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Sweet Submissive Sixteen

Chapter Six: Disenchanted Whispers

The summer night air traced his skin like a balmy whisper, up his spine and around his neck, fluttering over half-closed eyes. It was dark and dim, a hazy amber glow all around him, like the inside of a paper lantern. An invisible fire smoldered somewhere inside of his chest, all heat and pulse. It crawled through his veins, coursed through his entire being and centered in between his thighs, a delicious, sweetly agonizing ache.

Lips on the hollow of his throat, shoulder blades, ribcage. An involuntary arching of his back. Broad hands with calloused thumbs on his cheekbones, strong, gentle fingers threading through his honey and tangerine blossom hair. Plush, soft flesh plundering his mouth. Sunshine bronze and ivory snow canvases. Bodies, three of them. Perfection.

Six sharp points sank into him, breaking skin together. Something once locked away was set free, a butterfly or dove out of a cage. A golden, angelic spectre shot through his blood, a heavenly electricity.

His eyes snapped fully open. Dazzling halos of porcelain, carmine, and turquoise glittered above him, their owners shadows. Three velvet voices spoke, their words weaving an enchanted, purring melody.

"You're ours, Ichigo."

Then it all melted away like candle wax. The warmth left, summer to winter. Emptiness swallowed the firelight and bliss. He shivered, bare to a bitter draft, and reached out, too afraid to utter a sound.

A hand wrapped around his wrist, jerking him forward. Out of the black appeared a face masked with blank whiteness. A great, gaping maw with blood drenched dagger teeth and a salivating, red tongue were inches away. In the void between lay its breath, laced with the foul stench of rot and decay.

"Ichigo."

Its voice was of two opposites. A hissing snake politician sneer and a preying monster growl intertwined. The words dripped with bottomless pit manic hunger. It laughed, the sound of a death rattle. It was mocking him.

"You're ours, Ichigo."

...

Ichigo's head snapped up, eyes flying wide open and heart racing fast and hard like galloping horse hooves. He laid a calming hand over his chest, willing the muscle to stop beating his ribcage like a drum. Fortunately, his strange behavior went unnoticed by the three males in his presence.

What in the hell had that been?

Well, of course he knew what it was, a vision. It had followed the now familiar pattern of playing out like a memory and then warping into surreal, nightmarish images. But this one was still different, as he hadn't been lost to a deep sleep. He had only closed his eyes for a few seconds at the most before his consciousness had been stolen from him. Though, from what Yoruichi had mentioned to him that morning, Ichigo guessed he shouldn't be surprised.

Until he learned how to fully control his ability, the visions would plague him any time his mind's defenses were weakened. This included fatigue, mental and physical, and right now Ichigo was both.

After his three captors had returned from the stables and the city's only tailor shop open at dawn, Ichigo had changed into a less conspicuous outfit befitting a male vampire of lower nobility and their party had departed from Hokutan to make the several hours long journey to the next city. But not before Yoruichi had done something rather... odd.

Just as Ichigo had mounted Zangetsu, the female vampire had barreled out of her townhouse, or 'Hokutan Inn' rather, and straight up to him. She'd held out something that glittered in the early light of daybreak and placed it into his palm before closing his fingers around it.

"This may bring you some luck," she'd said and then was gone.

Around Ichigo's neck now lay a long, thin silver chain to which a pendant in the shape of the sun carved from moonstone was attached. Though he'd never been fond of jewelry and most likely never would be, the orangette found the piece striking and figured there was no harm in holding on to it, despite its giver being a co-conspirator in his kidnapping. Yoruichi probably just sympathized with him and had tried to placate her conscience; she had certainly seemed to like him well enough the hour they'd spent together discussing his new ability as a Seer.

However, it appeared the charm didn't bring any good luck to its wearer. Ichigo had been traveling on horseback for the entire day, the hour so late the sun had already disappeared over the horizon. Combined with the night before's uneasy sleep, he was exhausted. His luxurious, cushy lifestyle at Kuchiki Manor hadn't prepared him well for the world outside of countryside noble society, that much was blatantly obvious. He now wished he would've pleaded more with Byakuya to be allowed to set the books aside for a while and run around outside.

As if the lucky pendant had decided to suddenly start working its magic, a short whistle halted all four horses. Ichigo's gaze lifted from Zangetsu's mane to stare at the broad shoulders tipped with scarlet red hair a few feet in front of him.

