Ichigo frowned as he stepped into his quarters.

He'd spent the day running errands for Aizen. The first had been dragging in a few Adjuchas for him to transform into arrancar. That had been fun, although he'd been strictly forbidden to eat them. They had turned into two girls, one very buxom and slightly ditzy, the other small and intense. Ichigo didn't know what was going to happen to them, and didn't really care. Neither one was Espada level, so they'd find a place somewhere in Aizen's army.

Something was wrong though. The walls were thick here, to ensure privacy between Espada and fraccion, but Ichigo could still hear someone speaking from Orihime's side of the suite. He scowled and went to the connecting door, opening it silently.

The sight inside made his blood boil. He recognized the two arrancar in his room, Loly and Menolly. They were basically Aizen's fraccion, along with plenty of other gophers and suck ups. Ichigo had no idea if their leader was having sex with them, and he really didn't care. What he cared about was the fact that his fraccion was sniffling and looking well beat up. Bruises were already forming on her face and the sight made him want to kill.

And there was no reason not to, but he had to ensure Orihime's safety first. Loly's hand was in the front of her dress, and fabric ripped easily as Ichigo moved with lightning fast speed. Loly was left holding nothing but a piece of fabric just before a hand slapped her away with stunning force.

"Loly!" Menoly came at him with a cero and Ichigo grinned. Grimmjow could have told her how futile that was, and the zero Espada just watched, letting her get her hand almost to his face. Then he inhaled the energy, savoring it like a fine wine. "Wh-wh-what…" Menoly stared at her now empty hand and screamed as Ichigo grabbed her shoulders.

"I'm very hungry, and Aizen wouldn't let me eat those Adjuchas today. I think you'll be fine to – eh?" Ichigo turned his head as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Inoue?"

"Kurosaki-kun… please, don't." She said softly, and he could see how she was trembling as she tried to stand. Ichigo tossed Menoly away, none too gently, and quickly put his arms around her to steady her.

"Why shouldn't I? Look what they've done to you." He said softly before favoring Loly with a glare. She was finally managing to pull herself up. "I should eat them both." They wouldn't be much of a meal compared to Luppi, but they would help assuage his endless hunger. He saw Menoly shudder, but Loly just glared at him.

"Aizen will kill you!" She threatened and Ichigo blinked. Was she utterly delusional? Gently setting Orihime down onto the couch, he walked over to the trembling brunette. "Kill you dead!"

"You're stupid as fuck, you know that?" He said conversationally as he grasped her neck, hoisting her into the air. "You know why you're stupid? Because you're an arrancar. Not even an Espada. Orihime, now, she's human. But she has a power that cannot be replicated, a power that lets her heal anything. Do you know what that means, you dumb piece of shit?" Ichigo snarled as he shook her violently. Orihime was watching with a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. "It means that with Inoue as a medic, Aizen can throw the Espada into battle again and again! Fatal wounds can be healed, limbs can be restored… like Grimmjow's… even the dead can be resurrected, if the body hasn't faded! And you're in here beating the shit out of her, and you think Aizen's going to give a fuck if I eat you? He'd probably thank me!" Loly gagged as his hand tightened and Ichigo looked at her with hot, hungry eyes. He wanted to eat her, he really did.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime's voice was small and fragile, and Ichigo glanced at her for a moment. He knew she wouldn't understand his desire, would only see the horror and violence. So he snarled and threw Loly into Menoly, who was backing towards the door.

"Take your bitch and get out of here. And if I ever see the two of you in my rooms again, I will eat you. Now go!" Menoly grabbed Loly and they both ran out of the room as if a monster was on their heels, which was close to the truth. Ichigo watched them go and turned to Orihime, sitting beside her on the couch and examining your injuries. "Can you heal yourself?" He said, turning her head with gentle fingers. She looked at him with wide grey eyes, but then swallowed and nodded.

"Yes." Ichigo watched as that beautiful golden power filled the room again and sighed. He wanted to eat that too, he knew he could. He restrained himself with an iron will, waiting until Orihime was fully healed.

