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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
- 92
- 93
- 94
Public Humiliation

Szayel hummed happily as he finished typing the latest round of commands onto his screen. He nearly squealed in delight as he watched the silver rods rise up from the ground, completely surrounding the city.

�Stand by to test the grid,� he ordered, speaking into the microphone.

He waited impatiently until he received confirmations from all of the other units before eagerly flipping the switch and staring at the screen in anticipation. A glowing, blue net flashed briefly between the poles, but to his dismay, the net did not remain up. Only a few poles kept the connections between them. The rest either fizzled or didn�t do anything at all.

�Damn it,� he cursed. �Either there is not enough power or there�s a short somewhere in the system�� Then his eyes narrowed as he took a closer look at the screen. ��Or those fools didn�t place the pillars at the proper coordinates!� He growled in frustration, calling out �Nemu!!�

�Hai, Szayel-sama.� Nemu, ever reliable, appeared by his side.

�Go out there and get those fools under control! I don�t care how you do it either!�

Nemu followed his finger as he stabbed it at the screen, indicating the �fools� and their coordinates.

�I swear! How hard can it be to follow a simple set of directions?!� he asked rhetorically, voice dripping with scorn for those not directly under his command. How stupid, he wondered, could a horde of Shinigami be? Unfortunately, as he glared at the display, he thought he had his answer.

The squads had been at this project for over two weeks and while the pillars set up by his own Division worked properly, the other Divisions were not just dropping the proverbial ball, but throwing it and seeing how far it could go. He would be pulling his beautiful, pink hair out in frustration if he didn�t consider it an inelegant gesture.

It was slowly growing out again after Aizen had hacked half of it off. It once more touched his shoulders and he hoped it would reach mid-back by the end of the year, if nothing else interfered with that process. Nemu liked to play with the strands and he, quite frankly, enjoyed it when she did.

�Is it wise for me to go, Szayel-sama? I have been feeling� strange lately. Another purge could come at any time and I find that I can�t predict when one will occur.�

Nemu, for a change, actually sounded hesitant to leave. It was true; she�d been vomiting at odd times and for no apparent reason. It wasn�t like her to be ill. She usually had firm control of her physical health. When any kind of trouble came up, she was more than competent enough to fix the issue before it became a bigger problem. Unfortunately, he needed her at top form at the moment and he had to have her out there to set the other Divisions straight as far as the pillar installation. He cast an irritated glance her way and was surprised to find that she actually did look a little peaked this morning. Irritation turned to resignation.

�Take Renji with you then. If nothing else, he makes a good packhorse and can act as cannon fodder if need be.� Szayel sighed. When she nodded, eyes still downcast, he walked towards her and cupped her chin in one hand, raising her head until she met his gaze. When he spoke, he found he actually sounded a little conciliatory. �When you return, we will test your body for imperfections and deal with any issues we find,� he promised.

�Hai, Szayel-sama,� she bowed, seemingly reassured at that and departed.

He turned his attention back to the monitor and his headset. If this grid wasn�t functioning perfectly soon, Aizen would lose his patience and Szayel did not want to be anywhere near Kami when he was displeased. His last punishment at the man�s hands still gave him nightmares and brought a rush of chills to his body.

His luck, unfortunately, seemed to be going from bad to worse.

�Szayel-sama, Kami-sama is here to see you,� one of his attendants announced.

Szayel froze and then felt nervous sweat begin to quickly run down his back.

�Why? Why now of all times? What could he possibly want, unless��

He swallowed nervously, fingers moving again on the keyboard and tried to regain his composure before turning around. He was about to order the attendant to let Aizen in, but the man in question walked confidently into the room before he could do so.

�Szayel,� Aizen smiled warmly at him, �I trust the grid is almost complete.�

He felt his fingers begin to shake and in an attempt to stop them from trembling, clasped his hands behind his back.

�I am sorry, Kami-sama, but there have been some complications with getting all of the pillars in their proper place. It would seem that the other Divisions are incapable of following instructions and have had trouble installing the pillars at the correct GPS coordinates. As a result, many of the pillars are not aligned correctly.�

He tried to shift the blame to the responsible parties as the best he could.

�I was unaware my Division was so incompetent,� Aizen noted, his voice sounding rather dangerous.

