Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 11
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- 13
Scarab

Karin took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Two weeks of nonstop searching and she had been unable to catch a glimpse of the portals. She had caught sight of the Swarm coming her way thanks to their sheer numbers. Ten thousand tiny lights clustered together were much easier to spot than the same number spread out. They determined that the portals were opening far out of range of her sight. That was the rationale behind this mission, one she could not refuse as Aizen had been the one to assign it, although she did wonder why he had sent them out sooner than expected.

As planned, they were two day�s travel out of Seireitei, and by two days that meant two days as an Espada could travel using Sonido. She had tried to keep up but her Shunpo was simply not that fast, being average at best. In the end, Grimmjow carried her, although she swore he only did it so he had the excuse to grope her while on the move.

Aizen�s quartermaster had supplied them with a single tent, three bedrolls, food and water. That was apparently all they were going to need. Wood was easy to find out here and fire was a simple Kido spell away. Food wasn�t all that hard to find either and after their first meal of semi-spoiled field rations, Grimmjow tossed the whole lot out and hunted up some wild meat instead. Karin didn�t find the rations that bad, but she had to admit that fresh meat was far better.

One nice thing about having just one tent was that it meant her mate had to behave at night. Their shared quarters were too cramped for shenanigans. Even his libido was banked since they could barely move without nudging into Starrk. The small tent was annoying space-wise, but convenient from the point of retaining body heat. It was winter and this far north, they encountered patches of snow on the ground and their breath hung frozen in the air when they spoke. The small space meant that the tent warmed up quickly and stayed that way. Grimmjow may have grumbled about it a bit, but Karin, quite frankly, preferred to be in the middle where she could huddle between the two men and surround herself with their warmth. Thus, she told her mate to stuff it. It wasn�t like Starrk was going to try something with her even if they had been alone.

Now here she sat, meditating on a rock and soaking up what heat she could from the weak, winter sun while trying to find any hint of Swarm activity. Grimmjow was off somewhere to her left, moving slowly when he moved at all so she guessed he was hunting and had a potential meal in sight. This mission was testing her mate�s patience as there was nothing for him to do but guard her until they managed to subdue one of the Scarabs. Then he would have to help Starrk carry it back.

Starrk, for his part, was content to doze a few feet away from her and wait for the signal that she had spotted a target, at which point he would go after it. They weren�t entirely sure if he would carry her or not as it all depended on how well she could inform him of the location. Unlike her, he could not track the Swarm�s reiatsu, it was simply too small and blended too well into the surrounding natural energy of the forest. It would be like trying to find the one common goldfish in a school full of koi. A very hard thing to do when they all kept moving.

Her world started to both fade and come into focus. She cast her vision forward and tried to ignore the sun that was sitting right beside her and the moon that was slowly stalking to her side. Unfortunately, she couldn�t wear the shades Szayel had crafted for her to tone down the more powerful reiatsu of people like Starrk because they completely negated what little reiatsu the Swarm had. She was on her fifth pair now as Szayel kept finding way of improving them. The current incarnation had a pink lens, purple and white frames and she couldn�t help but to smile when he had presented them to her.

Evening was fast approaching when an uneasy feeling came over her. It was faint, but there was definitely something wrong, she just couldn�t put her finger on it. A second later, she saw it, a maelstrom of reiatsu that she had only seen once before.

�Starrk!� she called, jumping to her feet and turning to face the portal.

Starrk was instantly awake and before she knew it, they were moving with her cradled in his arms. They didn�t stay that way for long as she shifted to his back so his hands were free and she could leap off of him quickly if need be. It could not be easy fighting with someone latched onto your back.

She didn�t dare speak for fear the Swarm would pick it up, although, at the speed they were traveling words would have been lost on the wind anyway. Instead, she directed him by pointing where she saw the portal opening. They were coming at it at a bit of an angle, which was good. If they tried to come at it head-on, they would have run straight into the Swarm�s invasion force. She could hear the buzzing sound of the Locusts� wings as they got closer and tapped Starrk�s shoulder to get him to slow down when she saw they were near.

She slid from his back and the two of them approached their target stealthily. Since the Swarm had no reason to suspect that there were scouts this far out, and since most of them could fly, not a single one of them checked the undergrowth for intruders. The coniferous forest had a thick canopy and the only reason they even knew the Swarm was so close was because Karin could see the faintly glimmering stream of reiatsu and because they could hear them. This didn�t mean they strolled leisurely through the forest; all it would take was one Locust spotting them through a break in the treetops to make their lives miserable and this mission would have to be scrapped. Karin didn�t fear that they would kill her. One taste of her blood would let them know who and what she was. No, she feared what they would do to her should they capture her.

