Author's note:

I'm re-uploading this chapter with one change to the story. I wasn't comfortable calling Ichigo a beta and upon further research their dynamic would actually be called an alpha pair. It's not major to read the whole chapter again, just something I had to change for future consistency. Carry On…

17 Months

Chapter 20: All The Wrongness, All The Right

Week 25

I tread down to the door at the end of the hallway that leads to the underground training room. Uharara moved the hatch to the underground area to a more secure location since it was in greater use these days, but first, I open the door to the right. It used to be a storage room; Tessai turned it into a dressing room full of various safety equipment and uniforms. He decided it was necessary considering humans without large amounts of reiatsu, who were unable to transform into soul uniforms, were engaging in combat under his roof. Even though he was an expert healer, it was better to be safer than sorry.

I look into the changing mirror, gaze at my scowling reflection and contemplate: It's ok for him to leap off buildings, but I'm not allowed to so much as sneeze without permission?! True, I was doing a bit more than that, but he didn't know that! ...Not until I fessed up. Then he had the gall to be pissed! Ugh, I hate this double-standard bullshit and I'm gonna do somethin' about it right now!

I angrily strip out of my street clothes and open the drawers until I find the one that houses the black hakama. Next to the neatly folded black pants are traditional fundoshi and these modern looking jockstraps. I think to myself, what used to appear under my shihakusho? My spirit clothes changed so many times I never really thought further then, oh good, my junk isn't flappin' all over the place. I sigh exasperated. No way am I going to sit here and go through the motions of tying a traditional cloth and tape myself up so I quickly opt for ones like I wear in baseball. Holding one up in front of me, I inspect the black cloth and the thick gold waistband that is stitched 'CLEVER' in bold capitals. I roll my eyes and gripe aloud, "These better fuckin' hold me in properly or I'm shoving someone's perverted fashion sense down their throat!"

I fasten the hakama and the strap of the jock hides inconspicuously under the belt. My thighs are exposed through the slits of the pants. The kosode used to hide that or the tape, when the uniform tore. Oh well, maybe the exposure will give me some sort advantageous distraction.

I put my black hoodie back on over my shirtless torso and look in the mirror. Not bad; I feel comfortable. I sit on the bench and complete my gear with tabi and waraji, then make my way out to the training ground. I've come down here more frequently over the past few months, watching the others practice and weightlifting with Grimmjow. Urahara added an armory and workout room at the bottom of the stairs, yup: stairs. No more climbing what looked like an emergency rope ladder. The first section of the arena is lined with black mats with various workout and lifting equipment on top. The walls are covered with some mirror and yards of weapons, getting more deadly as you go outward. There's bamboo practice swords and wooden sabers and staffs; there's dull bladed swords; then there's the section of expertly honed and deadly blades. I go to the iPod hooked to the stereo on the shelf before the mats start. I turn to my playlist, the one filled with punk, hardcore, rap metal and alternative, and hit shuffle. Grimmjow calls me his angsty teen when I put it on, but I can tell it's growing on him. It's just good fighting music to me.

I bounce and stretch out my muscles as I walk down the row of weapons. As I get to the end, I run my finger over the hilts of a couple beautifully menacing blades. One wide and stunningly onyx, brushed metal sword always catches my eye when I'm down here. It looks like an oversized, black steel, honed Santoku chopping blade complete with a delicate rippled water pattern mottled into the metal. The grip is sleek with no guard and as I pick it up, it feels as if it's been molded to fit my hand. I thought it would be too heavy for my human ability, as large as this sword is made, but it's unexpectedly light and as I swing it before me, it cuts through the air like slicing through silky tofu.

"Didn't know you were that angry. Seen you eyeballin' that for a while but I didn't think I'd ever get ya mad enough to pick it up. Should I go get Hime to spot us?"

I look up and beyond my hooded head to see Grimmjow standing at the bottom of the stairs. He's got his arms folded, legs a shoulder's width apart, injuries healed, staring at me in a pair of heather-grey harem sweatpants, the elastic-grips rolled just over his thickly muscled calfs, no shoes, no socks, no shirt. God, this man need never wear a shirt around me.

