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Prize of Victory	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 87205 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 8
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Subterfuge 101

When Renji opened his eyes again, he found that he was on his side, with Nel curled up behind him. One of her hands was busy running though his unbound hair, working the tangles out of it. Her breathing was deep, but back to normal. Her reiatsu had also withdrawn, and he felt oddly colder without it swirling through him. Renji shivered a little, and she responded by reaching over and pulling a sheet over the both of them, settling in, her chin resting on his shoulder.

�That wasn�t so bad, was it Renji-kun?�

Considering he was still recovering from their mutual, Claim-induced orgasm, his limbs tingling and the perpetrator of the whole thing pushing her breasts against his back, there wasn�t much he could really say to that. Tentatively, he reached out with his own spiritual pressure, expecting to find another version of Szayel�s chains reining him in, keeping him captive.

Instead of chains, what he found felt more like a blanket, woven more finely than the sheet above them that surrounded him. He pushed and it moved, but did not break or tear.

It felt nothing like the sordid, constricting energies to which Szayel Claim had subjected him to. Those restraints had bound him tightly and he�d struggled against them to no avail, until that bastard had decided that destroying Zabimaru might make for an interesting experiment. Instead, he found that Nel�s reiatsu simply encased him, warming him like the lining of a glove would warm the skin on his hand. They laid like that for a few minutes, catching their breath and in Renji�s case, getting his body to listen to him again. Zabimaru, at the foot of the bed, was sullen and reproachful towards him and once the lust-induced fog had lifted a little from his brain he began to sweat a little.

�Renji-kun� we have some things we need to discuss, now that you�re mine.�

He couldn�t help it; he stiffened at her declaration of ownership, however gently she tried to say it, whispering the words in his ear and running a hand up his arm. He wanted to shrug her away suddenly, hold her at arm�s length and tell her in no uncertain terms that no one possessed him.

Except that he couldn�t. Renji tried to find the strength to stand up and leave the bed but he remained stretched out on his side, Nel�s silky skin behind him both a distraction and a reward for staying still and listening. She patted his arm as a consolation and wrapped an arm around his waist, fingers lightly stroking his abdomen.

�I don�t have much time left with you. This Kido chamber Hachi-kun created has a time limit. We have an hour and no more before the portal I used to enter here closes. Right now, anyone scanning for its energy signature will think it is part of the barrier in the room and won�t think twice about it being here. When Yoruichi-san heard that Karin-chan was hiding you in here, she told Hachi and he said that he thought he �remembered the room in question�. When he gave Yoruichi the Kido spell, he also gave her the instructions to modify the barrier around your room.�

Frowning, Renji tried to look back at her, a little confused.

�Why did he do that?�

Nel actually giggled at his question, and he reached back to capture a long lock of her turquoise-coloured hair, pulling it over his shoulder to study it up close.

�Because he was the one that created the original barrier in the first place. I don�t think that awful Kurotsuchi monster changed it at all when he took over from Urahara-san. Thankfully Szayel didn�t change it much, other than the security codes. Hachi expected that. I�m going to assume Szayel was successful in modifying it the way Hachi instructed.�

Renji blinked at that, then let go of the lock of hair and turned over carefully to face her as she continued her explanation.

�He did the best he could on short notice, Renji-kun, and could only create a short-lived portal in for one person. Before I go, I have to tell you what you can and can�t do if we�re to keep this a secret.�

She emphasized this by smoothing her palm down his hip, to rest on his thigh and he had to shake himself in order to focus.

�Like what?� he nearly growled before she silenced him with a light kiss to the corner of his mouth.

�I�m sorry, but you must follow Szayel�s direct orders as if his Claim was still active. And you can�t hurt him in private either, unless� she amended, ��he decides to try to experiment on you or something horrible like that. Even then, you can�t kill him.�

Renji grimaced, but the order made sense.

�I can live with that. What else?�

�Do whatever it takes to make Aizen think you belong to Szayel, no matter how much you hate him. Bow to him, take his orders, do what you must to make Aizen believe you aren�t a threat. In fact, if you could continue to make Aizen think you are still a mindless drone it would let you move around more freely and others might be more willing to speak in your presence. You can learn a lot of information that way.�

�But after all he�s done��

Renji suddenly felt the silken glove that was Nel�s reiatsu constrict before he could really get worked up, forcing him to look at her. Her expression hadn�t changed. If anything, she looked even more serious.

