Author's Note: In case everyone's wondering, the books mentioned here are real. I loved Catwitch when I was a child. Wonder where it got to?

Grimmjow ran his hands up and down the heavy bone. It was smooth from endless touching and cool to the touch. Lifting it to his lips he slowly chewed on it. If he'd exerted his full strength he could have broken it easily, but that would ruin it. This bone had too many memories for that.

Not that it had been a special kill. No, it had just been another common adjuchas like all the others. Only the timing made it significant, because it had been his last kill on his quest to become King. Grimmjow gnawed on the bone, his eyes going blank as he remembered.

The bone was lying between his paws. The panther adjuchas was in no hurry to crack it and suck out the last little bit of the kill. He was completely satisfied, his hunger sated for the moment. The bone was an idle amusement and he would make it last.

Then he looked up from his treat, lips pulling back from sharp white teeth in a snarl. He pushed himself to his feet as three strangers appeared. His fraccion reacted, ready to attack but Grimmjow growled them back. He could sense the power in the one in the lead. It was shinigami and it was… terrifying. Grimmjow was not afraid of much but he feared this power.

"Interesting. You appear to be quite strong." Grimmjow didn't like the smile on the man's face, didn't like his shinigami scent, didn't like anything about him. But he did appreciate that the stranger could see he was powerful. "Would you like to become stronger?"

"…Maybe." Become stronger? He always wanted to become stronger. But no one did anyone any favours in Hueco Mundo. "What would you get out of it?" He asked suspiciously and the shinigami smiled at him, reaching up to adjust his glasses.

"Loyal followers on my quest to become the new Soul King." As far as Grimmjow was concerned, that last bit was arcane bullshit. He understood the quest for power, though. But a loyal follower? That rubbed him in all the wrong ways.

"And if I say no?" He asked and the stranger just gazed at him. It suddenly struck him as a predatory gaze.

"Then we will have to say goodbye to you all." He said politely and Grimmjow could feel the naked threat in the air. It was subtle, all in his reiatsu, but the adjuchas had no doubt that the goodbye's would be very permanent.

"…Fine. Make me more powerful." He finally growled, picking up his bone in his mouth. The shinigami turned away without a word and the group of intimidated hollows followed their King.

…Sometime later, Grimmjow sat and waited for the purple cube to be ready. His bone was sitting between his paws, taking nervous nips from him whenever the tension became too much. He found himself gnawing on it often, using it to calm himself. The power swirling around the purple thing terrified him, not that he would admit it. What were they planning to do to him? But he wasn't going to ask. It wouldn't make any difference. Snarling, he lowered his head and waited.

His mask being broken was painful. It was more than just the bone shattering, it was his body reforming, finding a shape akin to a vasto lorde's. His howl started off as a beast and ended as a man, but a man in agony. Panting, he landed on his hands and knees, completely naked and trembling. A blanket was dropped over him by one of the shinigami and he lifted his head with a weak snarl, blinking his eyes rapidly. Everything hurt and he couldn't see right.

But even as they took him away to begin breaking the others, he gripped his bone with one hand. He'd never had hands before but he managed to hold it.

This bone was his. He was not giving it up.

"Grimmjow? Are you coming to… breakfast…?" Grimmjow frowned and lifted his head from the bone. Kurosaki had opened the connecting door and was staring at him. "What are you doing?" He sounded appalled and Grimmjow scowled.

"Chewing on a bone. You have a problem with that?" He said harshly and Kurosaki hesitated before shaking his carefully set the bone back down, wiping off a bit of stray saliva. "And sure, why not." He'd already eaten a reishi pill but maybe some real food would soothe the burn.

Breakfast was set up in a little sun room. It was just for him and Kurosaki, which didn't surprise Grimmjow a bit. Byakuya seemed like the kind to be an early riser and he still had his duties as taichou of the sixth. Grimmjow tilted his head as he looked over the food. None of it was familiar so he just picked up a bowl and took a spoonful of some kind of porridge thing. He tried it and wrinkled his nose at the taste.

