Hey folks, new story! Yeah i know, dodgy summary, it'll change and so might the title as this one works it's way along. Been rolling the story around, changed it majorly from the initial premise but it keeps the idea going. Anyway this is just a teaser chapter really, introduces the ideas and the characters but you'll probably have more questions at the end that I have answers to yet but it will all come out in the end. Unless i forget about it then it never will but it wouldn't have been that important anyway.
Anyway, hope to hear from folks, (hope it's positive but hey be honest.) ((Well not brutally, I am human after all and it's nearly christmas!))
Anyway again, enjoy

Phoebe

xxxxxx

It was strange, to live in fear of something that is also depicted as beneath you? The word slavery is old and taboo but it was definitely the best word to describe what was going on in the world at that time. Not that a child would dare to mention it, even to his parents. Grimmjow was confused for most of his young life, taught how dangerous shifters were, how they were unnatural creatures and not to be trusted. And yet they were apparently everywhere.

The society thrived, mainly due to the absolute ideals of human supremacy. These strange hybrid creatures that looked human but apparently weren't and at all times the true humans were to remember that appearances can be deceiving.

All that Grimmjow knew was that he wasn't to trust anyone he didn't know. He lived well, his parents were part of the ruling families, well they would be once their parents stepped down or passed and Grimmjow being their only child meant he was heir to both families' fortunes and responsibilities. Of course with their wealth came the nicer things in life, Grimmjow having his own rooms filled with all the toys he could want to play with but lacking anyone to enjoy them with. The woman assigned to watch him during the day, feed him at meal times and put him to bed at night was efficient, but that wasn't what a six year old looked for in a playmate.

Their day consisted of a mid morning walk, free time followed by lunch and lessons and then another walk, the lady was very conscious that young boys had a lot of energy. Outside in the fresh air was the best part of Grimmjow's day, especially if it coincided with one of his year mate's walks, the ladies walking together as the children played around them. It was not always the case, as Grimmjow found the day before his seventh birthday and he'd really really wanted to find someone so that he could wheedle an invitation for the other child to come to his house to play. He was almost dejected as they rounded the base leg of the park's square path and he could easily see there wasn't anyone of his age around. Ms Nemu told him to run about a bit more, he wasn't doing enough which made him roll his eyes, his frustrations surfacing as an unusually rebellious idea. He trotted over to the tree lined side of the path, waiting for Ms Nemu to turn her head so he could squeeze through the branches and out onto the forest path a few feet away. He'd been out in the forest twice before with his father and uncle but never alone and that made it so much more exciting.

The excitement did not last however. The twisting path got him turned around and all of the pine trees looked the same making it impossible for him to even know which direction he'd been travelling when he turned around. He also knew that his little prank was severely back firing and he'd be worrying Ms Nemu. She would've started by calling his name, then giving him to the count of five to show himself, threatening to tell his father but he knew she's be panicking by now, it had been over five minutes since she'd seen him so she'd be past the threats and onto the panic. He knew this process from when he'd tripped off the low wall around his mother's garden and badly sprained his ankle, making him unable to rise and show himself. And being the big boy of four, he didn't want to cry so he'd just laid there, waiting and hearing Ms Nemu metres away calling for him. She'd been in a panic when she finally found him, the panic only increasing when she realised that he was injured. And that had been in the garden of his own house.

The woods weren't scary, they were fresh and clean smelling with a blanket of needles underfoot and sounds of life all around but still the knowledge of being lost put Grimmjow on edge. The path ended near a small lake, possibly a large pond but he wasn't sure of the size limits on the labels. At the side of the pond sat a small boy, smaller than him, crouched down and staring into the water. His clothes weren't as nice as Grimmjow's but a lot of the village boys clothes were like that. This boy was unfamiliar to him and he would definitely have remembered him, the bright orange hair alone would stick in his mind. Grimmjow noticed people's hair, then their smiles. His own hair was cause for notice so much that the drab browns and dirty blonds that were on most people's heads bored him. This was certainly worth a conversation to the stranger and possibly the start of a friendship. Grimmjow had a few friends with unique features, not all in hair colour and one more would be welcome.

"Hi, do you live around here?" Grimmjow stood a bit back, clearing his throat at first to gain the boy's attention and not startle him into falling into the pond.

