Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

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
- 18
- 19
- 20
Emotional Turmoil

Karin didn�t mind fighting. She didn�t mind commanding troops, even though it was painful to see the people who had come to rely on her get hurt, or worse, killed. She definitely didn�t mind the after-battle mauling Grimmjow always gave her, her core heating up just thinking about the feeling of his body thrusting into her and knowing that she could turn that powerful beast into a mewling kitten. No, what bothered her was the disgusting coating of bug guts covering her, head-to-toe.

Using close combat strategies and fighting techniques, her specialty, resulted in a spray of gore and slime with each cracked and shattered carapace. A lot of it ended up on her. She almost envied the Rukongai militia; those units spent most of these battles manning catapults and ballista, although right now she was tempting to force Szayel to take a trip to the Living World and order him to pick up a few books on things like tanks and rail guns. They would be a much more efficient form of weapon, and far more devastating to the Swarm. Unfortunately, they would also be prime targets for theft. She did not want to think about how much worse Soul Society would become if the citizenry and the ex-Shinigami hiding amongst them got their hands on a few guns, magazines and bombs. Civil war was the last thing they needed right now.

�Still, something automatic with big shells to deal with the damn Swarm would be a nice addition to our arsenal. I wonder if flamethrowers would work��

Kido definitely seemed to work, at least on the Locusts, and many of the battlefields took on the aroma of burnt and roasting chicken by the time they�d finished. Karin didn�t like to think how the smell both repulsed her and managed to make her hungry after hours of fighting.

A loud hissing noise suddenly broke Karin out of her thoughts as she stared up at a large beetle lumbering her way. It paused and shot out a stream of its corrosive acid. Those that failed at moving fast enough screamed and died horribly as the stuff ate through them. The ground steamed and sizzled where it landed. Those caught by the tail of the attack were held down and any affected limbs were removed before the acid could eat its way to a vital part of their bodies. It was a small price to pay for their lives and, if they were lucky, Orihime would be able to replace the missing limbs. Those that got the acid on their torso were given a quick, merciful death to spare them the agony of being eaten alive. That acid was so strong that not even Ulquiorra�s impressive, high-speed regeneration couldn�t fully nullify it, and they had learned that the hard way.

Karin cursed, her blood surging, as she launched into a Shunpo and appeared above the beetle�s head. Merging a large amount of her reiatsu into her fist, she slammed it down upon the juncture where the beetles head met its thorax. The joint shattered under her blow and she grabbed onto the shell as it began to thrash. Thrusting her hand through the break, she fired off bolt after lightning bolt of Kido into the creature�s inner workings until it started to roll over and go into death throes.

She launched herself away, cursing as one of the sharp spikes on the flailing thing�s leg caught her on the thigh and tore a long, bone-deep gash through her muscle, leaving her leg a bloody mess.

�FUCKING, KAMI, DAMNED, PISS OF SHIT!� she roared as both pain and blood shot down her leg.

She could see down through the cleaved muscle to the yellow bone. Worse, the cut had gone into the bone itself. It hurt like a bloody bitch! She forced herself to concentrate on the pain numbing Kido Unohana had taught her, her body sweating profusely with the strain of dealing with the agony.

�At least the slice is clean,� she gritted out through clenched teeth before adding a few choice words she had learned from her mate.

Any distraction during a battle could be the death of a warrior, and Karin was distracted. Her concentration was completely broken and the pain flared back as a Locust came right through the tree she leaned against, pinning her to the ground with mandibles moving at an alarming rate centimetres from her face. Worse, the tree had landed on her slashed leg, effectively pinning her in place.

Her vision went splotchy as the pain overrode her and she fought against unconsciousness. The damn thing�s antennas were running all over her body and she let out a small cry of pain as the things mandibles nipped her arm, tasting her blood.

�Fuck,� she thought blurrily as the thing suddenly buzzed.

Like a stirred hornets� nest, the Locusts suddenly began to �swarm� about them, chitterling loudly and instantly blocking her off from the rest of her forces. Then it seemed as if the entire Swarm converged on her location.

