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
- 89
- 90
- 91
The Night Before Tomorrow: Grimmjow

Grimmjow considered it a good thing that Hollows required less sleep than humans did. He certainly hadn�t been able to get any shut-eye and his mind refused to shut down. If Ulquiorra had been here, the bat would have observed, in that monotonous voice of his, that it was finally proof that the Sixth was capable of thinking about something other than sex. On one hand, the Fourth would have been correct, if only because Grimmjow didn�t think he was capable of the act at present, not with this much on the line. On the other, the fact he was awake made him vulnerable to the faint feedback from Karin. It left him open to everything, including three hours� worth of her revulsion. Heartsick, all he could do was lie in bed, stare at the light fixture above it and try not to picture what his mate was going through at the hands of her captor. Closing his eyes wouldn�t help. Queasiness marred the first hour and he didn�t want to puke.

Therefore, he�d given up on trying to sleep and instead spent his time doing what some might call �meditation,� in an effort to feel less helpless. After the majority of the negative emotions that bombarded him subsided and with Pantera placed reassuringly across his lap, he actively sought out Karin via their mutual Claim. That yielded little, especially after the clock struck one. There were remnants of sorrow and disgust, but those had dwindled as she�d succumbed, he presumed, to exhaustion. That didn�t stop him from trying to send as much love and reassurance as he could to her, but he had no idea how receptive she was while asleep.

She was at least alive and it was a sad day when he was willing to accept that as a positive sign. It was also a very good thing that he was here, and not there. Grimmjow admitted he would have done something incredibly stupid by now otherwise. He only hoped that Karin could forgive him for leaving her in such a hellish place for as long as they had.

She remained in the dark about her impending rescue, as no one deemed it safe enough to try to contact her. Unohana and Yoruichi worried about the Palace walls having ears, a not-unreasonable assumption when one considered how Aizen liked to show up unexpectedly. He�d done it all the time in Hueco Mundo but back then, Grimmjow hadn�t cared that much about his leader�s comings and goings. They had that stoolie Tousen monitoring the hallways, so the Sixth had just assumed someone was watching every move he made and didn�t give a damn about it.

The only good thing he could think of was that it wouldn�t be long before he had her back, whether she knew they were coming or not. His loins stirred at the thought of pushing her against the nearest wall when he got to her and refreshing his Claim. Grimmjow would make sure that everyone knew she belonged to him and only him. A few seconds after those thoughts had run through his head, he hauled them back in and quashed them.

He didn�t want to think about her ending up like Szayel, thanks to what she�d suffered at Aizen�s hands. The damage to the Seventh�s psyche was readily apparent, even if what the anguish Pinky displayed was the result of a century�s worth of abuse and mind games. The other Espada could barely sleep with his mate, let alone give Nemu a decent shagging and the last thing Grimmjow wanted to contemplate was navigating a similar set of stress-related psychoses when it came to Karin.

That led to thoughts of violence, happily delivered upon Aizen�s stinking carcass. He generally liked hunting alone, but this was one kill he wouldn�t mind sharing with Ichigo. The hybrid was beyond pissed at Aizen. Grimmjow could smell the rage bubbling like a toxic soup inside of the young man, every time they sparred. Like it or not, they were family now, even if Ichigo was being a lazy git about reproduction. The hybrid�s Hollow had to be seething about the lack of cubs.

�Then again, he has his reasons,� Grimmjow reluctantly admitted.

Ichigo and Rukia hadn�t spawned for the same reason he and Karin had begun to use protection after Ajuga�s birth. Wild animals didn�t mate during times of stress, nor did they squander resources. Producing one cub helped curb the instincts that clamoured at him to impregnate Karin again. The idea that they might have another child with Ajuga�s strength, abilities and courage stirred up a ridiculous amount of pride within him, even as it forced him to acknowledge a few things about his choice of associates. His mate and daughter were the only good things that had come from following Aizen all those years ago.

Just thinking about the bastard made him growl. Yoruichi refused to tell him anything about what she�d learned from Unohana regarding the goings-on at the Palace, which ironically, told him everything he needed to know.

He had chaffed under Aizen�s rule since the day Aizen had come into Hueco Mundo and began gathering Adjuchas to turn into Arrancar. His old fraccion had been a loyal bunch and he felt a very brief twinge of regret about their demise. Taking the Seireitei back would be so much easier if he�d had a few of his smarter boys with him, like Shawlong, Edrad or even Yylfordt, the vainglorious twit. Shawlong�s ability to analyze and Edrad�s ability to plan would have been a huge help. Yylfordt could have made himself useful and kept Barragan busy by showing some leg. They were gone though and there was no getting them back, nor would it help to sit around lamenting their lost.

