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Sweet Submissive Sixteen
Clueless Revelations
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"Renji, Renji, Renji..." Ichigo cooed as he walked straight up to the bar where his redheaded captor was sitting, brooding and staring at his almost empty glass of thickwater. It was apparent even to the blind, and Ichigo's drug addled mind, that he was the most upset over the death of their tattooed carriage driver. Grimmjow and Shiro only seemed mildly troubled by it, the young vampire clearly only an acquaintance of theirs.
Comfort was not something Ichigo was particularly good at, along with many other forms of human interaction, and yet with Halibel's words ringing in his clouded thoughts and the pang in his heart at seeing such grief in the other's eyes Ichigo acted upon instinct. Laying a hand on Renji's upper arm, he swallowed harshly and attempted to steel himself for the first of those acts of kindness the orangette hoped to use to gain favor with the three dominants.
Renji looked over his shoulder, rich burgundy gaze tinted with the color of surprise as he'd obviously never expected in a thousand years for Ichigo to touch him in such a manner.
"I'm sorry for your loss. He... he must've meant something - I mean, a lot, to you." Ichigo told him, collecting himself together as much as possible in order to say the appropriate words of condolences. This was much harder than one might think when it seemed like the walls had started to undulate and the temperature skyrocketed yet again. "Oh, it's hot in here. My God, it's like summer in Huec-... Hueco Mundo... and how come everybody's gone still?"
Ichigo listed to the side a bit, one hand unbuttoning his waistcoat until Renji's fingers wrapped around his own. "It's a side effect from that 'cocktail' you were given," the male explained, to which Ichigo simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Right, from the pink-haired girl for the... the money and whatnot. Whew, can we go outside or something?" he said, fanning himself and slumping against the bar top beside Renji.
"Pink-haired girl? You mean the server girl slipped you that drink?" the older vampire demanded to know, fully turning toward the other and gripping onto his shoulders as his eyelids had started to droop drowsily.
"Sure, that gent-... gentleman that died right before S-Shuuhei - he gave her money and other stuff earlier today, so it... so it must be, right?" Ichigo said, his body gaining more weight with every passing second, getting heavier and heavier. "But still, where did all the people go? Is there a party going on? Oh, can we go to the party? Please, please?"
The teenager was unaware that his slurred speech made it impossible to understand barely half of what he was saying, Renji's inked brows knitting together in the second before Ichigo stumbled off of his position leaning on the bar and sank to the ground faster than a bag of bricks. Fortunately for him, burly, tatted arms caught him under the arms just in time so that he didn't completely collapse on the floor. "All right, I think we need to get you to bed," Renji muttered. "Grimm! Can you come take him up to the room?"
A gentle touch along the strands of nectarine-colored hair stuck to his temple from sweat calmed Ichigo more than he cared to admit, fingertips softly caressing his messy locks for a few far too short seconds until he was lifted up to his unsteady feet. Realizing his eyes had been closed, the orangette opened them halfway to see Renji was supporting his weight to his right side whilst Grimmjow now stood directly in front of him.
"Do I look like a nanny to you?" Grimmjow groused at the redhead.
"Just do it, asshole. Shiro and I need to do some... work," Renji said, guiding the loopy submissive toward the blunette.
"Fine, but if he gets any worse it's your own damn fault," Grimmjow muttered and the next thing Ichigo felt was Renji letting go of him and the other dominant wrapping both of his strong arms around his waist and hauling him upside down over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
"Hey, what- !" Ichigo shouted indignantly, pounding a fist against Grimmjow's firm back. "What are you doing? Put me down! Now!"
"Shut up, for Christ's sakes. You'll wake the dead with all yer howlin'," Grimmjow grumbled authoritatively, one arm holding the younger's hips on his shoulder and one pinning his thighs down to his own chest. "Now be quiet or I'll leave you here for someone else to find. I'm sure they'd think they'd struck gold, discovering a helplessly drugged submissive."
"I am not helpless! I'd take down every single one of them, I would! And then I'd come back for you and- wahh!" Ichigo's rant cut off in a yelp of outrage once Grimmjow's hand smacked his rear end. He heard two bursts of laughter from Renji and Shiro, whom up to this point had been just enjoying the show. "How dare you, you... you... ugh!"
