AN: An update again! Enjoy!

Notes: Grimmjow is cursed and he doesn't die easily and the tattoo on his chest counts the remaining lives he has, only no one can read the language. It will have clearer meaning later.

NOTE!!: I AM HOSTING A POLL IN MY PROFILE AND THERE ARE FOUR STORIES THAT I WOULD LIKE TO START BUT CAN'T DECIDE WHICH. THERE ARE SUMMARIES THERE, SO VOTE AND CHECK IT OUT.

Two

The sound of birds greeted Ichigo's ears as he woke groggily, his head was ringing unpleasantly. He turned to the side, took a deep breath and puked out the contents of the feast from last night. Then he noticed he was on a horse.

Oh gods. They know.

How did he get on a horse?! Ichigo bolted up in the saddle and grabbed his fake breasts, a loud gasp dragging from his lips. He froze, and turned to see three men watching him with identical expressions of amazement.

Ichigo ducked his head and flushed tomato red, mumbling to himself.

"Umm... unusual habit for a girl..." the black haired man from last night blinked a few times.

Ichigo noticed in addition to the two men from last night, there was a stranger. He was huge, more like a rhino. Yin felt sorry for the nut brown horse he was riding on.

"well, now that you're awake, off the horse!" the black haired man said cheerfully, before jumping off the one he was riding with Grimmjow and pushing Ichigo off.

The carrot top gawked, 'Why can't I ride?"

"You wanna ride? Go bunk with him." He pointed at the giant.

"There's barely space for a tick to ride on there!" he felt the blood rush to his head in annoyance.

"Or you could run…whatever floats your boat." He kicked the maroon horse Ichigo had been riding on, and at that moment Grimmjow fell off his own.

The black haired man looked over at his companion. There was a trail of blood behind Grimmjow's horse. The pure white horse nudged his rider. Grimmjow didn't move. The black haired one frowned and jumped off the horse again before approaching his fallen companion. He quickly pressed a finger against the other man's neck, checking for a pulse. Ichigo watched as he quickly pulled a dagger from his belt and slashed open the head cover Grimmjow was wearing. Ichigo blinked several times in amazement as hair the color of the autumn sky spilled out of the black head cover. Grimmjow's brows were drawn together and his lips white from the blood loss. He pulled the dark robes open to reveal a deep slash across the man's middle. He pulled back wordlessly and slung the unconscious man over his shoulder in a smooth move, muscles shifting under his dark robes.

"Starrk…shouldn't we heal him first?" the huge giant spoke suddenly and frowned as the man unceremoniously dumped his companion on to the white horse again. The one named Starrk ignored the large man and mounted the horse behind Grimmjow, holding the blue-haired man close to his chest and wrapping his arms around his waist securely.

The air was suddenly tense and Ichigo cleared his throat. The black haired man turned and gave a strained smile. "Well, it's your lucky day, lady. Ride Crossfire for me, will you? We can discuss about your situation back at the camp."

The fat man nodded slowly as Starrk kicked the horse and Ichigo mounted with a clumsy movement that made the fat man cough to hide his laugh. Ichigo glared as he settled himself on the horses back. It was slightly uncomfortable. He was more used to riding with a saddle. He forced himself to stop thinking about the burning palace that used to be his home and felt his throat tighten as he thought of his siblings. He was mostly worried about Yuzu. The girl was painfully innocent and not as adapt at fighting as her sister, Karin.

A branch snapped Ichigo on the head painfully and he yelp in pain, hands going to his head. Stark snorted and kicked the horse again to make it go faster. The pale pelt of the white horse was painfully obvious in the dark forest. Sunlight filtered through the thick leaves and landed on the dark grassy forest floor. It was a beautiful place.

"Hey, how do you feel?" the hushed tone made Ichigo look up and he blinked as Starrk shifted, holding Grimmjow against his chest like a small child. The pale man moved slightly, his pale lips moving in a word before he leaned over his companion's arm and threw up into the grass. There was a nasty sizzling noise as black congealed blood landed on the ground. The smell of rotting flesh greeted Ichigo and he felt like hurling as well.

Then Starrk did something strange.

Ichigo's eyes widened as the man pushed Grimmjow off the horse and watched without expression as the man threw up even more black stuff, his shoulders shaking from the effort. Ichigo felt his throat tighten and before he could stop himself, he jumped off his horse, wincing as blood flowed back into his numb legs and took a few unsteady steps toward the collapsed man. He took a deep breath before crouching down and started rubbing Grimmjow's back. A few painfully long moments passed and the man stilled.

