Chapter Two

Reality

Szayel and Uryū got along well. Szayel was interested in medicine and Uryū was interested in talking about it. Uryū would show him textbooks and tell him all about the medicine he was studying at the university. While Uryū was gone, Szayel stayed inside the house and enjoyed things like television and radio. They had come to a comfortable companionship in their time together, so when the announcement came across that there was a problem, Uryū didn't worry about himself.

"I have to check on Ichigo," he said as he gathered his things to leave the house.

"Why do you have to do that?" Szayel asked, standing too close to him now.

"Because of Grimmjow, what if that demon does something to him!" Uryū stated, frustrated with the situation. He told Ichigo that he shouldn't keep the demon with him.

Szayel, though, put a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around. "You should worry about yourself."

Uryū had time to ask a blank sounding "what" before Szayel punched him in the face, knocking him flat out.

When he came back to consciousness, he was lying on a table of some sort staring up at a white ceiling. There was glaring light coming from above him and he couldn't see much else.

"Where…where am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"Hueco Mundo," came the response from beside him. Uryū glared at the pink haired demon.

"What did you do?" Uryū asked, realizing slowly that he was bound to the table at wrist and ankle.

Szayel smiled, a glint to his eye. "I grew tired of playing the polite slave. When the release on our powers happened, I came home, bringing you with me. You belong to me now, human, and I'm going to have some fun experimenting on that lovely human body of yours. I'm fascinated to see what kind of reactions happen in our world to you." Szayel leaned over him, tightening the wrist restraints. "I won't kill you because you were kind to me, but curiosity has a hold on me. This might hurt a bit…"

Uryū tried to dislodge his hands or feet, but he found he was trapped. Hurt a bit turned out to be an understatement.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Orihime had come to get used to the demon. She treated him much like she would have treated her brother. She didn't treat him as a slave, instead she tried to help him become acclimated to the human world. Ulquiorra was his name, and she thought he had the prettiest green eyes. So, on the night the announcement came, she was frightened because she'd gotten used to having Ulquiorra with her all the time, and if he left, she would be sad.

She didn't expect him to be standing in the doorway of her bedroom, staring at her in his cold, emotionless way.

"Ulquiorra," she said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"You can make the next few moments of our life easy and do what I say."

The emergency beep from the radio got her attention and she looked back at him. "What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"I am returning home, and you are going with me," he said in a matter of fact tone.

He reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm and opened the portal with his other hand, using her momentarily shocked status to his advantage. He then pulled her through the portal to the land of Hueco Mundo. When they emerged on the other side, Orihime started to cry, but Ulquiorra ignored it, instead sweeping her up in a bridal carry and moving quickly to Las Noches in the distance. Once inside, he took her to a door marked with the number four. He opened it to reveal a small room with a bed and desk and nothing else. Ulquiorra sat her down on the bed and turned to her.

"You belong to me. I was intrigued by you and your ways. I will mark you so that none will bother you," he said and reached out to touch her.

She flinched away, gasping. "No, what are you doing?"

"Nothing that will hurt you," he said and put his hand on her shoulder. There was a moment of power transferring and the flesh under his hand felt hot. He removed his hand where a number four now was marked on her neck near her shoulder. "Others have been brought here; I can sense the humans already. I know at least one other who would bring his human…" he mused. "Remain here. I will return. Do not leave the room as I cannot yet be sure no one will harm you."

He then turned and left, leaving Orihime to stare after him and wonder exactly what she was supposed to do now.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"We should let them be together; they were friends in the human world," Szayel commented as he looked at Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. "It will make them happy and easier to deal with."

"I don't know that I want your human around mine…" Grimmjow growled at Szayel.

"Oh come now, we've all marked them, my human won't touch yours, not without permission anyway," he said with a smirk.

"Alright, we can have a communal room they can spend time in," Grimmjow finally agreed.

Ulquiorra didn't say anything but nodded his agreement.

In a short time, they had found a large room that they could lock from the outside. It was near the center of the compound and approximately the same distance from each of their rooms. Grimmjow headed back to his room first to get Ichigo.

