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A Shadow of What Was	By : katami Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 49594 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Author's Notes: I have returned after my nearly week long bout of writer's block! Gods, it is so maddening to know exactly what I want to say but having the words dry up each time I sat down to type. Sanity has returned though and chapters are once more coming.

I bid a welcome to two newcomers, cutsycat and Lanen, and offer my sincere sympathy for reading this story in one sitting. Lanan, Grimmjow always knew Kisuke and Ichigo were sort of a matched set. He isn't thrilled with the idea, but he figures that there are worse fates than having to tolerate Ichigo. And Grimmjow has run with a pack before and as he slowly connects with the people around him, he will come to view them as pack mates.

* * *

Shunsui sighed as Grimmjow made yet another angry circuit of the room. Just watching him was tiring. They had dragged him out of the shouten yard and back to his rooms - that way he could destroy whatever he liked and no one would be put out by it - but the kitty's temper seemed to have calmed to a slow boil. He seemed content with pacing and muttering softly to himself, but Shunsui didn't expect that to last long. The Arrancar was nothing if not volatile. It made the blue-haired man interesting, mused Shunsui fondly, taking another sip of his sake.

They had talked him out of joining the search for Kisuke mostly by strong arming the former Espada back into his rooms. Grimmjow had not liked it but had gone along with them with surprisingly little trouble. It made Shunsui wonder if they hadn't inadvertently pushed one of the Arrancar's buttons back in the yard. He wouldn't have put it beyond Aizen to have held the former Espada down and tortured some obedience into him.

It was one thing to discipline your people but to pass outright torture off as a disciplinary measure... Shunsui wondered just how far the former captain of the Fifth had fallen. And to torture someone like Grimmjow... someone there was no point in torturing. Nothing would ever be able to tame the Arrancar. Blunt his rough edges? Certainly, but the only way to truly control Grimmjow would be to break him, to shatter that blazing strength and leave nothing but a hollow docile shell. And that Aizen would even try...

Frankly, he was beginning to wonder if there was anything beyond Sousuke in his mad quest for power.

The door slid open and Shunsui couldn't help but smile as Jyuushiro's return drew him from his disquieting thoughts. The other man led two junior Shinigami inside, each of them bearing a heavily loaded tray of food. His lover could con almost anyone into almost anything. A delicate cough a small swoon and Jyuushiro had been known to have dozens of eager young Shinigami clustered around him to help in any way they could - and the other man exploited it to the fullest. Even old Yama-jii sometimes forgot that under that fragile surface was a core as deep and limitless as the oceans.

"Just set them there," murmured Jyuushiro serenely, motioning to the coffee table with a tiny wave of his hand. Shunsui was sure he was the only one in the room to the notice the amused gleam in his lover's eyes and he couldn't resist shooting the captain of the Thirteenth a tiny smirk. Watching Jyuushiro work was sometimes a thing of beauty - if one could keep a straight face.

The youngsters looked nervously at the annoyed Arrancar but retreated peacefully enough with a few soft urgings from Jyuushiro and Shunsui sighed in happiness as his lover settled at his side. He threw an arm around Jyuushiro's shoulders and studyed the white haired man carefully. No tremors, no hint of color on his lips, and no reiatsu slipping from him, Jyuushiro had just been playing with the youngsters.

"What's that?" demanded Grimmjow, pausing in his prowling to eye the table with feline suspicion.

"This is dinner. We missed it with the tour and the excitement earlier. And I thought we could all use a bite," explained Jyuushiro brightly with just a hint of steel in his voice. Shunsui chuckled as Grimmjow's eyes flashed to Jyuushiro for just a moment before surveying the food - two bowls of udon, what appeared to be a lightly grilled salmon steak, salads for all three of them and a large pot of green tea. Grimmjow gave a delicate sniff and whirled to begin pacing again, his reiatsu fluttering - if he'd had a tail it would have been lashing with barely contained tension, decided Shunsui.

"Sit down and eat, Grimm-chan," he scolded lightly, earning a softly growled refusal and another angry turn from the blue haired man. Something had raised the kitty's hackles.

Jyuushiro frowned, a small downward tilt of his lips that made Shunsui want to kiss away the unhappy sight. "I'll get him," he whispered to his lover, kissing him and rising to catch Grimmjow on his next pass.

