Chapter 26: A Pissed off Cat and Her Mate

Max sighed softly and folded his legs. He promptly pulled a submissive Ulquiorra into his lap and nuzzled his neck as he thought through things. Ulquiorra obediently bared his neck even more for his mate to nibble. Being submissive wasn't as bad as he'd first imagined. His mate took good care of his needs, though those needs were spurred by his advances. Yet… the fourth Espada was beginning to learn that it was really nice to have someone like Max around.

Max gave his mate a gentle nibble on the neck before saying, "I'm pretty sure Aizen-sama isn't going to be too happy when he finds out what our leader is planning on doing."

"What is she planning?" Grimmjow asked, letting out a loud purr as his mate started stroking right behind his ears.

Stark continued to stroke Ryu's flame red hair, and the boy's loud purr rattled through the air. Stark arched an eyebrow. Ryu wasn't part cat… but he sure was acting like one.

"She's going to go hunt." Max grinned wryly, thinking that it'd be amusing to watch Aizen and Night battle it out with wills.

Ulquiorra turned his head to look at him. "Why is that such a problem?"

Grimmjow answered that one, "Aizen-sama is the type of person who wants everyone to need and depend on him. He's a bit manipulative that way, but it's his style. My guess is that he never let her hunt yesterday or today, right?"

Max nodded. "I'm guessing that too."

Ulquiorra nodded, understanding. "I see. That makes sense."

Grimmjow yawned hugely, feeling like taking a nap. Lisa giggled softly as he let out an even louder purr when she started rubbing his shoulders and neck.

They all were back to the game of Chess when Night came out, dressed for hunting. She had on her clothes from her own world, not wanting to get the guest ones dirty. She had retained Aizen-s sash, not wanting to piss him off entirely. She just needed to blow off some steam… and what better way to do that than go hunting? She had her sword strapped to her back and her twin daggers at her hips. It was time to go. She went out onto their balcony and hopped down to the sandy surface below, feeling the burning drive to fight and kill.

Battling was something she was made for, and it was something she relished in doing. Racing through the sands away from her mate and his overwhelming scent and problems, she forced herself to clear her mind. It was hard doing this without his knowledge, but she felt the need to do so. She was independent herself, and knew that she sometimes needed space. Used to hunting alone and rarely with her friends, Night was completely capable of taking care of herself.

Back in the palace, as soon as Night had left, a great reiatsu spike flared through the entire building, shaking the walls and its foundation. It also managed to scatter the chess board and its pieces onto the floor. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow stood slowly as the flare disappeared.

"Shit…." Grimmjow growled, knowing someone wasn't too pleased.

Ulquiorra trembled in spite of himself and whispered, "Quite an understatement."

Stark bolted up, quick when the occasion called for it. "Aizen-sama is so not happy."

Gin and Jade, both of who had just recovered from a bout of frotting, bolted out the door of the room. Gin shunpo'd out the door after gently squeezing and releasing his mate's hand. This was his job, and when Aizen was pissed, it wasn't a good thing to dawdle around. All four visitors watched as Grimm, Stark, and Ulquiorra followed Gin's wake, though at a slower pace.

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, girlie." Lisa sighed as she bent and picked up the chess board and its pieces.

Jade whispered, "What happened?"

Max rubbed his face and sat down tiredly on the chair. "Pop a squat… it's a long story." Ryu sighed softly and sulked. He'd really enjoyed the attention Stark had given him. The man had a body that killed.

Aizen bit his lip and snarled angrily, something he usually never did unless something bothered him greatly. Lindor cowered under one of his many lab tables, shaking with absolute mindless fear. Bitch…. Calming himself down slightly by taking deep even breaths, Aizen got up from a nearby chair and said in a clear, soft voice, full of evil and anger, "I will return once I finish some urgent business."

Lindor gulped and watched his boss go. He pitied the person who had managed to piss his lord off, though he couldn't help feeling grateful that it hadn't been him. Aizen left the lab, meeting his most trusted at the door. Nice… at least they all had come directly.

Grimmjow, Stark, and Ulquiorra had been the last to arrive, closely behind Gin. Kaname had already been there, waiting for the doctor to give a diagnosis on Aizen's condition when it had happened. Everyone, including Kaname gave their leader a wide berth, not wanting to get too close to the furious king. Aizen said softly, in a deadly voice, "There is something I must attend to that requires my immediate attention. Kaname…."

"Yes, sir?" Kaname asked softly.

"You are in charge until I return. Gin, go with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra and take the visitors to Training Room 10. Stark, come with me." Without waiting to hear replies, Aizen left the building in a flash, closely followed by his primera Espada.

Everyone exchanged worried looks. Even Gin wasn't so happy. They all had the same question on their minds. Since when did Aizen go settle matters right as they happened, instead of waiting for the problems to come back to him so he could beat them to a pulp then?

One thing was for sure… if Aizen couldn't control his temper… then Night and her friends were doomed, mates or not.

Lilinette piped up in the back of Stark's mind, Why is Aizen-sama so angry?

His mate left the palace without telling him. Stark replied as he followed his master across Hueco Mundo.

