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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
Chapter List
- 16
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Family, Not Just Blood

Across town, Tatsuki and her mate emerged from the shower themselves, their flushed, rosy cheeks caused by more than just the heat from the steam in the bathroom.

�Not quite a record, but enjoyable!�

Tatsuki smiled pleasantly as she tenderly kissed her mate�s lips. �You are truly an attentive man, and I thank whatever lucky star that allowed us to stumble across each other�s path,� she purred.

�As do I,� Tesra agreed softly.

�As much as I would love to just stay in and enjoy more of that, I did promise Orihime-chan that we would be there on time for dinner. Are you certain you feel comfortable about going to Ulquiorra�s place this evening?�

It wasn�t as if her concern was misplaced, Tesra thought. He was only a fraccion and he would be sitting at a table with two powerful Espada, one of whom outranked the one he served.

�It will be awkward,� he admitted �but I know that this is what you and your friend want. I�ll survive until dessert.�

�Good,� she replied and nipped his lips again before pulling away from his warm body with a sigh. �I suppose we should get dressed before we become distracted. Orihime would be upset if we missed her dinner because we got sidetracked.�

�Hmm,� he agreed.

Reluctantly, they parted and made for their shared bedroom to dry off and dress. He had offered to find them a bigger place, but Tatsuki assured him that she was happy here, at least until they had kids.

�How long it will take before we are successful,� he wondered.

Tesra�s dreams of late involved an image of his Tatsuki, her belly swollen with his cub, surrounded by the healthy glow of pregnancy. Serving as Nnoitra�s fraccion, he had never even considered the possibly of having a mate one day, let alone having cubs of his own. Being what he was, he half-expected his master to choose any potential mate for him, in order to breed up another possible mate for Nnoitra. It would hardly be the first time such a scenario occurred. Naturally born Hollows were rare and those that found and Claimed them kept the ones they discovered under close control.

Yet, Nnoitra had never Claimed him, despite his right to do so. His first time having sex had been with the wonderful human woman he called his mate, who wore a golden ring that matched his own. They had lost their virginity to each other under a mutual exchange. Not even one in ten thousand Hollows could claim that.

�Are you going to get dressed, or do I need to do it for you?� Tatsuki inquired, already dressed in a deep blue version of his own uniform.

�I can do it. If you do it we will be late� he pointed out.

�True enough,� she agreed.

He pulled on a fresh uniform and ran a brush quickly through his hair before sitting down to braid Tatsuki�s long, chestnut-colored hair. Unbound, it reached the middle of her back. Tesra thought he�d finally figured out why she�d decided to keep her hair long, after a few long talks with her about her hairstyle. First, during the time that Ulquiorra kept both girls confined to the house, Tatsuki�s short hair style became impossible to keep thanks to Orihime�s ineptitude with scissors. Second, and perhaps the explanation he liked better, was that she enjoyed it when he played with and braided her hair back. Truthfully, that was a bonus for him as well.

Tesra finished in time for them to leave for Ulquiorra�s den, walking out into the frosty night air. She could not use any form of faster travel as he could so they walked. It wasn�t actually that far and it was a beautiful winter evening. They could see the silhouettes of trees, their bare branches looking like trails of ink against a deep blue sky, fading to black as star after star came out. Snow was rare here and rumour had it that it only fell when Hitsugaya was in a bad mood.

They were the first to arrive and Orihime greeted them happily at the door. Tesra settled himself in for a long, awkward evening as Tatsuki left him alone in the living room with Ulquiorra and Diaemus. They sat in silence for some time just staring at one another while the woman chatted happily in the kitchen.

�She seems content with your relationship.�

Ulquiorra, surprisingly, broke the stifling silence first by addressing him and making him feel less like a potential component of the upcoming meal. �I am pleased you took my warning to heart.�

�Ah, thank you. Yes, we are very happy together� he blushed lightly. �She has just agreed that she was ready to try for children of our own,� he confessed, feeling that such information was safe to share with the Fourth Espada.