I watch his eyes rake over my flesh and stop at the most pleasing parts to him: my exposed thighs, my bare chest. He's pleased and distracted, I can tell by the way his jaw muscles pulse as he clenches his teeth together. He's itching to react, but trying to keep cool. He does this sometimes as he looks at me when we're hanging with a crowd and his mind wanders to more private activities, when we're not alone but wishes to be. So damned sexy.

I turn back to the wall, hiding my amusement to his predicament. I walk a few paces to the end of the display and pick up a squat sword. This one, blackened steel as the first, has a curved point, a bar guard with a stamped repeating circle pattern, and a double grip. Although it's less than half the size of the sword in my right, it's almost as weighty.

"Two?! I must be in pretty deep shit-"

"Shut up ya big baby. I'm not using these." I heave a heavy sigh, "Just passing the time, reminiscing about the feel of cold steel." I swing the blades a few times for good measure before I set them back down and tuck my hands in my hoodie pockets.

"Two blades look good on you." Grimmjow complements, smirking sweetly at me, his eyes glittering in a carnal fashion.

"Oh yeah? Well ever since the onsen and that practice sword broke in two, my hands feel more complete with- Wait- Don't distract me!" Just then, an odd piercing sound echoes from above and an interrupting, throat clearing gesture reverbs against the stone walls.

"They are Damascus steel. An ancient technique, lost to but a very few souls. Tessai has many talents, does he not?" An overly knowledgeable shopkeeper's voice broadcasts over a hidden surveillance system. "Now, my dear boys, let us discuss this precarious situation you have put yourselves in."

Grimmjow grunts to the open air above, "What are you talking about, Old Man? We're just gonna have a bit of fun with each other, aren't we Tricky?"

I purse my lips and stare admonishingly at my cocky boyfriend. "You know what this is about. It's about-"

"I do not think it is wise at this juncture of your relationship to work out your differences by resorting to violence against one another, would it not be more exciting if you reign violence against a common opponent instead? I believe, in my professional opinion, it would be wiser to learn to work as a team, so, I have devised a plan just incase this situation arose."

Grimmjow and I both look at each other skeptically. He shrugs like he has no idea what's going on either. I give an annoyed growl and tilt my head up to the disembodied voice coming from the ceiling and yell louder than I probably need to, "What in the hell are you talking about? Butt out, Geta-bōshi! This is non of your business!"

"He's right, my boy. You shouldn't come to fisticuffs with your life partner to get your point across."

We both holler a stunned "Pops!" into the air at the sound of my old man's voice coming from the artificial sky.

"Wh-why are you here!" I question. I've never seen him at the shop before. I wasn't even sure if he knew how to get here much less knew this place existed.

"Wow, this is a very hi-tech set up you've got here, Urahara. From all these angles, I can see just how lewd my son's attire is this evening. Boy, we need to have a little talk about proper shihakusho etiquette."

"Oi! We- we don't need to talk about anything!" I stammer hotly, blushing at my father's witness. I glance over to Grimmjow leering approvingly at my exposed flesh. I gulp at the lust pouring from his eyes yet cross my arms over my chest and turn my chin up smugly, "It's called strategy. Gotta know your enemy and all that," I crow with a sarcastic tone.

Grimmjow shakes his head in mirth and mouths the word, "Tricky," and licks his bottom lip, moistening it with his slick tongue.

Just then, a low rumbling and foul groaning comes from behind a rather large outcropping of fifty foot tall rocks. My blue-haired partner's eyes mimic my widening orbs and we both turn to see what this menacing sound is.

At the clearing, a large body, about 5 meters tall comes into view. It's fleshy and humanoid, with long, stringy black hair covering its face, grown slightly past its shoulders, parted in the middle. Its movements are languid. Arms dangling from their sockets look a little too long and disproportionate compared to its torso. The being looks naked, covered in what seems to be waxy, human-like skin, yet there is no discerning physical features: no nipples, genetalia, nor hair other than what's atop its head.

My assessing gaze is interrupted as Grimmjow moves his body between me and the giant, growling ferociously. I stare at his bare, muscled back reproachfully.Iclench my fists, about to open my mouth and push him out of the way in protest when my actions get interrupted.

