Reverting to ones heritage

The sound of heavy hooves clashing violently against the ground was heard all throughout Karakura town as Prince Jaegueraques, Starrk and Ichigo sped down the streets on their large mounts with Ichigo in the lead. Ichigo was trembling all over, his fear of his sister and his lover's well-being chilling him to the bone as he repeatedly spurred his horse forward. Since he had yelled at the prince his eyes had never reverted back to their normal warm and chocolate brown color, the gold was completely dominant as Ichigo's instincts were raging inside him telling him to protect his family.

As he rushed down the street an all too familiar scent passed through his nostrils, causing his fear to be replaced by rage. His golden eyes turned into slits and golden fur began growing from his body, as an incredibly large roar that a normal cheetah would never have been able to produce shot out from the top of his lungs. Grimmjow watched in shock as Ichigo let his animal soul loose, his tail and ears growing along with ear tufts.

"Ichigo, what the hell are you doing?" Grimmjow snapped from behind on his own mount.

"They're there, I can smell it!" Ichigo snarled. "Fuck this horse is slow!" he continued. Starrk observed as Ichigo's body began growing even more fur, and he could begin seeing the spotted pattern that was the trademark of a cheetah.

"Grimmjow, he's transforming!" Starrk yelled.

"I can bloody tell you lazy bastard!" Grimmjow fired back and gasped when Ichigo let go of the reins and jumped of the horse, morphing completely during midair and landing gracefully on four limbs immediately catching speed.

Grimmjow and Starrk's mounts hadn't even the slightest chance of keeping up as Ichigo reverted completely to his feline heritage, his long and agile body accelerating into speeds well above 60 km an hour. All the while Grimmjow could hear low frequency roars that could breach a wide km radius, and he shuddered at the rage that hid behind those roars.

Bystanders watched with awe as a cheetah ran past them, followed by the prince and his loyal servant on their two mounts, leading the one Ichigo had abandoned by its reins. The horses were neighing wildly at the tension and danger, their nostrils flaring as their masters pushed them to their limits. Finally they put up a protest as a ferocious roar filled with killing intent shook the whole district.

For a moment Grimmjow was paralyzed, his feline heritage screaming for him to respond the call, because under that killing intent he could feel the praying for help and his instincts were bucking at the restraining chains he had on his animal soul. Starrk didn't experience the same effect since he was of canine heritage, and he watched Grimmjow with questioning eyes as he tried to calm his mount down.

