Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 1.5
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
Views: 14934 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach nor profit from my works.
Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Just a reminder to the reader, or to those who haven�t read all of POV yet or ignored the author notes. When I placed Sementall and Mareyo together, the only information and visuals we had of her was from an omake, which showed her to be Marechiyo�s younger, teenaged sister, a petite pretty girl somewhere around sixteen. It would be literally years later, long after I had complete but was still posting POV 2, when she would show up officially in the Bleach manga with the appearance and attitude of an eight-year-old child. Therefore, even though I usually avoid adjusting characters to suit my story�s needs, in this instance and because her introduction in PoV2 occurred long before Kubo�s reworking of the canon character, Omaeda Mareyo appears here as a sixteen-year-old.

Sementall and Mareyo

Sometimes it was better, Sementall knew, to rely on one�s blinders rather than try to see around them. They helped one focus on what was important, rather than allowing distractions to overwhelm a warrior intent on a goal.

The carnage, the fire, the violence and the mayhem inside of the walls� all of those things were just that: distractions. His blade dripped blood, but that was only because a few of the dumber Shinigami had tried to purify him upon his entry into the Soul Society. He�d summarily cut them down, treating them as nothing more than yet another obstacle standing in the way of something he wanted very badly.

Strength was all fine and dandy, but hard currency was what paid for luxuries like food and shelter in this place. That was the lesson Kaname Tousen had tried to pound into the heads of the Numeros, in preparation for the day that Aizen-Kami ascended, whatever that meant. Sementall equated that word with �won�, something the ex-Shinigami had done handily in the past. Barragan Louisenbairn�s deposer had promised that his supporters would have plenty of this �currency�, or would have the opportunity to earn it in order to live comfortably. Sementall understood what wasn�t being said. There was no guarantee that �comfortably� meant the same thing to Aizen that it did to Sementall. His gut told him that whatever sum their ruler doled out might keep them in clothing and food, but the rest would be up to them.

The stallion had plenty of power, enough to subdue and rule over the majority of the Plusses here and the majority of the Shinigami. As he ignored everything but the task of getting through the Eastern Gate, he couldn�t help feeling smug. Better to let the Espada haggle over the Noble Houses and the Taichou-level Shinigami attached to them. An ambush predator, Sementall knew better than to try for one of those when it came to pets. Instead, he�d inquired about families with property and hard cash. Tousen had obliged the youthful Hollow, giving him the name of a clan that had produced a few Fukutaichou over the centuries, had a great deal of wealth thanks to their merchant status and hardwired avarice. It was the best of both worlds, in his opinion.

Once past the Seireitei�s high stone walls the restless Arrancar made a beeline for the location of his target�s mansion, his chestnut topknot trailing behind him like a streamer. The sudden quiet, in comparison to the cacophony he�d just left behind, seemed eerie, even if it was a good thing. It meant that he�d beaten the other Numeros to the punch. Almost all of them were engaged with the enemy. With his current head start, Sementall would have no competition for the prize he desired.

He arrived at the main gate to the Omaeda Estate and paused just long enough to use his Pesquisa, to see what kind of opposition he might encounter. He detected only one entity that might be a problem, and that was being generous. The reiatsu levels of the rest barely registered. Then he remembered that a fine house like this probably had servants, fraccion-like Plusses that handled their betters� chores and errands. Their presence was proof of the vast riches this household had at its disposal. It would be best, he reminded himself, to keep from killing too many of them.

Two guards flanked the ornately painted gate. They eyed him apprehensively and both drew their weapons as he strode towards them. When he showed no sign of stopping, they tried to intimidate him by brandishing them, a gesture marred by the growing alarm in their eyes. Evidently, they�d never encountered a Hollow of his caliber before.

�S� s� stop right t� t� there!� the fool on the left stuttered as he levelled his spear at Sementall with trembling hands. The sentry on the right clutched his spear to his chest as if it were some powerful talisman against evil, a gesture undermined by the knocking of the guard�s knees.

Sementall snorted derisively at such a pathetic show and before the visual distortion and sound of his Sonido faded, both lay dying on the ground, gurgling as blood poured from the cuts in their throats. He immediately amended his plan.

�Correction, don�t kill the competent servants.�

Kicking the heavy doors open with one booted foot, he entered his new abode, ending up in the middle of the estate�s main courtyard. The compound was spacious and well landscaped without being so large as to be indefensible. If anything, there were too many statues and fountains amid the late autumn leaves. Used as he was to the cold, grand austerity of Las Noches, Sementall found the architecture and décor overwhelmingly gaudy, though he privately vowed to change the worst of it later. His first priority involved finding a member of the Omaeda Clan to Claim, which would allow him to take over without having to fight another Arrancar, per Aizen�s rules. He�d prefer a female, but a male would do in a pinch�whatever got the job done.

The commotion drew more guards, and Sementall wasted what he considered valuable time cutting down the more aggressive attackers. That, he thought, was a shame, because the ones that showed enough backbone to charge at him had been the ones with the most potential. The rest, knowing they were outclassed, tried to keep the pointy ends of their blade between themselves and him and frantically looked about for a means of escape.