Feeling restless, he gave up attempting to meditate and surged to his feet. The Espada returned Pantera to his hip and strolled out of his room. If he couldn�t sleep, he could at least take a walk through the now-familiar orchard.

The moon had ducked behind a bank of drifting clouds, temporarily obscuring its light, though he could see stars winking here and there in the black sky. The yellowish glow from nearby Karakura was enough for him to make out the path, though he didn�t really need it. His feet found the well-worn route introduced to him by Ichigo. Normally he would have kicked Kurosaki out of bed to spar with him. He would have even settled for that bloodthirsty loon Kenpachi, but he couldn�t afford to waste energy or risk an injury on the eve of their rebellion.

�Besides, if Kurosaki knows what�s good for him, he will be screwing the shit out of that rabbit-happy little icicle he mated. I ain�t pathetic enough to go begging him to give up fucking his mate just so I can blow off some steam.�

He hated this kind of waiting, with no easy resolution in sight. It was completely different when one was already on the hunt and waiting for one�s prey to move within striking range. At least a hunter could anticipate the fresh taste of blood in the mouth. This was just frustrating, which wasn�t going to help his state-of mind tomorrow and that only added to his anger.

�If my temper�s this short now, how bad is it going to be when we get to the Seireitei? I don�t know if I can sit on my claws while we hang around for the signal.� The admission made him want to smash his fist against one of the nearby trees in agitation, and he dreaded the moment when he�d have to throttle all of his instincts to go to her in favour of lying low. The only thing that made him feel better about any potential failure on his part to keep his ire in check was the knowledge that Ichigo would be right by his side, once the man knew why he�d taken off. He and Ichigo would have a similar mindset at that point: kill Aizen first and ask questions much, much later.

The sound of two voices talking softly to each other thankfully derailed his ugly train of thought. He�d been so engrossed in devising new and interesting ways of dissecting the tyrant holding his mate that Grimmjow failed to notice his feet deviating from their original path. He was no longer in the orchard, but closer to the edges of the property, where taller and stronger trees like beech and maples grew. Grimmjow followed the murmuring through the underbrush, the fallen, rotted leaves from last year crunching beneath his feet and filling his nose with tannic pungency, until he came across a particularly large specimen. The tree was several feet higher and the span of its thick branches was so wide that the Sixth thought it might rival Barragan as far as its age. Looking up, he could just make out two silhouettes perched on one of the thicker limbs against the budding foliage.

One silhouette, which was easier to see thanks to the white fur that covered it, had a white tail that swung lazily to and fro in the air below the branch. It figured, he thought with some resignation, that his instincts would propel him to seek out the only other Jaegerjaquez in residence.

His daughter leaned comfortably against Diaemus� chest, the boy�s wings draped around them like a blanket. Despite the rather intimate posture, there was nothing sexual about it. It was a position that afforded comfort and warmth, nothing more, which suited Grimmjow just fine. He wasn�t a fool; they�d probably take things farther when they were older, but for now their bond resembled something more akin to two extremely close friends, rather than a fully mated couple. He was also oddly pleased to see Diaemus taking such good care of his not-so-little girl. If the brat kept displaying proper behaviour towards Ajuga, Grimmjow might, eventually, give his blessing to the two, despite the boy�s unfortunate lineage.

�What do you think it will be like?� he heard Diaemus ask Ajuga.

The girl snorted.

�I�ve already seen it. You remember� all those massive� I dunno, colonies, towering incredibly high. It�s warm and I think wherever we�re going is in the middle of some kind of forest, with lots of strange plants. I�ve never seen anything like them in the Seireitei.�

She paused, and then her voice faltered, sounding pained.

�It�s going to take so long to recover though, and it was so much worse off than many of the other Realms. If we hadn�t fixed it when we did��

��it would have completely collapsed and the others would have followed in short order.�

Diaemus�s answer was short and matter-of-fact and he heard the boy�s wings rustle as he adjusted them. �Nevertheless, we did balance things. It didn�t fall apart in a day, so we shouldn�t expect things to snap right back into place the way they were before Aizen killed the old Soul King.�

�What do you think their Queen will be like?� Ajuga asked in a low voice. �I�m trying to picture a female Zee and it�s pretty scary.�

�Maybe she�ll look like a honeybee queen, or maybe an ant queen? Those females are much larger than the males. She might be taller, bigger, more robust. Only in mammals do the males of any given species get bigger than the females. Birds, reptiles, insects� the females dominate.�

�Humph. Maybe. Knowing what we know now, Diaemus, do you ever feel bad about killing so many of the Swarm?�

Diaemus�s silence meant he was considering the question and Grimmjow blinked in surprise at his answer.