"Now, my dear ward, this is not the time for chivalry. You will not be able to defeat this foe on your own. I specifically designed this creature with both of your strengths and weaknesses in mind. You will have to work in tandem. Learning teamwork may seem foreign to you, my dear boy, but I think it will come easy since you already have such a close bond with Kurosaki-san. That goes for you also, Young Kurosaki."

I balk at the insinuation, pressing my fingers to my chest, gesturing as if to say, "Who me?"

"Yes you, Kurosaki-san. I know you're used to being at the forefront of the battle, taking on your opponents one on one. But, not this time. You must acknowledge your partner here, take his judgment and experience into account and utilize his expertise."

Grimmjow looks over his shoulder at me, skepticism written all over his face, "I don't think this is a good idea... Why the hell does it have to be some gigantic thing? Why couldn't it have been just some roid-raging douchebag."

"Aw, is it not more fun this way? Just like old times, right?" Urahara sounds just a little too giddy and demented right now.

I give my signature scowl right back. I'll show him I'm not weak. I can take care of myself and I sure as hell don't need anybody holding me back. I turn my back to Grimmjow and race back over to the armory.

"Dummy! What do ya think you're doing?!" Grimmjow chases after me and I lift both blackened steel swords from their holders. I turn to race back towards the creature, but my shoulder is latched onto and I'm swung about-face, "Don't think for one second you're gonna face...that. Get up those stairs right now! Tenshou! Call off your creature, we're not ready for this."

"Speak for yourself! I can handle this! I don't need you telling me what I can and cannot do! Back me up or get the hell out of...here."

As I argue with my dubious companion, a shadow looms over our bodies, cutting off the ambient glow of the cavernous space. We pause to look up at the giant looming over us. For the first time, we see a large, black, lidless round eye staring down at us through a scraggly hair part. A lipless mouth filled with sharply pointed, shark-like teeth screech open from ear to ear as it swings its enormous right hand over its head.

"MOOVVVEEEEE!" Grimmjow screams as he pushes me. I fly back, past the creature's line of fire as Grimmjow ducks to the ground. The creature swipes a treadmill and a rack of barbells more swiftly than it was moving previously, swatting them like they were merely building blocks to an upset child, sending them flying into the air and crashing like bombs into the wooden staircase, destroying the means to any retreat.

From my sitting position, I look over to Grimmjow, raising his head to find where I landed, a trickle of blood starts to stream from his hairline and down the side of his nose. Witnessing my beloved injured sends a quickening pulse through my body and mind.

When the will to protect wells up, my mind only sees the goal at hand and my body responds automatically. My determination surfaces and I rise from the ground, gripping my swords to strike the creature as it raises its fist once again to aim a blow down upon my fallen warrior. As I run up behind it, I cross my arms, then slice into the back of the giant's knee in an outward motion. The behemoth shrieks in pain as it falls forward, blood mixed with a gaseous cloud emanates from the wound and the creature flinches long enough for Grimmjow to move out of harm's way, running alongside the armory wall and taking up arms of his own. He grasps a very long sword from the wall. Its grip is twice as long as my swords' with a large sapphire gemmed pommel. The cross-guard is a figure eight on the short side and the long sides curl toward the blade. When he releases it from its brown leathered sheath, another crescent-shaped, pointed metal piece juts from the steel about five inches down from the guard. I have never seen anything like it. The double edge of the blade shines brilliantly and I'm awestruck at the knightly brilliance Grimmjow possesses holding the sword.

"Ah! The Montante," Urahara commentates through the mic, "Thirteenth century Portugese. Made for only the largest and most extraordinary soldiers at that time, Kurosaki."

"Yes, one of the largest swords ever made for combat use. This blade has a generous ricasso for a safe grip beyond the quillons. The moon shaped flukes protect the hand during combat." My father states like an expert.

"Indeed. A most impressive weapon. We shall see just how well trained Jagerjaques-san is this evening." Urahara banters back.

"What is this?! Being broadcast on Fighting TV Samurai or something? You people are ridiculous!" I can't believe this is sport to them.