"Try putting a fried egg into it, it makes the congee taste better." Ichigo suggested and Grimmjow shrugged, deciding to try it. "I was wondering. Do you need to eat this kind of food?" He asked curiously and Grimmjow shook his head.

"Not really. But it helps take the edge off those fucking pills." Kurosaki looked confused and Grimmjow realized he would have no idea what he was talking about. Focusing his power, he created a reishi pill. It wasn't quite as easy in Soul Society as it had been in Hueco Mundo but it wasn't hard. Then he offered it to Ichigo, who took the dark red pill with a dubious expression. "We eat those. Aizen came up with them to keep us fed, otherwise supplies would have been a nightmare. It was bad enough with just three shinigami." Hollows ate other hollows, so they ranged widely through the sands. Aizen had gathered them in one place so an alternative had been necessary. Grimmjow popped the pill into his mouth and grimaced as it jolted him. A bit of tea and a bite of rice porridge did help, though. Ichigo nodded.

"I see." They both ate in silence for a while and Grimmjow considered what to do with his day. He was on call to Tosen and his chosen underlings, but so far no one had given him any orders. His only real duty was to 'oversee' the Kuchiki clan, which was a bit of a laugh. So he could do whatever he pleased, which was a bit unusual.

He wanted to spar, of course. That went without saying. But there was only so much practicing you could do in a day and there were no fraccion or other Espada to mess around with here. No sands to run through, no endless moon to howl at.

"Maybe this place has a library." He muttered to himself, toying with a piece of bacon. Sure, he wasn't much of a reader, but he did have a taste for books with a decent storyline and lots of pictures. The Secret of Nimh had been a favourite. It was a shame that Di Roy had ruined his copy. "I'm gonna go explore." He pushed himself up. Kurosaki looked at him with a frown. "You can do whatever you want. I'll call you later for a spar." He could summon Kurosaki with a thought and he wasn't helpless yet. He wouldn't need the teen around him for some time. Ichigo's frown deepened before he nodded.

"See you later." He said quietly and Grimmjow could tell he didn't like being on a leash. But who would? That was a feeling he knew, intimately.

Even now, he was still on Aizen's leash.

Kuchiki Saburo was not having a good day.

Saburo was a rather inoffensive man. He spent his days working in the Kuchiki archives and his evenings with his wife and his little daughter. But now his daughter had wandered off – again – and his wife had come to him to tell him to keep an eye out for her. Kiku was really a lovely woman but she was almost hysterical, afraid that the hollow staying with them might eat her daughter.

That struck him as an absolutely ludicrous thing to be worried about. So far the arrancar had actually seemed reasonably civilized, aside from challenging Byakuya to a duel almost immediately. And that was only to be expected from such violent creatures. He'd only been there a day, true, but even if he wanted to eat someone why would he eat a child? Kameyo was a darling girl and sparkled with immature spiritual pressure, but it was still nothing compared to that of an adult. She would barely be a snack to an arrancar.

Sighing to himself, Saburo tried to concentrate on his duties. He was guarding the entrance to the sealed archives as well as tending to his work, so no matter what kind of fit his wife was throwing, he could not leave. Well, perhaps if his daughter had actually been injured. But he was certain she was fine.

"It's this way!" Saburo did feel a great relief, though, as he heard his daughter's piping tones. Smiling he set his pen aside. She'd probably just wanted to visit him –

"Oh yeah?" His smile froze as his daughter turned a corner and he saw the person behind her. It was the first time he'd seen the arrancar, but the powder blue hair and the white uniform were impossible to mistake. "Good job, squirt. Is that your dad?" He asked and Kameyo beamed before running to him.

"Daddy!" She hugged him and Saburo let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding as he checked her for injuries. She appeared to be fine. "My teeth hurt." She announced and he blinked, his mind trying to encompass that. Her teeth? There was a chuckle and his gaze snapped back to the arrancar.

"Brat came into my room when I was napping and bit me." He explained and Saburo blinked. Where on earth had his daughter gotten the idea to do something like that? He gave her a scowl and she squirmed a little, aware that she'd done something wrong.

