Chapter Six: Subjugation

All conversation seemed at an end. At uneven intervals, their breaths were exerted, and before long their eyes started to close on their own. Ulquiorra leaned in ever so slowly, as if he were relishing the moment or dreading it—possibly both. On the other hand, Ichigo, the ever so servile slave of his own impulses, was going to be kissed for the first time.

Not.

Three individuals had jostled inside Ulquiorra's library. So first things first; Grimmjow's face had gone as white as his attire. Szayel was gaping, aghast. In either case, a profound antipathy toward Cuatro was being channeled. But Starrk, apart from the two, had this apathetic air about him, as if the sight stirred no commotion in any corner of his soul.

"Cuatro, my Espada Kills record is clean should you disregard Luppi, but continue acting like a dumb shit this way and it may not stay clean for long." Sexta's words squeezed their way through clenched teeth.

"So the most trustworthy Espada, after all, has no honor whatsoever. I'm not going to wait for an explanation, Ulquiorra; three out of the five people in the room suggest you drop dead." was Szayel's input.

"Kurosaki here abhors death threats, buffoons. If possible, go reserve your creative threats for some future use. Who knows, you might just be in need of some lovely suicide sooner or later." Ulquiorra retaliated.

"I'm sure that piece of advice is just what Gimmjow needs." Szayel said.

"You're siding with this lump of emo trash, Octava? Well, killing two birds with one stone has always been my forte."

"Oh, spare me. If you kill me, Ichigo-chan won't ever forgive you." Szayel contented himself with this, plus a gorgeous grin, whereas Sexta had taken it as Octava's final answer to his death invite.

"Believe me, Kurosaki doesn't have to know, which goes to say I might just be the most experienced and efficient murderer you've ever seen. In fact, I can fucking rip your heart out, cut you to pieces, burn you to cinders and then make it look like a fucking teddy bear with buttons for eyes has done it. How's that?" Sexta threatened.

"Well, if the teddy bear in question is your Cub-chan it might just do the killing for you. To be honest, rearing demon stuffed animals doesn't make for a pleasing characteristic." Cuatro observed. Grimmjow had reached his limit by then,

"Fuck you. Cub-chan is a fucking jaguar—not a bear. Get your facts straight, Mr. Righteous Hypocrite. Besides, she's simply being used and is therefore hardly homicidal on her own right. Duh."

Through all this, Starrk remained unmoved, his behavior suggesting either indifference or boredom. By this time, Ichigo's attempts at giving another damn to this infantile warfare was failing one after another. With his thoughts gathered, he scooped three of the books from the table before bustling away, leaving the noise and its source behind. But after getting used to the going-around's in Las Noches, he was about half sure this peace was anything but long-lived. As a testament to that, Primera Espada had now turned to his heels to follow him out,

"Coyote Starrk, leave Kurosaki alone." Ulquiorra was heard saying.

"You three will stay here and will do nothing to give him more headache. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, making that kind of dirt-throwing ruckus right in his face."

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Primera?"

"You've just answered your own question, Sexta; I am the Primera Espada."

That ended the onslaught. Throughout his stay here, Ichigo had never witnessed Starrk use his rank as a means to gain authority over anything, until this very moment. When it came down to it, Primera appeared to be the most fearsome among them. He had this brooding angst about him, which made him seem more terrible than if his mouth had been spouting realistic threats. And now he was trailing the Shinigami. The look on his face promised nothing, except perhaps that he wished to talk. Upon rendering themselves out of earshot,

"Need anything, Starrk?" Ichigo inquired.

"Are you ok?"

"Of course."

"Sorry about that. I didn't think Cuatro had a visitor."

"Oh, you meant to use his library?"

"Yeah, for a nap. If you didn't know yet, Sexta, Octava, Lilynette and I have taken shelter under Cuatro's hospitality—in his library. Our respective rooms have been driving us nuts and we have nowhere else to go."

The information made Ichigo feel a pang of pity, but he could not help but say something utterly different,

"Starrk, have the articles been working? I mean the rosary and the others?"

Primera heaved a sigh, "Initially. A few days later the cross thing I stationed on the table started to topple down on their own, after which the nightmares came back. They're horrible."

"I can imagine."

"No, Shinigami, you don't know the half of it."

Slightly offended, Ichigo furrowed his brows, "I kinda do."

"Anyway, I didn't chase you for my personal struggle. Are you busy?"

