to lick his wounds. Eel hadn't been expecting the move and Jackal had him dead within moments. Ignoring the corpse, he finally moved in on the sobbing woman while Lizard moved in to consume the dead. Jackal gave the terrified woman's privates a few licks before mounting her. That was when boar charged again. Being a canine, Jackal was knotted inside his victim. His strength was great though and she let out a pain filled scream as he pulled out, red blood coating his crotch and her ass. Boar squealed in surprise shortly before sharp fangs ended his life.
"Fuck sakes," Jackal snarled. "One of you get in here and heal her," he snarled at the gate before tearing Boar to shreds as he ate the fool in anger.
"Grimmjow-san?" Hana asked nervously.
"Yeah, sure," he grunted, rising to his feet. "Stay here," he ordered her firmly.
To her surprise, Hana slipped into their cell and the two of them exited into the pit. Lizard retreated to his own cell, dragging what remained of his meal with him, while Jackal snarled at them, but remained on his own meal. Hana move over to the woman and, to their surprise, the roped binding her lifted and the centre platform rose until it was above the shielding. Karin watched as Hana solemnly healed the poor woman, who looked like she was begging him to help her. Tears threatened the boy's own eyes as he shook his head and spoke softly to her. At least whatever he said seemed to calm her down a little and when they were both lowered back into the pit, she didn't look hysterical, just mournfully resigned. By this point, jackal had finished off his meal to the point that nothing but a few broken bones remained. Hana remained close to Grimmjow's side as they moved back to the cell. Jackal sniffed at the formally damaged area, gave his victim a few good licks again, which caused her to shiver, before mounting her more leisurely this time now that no threats remained in the pit with him.
Sad tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't seem to be in pain or hysterical anymore.
"He's a jackass, but he'll treat her fine," Grimmjow grunted. "Most of those fuckers would have just mounted her again and not cared in the least she was wounded."
"There was enough damage that she might not have survived rough treatment," Hana murmured sadly.
"Have you done escort duty for Hana before?" Karin asked curiously.
"A few times," Grimmjow admitted reluctantly.
"The others call me 'hollow whisperer,' but the truth is I am just too pathetic to be worth eating," Hana smiled sadly as he looked down at his hands.
"It's because you deliver the cubs too. Healers are exceedingly rare amongst hollows, and any that are found tend to be coveted by the largest and most powerful packs."
"Obviously not all," Karin noted.
"They tend to be physically weak."
Well that explained it. The weak tended to end up as food and unless the predator noticed his prey actively healing, they would probably not think about the weak creature before them being a healer and not just an easy meal. Hana had been able to show his skills before them in safety, so they knew what he was.
Jackal finished and used his teeth the snap the ropes. To her surprise, he even used his fangs and paws to untangle the poor woman and she was able to limp into the cell on her own power with her arms crossed to try and cover her nudity while he hovered over her. Karin suddenly wondered if Jackal had meant to kill her or Nanao that day in the pit, or if he'd meant to drag one of them into the safety of his cell to rape. He was far bigger than Grimmjow and probably could have used his massive weight to crush her ribcage with one leg if he'd wanted to.
"Ano, Karin-san, why do you shorten my name?" Hana asked nervously.
"Hmm?" she questioned confused as the slaves were released to clean the sands now that the event was over.
"My name. I know Ichigo-san says it's hard to remember, even though I don't think so."
"You told me your name was Hana, which I honestly though a little strange since it's usually more of a girl name," she pointed out.
"Dipshit dinner interrupted the introduction," Grimmjow laughed.
Now that she thought about it, the guard she'd lured into Grimmjow's gullet had interrupted Hana while he'd been trying to introduce himself.
"Oi, enough loitering slave, get back to work," one of the guards patrolling the corridor ordered. "I swear we'd feed you to the beasts if we weren't positive, they probably wouldn't eat you," the guard grumbled as he continued his patrol along the corridors.
Hana bowed to the guard and quickly scurried off to fetch dinner. Karin turned her attention to Grimmjow and raised an eye.