A claw-tipped hand swung at him and Shunsui easily blocked it, chuckling softly. The kitty was at least predictable in some things, such as attack always being his first course of action. "Sit down and be a good little kitty. Who knows, finish your supper and maybe we'll give you a treat," he purred, watching a tiny frown crease the Arrancar's features. The expression quickly melted away under a snarl as the former Espada was gently forced onto the couch. Shunsui flopped down next to him, tossing an arm around Grimmjow's shoulders and nearly laughing at the slightly baffled look on Grimmjow's face, as if he couldn't quite figure out how he had come to be sitting between them.

Jyuushiro blandly handed the blue haired Arrancar the salmon, earning another frown as the former Espada sniffed at the fish. "What the hell is this?"

"It's salmon. A type of fish. Try at least a little," urged Jyuushiro, popping a flake of the fish into the blue haired man's mouth, a twinkle in his brown eyes that made Shunsui want to forget about dinner and just drag Jyuushiro - and perhaps if things went well - Grimmjow off to bed.

The Arrancar chewed on the fish for a moment, cocking his head as he tried to decided if he liked it, before delicately attacking the fillet.

Shunsui chuckled softly and handed Jyuushiro a bowl of udon before taking his own. It was rather amusing watching Grimmjow explore some of the simple pleasures to be found outside Hueco Mundo, touching in a way, to watch the Arrancar experience things for the first time. It reminded them what it was to be young and full of fire again, Shunsui thought, giving the blue haired man a gently squeeze. Grimmjow looked up from his fish to eye him warily, but when no further touches came he quickly returned to his meal.

The scent of green tea filled the air and Shunsui sighed in contentment There had always been tea and it was oddly soothing to know that there always would be. He watched as Jyuushiro poured a cup and offered it to him with a grace that reminded Shunsui of each and every line Jyuushiro's family had to the throne - sixty-seven if he recalled correctly. He gave his lover a grateful nod and took a sip, the subtle slightly grassy flavor sliding over his tongue.

A second cup was poured for Grimmjow and Shunsui watched in startled amazement as the Espada stiffened and slapped the delicate porcelain cup away. Twin pairs of dark eyes blinked owlishly at the display and Grimmjow hunched uneasily between them, clearly waiting for something. Shunsui watched as a graceful hand slid soothingly over Grimmjow's arm, fingers tracing tiny patterns on the tan flesh, and if he hadn't seen the tiny flinch he might have thought it a figment of his imagination. But it was real and the Arrancar was staring at that pale hand like he had never seen it before.

"You don't like the tea, Grimm-chan?" murmured Jyuushiro, his voice a liquid purr that made Shunsui's heart skip a beat. He loved that sound, the smooth predatory tone, the tiny hint of danger.

"I seem to recall Sousuke rather enjoyed his tea," replied Shunsui, gently urging Grimmjow to meet his glaze. "Is that why you don't like it, Kitty?" His only answer was a disgruntled noise of feline displeasure, a soft sort of yowl.

"I know you don't believe it, but we are not him, Grimmjow. Telling us what makes you unhappy is not admitting weakness, it is merely expressing your displeasure with a situation. We can't change things if we don't know they are bothering you, baby," he whispered, dark eyes locked with blue and his hands holding the Arrancar's head in place so he couldn't look away. "No one here wants to hurt you, no one wants to see you upset. In fact, several of us would like to see you happy, Kitty." The words were laced with sensual darkness and Shunsui smirked as a startled look flashed across Grimmjow's face.

He chuckled softly, his lips closing over the Arrancar's with a soft but insistent pressure. From the corner of his eye he caught the flash of white hair at Grimmjow's throat and knew Jyuushiro was kissing the other man as well. For a moment there was only the soft brush of lips and skin, the gentle thrum of three reiatsu swirling together - darkness and flowers and rain. It was a heady mix, subtle and mysterious, like the jungle at night, and definitely one he could get used to, thought Shunsui.

When the eruption came it was swift and brutal. One claw tipped hand closed around his throat while another fisted in Jyuushiro's hair, a moment later they went flying and Grimmjow was on his feet, reiatsu blazing and his roar echoing off the walls.

Jyuushiro rolled over the couch arm and the small table next to it, shattering a lamp and landing on the floor to blink owlishly. Shunsui wished he had been as lucky. He had gone flying and hit the kitchen counter hard enough to make him wonder if serious damage hadn't been done. He doubted it though, serious damage usually hurt far less. He would just be several very interesting shades of black and blue in the morning.

