A/N: Konnichiwa, minna! Sorry I'm late posting this, as any of you who've read Dominate Me knows, this weekend was my partner, Silva's, birthday. So, I spent the better part of the weekend celebrating with her. Anyway, tiny, implied lemon in this, but not the full thing. I know, we're such a tease. lol. Enjoy. Ja ne!

Meanwhile, Ichigo was in what they called the living room. It had once been the chapel, with high vaulted ceilings and stained glass and ornate carvings that all looked eerily like either himself or his father. It had bothered him so much that as soon as he'd first seen it he'd decided that if the priests wanted someplace where they could come and pray to him—AKA talk with him—he'd make one. Thus stained glass had been replaced with clear, and long, warm curtains had been hung. Hard, wooden pews were replaced with cushions, couches and chairs. And the vaulted ceiling had been lowered through some careful magicking by Shiro, Aizen and Ulquiorra to create a loft space where meditation could still take place, but wouldn't be in the middle of things, nor have people's conversations interrupting them.

It was on one of these couches that Ichigo lay, holding his wallet, and staring up mournfully at a picture of himself, Shiro, Renji and Grimmjow from the year before. It had been the end of summer, just before the start of fall semester and they'd gone to the beach. Shiro had been burned to a crisp thanks to the sun. Renji'd gotten pinched by a crab. Grimmjow had been dunked by falling—'I was pushed damnit!'—off the dock. And Ichigo, himself, had wound up with sand in more places than he'd known he had. But all in all it was one of the best days of his life, because after that Grimmjow had taken him aside and asked to marry him. The engagement ring was a simple silver band, designed to keep things hidden and in secret, because they hadn't been ready to tell anyone yet, but before they could all of this nonsense with the King and the Four and everything had pushed it to the back burner. So, now, feeling more lonely than he had in years, Ichigo fingered the simple band he never took out of his wallet and gazed longingly at a time that he knew would never come again.

And then all of a sudden there was blue hair. On his wallet, in his face, all over the place—and it was a familiar situation. Before Grimmjow had gotten it cut for their beach trip—'Like fucking hell I'm keeping all this when it's gonna be that fucking hot. Who'd'ya think I am? Renji?'—it had, as it did now, reached his hips, and he frequently caused it to get in Ichigo's way like a soft blue curtain. The reason for this was the abrupt appearance of his cat on the back of the couch, perched delicately on all his paws.

"Mate. Come, nest with me." It wasn't a demand, but it wasn't quite a suggestion either.

Letting the folded leather cover most of his face, wide, lost, tearful eyes looked up at the face the King dreamt about more than saw these days. "Y-you aren't mad at me?" He hated how his voice wavered.

"Don't be silly. I love you." Conquest leaned down, kissing him gently, softly. With the sort of slow heat only he was capable of. "Gin said ya din't mean to," he murmured after the kiss ended. "An' tha' yer no' gonna do it again, if ya can help it. So it'd be stupid to be mad at'cha."

"B-but..." All of his precious control threatened to break. He'd just gotten to the point where he could sit quietly without things falling off of their shelves, or making the weather change. "Ok..."

The orangette's voice was small, but he got up carefully to avoid knocking into the feline. Then started off for their quarters, looking over his shoulder only once when he reached the door to their bedroom hoping that the offer hadn't just been made for nothing. He didn't think he could take it if his lover pulled away from him right now.

The panther had to shift when Ichigo's turn to look altered his stride—he was following so closely on his mate's heels, and walking on his back paws, that he nearly ran into him. He blinked at his mate and gave him a little smile, nuzzling his shoulder.

"Everything is better in the morning after nesting with your mate," the First assured confidently.

"Ok..." Ichigo actually turned around completely and looked up into the cerulean eyes he thought he knew so well. Fear lingered beneath the surface of his own gaze, but he wrapped his arms around his Consort's neck. "I...missed you, Grimm." He watched carefully for the feline's response.

Again with that strange name. Why did he keep calling for that 'Grimm' person? Conquest dismissed it in favor of comforting his mate, nuzzling and kissing him as he picked him up in his arms. He was going to tuck his heart into their nest and not come out until morning.

"I missed you, my love."

