Prize of Victory

Warnings: Sex



She had no idea what happened, but since the day Ulquiorra had let her leave he hadn’t demanded any attention from her since. It was rather disconcerting as she could practically feel the desire radiating in his reiatsu and her own trained reaction was to crawl naked in his bed and wait for him to use her.



She had to physically stop herself from doing so when he did return home and he had made a habit of literally locking himself in his room.



“How far is he willing to go?” She wondered. “From never letting me rest to completely ignoring me. Is this what they call going cold turkey?” She questioned herself.



“You know, when you first told me about what he said to you that night I thought for sure it was just a game, but it’s been what, 3 weeks now?” Tatsuki asked.



“Yeah.” Orihime agreed.



She frowned and looked at the locked door where they could both feel the coil of reiatsu fluctuating wildly.



“He’s like a bloody cat in heat locked in a cage with potential suitors meowing at the grates and unable to get in.” Tatsuki grumbled.



“Not an expression I would let him hear.” Orihime couldn’t help but to chuckle. “But you are right.”



Tatsuki turned her gaze to her.



“Are you worried about him, or about what will happen when he finally snaps from keeping it under control?” Her friend asked.



“Both.” Orihime answered immediately. “And through the Claiming I can feel the,” she tried to think of a term that fit what she felt, “discomfort,” she settled for, “he is feeling.”



They sat in silence for a moment.



“What do YOU want to do?” Tatsuki asked. “I will support you either way, you know that.”



Orihime nodded as she considered the courses of actions available to her.



She could do nothing, or she could go to him of her own free will. Either way she had to make a choice.



Was she ready to forgive him? Would anything really change if she did accept his Claim of her own free will?



She understood now what had driven his actions, and while that didn’t make his actions any more right, he could no more be blamed for them than a dog chasing a cat. It was simply in his nature and he knew no other way.



Understanding didn’t make it easier to accept, but it helped. And with that spark of information her heart was able to quickly move towards the path of forgiveness. She couldn’t stand to see anyone suffer, and right now he was willingly suffering for her.



“Can I move forward? Will he have seriously changed, or will it be the same as it was before? Am I willing to take that risk?” She asked herself.



She could feel the painful discomfort in his reiatsu, and if it went on any longer she feared he would go mad or snap.



“This is something I can fix. Something I can do. Am I willing to give him another chance? The answer is yes. Only this time, I can show him the RIGHT way to do things.”



Nodding to herself, she walked up to the door.



“Good luck.” Tatsuki sighed.



“Thanks.” She smiled back.



She walked towards the room and summoned Tsubaki to bust the lock before entering and closing the door behind her.



She didn’t know what she was going to see, but him in his first release curled up on the bed and making pitiful mewing noises was certainly not it. Tatsuki’s remark about him being a cat in heat seemed oddly fitting at that moment.



She approached the bed and rested a hand on his shoulder. His trembling instantly stilled and startled green eyes snapped up to meet hers.



“I am willing to try and learn to love you.” She announced, and his eyes actually lit up a bit. “I am willing to teach you what it means to love someone.”



He uncurled his body and held a clawed hand out to her. She took it and stepped up onto the bed before sitting down cross-legged before him. She held onto his hand and looked him in the eye.



“Love is a lot of things to different people. To me, love is being willing to do anything to see the other happy. You have left me alone as I have requested. Did you want my body during that time?” She asked.



“Yes.” He answered simply, and she could hear the strain in his voice.



“That restraint to me is a sign of love. You have done something you didn’t want to do, and you suffered doing it, for the sake of making me happy. A relationship is a two way street where both must give to the other. I will now do something for you in return for what you have giving to me.” She promised.



His eyes widened as she began to remove her clothing.



“I will give my body to you to ease the suffering I can feel coming from you. This is something I am doing for you because I know you need it. It is not because of duty due to your Claim over me, or because you believe it is your right. Do you understand the difference?” She asked.



He seemed a bit confused, but after a moment nodded his head and she thought he at least was on the path to understanding. She returned his nod and broke eye contact, moving to her lay down in the center of the bed while he all but pounced on her like a sex deprived teenager.



“Like a cat in heat was a very good simile, Tatsuki-chan.” She couldn’t help but to think slightly amused.



His mouth was all over her and his hands wasted no time exploring every inch of skin he could touch. She remained still beneath him for a while before reaching an arm out to run a hand up his back.



He froze completely and after a moment his gaze snapped up to her in confusion. She forced a smile on her face despite how nervous she actual was and moved her hand up his back before running it through his hair, marvelling at how soft it actually was.



“Both must give.” She murmured.



After a moment he broke the gaze and returned to trying to taste every inch of her skin. She left her hand curled in his hair, letting her fingers run through it before moving her other hand to run up and down his back.



He started to work his way down her body, pausing only to pay extra attention to her breasts before moving the rest of the way down. She left one hand entangled in his hair while the other rested beside her on the bed.



She was fully expecting his next action and gave out a soft sigh as his mouth finally reached a more intimate area of her body. She relaxed and just enjoyed the attention he was giving her while continuing to run her hand through his hair, pausing only to scratch his scalp on occasion.