Szayel gulped nervously. To imply that any fault lay with the First Division was to imply that the fault lay with Aizen himself. There was no way that he could win this time, even if Aizen�s subordinates couldn�t tell a set of instructions from a hole in the ground. It was as if Aizen had deliberately chosen this particular moment, hoping for an excuse to inflict another �punishment� on him, regardless of whether or not he was the one responsible.

�You assured me this grid would be up yesterday, and now you tell me it will take longer still. I find that unacceptable.�

�There have been many unforeseen complications,� he replied, trying to defend himself.

�When a system fails, it is more often due to the incompetence of the leader than the incompetence of the crew implementing it. Clearly, you either lack the leadership abilities necessary to complete this project or you are simply not motivated enough.�

Now his body was trembling and he stared at Aizen in pure terror.

�I assure you Kami-sama��

Aizen raised a hand and silence him with a lash of reiatsu.

�Yes, motivation is what I believe you need,� Aizen pondered.

�I�� he stammered. �Please, Kami-sama, the project will be completed soon. I have already sent Nemu out to try and�..�

�Why did you not send her out sooner when you knew we would fall behind schedule?� Aizen interrupted him again.

�She has been feeling unwell�� Szayel didn�t even bother to finish that statement, realizing as he said it that it was no more an excuse to Aizen than it would have been for him.

He found himself gulping nervously and, no matter how tightly he dug his hands into each other, nothing could stop the trembling from taking over his entire body. He gave off a cry of pain as Aizen�s reiatsu crashed into him, sending him flying to the ground and panting desperately for breath. The room had fallen silent, save for the sound of his laboured breathing.

He was dimly aware of Aizen moving about the room and speaking to someone. He couldn�t make out the words over the rapid beating of his heart or the desperate gasping for whatever air he could force into his lungs. His vision was going blurry, tunnelling and he held onto consciousness by a mere thread.

As quickly as the reiatsu had bit into him, it suddenly let up. Szayel pulled in a huge lungful of air, desperately trying to regain some semblance of composure.

�Come. I have decided on a method of motivation that should work on the likes of you� Aizen pronounced, and smiled pleasantly down at him.

�I�. but�� he protested weakly from his place on the tiles.

�But what?� Aizen asked, the pleasant tone gone now, as was the smile.

�Y� you assured me that Karin-sama was now my Master, and she would be the one to deliver any punishments,� he pointed out weakly and more than a little desperately.

�And indeed she shall. Get up. It is unbecoming of one of my Espada to lie on the floor like a rug. Or do you feel like you are no longer worthy of the position?�

Szayel dragged himself to his feet as quickly as he could. He tried to stand up straight and shake off the effects of the pummelling he had just taken, lest Aizen decide to relieve him of his position as an Espada right then and there. With only a slight whimper in protest, he followed Aizen out of the building and on the long walk to the meeting hall.

The other Espada were already there, displaying various levels of confusion, annoyance, and disinterest in whatever they had been summoned here for. Szayel felt the blood drain from his body when he realized that whatever �motivation� Aizen had in mind for him, it was going to be semi-public.

�Ah, thank you all for gathering so quickly,� Aizen smiled at them.

�This had better be important, I got better things to do,� Grimmjow growled lowly in displeasure.

�Things or people?� Nnoitra jabbed at him with a lewd sneer.

�Both,� Grimmjow smirked back. �Unlike yourself��

�Enough of this nonsense! Why have we been summoned?� Barragan demanded displeased about being called out, causing Nnoitra and Grimmjow to temporarily shelve their bickering in favour of glaring back at the Second.

�I will explain when everyone else has arrived, so until then, please be patient. Szayel, do sit down,� Aizen smiled at him.

He did as ordered, his body numb, but sitting down did little to prevent it from quaking like a leaf in the wind. A few of the others looked at him curiously, but said nothing. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, there was a knock on the door.

�Enter,� Aizen ordered.

Unohana was the first to enter the room, and after a short bow she took a seat beside her husband. Nanao came in next with Toshiro, both of them arriving at the same time.

�Our apologies for taking so long to get here, Kami-sama, we were out on the grid line when the summons came and returned as quickly as we could.� Nanao bowed.

�Understandable. Please, take a seat, Nanao, Toshiro.�

Both of them sat next to their respective Masters and waited silently. Byakuya was the next to arrive, shortly behind the other two and simply offered a silent bow before Aizen waved him to a seat. Karin was the last to arrive, a little out of breath.