While she doubted the Swarm could directly hurt either Starrk or Grimmjow as their Hierro was very strong, the sheer numbers would eventually weigh them down and tire them out. So far, no one had been safe from the acid of the giant beetles and if it could eat through a good chunk of Ulquiorra, even with his high speed regeneration matched by none of the other Espada, than it could eat through both Starrk and Grimmjow�s natural protections. The mental image was not a pretty one and she forced the fear away to focus on what she had to do to remaining undetected.

They finally reached a clearing and both of them fell to their bellies. In front of them six Scarabs stood in three sets of two, wings touching and portals gleaming between them. Recalling Ulquiorra�s report about how disrupting the portal had caused them to explode, and needing their prey alive, Starrk and Karin waited. Two portals had Locusts coming through while the last one seemed to be a gateway for the giant beetles. Karin tried to get a glimpse of the other side, but the portals remained nothing more than shimmering colors.

If she hadn�t had her sight, she might have jumped when she felt Grimmjow place his hand on her shoulder for she hadn�t heard him approach. Starrk must have sensed his arrival for he hardly seemed surprised either.

�Must have felt my excitement and guessed what was going on,� she mused.

After half an hour, the portals began to waver. A moment later they ceased spewing forth the latest wave of the Swarm and the Scarabs slowly mantled their shimmering wings. The last Locust and the beetles didn�t even look back and after another two minutes, the sound of buzzing faded off into the distance.

The scarabs seemed exhausted and moved sluggishly as they turned about and retreated, although it seemed more like a waddle. Now was their chance. Arrancar were predators, through and through, thus there was no need for Starrk and Grimmjow to communicate to each other which one they planned on capturing. Instinctively, they determined which one seemed weakest and, thus, would be the easiest to subdue.

They struck so quickly that three of the Scarabs were dead before the other three even realized they were under attack. Karin didn�t know if the Scarabs had much in the way of combat strength, but it was clear they were exhausted and the fight ended quickly. Starrk and Grimmjow wrapped up the last one left alive in the thin cable that Szayel had provided for this purpose. It looked fragile but it was surprisingly strong and Karin briefly wondered what in the hell it was made from.

The Scarab they had subdued kicked up quite the racket and seemed to be speaking, but Karin didn�t recognize or understand any of it. That indicated that it was at least semi-intelligent, which made sense given the skill it required to create and maintain a portal.

�Knock it off, before I turn you into worm food,� Grimmjow snarled at the large thing.

His threat went unheeded, either because the bug ignored him or because the creature couldn�t understand him. The Scarab did cease its struggles immediately when she walked out from under the cover of her hiding spot. There was no doubt that it recognized her. Karin suddenly hoped that Szayel was right about their �hive-mind communication� having limited range because if it didn�t, the invasion force they had just seen cross over might just be heading back their way. There was definitely no doubt about the creatures� intelligence now. The regular Locusts never showed any signs of recognition during a battle unless they got a taste of her blood, but this creature clearly knew her. It added weight to Szayel�s theory about some sort of telepathic link because she doubted a simple description would have worked. A mental image shared amongst the members of an invading team� now that made more sense.

It started speaking again, this time one word, or at least Karin thought it was a single word. It could have been a dozen for all she knew. The sound was repeated over and over and the creature seemed excited. Karin was suddenly very glad that the Scarab didn�t speak their language. She really wanted to say she trusted Starrk, but she still wasn�t sure what he would do with the knowledge of her heritage. If the stability of the realms went too far off-balance, he just might betray her secret to Aizen. She wasn�t going to count on her �shit-storm level� matching his. She knew that she would give herself up if things really started going down the tubes, as she truly didn�t want to see the Realms unravel. However, until such a thing came to pass she was not going to stick her neck out for Aizen to cut off her head by sitting on the throne, nor would she spread her legs so he could attempt to breed that heir he wanted.

Besides, if Royal blood ran through her family�s veins, why couldn�t they convince Ichigo to do it? He was far stronger than she was and, according to Grimmjow, on the very rare occasion her brother came up in conversations, easily as strong as Starrk if not stronger. If anyone stood a chance of sitting on the throne and staying alive to hold it and bring things back into balance, it was Ichigo. So why wasn�t the Swarm chasing after her older brother?

