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
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Candy

Grimmjow felt like complete shit when he awoke. He was groggy at first and not quite sure where he was, but the events that took place right before everything had gone dark eventually came back to him.

�KARIN!� he almost screamed, trying to lurch up, only to find that his body wouldn�t obey him. Snarling, he struggled violently against the Kido-enhanced restraints that kept him anchored to the bed.

Karin, he had to get to her! He could taste the terror that had engulfed her when she drew upon him to defend herself, right before that jackass Kurosaki tried to cleave him in two. Maybe he could blast his way out of here with a Cero�

The door to his room opened and out of instinct, he snarled outright at the intruder. The command to let him go died on his lips however, as he took in the sight of his daughter. Yuzu wasn�t far behind Ajuga, looking a bit brighter than her niece did.

�Oh good. You�re finally awake, Grimmjow-san!�

Yuzu�s voice held warmth, but her eyes and posture conveyed a bit of strain. �I apologize about the fetters. I�ll remove them in a moment. My husband was worried you might �rush off and do something rash, which would compromise the safety of our sanctuary� once you came around. However, I know you would never do such a thing, would you?�

The human woman�s tone was far too sweet and Grimmjow rightly sensed a trap. Despite his fears for Karin, something in Yuzu�s smile caused the furious animal in him to suddenly tuck its tail between its legs and cower. Even Ajuga took a small step away from her aunt. The steely glint in Yuzu�s eyes informed him that if he wanted out of the shackles, he had best calm down. Taking a deep breath, he tried to let go of the destructive urges that welled in both of his fists, wanting to become Ceros and tried to feel Karin through the Claim, concentrated on it like a form of meditation.

His reward was that he could just get a read on her current emotional state. The sensation was faint, but it was there. Whatever had terrorized her had subsided, resignation taking its place. She had managed to defend herself with his power, which relieved him.

Yes, that had to be it. Karin had drained him nearly dry of reiatsu, but she was still alive and therefore, blacking out had been worth it, even if he�d been grievously injured in the process. He had to believe that, because the other scenarios his brain conjured up for him were just too painful to consider. Yuzu watched him until she believed that he�d calmed down sufficiently, or at least accepted the fact there was nothing he could do for her twin. Then, with another look that warned of dire consequences if he acted out of line, she leaned over the bed and released the restraints.

Grimmjow sat up and rubbed his wrists as his daughter plunked down beside him, smelling far too strongly of Diaemus for his liking. The two were obviously spending a lot of time cuddling.

�At least they don�t smell like sex,� he consoled himself. He would have to skin the flying, copper-haired rat if they had and he was still very tired, now that the adrenaline that had flooded his system upon waking had begun to leak away. Ajuga tugged on his sleeve, getting his attention.

�Papa, I tried to find Mama, but this new sight of mine is still pretty strange, and I wasn�t able to see her. I did see Vindula-chan, Abisara-kun and Gin-san sitting in the garden, and they acted as if they were talking to another person, I just couldn�t see who it was, so Szay thinks Aizen must have her cloaked from the rest of us with his Zanpakuto. The twins seem to be fine,� Ajuga announced. �I don�t think he�s hurt them.�

Those apologetic words made him feel a little better. If the twins were calm and speaking to Karin, even if Ajuga could not see her, then his mate had to be all right too. Vindula would be oblivious to any distress on Karin�s part, but Abisara would have picked up on it if anything serious had happened. Szayel�s son was, Grimmjow judged, a little too perceptive for his own good, but in this case, that was a good thing.

�How long was I out?� he asked, still unhappy about the wounds he�d taken.

�Nearly twenty-four hours,� Yuzu answered. �Dinner is almost ready, so I thought I would come and see if you were awake and hungry. Will you join us for dinner, or would you like me to have someone bring something up for you?�

It was very tempting to stay in his room, but doing so would get him nowhere and crawling under the bed to sulk wasn�t his style. If anything, he needed the distraction the others would provide, or he would start thinking about Karin again and what had happened and it would be one big downhill spiral from there. Besides, he had some choice words to say to his brother-in-law about nearly flaying him, though he knew he ought to save those for after dessert. He always argued better on a full stomach.

�I�ll come down. Just let me clean up and throw on some fresh clothing,� he requested of the blond, rubbing his hands together.

�Excellent.� Yuzu smiled at him, before turning about and leaving. Ajuga, on the other hand, remained and seemed a bit agitated.