�My apologies, Aizen-Kami� I did not know that Soul Society uses black butterflies to deliver messages, nor do I know how to retrieve the messages they carry. Please forgive my lateness.�

�Ah, I see. I had wondered what had taken you so long. Perhaps, when this situation with the Swarm has been cleared up, you can officially attend the Shinoreijutsuin to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.�

�I would like that,� she admitted, still bowing low before him.

�Please, be seated and we can begin,�

Karin bowed again before taking her place beside her mate.

The meeting started off as most meetings with Kami tend to. Tea, pleasantries, reports. There was nothing about it that seemed out of the ordinary. None of it did anything to help alleviate the growing knot of fear in Szayel�s gut. Karin clearly picked up on it, for she shot him concerned glances, which in turn earned her apprehensive looks from her mate.

Finally, after over an hour of conversation that Szayel hardly followed, Aizen�s next sentence snapped his attention back to the meeting and the fear in him escalated until he could barely breathe.

�Finally, it has come to my attention that there seems to be a lack of motivation around here. I know that lack doesn�t pertain to all of you, but several of you seem to be slacking on the job. I will neither tolerate such slothfulness from my most powerful warriors, nor from the representative Taichou from the Divisions.

�As such, I have decided to give you a demonstration as to what will happen should you fail to pick up the current slack and have chosen one of you who has recently failed me to provide that demonstration. Szayel, if you please�� Aizen smiled at him.

His throat was completely dry and his body trembled. Aizen had never really punished him publicly before, at least, nothing more than a reiatsu barrage, and never had he been punished openly. Most of his punishments, mercifully, happened behind closed doors.

�I��

�Stand up,� Aizen ordered sternly.

Gulping, Szayel did as ordered, all too aware of the eyes that were on him. Some curiously, some in amusement, and others in concern.

�Against the wall please, and remove the top half of your uniform.�

Hands trembling he obeyed, folding his jacket like top neatly and placing it on the table before walking up to the nearest wall.

�Karin,� Aizen turned his attention her way.

�Yes, Kami-sama?� she asked, her voice waived slightly with emotion, but otherwise seemed to be somewhat steady.

�As Szayel is your pet, I would like to request that you deliver his punishment, as we agreed when I gave him to you.�

�Hai, Kami-sama. What will it be?� she asked.

Szayel heard the scrape of a chair and the sound of footsteps he believed belonged to Karin. He could hear Aizen whispering, but couldn�t make out what was it was she was being instructed to do to him.

A moment later he heard Karin walk towards him and he braced himself for whatever pain and humiliation was about to befall him. The fact it was being carried out in front of the other Espada by a human girl was perhaps the most painful part of all.

�Brace yourself, Szayel, this is going to hurt,� Karin whispered softly as she stopped behind him.

Karin knew something was wrong the moment Szayel�s fear slammed into her. She could feel his mounting terror as she�d obeyed Aizen�s summons and it did not diminish as the meeting wore on. When Aizen starting talking about a lack of motivation, she feared that she knew where the conversation was headed, and her suspicions turned out to be true when Aizen ordered Szayel to stand against the wall sans his jacket.

Her apprehension skyrocketed when Aizen beckoned her to his side. She could feel her own mate�s terror and swore she could hear him growling unhappily under his breath, the sound leaking out of his mouth from between gritted teeth.

She stared at the weapon Aizen had given to her in horror as he gave her his instructions on what to do with it. She wanted to tell him no, that she refused to do such a thing, but the look in his eye promised a million punishments for more than just herself and Szayel should she fail to comply. Any refusal she could have uttered died in her throat as she thought about what he might do to Grimmjow, or worse, to Ajuga.

Her hands shook as she clenched the handle of the weapon and walked over to stand behind Szayel, all too aware of the eyes boring into her back. She licked her lips nervously and stared at the abomination in her hand.

�Brace yourself Szayel, this is going to hurt,� she warned in a whisper.

She pulled the weapon back before flicking it forward. Nine whips lashed out, the barbs attached to the ends digging into his skin and digging into his flesh. His body jerked under the impact, but he made no sound other than a soft grunt.

