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Prize of Victory	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 87205 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make profit from this snippet

Chapter List
- 105
- 106
- 107
Happy Occurrences

Szayel looked at his fingernails and grimaced. He was really going to have to stop biting them. He�d picked up the unfortunate habit in the last two weeks and it was either chew on his own fingernails or chew on some other body part that he might actually need more than he needed nails.

Today was the day. After a fortnight and extra man power, every pole ought to finally be in the correct position. He had personally spent the last seventy-two hours straight walking the entire line of poles that surrpunded the massive city, double checking each set of coordinates and the placement of each pillar. His feet and brain ached from that long trek and from having had so little sleep, as well as from staring at computer monitors for hours. Yet here he was, fully alert and very, very nervous.

He looked over the numbers for what seemed like the fiftieth time, but they didn�t change. Nothing changed. This should work. There was no reason it shouldn�t unless someone suddenly sabotaged one of the poles, be it a dissenter or the Swarm.

It simply had to work, or Szayel doubted, given the reiatsu he felt approaching, that he�d see another sunset. Hueco Mundo had no sunsets and he found he�d developed a liking for them during the near decade he�d spent in the Seireitei. Not to mention he greatly desired to actually meet and study his offspring. That would prove a little hard to do if his head was stuffed, mounted and hung as a warning at the Royal Palace.

�Are we ready?� Aizen asked, wasting no time in getting to the point as he entered the room.

Only a fool would have taken it as a real question. Szayel knew there was only one answer that Kami wanted to hear and so he gave the one expected of him. He nodded, not trusting his voice to keep from failing him. His rear still ached a little from the caning Karin had been forced to give him two weeks ago. The bruises were just starting to fully fade, leaving ugly, mottled yellow and green patches all over his backside and thighs.

�I would hope so, because if you fail this time, I will personally see to it that you and your Mistress pay dearly for it. I was thinking of dragging you to your own bedroom and making you watch while I took her violently for myself on your own bed while using my Zanpakuto to force your own body to experience the most intense pleasure you have ever felt.�

Szayel considered what Aizen had just said. That would have been unpleasant, but it wasn�t an outcome that would physically harm him too much. It would hurt emotionally to see the woman who cared so deeply for him suffering, and he had personal experience on just how bad Aizen could make it hurt, but it hardly seemed like the kind of trauma Kami-sama was known to inflict.

� Then, when I finished with her,� Aizen continued, � I was toying with the idea of covering you in her blood and leaving you both there for your Master to find,� Aizen smirked at him.

Szayel could almost feel his heart stop when he heard the casually-made threat and had to forcibly keep himself from shivering. As it was, a cold spot seemed to form in the pit of his stomach from the horror he felt as he pondered what the ensuing carnage such an act would cause. If Grimmjow truly had held his Claim, he would have quickly assumed that Szayel had forced himself on his mate, simultaneously getting a heady dose of pleasure from him and fear and terror from her.

�I could never harm Karin-sama thanks to my Claim enforced orders, no matter how much I could ever desire to do so,� he pointed out weakly.

Even though he knew that, should Aizen make good on that threat, it wouldn�t quite play out as Kami intended, the end result would still be just as unpleasant for all involved.

�Perhaps, but do you honestly think someone as volatile as Grimmjow is will pause long enough to consider logic when he sees his beloved mate sobbing brokenly in your bed and you decorated in her blood?� Aizen replied nonchalantly, as if he were asking whether or not he thought it might rain tomorrow.

Szayel swallowed nervously and considered the possibility from that angle. Grimmjow was far smarter than Aizen gave him credit for. The Sexta Espada had calmed down considerably over the years thanks to Karin and Ajuga�s presence in his life. He was not the same volatile, easily-enraged Arrancar he had been ten years ago.

But Grimmjow still had a fearsome temper, one that flared up whenever his mate or daughter was involved. Szayel was well aware of the kind of brutality Aizen was capable of. He had no doubt that the amount of terror and anguish Karin would be sending Grimmjow through their Claim would send her mate into a feral rampage. All of that destructive aggression would need an outlet and Karin would be in no condition to defend him from her mate.

Worse, his own pleasure would hit Karin and he could not imagine what kind of emotional damage it would do to be in excruciating pain while being raped and being forced to feel intense pleasure at the same time as well. At least when Aizen had forced himself upon Szayel he had felt nothing but pain as he was raped. To have to feel intense pleasure at the same time�

No, it was better not to think about that possibility. More precisely, he didn�t want to think about it.