If he knew Tatsuki, she would tell Orihime, who would be unable to keep it from her mate and any other female she considered a friend. If what he�d heard was true, Diaemus and Ajuga were close friends. Tesra therefore doubted that Ulquiorra would be the least bit interested in obtaining he and Tatsuki�s offspring for his son, should he have a daughter.

That didn�t mean that the idea of the Fourth and Sixth Espada�s children deciding to pair up permanently didn�t fill Tesra with deep foreboding. Soul Society was going to burn should the day ever arrive that those two decided to pair up.

Karin, Ajuga and Grimmjow arrived shortly after that. Judging by the look of suffering that crossed Diaemus� face when Ajuga walked in, Tesra figured his worries on that score were for naught. There was no hint of affection in Diaemus� posture or eyes for Ajuga. In fact, each seemed slightly irritated that the other one was there, with a thin veneer of tolerance lacquered over the top, like ice across a deep pond. Ulquiorra took the opportunity to send less-than-friendly looks at Grimmjow as Karin abandoned her mate to join the happy girls in the kitchen.

Tesra, happily relegated to the role of wallpaper, watched as the two more powerful Espada squared off with each other. He sat back and did his best impersonation of a side table, content to remain quietly unnoticed, and therefore unharmed in his chair.

�Hey Diaemus, want to head out back?� Ajuga asked with a challenging smile, hooking her thumb over her shoulder towards the back door.

�Very well, but I do not wish for you to complain when I defeat you in whichever game you wish to fail at this time,� he shot back, the boy�s tone surprisingly sure.

�Because you win so many of them,� she replied mockingly and rolled her eyes at him. �C�mon, before we end up having to help in the kitchen.�

That actually seemed to have some sort of effect on the young male Hollow and his eyes darted towards the kitchen in horror before he quickly followed Ajuga out the back door into the yard.

�Grimmjow,� Ulquiorra greeted his guest.

�Yo, how did your broad sucker you into this mess?� Grimmjow asked as he collapsed leisurely onto the couch across from Ulquiorra.

�I would suspect the same way your own mate convinced you to attend tonight�s dinner,� Ulquiorra answered nonchalantly.

Grimmjow threw back his head and laughed. �Damn, she sure has got you whipped, boy,� he gasped out, showing no small amount of fangs.

�Implying that I am �whipped� would also imply that, you yourself suffer from the same condition.�

�Yeah, but I can own up to it,� Grimmjow smirked. �What about you? Are you whipped?�

It took a moment for Tesra to realize that Grimmjow was talking to him.

�Uh, most assuredly,� he admitted. �The entire idea to Claim and mate was hers.�

Tesra wanted to sink into the cracks between the floorboards, his face reddened, unable to believe he was having this sort of conversation with two Espada. It only got worse as the minutes ticked by.

�Ajuga and Diaemus are getting older. Have you spoken to her about Claims yet?�

Grimmjow looked as if he�d swallowed a bee, but recovered quickly.

�Nah, I asked Harribel to do it. I figured it would be better if she learned about all of that shit from another female Arrancar. They do things differently than we do and she could answer the questions Karin and I wouldn�t have a clue about,� he admitted. �What about you?�

�Diaemus is younger than Ajuga, but I plan on speaking to him about it soon, preferably on a day that Orihime is not around. It will be uncomfortable enough without his mother hanging around and making a scene.�

�Good idea. You know how protective women get with their cubs. They�ll damn near do anything to keep �em safe.�

Tesra knew that all too well. His mother had put up with the bastard that had killed his father for the sake of keeping him unscathed. He wished he could remember his parents more clearly, but the only real memories he had from way back then were those involving his mother�s death and meeting Nnoitra for the first time.

�What do you think Barragan�s going to do with the brat his fraccion and his bitch are going to push out?� Grimmjow wondered aloud.