"Good – mph?" Ichigo was surprised as Inoue suddenly leaned over and kissed him. It wasn't a chaste kiss, either. It was a full, opened mouth kiss that ignited his carefully held back hunger. "N-No…" Ichigo tried to pull away without hurting her, but it was too late. His power eagerly took what she had to offer and Orihime vanished in golden sparks. "No!" Ichigo gasped, vaguely aware that something was wrong. But there was no time to think about it as his soul rebelled, frantically trying to get his fraccion back. "Inoue, no!" Tears filled his eyes as he grasped the empty air where she had been. He'd killed her. He hadn't meant to but he had –

The zero Espada froze in shock then, as golden sparks left his body. They danced in front of his startled eyes, reforming into a rather dazed looking Orihime. She blinked slowly at him as Ichigo grasped her shoulders, feeling faint with relief.

"Oh my god, Inoue! Don't kiss me like that again!" He exclaimed and she actually looked hurt for a moment before he went on. "I thought I'd eaten you! I thought you were dead!" Although… it hadn't felt at all like his normal feedings. When he fed on another arrancar or hollow, it was a taking, a tearing apart and absorbing of souls and energy. This time it had felt more like he'd swallowed Orihime whole, keeping her safe in his chest. Was it because she was human, or her special power?

"It didn't feel bad." She said dreamily, then blinked. "It felt warm and safe." Ichigo's mouth dropped open for a moment. That matched what he had felt. What did it mean? And how had he removed her from himself?

"Well, let's not do that again. Not unless Szayel is monitoring us, anyway." Ichigo said firmly. It might be worth looking into, but only in a scientific way. Orihime nodded, biting her lip. "Ugh." He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.

He needed to do something. Aizen wasn't making it his sole duty to look after Orihime, he expected the zero Espada to still pull his weight among the arrancar. Ichigo had thought his reputation would keep troublemakers at bay, but Loly was clearly insane. And Menoly was her loyal lap dog. So Ichigo needed a fraccion, more arrancar who were devoted to keeping Orihime safe. His thoughts went back to the two brand new arrancar he'd brought in this morning. He didn't know anything about them, but maybe…

"C'mon Orihime, there's someone I want you to meet." Ichigo said with a smile, taking her hand. She looked at him curiously but didn't ask as he picked her up and sonido'd through the fortress.

He could guess where the newcomers would be. They'd be with the medics, adjusting to their new humanoid forms, discovering their level of power and getting over the shattering of their masks. As soon as he reached the medical wing he dropped out of sonido, setting Orihime down. She looked around curiously, staying close behind him as he stalked the halls.

"Hey, you two!" He called as he spotted the arrancar he was interested in. The buxom one was sitting on a bed while the smaller one was sitting on the floor, cross legged. He paused to look them both over.

The one sitting on the bed was a big breasted, big hipped blonde with a surprisingly tiny waist. Her hair was cornflower blond, flowing past her hips in a beautiful tide. Her eyes were a lovely blue, and would have been lovelier if they hadn't been quite so vacant. Ichigo wasn't sure yet – it could just be an illusion – but he had the definite feeling that if he shone a flashlight in one ear, he'd see a light coming out the other side. She was wearing a full gown similar to Inoue's, and her hollow hole was in the centre of her chest. Mask fragments adorned her wrists like bracelets.

Her companion – sister now, arrancar who were changed at the same time were 'siblings' – was the opposite. Very short and slender, she had spiky black hair and numerous body piercings. Five silver rings in one ear, and a dangling silver owl earring in the other, as well as a stud in her nose. Her mask was similar to Grimmjow's, a line of bone on her face. The numero uniform she wore was tightly tailored and made her look like a boy, and her hollow hole was in her right shoulder. Her green eyes were as bright as her sisters' were dull.

"Yes?" The smaller one said, tilting her head to one side. The blonde just smiled dreamily. Ichigo smiled at them both as Orihime looked at them, confused.

"I'm Ichigo, the zero Espada. I'm looking for a few more to add to my fraccion." He said, and that caught both their attentions. "What are your names? And can you tell me anything about yourselves?"

"I'm Mysteria Junji." The buxom blonde said, sounding a bit out of it. "I remember flowers! Lots of flowers!" Everyone blinked at that and Ichigo honestly had no idea what to say. "I think I was a florist in the Living World." Then she giggled and bounced, her boobs doing a good jello impression.

"Err, okay." Ichigo said, a little creeped out. He turned to the brunette. "And you?"