�Unless they are and can�t corner him. Hell, they can�t even corner me,� she thought. �Maybe he doesn�t know about the whole Realm destabilization thing. No, that can�t be right. Yoruichi mentioned it and I know she�s with him. He probably said no for the same reason I did.�

The only way for Aizen to break back into the Royal Palace, should a true heir decide they wanted to claim the throne, would be to massacre the innocent inhabitants of another city like Karakura. No one in her family would bring about such a thing unless there was absolutely no other choice.

Karin turned her attention back to the excitedly chittering Scarab. It seemed almost beside itself with unmitigated excitement and tried to squirm closer to her.

�Something this big is going to take a lot of work to get back,� she sighed.

�I ain�t carrying it,� Grimmjow snorted.

The three of them stared at the creature as it continued to makes its strange noises and struggle.

�I have an idea,� Starrk said out loud and the other two leaned in to listen.

�This is the stupidest thing I have participated in,� Karin complained, although most of her words were lost to the wind.

Once more she was hanging off of someone�s back, right now that someone being Grimmjow. Behind them, the Scarab flew after them with Starrk riding its back like some kind of driver. They had adjusted the cables to make a sort of harness and had rigged it so that a tight pull would tug all of their prisoners� legs and wings in, effectively immobilizing it.

The creature almost seemed to have a childlike eagerness as it chased after her, still chattering and clicking away.

�The bait ain�t got room to complain. You are not even running on your own� Grimmjow taunted.

�Someone is going to be sleeping on the patio for the next month if they refer to me as �bait� again,� Karin growled dangerously. �Or should I have Szayel remove your smaller sword,� she threatened.

�Hay Starrk, I think it�s your turn, the bait�s getting testy,� Grimmjow called up.

�You still got plenty of energy,� Starrk replied sleepily.

�Do I look like bait?� she demanded as she slapped him over the back of the head.

�Yes, but this time it didn�t take five years for the prey to bite� he smirked back at her over his shoulder.

She stared at him confused for a moment before the old memory came back to her of a young girl staring challengingly up at a much taller man looking down upon her. She�d been afraid, terrified really, but she�d forced her back straight and looked him dead in the eye. He�d laughed at her challenge and had ushered her and her sister out without harming a hair on either of their heads. For the longest time it had been an exasperating, and sometimes even painful memory, but now she couldn�t help but to smile fondly at it. The first time she had met her mate.

They continued to travel like this all the way back to the city. Karin would run on her own for a few hours and be carried by either Grimmjow or Starrk the rest of the way. Whichever Espada was resting would ride the Scarab while she would catch catnaps while being carried. They were moving fast and as such, they had veered west for a while just to make sure they didn�t accidentally come up behind the army ahead of them. With an intelligent member of the Swarm traveling with them, they didn�t dare risk it sending a message about their location. It would not be a good thing for an entire army to know she was here.

It took them almost five days to get back. Their prisoner, although by the end of the second day they were starting to think of it more as a pet, kept up a steady pace the entire way. Starrk and Grimmjow seemed more or less fine, but Karin was starting to suffer from sleep deprivation. The catnaps were simply not enough to keep her energy up. Since Grimmjow had tossed all the rations away the first day out, all she had managed to get down were a few cupped handfuls of water from the canteen. It had also been almost two weeks since her last bath. She was dirty, she was starving, she was tired, she was cranky and in a bad mood. It was a great relief to see the city come up before them and to not see the flashes of battle. Karin guessed the Swarm had probably arrived yesterday afternoon and had been subsequently put down by the defenders.

�Do you think you can run on your own for a bit while I go off ahead to warn them we are coming?� Starrk questioned.

�Yeah, I should be fine for maybe half an hour,� she answered unhappily.

Starrk put on a small burst of speed to bring them further ahead so she would have time to get off of his back and find her footing in the air before the Scarab caught up. They had been running in the air to avoid having to deal with the varied terrain below, but once they hit the white wall surrounding the central part of the city they would no longer be able to take that kind of shortcut.

Karin found her balance and she kept going while Starrk disappeared. It was almost as if he had teleported away instead of using Sonido. He returned after about ten minutes, just as she was hitting the outer edge of the city�s suburbs.