"His name is Yamada Hanataro," he answered with a shrug. "As far as I know, he befriended your brother when they broke into Soul Society to rescue his girlfriend all those years ago. He's a member of the healing division and volunteered to be posted at Las Noches since he'd been to Hueco Mundo before during the winter war. He's pretty brave, or stupid, for a rat and is one of the few shinigami willing to heal us hollows and not look at us like mindless beasts. It takes guts, or stupidity, to get close to a wounded hollow that is thrashing about," he explained.
"Oh, Ichi-nii has mentioned him before. I should have made the connection," she admitted, slightly embarrassed. "He was really upset when he thought Hanataro had died during an attack."
Silence settled between them. There was only so much one could do in a cell and she found herself sighing in boredom a mere ten minutes later.
Hanataro returned shortly with dinner and she tucked into the meal, saving the dried seaweed in her cracker bag and putting a quarter of the water in her bowl into the hidden cantina. She ate the steamed vegetables, half of the fish and all the noodles! Oh, it was so nice to have something other than rice.
After dinner, she found herself sitting in the nest, leaning against the wall and being thankful the thermos of mint and ginger tea was helping to settle her 'morning' sickness. Silence settled over the arena and while the silence wasn't exactly deafening, for she could hear others shuffle in their cells and make noises, it was still rather heavy. She doubted Nanao would want to talk, this was the first rape her friend would have witnessed, and she remembered how horrified she'd been. Worse, there was a chance Nanao knew the victim.
She let out a sigh and flopped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. The lights flicked out and she felt Grimmjow's bulk settle beside her own in the nest. His heat warmed her side and she found herself shuffling to lean against him. His heat at her back reminded her all too well of what it had felt like to have him on top of her, and inside of her. She felt her core heat just thinking about the way his rubber covered barbs had felt like caressing her insides.
I wonder… "Hey Grimm,"
"Grimm?" he questioned with what she suspected included a raised eye.
"If you don't like it just say something," she snorted. He didn't respond. "We still got some condoms left." His head no doubt snapped up to stare at her, judging by the way his bulk moved beside her own. "Like you said before, there isn't a lot to do around here, my nausea is down for the moment, and I liked the feel of those covered barbs sheathed inside me," she shrugged.
"Fine, but only if I get to brag to your bother that you begged me to fuck ya?" She could hear the wide smirk in his voice.
"Sure. I'll even throw in some fake commentary on what I said when we tell him. 'Oh Grimm-kun, please, I need to feel you inside of me again. You make me so hot and warm,'" she moaned in that fake, campy tones the girls in hentai tended to use. Not that she had ever watched such things of course, and no one could prove it.
Grimmjow laughed and rose to his feet. She dug out the box and found one of the little packages that were still left. It was hard to see in the dark, so she rested her hand on his shoulder and pulled a bit of his power to make a mini bala in her hand to act as a source of light.
"You are getting better at that," he noted in approval.
"Yeah, but I still can't draw enough and keep it stable to blast the door down. At least we know my control is improving on the lower end." She used her free hand and teeth to tear the package open and he used his own claws to pierce the middle. She released the power and shifted to face him even as he rolled onto his side so she could get at his shaft. She was not surprised to find it out of its sheath and ready for attention. A few firm strokes of her hand had it fully filled with blood and ready to go. "Try to last longer than a minute or two, well you," she teased while sliding the rubber into place.
"When I get back onto two legs, I am going to fuck you all night long until you beg for mercy," he growled.
She laughed and finished applying the rubber, making sure the barbs were well covered and it was in proper place. His tip was very damp and dripping already. It would seem he was eager and ready to go. They didn't have the mound of sand anymore, but they wouldn't be mating all night long this time. She shifted to hands and elbows and felt his body step over hers a moment later. His rubber covered shaft slid between the cheeks of her ass and slipped its way down until he was rubbing against her entrance. She let out a delightful shiver as the wet, pointed tip teased her nub; rubbing and poking it until it peaked out of its protective hood.
"How does it feel?" he whispered huskily.
"Good," she purred. "Maybe we should wait around long enough for you to get your hands back," she murmured.