�Well, hopefully I won�t be required to take such measures, now will I?� Aizen said, with that same false, genial smile that always managed to set Szayel�s nerves on edge. �Now, my Espada, activate the Net.�

He gave a bow before turning back to the main console, feverishly hoping that this would work, sending out prayer after prayer to whatever true gods might exist that everything was in order. With a finger that shook violently, he hit the last button that would, initiate the grid�s activation sequence.

�Please, if anyone is listening, please, please, please let everything work� for all our sakes.�

All around the city, the silver poles rose several hundred feet into the air, just as he�d hoped they would. So far so good. With one last, desperate, silent plea, he typed in the last command. At first nothing happened and he felt a second of utter terror spike through him. Then the glowing, azure lines of energy between each pole shimmered into being, one by one, until the entire city appeared to be surrounded by a very large, electric blue, Kido version of a chain-link fence.

It worked.

Oh, Kami, it really works�

�Very good,� Aizen said, then nodded in approval a few minutes later before closing the distance between them and resting a hand on Szayel�s shoulder. �I knew you just needed the correct� motivation.�

With that Aizen turned and strolled out of the laboratory, leaving Szayel weak in the knees and leaning heavily on the console for a moment or two. The fear retreated, with his gut in shambles and his breath uneven as a result. In its place was a sense of giddy awe that made him sink to the floor in both relief and a sort of half-hysterical joy.

It worked. After all of the time and trouble and blood and sacrifices he�d made for the thing, it finally, blessedly, perfectly worked.

From his spot on the floor, Szayel Aporro Grantz stared at the grid on the screen with a growing sense of satisfaction and glee.

It worked, and it was beautiful, so very, very beautiful.

Then numbers began scrolling across several screens on the console and he got to his feet in a flash. It didn�t take long for him to quickly lose himself in the incoming data. He grew so lost, in fact, that he nearly jumped out of his uniform when Karin spoke up behind him. He�d never even heard her come in.

�What was up earlier? I almost left my post to come see what had you in such a tizzy.�

The concern in her voice was real enough. Szayel ran his hand with its chewed nails through his hair, now finally regrown and let out a long breath.

�Aizen-Kami was just here to make sure the grid went up without a hitch,� he answered, trying to keep his voice steady and his emotions steadier. He really did not want to mentally revisit Aizen�s intentions had the grid not worked.

But it did, he reassured himself. It did and for the moment, he and Nemu and their twins and the whole lot of them would be spared Aizen�s wrath.

�Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening, whoever you are, thank you��

�And his visit warranted that much terror?� Karin asked him suspiciously.

He gave an inward cringe and forced himself to completely calm down. Karin was far more perceptive than her mate and not afraid to ask probing questions that would force him to reveal more than he cared to.

�He may have added a few threats about what failure would bring this time,� Szayel answered reluctantly, silently cursing her for preventing him from outright lying to her.

Her Claim did not, however, keep him from being deliberately vague about the nature of those threats. He thought it best to keep the worst from her, to let her think the threats had been meant entirely for him. Aizen was correct about one thing. He truly did not need a concerned Grimmjow on his doorstep at present, drawn to the Science and Research Division by a mate upset at Aizen�s, thankfully, unfulfilled plans for her.

�I suppose that would do it,� she agreed, her eyes on the screen and thankfully not on him. �Honestly, I was expecting to walk in here and find you in a pool of blood on the floor, or something,� she admitted. There was an undercurrent of concern for his well-being and relief that she wasn�t going to have to patch him together again in her tone.

�That, Karin-sama, would have been a light punishment compared to what he had in mind for us,� he thought, and then inwardly shook himself. �Not today, thankfully. If you will excuse me, Karin-sama, I have a great deal of data to look over, just in case��

The grid had only been up a short time and while everything seemed to be functioning perfectly, he didn�t want to take any chances. She seemed to notice his lack of enthusiasm for any further elaboration, then shrugged and sighed.

�Of course. Make sure you get some rest though,� she chided, and he even felt a twinge on his Claim, meaning it was a direct order and she was going to make damned sure he followed it. �You have been up for some time. Nemu can look over most of this stuff for you, Szayel. Sitting down and interpreting data isn�t going to have an effect on the chrysalises,� Karin said firmly.

�Of course,� he agreed and then squinted as the numbers on the screen blurred unexpectedly. He realized, too late, that he�d forgotten about the adrenaline surge caused by Aizen�s unwelcome visit, and that as it worked its way out of his system, it would leave fatigue in its wake.

