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

Chapter List
- 70
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Warnings: dark content.

Claiming Backlash

　

Karin awoke with a start, pure terror racing through her. She was on her feet with her reiatsu fused to her joints ready to defend herself before she was even fully awake. Beside her Grimmjow also woke with a start, Pantera in his hands before he was awake as her own panic transferred to him.

They both stood there frozen as he looked for the threat that had her in such a panic and she finally realized the terror she was feeling was coming through the Claim. Her panic dimmed to be replaced with anger. No, not anger, pure fury.

�What�s wrong?� Grimmjow demanded once he realized there was no threat to them and that her fear had turned to rage.

�Szayel,� she hissed.

�What about him?�

She growled as another strong wave of emotion slammed into her, this time mortification. Not the mortification one felt when someone walked in on you naked. Rather it was the kind that meant something unpleasant was about to be done to you.

�I think Aizen must be doing something to him again,� she whimpered, clutching her head.

�Why?� he questioned.

Karin whined as another wave of terror and mortification hit her. This was a thousand times worse than what had happened the last time Aizen had done something to the researcher.

�Is there any way to stop this? Any way to tone it down?� she pleaded in a voice filled with pain.

�No,� he said regretfully, pulling her into his grasp.

He held her as the waves of pain, shame and humiliation continued. They didn�t abate at all, getting worse as more time passed. She whimpered in distress as the emotions hitting her rose in intensity with no sign of stopping. Finally, she began to struggle against him, as if trying to escape everything the Claim unwillingly fed her.

�I can�t take this anymore,� she gasped, trying to stand up.

�Wait,� he held her more tightly. �Not even I am stupid enough to just waltz into Aizen�s Palace and tell him to stop punishing someone.�

�Mama, Papa?� Ajuga questioned as she entered the room slowly.

Both turned their attention to their daughter.

�What are you doing up, silly girl?� Karin asked as sweetly as she could.

�You were feeling strange,� Ajuga answered. �It felt bad.�

She finished closing the distance and Karin gathered their daughter up, motherly instincts overriding the desire to go and stop the abuse of Szayel.

�Oh?�

�Uh huh. Is something wrong, Mama?� Ajuga questioned worriedly.

�It�s nothing dear.� Karin tried to sooth her, unsuccessfully.

Then she felt a tremor run up her spine at the sudden feral grin that crossed Grimmjow�s face.

�Oi brat, want to play a game?� he proposed suddenly.

�A game?� Ajuga perked up excitedly, distracted from what was going on with her mother.

�Grimmjow, this is hardly the time for games,� Karin admonished in shock, wondering if he had completely lost his mind.

�It�s the perfect time for games,� he shot back, waving her concern away and giving her a significant look in the process.

�What�s the game, what�s the game?!� Ajuga demanded, bouncing from Karin�s arms and running around them in an excited circle.

�We are going to play hide n� seek,� he smirked at her.

�I love hide n� seek!� Ajuga cheered, all concerns forgotten.

It was so rare that her Papa let her play games at night and she wasn�t going to be silly enough to say no, even if it could just be more �training.�

�Alright! Ready for the rules?� he questioned.

�Right,� Ajuga went completely still in front of them, giving them all of her attention. Even her tail was motionless.

�You can hide anywhere in the city except for the Palace and Szayel�s lab.�

�The entire city?� she questioned excitedly.

�Grimmjow!!!� Karin snapped, glaring at him with more than enough outrage for three mothers. Her anger only grew when he refused to look at her, instead remaining intent on his rapt daughter.

�You have to hide really well, so no one can find you, alright?� he explained carefully, paying no heed to Karin�s protests.

�Right,� Ajuga saluted.

�Grimmjow, are you insane? It�s the middle of the night!!!� Karin yelled.

Grimmjow ignored her completely.

�Alright, ready?�

Ajuga crouched down, digging her claws into the floor.

�Set.�

Ajuga twitched.

�Go.�

Ajuga was gone like a bullet.

�What in the hell do you think you are doing!?!� Karin demanded sharply.

�It would seem that we lost Ajuga,� he frowned in mock sadness.

�You sent her out into the city! Anything could happen to her out there!� Karin shouted back.

�Please, nothing out there in the city could harm her. They would have to find her first for starters. And, speaking of finding�� he smirked at her. �Doesn�t Szayel have some trinket on him that will help find the brat?�

Her eyes widened as she finally realized the motivation behind his insistence on this absurd and possibly dangerous �game� with their child. She sat back down on the futon, stunned that he would come up with something so audacious, yet, so� so� devious.