�Szayel�s life is intertwined with Karin-chan�s. If anything happens to Ichigo-kun�s little sister, there�s no telling what Ichigo will do, or what he�ll risk doing. You know what he�s like when he makes up his mind. It was hard enough convincing him to leave her be to live the life she chose here, with Grimmjow.�

Renji closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Her reiatsu backed off a little as a result. Even he could see that a pissed-off Ichigo could be considered a very bad thing, especially a pissed- off Ichigo that felt he had little to lose in seeking revenge.

�Right now, Szayel is technically the property of Grimmjow, but considered a �pet� that belongs to Karin-chan. That makes you a pet of a pet of Karin. As much as you need to obey Szayel in public, you need to do whatever Karin-chan tells you to do, with no exceptions.�

�Yeah, about Karin�� he began, but another tightening of her reiatsu around him cut him off, thought it wasn�t nearly as strong as before.

Renji suspected that she was giving him a preview of what he could expect if he disobeyed her orders. He also suspected that she was being very, very lenient with him. While it didn�t hurt, it was uncomfortable, almost smothering.

�If she chooses to tell you anything, pay attention, as if your life depended on it. Because it might, considering how much Karin and Szayel have to hide from Aizen,� she warned, and ran her hands up and down his side, as if to emphasize her point. �If she gives you an order, carry it out, even if it means disobeying Szayel in private. She knows what she�s doing. If you need to give Szayel a report, give a copy to Karin as well, so she�ll know what�s going on. Then�� she said softly �You�ll give that report to us.�

Renji felt his jaw drop a little.

�It sounds like you plan on having me spy for you�� he said, a little resentfully, then gasped as Nel�s hand moved to the small of his back, drawing him forward so that he could actually feel her body heat, though not close enough to touch.

�We haven�t stopped trying to oust Aizen. But there aren�t enough of us to do so right now and the Swarm is a bigger problem. We�ll take any information we can get. And if not for Yoruichi�s �spying�, we wouldn�t have found out that we already had the key to dealing with this barrier and you and I wouldn�t be talking right now.�

At that, he hesitantly brought his own hand up to skim lightly over her collarbone, down to cup one of her breasts, thumbing a nipple. It was her turn to gasp then, and he noticed that she hadn�t prevented him from touching her via the Claim. He carefully moved his fingers up to cup her face, then kissed her. She allowed that as well, her tongue lazily moving against his own as he deepened it.

�Those orders won�t be so hard to manage,� he admitted, breaking it off and she giggled at that.

�There�s one more thing,� she warned, gently tugging on his hair when he moved to kiss her again. �Most Claims last anywhere from six months to a year before they must be renewed, unless it�s a Mating Claim�� she explained, trailing off with a small amount of what almost seemed like melancholy. �Mine should last about ten months. You�ll also be on this side of the Dangai and I�ll be on the other. I don�t know what I�ll be able to feel from you once I leave. You might have to protect yourself if I can�t get here in time.�

She sat up and her long hair hid her face as she turned away from him, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her calves. When she spoke again, her voice was more subdued.

�I�ll need to come back every ten months to renew your Claim if we�re to keep you safe. You can give me your reports then. I�ll get them to Yoruichi and Hachi.�

Renji managed to drag his spent body into an upright position, the sheets twisted around his hips and legs as he propped himself up with his arms and considered what she�d just said. Ten months? Ten whole months until he could have this again? The idea that he�d actually have to wait that long for something that his body was all for doing again in the next five minutes if possible almost made him whimper. It also replayed a few choice images of his recent activity in his brain, enough so that his cock actually twitched with enthusiasm. It didn�t seem to matter that the bedclothes hid his reaction; it was as if he�d stood up and struck a gong with it. She turned to look at him, a little bewildered at first, and then, to his shock, she actually blushed. The red staining her cheeks almost obscured the markings across her nose.

�How much time do we have left before you have to go?� he found himself asking, almost hoping that there was enough time for a second round. He thought he�d been drained completely, but his body, apparently, had other ideas.

�I� about five minutes,� Nel said with some regret, and then stood up and began to hunt around for her dress before he could drag her back onto the bed. When she bent over, the hair that cascaded down her back fell forward and Renji finally got an eyeful of the �3� mark in the middle of her back.

�You�re the Third Espada!?!� he gasped, clutching at the bedding as his eyes grew wide.

No wonder his reiatsu had given way before hers. Szayel had had to put up a fight to Claim him initially, even if he�d been at less than one hundred percent due to his injuries, and Szayel ranked, what, as the Eighth? That Nel was the Third meant that he�d probably only dealt with a fraction of her full power today.