�Feeling guilty is useless. This is how things worked out and it wasn�t as if we really had a choice in fighting them once we were old enough. I doubt Aizen would have listened to an envoy from their Realm, asking him to step down. They probably felt they had no choice but to attack the Seireitei. They have a Queen who doesn�t fight and Aizen never came out when he could send others to do the work. The Seireitei and the Swarm�s Realm are really similar, in a lot of ways.�

Ajuga said nothing to that observation and the bough they sat on creaked. Evidently, a subject change was in order.

�Think Hana will be okay?�

Even from where he stood, Grimmjow could tell the boy had rolled his eyes and then some.

�Yes, Hana will perform her part in the making of the shield. You saw the results the other night.�

�Yeah. It was impressive� but it just seems strange for us to go in different directions this time.�

�You seem determined to feel guilty about something this morning, Ajuga. There�s no help for it. No one else can build that shield. It�s best if we just get out of the way and let her work.�

Another round of quiet followed and he almost considered walking away when Diaemus asked a question that made him want to hear his daughter�s reply.

�What do you think would have happened if you�d accidentally said Zee�s name� instead of accidentally saying mine?�

�Ugh! No! How could you even go there?�

�But I�m serious, Ajuga. He was willing to become your Consort, to sacrifice himself��

Even Grimmjow, not the most observant of males, knew the kid had started to dig a hole from which he might not be able to extricate himself. Was it legal for the Spirit Queen to kill her own Consort? He had no idea.

�Sacrifice!?!�

�Think about it,� Diaemus went on, ignoring the outrage in Ajuga�s voice. �He and you are different sorts of beings. He said as much. He�d be giving up any chance to ever be a father, or fertilize one of their �princesses,� all to fix his Realm. That has to mean something, right?�

Grimmjow expected one of two things to happen at that point. Either Ajuga would push the boy out of the tree to land on his future father-in-law�s head, or she would push him off the branch to land on his tail. Neither happened. Instead, Ajuga sighed grumpily.

�From the way he was acting, getting me to �sit in the chair and say his name� didn�t sound like it would be all that fun for him. So yeah, you�re probably right. To answer your question, I think the ritual would have fried his buggy brain the second I said �Zee.� Who knew that a coronation could hurt this much!�

�True. It�s not something I want to experience twice,� Diaemus agreed.

Staring up at them, his mind conjured up a word seldom uttered or contemplated by most Hollows. The only one he could see having similar thoughts was Nnoitra Gilga, given what he knew of Tesra�s �adoption� and the fact Tesra�s mate was expecting. Something told him that the Fifth�s reaction to the word might be different than Grimmjow�s and involve the ingestion of a lot of unnecessary alcohol.

�Grandfather. Now ain�t that a kick in the head!�

If Diaemus and Ajuga produced offspring, he would share the rare title with Ulquiorra. Not only that, but they�d be privileged enough to see their children�s children, not just know about them or hear about them from a third party. Such things were almost unheard of among their kind. The status he and Ulquiorra would gain would be phenomenal. Grandchildren might even impress the lower Arrancar more than the fact that Ajuga and Diaemus held the Spirit King�s Throne. Hollows cared little about such things. The majority of the Arrancar had followed Aizen because of his power, not some arbitrary rank that meant nothing to anyone other than the Shinigami.

�If Tatsuki has a healthy cub, Nnoitra will get to horn in on that title, assuming the mantis gives a damn. Too bad he�ll beat us to it, with that human girl�s due date so close.�

Then Grimmjow paused and revised his assessment.

�Scratch that. Nnoitra adopted Tesra, so his cub won�t count, since he or she won�t have the braggart�s genes. So yeah, take that you one-eyed fucktard! Ulquiorra and I will still beat you to the punch, just as I�ve beat you at everything else!�

He spent roughly one minute indulging in smugness before he remembered that, with all of the hybrid pregnancies, that title might not remain exclusive for long. Thankfully, that day was far in the future and for now, he�d take his �firsts� where he could get them.

