A/N: So this is my first Bleach story. I hope you all like it as much as I do. If you would please R&R that would be great. Especially review cause that makes me want to continue writing. Um...can't think of anything else to say really but that I hope you enjoy it. So have fun reading. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, there would be no room in my closet for clothes...
Chapter One: Damn Wednesdays
Kurosaki Ichigo sighed before crossing his arms over his chest as his ears searched for a noise, any noise that would indicate that something was wrong. In a way, he wished something was wrong, that way maybe this boring job wouldn't be so, well, boring. Sometimes he really hated his job, only because it was long, tiresome, and most of the time, uneventful. And it was only on nights like this that he itched for a fight, and never seemed to get one. Sighing irritably, he opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times so his poor retinas could adjust to the abhorrent strobe lighting that was Urahara Kisuke's oblique obsession. His signature scowl was visible as he crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed the large room. Not many customers were here today, he mentally noted. Usually Essence was more crowded; usually they were at maximum capacity, but not tonight. Damn Wednesday's, they were always such a pain in the ass.
He scanned the miniscule group of customers, which were scattered among the tables facing the stage. Sighing again, he took note of the regulars, and of the newcomers. Warily he glanced around for Uryu, who would surely be writing notes down and surveying background checks of the said newcomers. After finding Uryu, his eyes returned to the large room that served as the main room for business. He was standing next to the front door, the stage to his right, the arcade/casino to his left, the full bar was across the room, taking up the entire wall, and tables were strewn all over the central floor. Those annoying strobe lights flashed as his eyes landed on the girl grinding up against the pole on stage. Yeah, he said pole.
He wasn't afraid to admit it. Fact was; Kurosaki Ichigo worked as a bouncer at a strip club. Well, technically the strip club was nothing but a façade. The real work took place behind the doors located after the bar, where a central office sat, and beyond that room, countless bedrooms. Yes, bedrooms. Correction: Kurosaki Ichigo worked as a bouncer at a strip club/illegal whorehouse. Mind you, its not like he wanted to work there, when his dad finally admitted what kind of business he actually managed…well you can only imagine how much it shocked Ichigo.
His father worked for a strip club/whorehouse, and not just any strip club/whorehouse. No, he had to work for Essence, the most popular strip club in Tokyo, Japan. At first Ichigo tried to ignore the whole house business, but after being caught taking down a couple of its bouncers, with only his fists, by Soifon, he was recruited against his will. Because of that he was forced into the house, well that and the fact that if he didn't join the group, one of his sisters would've had to, and there was no way in hell Ichigo would let one of his sisters become a stripper, or worse. When he first joined in, he couldn't believe the intricacy of the house. The owner was an old, horny, perverted geezer (figures), by the name of Yamamoto. Under Yamamoto, there were twelve separate divisions, each reigning over a certain part of the house.
For example, the Second Division, otherwise known as the Stealth Force, and led by Soifon, was in charge of keeping the house safe and out of police detection. Each division had unique yet related jobs, each essential to the house and its employees. He along with, Yasutora Sado or Chad, Kensei Muguruma, Ikkaku Madarame, Tatsuki Arisawa, and Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez made up the Eleventh Division, the bouncers, led by Kenpachi Zaraki. Their job was to keep the strip club in order, and to kick out anyone who wasn't willing to pay, or got to rowdy.
Since the house was so elaborately designed, only trusted people were allowed to become employees. If you weren't already part of a family working at the house, it was nearly impossible to get a job there, but if you were part of a family, well it was nearly impossible to not get a job. Ichigo didn't know if this was a blessing or not, since watching half of his friends grinding on a pole from 9 at night to 3 in the morning did not amuse him at all. And neither did the fact of knowing that the other half were screwing old perverts somewhere in those back bedrooms. The one thing he knew was a blessing, and that he was relieved to discover, was that none of his old high school friends were the one's grinding on the poles, although quite a few were A-class whores.