"No doubt that quack Ichigo goes on about in the stripped hat will figure it out soon enough," he grunted.
"Kisuke? Yeah, he probably will. Now shut up and get inside of me. This position isn't the most comfortable on sand. The cloth doesn't do much to soften the ground," she ordered.
"I am so telling your brother about that line," he laughed as he obliged her, silencing her retort as she moaned in pleasure as the sheathed barbs rubbed her insides.
It felt incredibly good and she shifted her body to rub her back against his chest. Unlike when they had rutted to mate, he forced himself to move slowly this time. He still didn't last longer than four minutes, which was a new record, but it was four minutes of intense pleasure that had her cumming with him for the first time. He untangled their bodies when he was done shaking and flumped down beside her, panting lightly in pleasure. She rolled onto her side and curled up against him, rubbing her legs together and tingling all over. If she'd been able to, she would have purred.
The cell next to theirs housed a completely different scene. Intellectually, Nanao had known that women were raped here, but to see how it was done… to watch as someone was trussed up into what was basically a bondage rig with no chance of even fighting back while she was quarreled over by beasts was disgusting. The only redeeming factor had been Jackal ordering her to be healed before mounting her again, and Nanao doubted he'd done it out of the graciousness of his so called 'heart.'
The worst part was, she realized that such a fate could have been hers. Unlike Karin's case of mistaken identity, the Quincy had known full well who she was. The badge on her bicep was a dead giveaway and she'd come face to face against Hashwald in the past. When she'd been captured, she'd expected to be interrogated and tortured, not executed right away. Were they that confident that they didn't think they needed any intelligence, or did they think so little of her that they expected she had nothing to give?
Or do they know Shunsui so well, they know he would change any plans immediately after my disappearance, so any information they could get out of me would be old and outdated and not worth their time? Or do they suspect the information I think is right is wrong? Shunsui is too crafty for his own good.
How sad was it, that thinking about being interrogated and determining why they hadn't bothered was the preferred line of thought at the moment? It was far easier to think about how her own fate could have been worse than it was to think of what the other women were suffering. She at least had consciously chosen to let Starrk mount her, and he'd been very gentle in doing so. While it had looked like Jackal hadn't been deliberately cruel, the poor woman hadn't been given a choice between death or rape.
If I had been giving a choice before knowing Starrk, what would I have picked? She couldn't help but to wonder. Of course, I wouldn't have been given a choice. She shivered and hugged herself.
"You should rest," Starrk suggested.
"Sorry, I'm afraid sleep isn't on the top of my mind."
Starrk let out a sigh and moved over to lay beside her, resting his head against her thigh. She let one hand fall to land on his head and scratched behind his ear, earning a soft sigh of contentment from her cellmate.
"I knew this sort of thing happened, but I didn't really think about it. To witness it…"
Starrk had nothing to say, neither in defense of his kin or admonishment that hollows were not shinigami and were savage by nature. At least, most of they were. Since meeting Nel, she'd learned a lot about hollow evolution. They lived in a literal, eat or be eaten world, where the weak and soft of heart were nothing more than a meal for someone who was stronger. Nel didn't talk about her pre arrancar days much, but when she did it was with regret and sadness in her voice and posture.
"We need to leave soon," Starrk declared softly, nosing her rapidly growing belly. "After your next checkup, we will leave. Tell Karin tomorrow during our rest break," he ordered quietly.
"I will," she promised.
Starrk let out a yawn, then proved that, even trapped in the form of an 80lbs coyote without reiatsu, he still had the strength to knock her down and nuzzle up to her. He let out a content sigh and squirmed a bit more until he was almost curled up beneath her. With a deep sigh, he was asleep as fast as she'd ever seen Shunsui pull the same feat.
I wonder if being able to close one's eyes and instantly fall asleep is a trait all, or at least most, men share, she mused.
Shifting about herself, she stared up at the darkness and tried not to think about what she'd witnessed. She knew herself enough to know she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, so instead she focused her efforts on planning their escape. If she wasn't going to sleep, she was at least going to try and be somewhat productive.