Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters in it. The story and characters belong to Tite Kubo. I am also not earning anything from this story apart from simple entertainment and writing experience.

Warning! Contains: Yaoi, AU, Some Non-Con, Abuse (initially), Captivity, Graphic battle and sexual scenes...

Now! I don't think I'm forgetting anything major... I have given all the warning I can to those of you who have ventured into this story.

Pairing: Grimmjow x Ichigo, plus side pairing(s)

Oasis

sinner and a saint

A prince.

That's precisely what he was. Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. Twenty-six years old and renowned as the most destructive force in the desert kingdom of Los Noches.

He was the fifth prince to be exact, and the sixth admiral in the court of ten to be chosen from to take the throne. This, of course, was only to happen when the king was either dethroned or slain in battle. Although his rank wasn't high, not even in the top five, the last thing the cerulean haired man did was worry about such a thing.

After all, none of the other nine were foolish enough to attack another in the court, handpicked by the king himself. Since they all remained secluded to their separate quarters most often, which were quite a fair distance apart in the palace, no one knew who held resentment against whom. Therefore, an attack could lead to an all out war between them, which would likely destroy the entire kingdom itself.

Sosuke Aizen, the second and current king, was out of the kingdom at the moment for reasons unknown. A perfect opportunity to take over and take him out upon his return, but he was far too powerful a man to even think of attempting something like that. Not to mention his two little drones who patrolled the palace and kept order for him while he was gone.

Gin and Tousen.

Two nuisances who got in the way of any real fun that could have been had while Aizen wasn't around. Especially Tousen. But they were stronger than even the ten Espada, as they had been formally named. Aizen's ability to control those two the way he did only further proved his power to them.

That is why everyone united under him. He was commanding. fearless, and damned near omniscient. What more could the peasants ask for in a leader? At least they knew they'd be protected when danger arose… When Aizen was in the kingdom that is.

The only person who could take on their king, it seemed, was Yamamoto Genryuusai in that bothersome kingdom that wasn't too great a distance away from their western border.

Seireitei, was it? Yeah, that was its name.

He may have been strong, but that old fart wasn't even their true king. He and his other twelve courts were just protection for the mystery man himself.

Grimmjow stood in his window, looking down to the streets full of peasants going about their miserable lives. Somewhere out there was a few of Yamamoto's underlings, here to be liaisons between the two kingdoms and to help out with recovery efforts.

After an attack the other day by some giant camel spiders, many of the citizens were left wounded, and many more of them dead.

Grimmjow quickly put on a vest and left it open for the world to see his well-built form before exiting his quarters to go and see the extent of the damage for himself. He hadn't taken care of any of the spiders. It was Ulquiorra and Halibel, the saints that they were, who had gone and put the gargantuan arachnids down.

Even thinking about doing that was simply a pain. It wasn't worth his time to save the weak and defenseless. After all, the walls around the southern edge of the city were the most fortified so the scum should have had some chance of at least hiding their sorry carcasses when the first sign of danger appeared.

"Can't wait to see the fear in the people's eyes!" He smirked as the large white door to his quarters shut behind him.

The sight of people fearing something always brought him pleasure!

Ichigo Kurosaki, an accomplished and compassionate young doctor of only twenty years old, followed two of his closest comrades through the streets of Los Noches Kingdom.

Rukia and Renji, a duo to be reckoned with, trotted confidently down the dark golden streets of this unfamiliar and utterly depressed place.

The people, although surrounded by the majestic sands of the surrounding desert, all seemed downtrodden and hopelessly uninspired.

"Where are we going, Rukia?" Renji asked, "I thought we were helping Ichigo out."

"No, you and I need to meet with the Primera to let him know we're sending more medics to aid in seeing to the injured. That's it. Besides, what can you do to help an injured person but make the situation worse?" said girl asked.

"Haha very funny. Are you sure Ichigo is enough for today? Shouldn't we have brought Inoue or Ishida along as well?"

"Ahem! I'm still right behind you, you know?" Ichigo commented before squinting.

Renji stopped, "Oh, right… You know, I think the hospital is that way..." he said while pointing in a direction he chose arbitrarily.