He shook his head; he didn't like to think about that. Instead he opened his eyes and focused more on the people in the room. Where the fuck is Grimmjow? He thought irritably, searching for the familiar bright blue hair among the small crowd. He then remembered that about an hour ago, a female had requested Grimmjow's presence in one of the back rooms; bastard was a bouncer and a whore. He grunted in disgust, he should be coming out soon enough. He glanced around the rest of the room, suddenly interested in what his friends were doing.
Kasumi was passing out drinks; Tatsuki, taking orders; Keigo, trying to balance a tray of food; Mizuiro, disappearing behind the kitchen door with dirty plates; Chad, standing next to him against the wall; Uryu, scanning the room and probably texting information to Rin; Ikkaku, talking to Yumichika at the bar; Ganju, passing a drink to a customer; Shuhei, mixing drinks; Kensei…odd he couldn't find Kensei; Kenpachi, slowly strolling the casino; Rojuro, chatting it up with a customer at the bar; Sentaro, cleaning the bar's counter; Michiru, bringing plates of food to customers; Ryo, narrowly missing being grabbed in the ass; Mahana, grabbing a drink off Kasumi's tray as she serves people; even Yoruichi and Urahara showed up to survey and do whatever managers did.
Ichigo closed his eyes, sighing again for the fourth time in five minutes. He was about to sigh again when he heard a voice over the roar of the music. Peeling his eyes open, he looked down to see a girl with brown hair and deep violet eyes staring up at him, the look on her face was full of concern. She was wearing the waitress uniform at the strip club, which consisted of black high-heeled boots, fishnet stockings, a black mini-skirt, white see-through buttoned blouse, and a black lacy bra. Her name was Kasumi Takahashi; she was a member of the Tenth Division, also known as the caretakers of the strippers, was a stripper herself, and a waitress.
"This is the fourth time you've sighed in five minutes." She said, well yelled, over the music of the club. So his sighs haven't gone totally unnoticed…
"What of it?" He asked gruffly, rubbing his temple with his fingers. She cocked her head to the side before shaking it softly and turning to glare up at him.
"I take it your bored." He only nodded, making her sigh. She turned her attention to the tray of sake bottles she was holding. "Well it is a Wednesday, we usually don't get much business. Here, I brought you guys some drinks."
She took two off and handed them both to Ichigo and Chad. "How's your fam doin'?" She asked as they popped the tops off the bottles.
"Fine." He grunted, taking a swig. "Thanks, Kira."
Hurriedly, she glanced around the room, before letting her eyes settle on him again. "Sh! You know you're only supposed to use my stage name while customers are here!"
"Forgot." He said simply, shrugging nonchalantly as he took another sip. "So how's things with Shuhei?"
Kira visibly blushed, turning her head away from him to try and conceal the red tint on her cheeks. "There good. Thanks for asking."
Ichigo only rolled his eyes; Kira and Shuhei had been together for over two years now. He was aware of the small black box that Shuhei has been constantly carrying around for the past few weeks, and vaguely wondered when the man was finally gonna grow some balls and ask her to marry him already. He was just about to say something else when Ikkaku yelled his name across the way. He looked up to see the said cue ball coming over.
"'Ey! Ichigo!" Ikkaku said as he neared the three employees, he gave them his trademark smile before placing the bat he was carrying lightly on his shoulder. Always had to carry some kind of weapon with him, same old Ikkaku.
"What up?" Ichigo asked as Ikkaku grabbed a bottle off Kasumi's tray and fluffed her hair with his hand, earning him a furious scowl.
"Not much. Slow day or what?" He leaned against the wall on Ichigo's left side, popping his bottle of sake open.
"No shit." Ichigo sighed, placing his now empty bottle of sake on Kasumi's tray and grabbing another one.
"Pig." She whispered, but he ignored her as he opened it.
"Anyone hit on you yet?" Ikkaku jutted his chin out to Kasumi, who in return looked over her shoulder, scowled, and then turned back to them.
"Yeah. That bastard at table four keeps grabbing my ass." This time she snatched a bottle off her tray, expertly opening it with one hand before taking a long swig and replacing it.
"Good thing Shuhei hasn't noticed." Ikkaku smirked, turning his attention back to Ichigo. "Speaking of Hisagi, where's Jaegerjaquez?"