�Papa?�

�What is it, brat?� he asked, rising from the mattress and flinching at how sore his recently-mended muscles felt, particularly the remains of the nasty gash in his side as his movements pulled at it. Shuffling to the mirror, he turned to the side and inspected the damage. Someone had gone to the trouble of stitching him closed and he muttered a few curses under his breath. Those would have to stay another day or so. Ichigo had gotten him good and the drain on his reiatsu from Karin�s Claim on him had taken a toll on his regeneration, making it sluggish.

Ajuga bit her lip and looked out the window at the fading light. That gave Grimmjow some pause. It wasn�t like his daughter to tiptoe around things, not with him, and the fact she felt it necessary to tread carefully put him on edge. Had she perhaps seen something, something that she felt she had to keep from the others? Worse, did it involve her mother?

�This�thing� with Diaemus� Are you� are you really mad at me for it?� she asked hesitantly. �It was an accident! We didn�t want it to happen, or expect to be� well, mated like this. Hell, I don�t even like him that way! Well, okay, I didn�t at first, but then the Swarm took us, and he kept me warm when were trapped in that frozen cell together and we had to share body heat to stay alive because they weren�t feeding us, and I kind of found I like being cocooned in his wings, and...�

Ajuga rambled on while he stared at her. The longer he remained silent and stunned by her sudden outpouring of words, the more she spoke, as if trying to fill the space between them with hastily spouted, chaotic explanations.

��and I didn�t even think before I said his name, it just sort of slipped out, and my head was ringing, so when he said��

�Ajuga. Stop.�

Grimmjow�s interruption made Ajuga close her mouth with a �snap�, and she looked up at him with desperate, fearful eyes, as if she expected him to disown her at any second. He even thought he could see tears glimmering along her lower eyelashes, and damned if he could think of the last time he saw her cry. They hadn�t had a chance to sit down and talk about this whole �Consort� business between introductions, family reunions and the immediate need for the kids to start balancing the Realms before all of Creation folded like a house of cards on a shaky table. The only thing he really knew about it was what Yoruichi had told them: his daughter and Diaemus were stuck with one another until death parted them.

He would readily admit that he�d considered killing the boy, once he understood the significance of what had occurred in the Royal Realm, but quickly abandoned the idea. Part of that was the grudging admiration he had for the twerp Ulquiorra and the princess had spawned. The boy himself was acceptable mate material, even if his lineage could have been better� less Cifer and more feline�

�Ajuga,� he repeated, �I am not mad at you for what happened. Sooner or later, you were going to find a mate of your own and leave the den. That�s only natural. In fact, it�s expected. Considering most of the other options out there, Diaemus is not that bad of a catch. I only have two conditions to letting him get away with this.�

He held up two digits, letting her take in the sharpness of his fingernails, since he hoped she would listen to what he had to say seriously. She looked at them apprehensively, then at him.

�What are they?�

�One: the two of you had better not be thinking about actually mating with one another until you�re older, and until Ulquiorra knows about this, because I�ll be damned if I have to fend him off. I�m sure he knows by now, but I don�t want him to come after me because you two are...�

�Not going to be an issue, Papa,� she said quickly, making a disgusted face, and then shivered as if someone had doused her with a cup of ice water. �Sex with Diaemus... ugh!�

Well that was a good, proper response, he told himself, pleased that she was in no hurry to consummate her �relationship� with the boy, speaking of it with the same amount of enthusiasm she usually showed towards vegetables. Grimmjow decided to ignore the voice in the back of his head, the one busy needling him about �when the hell did you ever care what was proper?�

�When I had a daughter, that�s when. Now shut up.�

Clearing his throat, he fixed her with an even sterner look than before

�Two: when you do decide to mate, it had better be a full Mating Claim, or you had better come out on top and Claim him, because there�s no way in Hell my daughter will ever be some winged rat�s pet.�

Grimmjow showed a bit of fang as he laid down the law. She nodded quickly, accepting the terms.