"Michelle Cavlier." She said calmly, and Ichigo wondered how she'd ended up with a French name. "I spread terror in my wake and devoured souls across all of Hueco Mundo. I aimed to be a Vasto Lorde, and someday, I will be one of the Espada." Ichigo lifted an eyebrow and touched her power for a moment before shaking his head.

"That's gonna take a while, but go for it. Would you like to be my fraccion? I'll bring you some good meals." That would appeal to Michelle, if she was serious about her aspirations. And it wouldn't be very hard for Ichigo, as long as Aizen wasn't asking him to bring in new arrancar. "See, this is Orihime. She's my current fraccion." Orihime shifted uncomfortably as the two arrancar looked at her curiously. "She's human, as you can tell, but she has a unique and very valuable power as well as being mine. But some people here are completely bugfuck, apparently, and she was attacked. I'm the zero Espada, the most powerful, but I can't be with her all the time. If you girls become part of my fraccion your duty will be to guard Orihime at all times."

"I can do that!" Mysteria said happily. Michelle mulled it over for a moment before nodding shortly. "I bet it will be fun, she seems a lot more interesting than my new sister! Tee-hee!" Ichigo watched, a touch wide-eyed, as Mysteria bounced up and down. Her boobs moved in ways even he found slightly interesting, and he knew any heterosexual male would have sweaty palms. Michelle sighed and stood, adjusting her clothing.

"I'm just glad we have a place. I heard what Yammy did to the last medic to treat him." She said grimly and Ichigo was glad to see she wasn't completely delusional about her own powers. "And he's the tenth. I have a long way to go."

"He's actually the first when he's unsealed." Ichigo corrected her, and Michelle looked appalled. "You should probably aim for the ninth, he'd be easier to take down than Yammy." The zero Espada quickly decided that he would help her to get stronger. He found her aspirations entertaining, and he wasn't very fond of Aaroniero anyway.

"Oh." She said weakly. "Thank you. I'll definitely keep that in mind." Ichigo grinned as he brought them both back to his apartment.

"It's going to be a bit crowded now, but it would probably be better for all three of you to stay together." He commented as he showed them around Orihime's rooms. Fortunately, it was a large suite. With only one fraccion, Nnoitra hadn't stinted on the space given to Tesla. "I'll get some more furniture, if you want." Right now Orihime had a bed in a separate room, but the main room only had a couch, a low table in front of the couch, and a table with chairs near the kitchen. The table had four chairs so unless they had visitors, it would be perfect. Michelle shook her head.

"I'll sleep on the floor, on a mat. I don't like beds. Mysty can have the couch if she wants." She said firmly and Mysteria giggled.

"Mysty, I like that! I'll take the couch, tee-hee!" The tee-hee was punctuated with another small bounce and jiggling breasts. Ichigo blinked, vaguely wondering what he'd gotten himself into. But… one of them had to be better at cooking than Orihime. Speaking of which.

"Can either of you cook? Orihime has many duties, so I would like it if one of you could take over that." To his surprise, Michelle immediately volunteered.

"I'll do it. I'm an excellent cook." She said firmly. Ichigo would have been more reassured by that, but Orihime clearly thought she was a good cook. Unfortunately, it was a horrible delusion. "I'll make supper for us tonight and you will see." She gave the zero Espada a challenging look, and he shrugged good naturedly.

"If that's what you want. I'll eat almost anything." Before, he would have said anything, but now it was almost. Grimmjow's cooking had only been bland, he hadn't been prepared for outright bad. Mysty laughed, jiggling again. "Now I – oh damn." Ichigo grimaced. He could feel Aizen summoning him, so he'd gotten this done just in time. "Aizen wants me. You girls stay safe!" He sonido'd out, unwilling to keep Aizen waiting.

Although he wondered what his lord and master could want from him now.

Orihime looked at her new guardians, feeling a bit like a deer in the headlights.

The arrancar were all dangerous to her. Ulquiorra checked on her often, and he was so strange. He made her feel shivery inside, afraid yet… intrigued. Loly and Menoly had simply been dangerous. The only person she felt like she could trust here was Ichigo. She had placed all her trust in him, in fact.

They had all been heartbroken when Ichigo died, and more heartbroken when the shinigami had sadly reported that he had not arrived in Soul Society. They'd known he must have become a hollow, but they'd hoped he might have avoided becoming an arrancar.