Steeling her will, she jerked the modified cat o� nine tails down harshly. The barbs attached to the end tore through Szayel�s back, leaving nine ragged lines of torn skin in their wake, earning a soft cry of pain from their victim.

Karin�s heart wrenched painfully as she looked at the damage she had been forced to inflect and had to feel the overwhelming emotions rushing through the Claim from the one she was torturing.

�Again,� Aizen ordered firmly.

Forcing back tears, Karin raised the abominable device again. Another lash and jerk left another nine ragged lines down Szayel�s back, leaving his back a shredded mess. A second, louder cry tore from his lips and blood now flowed freely down his body, staining his once pristine hakama red. To add to his torment, he was sweating profusely now and the salt from his own body viciously stung the wounds.

�Turn around, Szayel,� Aizen ordered.

Karin closed her own eyes now, unable to look at the man she was being forced to torture.

�I said, turn around, Szayel,� Aizen said again, this time his voice had a hint of anger in it. Karin felt Kami�s displeased reiatsu rush past her to knife into Szayel.

Szayel let out a scream of agony and then must have turned around for Aizen ordered her to deliver another lash. Her entire body trembled in a mixture of pure rage and helplessness as she forced her eyes open. Pain-filled golden eyes caught her own, full of silent pleading.

Karin wasn�t sure if the pleading she saw was to spare him the next lash, or to hurry up and get it over with.

�Karin,� Aizen said warningly, and this time his displeased reiatsu assaulted her.

She gasped and staggered at the sheer, raw power of it and heard her mate raise his voice and body in protest until he too was silenced as Aizen spared a portion from the reiatsu he used on her to subdue her irate mate.

�I will not ask again, Karin,� Aizen warned.

Tears flowing freely down her face now, she drew the weapon back. As she did so, most of the pressure was removed from her body, but the rest remained in silent threat. Her eyes remained locked onto Szayel�s, trying to convey to him that she did not want to do this while offering whatever silent comfort she could.

She was surprised when she felt calm resignation suddenly come from him, as if he accepted the fate that awaited him. She swore he gave a soft nod of his head, and she returned it. Her arm lashed forward again, the nine spikes digging into his chest before they sliced his front open and he cried out in pure anguish.

He collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood, the wall behind him splattered with it. No longer caring what Aizen wanted or would do to her, she tossed the weapon aside and rushed to his side to inspect the damage, half-sobbing.

The cuts were deep, the barbs gouging into the layers of muscle beneath his skin, but fortunately they weren�t deep enough to have hit any of his organs. Rage from her mate slammed into her shortly before she heard him let out a howl of pain of his own and Karin whipped her gaze around to see Grimmjow snarling at Aizen, fresh blood running down the Espada�s face.

The entire room was full of tension and for a moment everything and everyone was frozen. Slowly, Karin watched as Grimmjow backed down and muttered an apology, not because he was actually sorry, but because Karin knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that had he pushed Aizen further she would have been the next victim.

�I trust my displeasure has been made clear and that there will be no further failings?� Aizen inquired, dropping all pretence of the �benevolent ruler�.

A chorus of �Hai, Kami-sama�� came from almost everyone in the room, answering his question.

�Very good.�

Aizen stood up with a sudden smile, the mantle of beatific ruler back in place. �You are all dismissed.�

However, no one moved as Aizen exited the room. The moment he was gone, Unohana was beside Karin in a flash, her expression one of worry as she helped Karin try to minister Szayel�s back.

�I am fine,� Szayel tried to insist, attempting to sit up before Karin and Unohana both stopped him in a failed bid to save some kind of face.

�Fuck! What was that all about?� Nnoitra exclaimed in confusion. There was no attempt to hide his bewilderment this time. It only deepened when no one seemed to be able to provide an answer.

�Chu,� Yammy spat in Szayel�s direction, before being the first to storm out in disgust.

�I mean it, what the fuck was this all about?� Nnoitra demanded again, growing slightly pale himself as he took in the fresh wounds on Szayel�s body as well as the myriad old scars from previous punishments. Karin saw him actually swallow, throat working in shock as the Fifth Espada realized the scars across the scientist�s back were actually readable kanji.

�Pft. Well, that was a waste of time.� Barragen snorted derisively before being the next to leave.

�What have you failed to do this time?� Starrk asked almost sleepily, casting a glance at Szayel. He did, however, spare enough energy to raise an eyebrow at the wounded Arrancar.