The jaws that had nipped her skin lodged into the tree pinning her, as did the mandibles of a dozen other locust as they moved the tree off of her leg. The one who held her adjusted its grip until it clutched her tightly to its abdomen with four of its six legs and took off, moving slowly with its heavy burden.

Karin panicked. It was the all she could manage while barely conscious and pain-ridden. She focused what little mental control she had left onto the Claim she shared with her mate, screaming at him for help. He was so far away though, almost on the other end of the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Swarm buzzed around her in a formation much like a thick ball, using their bodies to protect the bundle in the centre. She could feel Grimmjow racing towards her, but now others were grabbing the one carrying her and increasing the speed in which they traveled as they distributed her weight between them.

Two unexpected explosions left her ears ringing as her entire world suddenly lit up with repetitive red flashes of light. Her vision went black and then abruptly came back accompanied by ringing ears, a migraine and an increase in the amount of pain in her leg.

Then she fell. The smell of burning insect corpses surrounded her for a moment, until her body plummeted past the stench, heading for the ground.

Something literally snatched her as she tumbled and the resulting disorientation made her stomach flip-flop, the upside-down landscape blurring for a brief moment. She wasn�t certain how much of that was due to the speed they were traveling or from her injuries. Her rescuer eventually set her as gently on the ground as possible, standing over her protectively. Karin thought she saw a long spear of green light twirling in the person�s hands as it fought off the insects trying to get to her. She could hear her mate�s infuriated howls somewhere nearby, followed by the sound of raging explosions and the blood-curdling screams as the bugs died.

At first, she thought the one to catch her was Ulquiorra, as she couldn�t think of any other Arrancar that had giant bat wings, but even with blurry vision she could tell that the one to have caught her had a halo of long, coppery hair, not black. Another blur, this one almost all white with black hair, joined the other.

�Karin-sama!� a little, feminine voice cried, and she felt small hands quickly latch onto the profusely bleeding wound in her leg, trying to stem the blood flow.

If the blurry white figure hadn�t been enough to force Karin back into reality, the call of such a young child definitely did. The Swarm was still buzzing about them, but a sudden deluge of power forced them slowly back. Hovering in such a large, compact formation just made them easier to kill. The air swiftly chilled as a wave of water crashed passed them, chased by a blast of cold that froze everything caught in it. For the moment, they were in the clear, but she could still hear her mate roaring furiously not too far away alongside the sound of battle.

Calming her breathing down, she focused first on the two standing over her worriedly. Fear was the first emotion that gripped her, followed by anger.

�Ajuga and Diaemus!� Karin snapped. �What the hell do you two think you are doing here?�

Ajuga looked at her in surprise while Diaemus suddenly looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.

�Saving you Mama,� Ajuga answered, seemingly puzzled by her mother�s anger.

Karin forced herself to sit gritting her teeth in agony in her leg slowly became numb thanks to the cream that a third person rubbed onto it. She was so furious right now that the pain soon took a back seat. The adrenaline in her system caused by her near kidnapping didn�t help the issue either.

�I ordered you to stay and guard the Research Centre when the battle started. You I can understand being incapable of following orders, Ajuga, but how do you think your father is going to feel about your blatant disregard for the chain of command, Diaemus?� Karin shouted.

Diaemus� head dropped in shame, as did his wings. The spear of light in his hand dissolved and he took on the appearance of a kicked puppy.

�Why?� Ajuga cried in frustration. �We can fight better than most of the Shinigami! Why do we have to guard a stupid building that probably has more defences than the Palace? Why can�t you trust us to fight too?�

There were tears forming in the corner of her daughter�s eyes. �Do you think me so weak mother?�

�I expect you to follow orders, especially during a battle, just like everyone else does, even your father. You could have been killed! And while I might have understood and accepted your desire to act like an immature child and sneak off to join the battle, WHAT THE FUCK POSSESSED YOU TO BRING VINDULA WITH YOU?!� Karin roared.

Vindula, Szayel�s daughter, who was tending to her leg the best she could, cringed and instantly looked guilty. Ajuga took a step back herself and her gaze darted to the little Arrancar girl sitting beside her mother.