Szayel felt himself sway a little on his feet as he suddenly became light-headed. Then a pair of hands braced him from behind, keeping him temporarily upright. He heard Karin shout out for one of his underlings and after a few very annoying minutes, those same hands forced him to sit down in a chair.

�Szayel��

Karin was aggravatingly right, as usual. He was nearly dead on his feet and the more reasonable part of him knew that he was going to be useless until he got some real sleep. Sleep, thankfully, would now come a bit easier, now that he was free� free from the fear of Aizen attacking either him or his family because the Net had failed. It had held and for the moment, they were all out of danger.

�Perhaps, Karin-sama, you�re correct. I think a nap is in order,� he grudgingly admitted, annoyed at how exhausted he sounded.

She made a face at him and rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. He heard her instruct the Division member who had brought the chair to find Nemu. Unable to resist, Szayel leaned his head against the chair�s back and closed his eyes.

It worked. The grid worked, it was up, the Kido connections were intact and functioning� it was perfect in almost every way. The only unknown was whether or not the net would fully repel the Swarm, but for now, he could relax.

Karin was correct. Nemu could look through most of this and the data wasn�t going anywhere. It was his last thought before weariness claimed him and Nemu arrived to find him unconscious in his chair.

Karin returned home feeling as if a train had hit her. It had been a long, emotional day; doubly so for her. Not only did she have Aizen�s threat hanging over her head to punish her should her �pet� fail again, but the emotional baggage of a terrified Szayel running down the Claim towards her compounded the issue. It took a lot of concentration to keep that dual burden from being transmitted to her Mate and making things even worse.

Watching the grid go up and spring to life had sent a surge of relief through her, and not just because it meant they had avoided an unpleasant time with Aizen. If this thing performed the way that Szayel said it would, it meant that her family, friends, and subordinates would be safe. If the Swarm was interested in her, then there was a good chance they would also be interested in her daughter should the damn bugs ever learn of her.

Assuming the Defence Net was successful at repelling the Swarm, she wouldn�t need to fret and worry about a lone bug getting past the lines and bringing harm to those she had come to care for. There would be no need to bury the dead from her Division, nor a need to comfort the horribly maimed and wounded (arguably a worse fate).

�Mama!� Ajuga greeted her happily, bounding up to her and throwing her arms around Karin�s legs.

�Hey there, Ajuga-chan,� she said, looking down at her child, all dark thoughts instantly banished. They could wait until tomorrow. For now, she was home.

Karin noticed right away that there were a few flecks of dried leaves and a small twig or two tangled in her daughter�s hair. Her fur was smudged in dirt, indicating she had been rolling about in the thicker foliage of one of the gardens. It would seem that she was going to have to corner Grimmjow into giving their daughter a bath tonight.

�Have you been good for Orihime-chan today?� she inquired with mock sternness.

�Yep!� her child replied, in a surprisingly good mood.

Karin picked her daughter up and finished walking to the garden where Orihime was busy picking and brushing out dried leaves and small twigs from Diaemus�s hair. Clearly the children had been wrestling together and, by the looks of things, Diaemus had come out on the bottom. That might, Karin thought, explain her daughter�s upbeat demeanour.

�Good afternoon, Karin-chan,� Orihime greeted, her expression brightening. �Did everything go alright today?�

Karin nodded and, from the relieved look on Orihime�s face, she knew she wasn�t the only one who had her hopes pinned on the Defence Net�s successful launch.

�Yes, it appears to be up and holding. We won�t know how well it works until the next battle, but so far everything seems to be functioning properly,� Karin answered as she set her daughter down, then gestured towards Diaemus. �I see these two were trying to flatten all of the plants in our garden.�

Diaemus remained sitting still while his mother talked and continued to clean out his thick mane of hair that so resembled her own, trying to get the tangles out of it.

�Kids do that,� Orihime agreed and discarded another leaf she�d pulled from the strands near the base of his neck. �I thought Ulquiorra would have been against it, but he actually thinks it�s a good idea for them to wrestle. Something about it being early self-defence training or something.�

�Makes sense to me. Most predators� cubs do similar things. I know it�s cute when kittens play, but it�s all just practice for hunting.� Karin agreed with a shrug. �What time do you need to be home?�

�In an hour or so. I have to prepare dinner.� Orihime�s smile widened and then the young woman tilted her head back, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. �It is so nice to no longer be under house arrest. If the Defence Net holds maybe I won�t need the escort all over the place anymore,� she chuckled.