"He was requested by a female customer." Ichigo replied, subconsciously glancing to the large double doors lying behind the bar.
"Ah. Bastard gets all the females." Ikkaku grumbled, taking a nice swig of sake.
"Not all. Stark, Renji, and Ulquiorra are prostitutes too." Chad reminded them, finishing his sake and placing the empty bottle back on the tray.
Ikkaku smirked. "They're whores is what they are. Anyway, you've seen Muguruma?"
Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, been looking for him, but I can't find him."
"Weird." Ikkaku said quietly, taking another swig before glancing back at the bar, he smiled wickedly. "Speak of the devil."
The others followed his train of sight before letting their own eyes rest upon a fairly muscular man with alarming bright blue hair, Grimmjow. He smirked at them as he made his way over, grabbing a bottle of sake off Ryo's tray as he passed. "'Ey Strawberry, Cue-Ball, Muscles." He greeted them with a nod of his head before turning his attention to Kira, the smirk turning into a smile. Sneakily he started to wrap his arm around her body, his hand coming to rest on her breast. "Hey Sexy-OOF!"
"Grimmjow!" Kira cried over the noise of the club, raising her fist over his crumpled form. "Don't you dare touch me! I have a boyfriend! If you ever try and grab my breast again, I'll castrate you, ya hear?"
"The name's Yasutora." Chad added as Grimmjow smirked before getting to his feet.
"Whatever. You know I can't remember names for shit." He replied simply, wiping blood away from his mouth with his hand. He straightened up; his eyes lingering on Kira's angry form. "C'mon. You must have gotten bored with that Hisagi guy by now."
Kira snorted, grabbing her tray back from Ikkaku, whom she had shoved it at before bringing her foot up to connect with Grimmjow's face. "No. As a matter of fact I haven't, and most likely never will." She whispered the last part.
"Whatever. I can wait." Grimmjow yawned; ignoring Kira's almost silent muttering of 'bastard'. He glanced around at the three other bouncers. "Where the hell is Zaraki?"
"Casino." Chad tilted his head to the left. Grimmjow grabbed another bottle of sake from the half-full tray as he searched the casino/arcade area for Kenpachi's crazy bell-hair. "What about Whitey?"
"Disappeared awhile ago." Chad replied, knowing that he was talking about Kensei; Grimmjow only shrugged as he leaned against the wall. The five stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before the song blasting from the speakers increased its tempo.
"Shit! Lisa's almost done with her show, and I'm up next." Kira sighed before turning to the five. "See you guys after my dance, I'll bring you more sakes." She added, before swiftly making her way through the tables and over to the bar.
"Oh…so Lisa's up there. Makes sense." Ikkaku smirked, folding his arms across his chest as he absentmindedly watched Kira converse with Shuhei at the bar.
"Excuse me?" Chad grunted turning his head to look at Ikkaku.
"Kensei." Ichigo said before Ikkaku could reply. He smiled ruthlessly, closing his eyes before continuing. "He's got a thing for Lisa, won't admit it, but everyone knows, well except for her. Anyway, he can't stay in the same room when she dances, apparently he gets too excited."
"Speaking of excitement." Grimmjow's smile widened as he gestured with his eyes over to Shuhei, who had just finished kissing Kira and was currently watching her as she disappeared behind the door of the bar. "How much ya wanna bet he's gonna crack?"
"Heh. Twenty says he leaves the room." Ikkaku pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of his pocket and flashed it at the others.
"Thirty says he attacks the stage." Ichigo said evenly, extracting some bills from the pocket of his black skinny jeans. Shoes, black skinny jeans, white wife-beaters, and black fingerless gloves made up the bouncer uniforms.
"Fifty says he stays and watches." Chad replied quietly.
Grimmjow shook his head, smiling wickedly as he pulled a hundred bucks out of the waistband of his jeans. "Hundred says he comes in his pants."
"Your on." Ikkaku's grin widened considerably. In response, their heads turned towards the stage as they waited in sheer anticipation. They watched the remaining half of Lisa's show in silence, and then waited with thin patience for Kira's turn.