For the duration of Ichigo's rage, Grimmjow walked them through the dinner hall and then back out to the main lobby where a fine brass lift waited opposite the clerks desk's. "Get out," was all the blue-haired vampire had to say to the lift's operator for the youth to run for his life out of the thing. Then, still carrying a now quietly steaming Ichigo, Grimmjow pushed the lever and they started to rise up inside the building (something that even in his state of mind Ichigo could appreciate as he'd never been inside an elevator, a recent invention.)
The lift stopped at the top floor, chiming its bell as the doors opened to reveal a luxurious, lavish, and grotesquely extravagant room. Seriously, it was almost sickening how opulent the place was, only this first room bigger than Ichigo's chambers back at Kuchiki Manor and filled with exquisite furniture that was at the height of fashion. There was even an exotic, rainbow-feathered pet bird perched in a golden filigree cage hung by a cream silk wingback armchair. For it to impress Ichigo, who'd lived in the lap of luxury since he was six, was enough to express its magnificence.
"Tch, what a waste," Grimmjow scoffed, shaking his head, yet he continued to stride across the hotel suite where from his position upside down behind the other's back Ichigo surveyed everything in the room that must've cost a small fortune. There were even paintings signed by famous artists displayed on the walls and the rarest of fabrics shipped from Hueco Mundo and other far off places in the West and South embroidered on the furniture.
Ichigo knew his gasps of wonder were audible and he thought he heard a chuckle come from above him but his senses were on overload by all of the physical beauty around him he didn't much care. He didn't actually mind that it was only once the two of them reached a set of double doors that Grimmjow set him down. Swaying back and forth a bit, Ichigo watched as the other male flung open the doors and revealed a porcelain and silver dream of a bathroom, the clawfoot tub itself on a raised platform and large enough for three grown men to fit comfortably inside.
"How could you possibly think all of this-," Ichigo paused to spin around on the tiled floor of the bathroom, "is a 'waste'? It's... beautiful."
"You sure are less of a whiny brat when you're drugged, kid," Grimmjow said and said brat looked over to catch eyes with the dominant, remembering at the sight of jewel-like cerulean blue swirling and darkening like a mystical whirlpool that all of this shallow prettiness could never compare to true beauty. "Take a cold bath, yer practically sweatin' through your clothes. There're towels over on the rack there so be finished and covered up in twenty minutes when I come back, ya hear?"
"A cold bath?" Ichigo questioned inanely, unable to put pieces together in his foggy mind. All he could focus on was the intensity of that fiery blue gaze he was blessed enough to have focused on him. Really, that color blue wasn't found anywhere natural or man-made and he was lucky enough to witness it. "Has anyone ever told you your eyes are... wonderful- like water and fire mixed together, the sea and the sun are looking at me right now and it's... like perfection."
There were few times in which he would ever see Grimmjow seem so openly taken aback, and this was one of them. The raised eyebrows, the parted lips, the wide eyes - Ichigo saw all of it, yet in a millisecond it was gone. "You don't make any sense, kid, but that'd be the drugs talkin'," the blunette brushed the profession off, stepping back out of the bathroom and taking hold of both door handles. "I'll be right outside these doors 'till yer time's up. Oh, and try not to hurt yerself or do anything else stupid, I don' feel like havin' to explain to Shiro and Ren that you drowned or somethin'."
The doors shut forcefully with a dull thud, leaving Ichigo alone in the expansive bathroom. He was irritated about what Grimmjow had said about how it would affect him if anything happened to the orangette. It was like he didn't care at all, not the slightest bit, about Ichigo's welfare.
"Ugh, God, I'm so stupid," Ichigo groaned, plopping down on the edge of the tub and slouching forward defeatedly. He couldn't believe he'd totally minded if that cocky son of a bitch didn't care about him any more than the ransom money, didn't care about him, like a person or like a friend or maybe even like a...
Standing to his feet, Ichigo eagerly began to shed his clothes, the heated feeling on his skin definitely still bothering him a great deal. His waistcoat, shirt, trousers, socks, shoes, and lastly undergarments all dropped onto the floor and he sighed, glad to be out of those restrictive garments in his condition. Manipulating the knobs on the state-of-the-art tub, a miniature, ice cold waterfall rushed out of the faucet, and plugging the drain, Ichigo sank into the sweet relief of the chilled water. Sighing and lying back with his eyes closed, he vowed never to finish that last line.