�What in the world is going on out there? What�s this ruckus?� a voice bellowed from the door of the largest dwelling. The individual that stomped in his direction was much like the house: very large and very ostentatious, wrapped in a colorful silk garment that clashed with the color of his, or maybe her, purple hair. The string of pearls around the neck made him think �woman�, but the fur coat thrown around the shoulders screamed �grizzly bear�. The Yammy-esque proportions and the facial features also made determining gender difficult and he eventually gave up trying.

�Who allowed this juvenile delinquent inside? How did you get in, brat?� the eyesore demanded.

The Arrancar, in turn, brandished his sword and resisting the temptation to count exactly how many chins those pearls concealed.

�I�m Sementall Fierro, Seventy-Eighth Arrancar in Aizen�s Army!�

The reiatsu matched that of the only person here that might prove troublesome and he guessed that he�d found one of the family. Was it the head of the household? Tousen hadn�t given him any specific names, only telling the stallion that the most dangerous of the bunch, the Omaeda that currently occupied a Fukutaichou�s position, would likely be elsewhere.

�Omaeda Mareka. Now get the hell out of my house, you miscreant, before I toss you out on your ear!�

Well, he thought, here was the necessary family member, though the idea of Claiming this beast left him utterly cold. He wasn�t certain he could manage it without resorting to his Resurrección and that would just be awkward. Pinning down an opponent would be problematic with hooves, even with the glamour he employed to lure meals to his side. Sementall ground his molars together, determined not to lose a den with such potential because of squeamishness.

�I will be taking this place as my own!�

�You are an arrogant boy, aren�t you,� Mareka scoffed, before drawing a wicked-looking serrated knife from some hidden pocket within the furry coat. The blade was dirty, as if someone had just used it to slice through a side of beef. �I�ll teach you to interrupt my dinner! Evening meals are sacred!�

For someone with more girth than reiatsu, his opponent proved surprisingly fast and flexible. The purple-haired horror suddenly materialized before him and he parried the thrust aimed at his throat, only to have a meaty fist sporting several heavy, gem-encrusted rings strike his jaw. His Hierro took the brunt of the damage, but the punch still knocked him back several paces. Then his foe was on him in a flurry of stabs, jabs and kicks. To his consternation, Sementall found himself on the retreat as each attack pushed him in the direction of the gate. Moreover, with the appearance of one of the heads of the household, a few of the guards recovered their nerve and closed in on him from the left and the right.

Sementall thought for a few awful moments that he might actually lose this fight and any chance at a cushy life. Thankfully, Kami must have had other plans for him. While he tried to keep from giving up any more ground, he spied two more Pluses as they entered the courtyard from the doorway. The first was a heavyset young man, around his own age, with seedy-looking eyes behind a pair of unfortunately styled glasses. He also bore a disturbing resemblance to the Omaeda currently trying to carve him up like a roast. The second was a pretty, slender green-eyed girl who cowered behind him. Because she looked nothing like the others, Sementall wrote her off as a personal attendant to what had to be one of the family heirs.

�Is everything alright?� the chubby one called out worriedly. His opponent�s answer was short and waspish, enough so that both newcomers stiffened at the tone.

�Everything is fine! Marejirōsaburō, take Mareyo with you while I deal with this delinquent. You and you,� and here Mareka left off trying to pummel Sementall long enough to snap orders at two of the closest guards, �do something useful and get my children out of harm�s way, for Kami�s sake! Tell Maremi she�s to stay in the dining room until I get back!�

Faced with the option of staying in the courtyard to face a live Arrancar, several of guards decided to leave the fighting to their superior, their relief glaringly evident. The guards hustled their charges back the way the two had come, falling all over themselves in their hurry to get out of the way of the dueling blades. The furry nightmare snorted in satisfaction and then regarded Sementall as if he were a stain that needed erasing.

�Right, now where were we? Oh yes, I was about give you and that ridiculous hairdo of yours a lesson in etiquette, you filthy hooligan!�

Sementall had to replay the brief exchange, while dodging knife thrusts, before it dawned on him that the creature in front of him was expendable. The revelation that at least two of the younger, less experienced members of the family were in residence heartened him. He could kill this particular Omaeda and decide which of the runts to Claim instead. If he�d heard things correctly, at least one of them was a daughter. Wishing Tousen had given him names, rather than just a headcount, the Arrancar waited until the young man, the girl and their craven escorts had left before flaring his reiatsu in earnest.

Admittedly, the whole �hooligan� thing smarted, as did the �filthy� tag. Sementall knew he looked like a teenager, but that didn�t mean he was a weakling or inexperienced. His pride was also at stake. He hadn�t exactly been toying with the elder Omaeda, but when that serrated knife came at him again, the stallion dropped all of his earlier hesitation. His sword deflected a swipe from the knife and Sementall used the opening that created to aim high, rather than low. The edge of his blade slid between two individual pearls, piercing the monstrosity�s fat neck and severing the threads that held the necklace together. His momentum made certain that it sank well past the point where it ought to have exited. Round, white gems and red droplets fell in a wide arc and he wasn�t certain if the stunned look on his adversary�s face was because of the loss of the blood or the jewelry.