Ichigo was still pouting, he noticed. He'd told him if he was good, he'd let him visit his family, but he hadn't gotten over the initial shock of getting brought to Hueco Mundo.

"Oi, how long you going to pout like a child?" Grimmjow shouted as soon as he came into the room.

"How long before you let me go home?" he retorted, glaring at him.

Grimmjow snorted. "I got a surprise for you today, despite your pouty ass. Come on."

Ichigo didn't move from where he sat curled into a ball on the bed. "Why should I?"

"Because you'll like it, maybe you'll stop pouting so much."

Ichigo thought about refusing but it wasn't like Grimmjow couldn't just pick him up and take him wherever it was. He knew he'd do it too. "Fine," he grumbled and slid down off the bed.

As they walked out the door, Grimmjow stayed behind him, just to make sure he didn't try and run away or something. He led him to the communal room and opened the door for him. Inside, it was dressed with a sofa and chairs around a fireplace. Ichigo snorted and turned back to Grimmjow.

"What is this?" he asked.

"A little space for you and the others to spend time together," Grimmjow said as he crossed his arms over his chest to wait for the others.

"Others?" Ichigo asked as the door opened and Ulquiorra came in with Orihime. She immediately ran over and threw her arms around Ichigo's neck.

"Kurosaki-kun!" she said through tearful eyes. "I'm glad you're okay!"

Ichigo hugged her back and swallowed. Others. There were other humans here. The door opened again and this time it was Uryū who was shoved into the room. He looked a bit unsteady on his feet as Szayel steered him toward Ichigo and Orihime.

"Now, now, don't go touching Ichigo too much, or Grimmjow won't let him come play with you two," Szayel snickered, throwing a glance Grimmjow's direction. Grimmjow growled at them.

"What is this?" Uryū asked as he straightened up. "You're letting us be together?"

"Why not? You're not going anywhere, and it is safest for you to stay locked up for now. Even though you're all marked, not every demon here right now is one that will pay attention to those marks." Szayel crossed his arms and turned to leave.

Grimmjow stepped over to Ichigo and grabbed him out of Orihime's grip by the shirt. "I'll be back soon," he said and glared at both Uryū and Orihime before he left behind Szayel. Ulquiorra didn't say anything, he just turned and left. The door made a loud locking sound followed by silence.

"Well, I was afraid I wasn't the only one," Ichigo sad a he flopped down into the sofa.

"Is there any hope of being rescued?" Uryū asked, sitting on the other end of the couch.

"I doubt just for three humans," Ichigo sighed.

Orihime looked between them. "But there are more; Ulquiorra said that there were some being punished by their demons."

"I feel like I'm being punished by Szayel," Uryū grumbled and rubbed his stomach. "But he's just curious about humans and wants to experiment."

"I'm surprised Grimmjow let me out; he's horribly possessive," Ichigo said with another long sigh.

"Szayel warned me of that," Uryū said, vividly remembering Szayel's warning if he got too close to Ichigo, Grimmjow might take his head off. "You were sleeping with him already, weren't you?"

Ichigo's cheeks flushed red and he nodded. "We'd been since the beginning. I thought…I thought it meant something, but I guess I was wrong."

"Don't feel that way, Kurosaki-kun, it may be that Grimmjow has feelings he just can't express properly. I know Ulquiorra is like that." Orihime sat down between them with a sigh.

"Do you think we'll ever go home?" Ichigo asked, feeling extremely sad at that moment.

"Probably not," Uryū said and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I don't think they intend to let us go back, not after they marked us," he pushed down his shirt to show the eight that was on his shoulder near his neck.

Ichigo showed his six, and Orihime showed her four. "What do the numbers mean?" she wondered.

"Power level," came a new voice and they all looked up to see a demon they'd never seen before standing inside the doorway. He was tall with brown hair and had a jaw bone around his neck. "Each one of the most powerful ten demons in our realm are marked with their number." He took his glove off to show the number one on his hand. All three of the humans stiffened.