Ichigo was sitting on the edge of the tub yet again, this time soaking wet and wrapped in the softest of towels, when Grimmjow burst through the door at exactly twenty minutes later on the dot. He grunted in approval that the orange-haired vamp had done as he'd ordered and jerked his head for the other to follow him out of the room. However, Grimmjow had also rid himself of some garments, his lower body still clothed but his entire torso - masculinely toned arms, shoulders, chest, stomach, waist, hips, and back all totally bare to Ichigo's gaze. And in the intoxicated state the younger male was in, he was helpless to his own body's reaction.
Ichigo bit down hard on his lower lip, his already dazed, hooded stare swelling up with admiration and lust. Not quite understanding what his body was doing, he rose slowly from the tub's edge and sauntered across the room, something he'd done approximately not even once in his whole life. It was a natural exercise, he found, to sway the hips and extend each step as if to elongate shapely legs and draw attention to the primally attractive lines of the body.
He got it, too. The attention, that is. He could practically feel Grimmjow's gaze on his legs that were bare from just above the knee down and up to outline of his body through the tightly wrapped towel and finally then to his naked shoulders and neck, his wet, chaotic hair dripping rivulets of water over the flawless flesh there enticingly. Ichigo had never experienced such a reaction like he was currently having to any kind of attention, always uncomfortable whenever it was upon him.
It was the drugs talking, he knew that somehow, and Ichigo just didn't care. He was loving the ardent expression burning in those blue eyes he was drawn to like a moth to a flame, the same potential lethality of the attraction only making it more delicious.
Suddenly, Grimmjow coughed and spun back the other way, speed walking to wherever it was he wanted he wanted Ichigo to follow him to. Confusingly disappointed, the submissive did his best not to stumble into anything or over his own feet due to his impaired coordination, some of the smaller pieces of furniture he swore he could see moving.
Through another set of doors was one of the bedrooms in the suite, two queen-sized, canopy beds bedecked in heavenly white, plush bedding, including a thick, ivory striped duvet and a mountain of pillows so enticing Ichigo wanted to jump on one of them and never move ever again. It actually rather reminded him of his bed back at Kuchiki Manor and had to maintain very strong self-control over himself not to give in to his anger at being stolen from his home that still very much smoldered in his gut.
"Bel sent some pyjamas up," Grimmjow said, clearly referring to the folded set of light purple satin pyjamas on the bed closest to the window. "Put 'em on and get in bed so you can sleep off whatever was in your drink."
"Where are Shiro and Renji?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask.
"Looking for something. They're sleeping in the other room so you won't see them 'till morning," Grimmjow explained nonchalantly, angling away from the towel-clad boy and showcasing something the latter had never seen before.
"You have a tattoo," Ichigo stated, taking in the sight of the roaring panther that painted most of Grimmjow's bronzed back, the number six inked tilted to the left in the negative space on his lower back.
"Do I, now? Thanks fer lettin' me know," the blunette said sarcastically, dropping onto the edge of the other bed and tugging off one of his boots.
"Why a panther? I thought those were in Hueco Mundo's forests, prowling around in the jungle's trees and eating stray villagers and tourists," Ichigo said, a bit too eager to find out more information about the beasts. He hadn't read much on them in his studies since Byakuya considered foreign studies an advanced subject not to be touched upon until one was an adult, insisting one must know their own culture back and forth before learning of others. "Have you ever seen one?"
"Yes, several times, actually." Grimmjow seemed rather smug about his experiences with the carnivorous cat. "They're all over the uncultivated parts of Hueco Mundo."
"Really? You mean I could go and-..." Ichigo trailed off, the mind-altering substance he'd ingested beginning to wear off and common sense returning.
"And?"
"Never mind," the teenager said, waving a dismissive hand. "I won't be visiting the jungle anytime soon. You know, the whole marriage and rearing children career path doesn't particularly allow vacation time to take trips to the southern islands."