"What the hell are you bastards doing?" They turned their heads in the direction of the noise, their eyes falling on none other then Kenpachi Zaraki.
"Hey boss." Ikkaku greeted, leaning his head back against the wall.
"Where's Yachiru?" Chad asked, gesturing to Zaraki's bare back.
"Doing some paperwork with Kyoraku's girl." He replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he eyed them warily. "Now tell me, what are you bastards up too?"
Grimmjow grinned maniacally. "Just making some friendly bets."
"Bout what?" They turned to see Kensei Muguruma making his way over to them, a bottle of sake in his hand.
"Hisagi's reaction to Kira's dancing." Ichigo clarified just as Grimmjow grinned evilly at Kensei and innocently stated, "How was your trip to the bathroom?"
Kensei shot Grimmjow a glare before taking a swig of his sake. "That again? Who won last time?"
"I did." Chad stated simply, fiddling with his gloves. Ichigo sighed irately, the still empty stage making him slightly more irritated then he was before, if that was even possible. Taking his eyes off the extravagant set, he noticed Tatsuki with a tray full of sake bottles, and with an inclination of his head, caught her attention and waved her over.
"What did you bet?" Kenpachi asked yawning as he took his phone out of his pocket and checked for messages.
"He'll get a boner." Chad replied evenly.
"Seventy on that one." Zaraki stated, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
Ikkaku slapped his back before shouting out a loud. "Yeah boss!"
"What the hell are you guys talking and laughing about?" Tatsuki asked as she approached the group, the sake bottles clinking as she waved the full tray carelessly in front of them.
"Yes! More sake!" Ikkaku cried, his hands instinctively grasping a bottle. Zaraki pulled it out of his hand before he could open it, and took a big swig from it.
"No more for you." He growled, "You've had enough."
"What? That is hardly fair, I've only had…four." He held up three fingers for emphasis. Zaraki growled something incoherent that sounded a lot like 'drunk dumbass' and then demanded someone correct Ikkaku cause he was 'tired as fuck of having to correct him, himself.' Wordlessly, Chad stuck four fingers in front of Ikkaku's face; Ikkaku looked from his hand to Chad's, and then back to his. "Dammit, I meant four, four!" He nearly yelled, fumbling with his fingers as he tried to raise the correct amount.
"Already wasted are we Ikkaku?" Tatsuki smiled ruthlessly, grabbing a sake bottle and dangling it in front of his outstretched hands.
"Would ya like me ta sober him up a bit?" Grimmjow grinned wickedly as he cracked his knuckles.
"I'd rather not lose another bouncer, Jaegerjaquez." Zaraki replied swiftly, referring to the time Grimmjow had gotten into a tussle with Yumichika about who was more 'beautiful' and ended up pulling the pretty man's hair to the point that some of it actually fell out of his head. After that day Yumichika had transferred out of the Eleventh Division and into the safer, more beautiful environment of Squad Nine, also known as the bartenders.
Grimmjow's grin widened considerably as his eyes automatically shifted in the direction of Yumichika, the bright blue irises landing on a patch of irregular growing hair. "Whatever you say Zaraki." He waved it off dismissively, his already short attention spam dissipating as he grabbed a sake bottle that Ikkaku was trying unsuccessfully to reach.
"Gimme!" Ikkaku demanded, practically pouncing on Grimmjow, who growled in irritation. "Now!"
"Get the fuck off me, you bald headed freak!" Grimmjow yelled; tossing his still closed bottle up in the air, which Chad effortlessly caught, before handing it to Ichigo. "Hey! That's mine!"
"Was." Ichigo corrected, opening the bottle and taking a swig. It was on days like these that he didn't mind getting hopelessly smashed; with idiots like these for co-workers, who wouldn't want to get wasted?
"Give it back, else I'll-!" Grimmjow shouted, but was cut-off when Ikkaku used a rather clumsy wrestling move on him that involved his elbow and Grimmjow's lower back. "Holy shit!"