�I would suggest you start looking for our lost daughter. The more hysterics the better.�

�Clever,� she smiled softly at him.

�Exactly. If you will excuse me, I got a pink-haired freak to hunt down so I can drag his sorry ass back to his lab to find our oh-so-lost daughter.�

�Thank you,� she smiled at him and pulled him in for a kiss. �He�s at the Palace.�

�Yeah, I know,� he growled quietly. �I�ve got a pretty good idea where to find him too. Now, let�s see how well you play the role of hysterical mother.�

She nodded her head and let herself embrace some of the rawer emotions Szayel emitted, mainly his terror.

�AJUGA?� Karin screamed. �Ajuga?� she called, storming through the house, waking everyone up.

�Karin-chan?� Jushiro asked her sleepily, wearing nothing but a sleeping yukata hastily thrown on.

�Ajuga is missing,� Karin said frantically, channelling Szayel�s fear and letting it take her over so her voice came across as, at the very least, distraught

The older man was instantly fully awake at that, the years as a Taichou helping him focus instantly. The rest of the Estate quickly woke and started the frantic hunt for Ajuga. It became very clear that the girl was nowhere at the Estate.

�Where might she have gone?� Nanao asked. The calm logical tone of her voice acted as a temporary balm to Karin�s overwrought nerves. �Where are the places that she�s most likely to go? Where does she like to play, who is she likely to want to see?�

�The Research Building, Orihime�s house, Byakuya-san�s Estate, maybe even Tatsuki or Rangiku�s house,� Karin quickly ticked off a few places that her daughter might have thought to hide. �There are a few parks��

�I�ll check the Research building,� Lilinette offered, leaving quickly.

�I�ll check Tatsuki�s and Tesra�s place,� Nanao offered.

Starrk took Byakuya�s Estate simply because Yammy was less likely to give him issues and Jushiro opted to check Rangiku�s house. Karin wasted no time racing towards Orihime�s house.

She half-prayed Ajuga wasn�t there so as to give Grimmjow time to try to rescue Szayel while half-praying she was holed up somewhere on Ulquiorra�s property. Not knowing Ajuga�s hiding place was almost as terrifying as what Szayel was transmitting.

She banged on the door the moment she arrived, not stopping until a rather displeased-looking Ulquiorra opened it. It was strange to see him wearing nothing more than his white hakama and that barely held up by his belt with his hair all mussed up and sticking to one side. The picture he presented was one of rumpled irritation and at any other time Karin would have laughed at the sight.

�Ajuga�s missing,� she blurted before he had a chance to scold her, and judging by the look that formed on his face, a scolding was the least she could expect.

�I fail to see how this concerns me,� he commented coldly.

�I thought she might have come here looking for Orihime-chan,� she answered.

�Your own vision would have already determined she was not here,� he pointed out as if she were an idiot.

�Yes, but she might have come by,� she countered.

�What�s going on?� Orihime asked sleepily, joining them at the door.

�Ajuga�s missing,� Karin quickly answered.

�Oh! We have to find her!� Orihime exclaimed, already grabbing her shoes.

If she hadn�t been looking, Karin would have missed the look of defeat that briefly crossed Ulquiorra�s face before he sighed and reached for his own shoes after fixing his belt.

�Onna, you will put something more appropriate on before exiting the house,� he insisted as he pulled on his footwear.

�Oh!� Orihime exclaimed and looked down, realizing she was wearing nothing more than the sheer sleeping gown she had quickly thrown on. She disappeared and a few minutes later came out in something a little more opaque.

�If you find her, just flare your reiatsu three times. It�s the signal we have all agreed upon,� Karin said as she raced off, leaving the two to finish getting ready together.

Every moment idle was another moment Ajuga could find trouble. Given her double heritage, it was far more likely that trouble would find her. Around the city Karin could feel everyone�s reiatsu start to awaken as the search for her daughter truly began.

　

　

　

Despite both Ulquiorra and Aizen�s beliefs regarding his nature, Grimmjow was not an idiot. Impatient and anarchic, yes, a despiser and disregarder of almost all regulations, absolutly. Brash, arrogant and audacious? Quite. But an idiot? Not at all. Walking in on Aizen during his �play time� was not something done lightly or without consequences. Fortunately he had a reputation for being disrespectful. Still, he hoped that he might actually get a word out of his mouth before Aizen flayed him alive.

Getting past the guards was a simple matter of side-stepping them and there didn�t seem to be a lot of staff on duty this late at night. Maybe Aizen figured that, with his innate power, tightening security would be a waste of time, or that the Espada and the Divisions would handle anything before it could breach the Palace walls. For whatever reason, Grimmjow went unchallenged as he sought out his quarry.