They were both silent for a while, neither of them moving. In that time they could've been marble statues that were part of the hotel suite's marvelous decor.
"Don't give in to that bullshit, kid," Grimmjow broke the silence. "If you want to visit the jungles in the South or the icy Northern sea or the Eastern outdoor markets - hell, if you want to go to the damn moon no one can stop you. You're your own damn person. "
"But-"
"Freedom is not taken away, but freely given, Ichigo."
It was not lost on the youth that Grimmjow had used his actual name, but he was much more concerned with what else the dominant had said. That last statement had caused his chest to expand with so much hope and determination he thought it might burst.
Ichigo grabbed the set of lavender pyjamas from atop the duvet and rounded the bed so that the canopy sheets maintained his modesty whilst he changed into them, despite the fact that the sheer fabric they were made of made the outline of his side visible, especially when he bent over to pull the pants over his legs.
When he drew the curtains back and slid into the ridiculously comfortable bed, he allowed himself to steal a glance over at the other man in the room. Grimmjow was lying in his underwear on his back, arms folded up behind his head and his eyes closed yet Ichigo knew he was definitely awake.
"Thank you," he whispered into the silent room. "I still hate you, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, but... thank you."
As expected, there was no response and Ichigo let his lashes flutter shut, curling onto his side facing the blunette. Sighing heavily, he realized his plan was failing miserably for instead of him showing his three captors kindness they seemed to be showing it to him.
He was back at Kuchiki Manor, in his old study where he'd poured over countless books. Sunlight streamed in through the shuttered windows and everything was peacefully quiet, only the turning of pages sounding in the room of absolute zen.
Ichigo was reading a large volume on the native tribes of Hueco Mundo, illustrated drawings depicting their wildly interesting spiritual rituals. In one particular portrait they were dressed in rich, vibrant colors beaded in gold that matched their elaborate jewelries, some of which were placed in piercings completely taboo in the society of Rukongai. They also all carried musical instruments, mostly percussion items like animal hide drums of varying sizes, tambourines, and wooden blocks. However, some of them appeared to be playing flutes whittled from the green-stained bark of jungle trees, crudely constructed harps and mandolins, and, strangest of all, a clearly Rukongai citizen playing the violin.
They were all circled around a fire pit that a woman in the community was standing before, chanting a passage in their native language that was inscribed within the book, something he could somehow understand as a prayer to protect the life inside of her as she was with child. Having dusted the flames with some kind of purple powder, the smoke had risen two stories high into a swirling column where different animal forms could be deciphered as they arose from the fire - a wolf, a scorpion, a horse, a monkey, a stag, and then a panther.
The strangest image, however, was the pregnant woman's hair.
It was orange.
It was exactly the same color of Ichigo's hair, which he'd believed unlike any other living soul's.
"Mommy, what is it?"
Ichigo immediately tore his gaze away from the illustration to where the voice had come from, the speaker the most breathtakingly beautiful little girl he'd ever seen.
Sitting on a stool too high for her feet to touch the ground, dressed in a light pink, lacy frock, and reading a copy of one of Ichigo's most beloved children's book, the diminutive beauty around seven or eight years-old brought a smile to his face. She was a vision, indeed, with long, thick hair scarlet red plaited into a braided bun while two chin-length curls were left loose on either side of her doll-like face. Well, to be honest she made any porcelain doll look like an old hag in comparison, her skin paler than china white and just as perfect. And she had big, sapphire blue eyes that only stood out all the more with her unique, gorgeous coloring. She had to be an angel, because Ichigo already loved her.
"Mom, are you listening?"
Ichigo tried to speak but he found himself paralyzed, sending panic racing through his system. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he talk to this little girl who'd somehow captured his heart without saying a word?
"Mom?"
Ichigo awoke gently despite the slightly disturbing dream he'd had, the gentle rays of light peeking through the curtains, and he realized the mere symbol of his discomfort were that his hands were clenching onto the sheets for dear life.
At least this dream vision hadn't ended in those cryptic, horrific depictions as they normally did.
"Ya 'ad 'nother vision, didn' ya?" a pleasingly distorted voice sounded seemingly out of nowhere, making Ichigo gasp and sit up instantly, He located the culprit sitting on the edge of his bed, fiddling with a small, throwing knife.