"It seems our younger combatant, this evening, is distracted by the gallant manliness of his teammate. He has failed to realize his opponent has recovered from his injury." Urahara whispers as if he's letting an audience in on a secret.

"Ichigo! Pay attention!" Grimmjow hollers, pointing with his sword as he rushes towards me. I square off towards the giant again as it swings its open hand at me from its kneeling position. I guard my body with my blades but I fly through the air after impact, hitting the ground and rolling several feet before a boulder to the back ends my motion.

I'm stunned, but I managed to keep my weapons in hand. I regain equilibrium quickly and stand to watch my azure-eyed partner engage the adversary. I can tell now, the wound I inflicted on the giant has healed completely. Maybe you have to completely cut parts off to damage it? I watch Grimmjow expertly wield the two-handed sword around his body, slashing the creature's extremities as it tries to kick or get a grip on him. It keeps pushing him back but luckily Grimmjow hasn't been backed into a corner and the two are heading my way.

"Hack off a limb!" I yell to him.

"I'm- trying- to!" He grunts out as he combats the gigantic humanoid. "Little hard when there's four of them coming at you at the same time!"

"Oh, I'll do it." I charge forward, taking the creature's right side, distracting half its movements and putting it on the defensive for just a moment...but, just for a moment. The creature shifts its weight just as I am about to hack into its forearm, dodging my attack gracefully. My forward momentum with the very large weapon has nowhere else to strike but what is beyond my previous target, which is Grimmjow, pinned down by blocking the creature's fist above his head with the flat side of his sword, his other hand bracing the tip as he's forced to one knee.

His eyes dart to me with lucid understanding. All in this infinitesimal moment, we both react to not collide disastrously with each other. I throw my left arm out with the shorter blade to try and shift the balance of my momentum ever so slightly and Grimmjow maneuvers to a backwards roll, choosing to abandon his blade, now imbedded in the flesh of the creature's fist. The fist comes down and my sword's momentum cuts cleanly through the wrist.

The colossal creation lets out a roar and lashes out with his intact hand towards me, ripping into my black hoodie and slicing 4 long gashes into my flesh. I sail back into Grimmjow, knocking him off balance. We topple to the ground and the colossal makes to slam his foot down upon us and we roll out of the way just in time. We get separated and I retreat in the opposite direction through the boulder ridden terrain to hide.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt, Urahara. These boys better figure out a way to work together before this experiment of yours mops the floor with them."

"You are absolutely correct, Kurosaki. It looks like the mod soul has recovered and is seeking out a challenger. Too bad they have separated. This would have been a prime opportunity to devise a collaborative effort, do you not think?"

"Indeed, Urahara. I don't see how they could defeat this foe without a sound team strategy."

Goddamned commentary. Rub it in a little more, why don't ya?! After running a bit and finding a good hiding spot, I check my wounds. The skin is torn and bleeding but I don't see any terrible depth to the cuts across the side and back of my torso. Damn, I wish Grimmjow and I didn't get separated. I guess my first tactical aim is to find him and talk over an actual plan. One thing is for sure: this creature is too big and agile to be taken down alone. I can concede that much.

I get up from my short respite to slink about the territory, peaking over the obstacles to find the giant and/or my blue-haired partner. The creature did go after Grimmjow after all. On the other side of the gorge, I see the creature looking for him, punching rocks and picking up others, crushing them in its hands. I note to make sure to never get caught in the creature's grasp or my bones would be crushed in an instant.

The creature stops at one particular outcropping, smashing into the surface of the cliff and bending down to possibly reach into something and I instantly think Grimmjow has gotten himself trapped. I'm about to run over the rock formation I'm hiding behind to help when a hand clasps over my mouth and I'm dragged backwards. I'm spun around and roughly placed against the back wall of the spot I was hiding in. With the hand still over my mouth I meet ocean blue eyes. He motions with his other hand, a finger over his lips, for me to keep quiet, yet still keeps his hand over my mouth as he drags his gaze over my body assessing my wounds. He touches the tears in my flesh with light, prodding pressure and inspects bruises I didn't even know I had to make sure bones aren't broken or fractured.