�At least you weren�t practically imprisoned and forbidden from moving more than three feet when Diaemus was born,� Karin chuckled, remembering her own mate�s overbearing instinctual need to keep both her and their offspring safeguarded.

�True. Five years of being locked away on principle was enough, however,� Orihime shuddered.

�Touché,� Karin agreed, pulling a face when she considered those years and what Orihime must have had to deal with..

She recalled the time that she and Yuzu had been sequestered in the small house Grimmjow had claimed right after the war. Her experience of that time had differed from Orihime�s in that Grimmjow had thankfully expected nothing of her or her sister except to stay put and act as bait for their brother. While she�d found the role of �bait� boring, it didn�t hold a candle to what Orihime and Tatsuki had to endure.

It had been a long time since Karin had seen either of her siblings. She wondered if they even knew about Ajuga, if Yoruichi or if the two Vizards that she and Ajuga had run into had ever told her siblings about their niece. The next time she spotted the transforming cat she would have to ask. Unfortunately, she had no idea when that would happen. Yoruichi kept to her own schedule, that was certain. The only thing Karin could count on as far as the cat was concerned was that at some point, she would show up.

�Welcome home, Karin-chan,� Tatsuki called out as the woman entered the garden with a tray of fresh tea and snacks, dragging Karin�s thoughts back to the here and now. �I trust all went well today?�

�So far so good. Was Ajuga on her best behaviour today?� Karin asked the dark-haired woman.

�Yes Mama, I was, I swear!� Ajuga piped up in exasperation, before Tatsuki could say anything.

�No more missed jumps?�

She couldn�t help but tease her daughter, indicating the rapidly healing cut on Ajuga�s cheek.

�Of course not,� Ajuga huffed and rolled her eyes, snatching one of the snacks from the tray and nibbling on it with an offended air.

Orihime finished picking garden debris from her son�s hair before reaching for a tea cup of her own. Diaemus was quick to escape his mother�s grasp, a poorly-hidden scowl on his face as he found a spot slightly away from her and took a cup of tea for himself. They finished the beverage and snacks, exchanged gossip, and then wished each other �good day� before Orihime, Diaemus and Tatsuki left to return to their own homes.

�Well, shall we start on dinner?� Karin asked her daughter as they brought the dirty dishes to the main kitchen to be washed.

�Can I hunt us up a deer for dinner, or maybe a boar? Please Mama?� Ajuga begged.

Karin sighed at her daughter�s request. She tried to be supportive of her child�s need to hunt, and the fact Ajuga had settled for hunting animals rather than the denizens of the Rukongai. Nevertheless, it was simply unsafe for either of them to be outside the city so her daughter could hunt up game. They could just as easily get meat from the market. The look Ajuga gave her was so hopeful that it truly hurt Karin to have to say no.

�Not tonight, Ajuga-chan.�

Ajuga�s ears, tail and posture drooped in despair. Karin�s heart ached to see her daughter looking so dejected. It almost reminded her of watching the big cats in the Karakura Zoo, pacing in their too-small cages when all they wanted to do was prowl the savannah and rain forests they called home.

�I will talk to your father tonight to see if he can�t take you hunting tomorrow,� she offered in consolation.

Ajuga perked up a little at that.

�I�ll even try to curb my overemotional, overprotective mothering instincts and not stalk you two. Okay?� she promised.

�Yes!� Ajuga cheered happily, darting ahead of Karin so she was the first one to the kitchen.

Karin was right behind her daughter. Ajuga was already at the fridge, looking inside and making suggestions for dinner. In the end they settled for fish since Ajuga fully intended on them having fresh, red meat tomorrow.

There had to be a way to let her daughter hunt more, but it simply wasn�t safe for Ajuga to go hunting outside the safety of the city when the Swarm could attack at any minute. Orihime was far too soft-hearted to even consider tagging along with Ajuga on a hunting trip. Karin also doubted Ulquiorra would approve of his wife and son being outside the safety zone. Come to think of it, Karin couldn�t help wondering how Orihime was going to react when Diaemus�s hunting instincts kicked in and he started to bring in dead animals. If anyone would be able to handle it, it would be Tatsuki.

Unfortunately, despite having inherited Starrk�s katana and having a large number of the Swarm notched into the blade, Tatsuki wasn�t as strong as an Arrancar. When it came down to it Karin feared the Arrancar almost as much as the Swarm when it came to her daughter�s safety.

Wait� Arrancar, Tatsuki�

Karin�s mind suddenly whirled as she remembered with whom Tatsuki was involved.