"Mama said that hollow's're bad and eat people." His daughter said, clearly trying to defend her actions. Fortunately the arrancar didn't seem offended, just chuckling softly at her words.

"That doesn't mean you should bite them!" He exclaimed. How she'd gone from that to that was certainly a miracle of childish logic. "Kameyo, apologize to Jaegerjaquez-sama immediately." He said firmly and his daughter mumbled out a sorry. Grimmjow just waved it off, to his relief.

"I didn't even feel it. I just woke up to the kid whining about her teeth." He said with a feral grin. Saburo swallowed, thankful that his daughter had come to no harm. He could feel the danger floating around the hollow. "What's behind that there?" Saburo followed the Espada's gaze, glancing over his shoulder at the seal.

"The entrance to the sealed archives, where we keep the lore of the clans." He answered and Grimmjow grimaced as if he'd been reminded of something unpleasant.

"Yeah, I'll skip that." He said decisively, which was a huge relief. Saburo did not want the Espada in the archives. "Shrimpy there said you'd be able to find some books for me." He pointed at Kameyo, who giggled at that term for herself.

"Ah." Saburo wondered what kind of books the arrancar would be interested in. There was an easy way to find out. "What kind of books did you want?" He asked and the man shrugged.

"Something easy to read with a lot of pictures. Have you ever read the Secret of Nihm? Like that." He said. Saburo nodded. He knew that book so it actually gave him a good idea of what the arrancar wanted. In fact, he could think of a few possibilities already.

"Please follow me." He said politely. It would mean leaving his post, but the seal could look after itself for a while. Taking care of the arrancar was more important at the moment. He led the man down the hall, into the children's section. It ranged from the simplest books all the way to the ones meant for teens. "Here…" He found the intermediate section and began sorting through them. "Perhaps this one? I loved it as a child." He said before realizing that could be taken as an insult. But the Espada didn't care, taking the book and flipping through it.

"Catwitch? I like cats. And these are some nice pictures." Grimmjow paused to admire one and Saburo nodded. His favourite had always been the picture of the cat in his witch's hat, yowling while being sucked down a hole as colorful and malicious fairies taunted him. "Got anymore?"

"Certainly." He said with a smile before looking for some more. He hesitated over one of the books but added it anyway. It was meant for quite young children, but Grimmjow might enjoy a book about poop. "There you are. I'll check them out for you." They had a check out and check in system, just like a normal library. It made it much easier to locate the books when absent minded clan members completely forgot to bring them back. The actual librarian, an ancient woman, was asleep at her desk. Saburo just claimed the sign out book and filled it in, having Grimmjow initial it in the correct spots.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Come by again sometime, brat." He reached out and ruffled Kameyo's hair, making the child giggle. Saburo could only marvel at it. He knew that the arrancar was partly here to… produce offspring, but it still seemed remarkable that any hollow could have parental instincts.

"Bye Grimmjow!" His daughter said with a grin and a wave. Saburo shook his head, carrying her back to his desk as the arrancar left, presumably to read his new books.

"Your mother is going to be quite upset with you." He said although he knew his wife would mostly be relieved that Kameyo was alive and unharmed. "Please don't bother our guest in the future, Kameyo." He ordered and the little girl pouted. Saburo shook his head and decided to leave it to her mother. Hopefully Kiku would be able to get through to her.

He loved his daughter but he'd always had trouble getting her to listen.

"Heh. This is hilarious." Grimmjow grinned as he flipped through Everyone Poops. It was especially amusing because hollows didn't poop. They fed on souls and their bodies were far too efficient to generate any waste. "Elephants have big ones!" He murmured as he looked over the illustrations. This book was actually a bit below his reading level, but it was still interesting.

"Hey Grimmjow." He glanced up as Kurosaki walked out into the gardens. The teen was looking a bit damp, as if he'd just had a bath, and almost relaxed. His bandages had been changed and were looking fresh and crisp. "What are you reading?" He asked, taking a seat beside the Espada. Instead of answering he lifted the book so Kurosaki could read the cover. "…Are you serious?" He said with a laugh and Grimmjow grinned. "That's a kids' book you know."