There were a lot of things Grimmjow had heard, done and seen in his life as a Hollow, but all of that experience meant nothing as he approached the torture chamber deep beneath Aizen�s Palace. He hadn�t been entirely truthful with Karin; he did not know exactly where he would find Szayel and Aizen as he�d entered the palace, but after getting past the front gates, he found that he didn�t really need a guide. All he truly had to do was follow the screams.

Never in his life had he heard screaming like he was right now, least of all from an Espada. The sound of Szayel�s shrieks had reached his ears the moment he had entered the Palace, and as he drew closer to the door the scent of sex and blood assaulted his sense of smell. The animalistic part of him, the part that normally had the good sense to stay out of danger by lying low, kept yowling at him to find a quiet hole and wait in it until it was all over. Unfortunately, he didn�t have that luxury. The hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up. Had he been in his Resurrección form, he had no doubt his tail would be lashing back and forth of its own accord.

He didn�t have to feign the fear he suddenly felt as he braced himself for whatever reaction Aizen was going to have to his intrusion. Again, he wasn�t stupid; he�d been turning over the makeshift plan he�d come up with in his head, refining it to take advantage of Aizen�s interest in his daughter�s well-being as well as Szayel�s role in all of that. There was also the fact that Aizen thought that he had Claimed Szayel. It would be normal for a Claimer to be affected by something happening to the Claimed one and he figured he could fall back on that explanation if Aizen didn�t buy his first story.

Not the neatest of fibs, but it wasn�t entirely untrue: what affected Karin also affected him, whether he wanted it to or not. Giving a derisive snort, he thought back to how amused he�d been when Karin told him about the situation with Szayel and his supposed role in the whole thing. Dammit, but he�d planned to really rub it in while Szayel couldn�t do anything about it, thanks to the lie he�d told Aizen. Now he�d been presented with the other side of that coin, killing any fun he might have had at the other Espada�s expense.

�Che,� the mentally snorted, �this wasn�t supposed to be part of the deal.�

There was also the fact that, thanks to Szayel�s lie to Aizen about the circumstances surrounding their supposed �Claim�, Karin�s secret had remained a secret. To his chagrin, Grimmjow realized that Szayel had done him a huge favour. The very last thing he needed was Aizen taking any more of an interest in his family than the bastard already had. As much as he disliked the idea of being beholden to anyone, he at least owed it to Szayel to stop whatever was happening to him before it drove the scientist, and by proxy, Karin, madder than a rabid dog.

For a second, he wondered what in the blue blazes Szayel had done to piss off Aizen enough to inflict the kind of pain that the screaming indicated. Murder? Attempted murder? Had Szayel stolen something? Maybe some unapproved lab experiment got loose and wrecked the Palace or took a shit in one of the Palace gardens. It had to have been a spectacularly epic failure or offence, from what his senses were able to pick up.

�Well, no time like the present�� he thought and took a few deep breaths.

Pausing a moment to fully compose himself, he lifted a leg and kicked the door open before strutting in. He also hoped the sneer on his face masked the fright he felt gnawing at his gut. He�d been on the receiving end of Aizen�s spiritual pressure before and Grimmjow would be damned if he�d ever kneel before anyone like that ever again.

What greeted him when the door crashed open nearly made the blood in his veins turn to ice. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had seen a lot of violence, inflicted a lot of violence, in his life, but never had he dreamed he would be forced to witness such an atrocity as this.

It was neither the chains holding Szayel in place on the blood-stained table, nor the copious amounts of blood, semen and darkening bruises on the researcher�s body that disturbed him. It wasn�t a very naked and somewhat traumatized-looking Gin smeared in Szayel�s blood sitting off to the side or the strands of chopped, pink hair tossed about the room. None of those things had him fighting the urge to vomit. It was what Aizen was doing to the other Espada that nearly had him gagging.

Aizen had a grip on Szayel�s still-pretty face, holding his head in place so that he couldn�t move or look away. Golden eyes were forced to stare fearfully into soft brown before the gaze was broken as Aizen turned a displeased, one might even say furious, look Grimmjow�s way. Grimmjow didn�t notice the look though, busy as he was taking in the fact that Aizen�s hakama were down and the bodies of punisher and punished were clearly joined. Some remote, emotionally detached part of Grimmjow�s brain, as yet unaffected by the growing horror, figured he�d caught Aizen in mid-thrust, from the light sheen visible on the flesh of Aizen�s hip.