Karin wanted to scream at her daughter for putting herself in danger, especially with the Swarm in such a frenzied state. However, she put that part of her anger and fear on the back burner for now as none of the three knew about the vulnerability mother and daughter shared. Instead, she let her ire regarding Vindula boil over.

�What if something had happened to her? She has no combat experience! Would you like to go up to Szayel and tell him you killed his daughter with your incompetence? Did you want to deliver her dead, blood-soaked body to Nemu? To explain to Renji why his charge was no longer breathing, to inform Abisara that his sister is dead and gone? Well, do you?!?� the woman raged, fingers digging into the dirt below her.

�I am sorry Mama,� Ajuga whispered before disappearing into a Sonido, tears streaming down the side of her face.

Karin kept an eye on her just to make sure that Ajuga returned to the city, and not someplace dangerous. Then she turned her furious gaze towards the boy, her tone as cold as the ice around them.

�Take Vindula home, Diaemus and then you can explain to Szayel how his child managed to get into the middle of a dangerous battle while I inform your father how incapable you are of following orders.�

�Yes, Karin-sama,� he mouthed brokenly.

Vindula had remained silent the entire time, her shoulders shaking softly as she sobbed and scrubbed at her eyes. Oh, how Karin wanted to yell at her too, but she forced her mouth closed for now. The little girl was feeling miserable enough and didn�t know better. No doubt her father would deal with her when he found out about this. She didn�t want to know what Renji would do. If Szayel were smart, he�d tie down anything breakable.

�Come on Vindula,� Diaemus held a hand out to the little girl.

�We just wanted to help,� Vindula whispered so quietly Karin almost didn�t hear her.

It tore at her, it truly did. It reminded of a time when she had watched her older brother run off to fight, leaving her behind and feeding her lies about what was truly going on. She had wanted to help too, but she had known that all she would have done was to get in Ichigo�s way. She forced the stern expression to remain for as long as it took the two to leave, Diaemus simply disappearing from her sight as he moved at speeds that rivalled Starrk in order to get the little girl back to safety.

The ice around her suddenly shattered as Toshiro released his grip on it, filling the air with trillions of ice particles and chilling it completely. Her entire body trembled, and it wasn�t from the chilled air either.

Karin lost track of the number of emotions racing through her, from terror to fear, that she felt like she was losing her mind. The Swarm had almost taken her. Her daughter had foolishly put herself in harm�s way to prevent that from happening. If the Swarm hadn�t suddenly gone into a defensive ball and changed their tactics, they might have found out about her daughter. She might have even been able to handle that stress. After all, her daughter�s Heirro was very strong and the likelihood of it was slim, but they had brought Vindula with them, delicate, beautiful little Vindula who had no idea how to defend herself! How could they do that?

She shook with rising, unchecked hysteria and blood loss and was in the process of losing her fight with blood loss when her mate finally caught up to her.

The majority of the latest wave of the Swarm was nothing more than a growing pile of shell and wing fragments on the forest floor, leaving the pickings slim. Karin bombarded him with such a dizzying mixture of terror and rage that it left him blindsided. He�d felt nothing like this from her in a very long time. Their Claim let him know she was stationary so she must have escaped from whatever had sent her into the initial, frenzied panic. He didn�t think too much of the raging emotions, attributing the anger to nearly being captured.

�Are you alright?� Grimmjow demanded as he appeared before her, kneeling down until they were nearly level.

His eyes instantly fell to the sizeable gash in her leg as she turned tear-filled eyes up at him. The intensity almost made him take a step back. The only other time he had seen his mate this close to openly bawling, to having a complete meltdown, was after Ichigo�s first incursion back into Soul Society, when she had coldly told her brother to leave. The time he had to rescue Szayel from Aizen came in a close second.

Something similarly trauma-inducing had Karin ready to snap, by the way she suddenly flung herself into his arms, not in the least bit disturbed by the fact they were both wearing more ichor than clothing, as his Resurrección really didn�t have clothes and hers had been shredded during the battle.