�I promise,� she said with a feral grin of her own. �So, are you really okay with this?�

�No,� he told her truthfully, the admission making his mouth sour, �though I�m sure I�ll get used to it, once I have some time to think about it or your mother beats acceptance into me,� he grumbled. �Don�t worry, brat. I won�t skin your Consort� yet.�

Ajuga smiled at him before throwing her arms around him and tucking her head underneath his chin. Since it was only the two of them, he returned her embrace, holding his daughter tightly against him. It seemed like just yesterday he�d caught her chasing mice in the garden, bounding up to him triumphantly with her latest kill in her mouth. Now� now Grimmjow had to face the possibility that he would have to let her go. He knew that she was on her own path, whether he liked it or not and all he could do was stand to the side and let her make her way towards her destiny.

Doing so frightened him more than anything he�d ever done before. It scared him more than Aizen, more than Kurosaki, more than anything he�d ever encountered in Hueco Mundo.

The only thing that could possibly terrify him more involved Karin and he refused to dwell on that, because his daughter had the weight of the universe on her shoulders and the last thing she needed to see was her father bawling as a kitten might if tossed headfirst into a bath.

Speaking of which� a quick sniff told him that he probably needed one.

�I�ll see you downstairs, Papa.�

Ajuga finally took a step back and he reluctantly let her go, in more ways than one. The smile she sent him over her shoulder was almost worth it, as she closed the door behind her, but not quite.

He wasn�t used to feeling forlorn and alone, nor was he used to the sense of profound isolation, despite the manor�s other inhabitants. The feeling lasted through his shower, and he had to force his body to move and go through the motions of washing. When he finally emerged from the bedroom, evening had fallen and he made his way down the hallway in a sort of stupor. Grimmjow felt worn-out and threadbare, and while he could lay the blame for some of his exhaustion on his injuries, the cure for the rest of it wouldn�t be easy to obtain.

�Food first. Then see if you can do anything useful.�

He arrived at the dining room, pausing in the door as he took in the bright lights and crowded table. His nose detected hints of the meal, wafting in from the kitchen a door or two away, but it hadn�t been served yet. Instead, he�d walked in on an impromptu planning session and from the look of things, the daily social hour. Hana and Hachi had their heads together, the two of them glancing and gesturing at the pages of letters and numbers sitting between them with obvious excitement. They appeared very pleased with themselves, as well as whatever it was that they were working on. Grimmjow swore Hana beamed at something Hachi told her, or perhaps taught her, since what he could pick up of their conversation seemed to involve some kind of lesson.

Renji and Nel all but shared a chair, the first whispering something into the second�s ear that tinted her cheeks and resulted in a sultry look back at her mate. Red�s hands kept moving towards her breasts before he would catch himself and return them to her stomach. Grimmjow didn�t let his gaze linger on them, lest he start to think about Karin. Instead, he moved on to the next set of seats.

Yachiru sat next to a dozing Kenpachi, colouring in a book of black and white pictures with crayons. He couldn�t see the picture, but it seemed to involve a lot of red. Out of all the crayons on the table, the red one was by far the most worn out. Narrowing his eyes, he honed in on the page and realized the kid was drawing pools of spilled blood beneath each stylized character. As the Aspect of Death by Destruction, he could respect the pictorial bloodbath, though he also decided to give the kid and her foster father some space when he saw her start drawing swords piercing the head of each figure.

Hiyori slumped in her chair with her arms crossed, glaring at Hana with an intensity that made him reconsider sitting next to her�or in the dining room for that matter. Whatever happened between the two young women must have been a dozy, for he had never seen anyone show that much hate for another. Hell, he didn�t even think he resented Kurosaki, or Ulquiorra, that much at his worst.

Yoruichi was absent. Maybe she was on another trip to the Soul Society to see if she could learn anything about what might have happened to Karin. Either that or she was trying to drag Szayel and Nemu out of the lab for dinner. Keeping track of her was a waste of time.

Yuzu and Ryuuken presided at the respective heads of the table. The human woman chatted happily with Ajuga while her husband, at the other end of the table, went over a report in his hand, more or less ignoring everyone else. Diaemus sat next to Ajuga and politely listened to whatever his aunt-in-law had to say. Yuzu had grown into a looker, just as he knew she would, but at beautiful as she was, she couldn�t compare to Karin. In Grimmjow�s mind, Yuzu was a trophy. Karin, in contrast, was a partner and the Sixth had no need for a decoration. Ryuuken, obviously, didn�t share that sentiment. The odd thing was that his nose could detect no trace of mingled scents while around either of them. If he hadn�t spent the last several days under their roof, he would have no reason to believe the two shared a den, let alone a nest. Maybe what Ichigo had told him the other night about Yuzu�s marriage was true. It seemed like a real waste to Grimmjow, but in reality, it was none of his business.