The orangette pulled back, "My love?" He echoed. "You never use nicknames like that. You've always called me 'Kitten' or...um..." He blushed deeply, because his blue-haired lover was NOT allowed to use the other one outside of the bedroom, "Strawberry. Are you ok?"

The feline tilted his head. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? And can't I be allowed to get a little…stupid...and mushy," he flushed brightly, "after not seeing my mate for four months? I'd like to think I can be a stupid romantic sap just once," he pouted.

Now that Ichigo had said so, 'Kitten' sounded like a much better name to call his cherished lover.

Ichigo flushed deeper. "No, I guess not. It just caught me off guard. You argued with me so hard about the fact that you hated it when tough guys turned sappy just cuz they found somebody to love."

His infamous 'Grimmjow Grin™' returned for the first time in a long time and he kissed him again—this time hard and fierce, true to his nature, pulling the smaller body up against his own and taking possession.

"Don' get used ta it, Kitten," he purred after they broke for air, "I don' plan on bein' away from ya tha' long often."

That look made him feel about a million times better. "There it is. That's my Grimmjow." He dove in for another, more heated kiss.

Conquest's brief mental question of 'who the hell is Grimmjow' was immediately overridden by his mate's kiss, returning it with equal heat and fervor with his dominant nature thrown in on top as he manhandled his lover into their bed-nest.

Wrapping his legs around the blunette's waist, the King murmured against his lover's lips, "Take your human form...please? I wanna have you fuck the loneliness out of me."

Human form? Which human form? He'd had so many over the years… "I uh...don' think I can. The barbs are already out," he replied, making an excuse. It was true—the barbs on his length were already out, and it would be horrifyingly uncomfortable to shift to human form now, but not impossible.

Ichigo looked down, "...barbs?!" The look on his face was half intrigue, half concern. Then he looked back up. "Barbs." And a dangerous smile crossed his features. He practically purred the subtle order, "Fuck me, Grimmy. Show me what those barbs will do to my prostate."

The panther pushed the King down onto his back, grinning like the predator he was. "Now that's a Directive I c'n happily follow, Kitten," he purred. "You oughta issue more o' those."

His armor disappeared in a flash of light, leaving his very hard, visibly barbed cock ready to go as his claws made quick work of Ichigo's garb.

It was several hours, and several rounds, later, when Ichigo finally called a stop to the love-making. Apparently now, calling the blunette's name made him more interested in fucking the King senseless than anything else ever had. He'd screamed his lover's name with the first orgasm, and that had initiated a second round. Murmuring his favorite nickname had made the feline Horseman carry number two straight into number three, and then number four with hardly any time in between. By now, the orangette was so thoroughly ravished, aching and sweaty, with fluids pouring from his behind equally as congealing and cold as the ones on his belly, that he was sure if he wasn't already knocked up, that would have done it. And now, somewhere around round six—or was it seven? He'd lost count—the panther was mouthing his shoulder, purring and grinding against him.

"Grimm...I know we haven't been together for a while, but...can we not make up the whole four months in one night? Please"

His feline mate raised an eyebrow. "Wha', yer done this early? Ya ain't even gone cooked-noodle-limp yet," he teased.

He was faintly irritated by his mate's constant calling for this damn 'Grimm'. Did he not just fuck him eight times in a row so well his eyes crossed when he came? Was he not enough for his mate? He had to be. He nipped, licked, and nuzzled at his neck, tail curling contently at the man he loved.

"Heh...I'm exhausted. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in four months thanks to getting used to that purr you make when you're content, and for the last two weeks I've been hauled out of bed at dawn every morning to puke regardless of whether I've eaten anything the night before or not. So, how about next time, you carry the kid and I'll get to complain about not having sex a tenth or whatever round." Amusement shone in that tired smile, and though he wasn't exactly grinding against the attention, he certainly wasn't pulling away from it.

That was a good point. His mate was pregnant and shouldn't be unduly stressed. So he kissed him sweetly, pulling away and settling on his side, nipping and laving at his mating bite. "Fair 'nough, Kitten. Let's git some sleep, ne?"