�I do not know,� Ulquiorra admitted. �The Second is acting� irrationally over the situation. It has upset Orihime greatly.�

�Karin too,� Grimmjow divulged, and his face took on a darker expression, unnerving Tesra, who considered discreetly scooting his chair away from the Sixth until he concluded that the only way he was going to get any farther away from Grimmjow involved abandoning the chair in favour of leaping out of a window.

�I don�t get that old poof. He had the gall to go after Ajuga,� Grimmjow growled �but the moment a potential naturally-born female is delivered into his pack and free for the pickings, he doesn�t want it? I think senility is catching up with the geriatric fuck.�

�Perhaps, or perhaps there is another issue we are unaware of. Unlike Ajuga, the lineage of this child, in his eyes,� Ulquiorra�s gaze flickered Tesra�s way for a moment, �is less auspicious.�

�She was a Taichou and Ggio ain�t half bad for a Numeros. He�s not up to par with us of course, but he ain�t no pathetic wimp either. I half suspect he�s naturally born too, because I�ve never seen his hole. Have you?�

Tesra had often wondered if he wasn�t the only pureblooded naturally born Hollow amongst the Arrancar. He had never dared to approach Ggio to ask though. Potential enemies simply did not share that kind of dangerous information. Barragan�s taste for young, feminine-looking males was a poorly kept secret amongst the Numeros and he didn�t want to give the Second any reason to start looking at him. There was no guarantee that Nnoitra would have protected him and might have even traded him off. Still, the thought of talking to another with a heritage similar to his was a serious temptation.

�What do you think?� It took a moment for Tesra to realize Grimmjow had spoken to him.

�Perhaps,� he said slowly and thought about what he knew of Barragan and his reputation amongst the lower ranks, �Barragan-sama is less upset over the lineage, so much as having the affections of one of his subjects� not centered on him,� he offered his theory hesitantly, unsure if he�d be laughed at or taken seriously.

�Expound on your observation,� Ulquiorra ordered.

�Well,� he licked his lips and wondered if he should even be talking about this in front of his superiors before deciding he didn�t have much of a choice, ��when we were still stationed in Hueco Mundo, before Aizen-Kami joined us, he caught one of his former fraccion courting another. He disposed of them both and he seemed incredibly angry over the affair.�

�Now that is pathetic,� Grimmjow snorted. �The �King of Hueco Mundo� can�t even keep his own toys interested in him? He must be a terrible� ah, partner�� Grimmjow quickly changed his word as Karin walked into the living room to join them.

�The walls are still standing, I am almost scared to ask what you�re all talking about,� Karin commented as she sat down on the couch closest to her mate.

�Barragan and why he�s so against the brat Ggio�s having with His Majesty�s female pet,� Grimmjow replied. �Tesra here has a good theory going.�

�She doesn�t belong to Barragan.�

Karin�s announcement took everyone aback and Tesra wondered how in the hell a human woman would know something like that. Then his memory kicked him a few times and he stared down at his hands before he made a fool of himself.

�I can see Claims, remember?� she explained to the three confused males.

Oh right, she could see and manipulate reiatsu and, as a result, could cast Claims of her own, which he knew from personal experience. He had forgotten about that little fact. He�d kept quiet about it for so long that he�d managed to put it completely out of his mind.

�Ggio stole his Espada�s pet. Man, that�s just hilarious!� Grimmjow laughed, until his mate shook her head.

�Unless something changed in the first five years before you dragged me to my first Claim Meeting, Barragan has never held her Claim. I noticed it the first time I saw her, but it wasn�t until I met Ggio that I realized he was the one holding her, which is odd because he�s weaker than she is. She�s far more powerful.�

�The only way for such to have occurred would be for him to have done so while she was weakened and then to maintain it regularly,� Ulquiorra noted.

�Means he�s probably been doing her like clockwork since we won the Winter War. Heh. Barragan has only himself to blame for her getting knocked up, if he was the one ordering his fraccion to keep screwing her,� Grimmjow scoffed.