Watching the lively conversations going on around the table, the idea of joining Szayel in his lab began to sound like a good idea. He wasn�t in the mood to socialize; it just reminded him that Karin was gone, that he had failed her. It would shock him if she ever let him have another child with her, when this little band of misfits finally got their butts in gear. She had every right to cast him aside and find a mate that could protect her, and that thought was damn depressing.

He turned to leave and ran straight into Ichigo and Rukia. He hadn�t even realized they weren�t at the table until now. Rukia took a step back but Ichigo meet his haggard gaze with more than a little empathy. He also looked as if he hadn�t slept much.

The pain and regret he saw in Ichigo�s weary eyes told him that of all of those here, Ichigo was probably the most likely to understand his anguish. How many had died because Ichigo couldn�t be there, wasn�t strong enough? The mated couple before him shared one of those silent conversations that took place only between lovers. He did it often enough with Karin, much to Ajuga�s displeasure. Ichigo sighed and his expression turned apologetic as he finally said something aloud.

�You know, I don�t think I am hungry after all, Rukia. Will you give Yuzu my regrets?�

Rukia looked shrewdly at the two of them before shaking her head. She put one small hand on her husband�s chest and shoved him gently in Grimmjow�s direction.

�Sure. Go on. Dinner isn�t ready yet. Get whatever it is out of your systems.�

They left her to deal with the social niceties and exited the house before anyone could drag them back, heading for the path they�d shared a few nights prior. How strange was it that Grimmjow had begun to look forward to these walks with his old rival? Tonight however, Ichigo took a left, instead of taking the right hand route that led to the orchard. The Arrancar hesitated only a moment before following after, wondering where Ichigo was leading him. When the man made for what looked like an old shed built of stone and latticed wood, Grimmjow halted in his tracks, until he picked up Szayel�s scent and figured out the reason behind the detour.

�Uryuu�s great-grandfather built this place during the war, almost eighty years ago. It was supposed to be a bomb shelter for the family and servants, in case the enemy planes decided to firebomb Karakura Town along with the rest of the cities in the area.�

Grimmjow�s ears perked up at the word �firebomb,� imagining Ceros made entirely of writhing flames coming down across the landscape. Stone wouldn�t burn, but something that size didn�t look as if it was large enough for gardening tools, let alone people. Ichigo picked up on his scepticism.

�It�s down below, like the training room in the manor�s basement. Urahara knew Uryuu�s dad, sort of, though I don�t think they really liked one another. Still, Ishida-san allowed him to set up a lab here. I think it was supposed to be just like the one he had in town, a place to fall back on if he had to get away quickly. Yoruichi knew it was here and this was where they ended up bringing all of Kisuke�s notes, once� once the real Karakura came back to the Living World.�

When they reached the shed, Ichigo placed his palm on the door.

�Since it was set up to support people for a while, it has plumbing, electricity and everything. No one had ever used it, really, so I don�t think it was any skin off of Ishida-san�s nose to let Kisuke keep things here.�

The listening Espada�s eyebrow quirked up, adding another thing onto the pile of assistance the Quincy had given to the rebels. Grimmjow wasn�t all that up on the whole Shinigami/Quincy feud, primarily because the Shinigami/Hollow feud had more meaning for him, but providing an additional lair for the exiled scientist seemed like an overly generous thing for a guy like Ryuuken to do.

�Well, if they weren�t friends, I�d love to see what he would have done if your brother-in-law liked the guy!� he replied, adding a low whistle of appreciation. The grin on his face faded though as he saw the gloom in Ichigo�s eyes s increase, the man staring at the door as if wishing the thing would open on its own. Grimmjow quickly backtracked, realizing he�d stuck his foot in it somehow.

�Hey, I didn�t��

Ichigo�s shoulders hunched as he cut Grimmjow off, though the anger the Espada expected to hear was absent. Instead, he sounded subdued, even a little melancholy.

�I don�t think he really did it to help Urahara. I think� he did it for our mother�s sake. Yuzu�s almost a carbon copy of her.�

Dumping that enigma in Grimmjow�s lap, the man before him opened the shed. Light spilled out from the doorway, temporarily blinding the Espada. It must have been one of those automatic, motion-detecting things that Szayel had installed in his Division. When his pupils mercifully contracted and he regained his sight, he saw the back of Ichigo�s bright orange head disappearing as he walked down a utilitarian concrete staircase. The Sixth hissed and quickly followed. His sensitive ears heard Szayel muttering and papers shifting about long before they actually made it to the bottom. A large, messy, cluttered room lined with shelves and tables, and sporting a sink and in one corner a toilet, greeted him.