Watching yellow blubber ooze in globules from the wound, followed by a gush of bright red arterial blood wasn�t pleasant. His first fatal stab had gone all of the way through at least three chins, each sporting scraggly purple-grey hairs. The second stab, right through one goggling eye and into the brain, ensured that he wouldn�t have to wait around, tapping his boot, while his foe bled to death. The remaining guards collectively gasped and scrambled backwards. Several servants had also witnessed the fight and he didn�t want to get into anything with them unless it was necessary.

�This Estate and everything in it is now mine!� he shouted, addressing all within earshot and trying to sound as authoritative as possible. �You can go back to your duties, or you can join your former master in death. Choose one or the other!�

Most of them, servants and guards alike, stayed put. A few with the presence of mind to run bolted for the gate and he let them go. Sementall didn�t care, as long as they did not interrupt his hunt. The Arrancar inhaled, trying to determine where, exactly, the boy had gone by scent. It was faint, but he caught a whiff of floral perfume, layered beneath the smell of a meat-heavy dinner. The knife-wielding behemoth had mentioned a dining room and he presumed that was the right place to start looking. As soon as he turned his back on the courtyard and entered the building, sword at the ready, he heard the Plusses behind him converge on the corpse of their late master. Then the noisy lamentations started and he picked up his pace, eager to get away from them.

The need to complete a Claim, any Claim on one of the Omaeda family became much more urgent when he arrived at what he hoped was the right place, from the savoury aromas. The three female housemaids standing in the hall blanched at his approach, lifted their yukata hems and fled. He slid the portal open to discover an opulent meal large enough to feed a reasonably sized pack of Hollows for a week, set for four persons. Wasn�t the husky kid supposed to return here? If so, there was no sign of him, or of the guards with whom they�d left.

Only one of the sitting cushions sported an occupant. Moreover, that the lone diner was flat on her back, her fat face a dark blue color and laying far too still. The sight only added to the sinking feeling in his gut. Sheathing his weapon, he tiptoed over to a younger, equally bloated version of the Omaeda elder, this one with discernible breasts beneath her clothing. The aim was to see if she was still breathing. He even went so far as to hold his hand under her bulbous nose, trying to feel for an exhalation. Then, when that failed, he pushed a couple of fingers deep into the folds of fat around what he thought might be her neck, feeling for a pulse.

Nothing.

Sementall cursed, making a fist and bringing it down hard enough on the laden table to make the dishes and the food they contained rattle. Now he had not one but two dead Omaedas on his hands and if this unfortunate specimen was the aforementioned Maremi, it was imperative that he find the son and cement his right to the manor. It was hard to tell exactly how she�d died, but from the number of empty plates at this end of the low table, his best guess was either choking, or a ruptured stomach. Maybe both. Were all of the Omaeda such gluttons? The evidence so far said �yes� and the Hollow wondered whether he�d be able to keep an erection long enough to initiate a Claim, let alone complete the job.

Standing up straight, and shuddering, he also did some fast math. He�d slain one and the other was dead of asphyxiation. That left two place settings, the noodles on them half-eaten. The young man with the glasses and the tongue twister of a name would account for the third spot, but that left the last diner as an unknown. Tousen had listed six living members of the Omaeda family and Sementall assumed that with Aizen victorious and no Espada on the scene that that individual was dead. Therefore, he still had the mother of this ugly brood and a fourth sibling to root from their hiding places.

Once away from the immediate smell of cooling food, he tried again, trotting down a corridor with far too many scrolls of painted landscapes and calligraphy hanging on the walls. The visual clutter gave him an immediate headache. Halfway to the end of it, he caught another whiff of the same perfume. It had to have come from the servant girl the Omaeda son had with him, since the dead woman in the dining room hadn�t been wearing any. It was too bad that neither of them had the sort of reiatsu that would have made it easy for him to pinpoint their location. His base animal wasn�t a predator that hunted with its sense of smell, but he did his best with what he had.

After several false starts, an unexpected side visit to a hideously appointed bathroom and a lounge he could only describe as a place where a thousand cheetahs had died for the upholstery, he caught the sound of the boy�s voice. Putting his back immediately against the wall, he edged close to the corner and peered around it. The guards he immediately recognized, which meant that his quarry was nearby. Not wanting to tip off his prey, he used Sonido and several sword slashes to eliminate both the retainers and the time they would have had to sound an alarm. All died gurgling, though one got lucky enough to spear Sementall�s sleeve, barely missing the Arrancar�s arm.

He yanked the offending weapon from the cloth of his uniform and put an ear to the door.

�Don�t be a prude Mareyo! You would like �em if you just gave them a chance. I know you would! Come on, read just one chapter with me, please?� he heard a wheedling, nasal voice plead.

�No. How can you call this stuff literature? The pictures alone are awful!� a female answered. Sementall imagined the servant�s nose wrinkling in disgust as she said it, until her next words, and the way she addressed him, made him reassess her role in the household. �Do Papa and Mama know that you have these sorts of books, and why aren�t we with Maremi-nee? Mama told us to go back to the dining room, not your bedroom!�

The throat clearing on the other side of the barrier gave the stallion a few moments to process what she�d just said.