"Goddamnit, Renji, we're almost there," Grimmjow said from his place on Ichigo's left. A quick glance confirmed his customary displeased frown creasing his brow.

"I know that," Renji snapped irritably. "But look to the west, right between the valley peaks."

Ichigo followed the direction in which the redhead pointed with a gloved hand and with his enhanced vision was able to make out in the distance the outline of a tall tower made of stone. At the top the gray blocks had been carved out except for support beams in the four corners, leaving the entire space open. In the middle a massive ray of light beamed from an industrial version of the relatively new gas street lamps, illuminating everything in the surrounding woods for hundreds of yards.

"My, those human's mus' be so proud 'a themselves," Shiro said, snorting. "They can' possibly think they're gonna catch any rogue vamps with tha' oversize' candle."

"They believe all that new technology will be their salvation from our kind, progress is their new religion and vampires are old world demons they need to exorcise to move into the future," Grimmjow said.

"Humans are silly creatures, aren' they?" Shiro sighed. "Steel always melts in tha fire."

"They're just too easily hypnotized by their Parliament's propaganda," Renji said, turning to look over his shoulder at the rest of their group. "And their 'we are watching you' message is growing old." The albino and blunette both grunted in agreement, stares still locked onto the watchtower to the west.

Ichigo was lost once again. It had only been the day prior he'd discovered that human and vampire relations were strained, there were human law enforcers called Watchmen who apparently all had a great distaste for vampires, and the Parliament was controlled by a single power-hungry bigot. However, he concluded it was best to stay silent on the matter and not ask his many burning questions.

"All righ' Big Red, ya stay 'ere with Ichi. Grimmy and I'll be back 'fore half an hour's up, so be ready then," Shiro said, spurring his horse into a gallop before Renji could respond, Grimmjow hot on the white-haired vampire's heels.

There was only a moment of tense silence before Zangetsu neighed and stomped the ground impatiently, irritated at being made to stay still for so long. Patting the horse's neck in an assuring gesture, Ichigo looked over to his remaining captor, who was in the process of dismounting.

"Here, put that on," Renji said, tossing a small item over his shoulder that Ichigo caught with one hand. It was the newsboy cap he'd worn the day before, the one specifically meant to hide his head of bright orange hair. Scowling at the piece of dark fabric he turned in the other's direction only to see the redhead's towering frame disappearing into the dense thicket of trees parallel to the trail, his mount tethered to a slender birch's trunk.

Ichigo's eyebrows shot up into his hairline and he almost called out Renji's name, voice catching in his throat as he thought better of it. He didn't care why the dominant vampire had wandered off, leaving him, the hostage, completely alone. There wasn't even time to wonder why. This was a golden opportunity, and he was going to take it.

Adrenaline rushing through his system and thoughts racing a mile a minute, Ichigo nearly fell off of Zangetsu in his haste to dismount. He took the reins, leading the stallion cautiously over to the other horse. Zangetsu was quiet as a mouse, somehow understanding the need for silence so they wouldn't be discovered, but still the orangette kept a calming hand on the animal's jet black nose.

Ichigo stilled a foot away from Renji's mount and peered into the twilight woods. His vampire enhanced vision would enable him to discern the absent redhead's body from tree trunks and branches even in the darkness of dusk but there was no sight of the male vampire.

Now, of course Ichigo would be a complete idiot if he didn't consider the event of being left to his own devices nearby one of the biggest cities in all of Rukongai too good to be true. However... he couldn't live with himself if he sat idly by when there had been even the slightest possibility of freedom. So taking one deep breath he set about unfastening the supply satchel from the other horse. He mentally cursed as he fumbled with the buckles, hands shaking with fervency.

But a few seconds later and it was free. Ichigo knew from observation that this satchel held one or two canteens filled with blood and another with water for the horses and Renji's spare revolver. That should be enough for him to get by on his own for a while. It would have to be.

The orangette's eyes scanned the surrounding area once more. He expected to see Renji storming his way back, or Grimmjow and Shiro, but he didn't. A small burst of triumph flickered in the pit of his stomach and Ichigo whipped around to jump into Zangetsu's saddle, energized by his unbelievably good fortune.

Perhaps the pendant Yoruichi had given him really did work.

To the teenage vampire, what happened next was a testament that Ichigo Kurosaki and good luck did not mix.