Papers lay everywhere, stacked on the floor, on shelves, on tables. They covered every horizontal surface in no discernible order. He had never seen such a mess, and that included Ajuga�s room when she was younger, after a play session with her toys. No wonder Szayel was ready to pull out handfuls of his precious pink hair. He liked things neatly filed, with everything in its proper place, like any true neat freak.

This was as far from Szayel�s ideal workspace as one could get and still call the room a lab, while �rubbish heap� would be a charitable label. Nemu sat off to the side, reading through papers faster than any normal creature could and filing them away in the boxes spread out around her like some sort of crazy, humanoid, sorting apparatus. Judging by the pile of boxes behind her, she had been at it for a while and the room still looked as if they�d only been at it for a few hours.

�Typhoon hit this place?� he asked aloud, putting his hands on his hips, surveying the disaster.

The already high-strung scientist jumped a few feet, straight up. Szayel whirled around to face them, before relaxing as he recognized the intruders.

�Grimmjow� I see you are up and about, hopefully on the mend?�

The other Espada adjusted his cracked glasses as he stated the obvious.

�Of course I am,� he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

�What of Karin-sama?�

That made Grimmjow wince, but he supposed it was good that Szayel at least thought to ask, considering the insane task he had on his hands.

�All I can get from her is resignation. Ajuga said she managed to tune her �sight� in to see the twins, and that they seemed to be perfectly fine and talking to an invisible friend,� he reported. The pink freak deserved that much of an update.

Szayel visibly sagged and leaned against the table beside him. Ichigo gave them both a perplexed look, to which Grimmjow decided he would take a little umbrage.

�What?�

�Nothing. I just astonished at how much the two of you actually seem to care about her,� Ichigo confessed, which earned him two dirty looks from two Espada.

�She�s my mate,� Grimmjow snarked. �Of course I fucking care about her! I thought we got that out of the way the other night! Ya want to go back upstairs and rehash that conversation?�

�Karin-sama is the only thing keeping me in an adult state, no thanks to you,� Szayel added with an offended sniff. �I therefore have a vested interest in her welfare!�

�You had it coming,� Ichigo fired back with no trace of remorse, pointing towards the crack in Szayel�s mask. �What the hell was in that dart anyway?�

�It was a drug that induces rage in an opponent. When anger clouds an enemy�s mind, they tend to make mistakes and are thus easier to outwit and manipulate. An example would be a hunter who taunts a boar into charging them so they can kill it,� Szayel explained, then made a show of examining his fingernails. �It seemed like a good idea at the time.�

�You�re damn lucky Karin was a quick thinker and saved your ass,� Grimmjow muttered. Szayel sighed at that and threw his hands up in the air.

�Yes, yes� and that she can cast Claims by touch,� he agreed. �I�m well aware.�

�Yeah, that confused the hell out of me. Nel managed to figure out what had happened, although even she didn�t know how Karin managed to do it without�the� uh� sex part...� Ichigo suddenly frowned, a dangerous glint entering his eye. �Any future Claims she used on you after that day��

��were achieved via her fingertip,� Szayel quickly said, putting the lid on any further speculation. Grimmjow curled his lip at the scientist.

�A good thing too. Like hell I would let you touch her that way.�

�Technically, she would be touching me,� Szayel corrected Grimmjow, his exasperation showing. �But enough of this! I have a ridiculous amount of work to do here. Is there any particular reason you�ve come to harass me, or is this visit for your own amusement?�

�You still haven�t found anything?� Ichigo looked at all of the labelled boxes behind Nemu in disbelief. �You�ve been at this for days!�

Szayel let out an exasperated �whoosh� of air from his lungs and his golden eyes filled with contempt, as he indicated with an accusing finger what they still hadn�t sorted.