His touches right now shouldn't garner the heat rising up in my body - we are in the middle of a battle after all - but my thoughts betray me and linger on the satisfaction I'm feeling at his handling. His feather touch slides over my right temple producing a slight wince at the tenderness there making him inspect the wound further.

"Nothing's broken, thankfully," He whispers almost inaudibly. "Do not talk louder than this or the creature may hear us." He directs as he slowly slides his fingers from over my mouth, not forgetting to brush his thumb earnestly over my perspiring lips.

"Why is it so concerned with that one spot?" I say a little too breathily for my own liking.

"After Urahara mentioned it was a mod soul, I figured he found a way to infuse hollow characteristics into it. I left some of my scent in the cave then pissed in it. Lesser hollow tend to leak their reiatsu when they are cornered and scared shitless, I figured it was kinda like pissing themselves," he shrugs. "Its instincts will force it to stay on that area until it's completely sure the target has escaped. It wouldn't want to walk away from loosing its prey until it was sure its meal was gone."

I look down and see one of his pant legs are jaggedly torn at the thigh. He must have left it behind in the cave. I would never have thought to do something like that. I don't know how hollows think and act. Hueco Mundo is such a harsh, visceral world to come from. I could never fully comprehend what Grimmjow has gone through to survive. He must think this life is cherries compared to what he's gone through. No wonder he coddles me if he constantly thinks I'm going to be cornered and devoured. I'm just going to have to show him that I'm capable of learning and adapting to any environment and situation.

"That's good to know; very smart. You'll have to teach me how to think like that." His eyebrows arch up in surprise. He's probably never been praised for his fortitude considering it's something you either have to have or die. "I understand we don't like it very much, but we do have to work together to defeat this thing. I know that I know nothing about hollow instinct. All I've ever done is charge in with my strength and overpower every opponent, gaining experience from them as I go. I can see this time is not going to be the same, so, let's help each other. What else can we use against it, Grimm?" I look up to him expectantly, his nose crinkles and eyes squint.

Grimmjow steps closer, his body flush against mine. His lips touch my ear, "There is something else we can do, I'm gonna put my scent on you-" I feel him reach into his pants.

I stiffen and back away to look into his eyes with a deep frown, interrupting his words I whisper harshly, "you are NOT peeing on me, Grimmjow. I-"

He covers my lips with his, quickly hushing my admonition. I try to push away from him to continue my objection, but he presses his tongue deeply into my mouth and grabs my wrists so I drop my swords into the sand. He grabs my right hand and presses it against his groin so I can tell how his length is slightly hard underneath. My eyes go wide with realization and I try to snatch my hand back but he persists.

He covers my mouth once again with his right hand and pulls me back in to whisper into my ear, "Listen, you wanted to know what else we could use against him and here it is. In Hueco Mundo, you still would be considered my mate. Do you think we have luxuries like showers there?" I shift my vision and chin to stare into his eyes, wondering where his logic is heading. I shake my head in the negative and he continues, "my scent would be all over you, letting everything that passes by us or our den know that I am the Alpha and you are mine."

Really. I scrunch my eyebrows together and set my eyes to stare at him so he knows how much I hate this animalistic logic. He clicks his tongue and continues his argument, "I know ya don't like or understand this but that's the way it is there. If you want to be one step ahead of this creature, you're gonna have to accept that it is what it is and go with the flow." He goes in on his plan to distract and conquer the giant. It's pretty good, although I have some control issues over acting as the bait. He finishes his strategy and looks me in the eyes, "Got it?"

"Why do I always gotta be the bitch?" I huff indignantly into his ear.

Grimmjow clasps my neck, "heeeeey! You're not a bitch. You're my Alpha mate. An Alpha, just like me. But, we're both male so our dynamic is a bit different. And when we're in a bind, we work together, with all the resources we can muster. You feel like the bitch cuz you haven't acted on any of those Alpha desires yet. I've been waitin' all week for you ta make yer move. How can ya say somethin' like that and then leave me hangin', huh?"

"This isn't the time to bring that up," I whisper hotly into his ear, "I- I was gonna tell you I wanted to wait...'til my birthday. I wanted to make it special...or something." I divulge my intentions embarrassingly.