Where Tatsuki went, Tesra usually followed, and he was one of the very few Arrancar she trusted completely. The local parks didn�t have deer or boar, but they had plenty of rabbits and she had heard rumours of chickens that had escaped their pens in times past. Who knew, maybe there were even some wild pigs in the larger parks who had thrown off domesticity. She knew that a wild pig could be dangerous and hunting them would actually be doing the Districts a favour. Ajuga�s Heirro was strong enough that no animal could actually harm her if she made a mistake. She decided to look into the possibility. If Ajuga could get over her fear of water, perhaps Karin could even convince her to do some fishing in the many rivers that ran through the Seireitei.

�What�s got you thinking so damn hard you didn�t even notice me coming up behind you?� Grimmjow asked as arms suddenly wrapped around her and a mouth descended to latch hungrily onto her neck.

�Mask!� Karin admonished, smacking his forehead with the reiatsu-infused spoon she currently held. There was enough energy in it to at least sting, maybe even leave a mark.

�Sorry,� he grunted, switching to the other side of her neck so the bone fragment wouldn�t scratch her cheek and resumed mauling her throat.

�Papa! Papa! Papa! Mama said we can go hunting tomorrow for boar and deer if you say yes! Can we? Please, please, please!� Ajuga pleaded, jumping excitedly around them.

�Oh?� Grimmjow pulled away and looked down at Karin in slight surprise.

�I could no more expect her to give up her instinct to hunt than I could expect a jaguar to become a vegetarian. Just promise me you will both be careful and not wander too far from the city so that if the Swarm attacks she will not be in any danger,� Karin requested, giving Grimmjow a look that told him she�d brook no arguments about it.

�You know as well as I do that when she doesn�t want to be found no one can find her, not even Starrk,� he pointed out, hoping that would reassure her. �Even in the event of a Swarm attack, she would be completely safe.�

Karin nodded her head, but she couldn�t help listening to her own protective instincts. Still, as much as Ajuga was her child, she was also Grimmjow�s. In the spirit of sharing the burden of their daughter�s care, she ran her idea of letting Ajuga hunt more locally under the watchful gaze of Tesra past her mate.

She felt him briefly stiffen behind her. Grimmjow was fiercely protective of his daughter and very wary of almost every other male Arrancar out there. Starrk, Ulquiorra and Tesra were the exceptions, up to a point, and of those three Tesra seemed the most likely to want to do the kind of errand that Karin suggested. In addition, he was basically already mated as well, so after considering the pros and cons, Grimmjow gave his consent to the idea.

�Soooooo, does this mean we get to go hunting tomorrow?� Ajuga asked hesitantly, eyes brimming with barely-suppressed hope.

�First thing in the morning,� Grimmjow assured their daughter.

�YES!� she cheered happily, dancing around them in excitement and jumping up and down for good measure.

�We need to get dinner going, so either grab a knife and fillet that fish or get out of the kitchen before I Kido blast that �sword� digging into my back,� Karin ordered her mate firmly.

�Only if you promise to sheath it for me later,� he purred into her ear.

�Insatiable tomcat!� she groused.

Despite her complaining, she did rub her rear against him in silent promise of more to come later, and to torment him a little. She felt him stiffen even further and he let out a groan, rubbed against her while kissing and nipping at her neck in barely suppressed, feral hunger.

�I think you need a bath Papa, you smell funny,� Ajuga complained, working on cutting the vegetables up.

Karin and Grimmjow both froze. Grimmjow was the first to move, groaning in complaint before finally letting her go and retreating to their suite with the announcement that he was going to take a shower.

�Don�t worry too much dear, I am sure Lefty-san can keep you company,� Karin taunted as he retreated.

The heated look he sent over a shoulder her way had her stomach doing flip flops and her core heating up. She smirked back the best she could but it was hard to match Grimmjow at these little games when the latter had years, and multiple women, to perfect his hunting prowess.

�Mama?� Ajuga asked once her father was out of sight.

�Yes Ajuga-chan?�

�Who is Left-san?� Ajuga asked, brows drawn down into a puzzled frown.

Karin couldn�t help but to laugh at her daughter�s innocent question.

�I�ll tell you when you�re older,� she answered for Ajuga�s benefit before turning her attention to the first of the fish she planned to cook tonight. There were a lot of hungry mouths to feed on the Estate, and once again she couldn�t help but to think of Yuzu, and how her sister had been more than pleased to feed them all for the short time she had spent here before returning to the Living Realm. Her twin would have been in her element, stuffing them all silly three times a day and asking if anyone needed seconds.