He had barely taken a step forward when he was jerked backwards, a sharp, stinging pain at the base of his skull immediately following. Hissing in discomfort, Ichigo instinctively clasped his free hand to where his scalp throbbed. He tried to turn around to investigate but the sore stinging increased tenfold, so he settled for craning his neck to see what the problem was. Upon seeing his latest misfortune it was apparent to Ichigo that whenever he thought things couldn't get any worse, he was always proven wrong.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The youth would have shaken his head in disbelief if several locks of his tangerine hair hadn't been entangled intricately in the birch tree's low-lying branches.

How had that even happened?

Ichigo huffed, frustration overwhelming him, and Zangetsu whinnied softly in commiseration. He tried to pull away in one swift motion but the orange strands were thoroughly knotted onto the branches and the action only resulted in more smarting pain that made his eyes water. Swearing a black oath under his breath, he reached up to feel where his hair had caught onto the nearest branch and tried to disentangle the strands. However that was a task easier said than done when he could barely see his current vexation.

"What are you doing?"

Ichigo jumped, gasping as his hair was pulled yet again. Turning narrowed eyes onto the one who'd spoken, he was not surprised to see that it was Renji but rather that the dominant vampire had changed his clothes. The redhead was no longer wearing his plain black linen shirt, britches, traveling cloak, and riding boots. Instead, he was dressed in a nobleman's outfit consisting of a white collared shirt, burgundy waistcoat with velvet trim with finely tailored britches to match, and expensive leather boots. He was also holding an ebony overcoat over one arm and an evening top hat in his right hand.

But the most noticeable difference was that the male's dark cherry hair wasn't pulled back under his usual bandana. Instead those long locks of scarlet red draped over Renji's shoulders and it turned out Ichigo had been right all along; he looked to die for with his hair down.

"Nothing," Ichigo said, discreetly hiding the satchel in his hand behind his back.

Renji lifted one tattooed eyebrow, an amused smirk stretching his mouth to one side. He then crossed the few yards between them, stilling a hand's breadth away from the orangette. His burgundy gaze swept over Ichigo's head to where those nectarine strands of hair were knotted onto the tree branches, lips falling into a slight frown.

"I'm not even going to ask how you managed to do this," Renji said, sighing. Then he set his overcoat and hat on his horse's saddle before reaching with both hands for the tangled mess of the other's hair and branches. Ichigo instinctively backed away, not wanting the redhead to try and pull his hair free as he had found out that only served in bringing him more pain.

"Can't you just cut it free with a knife or something?" he asked, causing Renji's frown to deepen.

"I got it. Just hold still," the redhead said, again bringing his hands over Ichigo's head to gently disentangle the orange locks, the latter barely breathing as he braced himself for the agonizing stinging and averted his eyes in obvious discomfort at their proximity. He hadn't forgotten what a certain blue-haired vampire had done when close after 'helping' him, the mere memory of it still made his face flush furiously.

However, after several silent seconds, Ichigo had felt no pain and wondering if perhaps Renji had seen the futility in the situation, he looked up to where the other's face was right above his own, eyes fixated straight ahead in concentration. The teenager's mind inexplicably went blank and his knees weakened, nearly buckling underneath him.

"There."

Renji's voice spurred Ichigo back into reality and the submissive blinked as the former took several steps backward. Confused, he felt the back of his head with the hand that wasn't holding the stolen satchel out of sight and his eyes widened in surprise as he found that all of the tangled pieces of hair had been liberated of those awful branches. How in the world Renji had done so he didn't know, considering he hadn't experienced even the slightest bit of pain.

"Thank you," he said quietly, mentally questioning why he bothered thanking someone who'd deceived him and was now holding him for ransom.

"You're welcome. Now, could you give me back my satchel?" Renji said, holding out a hand with the palm facing upwards. Ichigo immediately scowled, contemplating whether he should take the risk of grabbing the revolver out of said satchel. The odds wouldn't be too terribly stacked against him, considering it was just the redhead he would be up against.

But for some reason, he couldn't imagine actually shooting the other. Not to mention, he had no idea how to use a handgun in the first place.

Ichigo handed the cursed thing out in a sharp, jerky motion, glaring at the ground as he did so. Honestly, had Renji expected him to sit around and play the part of the perfect, helpless hostage when he'd been given an opportunity like that?