"Good morning to you, too," Ichigo spat sarcastically, not wanting to discuss the contents of that particular dream to Shiro. It was just too... intimate, for the moment. He threw the covers off of him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What time is it?"
"Nine-thirty. Would'a let ya sleep later, but ya gotta come see this!" Shiro said gleefully, grinning like a complete loon. He gripped the orangette's wrist and dragged him to his feet and toward one of the oak dressers inlaid with gold designs. "'ere, I 'ad a whole wardrobe fer ya made since yesterday," the white-haired vampire said, opening one of the drawers and tossing a piece of red fabric and many others over his shoulder and onto the bed. "Put these on quick 'er ya'll miss it."
"Miss what, exactly?"
"Ah, ah, ah," Shiro scolded playfully, tapping the tip of Ichigo's nose. "'S a surprise, bu' jus' trust me. Yer gonna love it."
And with that he left the room, gracious enough to allow the orange-haired youth to dress while alone. The outfit picked out for him was actually decent, Ichigo discerned once he was fully dressed and examining himself in a body-length mirror. The shirt, trousers, and shoes were all black (and far finer than anything he'd ever worn and therefore far too expensive.) However, the cravat and waistcoat were bright crimson which he'd never dared to don until now, though he'd grown quite fond of the color.
It made him think back to his vision of the little girl tied a knot tight in his stomach, wanting to see her again and wondering if she had really been calling him 'Mom.'
"Ichigooo?" Shiro's voice broke through his thoughts, apparently this the third time he'd tried to get the other's attention.
"What? Yes! I mean,... " Ichigo trailed off and grabbed the light gray overcoat meant for him, striding toward where Shiro was standing in the doorway, eying him curiously. "Let's go."
"All righ', my pet," Shiro said, wrapping an arm around Ichigo's shoulders which he quickly shrugged off. "Yer really gonna love me fer showin' ya this. Mayhaps I'll even get a kiss in return from tha fair prince Ichigo, hmm?"
"I doubt that would even happen in your dreams, Shiro," Ichigo deadpanned, though when they were in the lift he tilted his head away and let the smallest of grins pass over his face for no longer than a second.
Traveling through the streets of Junrinan without a carriage or buggy was insanity to a country boy like Ichigo, never having really been 'in the city' before then. There so many people - tons of them - and one had to weave and bob around all of them just to walk down a city block, many of which one inevitably bump into and apologize to for a response that consisted of either a glare, a frown, a grunt, or a foul-mouthed verbal retort.
"What's wrong with these people?" he hissed under his breath to Shirosaki. "Why are they all so angry?"
"Ah yea', fergot ya'd lived tha charmed life," Shiro said, laughing a little while the chilled autumn wind blew his long locks of snow white around his face in a way Ichigo would never admit to being enchanting. "If this were a few years ago, I'd tell ya tha's jus' city life, cupcake. But now thing's 'er a lil' different."
"Different how?"
"'Ello, don' ya 'member yer lil' run in wit' tha Watchmen?" Shiro asked, quirking a brow and his lips to the side as they stepped off the sidewalk to cross another street clogged by carts and buggies and people. "This 'ere is tha human part 'a town an' most of 'em wanna see us all excommunicated from tha province, whether willin'ly 'er in a pine box. Ya ain' gonna fin' many friendly faces 'ere."
Just then Ichigo searched the area immediately around the two of them, catching all of the nasty stares and disgusted sneers being sent their way. Subconsciously, he sidled closer to Shiro and hoped that whatever the other wanted to show him was close by.
"So, care ta tell ol' Shiro wha' yer vision was 'bout this time?" the albino asked almost carefully, glancing down at Ichigo with concerned gold and black eyes, appearing so genuine that Ichigo decided he could trust the vampire as a confidant with this one thing.
"Well, it wasn't like the others... at all," he started, looking away from Shiro's searching gaze. "I was reading a book in my old study at the manor, something on Hueco Mundo and its natives. There was a picture where they were performing some kind of ritual to bless a woman who was with child. She... she had the exact same color hair as I do, which is... odd, considering I've never met anyone who has before. Then-..." Ichigo trailed off, chewing the inside of his cheek and pondering whether to tell Shiro something so personal as the vision he'd had of that little girl.
