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Here Kitty Kitty

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Chapter 4: The Challenge

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The green of the trees and bushes were nothing but a blur as he sped by. His striped ears were bent flat against his head to block out the wind that gusted around his moving body as he ran. His tail whipped behind him and curled every so often to help him turn sharp corners.

Bending his legs, he leaped nimbly over another fallen tree.

"Dammit…" He gasped out as he felt his breath become ragged. He was starting to get tired and the sky was growing darker with each step.

Ichigo had been looking for Grimmjow all day, but he couldn't find hide or hair of the blue-haired panther. The only things he'd come across were a few rogues, but they didn't really pay him any attention, and if they did, they must've been too lazy to give chase.

"Where are you…?" Ichigo snarled to himself as he finally jogged to a stop in front of a large wall of interweaving vines and bushes. He was far deeper in the Forbidden Forest than he'd like to admit, but he refused to turn back now. He knew that the panther was around somewhere.

He had to be.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Ichigo was about ready to start running again, but he paused when he heard voices coming from just beyond the vine covered wall.

Slowly and carefully, he eased his way under the farrago of leaves until he was completely concealed within the wall. Straining his ears forward curiously, he peered through the branches as he tried to make out where the voices were coming from.

That's when he spotted two felids in the small clearing that laid in front of him.

One was a small lynx, like Rukia, but his short tail and ears were a very light tan—almost white, and he had black, well groomed hair. Ichigo also noticed with amusement that there were purple diamond marks across his face, which only added to his girly looks.

'Hell… If it wasn't for his scent then I wouldn't be able to tell if he was male or female.' Ichigo had to stop himself from chuckling aloud, because he obviously didn't want them knowing that he was eavesdropping on them.

'Thank goodness I'm downwind…'

Ichigo switched his gaze from the lynx to the next felid.

This one had a slim waist, but his build was more masculine than anything. So he was definitely male.

He had long, glossy black hair which was weaved into a long braid, and he sported six wavy, red, whisker-like marks on his face—three on each cheek. Ichigo blinked curiously when he noticed the abnormally long canines that poked out from the felid's mouth.

'He must be a sabertooth mountain lion or something… I've never seen one up close before.' Ichigo felt his tail twitch with interest as he watched the sabertooth pace back and forth angrily.

"Ggio… please stop pacing~" The lynx whined and he swayed back and forth on dainty feet, as if he was getting dizzy from just watching.

"Shut your trap, Luppi!" Ggio snapped back ferociously, his sandy colored tail lashing back and forth violently and he paused to glare at the smaller felid.

But Luppi didn't seem intimidated in the least.

"Why are you so upset anyway?" The lynx huffed irritably, his own tail swaying back and forth contentedly.

"Why do you think!" Ggio snarled and he folded his ears back to show his annoyance. "Mating season is coming up soon and Grimmjow's going to be gone for a while on some mission!"

Ichigo felt his eyes stretch wide at the mention of the panther he had been searching for.

'How do these guys know Grimmjow?' Ichigo thought, his eyes narrowing dangerously, but he convinced himself that he wasn't being possessive.

"So what if Grimmy is going away for a little while, you know you could always get someone else to mate with you. What, are you in love with him or something?" The lynx, Luppi, drawled and he smirked when Ggio's face was turning ten different shades of red.

Ichigo felt every hair on his tail and neck bristle in rage and he had to dig his claws into the ground to keep himself from pouncing out of his hiding place.

'Welcome to the wonderful world of jealousy' His subconscious ness teased. 'For the price of admission, you get a splitting headache, a nearly irresistible urge to commit murder, and an inferiority complex.'

"SO! You used to have a crush on him too!" The mountain lion shot back, making both felids hiss at each other.

"That was before he turned into a complete asshole!"

"Take that back!"

"NEVER!"

Ichigo blinked and his ears twitched irritably when we had the sudden urge to go over there and beat the two felids to a bloody pulp.

But he knew that that would only cause more trouble than it was worth.