Shinigami and several Arrancar joined them and an escort formed. Starrk replaced Grimmjow on the Scarab and she found herself once more riding her Mate�s back. The gate was open when they arrived at the wall and they led the Scarab through it. Once on the other side Starrk pulled on the reins tethered to the wings, forcing them closed and the Scarab to walk. Karin swore that most of the Shinigami and Arrancar were lined up between the gate and the Science and Research building. Cheers arose from quite a few of them and several Arrancar grabbed hold of the cables as Starrk tossed the reigns to them.

Szayel met them at the main entranceway to the compound, a look of excitement covering his face, but Karin, even in her exhausted state, noted that she wasn�t getting that much excitement from the Claim. Oh, he was excited, but she should have been practically bouncing in glee at the presentation of a live specimen. Instead, he was standing almost stiffly and she caught sight of what looked like bandages wrapped around his chest when the wind moved the fabric a certain way.

Grimmjow set her down and took over one of the guiding ropes. Karin walked up to Szayel a frown on her features as she approached him.

�Karin-sama,� he greeted her pleasantly, most of his attention still on the Scarab.

�First, food. I haven�t had anything to eat in damn near a week.�

One of Szayel�s subordinates standing nearby quickly ran off, presumably to get her something to eat. She watched as Renji, and then Nemu, took a cable and Starrk finally jumped down holding a cable of his own. The Scarab was still trying to get to her, but its progress was now halted with the powerful people holding the controlling leads.

�Bring it around to the back elevator,� Szayel called out.

�Which is where?� Karin questioned before adding far more quietly, ��the damn thing is following me!�

Szayel looked at her and Karin saw understanding dawning in his eyes. This was one moment that she was glad for his intelligence for there was no need to elaborate. He spun on his heal and led her on a wide route around the glass dome to a warehouse in the back. The doors swung open to reveal what, at first, appeared to be an empty building, but afterwards proved to be the housing for a giant elevator.

Sensing the sensitivity of the situation, Szayel dismissed the others until only Starrk, Grimmjow, Nemu and Renji were left to keep the thing under control. Through the whole process, it chittered excitedly, but wasn�t straining as much as the elevator descended and Karin was forced to stand only a few feet away.

�What peculiar behaviour,� Szayel noted curiously. �How long has it been acting like this?�

�Since it first caught sight of me,� Karin answered. ��and speaking of peculiar behaviour�� The young woman reached over and pulled the material of his jacket away from his back. Szayel flinched, but didn�t try to pull away from her.

�What happened?� she demanded.

�Aizen was feeling nostalgic while you were away,� Szayel answered, his voice cracking only slightly at the end.

�Did that fucker touch you again?� Grimmjow demanded in a growl before Karin could say anything.

Szayel nodded his head before explaining his theory about their sudden send off, his voice only wavering a few times in the telling. Karin hadn�t known about Byakuya and her rage at Yammy was hardly dampened by learning that Aizen had finally punished the brute for his malicious attack. She felt sick to her stomach to learn their entire mission had merely been so Aizen could have an excuse to play with one of his favourite toys for a few days.

�At least the mission was a success,� Szayel commented wearily as the elevator finally came to a halt.

�Yeah,� she agreed, with no enthusiasm whatsoever in her voice.

She was just too damn tired and hungry to let things affect her right now. Later, she could rampage all she wanted, but right now all she wanted was food, a shower, and bed. They manoeuvred the creature into a large holding chamber before Karin exited first. The large insect seemed upset over her absence, but it didn�t go insane or try to throw itself against the walls. The four handlers untangled to cables and the Scarab gave itself a good shake and started fastidiously grooming itself with its legs. It made no attempt to attack the four retreating figures as they left through a human-sized door.

Food arrived and Karin all but devoured the plate. She had to force herself to eat slowly and not too much, lest she pay for it later with a stomach ache. While she doubted she had been starved long enough that eating a full meal would have any effect on her health, she wasn�t going to chance getting sick. Oh yes, she and her Mate were going to have words about tossing the rations aside after she finally had that shower and nap.

�You�ve done an excellent job I knew you would be successful.�

Karin�s temper snapped before she even had a chance to register that Aizen had joined them. Sleep deprivation, starvation and exhaustion had demolished the control she normally had over her emotions and verbal filters.

�Fuck that!� she spat. �How dare you harm my property!�

Aizen actually looked surprised while shock and horror covered the faces of the other five present. She was always cautious around Aizen, she had to be. The fact she was openly snarling at someone who could kill her with a wave of his hand stunned the rest. What stunned them more was that she didn�t stop.