That hope was dead, but in a way, Orihime was glad. Kurosaki-kun was very different as an arrancar, but strangely enough, he seemed happier. It was odd. Ichigo as an arrancar was full of emotions, lusts and needs that he was constantly trying to fill. Needs for the excitement of combat, desires for sex and emotion closeness as well as food. Orihime suspected that wasn't normal for an arrancar, and she knew his appetite wasn't normal. Ichigo was careful not to get too hungry, but every so often she saw him giving his fellow arrancar odd, dreamy looks. They could have been confused with sexual fantasizing, but given some of the strange things he was looking at, Orihime was sure it was actually his desire to feed.

And now, she was alone with two new arrancar. Michelle glanced around before shrugging and going to the kitchen and Orihime hesitated a moment before sitting down beside Mysty.

"Do you like flowers? My favorite was orchids." Mysty said cheerfully and Orihime had to smile. Most arrancar remembered at least one thing about their life as a human or shinigami, and for Mysty it was clearly flowers.

"I've always loved star lilies." She said with a smile, then looked up as Michelle called from the kitchen.

"Are you two hungry? Because I'm starving!" Orihime winced a little at that. After seeing Ichigo in action, the thought of being around starving arrancar was terrifying. But most of them had more control than the zero Espada. Mysty bounced in place.

"Oh yes, me too! Getting our masks broken hurt so much and it was draining." She confided in Orihime. "But it was worth it! I feel stronger already and I'm so much prettier!" She ran her hands over her new gown with a wide smile and Orihime had to laugh.

"You look lovely." She complimented the other girl. "What did you look like before?" She asked curiously. Some arrancar's hollow masks offered hints, but not Mysty's bracelets. She smiled happily.

"I was a lizard! A really big one! Now if I use my zanpakuto, I go back to being something like that!" She rested a hand on the hilt of her weapon. "Maybe I can show you tomorrow! I'm not very pretty like that though." She said sadly and there was a scoffing sound from the kitchen.

"Who cares? You're stronger. I was a cat type, and when I unseal I have a feline form." Michelle said as she poured noodles into boiling water. "What's this special power you have that's so important?" She asked and Orihime reached up to touch her hair clips.

"Oh… Aizen-sama said I have the ability to reject any action taken on an object, and return it to a state before it was damaged." She lowered her eyes as Mysty looked confused and Michelle glanced out of the kitchen. "I can heal anything." She simplified it for Mysty, who looked impressed. "Even death, if it didn't happen too long ago. I can also create a shield and strike out, but… my combat abilities are not very good." Orihime sighed to herself as she admitted that. She just didn't have the desire to kill.

"I can see why you need us, then." Michelle commented from the kitchen. Mysty just giggled and bounced again.

"It's great! I can't heal anything and I'm sure Michelle can't. We can kill and you can heal, we'll be a great team!" She said happily and Orihime smiled at the enthusiasm. It reminded her a little of Kurosaki-kun. Perhaps some hollows just came out that way… but did that mean Mysty would have a greater than usual hunger?

Fortunately, Michelle quickly came out with the food. It was noodles with more of the tofu soul stuff, all covered in a very nice creamy cheese sauce. Orihime's portion had none of the soul tofu, though, to her relief. She'd tried a nibble of it once and it had given her a rush of energy, but it had also burned like fire. She might use it in an emergency, but she didn't want to eat it normally.

"Do either of you play cards?" She suddenly asked and Michelle nodded as Mysty looked confused. "Kurosaki-kun likes to play cards and with four we would have enough for euchre."

"No, but I'd love to learn!" The happy blonde said and Orihime smiled as she began teaching Mysty how to play cards.

This might be a lot of fun.

"Mmf."

"Fuck, Kurosaki, that's good." Grimmjow groaned, spreading his legs a bit more. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, with Ichigo's mouth busy taking him to heaven. He leaned back, resting on his elbows as the zero Espada pleasured him. "Oh yeah."

Grimmjow couldn't imagine what had gotten into Ichigo today. He'd just run into his rooms and immediately began giving him a blowjob. They almost hadn't even made it to the bedroom, but Grimmjow had a new fraccion now. They might walk into his rooms, but they damned well wouldn't enter his bedroom. No one was that dumb. So he'd managed to get the kid in there, and Ichigo had immediately gone down on him. Which, from a hollow perspective, was weird as hell. Giving oral pleasure was a very submissive thing to do and Ichigo was the zero Espada. He didn't need to submit to anyone, but for some reason he seemed to like having a dick in his mouth.