Sighing, he was about to turn away and continue his search for Grimmjow, when he was stopped by a grip to his tail. The grip was tight and Ichigo snapped his head back to see what had taken hold of him, but it was too late.

Ichigo dug his claws into the ground instinctively as he was roughly dragged out from under the bushes, leaving behind long gashes in the dirt.

Letting out a furious hiss, the tiger snatched his tail back and spun around to see his attacker. He wasn't expecting to come face to face with the one-eyed leopard from yesterday.

"You!" Ichigo snarled and he took a few cautious steps backwards, nearly stumbling back into the bushes. He flinched slightly when the branches dug into his back, making him arch forward.

The clouded leopard smirked.

"As soon as I saw tha' orange tail pokin' out from under there, I knew it was you." He chuckled while taking a small step forward.

The tiger wrapped his tail around himself protectively and glared up at the other's smirking face with smoldering auburn eyes.

"Stay away from me." He warned, baring his sharp canines threateningly, but the leopard didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't give a damn. So, thinking quickly, Ichigo grabbed hold of the vines that hung to the branches surrounding him and threw them forward; making most of them fall and tangle up around the taller cat.

Just as he was about to careen away, back into the safety of the trees, he felt something or someone pounce on him from behind, making them both tumble to the soft ground. Wriggling around, Ichigo peeked over his shoulder, only to come face to face with abnormally long canines.

Grimmjow sighed with frustration as he climbed up another branch in the huge apple tree. He was about half way up it, and if he peered through the leaves he could clearly see the stars that were beginning to sparkle in the darkening sky. It wasn't night yet, but it was getting very close. Soon he would have to find a place to sleep—he didn't want to though.

The only thing he wanted to do was get to Ichigo, but he knew better than to travel around the Forbidden Forest at night. And besides, it would take another hour or so to reach Masaki Rock.

"Damn… I'm probably gonna 'ave ta go all the way there ta find Ichigo…" He grumbled to himself before reaching up to grab one of the deliciously red apples that surrounded him.

Taking a huge bite out of it [1], he swayed his tail and folded his ears back in concentration as he tried to figure out exactly how he was going to get close to Isshin.

'I could always try an' catch 'im while he's out huntin'… Nah, he would probably 'ave somebody else with him… if I want ta kill him, then I 'ave ta get him alone… or I could—' His thoughts were cut short when he heard something to his left.

It sounded suspiciously like a scream.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Grimmjow dropped the half-eaten apple, letting it bounce off the other branches to the earth floor. He then quickly jumped down to one of the lower branches until he could clearly see through the thin wall of leaves.

Now that he was closer he could hear voices, but even with his sharp ears, he couldn't understand what they were saying or who the voices even belonged to.

Moving swiftly and quietly, like a good predator should, he crawled forward on the thick branch until it thinned out and bowed beneath his weight. Then, in one strong leap, he landed nimbly on one of the lower branches of a different tree. The limb creaked from the sudden weight, but it didn't break.

A few stray twigs scratched at his face when he jumped to some more trees, making his cheeks sting, but he ignored it as he followed the voices, which were much louder now.

Once he was where he wanted to be, he dug his claws deep into the bark so he could keep still. He blinked his eyes and swiveled his ears around to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from. Once he knew, he slowly raised his tail to push away some of the leaves so he could look down at the commotion.

It took him a second to see because it was so dark now, but sapphire blue eyes widened when they immediately spotted a familiar head of orange hair.

'What the HELL is he doin' so deep in the Forbidden Forest?'

Twitching his tail irritably, he was barely able to suppress a growl when he recognized the three other felids surrounding the tiger. The muscles in his legs twitched and screamed at him to go down there and protect his mate, but Grimmjow knew that he should stay still in order to figure out what was going on first.

"You mentioned his name before so you must know where he is!" Ichigo's voice shouted, making Grimmjow's ears perk in curiosity.

Ggio stepped forward threateningly, his tan-colored tail lashing aggressively. "Even if I did know where he was, there is no way I would tell some kittypet like you!" He snapped and the tiger lunged at him, claws outstretched and reflected the moonlight.