"Yes. And now that reminds me of something; didn't I ask you and the others to lock Cub-chan—Grimmjow's stuffed toy—somewhere safe?"

"Cuatro and I nailed her shut in Aizen's old throne room. Is there a problem?"

Now didn't appear to be the perfect time to elaborate, as Tercera's condition was, if anything, a race against time. Accordingly, Ichigo dismissed the issue,

"No worries. As I was saying, I'm off to sort things out. Do you wanna help?"

"I do, but I meant to tell you Quinto is in deep shit."

Ichigo froze, because he damn well knew that 'deep shit' hardly was sufficient to refer to Nnoitra's situation now. Nnoitora Jiruga had, of late, been sleeping with Tia Halibel who under normal circumstances would not have engaged in something like that. In short, Tercera had been possessed by the devil, and hence Quinto, by conversion, is sleeping with the devil.

But time and again Starrk's gentle manners would force themselves in his attention. As if that wasn't enough, Primera's fingers were now circled around his wrist. Seconds later they were whisking past hallways, without Ichigo understanding why he had allowed himself to be dragged. They paused just outside Jiruga's room. There were ghoulish, bordering on animalistic sounds issuing from within, but what made Ichigo's blood run cold was hardly even that; Tercera's reiatsu could be recognized with barely an effort.

"Halibel-san is inside Jiruga's room." The teen murmured.

Starrk frowned, his voice laced with disappointment, "Man, looks like we've come at the wrong time. These two are having the time of their lives, aren't they?"

"Starrk, look at me. Why did you bring me here?"

"For Quinto's sake. Tesla told me his master has been making strange noises at night. But then I was also told that he and Tercera have been spending nights together. Then again, there's now way I would've believed Halibel likes it wild in bed. In the end, I figured Quinto and I have, all along, been suffering the attacks of a single assailant-Lilith."

"Wrong. Don't you get it? Halibel-san is doing that to him; not a succubus. She's under the influence of the devil!"

Incidentally the door broke open, slowly, and so Ichigo had to shudder, repulsed. He didn't know it yet, but later on he never would recall the sight that would greet them without the corresponding agonizing pangs of terror. In the meantime, he took a step forward by impulse, only to be pulled back by Starrk.

"I'll go in first. You stay behind me. Stay close." Primera's voice did not indicate genuine concern, but his actions did.

Ichigo followed him inside, his senses strained to the utmost, when the sounds ceased. The sounds ceased to allow for a sight of utter vulgarity. For a split second, he caught a glimpse of Quinto Espada lying on his back on the bed, his upper body bare. Tercera Espada, sporting her Ressureccion form, was sitting over him. Neither of them was entirely naked, and yet it also didn't look like they were avoiding pregnancy. Eventually, Starrk's palm came to block his vision.

"Wha—"

"—don't look, Ichigo."

It was the first time Starrk called him by his first name, but that did not prevent the teen from trying to pry the other's hand from his eyes. Try he did, only to be caught confounded by the next voice that shot across the room,

"An audience, we presume. Come."

Three male voices, all deep, remote and soul-shaking. Without having to grope around for clues, Ichigo deduced it had been Halibel who had spoken. Dumbfounded by the same source, Starrk let his hand fall off Ichigo's face. And now maybe the teen was wishing Starrk hadn't done that, because Tercera had now bent over backward to face them. With her face upside down, it was as gruesome a sight like nothing else. Ichigo had to gasp, and to huddle close to his companion.

"Screw you. Let go of Nnoitra." Primera commanded.

"As you wish." The demons inside her spoke.

True to her word, Halibel alighted from the bed, her eyes glowing in the dark. There was a hush of expectation, until Ichigo and Starrk rushed to where Jiruga was, all the while not taking their eyes off the demons' host. She was watching them with fascination. Jiruga then let himself be led away by Starrk.

"Damn. I've been a moron, haven't I?" Quinto asked Primera feebly.

"Dumbass is the right way to put it. Can't you see trouble when you see one? This one has almost swallowed you whole."

The sounds the two male Espada were making interfered but little with the gazes Ichigo and the possessed Halibel were exchanging. The teen asked,

"What is your name?"

"If we tell you, boy, what happens next? You, a nonbeliever, performing an expulsion rite on me?"

How the fuck did they know that? Was the question Ichigo asked himself. But then the devil had always known a lot of things. Even so, there remained a remote chance for him to make this work. If books could be relied upon, anyone could perform what was called a 'Prayer for Deliverance'. Despite this knowledge, he allowed his fear to guide the motions of his legs, so that he was now backing away. His retreat reached its end when Starrk placed an arm around his shoulder. It comforted him big time, somehow.