�What makes you believe Barragan is ordering Ggio to do so?� Ulquiorra replied, and not in a way that made it sound as if he questioned Grimmjow�s intelligence. Instead, it sounded as if Ulquiorra wanted Grimmjow to explain his reasoning.

�Why else would be bring his fraccion�s pet to the Claim Meetings as if she was his own? We all know his sexual preferences. I guarantee you he probably has Ggio holding her so he doesn�t have to degrade himself on her tainted female body.�

Ulquiorra seemed to ponder that before given a reluctant nod of his head. �You may be correct in your assumption.�

Tesra stared at Ulquiorra in surprise. He might not be on friendly terms with the other Espada, but everyone knew the basics, and Ulquiorra conceding to one of Grimmjow�s points was definitely not a behaviour any of the Numeros, be they a Fraccion or not, had ever documented. More so, Grimmjow didn�t make an issue of scoring some imaginary point and Karin sent her mate a small smile, probably a reward for doing so.

�What brought you two around to discussing such gossip anyway?� Karin asked.

Ulquiorra looked instantly affronted at the very idea that they had been gossiping while Grimmjow hesitated over the answer. Tesra wondered if the evening was going to get any more surreal that it already had.

The answer was a resounding �YES�.

A loud explosion saved the Sixth Espada from coming up with an excuse or an answer.

Before anyone could move to see what caused the ruckus, Ajuga and Diaemus stumbled into the house, both of them smoking with singed fur where they had it, covered in soot, and coughing slightly

�What happened?� Karin asked before anyone else could.

Orihime rushed to her son�s side, examining him for injuries while he protested weakly and tried to get her to stop. Ajuga, who had been the first to recover, had a pleased smirk on her face.

�I won the contest!� she announced proudly.

�You are beyond irresponsible!� Diaemus spat at her, and then coughed out a lungful of gray air.

�Eh, I won, fair�s fair and all that,� she shrugged, brushing off her fur.

�Ajuga Jaegerjaquez�� Karin said dangerously.

The effect was instant. Ajuga froze and all signs of merriment on the girls� face vanished, replaced with a healthy dose of fear. Karin�s voice even rattled Tesra for a moment.

�What happened?� her mother demanded, hands on her hips.

�Umm,� Ajuga looked suddenly nervous as all eyes were on her. �We were having a contest and I won,� she answered sheepishly.

�Ajuga,� Karin�s voice dropped an octave and sounded more threatening than Nnoitra did when he was pissed.

Tesra, for his part, started eyeing the window. Just in case. He caught Grimmjow doing the same thing, so he didn�t feel too bad about it.

�Fine, we were seeing who could make a bigger Cero ball and maintain it for the longest,� Ajuga finally confessed.

�Cero?� Karin asked confused.

Grimmjow instantly lost interest in the window and interjected himself into the conversation, rising to his feet as Karin just stared at her daughter in shock. �Where on earth did you get an idea to start playing with those?� he snapped.

�Diaemus,� Ajuga shamelessly passed the blame. �The entire contest was his idea,� she added for good measure.

Now Diaemus had a look of embarrassment and his own gaze dropped to his clawed, almost birdlike feet.

�Diaemus?� Ulquiorra sent his son a stern look. �Did I not inform you that you were not to practice or use a Cero unsupervised?�

�Yes, Otou-san,� he muttered.

�You taught him how to play with a Cero?� Grimmjow asked and his jaw dropped. Ulquiorra glanced at the Sixth and then fixed his green eyes on his son.

�Until now, he displayed the proper discipline to be trusted with such a power. Perhaps I was mistaken.�

Diaemus� entire posture drooped and water pooled at the corners of his eyes.

�Go to your room and think about what you have done,� Ulquiorra ordered his son.

�Yes, Otou-san,�

Orihime looked worriedly after her son as he obeyed, but Ulquiorra caught her eyes and she let go of any protests she might have had.

�And as for you, since I know you probably instigated the whole thing, you can go sit on the front steps and stay there until after dinner,� Grimmjow ordered sternly.