�Mama? Papa? Does that mean she�s� no, I can�t believe it! There must be some mistake! That cute little thing is the last sibling?�

Then a second realization hit him and he glanced over his shoulder.

�Wait� Mama� Kami, was that warthog I faced the lady of the house?�

Shuddering, he put that aside to contemplate later, when he had fewer immediate problems. Moreover, he never learned the young man�s answer, mostly because what patience he had with the situation had dwindled to near nothing. Gripping the wooden edge of the door, he pushed it open and strode into the room. The lighting was less than adequate, but he could still see that two of the bedroom�s walls were lined with shelves that held what amounted to a small army of sculpted dolls no taller than the length of his hand. Most of them depicted cute, simpering human girls wearing pathetically impractical armour and carrying equally impractical weapons. The Arrancar deliberately refrained from comparing them to the likes of Tia Harribel or the Trés Bestias.

�Those women don�t simper� ever.�

Their mutual shock at his entrance told Sementall that he wasn�t the person they expected to see. The girl backed away from him, towards a writing desk, while the smarmy youth dropped the books he�d been trying to press on his sister. The top volume fell open when it hit the floor, spine-first, and the additional light from the yard illuminated the photos on its spread pages. Its owner cried out in alarm and reached for the tome at the same time Sementall got his first good look at the pictures.

He nearly dropped the weapon in his hand when he saw the first photo. The second made his stomach roil when he realized that no, he wasn�t mistake about the age of the child, nor what she was doing to the man in it. Three steps put the Arrancar next to the boy and he snatched the book from the sweating grub�s hands the second the other picked it up. Three seconds was all it took to confirm what he�d seen. Three seconds after that, a black-haired head, complete with its eyeglasses, thumped to the floorboards and a fountain of blood painted all of the figurines on the nearest shelf a bright red. The body once attached to it landed in a heap amongst the rest of the books, the offending paper soaking up the crimson fluid. The girl, Mareyo, gaped at her brother�s killer and tried to stay upright by using the desk as a support.

Manor or no manor, nothing could have compelled him to Claim such scum.

�Disgusting,� he hissed, and then faced what he presumed was the last Claimable Omaeda. A few drops of blood splattered the left side of her pink and white flowered yukata, but she didn�t seem aware of them. Instead, she kept staring blankly at the corpse. Sementall trod through the spreading puddle and gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, making her look at him when he asked, �Has this filth ever touched you in such a manner?�

�I� n... n�no,� she stammered, leaning away from him as much as the desk would allow. He relaxed when he heard that and slid his Zanpakuto into its sheath with a �snap!�

The smell of iron filled his nose, crowding out the young lady�s perfume and he fought the urge to bare his sharp teeth at the body. Though she certainly wasn�t a cub, he could only think of one reason why her older brother would have brought her here instead of the dining room, as his mother commanded. The seedy little fuck had probably thought that with everyone else in the household occupied with an intruder, the time was right to corrupt his younger sibling.

�That�s good.�

�You killed him��

Her whisper sounded oddly loud in his ears. Sementall spat a second time on the dead pedophile�s back and scanned the room, seeing the figurines and the wall full of books in a whole new, sick light.

�It�s a better end than what he deserves!�

His scathing retort came with a vow to purify this place with fire, lots of fire, and maybe he�d salt the earth once the ashes cooled. Then he heard her start to sniffle and turned to find her wiping her suddenly leaking eyes.

�He was still my brother,� she whimpered and the Arrancar rounded on her fully this time, having had enough. One didn�t tolerate or feel anything but contempt for those who would do such things to cubs, human or Hollow and her sorrow at the creep�s fate made no sense to him.

�He was loathsome,� Sementall corrected her and folded his arms across his chest, to drive the point home. �You are no longer required to consider him kin.�

At that point she must have figured out what his presence might mean, because fear replaced the grief on her face, though the shock remained. Her big green eyes took all of him in, from the chestnut coloured ponytail to the mask fragments to the hard-to-ignore hole in the center of his chest. There they stayed, until they finally fixated on the sword at his hip.

�Are you� going to kill me too?�

�No, I need you alive. You are Omaeda Mareyo, right? You sure as hell don�t look like this turd,� he snapped and nudged the body with the toe of his boot for emphasis.

He was reasonable certain she would say �yes�, but it was better to be sure than Claim the wrong person� not that he had many options left. The girl hesitated, and then nodded.

�I�m not pretty, like Mama and Maremi and I�m not terribly strong, like Marechiyo-niisan. Mama says I�ll fill out eventually, but��

Sementall could only stare at her, his left eye twitching at her self-description, as well as her self-depreciation. Was she brain-damaged, or maybe feeble-minded? Did she really consider herself ugly? Was the entire Omaeda Clan delusional? Either way, he was glad that he wouldn�t have to search the remainder of the hideously decorated compound for anyone else and doubly glad that at least this family member bore no resemblance to a wildebeest.