"It's actually just a few streets over in that direction." Rukia corrected while pointing the opposite way, "Want us to escort you there, Ichigo?"

"I can handle a sword even better than a scalpel. Besides, when did I ever need protection from either of you?" the orange-haired boy asked with a confident smile.

"Right. Well, we'll go on to the palace and then come back when everything is taken care of. I think we're supposed to stay the night…or those may have been orders just for you… I'll radio in and find out for sure when I get back." The short girl spoke before continuing on her way to the large palace.

It was practically the first thing to be seen even at a distance from the kingdom. If Ichigo needed to find them, he'd know exactly where to go.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Renji shouted and then sped after his departing companion.

Ichigo watched as the two disappeared into the bustling crowd of people that filled this town to the brim. Many of them seemed malnourished, others just lacking in any sense of inspiration or motivation. It was so starkly different from home. Back where he, Rukia, and Renji hailed from, everyone had a purpose. Even the townspeople in the Rukongai District went about their day to day lives with eagerness and content.

He turned and headed down the street that led to the hospital, slightly wishing he had just stayed home and trained today like he had intended to do. But when Unohana calls and requests you personally, there's nothing you can do but show up and heed her orders.

She was scary sometimes. No doubt she would have visited once she returned just to give him that cold, staring face she was infamous for.

Why she had called him over Ishida, someone with more medical experience than he had, sort of puzzled him. It wasn't like he was the best there was, although he had received some medical training apart from the training he had undergone to become a bona fide soldier.

The deep black sword he was so used to wielding glistened at his side in the sunlight. Zangetsu was its name.

How many battles had he fought with this blade? Far too many to recall. Even Renji had been defeated, though just barely, with this deadly beauty.

It meant a lot to him because he had forged it during his training with Urahara, one of the primary tacticians and scientists of Seireitei Kingdom. Although he'd rather laze around and sell candy, Yamamoto put him to work alongside Kurotsuchi Mayuri, his all time rival. Seeing them together was truly a sight.

"Excuse me, sir?" a little boy called out, which brought the orange-haired boy back to reality.

"Yes?" Ichigo turned and responded with a welcoming smile.

He assumed it was probably the only one this kid would see today, unfortunately.

"D-do you have any money you could spare? My little sister is really sick and she needs some medicine, but my family is too poor to afford it. I've been out asking all day, but no one has been able to spare even a copper coin for me…"

"Heh, your luck's changed then. You caught me right after payday, little guy. Let me get my wallet and I'll help you out."

Just as he reached down into his back pocket, everyone on the street suddenly tensed up and looked in his direction with fearful expressions.

"I-I'm not going to do anything… I promise. See, it's just my wallet." He assured while holding it in the air.

The boy stepped back from him and fell onto his knees before bowing his head to the ground apologetically.

"No, you don't need to… Uh… I didn't mean to be praised… I'm just trying to-"

"You there, peasant, what do you think you're doing!?"

Ichigo turned slowly and saw a man, he assumed to be one of the admirals of this place, with vibrant cerulean blue hair and eyes approaching him.

The look on his face said he clearly disapproved of this exchange entirely.

"I'm no peasant! I'm a soldier from Seireitei Kingdom here to help those who were wounded in the attack two days ago. Your Primera called for us and we came, just as asked."

Grimmjow stopped just a few meters away from the 'soldier'. He was not pleased by this one bit. Those who cannot do for themselves and earn their own money should be left for dead. They were no better than the garbage in the hospital right now, begging for help.

Why encourage weakness in the kingdom? It'd just end up being slack he and the other Espada would have to make up for later.

The bluenette put his hand on his sword and was about to draw it to end this person's life, but he remembered that he had said that he was a soldier from Seireitei. The one thing that was forbidden between the two kingdoms was an all out murder of the other side's soldiers. Just like an Espada on Espada battle, it could also be the trigger to war, but this time it would be one of cataclysmic proportions.

Genryuusai and Aizen had signed a ceasefire treaty a while back to avoid total loss of the two neighboring kingdoms. Although, Aizen had every intention of taking over the Seireitei and assassinating its true king, he held off on those plans for some unknown reason.