Grimmjow didn't say anything to his companion; he spurred his still protesting mount forward as those vivid blue eyes lit up in the dim light of the dirty streets leaving what seemed like thin lines of blue glowing fog in the cold air as he rushed towards where the roar had come from.

~~~~~~~~~~BMBD~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo's golden eyes shrank as his claws dug into the ground making him slide stop in front of his home. The sight he saw was horrible, two hyenas were inside his home and he could see his beloved silvette lying severely wounded in a pool of blood at the side of

Yuzu's bed, obviously having fallen trying to protect his little sister. He stood there panting, trying to catch every little detail of the gruesome scene inside his house. He looked over to Yuzu's small frame, and he did his utmost to try and hear those familiar rasping breaths she made, but it was silent except for the breath coming from Toshiro and the hyenas'. Yuzu's small body was covered in blood from a large gash that ran down her side, and that was the final drop in the pool for Ichigo.

Grimmjow arrived to see Ichigo mercilessly tear out the throat of one of the hyenas', before ferociously going for the next one. His claws dug into the thick skin of the hyena making it yowl out in pain. The two canines couldn't even begin to understand what it was that had attacked them, and before the remaining one could act he was assaulted by the blinded cheetah. Ichigo sunk his fangs into the throat if the last hyena, a maniac like laughter erupting from those jaws as he detached himself licking his mouth.

As soon as the pulse belonging to the hyena's had disappeared Ichigo broke out of state seeing as the enemies had been dealt with. Golden reverted to brown as his whole body began shivering, and Grimmjow watched as the blood cloaked cheetah morphed into its human body, Ichigo immediately running over to Yuzu's bed.

He bent his head down to rest on the fragile girl's chest and listened for any sound of her heart still fighting. He was about to give up when he heard a very faint thump from deep within her chest. A relieved meow escaped his mouth as he began pumping at the center of her chest before bending her head back and clamping down on her nose, breathing air into her lungs. He repeated the procedure frantically over and over again, his panic growing with each failed try. He cried out in happiness when small coughs filled with blood ripped through Yuzu's fragile frame and he thanked the heavens he came just in time.

Outside Grimmjow had fallen to his knees in shock. The sight of Ichigo losing his mind and completely reverting to a pure cheetah form had been beautiful, while at the same time it was scary as hell. Then Ichigo had snapped out of it just like that, his mind instantly set on doing everything he could to save his little sister and Grimmjow had watched with his heart up in his throat as Ichigo desperately tried to revive his little sister. When the coughing sound was heard his heart had dropped back down into his chest, and he had shakily gotten to his feet, Starrk arriving seconds later only to be taken aback by the horrible scene.

Starrk could see a blood covered Ichigo hugging his little sister tightly, and he could see silver hair tainted with blood sprawled out on the floor. Toshiro was lying unconscious on the floor with blood streaming out of several wounds. He could survive if he got help quick enough and Starrk rushed past Grimmjow and lifted the silvette up cradling the small frame belonging to the man in his arms. When stepping outside he sighed in relief as he saw that the medical squad he has secretly told to follow them finally arrived.

A fairly tall woman with a long braid fastened around her throat so that it would dangle over her chest rushed forward and practically snatched the shredded man from Starrk's arms. All the while Ichigo remained by Yuzu's bed, not noticing the commotion happening outside at all as he tried to stabilize his sister. Blood was still gushing out of the large wound in her side, and he ripped of the upper part of his tattered kimono to use it as a bandage. He did his best to put pressure on the large scale wound, before he knotted the improvised bandages tightly around her thin frame.

"Ichigo…" Yuzu wheezed.

"It's ok Yuzu, everything's fine now," Ichigo cried out his breath hitching as Yuzu passed out again.

He jumped as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and spun around with a menacing snarl to meet the blue eyes of Grimmjow.

"It's ok now Ichigo. We have medical aid outside, please carry her out there," he soothed as he released a special set of calming pheromones to ease the agitated orangette. Ichigo nodded a silent thanks before he got to his feet cradling the tiny frame of the ill girl in his arms as he dashed out of the house.

"Retsu, this girl needs immediate attention!" Grimmjow barked as he followed Ichigo out into the street.

The black haired woman was up and about the moment Grimmjow's voice rang through the air, and she hurried over to Ichigo as he knelt by the small tent that had already been put up. He hesitantly passed Yuzu on into the arms of the medic, and cast a glance to the left freezing as the light reflected in silver hair. He had completely pushed Toshiro's condition to the deepest depths of his mind when he arrived, his instincts allowing him to only tend for the one that needed care the most, which had obviously been the fragile Yuzu at the moment.

He got up in the split of a second and brushed past two nurses and slid down besides the field futon the albino caracal was lying on. He grabbed Toshiro's petite palm in his hands and clasped his fingers around the incredibly cold limb.

"I'm so sorry Toshiro. I'm so sorry," he hitched as tears began running down his face while his frame shivered.

Turquoise eyes rolled around during heavy eyelids as that oh so familiar voice that brought a promise of safety nudged his very soul, warming it till the point he could not take it anymore. Pale eyelids slid open and revealed hazy eyes, as Toshiro viewed a blurred out world. By his side holding his hand he saw a figure he couldn't recognize, but it couldn't be anyone but his beloved Ichigo.

"Ichigo?" he called softly hearing the breath of the orangette hitch at the sound of his own voice.

"Toshiro!" Ichigo cried out dropping his head onto Toshiro's small chest with a loud sob, fisting his fingers into the fabric of the white robes he was clad in. Toshiro smiled and moved his hands to rest on Ichigo's head and patted the cheetah while making a loving purring sound. "I'm so sorry Toshiro. If I had come earlier this wouldn't have happened. Oh God I am so sorry," Ichigo cried staining the white robes with his tears.

"Shhhh… You couldn't have prevented this even if you tried to. The important thing is that you came, even from so far away," Toshiro smiled tears rolling down his face.

Ichigo sniffed and dried his face of his tears before cupping his hands around Toshiro's back clinging his small frame to his in a hug. Toshiro winced a little as the sudden motion ripped in his wounds, but the pain was something he would gladly endure to be able to rest safely in Ichigo's warm arms once again.

"Besided, this is not even close to making up for what you did for me back then Ichigo. Without you I would have never endured this world," Toshiro sobbed as he sunk into Ichigo's warm chest. This time it was Ichigo that soothed him, rubbing small circles above his pelvis making Toshiro purr in delight.

From the other side of the tent both Grimmjow and Starrk watched the couple and it became clear to them just how much those two meant to each was falling harder and harder for the fiery cheetah, and he hadn't failed to notice all the glances cast at Ichigo by his best friend. They watched in silence as the small silvette succumbed to sleep in Ichigo's arm, Ichigo gently laying his small frame back down on the futon before standing up and walking over to their side of the tent with a dirty face covered in blood and tear streaks.

Ichigo didn't even spare them a glance as he knelt beside his little sister, who was patched up properly and had gotten sedatives and medicine for her illness. He was a bit startled when the slim figure of the chief healer Retsu knelt beside him to check on the girl. She placed a hand on Yuzu's forehead, her face remaining stripped of all emotion. But Ichigo knew she was pleased, the aura around her changed and he sighed out in relief.

"She's going to be ok isn't she," he asked.

"She will be fine, but she has a hard battle to fight. Healing that injury while fighting of her disease is going to be tough," Retsu admitted.

"She has endured that illness for 3 years, she's a strong little fighter," Ichigo exclaimed with proud eyes.

"Quite a remarkable feat with the way you're living," Retsu said. "Grimmjow said you were able to return completely to your heritage," Retsu said surprising Ichigo. He scowled at the woman and then sighed.

"It's true. I've been able to tap into my cheetah heritage ever since I could remember. These hands have killed many because of that," he said his aura creating a dark bubble around him as he stared into the ground.

"You're not to be held responsible for that," Retsu soothed. "Tell me, are you ill often?" she asked. Grimmjow and Starrk watched as Ichigo's irises shrank for a moment as he seemed to be thinking about the question.

"To be frank I haven't had any major illnesses since I was little. Only the occasional cold," he admitted. Retsu's eyes lit up as she saw possibilities of helping his little sister.

"That means you have very thick and pure blood. It's a good chance that your blood might work as a powerful medicine to keep the fever in check," she said. Ichigo's eyes lit up at that statement only to fade again at the next words the healer spoke. "It will help stall the illness, but she'll never recover from it. I am incredibly sad for her, such an illness cannot be cured," Retsu spoke with sadness in her eyes.

Both Grimmjow and Starrk were shocked at the news, and both wanted to rush up to Ichigo and comfort him. The fiery and strong cheetah had wormed his way into their heart long since, and seeing him in so much pain was terrible for them. When Ichigo broke out in tears they could only watch as the gentle medic cradled Ichigo in her lap, soothing him with her beautiful voice as she hummed ancient tones of hope while stroking the grieving cheetah.