�Sementall Fierro,� he replied, reasoning that an introduction was in order. �By Aizen-kami�s permission, I am taking you for myself as a Claim, as is my right.�

�Aizen won?� she breathed, fear creeping into her voice. �Is that true?�

�Yes. Aizen-Kami is now the ruler of the Seireitei and holds the Spirit King�s Throne.�

�My big brother Marechiyo?�

He almost pointed to the body on the floor, until he remembered that she was probably referring to the eldest of the Omaeda brood. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he shrugged his shoulders.

�Dead, most likely. If he were brought back from the Living World, there would be an Espada here instead of myself.�

In the privacy of his head, he added, �If he was anything like your mother the man would have been here defending his family.�

Her face crumpled at this news and Sementall found that he actually felt bad about delivering it. From the copious amount of tears that welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, he could tell that she�d been close to the deceased Fukutaichou.

�What about� what about my Papa? What about Maremi-nee! You didn�t kill her, did you?�

That took him aback.

�Ah� no. No, I didn�t kill anyone by that name,� he insisted holding up both hands. It was the truth; he hadn�t been the one to stuff whatever had clogged her windpipe into her mouth. As far as her father went, he had no idea where her sire was. If he�d been inside the Seireitei�s walls, the patriarch would be too busy fending off the rest of the invasion force to make it here in time. It would be best if he secured the young woman now, lest her father arrive and decide to try to take back his holdings.

�I refuse to cast a Claim in this place. You will show me to your personal quarters.�

For a moment it looked as if she was about to refuse, but between the glare he gave her, her revulsion for the books and her inability to look squarely at the corpse, it didn�t take long for her to bow her head and hurry towards the door. Sementall followed, pausing only long enough to send a series of Ceros into the room, aiming for the body. He would return later to purge the rest of it with fire. Mareyo came to a halt when she saw the dead guards, but a push from him got her moving again.

Her reactions were that of an overly sheltered cub, even if she was no longer a child. None of the servants they encountered on their way to her chambers was foolish enough to challenge him and the few that tried to get Mareyo�s attention scurried off when he flared his reiatsu. One even fainted, falling face-first to the hall floor.

They eventually arrived at a room that could only have belonged to someone that loved pink to the exclusion of all other shades. The ruffles were an interesting touch, though what really set this room apart from the others were the various pictures, figurines and drawings of horses. Thousands of white, embroidered ponies gamboled across the bedspread of a large, four-poster bed, complete with a matching dust ruffle and canopy. The motifs pleased him. Maybe he would enjoy having this girl as a pet after all, if she held all equines in such high regard.

�What did you do to my mother?� Mareyo asked once they were alone in her room. His hand froze as he fiddled with the latch that would keep the door closed, but the truth was out of his mouth before he stopped to think about what kind of effect it would have on her.

�I killed her.�

She would have found out eventually, so there was no use in hiding what had happened, though in his defense he added, �She would not stand down. I warned her.�

Unfortunately, that was the last straw. Mareyo�s complexion took a turn for the gray and she collapsed onto the elaborate, four-poster bed, sobbing into the satin coverlet. Sementall shifted from one foot to another, uncomfortable with the display of raw sorrow and unable to do anything about it, as he was the cause. Omaeda Mareka might have been ugly as sin itself, but at least she�d fought him honorably, in defense of her den and deserved some respect for it.

�Plus souls bury their dead, right?�

He softened his tone when she sniffled and hiccupped, trying to get her crying under control. Eventually, she looked up at him, her eyes and nose reddened and rubbed her yukata sleeve across her face to dry a relentless stream of tears.

�We have funeral rites� it�s a ceremony, to say goodbye,� Mareyo said thickly and Sementall sighed. This wasn�t exactly how he�d pictured his takeover of the Omaeda mansion going. In an effort to salvage things, maybe a small concession was in order.

�Then we will arrange such for her, in whatever manner you find pleasing.�

There were a few more minutes of tears on the girl�s part and he had to fight the urge to Claim her, before anything else could go wrong or intrude on what should have been a triumphant moment for him. Mareyo�s sobs slowly turned to shuddering breaths and she eventually pushed her body into a sitting position. She also reached for one of her fluffy, pony-embroidered, pink-frilled pillows and hugged the thing to her like a shield.

�Thank you. What is going to happen now? You said that Aizen won. What does that mean for the rest of us?�

This he could answer. Sementall squared his shoulders and stood straighter. His wiry build wasn�t as impressively muscled as some of the other Arrancar, but in this instance, the display was meant to convey all of the confidence necessary for a pack leader.

�In order to hold your estate, uncontested by any other Arrancar, I must Claim you myself.�

�You mean, like you want to marry me? To legitimize your stake on our ancestral home?�

He blinked at the assessment. It was more straightforward and accurate than he expected from a mere Plus, though her phrasing contained at least one unfamiliar word.

�What do you mean by �marry�?�

It was her turn to act surprised and she worried her lip between her teeth before explaining the term, which turned out to be more of a recitation. Sementall suspected that it was something someone else had taught or forced her to memorize, rather than gaining the knowledge from actual experience.