The dominant vampire took the satchel in one swift sweep of his hand, instantly going to reattach it to his mount's saddle. Ichigo folded his arms over his chest and walked over to Zangetsu, absentmindedly wishing he could ask the horse to kick Renji in the head for him. He hadn't even put his foot in the stirrup when the other male's deep voice spoke, freezing him to the spot.

"I don't understand why you want to go back so badly," Renji spat harshly making Ichigo whirl around, somewhat startled in his captor's change in temperament. The other was leaning against a tree, arms crossed and a surely heated scowl directed to the ground in front of him. "You'll just be mated to some old, rich bastard who couldn't care less about you. Hell, I don't understand why you're not glad to be away from there. At least we don't make you lay down for us." The redhead snorted and shook his head, beautifully red strands of hair swaying slightly with the action.

Ichigo was having trouble coming up with a response to that. How strange it was that the very night before Grimmjow had said almost exactly the same thing and that he hadn't realized he'd had an epiphany until that very moment.

"I don't want to go back," he whispered. Renji lifted his head, mahogany eyes regarding the youth with a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and something else, something like firelight embers, warm and beckoning.

"Then why-"

"I said I don't want to return to the manor. That doesn't mean I want to remain with the people who kidnapped me and will soon pawn me off to the highest bidder like an object," Ichigo said, answering Renji's question before the other could speak it. There was no sane reason for why he bothered explaining himself, the words had spilled from his lips on pure impulse.

"So where did you plan on going, then?" Renji said, pushing off of the tree he leaned against and taking several strides closer to his captive. "A little noble like you? You wouldn't last two seconds on your own."

"Don't underestimate me," Ichigo snapped, thoroughly irritated at the blatant dismissal. Okay, perhaps he had no experience fending for himself or much knowledge of the ways of the world outside of the countryside's vampiric noble society, but he was a quick learner. He could survive on his own if it meant being completely free for the first time in his life.

Renji frowned deeply down at him for a moment or two, fathomless russet eyes contemplative.

"Just do yourself a favor and take my word that the best place for you is with us," he said and before Ichigo could say anything in response, he turned on his heel, walking away stiffly. The orangette was still, bewildered by Renji's statement, and barely noticed Zangetsu nudging his shoulder, unthinkingly patting the animal's nose.

He hadn't had much chance to think on the redhead's puzzling words when he heard the familiar crunching noise of carriage wheels on a dirt trail. Automatically, he peeked around Zangetsu's broad neck to where the sound seemed to be coming from. As he'd expected, he did catch sight of a dark, fine carriage being pulled by two horses barrelling straight towards him. However, what he didn't expect to see was a certain porcelain-haired vampire standing on the side foot rail, holding onto the roof's ledge with one hand, and a certain turquoise-haired vampire reclining up front by the driver, hands behind his head and feet propped up on the short barrier in front of him.

It appeared the things Ichigo's three captors did got stranger by the second.

The horse-drawn carriage screeched to a halt with a snap of the reins by the driver, who at first glance was clearly one of their own by the pointed incisors protruding from the part in his lips. He looked like a human in their early twenties with shaggy dark brown hair, the rest of his features overwhelmed by the tattooed marks on his face, a gray band across his left cheekbone and the bridge of his nose and directly underneath the number sixty nine.

Ichigo wondered why it was that before he'd seen Renji that day at the stables he had never seen nor heard of anyone tattooing their face, though inking other parts of the body were rare on their own. He figured it was just another thing he'd been in the dark about in his sheltered life.

"Like the new ride, Ichi?" Shiro said, jumping off his perch on the carriage with ease. The teenager surveyed the albino, noting the only thing he'd worn before that he hadn't rid himself of was his dazzling, eager grin. Like Renji, he'd changed out of his simple traveling clothes into finery any nobleman would be proud to wear, except he donned his own ebony overcoat and had forgone a hat in favor of tying back his shoulder-blade length ivory hair at the nape of his neck. Also, under the dark layer of fabric his waistcoat was made of a royal purple damask striped fabric and from his outer lapel dangled a silver pocket watch.

Now there was obviously some reason, a very important one, for the change of clothes and the acquirement of the carriage but Ichigo couldn't come up with a single one that made sense.

"Stop chitchatting," Grimmjow's voice came from his relaxed position on the driver's seat. "Time's a ticking."