She looked over her shoulder at him, her expression unreadable, before she pulled the dress over her head and began to search for her sandals. Slipping them on, she shook out her hair retrieved her sword and belt from the foot of the bed.

�No. I was, before Nnoitra broke my mask. Someone else holds that title now. The current Third is loyal to Aizen.�

Her tone was enough to dampen any residual lust the newly-established Claim had instilled in him. Hastily, he scrambled off the bed after her, dragging sheets and blanket with him, nearly tripping over Zabimaru as his Zanpakuto was pulled along in the folds of cloth. He caught it, trying to juggle the sword and wrap the bedclothes around his hips in a failed attempt at modesty.

�Wait... I�m sorry, I didn�t mean��

�Titles like that never meant much to me. Nor did I ever care about who was stronger than who, unlike many of my kind.� She said this a little wistfully, and moved to stand in front of him, reaching up to touch his cheek in a conciliatory gesture. �Don�t worry, it isn�t really important anymore.�

Her gray eyes softened. Impulsively, Renji reached for her, pulling her into his arms and burying his nose her hair. She didn�t resist and he felt her throw her arms around his bare shoulders. He breathed deeply, trying to commit the scent of her perfume to memory.

For a split second, she seemed skittish and he thought she might bolt. Then she relaxed, fitting against him long enough for his body to again get the wrong idea. He heard her laugh, low and throaty, into his chest.

�Please, stay safe Renji-kun. Until we get the chance to meet again,� she requested softly.

�I don�t know what time of day or night it is,� he protested softly. �How will I know when to be here?�

�It was two in the afternoon when Hachi-kun sent me through,� she offered. �Nemu has the instructions to open the gate and expand this chamber. Keep it hidden and safe from Aizen,� she ordered.

He nodded, but before she could move away, he drew her close and kissed her soundly, his hands running through the ocean-coloured waves of her hair. She returned the kiss, and then broke it off as the walls of the cube�s interior turned a bright red.

�I have to go.�

�Wait! What�s with this thing?� he asked, looking around in alarm.

�That�s the minute mark. After that, the cube will begin to shrink to its original size. Hachi built it into the design, just in case��

Nel moved to the wall farthest from the bed and pressed her hand against one spot. A shimmering circle appeared around her hand and Renji saw that a small section of the cube slid away, making a grating noise. Beyond it was nothing but the darkness of the Dangai.

�In case what?�

She turned and smiled then and at that moment, all he wanted to do was drag her away from the exit, to keep her from leaving at all.

�In case I lost myself in what I was doing and forgot about the time.�

She placed one sandaled foot through the door, stopped, and then turned back again.

�I�ll tell Rukia and Ichigo you said hello, and that you�re well. I know she�ll be happy to hear you�re better now and that you�re safe,� Nel declared, leaving him stunned.

Before he could protest, she turned and left. As she slid into the blackness he heard her say �Please, be safe and careful, Renji-kun.�

Then the panel slid closed and a few seconds later the red hue vanished, leaving him staring at a blank wall. Then the air pressure in the cube�s interior changed again. Thankfully, he had the presence of mind to tear his gaze away from the spot where she�d disappeared and grab as much of his clothing as possible. He�d managed to get the majority of his wrinkled uniform on and at least tied together when the walls surrounding him began to constrict. The cube shrank and he braced himself, knowing the energy in it would have to pass through him. It still made him grind his teeth together when it did, but at least he was prepared for it.

Once out of the Kido barrier, Renji took a deep breath, trying to catch just a little more of Nel�s scent before it dissipated into the larger chamber.

�Well, I hoped that worked.�

Szayel�s voice, unwelcome and irritating, cut through his good mood like a hot knife through butter. Grabbing the headboard of the metal bed frame, he squared his jaw and turned around.

Incredibly, the pink-haired menace wasn�t even looking his way. The freak was busy with some monitoring equipment. For one horrible second he thought that the Espada had been spying on what had gone on between he and Nel, until the scientist made a �humph� sound and peered a little closer at the screen.

�There seems to be no change to the room�s barrier, no signs of a breach of any kind, no indication that anything got through it at any level and now that it�s returned to its original size, no fluctuations at all. How extraordinary!� he pronounced and turned to call over his shoulder, �Are you sure anyone actually came through?�

�Oh, yeah. I�m sure,� someone said in a low voice to his left. �And then some��

Renji turned to see Karin sitting in one of the chairs staring at him, her gaze a little unfocused, while Nemu stood behind her with a notepad. She seemed to come back to herself a few moments later and gave an involuntary shiver. When she did, it only took seconds for her to turn a bright shade of red as she took in the dishevelled state of his clothing, his unbound hair and the rumpled bedding.