�What the fuck could Szayel have possibly done while I was gone that would garner your personal interest, and don�t give me some fucking little excuse, like he wasn�t being respectful enough. You are damn lucky that the backwash down the Claim didn�t hit while we were engaged in combat!�

�Karin,� Starrk said firmly, gray eyes giving her a warning look.

She shot him a glare, but clamped her mouth shut before she gave too much away, like the fact that she was the one holding Szayel�s Claim, not Grimmjow.

�That was rather disrespectful of you,� Aizen frowned down at her.

Several sharp retorts rose to her mind, but for once it was Grimmjow silencing her. He didn�t do it via a sharp elbow or a stomp on the foot though. Instead, he pulled her into his grasp.

�She�s tired and hungry, and that�s my fault,� Grimmjow spoke up. �Those rations sucked, so I tossed them and decided to hunt instead. Should have realized we wouldn�t have time to hunt hauling this thing back,� he indicated the Scarab that was apparently finally resting.

�It has been six days since we captured it and we haven�t stopped once since then,� Starrk added.

�Plus, you know how possessive Karin is over her property,� Grimmjow added with a smirk Szayel�s way, vainly trying to lighten the suddenly dark atmosphere.

�Humph,� Szayel sniffed, turning away.

�Indeed. So you attribute the loss of her control to hunger, a state you confess to being responsible for?� Aizen questioned with a glint in his eye.

�Yes,� Grimmjow answered, clamping his hand over her mouth before she could protest.

Karin squirmed in his grasp, fear rushing through her. Aizen hadn�t punished either of them directly yet, at least not since she�d started her relationship with him, but she had a feeling that lucky streak was about to end.

�Grimmjow, I thought you had learned your lesson when Tousen removed your arm. Must we do such a thing again?� Aizen sighed.

Karin went completely rigid and she could feel her mate do the same. She had never heard about that incident and the thought that Aizen could do something like that sickened her, although it shouldn�t have surprised her. He did try to blind Jushiro, what was a missing limb or two?

�Even if he hadn�t tossed the rations, there would not have been time to eat,� Starrk spoke up, surprisingly coming to their defence. �The damn thing didn�t stop struggling the whole way,� he grumbled irritably.

�One can eat on the move,� Aizen waved the poor defence aside.

Karin was getting very tired of the hand covering her mouth, the fact it reeked like cable and dirt didn�t help any.

�You have been getting far too disrespectful lately Grimmjow. Perhaps you are long overdue for a lesson in manners.�

Karin started to squirm against him again, terror rushing through her. She had seen the kind of violence Aizen dished out. She�d had to put Szayel back together enough times to have a basic understanding of Aizen�s ability to be cruel and creative. Would Aizen go so far as to rape her mate as well? She desperately hoped not.

�You are all tired, and you have done a good job. You are dismissed for now.� Aizen waved them away.

Karin felt relief flood through her, both because Aizen seemed to have forgiven her outburst and because Grimmjow finally removed his hand from her mouth. They were almost completely out the door when Aizen spoke again.

�Grimmjow, do come see me tomorrow morning. I would like to speak to you about a few things.�

�Yeah, sure,� he grunted before forcing her to keep walking before she could protest and possible get one, or both, of them into deeper shit.

Once they were outside, he picked her up and burst into Sonido, getting them back to the Estate quickly. The world stopped spinning once they�d reached their bathroom and she simply stood there in stunned horror while he got the shower running and undressed them both.

�What have I done?� she demanded in a horrified whisper.

�Nothing,� he grunted, picking her up by the hips and depositing her under the hot water.

�Don�t give me that!� she sobbed. �What if he does something to you, like what he does to Szayel?� she demanded. �Or to me? Or to both of us?�

�Then he does it,� he answered casually.

�All of this is my fault,� she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

Grimmjow grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around, moved one hand up to grasp her chin and raised her face so they were looking eye to eye.

�This. Is. Not. Your. Fault.�

He articulated each word. �If I hadn�t tossed that food away you would not be hungry and exhausted from energy depletion and would not have snapped like that. I have been stepping on Aizen�s toes since long before I even met your brother, let alone you. If you hadn�t been there over the years keeping me in line I would have been under his whip a lot sooner than this.�

He released her chin and pulled her flush against him, pulling her head to rest on his shoulder while the water continued to run down their bodies.