Ichigo turned over, and curled into his Consort's shoulder with a small sigh. He linked his fingers with that strange, half-paw hand and rubbed his cheek against it. Then he held it close like a favored stuffed toy, and murmured, sleep already pulling at his mind, "I love you, Grimm."

That made the horseman's chest stutter and ache. And still his mate confused him for 'Grimm'. Was this stranger using an illusion or spell to make him believe that this Grimm and he were the same?

"I love you, Kitten," he murmured, burying his face in orange spikes. "Never fergit it."

In the morning…in the morning he would go hunting for this, this 'Grimm'.

The next day started as usual, but for one exception, when the King awoke to the pangs of nausea like clockwork, he immediately held out his hand and mumbled without fully waking up, "I wish I had a hot cup of that potion Shiro found for me from yesterday."

Reality rippled and the mug from yesterday appeared in his hand with the same foul-smelling, yet appetizing concoction in it. He downed it in one go, just like yesterday, and finally sat up completely to look around. The bed had been rearranged into a huge, bunched up nest at some point during the night, and his mate was conspicuously missing, but that wasn't too odd. The feline usually woke up first, and often went to clean up or search out something or another.

Unknown to his mate, said feline had gone hunting for this 'Grimm'. He hadn't found any strange scents or leads, so now, very frustrated, he was in the kitchen gnawing on a bit of breakfast. Ham, he thought, but he hadn't been paying the best attention and had just taken whatever the oven had cooked this morning.

Dressing for the day, Ichigo walked through the courtyard and into the common room once his stomach had settled enough for movement.

"Grimm?" He called, uncertain where the blunette had wandered off to, but slightly concerned. He tried to write it off as nerves having been separated for so long, but it niggled at the back of his head.

Conquest's ears flicked, but he didn't reply. He was rather hoping Grimm would answer his mate and come when called for a change, so the First could have a 'talk' with him.

Two more repetitions of the man's name without answer had the King scowling and his pace picked up, until he reached the kitchen, where he saw his lover at the table.

"There you are. Why didn't you answer me? I know you had to have heard me."

The panther gave him the blankest, most confused and frustrated look he'd ever worn, swallowing and shoving his plate aside. "Of course I heard'ja. Why would I answer yer call fer another man?"

"A-another...?" Ichigo's frowned deepened. "I wasn't calling for someone else. I was calling for you. Grimmjow." Was his lover under a spell that he couldn't hear properly?

The blunette grumbled and rubbed his temples. "No yer not. I dunno who th' fuck this 'Grimmjow' is, an' frankly I'm gettin' tired o' hearin' his name, but tha' ain't m'name, King."

"Y-yes, it is." The monarch stammered, blinking. "You're Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, my lover, my other half, the one who keeps me sane when Shiro's going off on his...well, not so stupid anymore...his tangents about magic and shit. You laugh with me, you've fought with me. Hell! You cried with me! After flunking out of school, and being locked in prison, and having to do God only knows what to make rent for the last three years, don't you dare sit there and tell me you aren't who I agreed to marry!" He fumbled with his wallet and slammed the ring down on the table.

He stared at the ring. Hard. The silver shone in his cerulean eyes, and he frowned as he reached out to touch it. The second he did, his pupils shrank to slits and he started to whimper, whining as he withdrew his hand to clutch as his head with both of them, his whine rising to a scream until he curled into a ball and fell silent and immobile. Frozen.

Ichigo's eyebrows arched up in fear, and he clutched his wallet to his chest. Had he issued a Directive? He hadn't felt the power surge he normally did, but he hadn't minced his words either, because it was all true. At least...he thought it was. He hadn't undone history had he? He bit his lip, and reached out tentatively to touch the rounded back of his lover.

"G-Grimm?"

There was no response for several long, frightening moments. "Git...g-git...A...Ai...Aiz-Aizen," he finally managed to force out, body still locked in a ball. The butterfly would know what to do. He would know what was wrong.

Unable to move, the King Called, terrified and using a Name he'd only ever use when this panicked, "Sousuke!"

Aizen appeared with a startled pop! stumbling a bit as he hit the floor, and looking highly alarmed. "Ichigo, what's the matter?"