�Are you quite alright, Renji-kun?� Nemu inquired, hand holding a pen over the notepad.

�I� yeah, I�m alright.�

�Did you sustain any injuries?�

Renji frowned, raising an eyebrow as he tied the last tie on his hakama�s waist wrap together.

�Should I have?� he questioned, confused.

Even the two times he recalled Szayel forcing his Claim upon him, he had never been injured, at least physically. As much as he�d hated the act itself, it had been pleasurable and that had been part of the problem. Renji�s pride had taken a beating but his body had responded to the rape, had enjoyed what had been done to him while his mind and soul had screamed in protest. He�d never been able to reconcile the dichotomy between those two states and that had been traumatic enough. The idea that physical harm could accompany it as well shouldn�t have shocked him.

�Not every Claiming is bloodless,� Karin answered instead, looking down at her hands. �She�s� very powerful, from what I can tell. There�s no way that anyone could say you were unClaimed now.�

�Good. When can I get the hell out of this room?� Renji demanded, turning to fetch Zabimaru.

He could feel his Zanpakuto�s resentment that he�d succumbed to Nel�s Claim without putting up at least a token fight. He told his blade, politely, to stuff it and deal with it for now.

�You can leave once we get a few things straight. I talked with Orihime and she�ll swear that the only thing she �rejected� was the destruction of your Zanpakuto, returning your soul to it full form. This is, by the way, the truth. None of us intended for your original Claim to shatter like that. We didn�t actually consider it could happen.�

When Renji scowled at that, Karin scowled right back. Renji was oddly reminded of the time he�d gone head to head with Ichigo in an argument and had butted heads with him, literally and figuratively. He�d had the welt on his forehead for a week. Like sister, like brother, he thought.

�You must do everything that��

Renji made a slashing gesture meant to cut her off in mid-sentence and managed to finish what she was going to say.

�Yeah, I know. I�m supposed to �obey� the bastard over there in public, which I take to mean anyone who doesn�t know what just went on in this room.�

Karin blinked, and then nodded. Her blush also deepened a little, to his amusement.

�I�m glad you understand that. Second, you�ll need to play the part of ��

�A pet of a pet of a pet, and a mindless one at that? I�ve already been told about that as well. I�m to obey your mate and yourself, and your word takes precedence over that bastard�s word. I�m going to trust you as far as that goes.�

Again, Karin nodded, and then gave him a shrewd look.

�And you�re to play the submissive with Aizen. Give him no reason to make him think that Szayel doesn�t control your Claim, or you. I think it best that you leave your Zanpakuto here as well, in this room. If you start carrying it around, people will start asking questions that I and Szayel don�t have an answer for yet. It will remain safely here until then. You�ll have access to him whenever you want.�

Now, Renji really wanted to argue with her, and it didn�t help that Zabimaru began voicing his opposition about being separated from him for any length of time using some colourful language. The order, unfortunately, was in line with Nel�s commands, especially with regard to remaining beneath the enemy�s notice. He�d have to let it slide. At least, he knew, this room would be a better place to keep his Zanpakuto a secret.

�For now.�

�For the foreseeable future,� Karin warned. Renji shrugged, crossed his arms and met her gaze squarely.

�I�ll do what you say as those were the instructions I was given. I�m going to assume Nel will enforce them if I try to break the rules she set.�

She obviously hadn�t expected him to answer so forthrightly, or with such certainty in his voice. Had she expected something different? Had her Claiming been that bad, he wondered. Then he decided he didn�t really want to know. He couldn�t really see a vicious creature such as Grimmjow making it very pleasant for her. It couldn�t have possibly been as good as what he�d just experienced. In addition, Nemu had told him that most of the existing Claims upon the Shinigami populace weren�t voluntary. At least Nel had asked him to let her �save him�. His thoughts turned to his former Taichou and he inwardly winced.

�Nel?!? You mean, the Arrancar that just Claimed you is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!!?�

Renji looked up to see Szayel spin on his heel and stare at him, an expression of absolute terror and outrage on his face. He then turned to Karin and pointed at her with a shaking finger, as if she�d just ruined an experiment he�d planned for months.

�You just said that you�d found an Arrancar willing to do this in my stead!! Not that you�d chosen her!!!�

�Why should it matter? I know you don�t like her. That was apparent on the battlefield the day Ichigo cracked your mask,� Karin snapped, rounding on him. �She�s the only Arrancar with those in the Living World and she already knew him��

�I� I mean, she�� the scientist sputtered, seeming incredibly rattled by Karin�s revelation. The freak looked as if he was about to explode in the mother of all hissy fits.