�Karin?� he called, starting to feel a bit of panic himself since his mate was so distraught and something truly awful had to have happened for her to lose her normal control this way.

Slowly, she managed to choke out the whole story while he put direct pressure on the wound to try to slow the bleeding. Grimmjow was impressed with her for taking out the beetle and felt a large swelling of pride. He was even a little bit pleased when he heard of how Ajuga and Diaemus had saved her, although he did share her anxiety over their daughter�s safety. Even though he hated following orders himself, he understood how important they were in such a large battle. What little understanding he did feel towards his daughter died when he found out that, against all reason, they�d let Vindula tag along. Vindula was not a hunter and had no weapons with which to defend herself as Ajuga and Diaemus had. He might not have cared in the past what happened to another�s cub, but this was Szayel�s child, the same Espada who had gone through hell and back for the protection of his own daughter and if Grimmjow was sure of one thing, he knew he paid his debts in kind, whatever form they might take.

�We need to get you to the 4th Division. I will speak to Ajuga about this,� he promised.

Karin nodded weakly as he picked her up, mindful of the nasty gash in her leg. She felt she was lucky in that she hadn�t lost the entire limb, not to mention the slash missed the main artery. Her body trembled from exhaustion and blood loss and the understandable freak-out from the near carting-off. She was unconscious by the time he got her into the hands of one of Unohana-Taichou�s subordinates and set her on a stretcher. With his mate now safe and in the hands of professionals, Grimmjow made for their rooms on the Estate with the intent of finding his child. If he knew his kid, Ajuga would be hiding her reiatsu and the only way to find her when she decided to head completely into the proverbial underbrush was with Karin�s sight or with the tracking device in her bracelet. The Sixth kept a locator bracelet in his room for just that purpose.

Reaching the Estate, he went to his dresser and pulled out the tracking device, turning it on. Looking at the beeping icon he sighed, eyes narrowing and walked across the hall to his daughter�s room. Once there he glared at the innocent piece of silver sitting on the small desk beside her nest. His daughter was getting too damned clever for her own, and everyone else�s, good.

�Maybe I should get Szayel to infest her with some of those bugs of his,� he grumbled aloud as Grimmjow started in on what he hoped wouldn�t be a fruitless search for his child. He hoped he would find her quickly but he wasn�t counting on it.

Szayel let out a sigh of relief as the door to his chambers closed behind him. It had been a long day. All he wanted to do was collapse. He needed some shuteye desperately. His children and mate had long since gone to sleep and he looked very much forward to joining Nemu in their large bed.

A slight sniffle caused him to nearly jump out of his skin as he whirled about to face the sound. His Claim on Nemu let him know that she was sound asleep in their bedroom. He knew Abisara and Vindula lay curled up in their beds in their room because he had checked on them, pleased when their redheaded guardian had his Zanpakuto at Szayel�s throat before he had touched their door. Renji waited until Szayel was ready to lock his family into their suite for the night before retreating to his own chambers, so he knew his children�s nanny hadn�t made the noise.

He hadn�t even sensed the intruder until that little sniffle gave them away. In fact, he still couldn�t sense anything, which meant he had a small list of suspects from which to choose.

He had his suspicions, but he still walked around his couch carefully, one hand on Formicas�s hilt and the other ready to draw a Cero. Even though his suspicions were confirmed when he finally caught sight of the interloper, his brain had a hard time registering what his eyes were showing him.

Ajuga sat curled up in the corner between his sofa and the wall, her body shaking as she cried softly. He had heard Karin had been admitted to the 4th Division. Grimmjow had reported as much during the meeting, but he doubted that such an event would have brought about such a reaction as this in Ajuga. Karin was hardly even that badly injured, compared to so many others and her prognosis for a full recovery was excellent.

�If Ajuga has been here the whole time, no wonder Grimmjow was in such a foul mood during the meeting,� Szayel thought to himself with sudden understanding.