"Don't fret, I won't interfere in their acquisition of humans. I just came down here to meet you. I'm Cayote Starrk, and I somewhat run this place, at least when I'm awake. The rest of the time, I let Barragan think he's in charge." He yawned and looked them over. "I am sure you are not yet used to life here, but you will become accustomed to it. We will accommodate your human needs as well as we can, but you will have to remember to voice them. Do not expect your demonic owners to know how to take care of you, even if they got to know human life in the other world."

"I want to go back home," Ichigo stated, rubbing the mark on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid you can't. The demonic magic that was used to bind you here won't allow it. And there may be unexpected things that occur due to it." He idly scratched at his chin. "You may develop powers. That is unforeseen."

"So we can't leave this place?" Orihime said with a soft sob.

"No, not without your demonic owner. I am afraid there is much irony in the owners of slaves becoming enslaved. Do not blame us; blame the human world that would punish those of us who had nothing to do with the demon wars."

"But we didn't even want to take on the demons! We only did it because they were going to execute them!" Uryū snapped at him.

"That is why you are allowed in Hueco Mundo freely. Others who reveled in their power over another creature did not fare so well," he said with a shrug. "I will leave you now. Please, remember to stay where your owners put you." With that, he turned and walked through the door, locking it behind him.

"Our owners," Ichigo said with a deep sigh. "I knew nothing good would come out of enslaving demons; the very idea they could be controlled was ridiculous."

"Well, we each did something to make our demons attach to us enough to bring us over here," Uryū said, looking at both Orihime and Ichigo. "I get the impression that this number they marked us with isn't given out lightly."

Ichigo was about to say something when the door opened to show Grimmjow. "Alright, that's enough for you today," he growled and stormed over to Ichigo. He grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him away.

"Wait just a damn minute!" Ichigo snapped. He dug in his heels but to no avail, Grimmjow's superior strength meant that he was just dragged along. "Hey!"

Uryū and Orihime just watched as he was drug from the room and the door locked behind him.

"You think he'll be okay?" she whispered in the quiet of the room.

"I don't know. I know that I feel bad for anyone that tries to mess with Ichigo while he's marked by Grimmjow."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"What the hell is your problem?" Ichigo demanded as soon as he was tossed unceremoniously into the room.

"I said that was enough for today," Grimmjow growled, giving Ichigo a menacing look.

"I can spend time with my only human friends! It is the least you can do since you drug me here without my permission!" Ichigo snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at him.

Grimmjow was on him in a moment, pressing him down onto the bed. "You belong to me here, you understand that?" he said with a snarl.

Ichigo couldn't help the arousal that washed over him at Grimmjow's closeness. Dammit, he was still mad at him, and now he'd know. Grimmjow's eyes widened and he slipped a hand between Ichigo's legs, causing him to whimper.

"What is it that got you going? Me being possessive or me throwing you to the bed?" Grimmjow asked, fingers already working at the button of the jeans.

"No! Just stop, I'm not in the mood for this right now…" he started but let out a moan as Grimmjow's hand slid down his front to grip his harness.

"You feel like yer in the mood, Ichigo," Grimmjow muttered, stroking him as he began to nuzzle into the flesh of his neck. "Want me to stop?"

"No! I mean yes! I don't know…" he whined, brain fighting with his body for what should happen right then.

"Hmm, your body is honest even if your mouth isn't," Grimmjow said with a smirk as he sucked a deep mark into Ichigo's neck. Ichigo jerked under his hands, knowing that he was intending to mark him even more. "I think I hate these jeans still, so they're going away," he muttered against his throat as he peeled off the tight jeans. "I want to have easier access so you are going to be given a yukata to wear…"

"I like to wear these jeans," Ichigo whined. He wasn't stopping him from taking them off, though.

When Grimmjow got the jeans off, he pulled down his undershorts and tossed them both to the side with annoyance. "Too many clothes," he murmured and went back to sucking a new mark on Ichigo's neck. He kept stroking him for a few minutes until he slid his hand down and pressed two fingers slick with pre-cum into him. Ichigo jerked at the slight pain from the thick digits intrusion.

"Now, do I stop?" Grimmjow asked, stilling his hands and pushing himself up to stare at Ichigo's flushed face.