The boy turned big brown eyes onto Grimmjow, the smooth colour catching the light and turning almost caramel in colour. He didn't reply, just nodded, eyes not leaving Grimmjow's own.

"My name's Grimmjow, what's yours?" Grimmjow wasn't shy and he slumped up to the boy, crouching down at his side.

The boy just kept staring back, his eyes wary of the one in front of him. Eventually he spoke, replying with one word. "Ichigo."

Grimmjow frowned, he didn't know that word, and it didn't really sound like a name. "Sorry, I didn't understand you." Ms Nemu was very clear about manners and being polite, even to strangers.

"My name, it's Ichigo."

Grimmjow turned his face forward, breaking the long eye contact as he thought about that word again, sounding it inside his head, feeling the way it was spoken. "Ichigo? That's a weird name. Good, then we can be friends."

The brown eyed one stared back at the larger boy, not believing what was happening. "Are you lost? I've not seen you here before."

Grimmjow hesitated, not wanting to admit to the younger boy that he'd got himself lost. "Eh, no not really, just out for a walk. Might have got turned around a bit. Do you know the way back to the park?"

Ichigo dropped his eyes to the ground, nodding slowly. "Yes but I'm not allowed there. It's too far from my home. I can take you down to the town road though, it leads to the park. Are you going to be in trouble?"

Grimmjow squirmed under the gaze of the other boy, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe, it's my birthday tomorrow so they won't be mad at me long."

Ichigo smiled back. "It was my birthday last week, I'm five."

"Well I'm going to be seven. Father said I might get a real horse rather than my pony. Have you ever ridden a horse?"

Ichigo dropped back onto his bottom, drawing patterns in the dirt at his side. "Yes, I rode with my father once. It was a bit high though."

Grimmjow bumped the other's shoulder with his own. "Don't need to be scared of falling off; the right horse will keep you on its back. I want a stallion, a black one that is really fast."

"A stallion is a boy horse isn't it? I'd want a girl, someone sweet and not too big. One of those deep brown ones with the black hair."

"A chestnut. And a girl horse is called a mare. My pony is a mare but my legs are too long for her. Maybe you could ride her if you came to visit. Father wouldn't mind. I could teach you to ride."

Ichigo's eyes lit up for a second before dimming, disappointment clear in them. "I don't think so, I wouldn't be allowed."

"Well would you be allowed to come to my birthday tea? There will be cake? Mother lets me have at least one friend over every year."

"She'd be alright with me coming? I'm a stranger."

"Not any more, you're my friend. A lot of my friends are from the village, Mother doesn't mind them coming as long as they mind their manners and wipe their feet."

Ichigo frowned again. "Where do you live?"

"I'm a Jeaggerjaques, we live in the manor."

Ichigo's eyes bugged out of his head. "And I could come up to manor and have cake?" Ichigo had never been anywhere as grand as that, it was clear in his tone.

"Yeah, look can you take me down to the road, Ms Nemu will be getting worried; I've been away for a while now." Grimmjow stood, brushing the needles and leaves off his trousers before offering his new friend a hand up.

"Yeah, it's just down here; you can normally hear the carriages and horses on the road. Sometimes I sit and count them, it can get boring though."

Grimmjow noticed he was taller than the younger boy but not by as much as he'd originally thought, Ichigo must be tall for his age but Grimmjow was certainly built bigger, Ichigo looked like a strong wind would blow him over. He'd seen that in other boys in the village too, skinny frames hidden by their rough clothing until it was summer and everyone stripped off. He knew it was to do with food but he didn't understand hunger yet. The worst he'd had it was when he was sent to bed without supper, even after eating dinner with the family. And that only happened if he'd been really bad. It might possibly happen that night however.

It took longer than Grimmjow thought to reach the road, it was actually in the opposite direction to the park he wanted to go to but if Ichigo couldn't take him on a direct route, he'd need to skirt the wood. Every step felt like another nail in his coffin, each minute he walked was another minute he was missing. He hoped Ms Nemu hadn't done something drastic like go home and tell his father.

The road noises started soon after that, Grimmjow sighing with relief at the first sound of hooves on stone and he quickened his step, Ichigo keeping time with him, grinning over to him every now and then.

"There is quite a lot of traffic on the road today; normally it's a lot quieter just now." Ichigo just made the statement, neither of them thinking that the increase could be something to do with them.