There was no way Grimmjow would have thought to look for his daughter here, and even if he had, there was no way he could have gotten in pass all the security systems, or managed to get past Renji. Hell, Szayel wasn�t even sure how Ajuga had weaseled her way into his private chambers unless Nemu had let her in.

Something was clearly bothering the girl and it had to be big for her to have sought refuge here. Perhaps it had to do with what had Vindula so upset. Renji reported to him that his daughter had been red-eyed and subdued when the redhead got back from getting the bug ichor all over himself cleaned off. Her disquiet had lasted well into this evening and she would periodically start crying for no discernible reason. When he�d asked her, she had denied anything was wrong and put on a fake smile for her guardian.

�Ajuga?�

Szayel called her name out softly, not wanting to startle her and get a face full of sharp claws.

Ajuga didn�t jump at the sound of his voice, so he suspected that she knew he was there, or at least knew that he had entered the room. She didn�t immediately respond to him either. Instead, she curled up farther into the corner. If she retreated any further into it, she�d be inside the wall. Assured that he wasn�t going to startle her, he relaxed his defensive stance and called her again, this time louder.

�My dear, while I love my work, I generally do not bring specimens home with me, regardless of the fact that you may be my favourite.�

She finally looked over her shoulder at him, her bright blue eyes watery and held a look of such dismay and unbearable grief that, for a brief moment, he almost thought that someone had died, maybe even Karin. No, if Karin was dead Grimmjow would have made a much bigger racket at the meeting and Szayel certainly would have known about it. Perhaps a friend had perished, one he didn�t know about. He was positive that he would have known if Hana had died and made a note to go over the casualty roster if he couldn�t pry an answer out of her.

�Ajuga, might I inquire as to why you�re soaking my carpet?�

He tried to convey as much concern as he could, while wondering if the combination of tears and bug ichor might permanently stain the upholstery of his pristine white couches and carpet.

�Mama doesn�t love me,� she sobbed.

�Where in the Realms did that come from,� he couldn�t help but to wonder in shock.

�And you probably hate me now too�� she added with a hiccup.

�Wherever did you ever get the idea that I hate you?�

Now this was unexpected.

�I thought you loved being my �Favourite Experiment�.�

�I do,� she sniffed.

�Hmm. Ajuga, why don�t you come out of there and put on a pot of tea while I take a quick shower. Try to calm yourself and once I am back to my immaculate glory, we will sit down and you can tell me why you think your mother and I suddenly hate you.�

She nodded reluctantly and slowly uncurled herself from the corner. Szayel watched her disappear into the kitchenette before he walked into his bedroom to procure something clean to wear. His next stop involved a hot spray of water and plenty of soap, which gave him time to consider his options. Contacting Grimmjow to let him know his daughter�s location seemed like the most reasonable course of action. Szayel was positive he now knew what had the Sexta�s tail in a knot during the meeting, but he decided that calming Ajuga down and working out the girl�s issues before tossing her stressed out, volatile father into the mix was a smarter idea. Karin was a far better mediator than he was. Without her here, things might escalate and he simply didn�t have the energy to cope with all of that this late at night.

By the time he�d managed a quick scrubbing and emerged in a clean dressing gown, Ajuga was just setting the teapot down on the coffee table in front of the couch. She sat dejectedly on the side closest to the wall, leaving him his usual spot. The girl looked like she had managed to get her grief under control, but she would need a shower too, and his furniture would need a thorough cleaning. She�d clearly come here straight from the battlefield, if what was drying in her fur was any indication of where she�d been prior to hiding in his living quarters.

�At least she�s calmer now,� he thought positively.

He took his cup of tea and sipped it, watching as Ajuga did the same. When they were on their way to a third cup, she finally spoke, just as he knew she would.

�Mama hates me,� she murmured.

�So you said. I say �poppycock� to that. You and I both know that Karin-sama loves you very much.�

�Then why do I keep getting stupid missions away from the front lines?� Ajuga demanded. �It�s like she doesn�t think I am strong enough to fight with the others now. I am not a stupid little cub anymore! I am stronger than a dozen Rukongai regiments, and yet I always get stuck sitting outside your door staring at the clouds while they get to engage the Swarm!� Ajuga seethed, lurching to her feet and pacing angrily, her tail lashing behind her.