They scuffled on the ground, hissing and spitting at each other as they tried to claw the other's face off. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes when he noticed Luppi and Nnoitra trying to get in on the fight.

'Who the fuck're they talkin' about anyway?' The panther thought as he once again tried to force himself to not jump out of his hiding place, especially when one of the felids clawed down Ichigo's chest, leaving behind long scratches.

The tiger hissed in pain as blood trailed down his torso and his ears bent down nervously when the predators began to circle him.

"You don't deserve someone like Grimmjow." Ggio hissed, making both the panther and tiger tense up, one in surprise and one in anger.

Ichigo growled deep in his throat, and everyone froze as the orange cat suddenly leapt into the air and tackled the other felid to the ground. The tiger growled and straddled the sabertooth's chest so he could pin down his arms with his knees, then he lifted his arms and scratched across Ggio's face, leaving behind bloody trails which blended in with the red marks already marring his cheeks.

Grimmjow smirked at that, feeling a little proud that his future mate could kick ass, but then he frowned when he noticed Nnoitra moving towards the angry tiger with a lustful look in his narrowed eye.

Looking around quickly, the panther grabbed one of the acorns surrounding him and chucked it downward, making it hit Nnoitra right in the head.

The leopard huffed in surprise and glared down at the acorn that attacked him so mercilessly before snapping his head back to glare up at the many trees circling them, but he couldn't find Grimmjow (who was expertly hidden within the leaves) so he just shrugged it off.

"Just tell me where he is, you stupid furball!" Ichigo snarled, unknowingly catching everyone's attention.

Ggio shook his head stubbornly and kicked his legs around to try and throw the tiger off, but it was no use.

Luppi, the sneaky lynx, quickly snuck up behind Ichigo and wrapped both of his small arms around the bigger felid's neck, distracting him enough for Ggio to wriggle his way out. Once the sabertooth was free, he instantly lifted one of his bare feet and kicked Ichigo in the gut. Then he dug the heel of his dirt-clad foot in the bloody cuts on the tiger's chest, making him gasp in pain.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes angrily at that, and, this time, he couldn't stop the ferocious hiss that tore through him. All of the other felids jumped slightly.

"I know that hiss…" Luppi whispered, but his eyes still widened in surprise when he saw a certain blue-haired cat leap out from the trees, sharp teeth bared menacingly. The panther's eyes were practically glowing with killer-intent.

Ichigo used the distraction to pry Luppi's arms away from him so he could breathe properly. However, Ggio noticed that and pounced on the tiger, making them roll around on the dirt messily, limbs flying and claws glistening. Ichigo tried to overpower the smaller cat, but with a mighty shove, the sabertooth was able to pin him down.

Smirking victoriously, he was about to dig his large canines into the felid's tan throat to rip it apart, but someone roughly pulled him away by his long braid. He glared up at his attacker with blazing gold eyes, but froze and gulped when he saw that it was his blue-haired crush.

"G-Grimmjow, I—" His voice left him in a quick exhale, as if someone had just punched it right out of him when he saw that the panther's eyes were filled with worry. It was an expression that was rarely seen, and most of the animals actually thought that the panther wasn't even able to show emotions other than anger and boredom. Ggio usually would've been ecstatic to see such an expression on Grimmjow, if only it wasn't being directed at the tiger he'd just been about to kill.

"Ichigo… Ya okay?" Grimmjow asked as he helped said felid back onto his feet.

The tiger wasn't sure if he could trust his voice at the moment, so he just nodded instead. When he finally looked up and their eyes met, Ichigo felt a shiver of shock race up his spine when he noticed that Grimmjow didn't seem angry at all.

It was as if they'd been friends all these years—which was technically true. Ichigo never stopped being friends with the panther… they just never got to see each other.

But, after their fight yesterday, Ichigo was positive that he'd have to apologize before Grimmjow would even talk to him.

"Ya sure?" The blue-furred felid pressed, trying to make sure that he wasn't in any pain.

The tiger folded his ears back nervously when the panther moved forward to inspect the scratches on his chest.