�Fucking hell,� he thought in shocked disgust, his mind finally processing what he was seeing into some kind of sense.

It was a valiant effort on his part to keep the bored, scornful looking expression affixed firmly on his face and not empty the contents of his stomach right there on the floor.

�Grimmjow, I trust there is a very good reason for disturbing me?� Aizen demanded icily, sitting up so he wasn�t so hunched over his victim and releasing the grip he had on Szayel�s face in the process.

Grimmjow gave his head a shake, there would be time to be sick later, and turned his attention to Aizen the best he could. Fury, disgust and fear all warred within him, which didn�t help his nausea any.

�Ajuga is missing,� he answered. �We have looked everywhere for her and Karin is getting frantic,�

That part wasn�t even a lie. He could feel her getting more agitated by the minute.

�And how, exactly, does this concern me?�

�Here it is� show time,� Grimmjow thought. �Better make this believable.�

Putting on the most disdainful look he could manage, he pointed at Szayel.

�I need dumbass there to call up her tracking device on that computer of his to find her before Karin has a total melt down,� he answered. �Wouldn�t want to lose her, given all of the fighting of late.�

For a second, given the look on Aizen�s face, Grimmjow thought he might finally have played the wrong hand, that he might be the next one on that table. He couldn�t help it; part of him prepared to run and the other half of his psyche prepared to pull Pantera if it looked as if he might have to fight his way out of here.

�I see,� Aizen sighed. �I see I�ll have to make my point sooner rather than drawing out the lesson.�

Grimmjow wasn�t sure, as one could never entirely tell when dealing with Aizen and that maddening falsely soothing front of his, but it seemed his initial excuse had been accepted. He felt proud that he stayed upright as he legs went �watery� on him. Not that there was much relief there.

During the conversation, Szayel�s gaze had turned to him. Grimmjow had never seen so much silent pleading and begging for help or, at least, some mercy in anyone�s eyes in his entire life, and that included the prey he�d taken down as an Adjuchas. The frown returned to Aizen�s lips as the former Shinigami turned his attention back to his victim.

Grimmjow forced himself to hold still as a sharp slap from Aizen brought Szayel�s attention back to his tormentor and slowly that desperate, golden gaze turned to look Kami back in the face.

�I will be done here in a moment, and then you can search for your errant child. Please wait outside.�

He had never been so happy to have been dismissed in his life. His back was barely turned before the wet sound of skin on skin, the rhythmic clink of the chains and the agonized whimpers started again. Grimmjow was also treated to the sound of Aizen�s ragged breathing as he picked up his pace. The whimpers turned back into screams at that, and the Sexta Espada clenched his hands to keep his claws under control. It was all he could do not to simply flee; instead he made sure that he stalked out of the torture chamber at a somewhat normal pace.

What he�d witnessed went beyond revolting, as far as Hollows were concerned. He knew Aizen was a dirty rat, but to rape his own subordinates, to take them as if they were mates! To force the victim to gaze into his eyes as if they were the deepest of lovers�

Never in his life had he ever felt the overwhelming urge to kill someone. Not even that blasted Kurosaki instilled this kind of rage in him. He wasn�t sure that Ulquiorra, a master at remaining unmoved and aloof, could have walked out of that room un-fazed. As derisive as he had been to his own fraccion at times, especially that stupid tool D-Roy, it never would have crossed his mind to inflict something like this on one of them.

Cuff �em, sure. Get into a scrap over dominance issues, no problem. Lay down who was Alpha with a good brief thrashing? That was to be expected. But this? This was just� Grimmjow�s back hit the wall and suddenly he was grateful for the solid support behind him. He focused his eyes on where the opposing wall and ceiling met, to keep from becoming dizzy as he tried to calm himself; the last thing he wanted to do was contribute to the turmoil Karin currently felt by adding anything to it via their Claim.

He nearly jumped when the door opened about seven minutes later and Aizen stepped out, looking as pristine as ever. Despite the amount of blood and cum coating Szayel�s body, not a drop of it was on Aizen�s person or uniform. Somehow, to Grimmjow, that little detail suddenly seemed like the most atrocious thing of all.

�I hope you will find your wayward daughter soon and in the future keep a better eye on her.�

Grimmjow transformed the shiver that tried to work its way down his spine into a shrug.

�She�s at that age. She is also very good at hiding. Most Hollow young learn to hide themselves early,� Grimmjow said, hoping he sounded like an irritated, put-upon father who simply wanted to get his hands on his missing cub and not be bothered with the mess he�d just seen. �It�s a survival and hunting instinct.�

�I can�t wait to see her fighting prowess when she is older,� Aizen said casually, as if nothing was wrong and as if he hadn�t been doing unspeakable things behind the door he�d just walked through.