"I don't see you trying to help speed things up any," Renji said scornfully, leading his horse over to the carriage.

"I got this damn carriage, I already did my share," Grimmjow scoffed, not even looking the other's way before waving a hand dismissively. The redhead muttered something undoubtedly foul under his breath but apparently decided against pressing the issue with his stubborn companion.

Ichigo hadn't even realized the carriage driver had left his seat and approached him with several long strides, so when the tattooed brunette seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere inches away from him, he jumped nearly a foot in the air. The driver was unfazed, expression apathetic as he held out one leather gloved hand.

"The reins," he said, his deep tenor voice eerily even.

The orangette clutched Zangetsu's reins tighter in his grip, narrowing his gaze at the newcomer. Come hell or high water, he would never willingly entrust a stranger with his beloved horse, one of the very few that genuinely cared about him and he did so in return. Not to mention this was a stranger cooperating with those who'd kidnapped him.

"Shuu's jus' gonna hitch 'im to the coach wit' the others," Shiro said, walking over to lay a pale hand on the youth's shoulder as if they were intimately acquainted. "So no need ta worry yer pretty little head."

Ichigo jerked away from the other's touch, unnerved by the way a shiver had run up at his spine upon contact.

"He hasn't been trained to pull a carriage," he said, addressing the driver. Surely anyone would know that seeing Zangetsu was a thoroughbred stallion, a creature too valuable to be used for menial labor like being a carriage horse.

"I'll place him in the back row. He'll get the hang of it quickly following the lead horses," the driver said, again reaching out, palm facing up, and with unease clear in his motions, Ichigo reluctantly let Zangetsu's reins fall into the vampire's hand. The jet black stallion whinnied indignantly, tugging away from the grip the unwelcome holder had on those leather straps. Not a surprising reaction, considering Zangetsu had only let himself be handled by Ichigo. And Renji on those occasions the redhead had delivered him out of harm's way.

The orangette shushed the horse, aware of puzzled stares on him when Zangetsu appeared to understand him and snorted like a bull before stilling and allowing the tattooed driver to lead him to where the three other mounts were waiting obediently.

"Damn, ya migh' be worse than Grimm is wit' Pantera," Shiro said, chuckling. It was a few seconds until Ichigo recalled that Pantera was the white Arabian mare with piercing blue eyes to match her owner's. "He terrorized tha last stable 'cause they didn't put tha righ' kind of hay in 'er in stall, said the kind they had in there gave 'er indigestion."

At the mental picture of the blue-haired vampire tearing up a stable for that very reason, Ichigo couldn't stop the soft chuckle caused by the ridiculous image and tried to muffle it with one hand, turning his head away from the albino.

"Something funny?"

The sudden sound of Grimmjow's gravelly voice cut the teenager's laughter short but it only served to make Shiro let loose loud barks of amusement.

"Hilarious, actually," the white-haired male said between peals of laughter.

Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something in response when Renji called out to them, half leaning out of the open carriage door.

"Oy, get a move on, already!" he said, then disappeared inside, leaving the door ajar. Ichigo's eyes darted over to the front of the coach, seeing the four horses lined up as the cloaked driver stood in front of them. He nearly gasped when the male waved a hand nonchalantly and immediately afterwards the metal buckles on the harnesses fastened themselves one after the other. He'd never seen telekinesis up close before, it was far from common. Though he'd certainly had his fill of uncommon powers in the past two days to last him a lifetime.

Shiro wasted no time tramping over to the carriage, bounding through the entryway. After his high contrast form had vanished into the compartment it dawned on Ichigo that he was practically alone with Grimmjow and it was all too easy to remember what had happened the last time they'd lacked the company of others. Nervousness bubbling inside of his chest, the submissive made to follow in the albino's steps but was forcibly stopped by a tug on his wrist.

Ichigo partially turned to apprehensively regard the broad hand wrapped around his wrist and the blue-eyed vampire to which it belonged, said eyes a dazzling azure composite of more different shades of blue than he'd thought existed as they bored into him.

"Look, I just..." Grimmjow started but trailed off, apparently unable to find the words he wished to say and blatantly ill at ease, as close to nervous as a prideful, confident creature like him would ever get. It made Ichigo quirk one tangerine eyebrow. "About what happened last night, I... I'm... sorry."