"Oh, so you've read it?" He asked and was highly entertained as Ichigo blushed.

"I read it to Karin and Yuzu." He defended himself, then suddenly stopped with a stricken look. Grimmjow looked up at the sudden silence to see Kurosaki wiping away what looked suspiciously like tears.

"…" The Espada of Destruction really did NOT know how to comfort anyone. The closest he'd ever come was giving his fraccion encouraging nips and a few soft rumbles when they were hurt and running from a larger, more powerful pack. He'd gotten them through that simply by refusing to let them give up. But that tactic wouldn't work here.

Or would it? Grimmjow grinned as an idea occurred to him. He set aside his book and moved over silently while Ichigo was distracted with his grief.

"Uwaaaagh!" Kurosaki flinched away violently as Grimmjow gave him a painful nip on his upper arm. He didn't break the skin but there would probably be a spectacular bruise. "What the hell?!" He yelped, reaching for his sword as the arrancar grinned.

"Physical pain to distract you. Did it work?" He asked and Kurosaki scowled, letting go of his sword to rub his arm.

"If you mean did it piss me off, yes, it did!" He said with a snarl and stood. "Didn't you want to spar?" He said, the desire to maim and murder shining in his chocolate brown eyes. Grimmjow's grin widened as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Hell yes!" Putting the books in a safe spot, he led Kurosaki to the training area. The Kuchiki manor had plenty of guards and shinigami who liked to practice so it was only natural that they'd have a sparring ground. It even had kido shields but they weren't strong enough to withstand a bankai or resurrection. "We can't go all out here." He warned the shinigami who scowled.

"I don't care as long as I can punch your face in." He said and Grimmjow grinned nastily.

"You think you can? Bring it on!" And the fight was on. Sword clashed against sword and Kurosaki had the familiar scowl on his face, but with even more intensity than usual. They started on the ground but soon took to the air, and Grimmjow put everything he had into making the shinigami submit.

The soul reaper's eyes were fading to gold and Grimmjow could sense a slightly different tension building between them. There wasn't much difference between hollows fighting and hollows fucking, and he could feel this starting to go the other way. That was fine by him, but he wasn't going to make this easy for the shinigami. His pride would allow nothing else.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" The usual attack, it didn't come as a surprise. "Bankai!" Grimmjow was willing to go with that, Kurosaki would need his bankai to keep up. But when he put his hand over his face the arrancar scowled.

"No fucking mask! The kido wards can't handle it." He warned, leaping back. Ichigo paused with a frustrated look on his face.

"How the hell am I supposed to beat the shit out of you without it?!" He demanded and Grimmjow laughed. That was a very good question.

"Maybe I'll let you win." He said teasingly, sure that the teen's hollow would understand. But Ichigo definitely didn't from the explosive look on his face.

"Let me win?! You arrogant asshole!" Then he was attacking like a madman and Grimmjow had to fight hard to keep him away. But he loved every moment, loved the loss of control, loved the pure bloodlust in the teen's face. Black was creeping across his eyes and that was perfect too. Kurosaki might not understand what this battle was about but his hollow certainly would.

In the end, Grimmjow did let Kurosaki win. He could have fought harder, could have kept it going longer. But what was the point of that? The privilege of getting to ride the shinigami, rather than being ridden? If they'd both been male there would have been one hell of a difference, but as it was, it hardly mattered. So Kurosaki had him pinned to the ground with that butcher's blade to his throat and Grimmjow grinned, enjoying the thrill of danger and the fury in Kurosaki's face. The kid knew he could have fought harder.

"Well? Are you gonna finish it?" He asked and the fury faded into confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about? You want me to kill you?" He asked and Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"You are thick as a brick, shinigami." Ichigo scowled again but Grimmjow wasn't done. "Let your hollow come out." He made it a command, using the collar on Kurosaki's neck. The teen's eyes widened in horror for a brief moment before flashing over to black and gold. A half mask began to form on his face as he grinned wickedly.