They happened to find the road at a point where the forest was several feet up an embankment above the road, roots of trees sticking out of the side where road workers had carved the land to keep the road as flat as possible. "Race you to the ground!" Grimmjow shouted before turning and starting to climb down, using the exposed roots to help him. Ichigo was a flash behind him, sliding down on his belly to get more speed, smiling despite the dirt flying in his face. Grimmjow tried to go faster but only succeeded in losing his grip and plummeting to the ground. He did win the race but the fall hurt his arm, only his pride keeping tears from filling his eyes, even though it really hurt. Ichigo was on the ground a heartbeat later, crouching in front of him.

"Are you alright? Is it your arm, let me see." Ichigo carefully took the arm, noting the big graze along it and hissing in sympathy. He pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and wound it round the arm, wincing as Grimmjow whimpered in pain. "I'll walk you home if you like."

"I thought you'd get into trouble." Grimmjow's voice hiccupped a little as he spoke.

"I will but not as much as you will be, your clothes are all messy as well. Come on, it's going to be dark soon." Ichigo glanced up at the sky, knowing he was right by the change of colour even if it was still light enough and they started to head along the empty road.

It didn't stay empty however, hoof beats regular enough to tell Grimmjow someone was in a hurry but he couldn't tell which direction they were coming from yet. Three horses appeared in front of them, nearly passing them as they stood out of the way at the side but they pulled to a stop just as they spotted the boys.

"Grimmjow Jeaggerjaques, have you any idea how many people are looking for you?"

Grimmjow recognised the stable master from his estate and he dropped his head, no one wanted to disappoint the man in charge of the horses. "I know, I got lost. Ichigo was just walking me back."

"When your father finds you he will have your behind. Oh, I guess we won't have to wait long." The stable master glanced up and behind him more hoof beats sounding in the distance. "It's alright, we've found him." His voice carried into the distance.

Grimmjow glanced at the other two, spotting his friend Renji by the bright hair mounted on the horse to the left, shaking his head as he took in Grimmjow's appearance. Renji worked in the house but he was one of the younger members of staff who had time for the young master. He was really just a boy himself, twelve years old but he was trusted to run errands and to help care for the horses.

Grimmjow's father appeared round the bend his horse heaving from the exertion but now slowed to a walk. He dismounted, approaching Grimmjow with his crop still in his hand. Grimmjow had never been subjected to physical violence as a punishment but he knew it happened to children if they were really badly behaved.

The crop came down and thudded into Grimmjow's father's boot, making sharp leather on leather noise. Grimmjow felt his new friend wince at the noise, sparing the younger boy a glance to see he was terrified. Grimmjow stepped a little in front of the boy, to shield Ichigo from his father's wrath. The smaller boy had done nothing wrong and Grimmjow was going to make sure he wasn't punished wrongly.

The crop came down regularly, keeping in time with the man's steps. He stopped in front of the two small boys, Ichigo clutching Grimmjow's shirt in one hand and his uninjured arm in the other. The crop was raised once to point in their direction, Grimmjow closing his eyes automatically but was almost sure his father wouldn't hit him. A strange sensation passed over his body, like cool water inside his veins and when he opened his eyes he saw he was now on the other side of the road looking at his father's back, Ichigo still behind him and clutching him but everyone else looking around to see them. Renji was now the closest to them and he noticed them first, gasping as he spotted them and his horse unsettled at his alarm.

Grimmjow's father looked round in shock, eyes only for the small boy at his son's back. "Shifter." He strode over, scarier than Grimmjow had ever seen him, grabbing at Grimmjow's arm and wrenching him away. Grimmjow would never admit it but he knew what that moist feeling in his trousers was as he watched his father raise that crop on his new friend.

The first strike his Ichigo on the face, the boy falling to the ground but that didn't seem to be enough, striking him over and over until red lines started to show through the beige material Ichigo wore. Ichigo had struggled at first but eventually just lay there, sobbing silently as he accepted his punishment.

"Father please, he's my friend." Grimmjow's voice was full of the tears that flowed freely down his face, one hand out stretched towards the boy. He could see Ichigo's terrified face staring back at him, tears flowing thickly down it as well.

