Hello again! Here is a new chapter, kinda short this time, I apologize.


Grimmjow stood with his hand shoved deep into the pockets of his hakama; his shoulders were slouched and he glared at the floor. He didn't give much of a shit for Aizen-sama until it concerned him and now it did. And that pissed him off. What did Aizen care for what he did with that little fuck, Kurosaki?

Grimmjow dared a quickly-snatched glare at the shinigami presiding over him. Aizen sat upon his throne—where else, Grimmjow wondered—and was regarding him with the perennial mild, paternal stare. The shinigami's hand was braced against his cheek and he seemed extremely disappointed. Grimmjow knew in this situation to keep his damn mouth shut: Aizen would wait for anything that seemed guilty but Grimmjow had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Grimmjow."

Fuck, maybe he'd given away something just by stealing a glance.

"Grimmjow. Surely you know why you're here?"

It was never a question that Grimmjow was about to answer. Sure, he knew why he was there but it seemed naïve of the shinigami to ask for Grimmjow's explanation. Offering anything up was just as good as saying he was in the wrong, and Grimmjow most assuredly knew he was not.

The shinigami lord made a sigh, long-suffering; as though he knew the entirety of Grimmjow's thought process, and found it very silly.

"I expected better of you, one of my last Espada. And even after I gave you such a well-deserved promotion," Aizen said. "Is it too much to ask that you follow orders?"

Grimmjow did not respond.

Aizen sounded irritable when he spoke. "Very well, must I explain it all to you?"

"I dunno," Grimmjow muttered, not raising his gaze. Despite whatever Aizen was trying to trick him into admitting, Kurosaki had been asking for it, with his smart fucking mouth. Hadn't been Grimmjow's fault that showing the shinigami brat the error of his ways took out two of the largest buildings remaining in Las Noches.

Grimmjow hadn't known the one of them contained Aizen's tea room. In retrospect, he wasn't particularly sad they'd destroyed that.

"I was most generous in letting you keep your pet, if only so that you could amuse yourself," Aizen said, his voice quiet but deadly. "I did not consider that your amusements would be so…violent."

"I'm sorry."

Grimmjow wasn't sorry.

"You realize why I am upset." Aizen said it as though it was very obvious. He only had so many things to be concerned with these days, so of course Grimmjow got the brunt of his attention. "We have so few structures left, and I hope you realize the effort and time required to rebuild. Yammy can only do so much. And unless new hollows are found which may be converted into arrancar, you must know we have few forces to devote to this effort."

Grimmjow realized it was a threat: stop blowing shit up, and if he didn't restrain himself, Grimmjow might easily find himself reforming the buildings he'd crushed.

"I can find more," he muttered, an abstract thought to keep Aizen appeased. Grimmjow had little interest in seeking out new hollows that were of arrancar potential; that was a job for someone who gave a crap about Aizen's ultimate goals. Neliel or Ulquiorra—both of them had been muttering quietly about how the last five ranks of the Espada needed to be filled. Nel had even taken off on her own to find potential Espada. Grimmjow knew such a task was just a seek-and-destroy mission; he had little interest. He had acquired all he'd ever wanted in Kurosaki.

"Oh? Well, what an excellent proposition."

Grimmjow cursed that the bastard had latched onto such a throw-away offering.

"I am terribly interested in obtaining new hollows—ones of power, you understand. Our lower ranks remain, but it distresses me that you Espada are so scarce."

"Mm." Grimmjow listened to him talk and talk; it was all the shinigami were good for. Even Kurosaki, who wanted to talk all the damn time instead of fight

"Neliel has already sent word, by one of her fraccion, that they are successful in this matter. It would be quite reassuring if you would emulate her behaviors."

Grimmjow scuffed his foot indecisively. Sure, it'd keep Aizen off his back. But Grimmjow wasn't the type to go searching for praise—he wasn't Nel, in other words. "I gotta keep Kurosaki in line. He's more trouble than I thought he'd be. Keeps me busier than I'd like."

"More trouble than you're capable of, is that what you're saying?"

"No—"

"It certainly sounds like that's the case. If he is, I assure you, passing him off to Ulquiorra or Neliel—even Stark, I assume, wouldn't mind having him—it would be no trouble. I would hate to keep you distracted."

Grimmjow hated that he'd said as much as he had. Kurosaki wasn't trouble, at least not the kind Grimmjow disliked. He was fast. He was fire, still strong enough to put up a good fight. Aizen had handed the little bastard off to him without a second thought—more his loss, in Grimmjow's eyes. The shinigami-brat was slippery like an eel; every time Grimmjow though he had the fuck beat Kurosaki surprised him.

Grimmjow liked it that way. He liked having a talented adversary.

That was why Grimmjow was interested. Grimmjow loved his resourcefulness—he wanted to see what the prick'd do next; an eager and resilient opponent was better than anything else in the world, and Ichigo was the best.