"So Ichigo…" Tatsuki started, turning away from the two idiots who were in the middle of beating each other to the state of vegetables. "How's everything been lately?"
"Fine." He shrugged nonchalantly. Everything was fine, as usual. Nothing exciting ever happened in his life anyway, he hated to admit it, but the only semi-surprising thing that had ever happened, was when his dad admitted that he managed an illegal whore business. And even that, after a long while of getting used too, lost its sense of excitement. Finishing school didn't help the situation either, ever since then, all Ichigo did was work, sleep, drink, hang out with friends, go home, and maybe go on a blind date every once in awhile, courtesy of Grimmjow that fucking blue-haired twat. But besides that, life was relatively boring and uneventful, which was mostly why he drank, drinking at least kept things interesting.
"Karin and Yuzu?" Tatsuki continued as she sidestepped Ikkaku's mad grab for one of the sake bottles on her tray, the sudden movement leaving him no time to react which resulted in a bone-crushing face plant in the poor wall. Ichigo shook his head, blatantly ignoring Ikkaku's pain filled howls as he opened his mouth to answer.
"There good too." He replied, trying to ignore the throbbing vein that was soon to be protruding from his forehead. "How are you and Keigo doing?"
She tilted her head and stared oddly at him, "We broke up."
"You did?" He asked, barely concealing what little surprise he felt at learning such information. All he could think of was, if it were true, how happy a certain redheaded pineapple would be when he found out. That redheaded bastard, or whore, or whatever the hell he was, had been after Tatsuki for the past two years, but he was too damned nervous to do anything about it. Damn bastard could fuck a whole house full of bitches, but once it came to Tatsuki, damn ass had no more balls.
"Yeah, 'bout a week ago. You didn't know?" Ichigo stared at her, receding into his thoughts as a vague memory poked at his mind. All he could remember was a clearly sobbing, yet still very dramatic Keigo, droning on and on about his horrible life and Tatsuki and…oh…so that's what he was talking about…
Ichigo groaned, how the hell could he have known that's what was bothering Keigo? If only the damned bastard didn't complain about everything and anything, then maybe Ichigo would pay a little attention to what the moron was saying. Ah well, Mizuiro and Chad were there to console him, and it wasn't like Ichigo would ever show that he actually cared for Keigo, especially if there was a chance of the action damaging his hard earned reputation.
A laugh brought him out of his thoughts and he looked down to see Tatsuki chuckling at him. "Let me guess, you tuned him out when he told you, like you always do."
Ichigo glared at her, making Tatsuki laugh harder. Grumbling incoherently, he easily sidestepped Ikkaku's grab for the sake bottle in his hand. Taking a swig from it, he placed it lazily on top of the tray, content with the amount of alcohol already flowing through his blood stream. "Ah too funny." Tatsuki breathed, after she regained her composure. "But yeah, we broke it off, or I should say, I broke it off."
"Why's that?" Chad asked politely as he grabbed a full bottle off the tray and handed it over to Kensei, ignoring the indignant cries of Ikkaku as he hopelessly tried to swipe the bottle out of his hand. His cries shot up a couple of octaves as Grimmjow picked up the bat he was using before and started to grind the tip mercilessly into Ikkaku's crotch. Ikkaku howled, flinging his arms about lamely as he tried to escape.
"Oh you know, just too many differences. He kept badgering me about the smallest things, and I just felt like I couldn't breathe, so I broke it off. Were still friends though." She waved her hand dismissively as if the whole thing didn't really matter, before wincing as Grimmjow's crazed yell filled the room.
"You son of a-!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ichigo winced, resisting the urge to cover his ears as his head started to pound. Dammit. Why did his head already hurt? He wasn't supposed to feel the pain until the next morning. Fuck. How many beers had he had again…three? …Four…? Maybe five? Shit! He couldn't remember. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to soothe his throbbing head. He sighed in relief; thank God the pain was almost gone... "EXCUSE ME?"