"Then wha'?" Shiro urged him on gently in a tone softer than the teen had ever heard him use.
"Then I heard someone talking to me. They called me... "Mom'." Ichigo confessed, exhaling heavily. "I looked over at this girl, who was maybe eight at most, and she was just so... so perfect. But I couldn't talk to her, it was like I couldn't do or say anything. The last thing I heard was her calling for me, for 'Mom', again and then I woke up. W-what do you think it means?"
He hadn't realized 'till then that they had stopped on a street corner while he desperately told Shiro of his vision. "I think, Ichi, tha' ya were lucky 'nough to see yer little girl 'fore she's even been born."
"But how can you know that it really was... her?"
"Just from tha way ya talked 'bout 'er, like she was yer whole world," Shiro informed him seriously, all of his usual playfulness gone. "All ya can do is wait ta meet 'er, I suppose. Unless, ya can learn ta control yer ability."
"And how do I do that?"
"Hmm, tha bes' way I can think 'a is ta ask those who 'ave an' try they methods. Like, fer example... me, Shiro, an' Ren. We learned tha 'ard way, too, ya know." Ichigo wasn't able to answer, or even ask if he could know what Renji's ability was, already, because then Shiro was brusquely leading him along once more. "Now, let's 'urry, ya don' wanna miss this, trust me."
Shiro snatched up Ichigo's hand and began dragging him through the crowded streets at a steady run, their vampire senses the sole thing keeping them from knocking everything over in their path as they practically did a joint obstacle course.
"This is what you wanted to show me?" Ichigo blurted as they slowed to a stop in front of the city stables. He wasn't exactly disappointed, he did truly want to check up on Zangetsu, but he would've thought Shiro had something much... well, more planned.
"C'mon an' I'll show ya," Shiro insisted, leading the younger vampire into the pungent smell of the stables and past the horse stalls to where there was a pasture right in the middle of the city for the horses to graze and get some exercise. Ichigo barely had time to register everything in sight when suddenly there was a six foot three, close to two hundred pound mass of rage in front of him.
"I'm gonna fuckin' kill that beast of yours, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow roared right in his face, causing him to instinctively take a step back as his mouth dropped at the sudden assault. "What the fuck do you think yer doin' - riding around on a goddamn stallion and letting it 'round nice, decent mares like it can resist that kind 'a temptation!"
Ichigo blinked, totally clueless as to what Grimmjow was ranting about.
"Well? I'm waiting! What excuse do you have for that?" the blunette shouted, pointing behind him to the far end of the pasture and directing ichigo to where Zangetsu and the white mare Pantera were grazing happily together, occasionally whinnying at one another and nudging each other with their noses. "And you should've seen them earlier, ya little brat! Hasn't anyone ever taught ya 'bout what happens when a male animal sees a pretty young thing 'cause I'm very willin' ta teach you my-self."
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo yelled right back, gesturing toward their steeds. "They're just grazing together, you idiot! Or is that too indecent for your filthy mind to handle?"
"Listen, you-"
"Hey!" a rough, deep voice sliced through their shouting match, Ichigo not needing to look to know it was Renji's voice. The redhead had his hand firmly around Grimmjow's bicep, holding him back, and Shiro was gripping onto the submissive's shoulders, both not realizing how close to each other they had gotten, faces practically inches away. "Let's calm down, right now. Grimmjow-"
"What?" the male spat.
"It wasn't Ichigo's fault what happened. Stop being a complete bastard and blame me for letting them out there together," Renji told his friend, tone low and quiet but utterly commanding. "He doesn't even know what they were up to out there, anyway."
"Tch, well tell him, then, while I go rescue Pantera from that thousand pounds of worthless carcass," Grimmjow growled, ripping his arm free and turning away.
"Hey, you son of a bitch, I-!" Ichigo started, infuriated at the insult directed toward Zan. Nevertheless, he got the message and fell silent when Renji held up a palm, shaking his head. The redhead once again had a black bandana around his head and his hair tied back, though this time it was in a braid that fell over shoulder which Ichigo had to admit was a good look for him.
"Jus' leave it alone," Shiro said from behind him. "Sorry, darlin', I didn' think he'd yell a' ya."
