I'm so sorry, I'm posting this really late T^T I've been studying non-stop all day! Grimmjow and Shiro aren't any help at all, I can tell you that =( You'd think at their age they'd be a tad more mature!

Grimmjow: I'm mature!

Ichigo: Yeah, about as much as a three year old.

Grimmjow: Hey!

Shiro: Haha! He totally burned you!

Vaerin: You're about two and a half, so I wouldn't be talking!

Grimmjow and Shiro: *pouting petulantly*

Vaerin and Ichi: *high five* Finally, quiet!

Part 17- A Female's Wrath

Aizen watches as Grimmjow's face goes from pissed off to complete shattered, his whole frame losing all its tension in his shock. Before he can move toward his mate, the sword is on Ichigo's delicate throat.

"I will kill her if you come one step closer," he warns.

"… Leave him alone, Aizen," Grimmjow growls.

"You and she are over," the brunette smirks smugly. "She's mine now. The last thing connecting her to you is gone, so unless you'd like to join it I suggest you back away."

"What is with you! Stop torturing him, can't you see he's been through too much as it is? You don't even care about him, why force him into something he doesn't want?"

"Control," Aizen says simply. "I want to control her ability… all of it."

"You're an idiot! You put him through all this for nothing!" the feline hisses. "It doesn't matter if he's yours, can't you see? It's Ichigo's ability and he'll use it when, how, and for what reasons he sees fit!"

"She'll use it when I…"

"You can't even call him a 'he'!" Grimmjow snarls. "Ichigo is a male! A boy! He may answer to both, but he's a guy first and foremost! If you can't even acknowledge that, you don't deserve him!"

"I will choose what I deserve, Grimmjow," the other spits out. "I've claimed this female as mine, so back off."

Grimmjow is about to say something, eyes never leaving the shattered form of his mate, but something flickers in those eyes of amber… rage. It's not just any rage, but a rage that has the amber drowned in red for half a second, one Grimmjow has never seen before. Amber orbs light up in a glowing gold, a vicious snarl leaving the sneer that's fallen upon his mate's lips, and those canines sharpen. They're not fangs, per say, but they're abnormally sharp. Nails elongate into short but deadly black claws, onyx horns curling from the orangette's head as his hair lengthens, and a long sleek reptilian tail of white stretches along the floor behind him. Aizen quickly notes the change, swinging his sword to be met by resistance from the air itself. Large marble colored wings with black talons unfurl behind Ichigo, the white of his eyes turning to ink black just like his stone sleep.

"You," Ichigo hisses out. "You… I'll kill you!"

He lunges, the brunette quickly putting Grimmjow between the two of them. Ichigo doesn't even register it's his mate, but the teal haired male doesn't move. One of Ichigo's clawed hands stops inches from his face, a part of the teen repelling him from harming Grimmjow even in this far gone state. It, instead, grips the back of his head and yanks him forward to lay on the ground. Ichigo leaps over Grimmjow's groaning form to reach Aizen, the brunette already outside. Zommari and Aaronierro have been cut through by Nelliel, Yammy barely standing thanks to Demona and Goliath. Nelliel slices Yammy in half with her blade, diving to a handstand that gives Barragan a solid kick beneath his jaw. Aizen is taking to the sky the minute he gets out of the house, Ichigo following in hot pursuit.

"I've got him!" Demona grins wickedly.

"No!" Grimmjow shouts. "Aizen belongs to Ichigo first… let him have his fun."

"Grimmy, what happened?" Nell wonders as Barragan takes flight as well.

"… Aizen destroyed our egg," he says softly. "I was too late… I couldn't…"

"Don't you give me that, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques!" she snaps. "I didn't raise a whiner! Shit happens, I've told you that a million times. There will be other eggs and other chances. What the hell would you two have done with a baby anyway?"

"… But Ichigo really took it hard."

"He's a mother, do you have any idea the pain we go through to lay a single egg!" Nell yells. "The damn things should be made of gold for all the effort we have to put into it!"

"She's right," Demona agrees. "It is horrible. To find out you go through all that pain and trouble with nothing to show for it? Of course he's gonna go a little crazy."

"It's sort of a female thing," Broadways whispers. "They're really nuts."

"We should at least make sure that other guy doesn't get in the way, don't you think?" Angela questions nervously.

"No," Grimmjow frowns. "Ichigo needs to be wore down… I'm gonna challenge Aizen after he's through."

A teasing laugh echoes in the trees, Gin and the other Espada walking up with the Visoreds and Kisuke. Kisuke had intercepted the Espada once he learned Aizen was on his way to Ichigo, knowing the secret would be out soon enough. In the still of the night, they can hear Ichigo's murderous howl… so like that of Demona. She grins wide and pleased at the sound, enjoying the echoic screams of pain and agony coming from his victim. Barragan soon falls from the sky, missing limbs and dripping blood everywhere… the little orangette isn't even bothering to use his blade to end them.

"I've got it," Lisa comments as she cuts off the man's head. "Honestly, I thought he was supposed to be merciful."

"They took something very precious from Ichigo," Kisuke murmurs as he watches the teen chase down Aizen. "They don't deserve mercy."

Finally, after what seems hours and is probably only fifteen minutes, Ichigo begins to slow and tire from the chase. He's not like Grimmjow, who could hold a grudge until the fires of hell froze over, so his rage is quickly dissipating and with it… his gargoyle form. The features turn to water, streaming off sluggish limbs in ribbons as Ichigo tumbles from the sky. Before anyone can move to help him, Grimmjow streaks past them in a whirl of wind. His wings stretch out behind him, lifting him into the air so fast he's just a blur of color, and he's nestling Ichigo's unconscious form in his strong arms in no time.

"It's okay, Ichi," he whispers as he nuzzles the other's hair. "I've got you… I'm never gonna leave you, I swear."

He slowly drifts down to the ground, the teen whimpering in his arms as he tries to get as close to Grimmjow as possible. All that rage, sparked so suddenly and lost just as fast, has turned to a mind numbing grief. No doubt his little mate will be traumatized from this, yet he'll deal with that in a moment. For now, the one he's targeted to release his fury upon is just gliding down to meet him.

"Give me the female!" Aizen snaps. "I'll suppress her powers to the point she might as well be human!"

"You will do no such thing!" Yamamoto calls angrily.

From the forest, Shinigami appear to surround those in front of Nelliel's home. The sea green haired woman huffs indignantly, seriously not liking this turn of events. As for the others… They're ready to fight to the death for the two they've harbored.

You tell Aizen, Grimm-kitty! That prick doesn't even deserve to speak Ichi's name let alone look at him! I'm sorry, I absolutely hate Aizen with the passion of thousand suns =) Onward!