Grimmjow imagined how things would've went had they not been interrupted; he'd have Kurosaki beat and on his knees—Grimmjow would tilt that proud head back baring the shinigami's throat until Grimmjow's mouth closed over the pulse beating strongly there, biting down. Nothing more than a warning, but it would be enough; it'd make a mark on Ichigo that he'd be parading around with for days. That would make the brat think twice—

Aizen's leg shifted off the knee it'd been resting upon, "Perhaps Kaname was right about you, Grimmjow. You are simply too wild."

"He died, didn't he?" It was worth something. People didn't die because they were wrong, and Tousen sure as fuck was dead. Though he'd died protected Aizen during their retreat—it was still something. If Tousen had been worth a damn he would've made it out alive.

"Hah," Aizen chuckled at his response. "It is as you say. But that does not dismiss his observations. He saw something in you, Grimmjow, something uncontrollable. Do not force me break that wildness. You will not enjoy it."

Grimmjow knew he wouldn't. He'd experience Aizen's punishments before when the shinigami overlord had truly been angry at him. Grimmjow knew now that this reprimand was but a warning.

"I trusted that Kurosaki would amuse you and keep your bloodlust sated; I did not anticipate you would require so much to keep him subdued. Or is he truly so difficult to control?"

It was a rhetorical question, one Grimmjow knew better than to answer. On one hand, he'd come up short—Kurosaki would seem too much for him. On the other, Aizen would know Grimmjow wasn't trying with his all to break the little bastard.

But where was the fun in that? If he crushed Kurosaki completely he wouldn't have anything to fight against, would he?

Grimmjow shrugged. He wouldn't play Aizen's games nor fall into his verbal traps. He'd learned over time that keeping his damn mouth shut served him better than anything else.

"Hmm. You're so quiet. It's quite distressing."

Grimmjow shifted on his feet, uncomfortable under Aizen's immovable gaze. "He's mine. That's all—I do what I want with the things that're mine."

Aizen seemed pleased by his response; as though any was enough. "Well. I'm glad you enjoy him. I will not removed him from your possession, for now, but know that if you persist in your destructive habits I may be forced to do so."

Grimmjow nodded his head, once; he could realize a warning and a gift when they were given. Aizen didn't want him to fuck up the place, big deal—just meant he had to stop letting Kurosaki get as far away from him as he did when they had a nice chase going. He'd miss that, but he wanted the brat with him even more.

"That is all, Grimmjow. Though it does please me greatly that you're so captivated—why is that, if I might ask?"

Grimmjow felt quite taken aback—it was unlike Aizen to give a shit about them; about him in particular. The shinigami liked to play lord and master, hovering over them all while knowing them very little personally. The perfect position for a god, and Grimmjow knew that was what the other man considered himself.

Maybe it was because he had so few subjects remaining that he'd begun to care now. Grimmjow shrugged his shoulders, letting them hunch heavily. "He's just good. He can't help it."

"And you can do nothing but counter that." Aizen said it as though it were obvious.

"I want him," Grimmjow said, for the first time meeting Aizen's eyes.

"I can see. But do you even know why?"

"It don't matter. Just that he fights back."

It made Aizen laugh, a soft chuckle that Grimmjow could see shaking the other man's shoulders. "Exactly what you cannot resist. You are as complex as you are simplistic—a dichotomy Kaname would never have been able to acknowledge."

Aizen's hand rested upon his fist again and somehow, subconsciously, Grimmjow could tell their conversation was over. He bowed low on one knee and Aizen gave a dismissive murmur. Grimmjow left with his hands tight at his sides, resenting the shinigami and his superiority; Grimmjow wondered how he'd ever gotten to the point that he bowed to the man in the first place.

But as soon as he left the audience chamber with Aizen far behind, it began to matter less and less—what did Grimmjow care if he was being fucked around with by a higher being he could never hope to challenge? He had what he wanted: Kurosaki captive with Grimmjow as his master. He'd teach the little brat, inch by inch if that was what it came to.

His stomach shivered and his jaw clenched in anticipation and excitement. He wanted Kurosaki again: running before him and afraid. He could find the little brat now, in his room no doubt—huddled and alone. Or he could wait until the shinigami showed his face. Grimmjow had always been a good predator, and in patience, waiting for his prey, he found it made him whole.


Okay! So, several reviewers of the last chapter have commented on the relative lack of romantic action between Grimmjow and Ichigo thus far. Please don't worry! I fully plan on getting them together, but I find that my favorite part in any romantic relationship, and especially in fic, is the "getting together" tension and interaction. So I'm kinda drawing it out in this fic. I apologize if you find it too drawn out, or are becoming disinterested because there's not real overt relationship. It'll happen! I swear :D

Also, please know that I take your reviews/comments/criticisms seriously, and I am paying attention. Never feel afraid to question or criticize what's going on in this fic! I'm really very open to suggestion and am glad to hear your thoughts, always.