"Water…" he gasped hoarsely and Starrk handed the water pouch to Ichigo, who helped the man open the cork. Grimmjow took a few mouthfuls and rinsed his mouth before draining the thing dry and shoving it back to Ichigo. He struggled up and leaned against a tree, taking a few long ragged breaths. Ichigo watched as the wound on his chest slowly closed over and the man gave a rather colorful string of curses before closing the flapping black tunic.

"That fucking hurt like hell. Damn that stupid prince and his poisonous sword…" the words were growled out as the man turned to Starrk. The black haired one smiled at the words and dismounted. Ichigo felt his heart lurch at the words. He was talking about Shirosaki's sword! The thought of his brother being alive gave him renewed hope and he moved over to the blue haired man.

"What of the prince?" he asked with a thin high voice. The two men turned to him and Grimmjow trained his sharp blue eyes on the diminutive girl in front of him with a frown.

"Why is she still here?" he turned to Starrk who shrugged and smirked.

"I wanted to play with her for a while." He winked at Ichigo and the carrot top frowned. Grimmjow snorted and turned to mount his horse, the pain from before apparently gone.

"She can ride with you, then." He said in a clipped tone and swung his legs over the white horse. "Come on, Pearl." He patted the horse on the neck and it whinnied before taking off.

Starrk put his hands on his waist and clicked his tongue. "Such a rude boy… oh well, it can't be helped, since Coral looks like she's about to pass out just from carrying Yammy himself, I guess you'll have to ride with me then."

Ichigo gulped and mounted the horse slowly, yelping when Starrk's hand went to his behind to help him. The man smirked and mounted behind him, his solid chest pressed close to Ichigo's back. The prince felt his heart leap in panic at the close distance. He turned and gave Starrk a nasty look before shuffling to make more distance between them. Starrk smirked and wrapped his arms around Ichigo's waist, pulling the protesting prince against him before kicking the horse.

Ichigo was tense throughout the impossibly long ride and by the time they reached the small village, he was sure Starrk's hands had felt him up at least a dozen times. Ichigo slapped the offending hands away from his waist as he dismounted and stretched his legs. The horses were led away by the villagers that rushed out to greet them. Ichigo took the time to study his surroundings and smiled as his eyes fell upon the happy faces.

"Grimmjow-kun…wait, you need to rest…" the sound of something slamming shut greeted Ichigo's ears and he turned to see the blue haired man step out into the sunlight, his hair almost glowing. Ichigo took the time to observe the handsome face. Grimmjow had a prominent jaw and sharp clear blue eyes the color of the purest blue. His hair was wind blown and messy but that only made it look more natural. The short streaks of blue were adorned by a simple beaded braid on the left. There were two long pieces of onyx embedded in his left ear and a golden hoop in the right ear. There was also an assortment of necklaces and charms hanging from his neck. Ichigo's eyes wandered over the smooth muscular chest and saw the strange lightning shaped tattoo over his heart. The strange writing made a sharp contrast against his pale skin. There was also a dark black panther draw over his left shoulder, it's tail ending at his forearm. The small orange haired girl following him had her hands clasped over her huge bosoms. There was a worried expression on her face. But he ignored her and made his way out of Ichigo's view, a scowl on his face.

She sighed and stopped, staring after him with a worried frown. Then the girl turned and caught sight of Ichigo. A big smile appeared over her face and she rushed over.

"Hi…" she smiled and came closer. "My name's Orihime." She reached out and took his hand in her warm ones. "Grimmjow-san told me about you. We should be friends!" she said happily and yanked him along with her. Ichigo followed her without noticing the pair of dark eyes watching him from the shadows.

Starrk smirked as he watched the two bright haired girls rush off, Ichigo's cheeks flushed slightly from embarrassment. "This could become interesting. She's obviously not what she claims to be and I want to the find out the truth." He turned to the silent figure next to him and gave Grimmjow a small smile.

"How do you feel?" he asked softly.

Grimmjow shrugged and ran a hand through his bright hair. "It's the same as always. It's not like that was my only life. I'll be fine." He brushed away the concern and turned to walk deeper into the forest. Starrk watched the younger man disappear into the forest and sighed.

"How many do you still have left, Grimmjow?"

What do you think? Things will be clearer later on. Review please! =) And I will update the other fics soon!