�I wouldn�t need to worry about Grimmjow and Ajuga hunting. They�d both be too fat to hide in the brush,� she told herself.

The picture her mind conjured up tipped her over the edge. The image of Grimmjow, the size and circumference of a beached sea lion, trying to hide himself behind a tree struck her as exceedingly hilarious. Karin couldn�t help it; she lost it, leaning against the counter and clutching her sides as she guffawed.

Ajuga could only look at her mother, perplexed at the crazy behaviour of adults before she shrugged and put a pot of water on to cook the rice.

Diaemus did his best impression of a drowned rat as he sullenly sat in the tub with his mother scrubbing away at the dirt and grit still stuck in his hair. The soap threatened to run in his eyes, much to his displeasure. Orihime hummed happily to herself as she continued to vigorously work her son�s scalp with her fingertips.

�Did you have fun playing with Ajuga-chan, Diaemus-kun?� she asked him cheerfully.

�We were not playing,� Diaemus answered sulkily.

Orihime smiled at his answer, not letting his tone fool her. Diaemus was a rather quiet lad, so very much like his father. It had taken just a small amount of work on his vocal chords and the muscles in his neck by Unohana to give him the power to speak properly. It was still a struggle to get him talking, but he had picked up the skill very quickly.

�Of course not,� she said a little more gently, humouring her son. �Close your eyes.�

He did as she ordered, tipped his head back a little and she picked up the pitcher of warm water that sat beside her.

Her son held still as she rinsed the soap from his hair, so similar to her own. It was the only thing Diaemus had inherited from her. Every other physical trait and personality aspect came directly from his father.

Once Orihime rinsed out the last of the suds she handed him a cloth and the soap while she set about working some conditioner into his thick mane. Diaemus was at a point where he�d begun to protest when Orihime bathed him, her child feeling that he was old enough to do it himself. She let him take over most of the scrubbing duties, only washing the more difficult to reach areas, such as the section of his back between his wings.

His feet had strong, sharp talons and those required a file to keep them in shape. It had disturbed her at first, but she was used to doing it now and it was another task that was easier for her to do than it was for him. It was hard to file them down properly while hunched over, at least while he was this young.

Once he was clean, she picked up the pitcher and rinsed the conditioner out of his hair before helping him stand up. His wings were leathery, and as such didn�t get too water-logged, but they did have the same trailing feathers as his father�s wings and black fur covered his body from the waist down. At the moment, that fur was waterlogged.

She pulled the plug and handed him the first towel so he could start drying his skin and hair. She grabbed another tower and worked on his wings before grabbing a bottle of oil and a clean cloth. By the time she worked the oil into both sides of each wing, the tub had finished draining and they both did what they could to wring the water out of his sodden fur using the last dry towel.

Her son was about as dry as he was likely to get. While Orihime wished the Seireitei had some of the simple things that she had once taken for granted in the Living World, such hair dryers, she�d gotten used to working around the lack of conveniences long ago. She handed him a robe made from the same terry-cloth as the towels before leading him to sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen. She grabbed a brush and began to run the bristles thought his hair, before tying it up in a ponytail. Otherwise it got in his face when he was flying. She had tried to convince him to cut it a little shorter, but he adamantly refused to let her near it with a pair of scissors.

Now that she�d successfully groomed her boy, she shooed him to the living room to give her the time she needed to cook dinner. She had forced herself to curb her creativity in the kitchen over the years. The only Claim-enforced order still active between she and Ulquiorra was the one to �cook a proper meal,� much to her annoyance. She could do whatever she wanted for her own consumption, but the food for shared family meals was to remain basic. Ulquiorra and Diaemus preferred their food plain, even a little bland. Neither one of them had any sense of adventure, she thought irritably.

Her mate returned home a few minutes before dinner was ready. She could hear his voice from the living room and she found herself smiling as she listened to father and son talk. While she couldn�t make out any words, the simple fact that Ulquiorra was paying attention to his son pleased her. He was so withdrawn around others, save for their private time together. Orihime often feared that their son would feel unloved by his father.

�Dinner is almost ready,� she called.

Both males entered the kitchen, looking at the stove a little warily until they saw that their own fare didn�t include anchovies and ketchup over rice. Ulquiorra sat down while Diaemus set the table.

�How was your day?� she asked her mate.

�Satisfactory,� Ulquiorra answered simply.

The silence that followed dragged out for several minutes as she looked at him expectantly. He stared blankly up at her before he seemed to catch on to what she wanted from him.