"No!" Ichigo gasped, feeling all the sensations crashing into him as always. He couldn't say the words to stop because he didn't want to stop.

Grimmjow snorted and flipped Ichigo over onto his stomach, yanking his hips up. He pressed teasingly at his entrance for a few seconds before he slammed forward hard enough to cause a little bleeding. It wasn't like Ichigo hadn't bled for him before. He held tight to his hips, knowing he was probably bruising his hips with the grip he had on him. All the more marks to show who owned him, he thought to himself as he set a ruthless fast pace.

Ichigo was in a totally blissed out headspace as Grimmjow slid repeatedly against his prostate, sending shocks of pleasure throughout his body. He curled his hands into fists and bit down on the sheets under him as he felt himself dripping from the hard and fast pace. He felt tears come to his eyes as he held on, the waves of pleasure coming faster and faster as he grew close.

"Ng, Griiiimmmm…" he moaned out with his voice modulating with the harsh thrusts into his body.

"It's okay, baby boy. Come when you're ready," Grimmjow said with a smirk, knowing that as soon as Ichigo came, he'd follow him.

Ichigo arched under him as the wave of pleasure crashed into him, sending him over the edge, spilling on the bed. He felt Grimmjow thrust a couple times then felt him go over, his cock throbbing inside him as he released. He thrust forward and stayed seated for a moment before he pulled out and flopped on the bed beside Ichigo, who had fallen forward as soon as Grimmjow let go of his hips.

"I hate you," Ichigo said into the bed. "I hate you so much."

"Nah, ya love me, that's why yer always ready to fuck when I start in on you," Grimmjow said as he ran a hand through Ichigo's hair. "I'm serious on the clothes. I brought a yukata for you to wear, and you are going to wear that alone."

Ichigo turned his head to the side and glared at him. "So you get to tell me what I can wear now too?"

"I own you, so I can do whatever I want," Grimmjow said, hand gripping Ichigo by the hair suddenly and pulling his head to the side a little. He let out a slight whimper, so Grimmjow let go. "But I don't wanna make you do things you don't wanna do, so ya get some freedom, just not on everything."

"I want to go home," Ichigo said as he sat up, avoiding the wet spot under him.

"Won't happen unless I take you there. So be a good boy and I'll take you home to see yer family now and then. But this is where your real home is now, so you need to get used to it."

Grimmjow stood up, pulling his own hakama up. He then picked up Ichigo's discarded clothes and reached out a hand toward him. "Gimme that shirt."

Ichigo didn't say anything, just took it off and handed it to him. What else could he do? He wasn't able to leave, and if he pissed Grimmjow off, he knew he could be hurt; or worse, he might hurt one of the other two. He was thinking when he was handed a folded garment. He took it and stood up to put on the dark green yukata and sighed as he tied the obi.

"Now, stay here…"

"Food," Ichigo reminded him. "We need to eat."

Grimmjow looked at him and sighed. "Dammit, I'll see about setting up a kitchen. For now, just stay here," he said and exited the room.

Ichigo sighed and decided he wanted a bath. He went into the adjoining bathroom and drew hot water for himself, then slowly sunk into it. He was already bruising on his hips, and the spots on his neck were sore. To be owned so completely… He gasped at his own desires. Was this what he wanted? Just to think he belonged to Grimmjow and no one else gave him a slight thrill. Did that mean he was messed up if he kind of liked it?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Orihime looked up as the door opened again, this time with Ulquiorra. He nodded to her. "Would you like to see the gardens?"

"Gardens?" she asked as she stood up. "Um, sure," she said quietly .

Ulquiorra took her hand and led her out the door, leaving Uryū alone in the room. Orihime blushed at the contact, but she didn't try to remove her hand. Ulquiorra didn't say anything else; he just led her to another door that resembled all the other doors. When he opened it, though, it was a lovely garden. Orihime gasped and released his hand as she stepped inside.

"Its so beautiful!" she said as she knelt beside a bush with pink flowers. "You can grow things here?"