�Ah, so this is all about her pride. She�s so much like her father,� Szayel couldn�t help but to think.

He couldn�t reveal to her the main reason for Karin taking an overprotective stance towards her daughter, namely her bloodline, but he could give her other valid reasons that should at least make Ajuga feel less �disrespected�.

�Ajuga, have you ever thought that it is because your mother trusts you to be that strong that she assigned you and Diaemus to guard this particular building?�

�How do you come to that conclusion?� She whirled to face him as she said this, staring at him in disbelief.

Szayel took another sip of tea and sat back, giving her what he hoped was a challenging enough look. He might be her mother�s �pet,� but he was still an Espada and he would get through to her.

�Ponder this for a moment. As you know, we have Specimen S4-01, also known as �Mushi� thanks to your mother, a Portal Scarab, stashed in the basement of this facility. We have not yet determined the range of the Swarm�s ability to communicate with one another.�

To make his point, the Seventh set his teacup down and steepled his fingers together, looking intently at her over them with tired golden eyes.

�What would happen if Mushi telepathically sent a message about his location to the Swarm? What might occur here if they tried to break him out?�

�Could they?� Ajuga challenged, but he could tell she was at least mulling over the idea.

�The acid from Specimens S2 would easily chew through my defences. The servants in my building are not warriors. They are researchers and scientists, Kido specialists and other assorted data jockeys. We do know the Portal Scarabs are the ones bringing in the Swarm, but how do they get here? What if a group slipped around and came at us from the rear and brought a second Portal Scarab, creating a matched set and the two of them opened a portal directly into the city?�

He could tell that Ajuga was really thinking about it now. Her tail was still switching, but not as violently as it had been and she wasn�t pacing like a caged tiger.

�So you are saying that Mama is ordering Diaemus-kun and I to guard the back lines because she think we can hold them long enough for a warning to get off?�

�Finally, she begins to understand.�

�I believe that is one of many reasons. Try to think as a commander would. Where would you put your resources, if you were your mother? As you pointed out, you are far stronger than several of the Rukongai militias. You are faster and able to patrol a far larger area. Between yourself and Diaemus, your airborne counterpart, the two of you are a far better and more effective set of eyes and ears as far as keeping this facility intact. In addition, having two that can hold an entire sector is far more efficient than sending several regiments to do the same thing.�

Ajuga sat down once more and took a sip of her tea. Szayel could tell that the idea was truly starting to work its way into her brain. He understood Karin�s fear of course, but he also understood Ajuga�s need to prove herself.

�I would also have you consider this bit of information. If the Science Division falls to the Swarm or any other form of sabotage, the entire control center for the battle lines and warning systems goes with it and while I can, in time, replace components of the Net, replacing this facility would be almost impossible.�

Ajuga�s eyes opened a little wider as she clasped her cup of tea and he hoped the girl understood he was being sincere about protecting this Division.

He would have to suggest that Karin let them participate in battles on occasion, maybe call them off their guard duty near the end so they could help with the clean up when the danger was at the lowest. They needed to make the two feel as if they contributed something to the fight and not treat them like newborn cubs. Otherwise, they�d feel shafted. Ajuga was getting to the age where she would be ready to leave the den and Karin wouldn�t be able to protect her daughter so easily after that.

�Now that I know why you think Karin-sama hates you, what makes you think that I would hate you?�

Her entire posture dropped again and she looked positively dismal.

�Vindula-chan followed Diaemus and me out onto the battlefield,� she confessed meekly.

His first reaction involved fear and anger in equal measures, but he quickly clamped it down. At least he now knew why his daughter had been acting strangely earlier.

�Followed?�

His daughter had a weakness for all things she deemed pretty and he could see how the flashes of Kido from the battle, at a distance, might be tempting.