The apology was forced from his fanged mouth as if the vampire's entire rejected the concept of apologizing and admitting he'd been in the wrong. Ichigo was unimpressed, to say the least. Was he supposed to accept the apology of someone who'd thoroughly groped and molested him let alone holding him hostage? Grimmjow must have recently taken a serious blow to the head.

"While I appreciate the effort, I don't need any sort of contrived apology," he sniffed, snatching his wrist away from the blunette's slackened grasp and in his vulnerability, he reverted to a holier-than-thou, noble demeanor. "I never expected anything different from the likes of you."

Grimmjow's aura darkened and Ichigo stiffened, poising to defend himself or straight out run for his life should the larger male pounce. However, a moment later and the dominant merely nodded once curtly.

"Fair enough," he said gruffly, shocking the orange-haired youth straight to the core. "Come on and hurry up then, unless you want us to leave you out here."

Ichigo blinked vapidly as Grimmjow strode past him and toward the waiting carriage before he snapped back to reality, shaking his head before hurrying after the blue-haired male. In the short amount of time it took for them to reach the open compartment door, the orangette noticed that like Shiro and Renji, Grimmjow had traded his plain traveling clothes for the traditional finery of vampiric noble society. However, all of his articles of clothing were a simple black save for his waistcoat made out of a silken fabric dyed a fetching bluish-gray that looked almost silvery when the light caught it.

Were they all going to try and pass for nobles?

While Ichigo had no doubt that his captors were competent in the ways of deceit, they could execute every convention exactly as someone of high birth would and any true noble would immediately spot them for impostors. There was this... wildness in their eyes, exquisite and bold, one that was ignited by a life outside of the unnatural ways of high society, by freedom.

Inside the carriage were two cushioned benches opposite each other and when Grimmjow took the seat next to where Shiro was sprawled haphazardly Ichigo sat in the only available spot beside Renji, keeping as close to his side as possible though there was more than enough room between him and the redhead. As soon as Grimmjow shut the door, the carriage lurched forward and they were moving down the dirt trail and, if Ichigo remembered his geography lessons correctly, to where the gateway bustling city of Junrinan lay.

"We'd best start fillin' him in now. It won' be too long 'fore the lil' watchdogs come sniffin' around," Shiro said casually, golden and ebony eyes staring up at the ceiling. Ichigo immediately stiffened, sitting straight up and regarding the other three with both caution and suspicion.

"Fill me in on what, exactly?" he said.

"Yer new identity," Shiro answered gravely, midnight sun gaze flickering over to the orangette.

"Excuse me?" Ichigo said incredulously, brows shooting up into his hairline.

"He's just teasing you. He means the alias you'll go by during our stay in Junrinan," Renji said and Ichigo spotted that the male was now wearing his overcoat and top hat, the brim lowered over his forehead so that his tattoos were completely hidden. He had to be one of those very few who actually managed to look... appealing wearing one.

"Alias?" Ichigo was beginning to feel like a parrot, repeating whatever the others said. However, he then realized his theory that the three dominant vampires were going to pose as noblemen had been correct. But what in the world would they do that for?

"Well, you certainly can't go around one of the province's biggest cities as the famous submissive gone missing, now could you?" Grimmjow said tonelessly, crystal blue orbs fixated on the trees rushing by visible through the carriage door's window.

No, he couldn't, Ichigo thought. Not now, when he'd decided he was determined not to return to the manor. But it wasn't as if he would be out and about, romping through the streets of Junrinan. No doubt they would probably lock him in a room during the time they spent there.

"Then who will I be going around as?" he questioned, folding his arms across his chest.

"Tenshou Adjuchas from Las Noches, the capital city of Hueco Mundo, heir to a small fortune in the family business of horse breeding and younger cousin to us three. On our father's side," Shiro said as if he was reading the information from some sort of document, his usual drawl nowhere to be heard as he enunciated every word perfectly. "You begged us to take you to see the sights of the mother country and, like the adoring relatives we are, obliged you."

Ichigo opened his mouth but then closed it again, unsure of how to respond to that exactly.

Hueco Mundo was a large colony under Rukongai's collective rule. It was located in the far south, tropical, exotic, and somewhat mysterious with large areas of dense, wild jungle surrounding the cities Rukongai had built for military bases and luxurious vacation homes for the wealthy and noble. The teenager had always wanted to see it for himself, see what the real face of nature looked like, unspoiled by the industrial touch of humans. When he'd gazed upon paintings of the colony's lush greenery teeming with all different forms of wildlife they had almost seemed to call to him somehow.