~~~~~~~~~~BMBD~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo was in the lead together with Grimmjow and Starrk as their little parade of medics, soldiers and various other classes made their way up the streets in Seiretei. Grimmjow had basically threatened Ichigo to give up his life in Karakura town and come with him to never live life as a poor man again. Ichigo had protested loudly with the argument of it bringing him even farther away from what little family he had left, but in the end there had been to many upsides with the change of life for Ichigo to resist, even Toshiro had pressured him.

Retsu had taken Yuzu along with her own party to write her in at the royal hospital for special treatment, several bottles of Ichigo's blood safely stocked in her medicine carriage for treatment of his little sister. The people in the street made way for the royal caravan and bowed or knelt in the presence of the prince, as they all wondered who the beautiful orangette that rode at his side was.

Behind them came a thoroughly cushioned medical carriage carrying Toshiro in it, surrounded by one guard at each corner along with four medics that were on standby should Toshiro need any help. Ichigo was pretty back to his normal self, and would throw rude retorts at both Grimmjow and Starrk when they tried to lighten the mood with jokes.

Ichigo was too much of a serious person, and Grimmjow and Starrk had a tough task in trying to loosen the cheetah up a bit. Finally reaching the very same mansion Ichigo had left the previous day, they were met by a hoard of different servants. Luppi and several other men came to take care of the horses, while the medic staff carried Toshiro inside at once.

Ichigo followed close behind Grimmjow, not used to such courtesy as several servants came up to him offering him help. They had been informed through mail by one of the hell riders of Ichigo's arriving, and they had immediately adapted to adding sama to Ichigo's name, which greatly displeased him for some reason. He gave humble smiles and tried to hide behind either Grimmjow or Starrk as he followed them inside through the main entrance.

His feet were set on cold marble floor as he entered the most beautiful room he had ever been in. It was clearly the throne room, and it's walls were a beautiful white with blue, black and golden dragons curling and dancing. They were so well painted that Ichigo at one point thought they were going to come out of the wall. In the far end of the hall a beautifully carved throne sat, two dragons swirling up from the floor, around the armrests, before disappearing behind its back, their heads reappearing on the top facing each other with snarls. Their eyes were made of blue crystals, and they seemed to shine as Grimmjow came farther inside the room. On the walls beautifully carved torch mounts were attached, and the torches illuminated the room making it come to life. The sheer aura of the room made Ichigo's spine tingle, and it became even harder for him to accept the fact that this was his new home…

Ichigo rushes home only to find his partner and sister mortally wounded by the Hyenas that came back for revenge. In a fit of rage Ichigo reverts to his heritage and kills the hyenas' with cold blood, and revives his dying sister within the nick of time. A badly wounded Toshiro is treated by Unohana Retsu, whom also tells Ichigo his blood can stall Yuzu's decease to lengthen her lifespan. However the news of the incurable fever Yuzu has mortifies Ichigo, and he agrees to let her be written in at the royal hospital sending along his own blood with the medic. He is pushed into living at the royal estate, and he and Toshiro is brought to Grimmjow's palace for a permanent stay, its beauty dazzling Ichigo completely.

So what do you think? No smut in this chapter, but do not fear it will come eventually *smirks*

Reviews encourage me to write, so please help fuel my creative mind by posting a response ;)