"So this is what you brought me here to see? Our horses getting along with each other?" Ichigo demanded.
"Well, let's jus' say they were 'gettin' along' a lot better half an 'our ago," Shiro giggled, sidestepping the orangette and running a pale white hand tipped with black nails through the mussed spikes of orange hair atop his head, as if petting him. "Though, perhaps yer too young fer tha' sorta thing, anyway. Wouldn' wan' tha' desirable, virginal quality ta be tarnished fer yer future groom, isn' tha' righ'?"
"Go to hell," Ichigo brushed Shiro off, used to the male's teasing ways, and facing Renji. "Is it true? Did Zan and Grimmjow's Pantera really... you know?"
"Several times just this morning, actually," Renji said, laughing whilst he led an unfamiliar horse from the stables by the reins. Ichigo flushed, trying not to imagine his beloved Zangetsu doing anything of that nature. "Some good will come out of it if she bears any colts outta this, though. Pantera and Zangetsu are premium examples of the thoroughbred species; any offspring they have will be magnificent. Hey, maybe this could be the start of your career in raising horses."
Renji grinned genuinely, unclicking the buckle from his horse's reins and running a broad hand through the gorgeous, russet brown gelding's thick mane. "I think you love them just as much as I do, if not more," Ichigo said without thinking as he'd been tending to do more and more often - engaging in friendly conversations with these three vampires who'd kidnapped him for ransom. "What's his name?"
"Zabimaru," Renji stated proudly. "He's been waiting here for me for nearly a month."
"I bet he missed you," Ichigo said, smirking a little as the horse in question moved his large head in his own direction and began sniffing his hair. The teen didn't hesitate to raise a hand and pet Zabimaru's powerful neck, threading his fingers through the coarse chestnut brown mane. He accidentally brushed his hand against Renji's, a shock like he'd been electrified zinging through his entire arm and he automatically snatched it away as soon as possible.
Meeting Renji's deep burgundy eyes for a fleeting second, the submissive tore his own from then and the mysterious power they held over him.
"Um, so what about you Shiro?" Ichigo blurted, trying to dispel the tangible tension between he and the redhead. "Do you have a horse?"
"Yea', once," the albino said, a touch of nostalgia in his voice attracting the younger right away. "'Er name was Getsuga - white jus' like me an' big brown eyes tha' could always get me ta give 'er an extra sugar cube. She left this world as' year."
"How did die?" Ichigo questioned, remembering just afterwards that it wasn't the appropriate response to the revelation of someone's passing. Nevertheless, he did catch Shiro and Renji exchanging a glance before the former answered.
"Like a warrior."
The quiet that reigned over the next minute was heavy and profound. Ichigo searched his mind for what Shiro could've possibly meant by his cryptic answer. Did he just mean the horse died with grace or succumbed to death without fuss? Or could he possibly have meant that-...
"Damn you, ya stupid animal! Give that back. Right. Now." Grimmjow's voice boomed over the pasture to where the other three were standing and what Ichigo immediately sent him into a hysterical fit of laughter.
Apparently when the blue-haired male had tried to put the reins on Pantera and drag her away, she'd refused, wanting to stay with her newfound love. He guessed then Zangetsu had come to the rescue of his lady love, stolen the reins right out of Grimmjow's hands and was now running around with them in his mouth whilst the man chased him down, having difficulty gaining on the stallion without any gear to grab onto.
The scene was so funny to Ichigo, who hadn't had this kind of entertainment since being kidnapped out of his bedroom, that soon he was doubled over in laughter, tears forming in his eyes. He heard Shiro and Renji chortle at their friend's predicament, though not nearly as hard as their youngest.
"Glad you find this so funny, Kurosaki," Grimmjow snarled from halfway across the pasture. "Because in about five seconds, I'mma shoot this damned horse of yers."
Considering Grimmjow might just be crazy enough to do it, Ichigo managed to stifle his guffawing into little peals of laughter that slipped past his lips every other second and approached the blunette and two horses, Zangetsu galloping in a circle around Grimmjow with the reins in his mouth.