�Marriage is when two people exchange vows, agreeing to be life partners and faithful to each other in a ceremony. They consummate the union,� and here she paused and her already red cheeks darkened by a few shades, �that night and children soon arrive thereafter. It�s usually a love match, but sometimes families arrange marriages for political and financial reasons, especially with the greater and lesser nobles and many of the wealthier families. Marriages and children often help stabilize relations and build alliances between clans.�

The first definition sounded like a Mating Claim, whereas the other more closely resembled what he�d planned, at least as far as her riches were concerned. The rest was an unknown and maybe even irrelevant. He didn�t know if Mareyo would, or even could bear him children. He was a Hollow and she a Plus. There were bound to be a few problems on that front. Still, what she lacked in reiatsu she made up for in beauty and if he were careful, he�d get to enjoy her in bed, something he wanted to implement immediately.

�Claiming is more like the second, without the rituals and the promises.�

Mareyo looked away, twisting her hands in her lap as if trying to screw up enough courage to ask him another question. When it came, her voice was stronger, though still watery from all the crying.

�So� what happens with a Claim?�

�When one Hollow defeats another, the winner can either kill or Claim the loser, though sometimes the winner will take the loser�s pack instead. It is very common to fight over females, since they are rare and therefore prized. When the battle is over, the victor pins the conquered Hollow and mounts the vanquished from behind. He then pumps his power into the other, taking a piece of the lower�s power and leaving a little of their own power behind. If a female wins the fight, it�s a little different, but the result is the same. A Claim binds the loser to the victor�s will. It is a way to ensure loyalty from them.�

Mareyo�s eyes grew larger he spoke and to his dismay, all of the fear was back.

�You mean that you just rape the loser? Is that what you plan on doing to me?�

She tossed the pillow aside and scrambled off of the bed, ready to run. With his best chance to secure a comfy den about to make a break for it, Sementall acted out of desperation. He reached down deep and let the glamour that was his in his released state out. It wasn�t much, but he needed her to calm down, before she died of fright or did something to hurt herself. Most Plusses were delicate and required careful handling. If he screwed up and scared her to death, he doubted he�d find a better place without having to put up a nasty fight.

�It is not really rape to a Hollow, unless I take you face-to-face against your will.�

�What�s the difference?!�

�It�s the eyes,� he replied and tried not to roll his at her complete naivety. Desirable as she was, her fragility was a complication. He could grab her, flip her over, remove her clothing, and take her now, but he feared doing so might result in her premature death, much as a mouse caught in the claws of a cat. Allowing more of his power out might be risky, but it would keep her from panicking and its mesmerizing effects would dull any terror.

He sat down on the bed and patted it, wanting her to join him. After a moment, she did so, sitting as far away from him as she could. He let it go for the moment and tried his best to explain what ought to be an exasperatingly simple thing.

�Most of us Hollows have masks that cover everything but our eyes. Vasto Lordes and Arrancar, like me, are the exceptions. The eyes are windows into the soul, or rather, into the soul that controls all of the other souls we�ve ever eaten. Among Hollows, only mates take each other in a position that allows them to look into one another�s eyes. Besides, I didn�t hear you say that marrying for politics was any less valid than marrying for affection. The vows are the same in both cases, right?�

His power had begun to take effect, because she stopped shaking and seemed to consider the points he�d brought up. Green eyes, half-hidden beneath her lowered lashes took on a certain sheen that had nothing to do with the waterworks she�d displayed earlier.

�What happens after you� after you Claim me?�

�Everything you own becomes mine as well. I do not have much knowledge on the running of estates and businesses, so you would be in charge of such things. The only thing I care about is living in comfort, and occasionally enjoying the spoils of war.� He offered her a charming smile, meant to put her at ease, and then frowned when she refused to look at him. Mareyo�s fingers worked the silk of the yukata she wore, twisting the fabric round and round in her lap.

�If I agree, you won�t hurt the servants, will you?�

That took him aback, as did her miserable tone.

�I take it they serve your family. That makes them like� well, pack members. We call weaker Hollows that serve �fraccion�. I won�t have a problem with them unless they give me trouble or try to harm either you or me. If there are any you want gone, tell me. As I said, I will leave those things to you.�

�You won�t kill Maremi-nee or Papa either, if I agree?�

�Sure. I promise I won�t harm a hair on your sister�s head and I�ll go easy on your father.�

Sementall deliberately refrained from promising anything else. If the servants wanted to leave, he wouldn�t stop them. Fewer mouths and all that, plus he wouldn�t have to worry about looking over his shoulder every five seconds. The sister had ceased to be an issue and if her father survived and showed his face� well, he�d deal with the man when and if he became a real problem.

They sat in silence after that and he wished he could shift into his released state. It would have been so much easier. She�d be putty in his hands, or hooves, if he did.

�So, this is the part where you force yourself on me?�

She sounded utterly defeated and her insinuation stung. Sementall frowned and �hmphed� at his implied lack of desirability.