Ichigo's eyes snapped open, the bright lights in the club stinging them and worsening his headache. Irritably he turned, ready to yell at Tatsuki, when he noticed she wasn't standing in front of him anymore. Mildly surprised, he looked to the side and, without meaning to, let his jaw drop. There was Tatsuki, sake in one hand, bat in the other. Her foot placed carelessly on Ikkaku's crotch, the slight pressure causing him to tear up. The arm that was holding the bat was lying lazily around Grimmjow's neck, the tip of the bat resting, threateningly, on the top of his head.
Tatsuki smirked at him, taking another swig of her sake. "Would ya like ta say that again?" She was smiling, but Ichigo knew that smile, one wrong move, and it was over.
Grimmjow just glared at her, deciding against speaking out, knowing it would only earn him a good conk on the head and some sure-to-be-busted nuts. Tatsuki's smile widened. "Thought so." She mused, dropping the bat, and using her free hand to lightly smack Grimmjow's cheek, earning her a malicious glare that only succeeded in making her chuckle.
"Now back to what I was saying before." She turned her attention away from the fuming Grimmjow, to the oh-so-totally-drunk Ikkaku. "Ikkaku, do you remember that conversation we had last week?"
"Which one?" He asked lazily, he sucked in a breath as Tatsuki dug her big toe into his privates. "Oh! You mean the sake one?"
"Yes! Well done! You aren't as completely hopeless as I thought you were." She smiled evilly at him, shifting her weight to the other foot, causing his face to instantly relax. "Anyway, do you remember exactly how the conversation went?"
"Well not exactly." Ikkaku started, the response visibly worsening his situation as he winced at the sudden pressure, again applied to his crotch. Chad and Ichigo exchanged a quick glance. God, Ikkaku was stupid. Anymore dumb comments and he wouldn't be able to walk for days. Ichigo rolled his eyes, when was he gonna learn that you just don't mess with Tatsuki? "Uh, you told me I had a limit to the amount of sake I could consume a day."
"Exactly." Tatsuki beamed, placing a hand on her hip before taking another drink of her sake. "If you haven't noticed already Ikkaku, your beyond your limit. Therefore, you will not have anything else to drink but soda or water for the rest of the night. And if I were you, I would think twice before arguing. I highly doubt you'd want me to tear off your balls, now would ya?" He shook his head no, and she smirked, taking her foot and lightly grinding it into his crotch, just to get the message across, before removing it completely. "Oh and no more yelling. My head's already pounding from the damn music, I do not need you two shrieking on top of that."
She turned on Grimmjow. "And that goes for you too Blueberry."
"Why you little-!" Grimmjow started, but of course, never finished. His nasty comment dying in his throat as a rather large fist connected with his head, hard.
"Picking on girls again, Jaegerjaquez? Don't you think you're a little too old for that?" A gruff voice said behind Grimmjow.
Grimmjow turned slowly, a snarl on his face. "Damn you, Abar-!"
"Well…that was easier then I thought." The tall man smirked as he stared at Grimmjow's crumpled figure on the floor.
"Hey Renji!" Tatsuki smiled up at the redhead. "I take it your feeling better."
Renji grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Much better. That soup you brought over was delicious, you've got to make me some more!"
Tatsuki laughed, turning to retrieve her tray from Chad. Ichigo blinked, when the hell did he get her tray? He sighed; I really have got to start paying attention to these things. "Maybe. If I feel up to it again." She beamed, before glancing back up at the stage. "Anyway, it's 'bout time I return these empty bottles, my arms are starting to ache, not to mention Kira's show is going to be starting too, and knowing you guys, you've already made bets…right?"
She eyed them, smiling triumphantly when they all chose to avoid her gaze. "Well in that case." She smirked as she adjusted the tray on her arm before pulling out a couple twenties from the inside of her bra. "Eighty says he jerks off behind the bar." She turned to walk away, remembered something, and turned back. "Oh! And speaking of dances and bets, did you leave the room again?"
Kensei scowled from his spot against the wall. "Yes. …What…?" He asked as she continued to glare at him through narrowed eyes.
"Dammit! Now I owe Rangiku forty bucks. Do you see what you do to me Muguruma? How is a girl supposed to keep food on the table if she's always losing money cause you can't control yourself?" She demanded, her choice of words making the others smirk.