Ichigo only had to stand in a firm stance and brought two fingers to his lips, whistling sharply. Zangetsu instantaneously slowed and trotted over to his owner, looking rather pleased with himself. "Zan, give them to me now," was all Ichigo had to stay and the stallion dropped Pantera's leather reins into his outstretched hand.
"Good boy, Zan," he cooed, rubbing the animal's nose lovingly. "You can have all the sugar cubes you want. Yes, you want that, don't you? Good boy! Now, get."
Zangetsu whinnied, shaking his head, and then promptly trotted off back to where his pretty Pantera was waiting. Smiling triumphantly, Ichigo approached Grimmjow and tossed him the reins. "There you go," he said teasingly. "Next time, just ask for help from one of the more experienced riders, okay?"
Oh, he would savor the look on that man's face for the rest of his life.
Ichigo swaggered his way back past the two other dominants and to the stables, fully intent on filling the bag of feed in Zangetsu's stall full of his beloved sugar cubes. When he walked in there was a boy perhaps a year younger than him, dark-haired and short, cleaning out the individual stall's with a pitchfork. "Excuse me," the submissive vampire said, causing the boy to glance up at him once. But the second time, his jaw dropped and eyes went larger than teacup saucers.
"Y-yes, sir?"
"I was hoping you could tell me where the sugar cubes are," Ichigo explained, wondering why his mere presence made the boy so nervous. Then he noticed that the young male had tattoos on his forehead that were eerily similar to a certain redhead's.
"Of course, sir. Anything for a friend of Master Renji's," the boy stammered, bowing and pointing over to the main barn house. "They're just inside there, next to the bags of apples. I can go get them if you-"
"No, no, it's fine," Ichigo brushed the offer off, serving up a polite smile and nod before heading in the direction the boy had pointed out. "Thank you," he said in farewell, letting himself in the barn through the giant wooden doors. Surprisingly, there was not a soul in the place save for a sparrow fluttering about in the rafters. Scanning the space, Ichigo spotted the stock of sugar cubes in the far left corner and jogged over to them, picking up the bag that appeared fullest. Satisfied, he made to turn around and return to the stables but was blocked by a firm, solid chest.
"Ah, what the-!" he yelped, clutching the bag of sugar close to him. "Wow, congratulations, Grimmjow. You managed to scare me. Should I start the applause?"
"Do I scare you, Ichigo?" Grimmjow rumbled, his demeanor dark and overwhelming, an aura of masculine power radiating from him and his hooded eyes the color of the ocean during a storm, thunder and lightning and all. "Because last night you certainly didn't seem scared of me."
"L-last night I was drugged, you... you know that." Ichigo swallowed harshly as he was backed up against the wall, the blunette's arms coming up to encase him there. Grimmjow was so close, too close, and his body was going haywire, every nerve a hundred times more sensitive, every sense becoming too acute for comfort, like how he could smell the manly musky of a forest after the rain wafting off the blue-haired dominant.
Dear lord, but even that last word sent a fire through him.
Yes, dominate me.
"Damn it, you drive me so fuckin' crazy with your little game of 'hard to get. Especially when I know you feel it, too," Grimmjow growled right in his ear. "Just give in, just say it. You know you want to..."
"I... " Ichigo gulped, not able to think straight whatsoever. He thought of burgundy and black and gold and almost pushed the dominant away, but he couldn't. His need was too strong. "I do. I want you, Grimmjow."
A snarl of victory was all that escaped the blunette's mouth and then his lips were locking with Ichigo's, rough and strong and dominating just like the vampire himself. It was the orangette's first kiss and though he didn't know what to do, he felt it. The bag of sugar cubes fell to the floor and he clutched Grimmjow's bright blue hair with both hands, tilting his head to the side and letting his lips be kissed and bitten raw.
He would never be prepared for the complete manic chaos that would be upon them when the door swung open to reveal their hot and heavy lip lock to one pair of burgundy orbs and one pair of gold.
A/N: Ooh, I think our boys are getting closer and closer. Hopefully they'll get as close as possible soon, ne? Don't worry, that's coming up quite soon. I think you all waited long enough for just a kiss. Though, what will be the fallout from Grimm and Ichi being discovered. We'll just have to wait and see, hehehe.
So, what did you think about that vision? Pick up any clues? :)
See you guys next time...