How had Karin taken the whole ruler-consort business between their daughter and Diaemus? Had she despaired or been pleased by it? Grimmjow had no idea. Everything had happened so quickly that no one had time to sort out the ramifications until days later and then, at least for him, it had been adjusting to a situation from which there was no retreat. The kids were stuck together and that was that. He suspected Karin would back him up when it came to the �no mating until you�re older� rule. He also thought that maybe she had bigger things to worry about at the moment than the accidental �consorting.�

�Is there something wrong, Papa?�

Ajuga�s voice filtered down to him from her lofty roost and she sounded troubled. He had almost forgotten he was standing beneath them and looked up at the two. Ajuga had pushed aside one of Diaemus�s black wings to peer at him with her big blue eyes and he waved away any worries with a few flicks of his wrist.

�Can�t sleep,� he confessed, leaning against the tree�s trunk and folding his arms across his chest.

�Oh. We can�t either.�

His daughter was so stealthy that he hadn�t noticed her descent until she landed beside him. The rustle created when her paws hit the forest floor startled, then annoyed him. Pride at her prowess warred with irritation at himself for being taken off-guard. Diaemus glided down a second later, landing gracefully and tucking his wings around his body like an inky cloak.

�What�s put kinks in your tails?� Grimmjow asked the two. He was eager to do something other than fret about what they�d do later in the day. Getting to the bottom of his daughter�s problems seemed like a fine way to pass the time.

�Just the �same-old, same-old,�� Ajuga growled testily. �We want to go, but if we want the Swarm�s help, we have to take a pass. I hate this.�

Before he could say anything, she held up one hand.

�I mean, I get it from a tactical standpoint, but still...� Ajuga trailed off, flicking her hair behind her shoulder in agitation. Grimmjow watched as Diaemus put a placating hand on his friend�s shoulder, before facing her father.

�It troubles us that we have to travel to an unfamiliar Realm, alongside� well, I suppose as they�re sentient they qualify as people� those with whom we are unacquainted,� Diaemus replied. �While I admit to being curious about the Swarm�s home, I would much rather remain here, to guard those incapable of participating in the assault. Ajuga and I are indebted to Yuzu-san and Ryuuken-san for their hospitality during our time of distress.�

Green eyes gone shroud gray flicked in the direction of the mansion.

�Nel-chan isn�t exactly in any shape right now to be going all out if someone were to hit this place while the rest of you were gone,� Ajuga added. �Renji would be� damn, Papa. I don�t want to know what he would do if he lost his family.�

�Now there�s an understatement. I don�t want to dwell on that either.�

The brats made good points, but he doubted Aizen knew this place existed and Ryuuken was more than capable of defending the Estate. If worse came to worse, he could sic those two mutts he called guard dogs on anyone stupid enough to try to make it past the various barriers. They�d most likely try to lick any organized offensive into submission.

Grimmjow also sensed that Ryuuken had a well-hidden reserve of power, one that he wouldn�t hesitate to use if things got out of hand. He had a healthy wariness of the Quincy, mostly because he did not want the doctor obliterating his collection of souls and because he didn�t want to push his luck as to how long Ryuuken would tolerate his presence. No one could remain that stoic indefinitely and he didn�t want to be here when the man cracked.

�There�s an old saying about houseguests and fish and we�re well past that three day time limit,� he told himself. �Of course, we didn�t exactly plan on ending up here, either.�

Yuzu, on the other hand, had the same vibe as Karin, the one that sent shivers down his spine when she was upset with him. When someone like Kenpachi tucked his tail between his legs and sat obediently in the presence of a girl one-third of his size, it was probably wise to follow suit and not test her. What bugged him was that Yuzu had spent her formative years under his very nose and Grimmjow still wasn�t sure how he�d missed seeing this part of her personality. Maybe she�d blinded him with her curves and her cooking and he supposed he�d dodged that particular Cero by choosing her sister instead.

�I doubt either one of them needs protection,� he noted, unable to stifle his snort. �Just as I doubt Aizen would have any interest in any of them. They�ve never opposed him.�

�That is true,�� Diaemus frowned, as if just thinking of something. �If anything, our presence might be putting them in more danger than had we not been here at all.�

�What do you mean by that?� Ajuga huffed.

�Aizen has a vested interest in finding us. By remaining here, we run the risk of attracting his attention with our actions or just our reiatsu signatures. You can bet he has people scouring the Living World and maybe even Hueco Mundo for us. At least if Aizen assaults us in the Swarm�s Realm, we will have lost nothing that truly matters to us. Unless, of course, you have grown fond of Zee? He did ask you to propose to him.�

Her Consort raised an eyebrow. Ajuga stuck her tongue out at him.