"Maybe. I've just realized just now that not a devil like you would fuck this place up along with the people in it. I happen to know how to pull what humans call a Prayer for Deliverance, so if you could fuck off now none of us are in deep shit." Because he was more cocky than he was intelligent, this was what the Shinigami said.

The possessed Tercera hissed violently, her breaths coming in short. She paced to and fro, moving evenly for a few lengths, before making an abrupt movement as she plunged forward right before the teen, who didn't flinch.

"Would you like a bargain?"

"With the devil? No, thanks." Ichigo answered, and cast a sidelong glance at Starrk, who was holding him still in what looked like an attempt to bring themselves closer. The Shinigami continued, "Starrk, Jiruga-san, let's tie this bitch up that chair over there. We'll use the fabrics around this room and get this fucking show on the road."

The scene that followed was infused with the ghastliest obscenities and spoken blasphemies. The struggle lasted for only a few minutes, resulting in gashes upon the males' Hakama and droplets of blood falling on the floor. The whole of this wasn't only similar to movie scenes he had watched; it was nearly identical. Surely, this development had drawn clear lines from which there was no departing. Now secured on the chair, Halibel trashed around, and said to Ichigo,

"I will relinquish the woman in peace if you offer yourself, human boy."

The offer sounded more horrific than if mountains had moved out of their places. As it was, they were left mortified. Just then, Starrk once again pulled the teen to him. He answered with insolence,

"You'll have to go through me first."

But the next voice to be heard belonged neither to Ichigo nor to the devil; the three other Espada and Tesla had entered. The spectacle they had arrived into did not seem to interest Sexta, so when he spoke next his ignorance about the urgency of the matter became apparent all at once,

"Strike #4 for you, Starrk. There's no holding back now; I've been nice long enough and this is how you acknowledge my effort? By sticking to Kurosaki like his fucking Siamese twin?"

"You call that nice? If any of your dazzling death threats had half worked I would have been kicking buckets a million times over, don't you think? At any rate, let's skip that for now. We've got company." Starrk retorted. He gestured at the female Espada, who was now making violent attempts to escape her own captivity.

"Holy crap! See, I told you she's been going under some weird shit!" Szayel shrieked upon drawing near Tercera.

At that, Halibel expelled from her mouth something which was none other than vomit. It was aimed at Octava, who ducked just in time to end up flinging himself to Ichigo. With Starrk's arm flying away from the teen's shoulder, Szayel took the liberty of burying his face on Ichigo's chest.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Grimmjow cried out, marching toward Octava.

Just so to placate Sexta, and for that alone, Ichigo gently pulled himself away from Octava, and that seemed to be enough to restrain Grimmjow. Ichigo said,

"Okay, Grimmjow, if I stayed away from Szayel-san would that make you feel better and help us out here?"

"Better? Not sure. I probably will require tea, a nice couch to sit my ass on, a massage, Mr. Pink Faggot dropping dead and then I'll be just fine."

"I will need your cooperation—" Ichigo was cut short when Szayel started to tug on his sleeves and to comment,

"Ichigo-chan, your kimono is all sweaty. Let's rid you of that."

"Not now—"

"—looks like your Hakama is drenched too. Come on, take those off."

"And what would be left, pray tell? His undergarments?" It was Ulquiorra who asked, as Starrk had been too scandalized by Szayel's suggestion. Grimmjow seemed to be mulling it over, but not a second later would he come to deduce it was a genius suggestion by Szayel.

"Who cares?" Szayel snapped at Ulquiorra irritably.

"Yeah, who cares?" Grimmjow blurted aloud before he could stop himself.

No sooner than Grimmjow had finished talking did he and Szayel start to yank Ichigo's garments from him without exercising the least of subtlety.

"Grimmjow! Szayel-san!" The teen boomed. Sexta and Octava withdrew their hands from Ichigo, whose facial expression now fell on the type which would appeal to only a very few people, and that did not include any of the Espada. Having gathered their attention, he spat, "Has anyone seen the last drop of my fucking patience? Oh, wait, you two imbeciles are sucking on it. Hard."

"…"

"…"

"To continue," Ichigo resumed, now much calmer but rest assured more stern, his eyes on Halibel, "we will expel an entrenched demon from Tercera Espada. Now."

TBC