Night was in her cat dragon form, slowly turning to look at the palace way off in the distance. Maybe she had traveled too far? She sighed softly, feeling a bit bad now about leaving her mate without first telling him where she was going. She had felt his anger even from here… but what else was she supposed to do? He wouldn't tell her anything! You never asked. Her inner conscious reminded her.

Still… it pissed her off. She still needed to cool off a bit. And, feeling him and one other leaving the palace coming in her direction spooked her. She wasn't afraid of her mate or his subordinates. She was more afraid of herself and what she might do to him if he caught her still angry. So, she bolted, searching for prey. Smelling a large arrancar nearby she crouched, flattening her wings to her back. Hunger for spirit energy was non-existence. She was doing this for the sake of killing, nothing more. If she got any energy out of it, nice… but she wasn't expecting any.

She arched her back, watching as the big arrancar was chewing on the remains of another. Ewww… didn't Jade say that most of the arrancars disappeared after death? She blinked, noting that this arrancar was very different from those other ones apparently. Either that or the victim was still alive. YUCK. Even she wasn't that mean.

So intent was she that she didn't notice that her mate and his subordinate had arrived and were about a hundred yards behind her. Night licked her whiskers, making herself ready to pounce. As soon as the thing was finishing its meal, she leaped into the air, ready to strike. She landed on the big brute's back, but before it had a chance to understand, it was dead. With a huge swipe with her claws down the center of it's back, she let out a bellow that shot a huge blue electric slicing charge from her mouth through the thing's chest, killing it. As soon as it disappeared she growled, tail twitching back and forth. She was still frustrated! She sniffed around where the thing had been and noticed that the monster it had been chewing on was indeed an arrancar. She switched into her human form and sniffed again, touching the strange sand and scrutinizing it.

Suddenly, she felt herself bodily picked off the ground by a strong set of arms, and felt a sharp bite on her neck. She gasped and winced as the bite went deeper than ever before. It hurt. It wasn't intended for feeding… it was intended for punishment. She tried vainly to get out of his grasp, but her mate held on tight, keeping his fangs imbedded in her neck.

Stark blinked, but stayed well away from the two. He'd never seen his boss so upset before… or even show it for that matter. And… the boss had fangs now? That was different. But… not really surprising. Finally, Aizen pulled his fangs out of her throat, suddenly feeling her pain… emotionally as well as physically. He slowly licked the gaping wound and he murmured softly, "Why did you leave?"

Night felt her anger growing. Part of it was a natural instinct inside of her rearing it's ugly head. The other part was coming from her own anger from before. She snarled softly, "You are such a bastard, Sosuke!"

Stark covered his mouth to keep from laughing. Wow… no wonder Aizen-sama likes her. She's not afraid of him one bit. He briefly thought of Ryu. The submissive was brave and rash too… except for when he was in Stark's arms. Then he was almost like a hussy.

Aizen let her go, smirking slightly as she fell to the ground. She shot back up into the air and onto her feet, facing him. She glared at him, "YOU PRICK! Why the hell did you do that?"

The man crossed his arms and gave her one of his 'death' stares. "I had every right to."

Night growled and put her hand over her eyes, trying hard not to cuss him out. Finally, she glared back at him, "What is your problem? All I needed to do was get out here and hunt so I could calm down!" She then pointed a finger at him, "And then YOU, MR HIGH AND MIGHTY JACKASS DEATH GOD had to come and bite me!"

Stark stifled his mirth just in time. Aizen whispered softly, not amused, "Are you done?"

"Never." She muttered, knowing she was being a bitch, and being irrational, but Damnit! She wanted him to trust her! She blinked, where did that come from? Still… the way things were going, she had to do something. "Sosuke, you leave me no choice. If you are going to be a jackass and won't tell me anything, then I have to do this… for both of our sakes." She took off her hoodie, throwing it to the side.

Aizen watched as she pulled her daggers off of her waist, noting that she'd still had his colors on. She then pulled her saber like sword out of its sheath on her back. She moved into a fighting stance and said softly, "Fight me, Sosuke."

Stark's jaw dropped in surprise. What the Hell? Did everyone around here take things way too seriously? He shut his mouth with a clack as his boss stripped his coat and threw it to him. He caught his master's coat and gaped again as Aizen pulled off his long shirt, showing a sleeveless white shirt that usually was Kaname's style.

Back at the palace, Kaname was watching over the visitors and their mates as they in turn were watching the fight unfold through a panoramic hologram matrix. Lisa yawned and laid her head down onto Grimm's stomach. He gently stroked her hair, grinning like a mad man. Ryu sulked, feeling a bit lonely without Stark. Aizen was finally showing some of his stuff… and so was Night. Jade worriedly looked at the screen, feeling a bit on edge.

Gin took note of this and pulled her into his arms and started stroking her back in soothing circles, making her sigh and cuddle. Ulquiorra was sitting on Max's lap, trying to keep his attention on the screen. It was a bit hard though, considering his mate kept stroking his arms… and his sides… and his back… and sometimes his hair. Then there was the ever present nuzzling and nibbling that Max was unconsciously doing.

*Sorry this took so long to post. RL has been murder for me lately. I hope to post another chap sometime this upcoming weekend. Thanks again for your reviews!*