Glacial eyes filled with rage and feral wariness were darting between them. "Just try it ya bastards," hissed the Arrancar, his hand on his sword. Shunsui wondered what button they had pushed by kissing the blue haired man as he stumbled back to his feet, his back protesting most vehemently. Jyuushiro was edging carefully toward the Arrancar, his hands up, clearly trying to placate the former Espada. "Calm down. No one's going to hurt you, Grimmjow-"

"The fuck ya ain't!" snarled the Arrancar. "Yer trying to fuck me!"

"Actually, we were attempting to woo you, Kitty," retorted Shunsui, wincing as his back lodged a violent protest as he tried moving. He saw a confused scowl flash across Grimmjow's face and it drew a frown to his own lips. "Haven't you ever been courted?"

"You haven't, have you?" whispered Jyuushiro a shocked horror dawning on his face. "Oh Kitty, what did they do to you?"

"What!?! NOTHING! Get the fuck out, you bastards!" snarled the Arrancar, his reiatsu pulsing wildly as he drew his zanpakutou.

"Calm down, baby. No one is going to hurt you," soothed Shunsui, a dark suspicion taking shape in the back of his mind. He saw the same suspicion lurking in Jyuushiro's eyes and felt bile raise in his throat. Someone had hurt their kitty. Badly.

"No, ya just wanna fuck me," hiss Grimmjow, a dark and malicious glimmer in his eyes and tension filling his frame - like he expected to be attacked. Sad brown eyes met his gaze and Jyuushiro gave him a tiny nod. He did, realized Shunsui. That was what the bath and the yard had been about - they had overpowered him and all this time he had just been waiting for them to press their suit and demand his favor.

"Oh baby, no. We don't want that. Whatever they did to you, whatever came before...This has nothing to do with that," pleaded Jyuushiro, his heart in his eyes as he moved toward the Espada. A sword slashed viciously at his head and Shunsui lunged, catching the Arrancar's wrist and ripping the blade away.

"Just try it, you bastard," snarled Grimmjow, his face twisted into an ugly sneer as claws raked his chest, opening five bloody gouges. Shunsui hissed in pain as Jyuushiro caught Grimmjow's free hand. The kitty roared in outrage and went wild as they both held on desperately; knowing that if the Arrancar broke free the only possible outcome would be a fight.

"Hush, baby, hush," pleaded Jyuushiro, a tremor in his voice and pain in his eyes.

"Stop it, Grimm-chan. Please. Neither of us are going to hurt you," shouted Shunsui, blunting a burst of reiatsu from the Arrancar. When the cat-like man went still in their grasp, wary and panting, they moved closer to him, gently caressing him, both of them working to keep the touches innocent and soothing.

"You poor kitten," cooed Jyuushiro softly, petting the Arrancar's hair, his reiatsu a soft and careful blanket of warmth and affection. "No one's ever given you a choice before have they?" asked the pale haired captain and Shunsui saw that his brown eyes were filled with tears.

"Of course there's no fucking choice! If someone is stronger they don't have to ask to take," snapped the Arrancar resentfully, trying to twist away from them.

�Oh baby, we didn't know. We never would have come at it this way if we had known," sighed Shunsui, heartsick at the pain they must have put the Arrancar through. "We thought you understood. Yes, Jyuushiro and I would like you in our bed, but the choice is entirely yours, love. You only have to be with us if you want to."

"We would never force you, Grimm-chan. All we want is to make you happy," breathed Jyuushiro, the tears that had been threatening to fall breaking free. "I know this is probably all new to you, love. That you probably don't believe, but it's true. Shunsui and I will go, let you rest and think over what we've said. And if you decide you might like to explore what we've offered you can find us in the morning." As he finished the captain slowly released his hold on Grimmjow's left wrist, turning the gesture into a soft caress before chastely kissing the corner of Grimmjow's lips. Shunsui followed his example before taking his lover's hand and leading him gently from the room, their bodies close as they drew comfort from each other.

"How could he...how could anyone allow that?" hissed Jyuushiro in revulsion as the door closed behind them. Shunsui wrapped an arm around his shoulders before stopping all together and just hugging his lover tight. "Never again, Shunsui. Even if he doesn't..."

"Shhh...I know, love. No one hurts him again."

"And Aizen pays," added Jyuushiro viciously.

"Way ahead of you, Jyuu-chan," he growled, kissing his lover softly, the tender gesture a sharp counterpoint to the cold, methodical cruelty of his words.
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A Shadow of What Was