�The defence net is taking longer to set up than anticipated,� Szayel answered weakly.

There was a moment of silence while the remaining Espada looked at one another, stunned at Szayel�s answer.

�You�re telling me he gathered us here and had you publicly flogged by Grimmjow�s pet bitch for that?�

Nnoitra disbelief was plain to see, his one eye wide.

�Are you seriously that surprised?� Karin snapped at him.

Nnoitra narrowed that eye at her.

�You got something to say to me, human bitch?� he demanded, standing up.

�Nothing my fists haven�t already told your face,� Karin snarled back, her patience at an end.

Nnoitra made to take a step forward, but paused when he noticed Pantera�s blade at his throat and found Grimmjow�s eyes boring into his, the murderous intent in them crystal clear. More than that though, he noticed that most of others in the room were now looking at him with varying degrees of �try it� written on their faces, even Ulquiorra.

�What has been going on?�

Halibel was the one who broke the strained silence, her calm voice like a splash of cold water over the group. Nnoitra mumbled something nasty, but backed down while Grimmjow turned towards the Third, sheathing Pantera. He met her cool aquamarine gaze, one that made no hostile moves or promised any repercussions, but still demanded a response.

�Aizen has been overstepping his bounds lately,� Grimmjow answered in a snarl, moving to Karin�s side protectively, completely ignoring his own fresh wound and the blood dripping from his face onto his uniform. �Like touching shit that ain�t even his and breaking his own fucking laws� and ours,� he added after a moment, the disgust and loathing in his voice plain for all to hear.

�What do you mean?�

This time Halibel frowned as she asked for clarification. Behind her, Toshiro frowned as well, mirroring his Mistress�s expression. It was a good question. Hollows didn�t really have many laws, but the ones they did have were iron-clad.

�It is no one�s business,� Szayel snapped suddenly, and all eyes turned his way.

�Denying it ain�t going to make it go away,� Grimmjow snarled back.

Szayel tried to send a pleading glare Grimmjow�s way, but with Karin in the way that was impossible. The blue-haired Espada must have gotten the message though, for he sighed in exasperation and rubbed his forehead.

�Szayel, stop moving so much and let us tend these!� Karin ordered firmly.

Szayel went still beneath their hands while the two women worked at cleaning and bandaging the deep gashes caused by the lash.

�What is going on, Karin?� Toshiro was the next one to break the silence, apparently not content to remain in Halibel�s shadow this time.

Karin let out a frustrated sigh and looked around the room. She didn�t know much about Halibel, and thus didn�t know if they could trust the Third. She did recall it had been this woman and her fraccion that had rescued her and her sister from the rubble of their home, but that had been ages ago and she�d assumed that the Espada had done so under orders, not out of any benevolent intent.

She definitely didn�t trust Nnoitra. She was also unsure of Ulquiorra�s true loyalties and what he would and would not be obligated to report to Aizen. She was pretty sure he would never do anything to bring harm to Orihime or his child, but his faithful obedience to Aizen was fairly well-known and unquestioned.

�It�s not my place to say,� she finally sighed in defeat.

She could practically feel the relief radiate from Szayel at her answer, and she didn�t blame him. Telling an entire room full of people that he had been violently raped by Kami and had been tortured on numerous other occasions for very little reason would have damn near crushed his soul and what little remained of his social standing.

�Aizen-Kami has broken the one taboo we hold upon him,� Ulquiorra commented coldly. �He has done so repeatedly.�

The entire room froze and Karin felt the wash of unbearable shame and mortification rush into her from Szayel as well as her own sudden burst of anger at Ulquiorra for blurting out information he had no right to dispense.

�You�re fucking kidding me?� Nnoitra demanded, shooting a shocked glance at Szayel.

Szayel keep his gaze locked on the ground, unable to meet anyone�s eyes as his darkest secret was laid bare before them.

The entire room was filled with rage-charged reiatsu, taking Karin by surprise.

�Fucking hell, not even I am that low or have ever been that desperate,� Nnoitra spat in distaste.

�This is true?� Halibel demanded softly. What little of her expression Karin could see, given her mask and high jacket collar, hadn�t seemed to change, but there was a tension to her frame that hadn�t been there before.