"King is screaming at you, arrancar." A voice of velvety darkness purred before the sword was tossed aside. Grimmjow grunted as a knee landed on his stomach, shoving against his hollow hole in a deliberate gesture of dominance. "He thinks I'm going to kill you. He really is an idiot sometimes." Then the hollow Kurosaki bent down and bit his throat, hard. The blunt shinigami teeth didn't penetrate his hierro but they did make a dent in it.

"Yeah? Well, fuck him. Make my fantasy a reality." Grimmjow purred and the hollow grinned. It was a wide, crazy grin, as unlike Kurosaki's usual expression as possible.

"My pleasure." There was the feeling of a flash step and Grimmjow found himself forced up against one of the trees surrounding the practice field. He could feel the air as his hakama was yanked down, revealing his sex. Hot breath tickled his ear as Kurosaki pressed up behind him, still fully clothed. Fingers slid between his thighs and began exploring, making him groan softly. "You're already wet. Fighting turns you on, doesn't it? Dirty kitty." The hollow purred in his ear and Grimmjow snorted.

"I'm a hollow. What do you fucking think? …Argh!" He grunted as the hollow laughed and hooked his fingers, finding his g-spot. "How the… fuck…?" How had he found it so easily? Grimmjow himself had trouble finding the damned thing, sometimes. "Oh god." He moaned as his insides clenched over that seeking hand. That felt so fucking good.

"Hope you can handle multiple orgasms, kitten." The hollow said mockingly and Grimmjow almost came right then. He whimpered, tearing the bark of the tree with his hands. Then a second hand snaked in front of him and stimulated his cock, gently teasing the oversensitive flesh. Grimmjow yelped as his orgasm ripped through him, his body clenching and unclenching around Kurosaki's fingers. He was left breathless and panting at the intensity of it, then shivered as the hollow breathed in his ear again. "Ready for round two?"

"I can take anything you can give me." Grimmjow said with a growl and the hollow chuckled. There was a brief rustling sound and Grimmjow took an anticipatory breath as his legs were spread a bit further. This would be the first time he'd really done this with his new body. Would it be as good as fingers and toys?

It was. It was every bit as good, or better, when Kurosaki's hollow shoved into him. Grimmjow howled in pleasure, digging furrows into the bark as the teen took him with a harsh, near painful rhythm. The angle of penetration was stimulating his g-spot, although not as powerfully as his fingers had. But Kurosaki's dick filled him up much better than the fingers had and the experience was simply delicious.

"You feel like a virgin in there, so hot and tight." The hollow groaned and Grimmjow rocked his hips back, meeting each thrust with enthusiasm. "Haven't played much with this body, have you?"

"You… fucking kidding… me?" Grimmjow panted out, his body lightly sheened with sweat now. The heavy weight of Kurosaki's chest on his back, the hot length inside him, the hand on one hip and the other on his cock were all driving him wild. This was what he'd been missing for so long, in Los Noches. What he'd tried to capture with his toys and magazines. "You're my… first… shit!" He cursed as his body tightened again, his insides tingling and becoming so sensitive he could almost scream at the glory of it. Then in one hot, primal moment, the tingling flashed over into his orgasm. Grimmjow felt his body spasm, felt the pleasure roll over him and he did scream then, his voice a catlike wail of pleasure. There was a groan and after a series of quick, urgent thrusts the body behind him went still. Grimmjow felt a spreading warmth inside him and sighed. Then his lover slipped out of him with a soft squelch and Grimmjow hissed softly at the loss. Turning around, he saw the mask flaking away and vanishing, black and gold eyes going back to shocked brown.

"You… we… did that…?" Kurosaki sounded like he was going into shock. Grimmjow just laughed, bracing himself against the tree. His legs were shaking and didn't want to hold him up.

"Yeah, we did. Was it as good for… Kurosaki?" Grimmjow blinked as the teen vanished in a burst of shunpo. "…Shinigami." He shook his head and picked up his hakama, pulling the clothing back on.

He didn't understand them at all.