Grimmjow panted and withered under the attention he was getting, unaware of what had inspired it. If he'd known, he might have run from the room screaming. As it was, he just enjoyed Ichigo's warm mouth and his strong, agile tongue. Not to mention his hands, which were stroking his inner thighs and gently fondling his balls. That felt fucking excellent, and Grimmjow groaned deep in his throat as Ichigo prodded his tip with his tongue.

"I'm gonna…" He managed to say just before he released. He grunted as Ichigo sucked on him, hard, as if he was desperate to get every drop. "Shit, you're such a cum slut." He breathed as the zero Espada pulled away, licking his lips. The look Ichigo gave him was hotter than hell, as the other Espada climbed onto the bed and sat in his lap.

"Smile when you say that, kitty." He said, his voice heavy with desire. Grimmjow snarled as he was shoved back. "I'm going to take you, now that I'm sure I won't eat you." The sixth Espada froze for a moment. Eat him?

He'd thought his fear of that would have gone away when he got his powers back. But it hadn't. He could sense Ichigo's power more clearly now, and it was like the kid had a black hole inside him. It was okay when he was satisfied, but when he was hungry it felt like he was trying to suck the life out of everything around him. Swallowing hard, he suddenly realized what Ichigo had been up to.

"You bastard!" He grabbed the orange braid, yanking Ichigo's head back and making the other Espada wince. "You just fed on me!" He remembered what Ichigo had said about feeding on Gin's reiatsu.

"Blame Szayel and Aizen. They wanted more of those explosives, the first one went boom really nice." Ichigo's hand was on his cock and Grimmjow was getting distracted. The fear only sharpened his desire and he was already getting hard again. "I ate a block of tofu stuff and one of Szayel's fraccion before I came, and I still wanted to eat you. But now I just want to fuck." Grimmjow growled as a slick hand slid behind him, finding his puckered hole. For a moment he considered fighting back, trying to top the little freak, but then he decided against it. He wanted the sex and wanted it right now. He'd take it, this time.

And Ichigo made it feel good. The zero Espada was just as good at dominating as he was at submitting, and it felt fucking wonderful when his legs were pushed up and the other Espada plowed into his body. Not that he just passively took it. No, he was growling and scratching the kid's back as Ichigo bit his throat, staking his claim.

They went at each other like animals then, hard and fast and intense. Ichigo gripped his hair and Grimmjow growled, blue eyes meeting brown and red for a moment before he was yanked into a passionate, open mouthed kiss. Tongues dueled for dominance as their bodies moved together, making the bed shake with the force of their passion. Grimmjow grunted, and then moaned as every thrust seemed to pierce him, setting his body on fire in all the best ways.

"Grimmjow…" Ichigo's breath tickled his ear, his voice hot and intense. "You feel so damned good… ah…!" Ichigo arched a bit and Grimmjow bit him, hard.

"Don't come too soon, bitch." He rasped out then gasped as he was bitten, just as hard. Teeth couldn't get past the hierro and it felt absolutely great.

"You're the bitch tonight, Grimm." Ichigo taunted him as he went in harder and faster, grabbing his hips to get into him even more deeply. "Ngh, yes…" Ichigo's breath was hissing out now, his eyes half closed as he concentrated on the building pleasure between them. And it was building fast. Grimmjow's neglected cock was weeping, and he gasped as Ichigo finally touched it, fisting him and pounding him hard. He howled then, pleasure flooding his system as his come flooded out, flowing over Ichigo's hand and his own chest. A few more quick, spasmodic thrusts and he heard the zero Espada cry out, filling him with hot spurts.

Then Ichigo was pulling away, and Grimmjow was too exhausted to turn the tables on him. He watched the other Espada with half-lidded eyes as Ichigo smiled and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't get all sappy with me, kid." He mumbled. That was not what he wanted from a lover. Then he blinked as the zero Espada laughed.

"Take it like a man, Grimm." Ichigo whispered and Grimmjow growled, trying to hit him. He got nothing but empty air, and then the other Espada was gone.

The room felt strangely empty without him.