�It is,� Starrk sighed in exasperation and confirmation, and tossed an annoyed look in Ulquiorra�s direction. �Such information was not yours to give,� he admonished.

�Hiding it does not change the fact it happened,� Ulquiorra pointed out.

Before the conversation could continue, the perimeter alarm blared. Everyone remained frozen for a moment before breaking apart to rush to their duties. Aizen�s little demonstration was fairly fresh in everyone�s minds� and eyes.

Szayel forced himself to his feet, much to Karin�s protests.

�I need to get to my station,� he said grimly, making a pained face as he moved.

�You need to rest,� Karin protested.

�Do you honestly believe that Kami-sama will see such minor wounds as these as an excuse to neglect my duties?� he countered bitterly, pulling the top half of his uniform, splattered with his own blood as it was, back over his bandaged shoulders and torso.

Karin sighed in defeat, before nodding her head in acceptance.

�I�ll accompany you,� she offered, but he shook his head.

�No, you had best get to your Division, lest Aizen turn his attentions towards you,� Szayel pointed out.

Karin opened her mouth to argue, but closed it shortly after. Szayel was right. Karin did not need Aizen turning his attention in her, or her family�s direction, nor did want to risk him digging through her background as he had Hana�s. And there was the little fact that Szayel�s fate was now intertwined with hers.

With a reluctant nod, she rose to her feet and forced herself to calm down. She had too many people relying on her to falter, no matter the obstacles Aizen placed before her. The others, including her mate, had already left. She felt a brief stab of worry for Grimmjow since he had been injured, but all she felt from her mate right now was an icy anger so cold it seemed to burn. No doubt he was busy taking out the rage generated by today�s events on the Swarm.

Karin squared her shoulders and began to march out of the meeting hall with the express intent of doing the same, until a cry from Szayel made her turn around and she rushed back to his side.

�What is it?� she asked worriedly as she felt his panic race across the link and into her.

�Nemu,� he answered quickly looking as frightened as if Aizen had just walked up behind her. �She�s in serious trouble....�

Karin cursed and quickly looked in the direction he pointed. Since she was familiar with the woman it didn�t take her long to trace Nemu�s reiatsu to her location.

�I�ll retrieve her. You get to your post,� Karin ordered.

�But what about your Division?� he asked.

�Byakuya has it well under control. Go!� Karin urged as she launched herself into a Shunpo, racing towards Nemu�s flickering life force.

Nemu was in trouble, which, given her body�s innately strong construction, was saying something. For some strange reason, her reiatsu refused to answer her summons. Instead it seemed occupied with something else and she had a hard time getting it to do what she wanted. At the moment, she needed it to combat the insects that came at her and Renji from all directions.

Renji fought silently beside her in a zombie-like way and could only engage one target at a time, limited as he was to taking instructions piecemeal. With most of his soul missing, she had to practically order him how to fight blow-by-blow and that was difficult to do while she was distracted trying to defend both herself and, more importantly, the silver poles making up the new defence grid.

It wasn�t very often she felt much in the way of emotion, but right now she felt caught in the grip of blind panic. Szayel would be horribly punished if the grid was damaged and with her own body acting strangely, she feared that she might fail him as well. That thought caused her more despair than any of the others.

With her �father� dead, and Uryuu dead at her father�s hand, she�d no longer had any purpose in life. Szayel gave her purpose, gave her direction, and gave her pleasure. He spoke to her as is she was an actual being instead of a mere creation and had actually taken her apart fewer times than her own creator had. Szayel recognized her use as an assistant and placed trust in her, and praised her occasionally for those skills.

Szayel was everything she had admired about her �father� and next to nothing of the things for which she despised him In short, Szayel was clearly the perfect being for her and she would be damned if she would fall before giving him the one thing he wanted more than anything else: children.

The thought caused her to momentarily freeze, a mistake that almost cost her head. She quickly ran another diagnostic of her body, and everything once more came back �green�. According to the sensors built into her, here was nothing wrong with her body and to continue to rely on them would get her nowhere. However, if her �father�s� boasts about how �completely� he�d engineered her were to be believed, then a potential pregnancy might not be considered a reportable �problem�. Perhaps Kurotsuchi-sama had simply created her monitoring system with the understanding that pregnancy wasn�t equal to a disability or injury or any kind. That made sense to her; if she was with child then there technically was nothing wrong with her, save for the disruptions to her reiatsu. She would have to get Unohana-Taichou to scan her when she got off of the field� if she got off the field. Nemu inwardly chided herself for her thoughts as she dodged another Locust, and then brought her fist down on the vulnerable spot between its head and its thorax, killing it.