�How was your day?� he finally asked a little awkwardly.

�Good,� she said cheerily and the verbal floodgates opened. �Ajuga-chan and Diaemus-kun played together for most of the day and they were very well-behaved while Tatsuki-chan and I did a bit of our own training and caught up with each other.�

Orihime continued to expound on her day as she served dinner. She caught Diaemus rolling his eyes a few time and her son positively cringed and looked very ashamed when she explained that Ajuga-chan had won 8 out of 10 games of �predator and prey�. Her child looked like he wanted to slide under the table as his mother attributed his two victories to the little girl taking pity on her playmate and letting him win.

�Ajuga has the ability to cloak her presence in such a way that not even I have been able to perceive her when she wants to remain hidden. It is no shame to be taken off-guard by her at this stage, as she has had several years to perfect her skills. She is also older than you. I have confidence that you will catch up to her quickly enough, provided that you study how she goes about hiding and use the information you gain to find a way of countering her ability.�

Orihime stared at her mate in surprise. She hadn�t expected him to reassure their son about his losses today. She�d expected Ulquiorra to give him a look of disappointment or a lecture on how to achieve better prowess perhaps, extracting a promise from his son to try harder next time and train more. However, his willingness to reassure his son took her by pleasant surprise. It was also more of a turn-on than she wanted to admit. There was something very sexy about a father making time for his child. She�d read about it in one of the women�s magazines that Rangiku had loaned her while she was pregnant and confined to the house and the gardens. The article, �Are Involved Fathers Just Sexier Than Child-free Guys?� hadn�t made much sense to her at the time, but now she could definitely see where the author of the story had been coming from.

Diaemus looked up at his sire, clearly feeling a little better and the family ate the rest of their respective meals in silence. She cleaned up dinner while Ulquiorra and Diaemus left for a flying lesson. She was far more comfortable with Diaemus�s ability to fly now that her son was considerably steadier in the air and could land without stumbling most of the time.

By the time she was done cleaning up dinner and finishing a bit of housework her mate and son had returned. It was Diaemus�s bedtime, and she was pleased with Ulquiorra�s parenting skills this evening. Diaemus had been quick to claim a room of his own as soon as he no longer required his mother�s milk to survive. He didn�t need much blood these days either, and when he did require it he could get it from an animal rather than from a human or a Shinigami. At his age a crow or a small chicken was enough to meet his needs. The animal didn�t even need to be alive so as long as it hadn�t been dead for more than two hours and the blood within it hadn�t yet congealed and clotted. If they couldn�t find an animal, Ulquiorra seemed fine with allowing his son to feed from him, nonchalantly letting the boy bite down on his forearm and take what he had to take.

Orihime loved her son, but ingesting blood was the one part of his nature that left her feeling squeamish, despite her best efforts. It was, in some ways, grosser than Ajuga�s desire to hunt and eat her meat raw. Then again, she thought wryly, Diaemus fed very much like the blood-sucking creature he was named after and unlike Ajuga�s little dietary quirk, there wasn�t a mangled corpse left over afterwards.

Goodness, and they gave Orihime such grief about her meals!

With the house cleaned, and still feeling rather amorous, she made for the bedroom she shared with her mate. She knew that Ulquiorra would put Diaemus to bed, which gave her a bit of time to get ready. By the time Ulquiorra entered their bedroom Orihime was sprawled out on their bed wearing nothing, her long, thick hair fanned out against the bedding and pillows.

He paused at the door for a moment before closing it the rest of the way and approaching their bed a little cautiously, the way he would approach the kitchen if she was in the middle of preparing a meal for herself. She sat up as he stopped at the edge of the bed, looking down at her with the barest hint of confusion and a growling look of lust. It was rare that she instigated intercourse between them, still a little shy and uncertain.

�Onna?� he questioned.

She didn�t respond. The only way she�d found of breaking him of that bad habit was to completely ignore him. He was an intelligent creature and caught on quickly enough.

�Orihime.�

She smiled up at him happily, scooting a little closer to the edge of the bed and bringing her hands up to brush aside his jacket so she could slowly untie the belt holding up his hakama. She caught Murciélago before the Zanpakuto could follow the belt and hakama on their trip to the floor. Ulquiorra shrugged his jacket off to join the rest of his clothing. Setting Murciélago down beside her, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him forward, taking him into her mouth and holding back a smirk as he gave a soft moan of pleasure.