�Look, I�m not going to lie to you. If not me, another Arrancar will see this Estate and he�ll decide he wants it. He probably won�t be as nice about Claiming you either. You�d be a plaything for him and that�s all. Really, I�m your best bet.�

Tears welled yet again in her eyes, but this time some resolve accompanied them, and when she started to undress, he knew he�d won. Mareyo trembled as she undid her obi and he saw her take several deep breaths. When she allowed her yukata to pool just below her breasts, he couldn�t help admiring them. They were perky, round, as pink as the rest of the room and begged to be touched. He couldn�t wait to squeeze them. Just thinking about tasting them made more than his spine stiffen.

�I will try my best not to hurt you,� he promised as he toed off his boots and fumbled with the sash around his waist. Mareyo kept her eyes averted, but murmured �okay� as she continued to strip. When the last of her clothing, including her sandals and tabi, hit the floor, she moved to the center of the bed and did her best impression of a turtle, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms tightly around her shins.

He crawled onto the bed after her, gently grasping one of her wrists with his hand. Mareyo flinched at the touch, but she didn�t resist. Then he grabbed the other and pressed both of them into the pillows resting against the headboard. One of his knees nudged her legs apart and he knelt between them, his thighs keeping her from closing them.

The view was spectacular and it would have been better if she hadn�t turned her head to the side and screwed her eyes shut. It was as if she expected that he was going to hit her or something, because her breathing became shallow.

�Leave your hands there. I�m going to prepare you.�

Lifting his hands away from her wrists, he was gratified when she complied, though she soon had a death-grip on the pillows. White-knuckled, she refused to look at him at all.

That was fine. It wasn�t as if he�d be making eye contact with what he had planned. His calloused fingers traced long lines down her body, stroking her breasts and causing a few quick convulsions when they hit ticklish spots just below her ribs. Finally, they reached the soft, neatly trimmed curls that covered and framed her sex. Mareyo whimpered when he parted her nether lips and gave her an experimental stroke with a fingertip. She was bone-dry and he made a face. Mounting her now would result in pain and possible tearing.

He had told her that he was her best option and rushing this would make a liar out of him. If she struggled, out of a desire to escape any hurt he inflicted, he might irreparably damage her and he didn�t want to risk that. Filling her with reiatsu would be dangerous enough.

Wrestling with his temper and instincts, he breathed on the skin just below her navel and pushed her thighs farther apart. The mixture of feminine musk, mixed with whatever perfume or lotion she�d used that day, hit him in a rush and his nostrils flared.

�Lay back and I�ll get you ready. Don�t fight it.�

In truth, he had only one or two other recollections, from his nights as a solitary carnivore, of doing this with another female Hollow. In those instances, he�d not only eaten them �out�, but �up� as well, satiating two different sorts of hunger with each encounter. This was different and he proceeded accordingly. Sementall waited until he determined that she wasn�t going to hyperventilate or faint on him in the next five seconds before diving between her legs with his tongue.

Slathering her sex with his saliva was the first order of business. Mareyo shivered and squirmed at this first contact, but she didn�t try wriggle away from him. The young woman�s thighs tensed and pressed against his ears and the Arrancar quickly raised her hips higher. That forced her legs wider and allowed him to delve deeper. The whimpers he heard when he toyed with her clit made him wonder if she�d ever touched herself before.

Before long, those whimpers turned to barely audible �ohs,� particularly when he slid his tongue into her newly wet entrance. Not all of the moisture he tasted within came from his mouth. Pulling back, he licked his lips clean. Without further ado, he placed his hands on her hips and turned her on her stomach. Hazy green eyes snapped open as he maneuvered her into an acceptable position and yanked not one, but two of the pillows on which she�d previously lain beneath her hips.

�Wha� what are�?� Mareyo stuttered, still not quite �all there.� Sementall was more than ready to finish this and ignored her words. He quickly grasped her hips and rubbed the head of his shaft against her slippery sex. That seemed to bring her back to her senses, because she flinched when he pressed the tip into her. There it met with both a tightness that was just short of unholy and some resistance. She trembled and he stopped short, though it took all of his willpower not to fill her immediately.

�Are you a virgin?� he asked breathlessly.

She nodded vigorously, eyes still tightly shut and her grimace, half-hidden in the bedding, told him all he needed to know. �Sheltered� didn�t begin to describe her. �Cloistered� was more like it. That was a pleasant surprise and unthinkingly, his fingers dug into the smooth skin. It was too much pressure for her delicate body and she jerked painfully in his grip. Sementall immediately dialled back his strength and muttered an apology.

There was no easy way around it, so he didn�t bother. With one push, he buried his cock inside her, unable to suppress a groan. Mareyo cried out at the loss of her virginity and fresh tears trickled from the corners of her eyes, the droplets leaving dark pink circles on the coverlet. Her spine went rigid as he grazed her cervix, plunging as far into her soft, wet warmth as he could go. Finding a completely untouched female was more than he�d dared to hope for when he�d picked the Omaeda Clan as his target and he wanted to crow about his good fortune.