"What the fuck is going on!" Ggio snarled in disbelief. He stood on shaky legs and his voice was a little squeaky from rage but his sharp eyes were focused steadily on the pair standing in front of him.

"Keep yer hands off 'im, ya got tha'!" Grimmjow snapped back as he stood between the two felids, acting as a shield.

But, because he wasn't paying attention to the others, he didn't notice when Nnoitra snuck up behind them until he heard a yelp. Grimmjow whirled around and hissed ferociously at the taller leopard.

"Release me, you oversized squirrel!" Ichigo screeched as he thrashed around, and bit at his captor's arms.

It didn't help though.

"Don't you even—" Grimmjow started, but Nnoitra ignored the warning and latched his arm around his prey's neck, letting his other hand roam around the squirming body.

"I don't see why yer gettin' so worked up sexta. It 'aint like he's yer mate."

Grimmjow and Ichigo flinched at the last word and, to Nnoitra's amusement, they both glared at him. The leopard smirked and then easily lifted the tiger from the ground so he could lock him against his chest. Ichigo kicked his legs around, trying his best to get free, but it was useless in the awkward position, especially now that he couldn't use the ground as leverage.

The panther lashed his dark tail in frustration as he tried to figure out a way to get Ichigo out without actually hurting him in the process, but it was pretty hard to think clearly when a certain leopard's filthy hands were touching his mate.

Said mate was busy scratching and clawing at the arm around his neck, but his nails just weren't able to pierce the Nnoitra's tough skin.

And that frustrated the hell out of him.

"Ya can do tha' all ya wan', it 'aint gonna work. After living in the mountains fer so long, our skin 'as become a lot tougher." Nnoitra whispered tauntingly in the tiger's striped ear, making the appendage flick back and forth reflexively.

Ichigo growled deep within his chest at that and he was about to start shouting again, but his voice got stuck in his throat when he felt the hand that had been touching around his sides suddenly dive into the back of his pants. He choked for breath and almost whimpered when the felid's hand fondled his backside.

"G-Grimmjow, help!" He couldn't believe he was asking for help—he'd never had to ask for help like this before, but he didn't really have a choice at the moment.

Grimmjow's temper flared and every hair on his tail bristled with suppressed rage. He shifted on his feet and was about to jump forward, but his legs stiffened when he heard Ichigo yelp in pain.

"Stay where ya are, sexta." Nnoitra demanded and dug his nails deeper into the soft flesh of Ichigo's arm. The poor tiger suppressed another pained yelp when the sharp claws began to tear his skin. Brown eyes grew blurry and long limbs went numb as the pain began to overwhelm him. It felt as if the leopard was going to actually rip off his arm.

"Okay! Okay…" Grimmjow took a step back, finally making Nnoitra relent his hold on Ichigo's bloody arm. The panther knew that something like that would happen if he tried to help, but he loathed the fact that he could only stand around and watch as Ichigo was being violated right in front of him.

He would just have to wait until Nnoitra finally looked away from him. As soon as that happened, Grimmjow would make sure the leopard wouldn't be able to touch Ichigo ever again.

"Hey… Ggio." Luppi whispered once he sat beside the frozen felid.

"What…?"

The little lynx sighed when Ggio refused to look at him.

"Aren't you going to do something?" He asked as he turned his gaze back to the three other felids.

He didn't receive an answer for a few seconds.

"Nope…" And with that Ggio sped off into the bushes. Luppi rolled his eyes, but followed him nonetheless.

Ichigo glued his eyes shut and tried to focus all of his attention on the pain in his arm so that he wouldn't notice how Nnoitra's fingers, which were slick with his blood, began to trace around the muscles on his torso sensually.

"Fuck…" He heard Grimmjow curse and he peeked one eye open to see the panther sending Nnoitra the most murderous glare he'd ever seen.

'okay… Think Ichigo… What can you do to get yourself out of this fucked up mess… Grimmjow looks like he'd kill this leopard the next chance he got… but if he tries to move at all then the bastard is going to hurt me again. Maybe if I can distract him somehow...'