�Regardless of what he may or may not do to me tomorrow, at least it will be done to me, and not you,� he whispered softly. �He�ll probably just give me a stern lashing like he usually did before I met you and had a reason to behave.�

She sobbed against his chest, cursing herself for being so pathetic but unable to stop it. They stood like that for some time before Grimmjow gently pushed her away enough that he could reach the sponge and give them both a quick wipe down before turning the shower off.

He even dried them both off before carrying her to their bedroom and setting her into bed. Than he simply held her until the exhaustion and emotional trauma finally pulled her into a troubled slumber.

Ajuga poked her nose in around dinner time. Father and daughter shared a brief, whispered conversation over what Ajuga had been up to while they were gone so as to avoid waking Karin up. Grimmjow was pleased that Karin, despite her obvious troubled sleep, at least slept right through until the sun was rising in the morning.

He really didn�t want to slip out on her, but she needed her rest and it would be much better if she slept through any potential back lashes from their Mating Claim. He got dressed and left with all the stealth a trained predator like him had at his disposal. He was good, but Starrk still met him by the gate. They didn�t exchange words. If the shit hit the fan, Starrk would keep an eye on his family. That was more than Grimmjow could have ever asked for from a fellow Hollow.

It was a bright sunny morning as he walked lazily towards Aizen�s Palace. He did his best to keep his emotions numb, telling himself that this was no different from the dozens of other times he�d gotten his hands slapped when Aizen got annoyed with his disrespectful behaviour. Although, now that he thought about, he hadn�t gotten his hands slapped since taken it up with Karin. She was good at keeping him out of trouble.

�Damn girl�s made a lap cat out of me,� he grumbled to himself fondly.

The guards at the gates didn�t even spare him a glance, but there was someone waiting for him on the inside. He was not escorted to the basement as he�d been expecting, nor was he led to Aizen�s throne room either. Instead, he was led into a dining room where Aizen was apparently eating breakfast with his wife. Judging by the amount of food on their plates, they had just sat down. She seemed surprised to see him so he had a feeling that he wasn�t expected, at least not this early in the morning anyway.

�Ah Grimmjow, please, sit down,� Aizen indicated the empty chair to his left.

Hands in his pocket, he plunked down in the chair in as casual a manner as possible. He still had his pride and there was no way he was letting Aizen know just how unsettled he was. He had a reputation to maintain.

�I wasn�t expecting you this early. Would you like something to eat?� Aizen questioned pleasantly.

�Sure,� he shrugged nonchalantly.

Might as well enjoy what could be his last meal, although he doubted Aizen would kill him. He suspected that Aizen truly hadn�t been expected him to be here this early to face his admonishment. If he had been expected then there would have been a place set for him at the table already. That was just how Aizen was. Servants brought out utensils, a cup of tea, and a plate full of food. He picked up the fork and began to eat, shovelling the food into his mouth.

�I trust you managed to feed your pet and get her to sleep?� Aizen questioned.

�Yeah,� he answered between mouthfuls of food. He took a deep breath and ground out the words he had thought he would sooner die than utter to the bastard sitting beside him. �I apologize for her behaviour, Kami-sama. I should have kept her under better control in your presence and should have seen to her health well-being sooner.� He almost choked over the words, but he managed to get them out without it sounding too forced.

Aizen raise an eyebrow at him and set down his cup of tea.

�My, my, is that a real apology from you, without me needing to pull it from your teeth? Your pet has worked marvellous changes on your temperament, Grimmjow. I never thought the day would come that I would see humility from you.�

�Che,� he scoffed, taking another huge bite of food and doing what little he could to retain what was left of his bad-ass image.

Aizen turned his attention back to his wife and Grimmjow tuned the conversation out as they finished breakfast. Servants cleared the table while Aizen bid his wife a good day before she left for work. Aizen stood shortly after she left and sent him a smile.

He did his level best to keep the bored attitude, at least outwardly. He even leaned back on his chair, balancing on two legs and rocking back and forth slightly. He didn�t know how well he was hiding his apprehension, which had skyrocketed once Unohana left. He was positive Aizen had never tortured anyone in front of his wife, but now that she was gone, it was open season.

�While we are sitting here, you might as well report on how the mission went,� Aizen picked up his refilled tea cup and looked at him expectantly.