The unreal constriction was so good that he began pumping into her instinctively. He almost forgot to hold back, rocking into her repeatedly and groaning. It had been so long since he�d done this that he didn�t think he could endure more than a short round with her. Thankfully, he�d have plenty of time to build up some endurance, when he didn�t have a Claim to cast and he could spend a few quality hours between her spread legs. Most of all, he thanked Kami that the girl�s mother and sister hadn�t been his only choices.

�It hurts,� Mareyo whimpered. Her wavering voice wrenched him away from the temporary bliss that had descended on him and he looked down to find her white-knuckled hands clutching the bedding. Realizing his mistake, he paused and spent a minute rubbing her lower back and stroking her shoulders, trying to get her to relax enough for him to proceed. The glamour might work to lower her inhibitions, but at this level, it couldn�t block pain.

�The first few times will be uncomfortable until you adjust to fit me better. It�ll feel good soon, I promise��

With that, Sementall took a deep breath and used it as a distraction, bending forward far enough to brush her tawny mane of hair to the side. Even the back of her neck was pretty, a slender column just waiting for his mark�

Taking pity on her, he resolved to end things quickly. The whines emanating from the back of her throat swiftly turned to startled gasps, which dwindled into pleasure-laden moans as he resumed his thrusts, adding as much reiatsu as he thought safe with each deep slide forward. When his left hand snaked around her torso, cupped a breast and pinched her nipple, her channel suddenly grabbed his shaft and she pushed back against him involuntarily. The stallion took that as his cure to finish. Biting down on the back of her neck, he let go and allowed the rush of his orgasm to take him. Her blood and her reiatsu tasted lively for all its comparative weakness. Omaeda Mareyo was utterly delicious, as was the wail that accompanied her climax. Placing his hand against her belly, he felt the muscles under his fingers contracting in time with the pulsing of her insides.

It was difficult to say how long he remained inside of her, but his erection inevitably softened. He slid out and removed his teeth from her neck, licking the wound a few times to soothe it before untangling their bodies. Her hips remained draped over the pillows and he was gratified to see a thin ribbon of white trickled down the inside of her right thigh.

�You, and everything you are attached to, are mine now,� he purred as he rolled over, stretching in post-coital bliss. Sementall wanted to take her again, once they�d rested and she�d had some time to come to terms with her new status as his pet. A day or two at most. Any longer than that would be unthinkable, he reasoned as his gaze settled on her flushed, naked body and dazed face.

With his Claim solidified, he also felt an odd jumble of grief, confusion, fear, shame, pleasure and guilt, layered with the fading vibrations of what he suspected was her very first orgasm. It took several minutes for Mareyo to sort herself out and when she did, she crawled to the far corner of the bed. There she curled up and used as many pillows as she could grab to create a barrier between them. The blanket at the foot of the bed went over the top, until all he could see of her were those green eyes, staring at him over the wall of the world�s most pathetic fortress.

�You won�t hurt the others now, right?�

�This again�� he thought with some irritation and rolled over to lie on his side, propped up on one elbow.

�Not unless they do something stupid, nor will I let any other Arrancar attempt to harm you, or those that serve the estate. You have my word.�

He meant it. He�d even spare that sire of hers if he came sniffing around, though all bets were off if the ass tried to kill him. No one was going to wrest his herd from him and live to brag about it. That left him with ensuring his property obeyed, starting with taking care of her body.

�Get some sleep,� he suggested. �Claiming is tiring business. You will feel better in the morning.�

He could have made her do it, but he wasn�t certain how she would react to the loss of control. Instead, he pushed his natural ability the best he could, letting it calm her slowly, until exhaustion and shock at the cumulative events of the day proved too much for her. Once she was asleep, it was easy to keep her that way as he dismantled her temporary blanket shelter and pulled her limp body against his. There was no resistance and no sign of any disturbances outside that might signal that the staff or a raging father was about to mount a rescue effort.

His pet would accept her fate and her place in his bed in time, but it wouldn�t be this bed, or this room. He�d find more suitable quarters after he rested. This bastion of ruffles was far too pink and frilly for his tastes. Sementall would leave this room to her as a personal sanctuary. The rest of the Omaeda Estate� no, the Fierro Estate, would see a dramatic round of redecorating come morning, beginning with the nastiness in her older brother�s smouldering room.

Huge hugs to those of you that took the time to review. This is the last ready to go chapter so I have no promises on updates from here on out, or that they will be posted in a chronological order.

Anon:

Question 1: Jushiro�s issue with virginity was addressed in the main story. Sum it up RK to save the searching, his illness was a major turn off and after that he just got too busy with his job to really find a woman to court. Shunsui�s flirting as always seemed more out of amusement and not that he actually slept with everyone that had a skirt.

Question 2: No where has Grimmjow ever raped Karin. The best I can think of as to where you even got the idea was in the chapter where they first had sex face to face. Karin was the one to initiate it and Grimmjow did nothing to stop her from doing so. After that he started to think of their deal, one Karin originally proposed, as less about getting back at Ichigo and, subconsciously at least, begin to think of her as a mate.
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Prize of Victory 1.5	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 14934 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach nor profit from my works.

Prize of Victory 1.5