"Aw, that's almost two months away. Why don't ya get this process going by telling me what ya got planned for me. We gotta do this quickly, that hollow hybrid is gonna know the jig is up soon." Grimmjow requests as he caresses the back of my neck.

My God, I hope my dad and Urahara can't see or hear us, this is so embarrassing. I roll my eyes and acquiesce to his plan with a short nod and squeeze of his member still pressed under my fingers. He takes in an approving breath and I start to whisper my future intentions.

"Well, first I'm gonna..." I whisper very softly into his ear making it, hopefully, only audible to him.

"Oh yeah?" Grimmjow pants in my ear.

"Uh huh, and then..." I stroke his now stiffened cock through the light fabric.

"Ahhhhh, really?" He starts to rock his hips, pressing harder into my palm.

"Yeah, and then I'll suck it while..." I start to put my hand into his waistband.

"Unhhh, shhhhhh- ok. You wanna try that right now?" He puts his hand on my shoulder and pushes me down and I get into a kneeling position.

I blush as the rush of embarrassment mingles with excitement and exhilaration. I pull his pants and skin hugging boxer briefs down around his thighs, exposing his hardened length and muscular buttocks. I grip the base of his manhood and pump it hard as I savagely envelope the tip in my mouth and suck. He bucks into my mouth but my hand around his shaft prevents me from choking his length down. My free hand wraps around and squeezes his ass firmly and I start to slide my fingers into his crack, sliding up and down and probing deeper.

When my sweat slicked fingers get to his entrance, I slowly press my index in to the first knuckle. I hear a small hum coming from above and I take it as a good sign to proceed deeper. I press in further, then out, then further in. I want to twist my finger but it's hard at the angle I'm at, wrapped around the side. I re-adjust, pulling my finger free and slipping my hand through his legs. My blue-haired partner makes a disapproving noise as I pull free, but eagerly widens his stance when he understands the halt in my ministrations, but as I try to restart, he grabs my hand. I look up, afraid I made a mistake or worse yet, he changed his mind. He plunges my first two fingers into his mouth, licking them; coating them in his saliva. Then, he opens his eyes and gazes down upon me with rampant passion.

The pure sexual heat between us causes me to deeply moan around his cock in my mouth. He shutters and releases my hand and I quickly dive between his legs again. This time I take him two fingered, unrestrained by my naive cautiousness, and plunging them deep, twisting and curling within his tight heat.

Grimmjow throws his head back and hisses yet his hip thrusts become more violent. I indulge him by releasing the grip I have on his cock, grabbing his cheek and thrusting him deeper down my throat.

"Ohhhhhhh, fuuuuhhhhh...don't swallow!" I hear him as he hunches over and grips the wall behind me. I pull my hand back from pressing him in and release his cock from my mouth quickly to start jacking him off onto my chest. I bite my wet bottom lip and keep wiggling my fingers in him as I vigorously pump his now darkly colored erection, making sure I give proper attention to the sensitive part just under the base of the tip.

My bluenette hitches his breath and stops breathing as he violently jerks and cums all over my perspiring chest. I ease up on the tip and milk his shaft, watching stream after stream of pearly white fluid coat my skin. I squeeze the last bit out then ease my fingers from his tight passage. As I come down from my concentration I realize how utterly turned on I am, I whimper just a bit as I squeeze my own swollen member through my hakama. I look up with pleading eyes and Grimmjow crouches down to my level. He plants sweet kisses all over my face as he caresses my chest and neck, smearing his scent over me. He takes his wet thumb and coats my lips with his essence, then kisses me deeply, tasting himself as he tastes me.

He grips the back of my neck and whispers into my ear, "you're the only one I'll ever gladly bend over for. You rule me, ya know that? I'll take care of this," he squeezes my cock, "soon, but right now we have to show these old assholes we can work together, no matter what they throw at us."

I nod my head and look into his eyes with a steel resolve. It might get a little tricky, but Grimmjow's plan seems like it's our best bet to get the upper hand over the gigantic, hybrid mod soul. We kiss once more then stand up, ready to face our common enemy together.