Ichigo gulped in some air nervously when an idea came to him, but he narrowed his eyes in determination.

The sooner he got away from this sick freak, the better.

Nnoitra blinked in surprise when his captive suddenly tensed up and then went limp. He didn't want to take his eye away from the panther crouching in front of them, but he couldn't help it when the tiger was just dangling limply in his arms.

'Did I kill 'im?' He thought curiously as he looked over the tiger's body for any signs of life.

Bad idea.

As soon as he turned his gaze away from Grimmjow, the panther pounced, making him lose his grip on his prize. Once Ichigo was on the ground, the tiger gripped his own throat and started coughing and gasping for breath. Panting slightly, he turned to look over his shoulder, only to find Grimmjow standing menacingly over an unconscious Nnoitra, pale face barely recognizable.

"Damn weak ass furball." The panther grumbled, spitting on the ground right beside the leopard's bloody cheek. With a sigh he turned around and began stalking towards Ichigo, who was now inspecting the open wound on his arm. "Ya okay?"

The tiger jumped when he found that Grimmjow was sitting right in front of him, before smiling nervously. "Yea… I'll be fine." He didn't sound very convincing, even to his own ears.

Grimmjow flicked his tail and remained silent for a minute, his blue eyes locked on the small river of blood that was seeping out of the gashes. The cuts on Ichigo's chest were already caked over with dried blood, so it had stopped bleeding, but Grimmjow was worried that he was losing too much.

Ichigo yelped in surprise when he was suddenly picked up from the ground by strong arms. One arm tucked beneath his knees while the other was wrapped around his back, firmly pinning him to Grimmjow's chest. The tiger folded his ears back nervously and curled his tail up so that it wouldn't drag on the ground.

"Uhm…" He started when he felt the panther sprint off in the trees. "My arm's hurt, not my legs! I can walk! Can you just put me down!" He squeaked when Grimmjow glared down at him and tightened his hold.

'I guess that's a no…' Sighing, he relaxed a little, and just let the bigger felid carry him. Although, it irked him when he noticed that Grimmjow didn't have a single scratch, and the jerk was making it seem like he only weighed as much as a feather.

Ichigo shook his head at that, 'stupid pride…'

It didn't matter. Nothing else mattered.

Grimmjow was here.

And he wasn't mad at him…

The tiger sighed irritably when he realized that they would have to talk about that argument yesterday sooner or later, but he guessed that it could wait until later.

"Where're we going…?" He grumbled against Grimmjow chest as the panther continued running.

"I'm takin' ya home," Was his instant reply.

"No!" Ichigo shouted and gripped the felid's shoulder out of reflex when he suddenly stopped.

"And why the hell not?"

'He doesn't sound very happy…'

"I need ta get ya back so they can look at yer wounds!"

Ichigo shook his head, orange bangs brushing his forehead and auburn eyes shut stubbornly. "It's not that bad! I don't want to go back… not yet…"

Grimmjow looked down at the mop of orange hair in exasperation, but sighed in defeat.

"I guess I can find some place fer us ta sleep fer the night… but as soon as the sun rises, m'takin' ya home." He growled, voice full of authority, making it hard for Ichigo to argue back.

"I know a place we can stay." The tiger suggested instead.

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~~~~T.B.C~~~~
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[1] – Yes, I do realize that Cats are normally carnivores, but you'd be surprised. My cat loves HoneyDew Melons… And apparantly they're 'obligate carnivores'. which means they can't really digest vegetable-like foods, but they do it anyway... idk. here's the link :

http : / / en . wiktionary . org / wiki / obligate_carnivore

Big thanks to Nijirochan for beta-ing~~~~~ idk what I'd do without her help

;_;

Girmmjow: -broods-

Me: ._.;; ?

Grimmjow: i wanted to grab ichi's ass too... -dark glare-

Ichigo: -sighs and rolls eyes- you're such a big baby... -sits on Grimm's lap andkisses forehead- =_=

Grimmjow: -is satisfied-