Around her, the rest of her Division members were doing their best to defend the poles and get them safely back underground where they wouldn�t risk being damaged by the attack, but the former 12th Division was not well known for their fighting skills. A crash from nearby forced her attention back to Renji, who lay unmoving in a self-made crater, not because he was incapable of doing so, but simply because he hadn�t been ordered to move now that his last assigned opponent was dead.

She pulled what she thought was an appropriate and suitably vile curse from her internal database and uttered it as she whirled in his direction, intent on helping him. It was increasingly vexing, dealing with him while he was in this state. At this rate, he was more of a hindrance than a help in a fight. The only reason she hadn�t let him just die already was because she had no idea what happened to a Claimer when his or her Claimed died and she would not risk harm to Szayel-sama. There was also a part of her, one that was no longer repressed by her late creator, which refused to see lives, even one so stunted and damaged, so blatantly discarded.

�Renji!� she called.

He turned his blank, brown-eyed stare her way, silently waiting for his next set of orders as he lay in the crater.

Then the ground shook and she was unable to deliver her next command as the earth erupted around her. She felt at least two bones break as the force of the explosion tossed her about before she crashed to the ground, getting the wind knocked out of her in the process.

Shaking the last chunks of broken vegetation, dirt and rocks from its body, one of the giant beetles turned its attention their way and reared its head back. Stunned from the impact and unable to move her broken limbs, Nemu could only watch in horror as the creature prepared to fire a stream of acid straight at her.

A shaft of Kido crashed from the sky, knocking the beetle�s head slightly to the side and causing its attack to go wide of its mark. The acid hit a tree somewhere to the left of her and she could hear the leaves and bark sizzle as it burned. Nemu stared up in relief as Karin appeared beside her. Her clothing was decorated with splashes and smears of crimson, but Nemu didn�t think the blood belonged to the acting Taichou, nor did she act as if she�d been wounded.

�Are you alright?� Karin asked hurriedly.

�I am adequate, but not intact. Would you like a damage report, Karin-san?� Nemu asked.

�Yes,� Karin answered, never taking her eyes off the beetle as it flailed around, missing half of its head.

�It would appear that my left ankle is broken, as is my left wrist. My body has suffered numerous lacerations and I will likely develop several bruises, possibly to the bone beneath the tissue,� she reported. �My reiatsu also seems to be out of synch, a condition I�ve suffered for some time now,� she added with a hint of frustration. �I am having difficulty gathering the necessary amount for a proper Kido attack.�

�Yes, I can see that,� Karin frowned. �We will look into that matter later. You need to get out of here right now.�

�I will do so,� Nemu promised, knowing she was of no more use. �Renji,� she called again, �come here!�

He did so, lurching upwards out of the hole and walking towards her, heedless of his own injuries. Karin couldn�t help staring at the man as he approached. While she had never known him that well, she had seen him around back in the Living World when her brother still presumed she was ignorant of everything that was going on.

She knew he had been her brother�s friend and had felt the reiatsu he�d left behind at the house several times, back before everything had gone to hell. Seeing anyone like this was almost too painful to watch and she wondered if there was anything they could do to help him.

As it was, Karin couldn�t help but think that he would be better off dead. She knew that if she was ever reduced to such a state, she would most certainly desire death. He stooped, and picked up Nemu carefully, following her instructions to the letter, but showing no reaction to what was going on around them.

With Nemu secured, Karin covered their retreat before finding the rest of her Division and sending a few of them to help the former 12th�s members, now that Nemu and Renji were no longer able to help them. It looked to be another very long day and she couldn�t wait for it to be over.

�When are we finally going to get a bloody break?�

Thank you so much for the reviews. I am going to get more sleep now, soo tired. Only seven more weeks to go, give or take. I am getting to the end of part 1 and will probably take a hiatus at that point to get a start on part 2, and obviously care for my baby when it arrives.

There are still several more things to come, some events I know many of you have been impatiently waiting for are finally coming up. Until next week during a brief period of wakefulness�..
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Prize of Victory