"He is a shifter and he has no place touching you, being near you and he is certainly not your friend. Where do you live boy? I'll have the lot of you out and gone from my estates. You have no place here." The man kept pummelling the boy, his legs, torso and head all getting stuck and Ichigo just lying there. The stable master was the one to act, not willing to watch a young boy be put to death just because he'd been in the wrong place.

"Sir, the lad was doing no harm. Let him go, him and his family will leave. You don't want a lad's blood on you conscious. He was helping Grimmjow home."

"He'll not be helping anyone again; I'll be surprised if he'll walk." Renji kept his voice down but Grimmjow heard him clearly.

Grimmjow's father turned, heading for his tall black stallion with his son's arm gripped tightly in his own. Grimmjow didn't even protest that it was sore. He kept glancing over his shoulder at the boy in the dirt, his brown eyes still watching Grimmjow. Grimmjow didn't know what to do, he didn't want to bring his father's wrath down on him but he also couldn't just abandon the boy on the ground. He twisted, his father's grip loosening enough to release his arm and Grimmjow turned to run back, stopping instantly as the stable master stood in his way.

"You mind your father young sir; I'll tend to the lad. Don't think on it anymore." He stared Grimmjow down until the boy turned back; taking his father's arm so he could swing up behind the man.

The last glimpse of Ichigo stayed with Grimmjow, the boy craning his neck around, his eyes duller than they had been as Grimmjow rode off, leaving him alone. Renji told Grimmjow later that some of the villagers knew where the boy's parents and he'd been with Komamura when the boy had been dropped off. The kind stable master gave the family all the money he had on him and told them to move when the boy was stable. Renji had tried to avoid the graphic descriptions of the lad but Grimmjow saw the state of his clothes when he returned, the blood stained lines where the little boy had spilled his life. Renji was horrified by the state of the boy and at the sight of his usually kindly master repeatedly and brutally beating a child.

The next years saw a change in the household. Grimmjow was colder and quieter than he had been. Most people put it down to his maturity, the young heir of two fortunes becoming a man but only those closest to him knew for sure that he was still traumatised by the display four years ago. Watching his distant but still caring father reduce a boy to that had scarred Grimmjow. He'd tried to find the boy, as he got older and was allowed out by himself more he searched the woods, getting more and more comfortable in among the trees and getting to know the area well. The trees looked identical at first glance but no two were the same and when he spent more time among them he could tell where he was just by turning around in a circle slowly. As a tall eleven year old Grimmjow could move well, his body right in the middle of a growth spurt which caused pain in his joints but if he kept moving he got through it. Renji sometimes accompanied him, now at sixteen and only just taller than the little master through his body was more developed. Renji's duties kept him from gallivanting off with the younger boy but since one of his duties was training him in horsemanship, they were assigned time together every day and no one really kept tabs on exactly what they did.

Renji didn't remember exactly where the house was but the woods were not that big and the two boys had the stamina of youth on their sides. They found it empty, Grimmjow picking through the left over bits and pieces from a hurried move. The house itself was fairly sturdy and looked like it had been built in several stages, starting from one room with a hearth and chimney and the rest of the rooms build circularly around it. The chimney came out of the centre of the house and two tight but cosy bedrooms fit next to the living area. It was clear that cooking was done over the hearth and there was no running water in the house anywhere. It seemed almost barbaric compared to the copper piped household he was used to, hot water available in his own bathroom and the kitchen was a huge room with a separate scullery and pantry. He didn't know how many rooms they in the house but he had four to call his own with only a maid to get under his feet. The thought of three people living in a space like this even if one of them was just a child seemed unreal to him. When he found a cot in one of the rooms he realised it wasn't just three, at least four people were uprooted that day because he'd wanted to play a prank on his nanny. Ms Nemu was never really the same afterwards as well; she was much more attentive and caring around him. She felt his pain and anguish even if he couldn't admit to them and she did her best to be the mother figure he needed.

The year Grimmjow turned sixteen was hard on the boy as well, having to take on some of the families duties as well as plan to leave his family home. He was to attend university in the city; somewhere he'd only ever visited and live in his family's town house by himself.

He knew he'd be doing this when he hit sixteen but he'd thought he'd be joined by Renji or at least someone he had a slight connection to. He didn't have many close friends any more. The fear his father might not like this one kept him from getting close to anyone and since Renji left he'd felt very alone.