�I�ve come to the conclusion that this Urahara Kisuke was the most muddled, piss-poor excuse for a scientist that ever walked the face of the Living World! At least Kurotsuchi knew how to file things! There is no order, whatsoever, to any of his research! It�s like being trapped in the mind of that psychotic pink-haired brat that one-eyed, one-man killing squad has hanging on his shoulders.�

Grimmjow blinked at the comment, before a strange thought, a memory really, occurred to him. One day, while Hana had been in class at the Academy, her mother had wanted to find and item the girl had stored in her room. It had been a picture of Kyoraku Shunsui, and Hana had tucked the thing away out of sight. Instead of tearing Hana�s bedchamber apart, Nanao had asked Ajuga where she would hide something of value. It took Ajuga all of fifteen seconds to find what Nanao had been looking for, with minimal disruption to the other child�s room.

If it had taken the mind of a half-mad genius to conceal or encrypt the really important things when it came to his research, wouldn�t it stand to reason that it might take an equally disturbed and disorganized mind to find it? Szayel�s comparison might not have been all that off the mark. Luckily, Grimmjow knew exactly where to find one.

�I have an idea. Give me a minute. I�ll be right back!�

He turned and raced up the stairs, intent on getting to the dining room, leaving Ichigo and Szayel to stare after him in confusion. Their confusion morphed into outright worry when he returned, towing a pouting Yachiru. The girl stared all around her, at the huge piles of paper and murmured about never needing to buy drawing paper again. Grimmjow cleared his throat, getting her attention briefly before she could pull out her crayons and truly drive Szayel back to being the Aspect of Death by Madness.

�Alright squirt, if you were going to stash your ultimate candy collection where no one could find it, where would you put it?� he asked, trying to sound serious. She looked up at him for a few seconds, and then scanned the messy room once more, making an �hmm� sound as she did so. When her eyes finally came to a stop, Yachiru laughed out loud.

�That�s easy, Nekoneko! I would put it right� here!� she declared, pointing to a covered vent high up on the wall.

�You have to be kidding me,� the scientist muttered. �You�re not taking into account anything we�ve salvaged!�

Grimmjow ignored him and pulled a desk over, letting all of the papers on it fall to the floor in the process. Szayel protested the action with a strangling sound while Ichigo leaned against one of the shelving units and watched. Climbing up onto the table, he found himself just shy of being able to reach the vent. Yachiru, with the ease of someone used to having to climb tall things, was quick to jump from the floor to the table to his shoulders. The little girl tugged for a moment and pulled the vent cover off before crawling into it.

�You all right, brat?� he shouted, as a tiny shower of plaster and concrete dust sprinkled him.

�Yep! I am fine, Nekoneko! It�s just dark! Oooo, I found something!�

Yachiru�s giggle echoed out of the small, square passage, along with some scuffling and banging.

�What is it?� Ichigo shouted up to her.

�Yay! A whole box of candy!� she squealed, the sound bouncing off the metal walls of the shaft.

�Anything else?� Grimmjow demanded and thought �Figures the kid would find sweets!�

�Dust bunnies� and a couple of spiders!�

�Quite impressive,� Szayel deadpanned and rubbed his forehead. �That was a colossal waste of valuable time.� He promptly turned around and went back to the pile of papers he�d been sorting.

�At least Yachiru got candy out of it,� Ichigo remarked, gazing up at the wall thoughtfully. �Then again, why would Kisuke hide candy in a vent? No one had been in here for years when we put what we�d scavenged in this room.�

�I would not use the word �put� if I were you, Kurosaki Ichigo. The word �put� implies that you did it with some kind of care. Instead, I believe �dumped� is more appropriate,� the scientist complained, picking up an armful of papers and giving it a withering look that said he�d be thrilled if it spontaneously combusted.

�How long ago was this war you were talking about?� Grimmjow asked, just as Yachiru reappeared with the box, several candies already stuffed in her mouth.

�Almost eighty years ago�� he began and then stopped as he realized what the other might be trying to say. Brown eyes darted back to the vent. �Yachiru! Don�t eat those! You don�t know how long they�ve been there!� Ichigo yelled. �Or if Urahara tampered with them!�

�Tastes just fine to me!� the girl shot back. �Catch, Nekoneko!�

She dropped the brightly coloured box down to the blue-haired Espada, who caught it and peeked inside. Sure enough, it was full of hard, wrapped candy, rather than anything that might go bad with time like chocolate. However, something seemed off about it, especially since the box, while dusty, didn�t look as if it were all that old. Frowning, he absently caught Yachiru as she jumped before sitting down on the table he�d used as a stepladder. As Ichigo walked forward to take a look at it, Grimmjow carefully dumped out the sweets next to him. The human picked up a piece in a green wrapper and scrutinized the logo.