The orangette simply pointed at the shivering, huddled ball that had been his lover...no, had been someone who he thought was his lover. His head was beginning to hurt, but his heart hurt more.

Aizen frowned, then picked the other up and pressed their foreheads together, looking into his mind. After a moment or two, he stumbled back and swore loudly.

"Fuck! He's gone and forgotten who he is!"

"Wh-which means what exactly?" Stumbling into a chair, Ichigo reached out a hand and the coffee pot poured a cup of the same concoction into the mug that appeared there, in spite of the fact that the liquid in the glass pitcher was actually coffee.

"It means when he Awakened, all of his human lives were shoved aside to make room for his role as Conquest, the First Horseman. As a result, these lives were never integrated into his memory and when he went back to work in that role, he forgot those lives and everything that happened in them. Including his most recent life—his life as 'Grimmjow'. His various lives are all fighting in his memory right now, struggling to be the one he remembers and draws on, and might I add Grimmjow is fighting quite viciously to get back to you, leaving him in this comatose state. I need Shiro for this spell, please summon him."

In the butterfly's arms, Grimmjow whimpered, eyes squeezing shut.

Ichigo sucked in a breath. He'd gained enough control that to summon, as he had Aizen, he needed to use given names, and well, Shiro was very picky about his given name. But Grimmjow needed him, and if what Aizen needed to help Grimmjow was for him to summon his twin, he'd do it, "Kenji"

Shiro was pulled into the kitchen in much the same way as Aizen, a rant already on his tongue. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAFTA TELL YA—!?" The orangette cut him off with a forceful grip on the albino's chin so that he had to look at Aizen and the feline. "Well, shit." Was all he said in response.

"I need the mind-separation spell." The Third explained quickly, setting the cat-who-would-be-Grimmjow in the middle of the kitchen floor once the table had moved out of the way. "I'll set up the spell circles, you look up the spell, we need to move fast before any one life has the chance to win and erase the others."

"Right." Shiro was gone again in an instant, and back with a subtle puff of sulfur-like smoke carrying a thick book opened to a page somewhere in the middle. "I need at least th' Diagram of Achilles an' th' Mantra of Osiris, but ya better include th' Ashvins as well. Karma only knows what kind o' mental soup that feline is carrying 'round an' I want as tight a control over this as possible." He only looked up then, "King, ya better step back. This is some heavy shit an' I don' want m' nephews exposed ta it."

The orangette complied, watching in awe a bit, as his twin dashed around the kitchen collecting herbs and spices that the King had previously only thought of as cooking ingredients.

Aizen's magic was laying out complicated runes and circles and patterns on the floor in a huge circle, surrounding them both with such rapidity it would be amazing if the reason for it wasn't so urgent and worrying. The panther could only rock where he was balled up, keening as his soul was batted between different sets of memories and his mind was torn through over and over.

The albino—no, the Mage watched until the circle was complete. This was his element, his job. He fixed things with the Court, medic, accountant, and psychologist in one—sort of. He nodded to Aizen and he brought the book up in front of his chest, the pages whirring open to the right spell. Then he began chanting in some language Ichigo thought he might understand if he listened harder but didn't try. The appliances all huddled on their counters, watching, as the lights dimmed around the room and a shaft of power illuminated the circle where Shiro stood over the black, white and blue feline with the hand not holding the book stretched out with the palm down. A wind blew within the circle and balls of light began to spiral out of the feline, pulling clumps of fur with them, leaving behind a very naked, very human Grimmjow.

He was still holding his head, rocking back and forth harder now, as Aizen's strong voice joined in with a second chant, in the same almost-familiar language, and he put his hand directly on the blunette's forehead. Both of their heads snapped back, eyes glowing with bright white light, mouths open in a soundless scream.

This was the important part, the climax of the spell. Shiro added his other hand in hovering over his focus, the book suspended in mid-air by the force of the power inside the circle. Both palms glowed brightly, forcing the memories to organize themselves like so many soldiers on a battlefield. The spell grew stronger, heavy with power, and the words became more jumbled as they echoed through the fabric of reality. Reaching a fever pitch, amid the chaos, Shiro's voice rang out, clear and as forceful as Ichigo's, in a solid Directive.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, remember yourself."