She gasped as he started to thrust his tongue into her and her hand gripped his hair tightly. If it was hurting him he made no indication and continued to tongue her. Instead of trying to shove his head away, she held onto it while she thrust her hips up, trying to get more of that sinful pleasure.



When she felt that peek start to rise he abruptly pulled away, gazing at her in such hunger for a moment she didn’t know where she was or who he was. She had never seen such rampant emotion in those green eyes.



“The weeks of denying his Claim must have his instinct in overload.” She realized.



He hungrily kissed and nipped his way back up her body before thrust his tongue in her mouth. He ground his body against hers like an attention starved cat and she was hard pressed to keep up.



“The dam has broken. His instinct has completely taken over. Even if I asked him to stop he would be unable to. Is this the price he pays for keeping everything bottled up inside for so long? To completely lose control when a crack in the shell is made? Somehow…… that is heart breaking.”



He was like a wild animal finally set lose and she was sure he wouldn’t even be able to speak anymore had he wanted to.



She let out a gasp as he flipped her over and pulled her to her hands and knees. She was barely in position before he plunged into her, and with that plunge a large pool of his reitasu streamed into her.



She let out a cry as his reiatsu poured into her, and like that first night she felt unbelievable pleasure race through her. Each trust brought more of it and she couldn’t even think anymore, just feel.



She didn’t even feel his fangs pierce her neck, just the sudden draining as he sucked the excess reitasu and a portion of her own back into his body. She came hard, clamping around him and a she could feel his seed shoot into her body as he howled against her neck, fangs never leaving her skin.



For a moment they were both silent and still, as if frozen in that position. Slowly her arms gave way to exhaustion and she collapsed against the bed, panting lightly. After a moment he pulled out of her and clutching her body to him tighter, as if afraid to let her go.



She lay beside him, feeling strangely calm and at peace. He seemed completely exhausted and she could feel the fur of his transformation start to recede and Murcielago re-appeared before her. She had a strong feeling Ulquiorra wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon so she reached out and let her hand clasp around Murcielago’s hilt.



It was surprisingly warm and gave a small pulse of reiatsu, as if in greeting, before going still in her hands. She couldn’t help but to smile as she reached out with her other hand, having to strain to reach the sheath leaning against the wall nearby.



She sheathed the Zanpakuto and left it laying on the bed beside them as she curled closer to Ulquiorra for warmth. Her sweat was starting to dry and it was getting damn chilly. More squirming and toe prodding later she managed to get a blanket over them.



She finally let exhaustion claim her as it had him.









When Orihime awoke the next morning it was because the heat at her back had left. She blinked sleepy eyes up at Ulquiorra as he crawled out of bed and got dressed, once more seeming his old self and back under full control.



“This is the first time since, well, our first time, that we have actually ‘slept together’” She realized.



His back was turned to her as he pulled on a pair of hakama. She just watched him through half lidded eyes as he dressed. His uniform hadn’t changed much over the years other than the fact he left the front open most of the way now instead of tightly done up so his 4 could be clearly seen.



He finished dressing and started looking about the room. She watched for a few minutes before speaking.



“What are you looking for?” She asked.



He blinked and turned to face her, a look of surprise on his face before it was quickly covered back to his usual stoic look.



“I did not realize you were awake.” He commented.



“Your moving woke me up.” She yawned.



Silence as they both tried to think of something to say to the other.



“Thank you.” He said softly, eyes closed as if the words took all of his will to say. “For assisting with….my problem.” He finished.



She smiled softly at him, heart fluttering at the compliment and acknowledgement of her actions.



“What are you looking for?” She asked again.



“Murcielago.” He admitted after a moment.



“Oh. It’s right here.” She brushed the blankets aside to reveal the blade still in its sheath, just as she had left it last night.



She caught a hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he retrieved his Zanpakuto and finished his uniform off. He strode to the door but paused after opening it.



“Have a good day.” He said rather awkwardly before closing it behind him and leaving.



She stared at the door in shock for a moment before she started to chuckle.



“The next time he acts like as Ass, I will have to ask Grimmjow-san to knock more sense into him.” She chuckled.



She tossed the blankets aside and found her own clothes before exiting the room to see Tatsuki staring out the front door in clear confusion before turning to face her.



“What the hell did you do to him?” Tatsuki demanded.



“Surrendered.” Orihime answered.



“Well, if the yowling was anything to go by last night, find me an Arrancar to surrender to.” She grunted.



“You heard that?” Orihime asked, a blush of embarrassment taking over her face.



“The entire block heard that.” Tatsuki dead panned.



Her blush turned to mortification.



“Go take a shower and I’ll cook you something to eat for lunch.”



“Lunch?” Orihime glanced at the clock in shock to see it was already past two.



“Yeah, lunch. Go. Shower. Now. That’s an order.”



“Yes ma’am.” Orihime saluted smartly before spinning on a heel and marching to the bathroom.



Behind her Tatsuki just shook her head and headed to the kitchen.





as usual /hug those of you who reviewed. I am glad that more people are willing to take the plunge and give this story a try, and even more pleased that more people have been willing to dare the review button.



Next Chapter: Claiming is Fully Explained.