�Huh. That�s weird. This brand came out when I was a kid. They certainly didn�t have these available during the war.�

That meant that someone had put in there relatively recently and Grimmjow�s money would be on Urahara as the one who had stashed it. It didn�t take much playing around with the cardboard to discover the false bottom, only a few millimetres deep. The Espada extracted several sheets of paper covered in what looked like gibberish, stuffed into the thin, hidden space.

�Hey Szayel, what is this?� he inquired, holding the sheets between his thumb and his forefinger and waving them at the scientist sarcastically.

�I would assume that they�d be packing slips, or an ingredient list or perhaps secret recipes for the candy he sold,� Szayel sighed, but did come over to look at the papers. �He might have even owned the brand for all we know. I�ve evidence in these piles that he was into any number of interesting business ventures and more than a few lethal pastimes.�

�Really? They look like someone�s crappy handwriting to me.�

Grimmjow let a suddenly frowning Szayel have the papers. Meanwhile, Yachiru popped candy after candy into her mouth at breakneck speed. He didn�t miss the fact that Ichigo began to eye the kid warily the more sugar she consumed and wondered if there was any correlation between her sugar consumption and that short, red crayon.

The way Szayel froze let both of them know that what they�d found might be more than just a list of jawbreaker components.

�Well?� he demanded, tapping the sole of his boot against the hard floor.

�I wasn�t wrong. These are candy recipes, but�� Szayel trailed off, scrutinizing each page carefully, one after the other before he called out to his mate in an excited voice.

�Nemu, come look at these and tell me what you think.�

She was off the floor and by his side in a matter of seconds and Szayel shifted his position so they could look at them together under the yellow, fluorescent lighting.

�I see,� Nemu agreed, smiling softly. �How very clever of him.�

�Want to clue the rest of us in?� Ichigo folded his arms across his chest and inched away from an increasingly jittery Yachiru.

�It�s a code,� Szayel answered gleefully. �This� this is exactly what we�ve been searching for!� He made the announcement happily, his foul mood gone and wrapped one arm around Nemu�s shoulders. �It shouldn�t take us too long to decipher and once we do, we�ll have the information we need!�

�How long?� Grimmjow and Ichigo said at the same time, and then looked at one another.

�A week at most, maybe a bit longer!�

�Or perhaps less...� Nemu placidly interjected. �Sarugaki-san was, at one time, Kisuke�s Fukutaichou. She may be familiar with the cipher�s structure or one similar to it.�

�It might help her attitude too, if she can contribute somehow,� Ichigo suggested.

�Yeah, what is that girl�s problem with Hana anyway?� Grimmjow asked, rounding on him while Szayel and Nemu bent their heads over the first of the pages.

�Well, she�s pissed that Hana�s taking up all of Hachi�s free time. He�s the only other original surviving Vizard. She�s also very angry that Hana is close to Coyote Starrk when the Primera was the one who defeated Shunsui during the war,� Ichigo answered and ran one hand through the bright strands of his hair. �I can�t really blame her, but all of that anger�s not serving much of a purpose at the moment.�

�The bitch needs to get over it. Starrk�s done right by the girl and her mother and he�s willing to help us overthrow Aizen. She can deal with her beef with him later, if she can convince him to bother fighting her,� Grimmjow groused. �Get her down here tomorrow morning and we�ll see what she can do, other than snipe at everyone.�

�Hmm,� Ichigo agreed, and then looked at Szayel with more hope than Grimmjow had seen the guy display in the last week. �So, do you think we can finally find a way to defeat Aizen with this?�

�With just this? No, but it is a key component to our plans. We still have to factor in how powerful Aizen is, even without the Hogyoku. There�s also his Zanpakuto to consider. However, if we eliminate the added power that fusing with the gem gave him, as Ajuga eliminated the power he gained with the Spirit King�s Throne, we may very well stand a chance. Do either of you think you are strong enough to take him out?�

Grimmjow wanted to give a firm �fuck yeah� in response to Szayel�s seriously worded question, but he couldn�t, not when a burst of Aizen�s reiatsu had been enough to send him to his belly on the floor. Ichigo didn�t answer immediately either, but when Grimmjow looked back up from the papers in Szayel�s hands, he found himself looking at an equally determined Ichigo. They shared a knowing look between them.