�What?� Ajuga protested, shocked she was being punished, and by her father of all people.

�Now!� he ordered firmly.

Scowling, she marched out the front door.

�You slam that door and I will tan your hide,� Grimmjow added, clearly reading her intent in her posture.

Ajuga scowled, but closed the door properly. Grimmjow sent Karin a look and she nodded her head, indicating Ajuga was doing as ordered. There was a tense silence in the room for a moment before Grimmjow was the first to break and start laughing, although not so loudly the two children could hear.

�A Cero? Seriously Ulquiorra, you taught him that?�

�Mmm� I love it when you are a good father,� Karin purred as she pulled her mate back down onto the couch and settled into his lap facing him so she could give him a solid kiss.

�They aren�t hurt, are they?�

Orihime�s eyes had followed her son down the hall and the worry in her voice was clear.

�The only thing singed is their collective pride, and maybe a bit of fur.� Tatsuki answered her friend while moving over to sit in Tesra�s lap as well.

Tesra breathed a bit easier as the friction drained from the room and the adults could finally see the humour in the situation. It also helped to have his hands occupied with a lapful of mate. It was funny when he thought about it. What surprised him the most though, was that he had expected the two Espada to defend their children and start at one another over which child was more at fault, not to discipline them both and send them to an obvious �time out�.

Orihime, being the only one still standing, poked her head out the back door and let out a gasp of dismay before sighing and making a comment along the lines of �well, the backyard needed re-landscaping anyway� and �I�ve always wanted a swimming pool.� She rejoined them in the living room and informed the assembled guests that supper would be ready in a couple of minutes.

The rest of the evening passed calmly and the conversation never seemed strained. Both fathers permitted their respective children to join them at the table halfway through dinner and the culprits ate in reproachful silence, eyes glued to their plates. By the time the �dinner party� wrapped up, a sickle-shaped moon had climbed high in the night sky. Tatsuki had clearly had a good time, her eyes sparkling in delight, as had Orihime�s when he thought about it.

They walked down the street with Tatsuki leaning against him with a small smile on her face. It hadn�t been as uncomfortable of an evening as he had thought it would be. In fact, it had almost been�pleasant. Tatsuki suddenly chuckled and he glanced down at her, wondering what she found humorous.

�Sorry, just thinking about Ajuga and Diaemus remodelling the back yard,� she explained. �Those two certainly know how to push each other�s buttons.�

�They do,� he agreed, though he didn�t understand the whole �button� reference. Tesra decided that it must be a Living World thing and let it go.

�Kami, could you imagine Nnoitra and Rangiku raising kids? I think they would pull their hair out by the end of the first year!� she laughed.

Tesra tried to imagine Nnoitra with offspring, but conceded that he would probably just end up being the one put in charge of any cub his Espada sired, much the way that Szayel had assigned his tattooed, red-haired pet to care for his twins. He could picture Rangiku taking care of the cub some of the time, but the moment a dirty diaper came up he just knew that she would be calling for him. He switched the image to himself and Tatsuki instead. That was far more satisfying and they continued the walk home in silence.

*Checks for still hidden pitchforks and sniper rifles.

I enjoyed reading all of your responses to last weeks� question. Well, here is some more mild humour and lovy dovy stuff to wash the rest of that foul taste out. I hope you enjoyed this rather domestic, and amusing, chapter.

This Weeks Question: What do you think of all of these new Quincy characters? Seeing as how they are ranked on the Alphabet, I fear there may be 26 of them. I, personally, am hardly amused and couldn�t care less at this point. One or two of them seem semi interesting, but I just can�t bring myself to care about the rest, or even downright despise them already.

Next Chapter: Ajuga complains to Harrible about her father actually coming down on her, THE HORROR!! We also see a bit of Barragan�s household and we learn a bit of Yumichika�s past, as well as see the three plot how to deal with the up coming cub and seeing to its safety from Barragan.
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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