With that, Grimmjow�s superior swept past him and disappeared down the hall, footsteps echoing behind him.

Gathering his nerve, Grimmjow entered the room just in time to see a disoriented-looking Gin removing the chains from around Szayel�s mangled wrists. The moment Szayel was free he curled up pathetically and whimpered in pain. He was completely soaked in his own blood and his back had been thoroughly shredded from what looked like a whip tipped with shards of glass. Grimmjow couldn�t help but wince as he took in the surface damage. It was no wonder the Espada had been screaming in pain; having been forced to lay on that mangled flesh while Aizen had dominated him.

�Ajuga-chan ran off? Strange thing for a child to do at this time o� night,� Gin commented, leaning weakly against the wall, eyes focused on nothing in particular now that he�d freed Szayel from the restraints.

Grimmjow turned and looked a little closer at the silver-haired Shinigami and didn�t like what he saw. He knew Aizen kept his pet on an extremely tight leash, but he hadn�t expected Aizen to use the other like a weapon to torture others. While currently not as physically damaged as Szayel was, he reeked of the same trauma as the scientist.

�Most predators hunt at night,� Grimmjow countered with a shrug as he moved up to the table where Szayel was currently curled up, whimpering. �Oi get up,� he snapped in irritation.

The other flinched at the harsh tone, but slowly the other�s eyes opened and met his gaze.

�Let�s go. Karin�s getting pretty frantic and I won�t get any sleep until this whole mess is sorted out,� he grunted.

The other nodded and slowly tried to rise, only to falter and fall from the table with a �thud� as his body refused to support his weight.

�Damn it,� Grimmjow cursed as he caught the stumbling Szayel, blood now coating his uniform.

�Sorry,� Szayel apologized, his voice hoarse and weak.

�Whatever. Just get dressed already so we can find Ajuga.�

�She really is missing?� Szayel asked weakly, a hint of worry in his voice. Grimmjow stared down at the scientist at that, and then gritted his teeth, kicking himself.

�By all the fucking sand in Hueco Mundo, he�s gone through THIS and yet he�s concerned for my kid?� he thought surprised. �I honestly have no idea where she is. That�s kind of the point of hide n� seek,� he couldn�t help but to smirk.

Szayel stared at him, dumbfounded, and then hung his head when what Grimmjow implied sunk in.

�Clever, ever so clever,� Gin chuckled softly as he staggered to his feet and pulled his own yukata on before limping out of the room.

Grimmjow didn�t bother inquiring after the Shinigami, as there was little he could do for or about him. Instead, he snorted and began to look around the chamber for Szayel�s usual uniform.

�Where are you clothes?� Grimmjow demanded, not finding what he was looking for.

�Aizen destroyed them,� Szayel answered, making a painful gesture at the tattered scraps of white cloth littering the floor amongst the strands of his butchered hair.

�Son of a bitch�,� Grimmjow cursed before pulling his own jacket off. �Wrap the sleeves around your waist. Like hell I am carrying your sorry naked ass back to that glass house of yours.�

The other nodded and with shaking arms, tied the jacket sideways around his waist so the vitals were covered while Grimmjow held him steady. Once that was done, Grimmjow simply tossed the other over his shoulder like a sack of rice before walking out.

�Oi,� Szayel protested weakly, the sound coming from somewhere close to his lower back.

�Can it, and be thankful I am came at all,� he grumbled, a warning note in his voice. �If you hadn�t been keeping Karin up, I never would have showed up. Fucking hell, I will be lucky if the only thing that bastard Aizen does to me is scold me in the morning for this shit.�

He felt the other nod against his back shortly before reaching the front gate of the Palace and launching into a Sonido.

　

　

　

Poor Szayel, he really is getting the short end of the stick but he is the only one who could possibly be a threat to Aizen. Knowledge is a very powerful thing.

Thank you all so much for the congrats. I am feeling a bit better, but now we got a blizzard blowing through town, joy. It�s so damn cold and the snow drifts are just a forming.

Anyhow Next Chapter: Several of the Espada get a bit of a wake up call and the seeds of discontent are sown.

As painful as it was to do that to Szayel, he ended up being the poor bastard being used as one of the plots catalysts. Hmmm, I just might edit and upload the next chapter now. The wind is howling pretty good and it�s kind of hard to sleep at the moment.
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Prize of Victory