�We will be by the time you get that figured out,� he replied, jutting his chin at the �recipes.�

�Plus, we won�t be fighting alone,� Ichigo added. Szayel gave the two of them a cool look.

�I certainly hope so, because I, for one, do not relish the idea of failing and ending up as a fuck toy in Aizen�s basement for the rest of my existence, nor will I watch as my mate and children are made to suffer. At least he�ll kill the two of you,� he snapped, before a sharp look from Nemu made him flinch. Her green eyes moved towards the little girl on the other end of the table, wolfing down candy as if it were going out of style. The warning in them was plain to see, especially when Yachiru paused in her gluttony long enough for them to see that perhaps she�d passed some safety limit for carbohydrate ingestion.

�Does that mean that Ken-chan can play again?� she asked after swallowing her latest mouthful of goodies.

�Yes, it does,� Nemu answered with a smile, and then bowed to Grimmjow. �Your utilization of the 11^th Division�s Fukutaichou was a stroke of genius, Grimmjow-san. Well done.�

�Just tell me we can get Karin back,� he murmured darkly. He didn�t care about the means so much as he cared about the end results.

�If all goes well, by the end of next week,� Szayel told him. Then he narrowed his eyes and held up one pale finger, as if to caution the other two men. �Remember, there are other aspects to this than Urahara�s thrice-damned Hogyoku. I�d make use of the time until then.�

�Which means we train until we can go head-to-head with the son-of-a-bitch,� Grimmjow finished in his head.

�Good. Come on, Kurosaki,� he barked, making for the stairs. Ichigo quickly motioned to Yachiru and hurried to catch up with him.

�Going to share the news?�

�We�re going to get something to eat and tell that pigtailed tantrum to get her skinny butt down into that lab and help out. Then you and I are going to kick the shit out of each other until neither one of us can move,� Grimmjow declared as he bounded up the stairs, two at a time. �That�s my plan and I�m sticking to it. You in?�

�Ken-chan can fight the winner!� Yachiru exclaimed as she following them out, trailing candy wrappers and bloodthirsty giggles all the way back to the Ishida manor.

Grimmjow made good on his vow, sliding into a chair and helping himself to three plates of his hostess�s cooking. Ichigo matched him bite for bite, to the consternation of his wife, who murmured words along the lines of �competitive fools� and �stomach-aches,� though both lost to Yoruichi, who had wandered in while he and Ichigo were busy with the Seventh and his mate. Hiyori perked up when Grimmjow told the assembly that they�d found a set of codes and that Urahara�s old office lackey needed to beat feet to the shed after dinner and take some food to Szayel and his mate, as well as help decipher what Yachiru had discovered. She hurriedly ate and did as he requested, obviously happy to do something other than errands and sulking.

After dinner, the rest of them made their way back to the basement to train. Unlike the previous evening, this session didn�t end in an inadvertent maiming. In fact, Hana and Hachi used the opportunity to test out a smaller version of the barrier they�d developed. All of them, including Nel, Ryuuken and a Kenpachi who had removed his eye patch for the occasion, threw their combined reiatsu against the shield, trying to crack it.

They might as well have been tossing tulips plucked from the garden at a concrete wall. The thing never wavered and their two resident Kido experts gave one another a gleeful �high five� at the successful test. With that, the rebels could check off another �factor� on the list. Delighted, Yoruichi promised to skip over to the Soul Society to let Soi Fon and the others know that they�d made serious progress, which suited Grimmjow just fine.

Aizen was on borrowed time. The bastard didn�t know it yet, but his day of reckoning was approaching fast and it would bring Grimmjow with it, preferably with his claws out and fangs at the ready. A sweaty-faced Ichigo caught his eye and he nodded back, indicating that he was up for one more match.

His mate was depending on him, after all, and he wouldn�t let Karin down.

Still sick. Enjoy the Chapter. Thank you to the few that took the time to review.

Next Chapter: Aizen�s an asshole.

We are 6 Chapters out from when I might to the daily updates to press through a large segment of the story that, more or less, takes place within the same twelve hours. After those 7-8 chapters, the final battle begins. I know a lot of you got questions, but I will only confirm 1 thing, and that is that Aizen, Yammy and Barragan will die, which is hardly any form of spoiler. The rest, you will just have to wait and see.
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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