"Tenshou Adjuchas?" Ichigo finally said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. It didn't sound like a real name at all. Though he supposed he had no right to say such a thing, considering his own tragedy of a first name.

"Adjuchas is a common surname in the colonies. Shiro picked out the other one," Renji said causing the albino vampire to grin widely.

"Of course he did," the orangette muttered under his breath, not so discreetly shooting a venomous glare across the cabin.

"Yer mother was a native, so 'a course she named ya in their language," Shiro defended his choice of name. Clearly he'd thought this alias thing through quite a bit. "It means heaven piercer. Ya know, like an angel."

The male's snickers filled the small space as Ichigo flushed furiously and balled his fists in an attempt to control himself. Shiro seemed to have no greater joy than teasing him mercilessly with overbearing flattery and he fell backwards into Grimmjow's side, the blunette wasting no time before roughly shoving the albino to the floor whilst his gaze stayed glued out the window.

"Jesus, Grimm," Shiro said, pushing himself up. "Wha's got you in a mood?"

Grimmjow didn't respond, leaving Renji to take a guess.

"He didn't get to blow anything up today," he said contemplatively.

"Yea' , but he jus' took out tha' four story buildin' yesterday." Shiro tapped a white finger against his lips before they spread into a wicked, knowing smirk. "Awh, I think I know wha' it is."

The blue-haired vampires steely gaze snapped to where the other had flopped back down onto the seat beside him.

"He's a lil'... frustrated."

Ichigo was utterly lost as Renji let out a bark of laughter and Grimmjow growled, a vein ticking in his temple. It was plain as day that he was frustrated, that wasn't some great revelation so why did Shiro saying so aloud cause such a reactiong.

"It's all righ', Grimm," Shiro said in a mockingly soothing manner. "No one can blame ya when ya haven't eaten in days and ya've got a delicious lil' morsel right in front of ya."

So Grimmjow was... hungry? Vampires didn't get hungry unless they hadn't had their daily portion of blood, so that couldn't be it...

The blunette seized the other by the lapels, teeth grinding together audibly.

"Look you snowflake bastard, I-"

But he was cut short as the carriage lurched to a sudden stop, the motion so violent it would've sent Ichigo flying out of his seat had a hand not gripped onto the fabric of his overcoat, a hand belonging to the redhead beside him.

"Oh, we're here!" Shiro cried out like a child would, easily breaking free of Grimmjow's grasp to kick the carriage door open. Light spilled into the cabin, momentarily blinding Ichigo, but when his vision cleared his breath was then stolen from him. How he'd missed when they'd crossed from dark wood to the resplendent city streets of Junrinan he couldn't understand.

"You idiot, you're supposed to be a noble," Grimmjow said, following the albino out of the carriage. Ichigo then noted Renji rising to his feet as well, adjusting his top hat as he made to exit the coach.

"The hat," the redhead said to him. "Put it on." And then he too was gone.

Ichigo reached for the newboy cap he had bundled up into one of his pockets, unfolding it. In order to keep from being recognized he'd have to hide his now well-known long stands of tangerine hair. More trouble than it was worth, really.

Then he stepped into the brightly lit atmosphere of the playground of the rich and powerful. Junrinan was a city humans and vampires alike visited solely for pleasure, the entire metropolis a whirlwind of merrymaking.

However, there had to be a reason other than the promise of a good time that his captors had taken him here, something to do with him. Ichigo just had to find out what.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this one. Next chapter we'll start to really see some development on the foundation I've been building so far. :D

A million thank you's to CeruleanGuava who was awesome and kind enough to make a banner for my FC over on deviantArt featuring Ichigo from this very story. Check it out, por favor! He looks just like I imagined but even better. Remove the spaces from the link.

http:/ cerulean - guava . deviantart . com / art/ Caribou - D - 277181577

Ichigo's moonstone pendant (hint hint, it'll be important in later chapters ;p):

http:/ www. exoticindia. com / jajewelry /rainbow _moonstone _sun _ pendant _ jat62 .jpg

Oh, and remember how I said Rukongai is parallel to Victorian England? Well, Hueco Mundo in this story is similar to India as it was under British rule during that era.