Shrugging, he filed Aizen in on everything that had happened, including how they all spent six days of nonstop running to get back to the city with their cargo. He wasn�t sure, but it seemed like Aizen was at least impressed with Karin�s endurance. No human should have been able to keep going for six days at the pace Grimmjow and Starrk set, especially on nothing more than mouthfuls of water. Unlike a spiritual being, Karin could not get nutrition from the very air like every other person in Soul Society could, with the exception of Orihime and Tatsuki.

�Why did you simply not leave her to catch up?� Aizen questioned.

�The damn thing targeted her first and since it was fixated on getting to her, and because she doesn�t have the strength to control the thing, we figured it would be more efficient to just keep its attention on her and dangle her as bait in front of it while Starrk and I directed its movements. It was Starrk�s idea. We got back quicker because of it and didn�t have to drag the thing every step of the way.�

�It did, indeed, work,� Aizen mused. �Still, I do not like chaos in my empire. You know how much disrespect annoys me.�

He felt his body stiffen before forcing it to relax. He didn�t want to wake Karin or cause her any unnecessary stress if he could avoid it. He would do anything to protect her and their daughter from Aizen�s gaze. The grin Aizen sent him made him shiver, but when the expected order to follow him downstairs came he still rose to his feet, shoved his hands in his pockets, and followed after Aizen as lazily as he could, as if the fact he was going down to Aizen�s playroom didn�t frighten the living shit out of him. Whatever punishment Aizen decided to lay down, he would go into it with head held high and eyes wide open.

�Hopefully, it won�t involve the removal of any of my limbs because that seriously sucked the last time.�

Karin woke up when she heard the door clack open. It looked to be late afternoon and her bed was empty. She heard a familiar grunt, indicating it had been Grimmjow who had slammed the door open. She stretched and yawned before pulling herself out of bed. She was feeling a bit better now after her twenty hour long nap. Pulling a yukata on she walked out of the bedroom with a small smile, one that instantly disappeared when she saw the small trail of blood.

�Hey,� he greeted her with a grunt.

It was a sad thing that her first thought was �at least the damage isn�t actually that bad� instead of �how dare the fucker hurt her mate and is he okay?� She didn�t ask what had happened, as it was pretty obvious.

�Lay down so I can take a look at those,� she ordered firmly.

�They don�t hurt that much,� he shrugged.

�Amuse me,� she said crisply.

With a sigh, he made his way to the porch and lay down on his chest, resting his head on crossed arms. Karin arrived shortly after, a large bowl that steamed in the cool, winter air and several wash clothes. He hissed when the first dab of diluted alcohol touched the deep laceration in his back. She counted twenty lashes, and they were rather deep, but other than that, he appeared to have no further injuries. It could have been so much worse. Others had suffered more for less. Pointedly, Szayel, whom Aizen liked to torture and rape for the sick fun of it.

�It should have been me,� she whispered, berating herself. �I was the one who couldn�t keep her mouth shut. I know better.�

�Quiet!� he snapped. �Don�t even go there.�

�This was my fault,� she pressed.

�Fuck it, it was mine. You wouldn�t have snapped if you�d had food. Besides�� he paused for a moment, �I would be a pretty shitty mate if I let you or Ajuga come to harm.�

�Yeah, well, right back at you,� she smiled down at him. �Now hold still.�

He let out a hiss as she dabbed once more at the lacerations in his back.

�Baby,� she said warmly.

He let out a grunt of annoyance, but otherwise remained still as she tended to the wounds. His fast regeneration would take care of them quickly, but she still felt responsible for them and it made her feel slightly better to tend to them.

�I�ve received worse,� he finally spoke up. �This is just supposed to be a reminder, a slap on the wrists.�

She didn�t comment, but she did recall that Jushiro had come home on occasion over the years with similar stripes on his back for speaking up during meetings. It disgusted her, but to Aizen and his Arrancar it was the equivalent of spanking an unruly child, and she�d given a good number of those over the years. Not all of them ended up on Ajuga�s rear either and the memory of a pink-haired teenager squirming in her lap brought a chuckle to her.

�What�s got you so amused?� Grimmjow demanded.

�Sorry, just thinking about spankings.�

He looked at her strangely, blue eyes meeting hers over his shoulder.

�Women,� he grunted, before given his head a shake and resting it on his hands once more.

�At least Aizen didn�t ask me to publicly spank you,� she pointed out, and for good measure brought her hand down sharply on his own rear, earning a surprised yelp out of him.

No time, got to run. Enjoy. Thanks for the reviews.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56251 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2