It was probably because he knew, even with his ten precious Espada, he would never be able to do it. The thought of the unknown strength of their king, for someone calculating and tactical to a fault, must have been too much of a gamble.

Thus, the two kingdoms coexisted and even thrived on each other.

Seireitei was more vegetated with green plants and had a vast blue lake on its western end that led to a forested mountain range, which was in the exact opposite direction of Los Noches. They willingly brought fresh food and water when Los Noches's reserves were low.

On the other hand, Los Noches supplied Seireitei with all the glass it could produce since their own kingdom was primarily composed of sand. What they did with it was their own business.

Grimmjow released his sword and looked to the cowering child just behind the orange-haired soldier standing before him.

"In this kingdom, beggars and their children are put to death. I'll see it through now." He said before walking past the shorter soldier.

Before he could draw his sword, Ichigo stepped back in his way and used himself as a shield for the now crying child.

"Stand aside. This has nothing to do with you."

"I absolutely can't allow you to kill a child. It's immoral. What kind of rule is it that beggars are to be killed? This is a citizen in your own home. If you're one of the princes of this kingdom, then why not share some of that wealth when you can for someone who needs just a few coins that you surely wouldn't miss?"

"You're interfering with Los Noches customs! Move aside or I'll be forced to cut you down!" Grimmjow roared, drawing the eyes of even people from the second floors of their homes.

"You'll just have to kill me then." Ichigo responded, unwavering in his determination.

Grimmjow gazed into the brown eyes now staring at him disapprovingly.

It burned him to the core to see this inferior warrior looking down on him in such a way. He gripped his sword and even felt his knuckles cracking from the tight grip he had on it.

Seeing someone look at him like this reminded him of how often Nnoitora did the same thing or Ulquiorra verbalized his complete disapproval of his actions.

And that boiled his blood. This nobody from a kingdom that prided itself on numbers over strength had the audacity to stand in his way without even drawing his weapon? He couldn't let this go.

Just as he began pulling his prized sword from its sheathe, a calm, unmistakably pale hand on his shoulder caused him to stop.

"Grimmjow, you're certainly aware of the rules about striking a soldier from Serietei." Ulquiorra commented with little interest on the matter whatsoever.

In fact, in his other hand he had a book he was reading from.

"Ulquiorra! Don't stand in my way! Get lost!"

"I don't believe you have the time for this foolishness. Let's return to the palace. If Aizen found out you were undermining his authority by doing exactly what he proscribed us from doing, he'd surely have your head. Tousen would gladly pass the knowledge of this situation onto him if he got word of it."

Grimmjow glanced back at the boy in front of him one last time before he couldn't bear to look at him any longer.

Doing the prudent thing, he sheathed his sword once more and abruptly turned to go back to the palace.

Ulquiorra tossed a few shimmering golden coins on the ground to the boy just behind Ichigo before doing the same. He didn't even acknowledge the orange-haired boy's existence.

Ichigo lowered his arms and sighed a heavy breath of relief. That could have gone a whole lot worse.

When he turned around, the child stood and sincerely thanked him for offering his money before rushing off with the gold pieces he had received.

"Well, it's not an ideal way to do it, but I saved one life so far today." He smiled.

The crowds of people quickly returned to their respective activities when he continued on his way to the hospital.

Ichigo could clearly see the entrance to the hospital now. There were more lives to save and less time to be concerned about the insensitive admirals Aizen had working under him.

"Have you lost your senses completely, Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra asked when he caught up to said man.

His emerald green eyes moved from the pages of his book to the other disapprovingly.

"If you hadn't interrupted I would-"

"Likely have triggered the second war that would have led to countless deaths simply because you wanted to rid the town of a beggar child? That isn't your main concern at the moment. Once we return to the palace, I do hope you'll meditate on your actions."

Grimmjow ignored the pale man completely.

That damned kid. Those damned eyes. That unbelievable defiance.

He had to die for his insolence and interference with matters that didn't concern him. The only thing left to him was to be defeated, dominated, and then utterly destroyed. That's all there was to it.