Renji, after a check to see just how much reiatsu he felt he could spare, decided it was time to make a couple of things very clear to his former �owner�. Before Karin or Nemu could stop him, Renji used his Shunpo to move directly in front of Szayel. Funny, he thought as he looked down at the very startled Espada, he was actually taller than Szayel, and far more imposing now that Szayel looked as if he�d lost a good ten years of maturity. Szayel squeaked in surprise as Renji�s fist twisted in his collar and gasped as the redhead lifted him off the ground, meeting him eyeball-to-eyeball.

�Nel told me all about you and what you and Nnoitra did to her,� Renji snarled. �She told me how she got that crack in her mask. She also told me something very interesting about what happens to an Arrancar with a damaged mask. You,� he gave Szayel a little shake, �are very lucky that Karin gives a rat�s ass about you and that Nemu-chan over there is willing to follow you with or without a Claim.�

�RENJI!! Put him down, now! NOW!!� Karin barked at him, her voice rich with fury.

He felt a sharp almost painful pull on his Claim and although he would have loved to shake Szayel until his teeth rattled in his skull, the redhead reluctantly released his grip on the Espada. Renji did manage to let go of the scientist abruptly and the Eighth yelped as he landed unceremoniously on his rear end. Renji smirked as he stood over him, arms folded across his chest, looking down. He simply couldn�t resist making the son of a bitch squirm, if only a little.

�She also told me that the order not to hurt you was waived if you tried to hurt me or experiment on me. My only restriction is that I can�t kill you. I can, however, make you suffer. Just so we�re clear about that.�

The redhead cracked his knuckles, to drive his point home.

Szayel looked as if someone had just told him he�d just drunk an entire beaker of poisoned pigeon droppings and began to sputter in outrage. Renji, in turn, let out a hiss that sounded as if the snake half of his Zanpakuto had decided to weigh in on the subject.

�You have too much to hide to try to prevent Nel from coming here to renew the Claim either, so don�t think about trying it. You also have a couple of children on the way. Ya gonna risk everything just to try to take me out, Szayel-sama? You play along and I�ll play along and we�ll keep this little charade going as long as we have to.�

Without further ado, he turned on his heel, the look on Szayel�s face a balm to his sense of wounded pride.

Renji couldn�t help the grin plastered across his face as he walked towards Karin, intent on filling her in on most of the rest. He�d leave out the bit about funnelling information to Nel for now, until he knew where she stood in all of this. In the meantime, he�d keep up the illusion that he was still �all body and no brain�. As Nemu moved to Szayel�s side, helping him up and smoothing out his uniform, the redhead raised his arms above his head for a good long, luxurious stretch.

His imprisonment here was nearly over.

He�d been given a mission, spying, that could help topple that monster, Aizen. All he had to do was sit back and listen and wait for someone to make a mistake around him.

He only had to obey Szayel in public and he was certainly going to remind the bastard of that fact frequently, and that the one who had Claimed him was far, FAR more powerful than the scientist could ever hope to be.

Nnoitra was here, in the Seireitei. While Nel hadn�t given him any instructions as far as dealing with that particular Arrancar, he�d keep an eye out, and wait for an opening. The same went for Yammy. If there was any chance to free his former Taichou and Rukia�s brother, he had to be ready for it.

He�d just had the most mind-blowing, insanely wonderful sex of his entire life and the soft, chamois-like feel of Nel�s reiatsu encasing him in the same manner as her body was a delicious reminder of that. His legs still felt a little weak from what they�d just done. While Renji was still irritated with Karin and Yoruichi about not telling him exactly what was going to happen when he�d stepped into that circle, he didn�t think it would be too hard to forgive them in a little while for their deception.

Hell, he�d just had willing sex for the first time in his current existence. Part of him was still marveling over that. It hadn�t been with the one he�d wanted and that was the only regret he had about the whole thing.

He consoled himself with the knowledge that Rukia had wanted this, wanted to make sure he could pass for one of the Espadas� pets. He�d keep up the pretence of being Szayel�s dog for as long as his childhood friend wanted. Given who was helping him with that pretence, well, that was the frosting, whipped cream, cherries and candles on the cake as far as he was concerned.

Renji also decided that he had a new favourite perfume and vowed to wait to wash his sheets for a little while.
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Prize of Victory