�Hardly.�

Grimmjow decided it was time for him to start making the two feel useful in a situation that was largely out of their control. He didn�t know if it would help, but it couldn�t hurt.

�Speaking of the Swarm, care to give us a progress report? Are they where they�re supposed to be?�

Ajuga�s eyes went distant and her body went still as she used her new �sight�.

�Looks like it�s going well, from what I can see. Their secondary Hive to the North is buzzing with activity.� Ajuga shook her head, and her eyes focused once more. �I tried to see Mama, but I can�t pierce the veil surrounding her room. I can�t see the twins either. There�s some kind of Kido barrier surrounding the Royal Suite, or at least the building. The gardens are a different story.�

�Go on,� Grimmjow said encouragingly and Ajuga reached up and scratched the back of her neck nervously.

�I mean, I saw Mama earlier today when we were double-checking that the serum Szay came up with to counter Aizen�s Zanpakuto was not just a temporary thing. She looked okay, and she was even smiling a little at Vindula-chan and helping her pick flowers. I lost sight of them though when they climbed the stairs to the balcony and went back through the doors. That�s why I think it�s a barrier, instead of his Zanpakuto. I guess it isn�t surprising. Aizen,� Ajuga spat the name, �knows that we have the Throne, and that I can �see� what I want to if I try hard enough. He�s probably deliberately shielding the interior of the Royal Suite to keep me from snooping.�

�Have you tried talking to her?�

Ajuga�s tail and ears drooped.

�I want to, but Yoruichi said not to try it, just to be safe. She doesn�t know if Aizen can detect when we�re tuning in on her, and it would be better not to do anything to tip him off about the attack. He might have a way to intercept the message too, some sort of Kido spell or something. Hachi-san and Hana-chan would know, but they�re asleep and I don�t want to wake either of them.�

That made sense. It was best not to spoil a hunt before it started, no matter how tempted one was by the meat. Patience was key, and both he and Ajuga had to be prepared to draw on every little bit of that virtue they possessed.

�It will all be over soon,� Diaemus told her, probably to put her at ease, although the boy had to be concerned about his parents too. Orihime was a lot of things, but a fighter wasn�t one of them. Fortunately, the plan didn�t call for her to be involved in the conflict at all. Ulquiorra, on the other hand, was going to be horns deep in it.

�Hey! I got an idea!�

Ajuga suddenly perked up. The smirk on her face was one she had inherited from him and he had a feeling that he was going to like his daughter�s suggestion. �Yuzu-obachan said she�d seen a deer eating the buds from one of the prized rose bushes on the other side of the property. Looks like the buck just arrived. Should we help out Auntie by thinning the herd?�

It wasn�t exactly the prey he wanted, but he had learned long ago not to be picky when it came to food. Besides, a snack of fresh venison might be just the thing to shake off his gloom and his pre-battle jitters. Diaemus looked like he was about to decline, but suddenly paused, and then nodded.

�Good lad,� Grimmjow thought approvingly. Diaemus was learning. He might just survive his attachment to Ajuga after all.

His daughter led the way and they spent what was left of the night stalking the deer herd. Yuzu�s cooking was superb, but in Grimmjow�s opinion, there was nothing like the taste of warm blood on one�s lips and raw meat on the tongue. This close to the city and in the absence of real predators, the deer had become either incredibly careless, or exceedingly skilled at eluding the universe�s most worthless guard dogs. It didn�t take them long to kill, skin, gut, bleed and butcher two of the slowest animals. Dining on the choice bits was a bonus.

Both cubs looked better as the rising sun slowly lit up the eastern skyline. Taking a quick detour to one of the spigots that supplied the vegetable garden with water, the three made certain to wash every bit of blood from their claws, hands, mouths and clothing. The last thing Grimmjow wanted to do was anger Yuzu by tracking blood and dirt through the Estate�s hallways, though he did think she�d appreciate the joints of venison they snuck into the kitchen�s chest freezer. The leaf wrappings weren�t as good as butcher paper, but it would do while the meat chilled. They�d buried the offal and anything they hadn�t eaten ended up tossed over the fence of the dog pen, much to the two Dobermans� delight.

�That ought to keep those pooches busy. Maybe they�ll show some bloody gratitude next time we meet up,� he hoped as he watched Jun and Tadashi tear into the leftovers with canine gusto. After stashing the meat and retreating from the kitchen, they arrived at the designated spot in the orchard and waited for the others to join them.

He and the cubs, after all, had appointments to keep.
- 89
- 90
- 91
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

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