Her head bobbed as she took him deeper down her throat, pulling more noises out of her partner. His hands tangled in her hair and his nails scraped lightly against her scalp. Her tongue and lips played over his flesh and his moans slowly turned into laboured breathing. The only sounds in the room now were the wet sucking sounds Orihime�s mouth made and his gasps for air.

Almost ten minutes later she felt his hands tighten in her hair and his flesh pulse in her mouth, indicating he was close to release. She pulled back and looked up at him, pleased with herself for turning his normally pale flesh a soft, blushing pink.

It took him a few moments to regain his composure and move his hands from her hair to her shoulders. He pushed her onto her back, and crawled over her to pin her beneath him.

They simply gazed into each other�s eyes for long moments. She had learned a long time ago that his eyes could betray his emotions. They were currently swirling with unrepentant lust as they took in her naked form. She pulled his head down with her left hand for a deep kiss while her right searched for what she was looking for. Her fingers finally brushed Murcielago�s hilt and she smirked into his mouth before pulling the Zanpakuto between them and pressing it to his chest.

He pulled back from the kiss to give her a raised eyebrow. She blushed, embarrassed, but didn�t back down from her silent request. Orihime continued to hold the sheathed weapon between them. With a sigh he pulled back a bit to take his Zanpakuto from her hands and release his blade.

The surge of power washed over her, giving her delightful shivers even as the skin against hers changed to silken fur. She absolutely loved the feeling of its texture against her bare skin. Once the transformation was over his hands descended to her hips and flipped her over before pulling her against him. She let out a gasp as he penetrated her, going in deep with a single push.

Orihime let out a groan of pleasure as he held her against him before beginning to thrust at a languid pace. Her entire body shivered and her breathing quickly devolved into little panting moans. She could barely hear Ulquiorra�s own quickened breath over the beat of his wings as he unfurled them and used them to steady himself above her. Then she felt him reach around and with a claw that could have easily cut her if he�d applied more pressure, he circled the small bundle of nerves above her core.

She cried out loudly as she suddenly came, her walls clamping down on him hard and juices gushing out around him as every nerve in her body flared in ecstacy. Ulquiorra froze above her, poised with his wing flared out, his head thrown back in gratification. and his claws lightly scratching her hips as her orgasm triggered his own. They held that position until every last spurt had been milked from his deflating flesh by her pulsing sex.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, they detangled themselves and Ulquiorra pulled out of her, drawing her body close to his and mantling his wings about them.

�Love you,� she whispered and smiled up happily at him, her grey eyes twinkling.

�I believe I feel the same.�

She turned just enough so that she could tug his face down for a kiss before settling more comfortably against him, nestled under the warm protection of his arms and wings. She had never felt so safe and loved in her life. She was more than happy that she had taken the time and given him a second chance to try and learn what it meant to love someone, to have a heart. She was just beginning to drift off when she heard Ulquiorra�s low voice murmur something in her ear.

�Perhaps I should encourage my son�s competitive efforts more often, if this is my reward for doing so.�

Her eyes flew open and she stared up at him, her mouth a little �o� of surprise. Then, when he stared back down at her, as if waiting for some kind of confirmation, she began to laugh softly. Oh, her mate was an intelligent creature, as well as observant. When she reached up to draw him back down to her in a less-than-verbal answer to his question, she began the first of several plans to get Ajuga interested in more wrestling matches�

I am completely unaware of it ever being mentioned that Toshiro is fully grown. He can obviously grow as he was clearly a lot smaller and younger in the flashbacks of his past with Hinamori. I don�t know anything about press conferences and honestly, don�t take stock in such things because idea�s change as the story goes on. I never had any plans for Tatsuki and Tesra and yet it came to be. I am not certain what having Toshiro grow taller after 10 years has to do with OC�s.

Hollow holes are an interesting thing. Technically speaking, since most holes are where the heart is, hollows shouldn�t bleed since they would have no blood pumping through their veins as blood flow comes from the heart. So technically speaking, they would never gush blood since blood flow is what causes the blood to bleed out, and yet they clearly do bleed. Since everyone is in the spirit realms are actually made up of spirit energy and not physical bodies, I tend to think of the hollow holes as being something, physically speaking, cosmeticish. How Spirit energy could mate and breed with humans we will hopefully find out when Ishine�s past is revealed.

In other news, only one chapter of part 1 left. Part 2 is off to a slow start, but at least it�s been started. I don�t think part 2 will be as dark since the setting has now been firmly set. Not saying their won�t be dark scenes, but probably not as many, I think. Hard to say, no promises, things tend to change as I go.
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Prize of Victory