Packing his life up wasn't even a solo job, his mother standing over three maids as two massive trunks were loaded with his belongings. His were initialled and roll topped so that they would be on top of the pile of trunks on the coach. His fine clothes were being folded neatly and placed in neat piles round his shoes and other belongings he would need there.

"Handkerchiefs, you need handkerchiefs. Grimmjow look out your silk ones, the ones Grandma gave you years ago. They have the family crest on them."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes behind his mother's back but he did as he was told, opening the drawer in his bureau and lifting the five handkerchiefs his mother spoke about. Underneath, folded flat rather than rolled, the rectangular cream cloth a little boy wrapped his arm in sat start against the dark wood. He glimpsed it when removing a single kerchief but he hadn't seen the whole thing for years. He picked it up, handing the white rolled squares to his mother while he drifted to his bed and opened it; the dark patch that never quite cleaned was in the middle and in one corner the rough embroidery underneath the neater letters showed the young boy had been learning to sew. His 'I' was a little shaky, not as straight as the one his mother did and the capital 'K' was unreadable in the child's stitching but clear in the other. Grimmjow folded it and slid it into his inside jacket pocket, sitting just over his heart when he buttoned the front.

The coach to the city took six hours with only one rest stop and although Grimmjow's mother had offered to escort him in the family carriage but that sounded like his idea of hell. It was bad enough being trapped in the small space with well-meaning strangers. He didn't get to see his father before he left more through personal choice rather than an actual problem but they were both used to that. They'd never been very close, Grimmjow knew his father loved him in theory from a very young age but he didn't get to feel it. From the love he felt from Nemu, to the brotherly affection he felt with Renji he knew what love felt like. Even his mother's twittering regard showed she cared about him, even if he was clearly a burden she didn't want to deal with. Father must be listened to at all times, must be treated with respect and children are silent in front of them unless spoken to directly. It was hard to know what to do as a four year old when all he'd wanted was for his father to look at a drawing he'd made of his new pony.

As far as he knew his father never looked at the drawing, even after Ms Nemu promised he'd see it if Grimmjow left it on the table but it was still there the next day and Grimmjow left it. It was probably cleaned up by some nameless servant and it hardly mattered now. To Grimmjow the man he called father was a heartless fool who'd beat a child before he'd look at a drawing.

His new life was far from that man, far from his silly mother and the house he grew up in and far from that spot in the road where a boy had to pay for his silly mistakes. He'd see his parents but only during the holiday season when they came to town and he'd make himself scarce and when he was eventually ready to take over the estate, his parents would move back into town and those years would be spent in reverse. If he was lucky he'd never have to spend time with them again.

"Can you at least tell me why?"

"Why what Grimmjow?"

"Father I need you to look in my eyes and tell me why you hurt that boy?"

Grimmjow's father frowned at his son, not happy at the way the young man was speaking to him. "Grimmjow it has been nine years, why do you keep dragging that up?"

"Because every time I ride that road I see that spot. Every time I walk in the woods and hit the town road it is at that place. That place where you beat a child into a bloody lump, and for what? Because he was a shifter? He was a five year old kid who only tried to protect me. You frightened him."

"He was right to be frightened! Shifters have no place here; there are no homes for them or facilities to deal with them. And he touched you; we don't understand them enough to allow them that close to us."

"Father, it's not contagious. You're either born that way or you're not."

"We don't know that. Son, I know you think they are just people with odd abilities but they are more than that."

Grimmjow had thrown his arms up at that point; rolling his eyes as his father stubbornly repeated the same phrases he'd been spouting since Grimmjow was a small child. "Well we'll agree to disagree there then father, good night."

Grimmjow didn't get to storm out of the room like he wanted to, his father gripping his arm. "You will meet more of them in the city. You will keep your distance, you will not visit the Homes, you will not allow them that close to you. Do you understand?"

"I understand that you do not understand them or me. And I will make my own judgements based on what I see. It's amazing that the only real experience I have of them is a small boy defending me from my own father. That is the base line I am starting with, and that is your fault."

Grimmjow didn't wait that night for his father to respond, reaching his suites and locking them, as was his right now he was over sixteen. That morning he made sure to avoid his father's routine, getting out of the house without seeing him, only his mother to wave him off. This was the start of a new life for Grimmjow, he hoped he'd have a better one with less rules and more freedom.

Hmmmm, had to report this due to HTML issues, hope it works this time. Anyway hope you enjoyed it!