�We didn�t mean for her to come with us onto the actual battlefield, and I don�t think she intended to follow us that far, but when the Swarm went after Mama like that, someone had to tend to Mama�s leg while Diaemus and I defended her. Since we couldn�t treat her leg and fight at the same time, we sort of, well� we took Vindula with us,� Ajuga finished, her voice pitched low enough to qualify as muttering. �I carried her and we made sure she was safe. We brought Mama to her and we didn�t take Vindula far past the back lines. The Swarm wasn�t even fighting anymore and they were milling about in confusion, as they always do. We never would have brought her in if we thought it was unsafe!�

Szayel found himself torn between being proud of his daughter for braving such a frightening situation to try and tend to Karin�s leg while the other part wanted to drown Ajuga in a tub of acid for putting his child in harm�s way.

�Hypocrite!� he scolded himself, resting his head on the back of the sofa and looking at the ceiling. �It�s all fine and dandy when the cub isn�t your own, but as soon as it�s your daughter in the middle of all that madness, you get territorial and protective. Nevertheless, Vindula is far too young to engage in this sort of thing. She doesn�t have the defences the older cubs have. She is so childlike and curious. She would stop to look at a flower and give one of those damn Locusts a chance to bite her head off.�

The argument went back and forth in his head for bit before he realized that Ajuga was looking up at him brokenly, clearly still expecting a response from him over what had happened.

�While I am upset at you for bringing Vindula into a situation she�s unprepared for� yet� I do appreciate your honesty, Ajuga. Nothing happened this time. I trust you have learned your lesson and it will not happen again. Right?� he demanded sternly.

Ajuga nodded her head.

�So, you don�t hate me?� she asked hesitantly.

�Oh I am incredibly angry and somewhat disappointed in you, and probably will be for a few days, but I don�t hate you,� he assured her. �Hate is such a strong word, after all.�

That seemed to perk her up a bit.

�Now, why don�t you get on home? Your father is probably tearing his fur out in large handfuls right now, what with your mother at the 4th Division with a sliced up leg and his daughter missing.�

�You are probably right,� she agreed, shoulders still drooping a little. �Do you think he is going to be mad at me?� she asked hesitantly.

�Oh yes� he�ll be frothing at the mouth, actually,� Szayel replied. �But, the sooner you take your lumps, the sooner they will mend and go away.�

�I hate taking lumps,� she grouched.

�We all do,� he agreed, sending her a smile. �I fear adulthood has more than its share of lumps. Best get used to it.�

Ajuga looked down into her cup for a few more seconds, before draining it and putting it down on the table next to the now-empty teapot.

�Alright.�

She stood up and stretched, looking far better than the trembling mess he had found behind his sofa.

�Thank you Szay. Good night,� she bade him as she made for the door.

�Good night Ajuga,� he returned.

The door clicked behind her and he rose to lock it before tiredly retreating to his bedroom. He turned out the light and undid his dressing gown, hanging it on a hook and then crawling under the covers to join his mate. The bed was already nice and warm and after the long, gruelling day he�d had, sleep wasn�t far off in coming.

�I must remember to talk to Vindula and remind her that the pretty things are often the most dangerous,� he thought sleepily before he drifted off.

Poor Ajuga-chan, getting into trouble all the time. Kids have a tendency to do that. Poor Karin, almost taken and than her daughter practically throws herself in harms way. I know I would be a mental wreak. Thank you all so much for your reviews.

Nel will make an appearance, but not until somewhere around page 770ish. I just finished writing the chapter where they finally meet up with the Escapees again and sent it off for editing.

Yeah, Tesra and Tatsuki are definitely the most stable and normal pairing. It would be tedious, but at least they can communicate still. It would be pretty hard for them to run a division should they ever be giving the chance.

Anononon: the thought actually did cross my mind at one point, or at least, for him to be a first crush for Ajuga-chan. That would be a hilarious moment. I have someone else planned for Byakuya after POV2

Next Chapter: Hana frets over Ajuga�s secret, and decides to recruit some help in keeping Ajuga�s blood out of the Swarm�s mouths.

This Weeks Question: other than the obvious Aizen/Yammy/Barragan�s deaths, what is one thing you really hope to see/will happen, in POV2?
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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