"It is with effort, but yes, we can grow most things from the human world. It takes this special room to do it." He watched as she walked down the paths, looking at the various plants. He was confused by his feelings for the human woman. He had always been a rather dispassionate demon, only doing things necessary to survive. But this woman, she had shown him the human world and all its wonders. Now he was going to return the favor.

"It is true that I can demand anything of you," he said, causing her to look at him suddenly. "You are not able to run away, and I can force you into doing anything I want."

Orihime swallowed hard as she stood up slowly. "Please, I don't want to be hurt."

"I will not hurt you; I own you. I, however, don't feel the need to rush matters, and will not command anything of you that you do not agree to," he said with a blank look. "I am not like Grimmjow and need proof that I own you. I am not like Szayel and wish to use you for my own ends."

"I am glad," she said, sweeping stray hairs back over her ears. She could feel her cheeks heating a little as he spoke. It was true that in their time in the human world, she had come to depend on his quiet presence. "But I cannot promise that I will ever love you."

"Love is an emotion. It is not one that is necessary for me to feel," he stated and looked away from her.

Orihime looked at him and nodded. "I like you a lot, but I wish you'd given me a choice to come here with you. I might have said yes."

"I could not take the chance." He answered coldly and without a trace of emotion. "I desired to continue our companionship, and this was the only way I knew to be certain of that."

She smiled at him; that was so like him to say. She continued to look through the garden, finding lovely flowers here and there as Ulquiorra followed her at a moderate distance. She didn't know how to tell him that what he was feeling was attachment to her, and she felt it too. She didn't know how to make him understand emotions and make him feel. She wondered if she could indeed do that.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Uryū looked up as the door opened again, this time revealing Szayel. He flinched involuntarily at the sight of him.

"Aw, Uryū, why do you look at me like that? I don't want to hurt you. Much." Szayel smirked at him, pushing at the glasses looking bone on his face as though it was an actual pair of spectacles.

"What do you want?" Uryū demanded, standing up and huffing a breath through his nose at Szayel.

"Well, time to continue our experiments on you!" he said and grabbed Uryū's hand.

Uryū groaned, not wanting to continue being cut or poked or prodded, but having no way to resist his "owner". He was led back to the lab that also contained Szayel's rooms.

"Hop up!" Szayel said and patted the table.

"Why? What are you going to do now?" Uryū asked as he sat on the table.

"Well, I am going to take measurements and see how the bonding I did affects you. You may develop unusual traits due to the demonic energy. This way, I have a baseline to compare data to after the fact," Szayel informed him as he came back with a syringe. "I won't take much blood, I promise."

Uryū was glad that he had good veins as Szayel drew a vial of blood from him. He sighed, wondering why he had to get the crazy medical demon?

"So you're still worried for Ichigo," Szayel commented as he plugged the vial into one of his machines.

"Yeah, he thinks he can handle things, but he's really soft underneath his tough exterior. To think he's been sleeping with Grimmjow this whole time and I didn't realize it…" he stated, the annoyance written all over his face at that fact.

"Why should you care?" Szayel asked, using the interface to get readings from the blood sample. "You dated him for a very short time from what I understand."

"I was too controlling, he said, and now he's in a relationship where he has no control at all. This can't be good for him," Uryū crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

Szayel moved closer to him and sighed. "You still have a thing for him, don't you? One that got away?"

"No, not like that, its just…" Uryū started, but stopped.

"Its just that he dumped you and you can't stand that," Szayel surmised, smirking at Uryū.

Uryū didn't say anything, only looked away. Szayel was right. It wasn't even about Ichigo; it was about the fact he hadn't called things off. He hadn't been in control, and that was one thing he didn't like.

"More than that, this situation has you all sorts of messed up since you aren't in control of anything anymore," Szayel guessed, moving to plant his hands on either side of Uryū's hips. Uryū leaned back away from him a little. "See, you aren't afraid of me. What you fear is not being in control. You want to control everything around you to feel better about yourself and now you can't."

"I don't like you owning me is what I don't like," Uryū stated, hoping to stop this line of thinking before it went further.

"Well, get used to letting go of control," Szayel informed him. "You have none here."

"I know, believe me," Uryū said sourly.