"Don't go blaming me cause you bet your money and lost. Your poor gambling skills are not my fault." He snarled, adjusting his gloves as he grabbed the second to last sake bottle off her tray.
"Yeah whatever." She rolled her eyes before turning to Renji and gesturing to the tray. "Want one?"
"Sure." Renji took the bottle, but stilled when he heard Ikkaku's piteous whine, he glanced down, momentarily distracted. A grin broke across his face as he took in Ikkaku's rumpled appearance. "Drink too much again?"
Ikkaku nodded, making Renji throw his head back in laughter. "Well, sucks for you faggot." His grin widened as he slowly popped the top off the bottle and took a nice long gulp from it. Ikkaku's whine intensified, but ended just as quickly when Tatsuki's foot connected with his crotch.
"So anyway, as I was saying." Tatsuki started, turning away from the now moaning Ikkaku. "I better get going. Oh before I forget though, Ichigo, have you seen Uryu?"
"Yeah…I saw him earlier. He should still be here." Ichigo looked around the room, glad to be distracted for a moment, the lack of a bottle in his hand driving him crazy. As he glanced around the room, in search of the elaborately dressed, glasses wearing, tall, lanky, pale boy, he couldn't help but notice Keigo, openly glaring at the group. He was probably pissed about how obviously close Renji was to Tatsuki. "Never mind. Looks like he left. You want me to call him or somethin?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from Keigo and sticking his hand in his pocket.
Tatsuki shook her head as she passed the tray to her other arm. "Nah. It's probably better that he's gone. Considering I'm only looking for him cause Orihime wanted me to give him his late night snack, he 'accidentally' left it on the kitchen counter before heading to work."
The others visibly cringed; Orihime was always cooking some kind of weird…food. She ate the strangest things; chocolate pudding with soybeans and red bean paste, rice balls with salsa and cheese, and other abnormal concoctions that were just too nauseating to state. They had all been forced to eat some of her food, even Grimmjow, when Tatsuki had shoved it down his throat to keep Orihime from crying.
"Where is it?" Kensei asked warily. The others tensed, last time Orihime had brought some of her food, they had sworn the thing was alive, randomly popping up in places where normal food wouldn't be found, of course, nobody had listened to a damn thing they said, but it was worth a shot.
"Oh somewhere behind the bar counter." Tatsuki waved dismissively. "Anyway, if he shows up again, just tell him where it is, and that Nnoitra Jiruga is back. We've gotta figure out a way to get rid of him, sure he brings a lot of money in but…there's something about him that I just don't like…"
Ichigo grunted in agreement, barely listening to Renji's assured comment that they would find a way, his mind drifting off. Nnoitra Jiruga, that horny bastard. He was a regular. Everyday they were open; he'd walk through those damned double doors, wave a huge wad of bills at Yoruichi, and then demand Orihime. He wouldn't go to any of the other members of the Thirteenth Division, even though there were about eight other whores besides Orihime. Either way, he was an arrogant, little bastard. And everyone hated him, everyone. No one in the club, clients and employees alike, liked him. Even the bosses of the thirteen squads asked Yamamoto to "get rid" of him, but the old geezer wouldn't budge. Something bout, he brings in a lot of money, and without him, our business would surely fall and blah, blah, blah.
Sure, the ass brought in around hundreds, but like Tatsuki said, there was just something about him. In the way he carried himself, his voice, his appearance, his smile, in everything he did, something just didn't seem right. Not to mention, that annoying as fuck servant he always brought, what was his name again? Tesla...? Well either way, the guy was an idiot. Following Nnoitra around, obeying his every command. He was like a lost puppy, idolizing the son of a bitch, for God knows what. Ichigo cringed; he hated Tesla as much as he hated Jiruga, and the whole thing with Orihime and Uryu just made everything worse. Ichigo couldn't believe Uryu's lack of luck, to fall in love, let alone, be engaged to an A-class whore. God, family life must suck. He almost felt bad for Uryu; almost, not quite. But yes, Uryu and Orihime were engaged. They had been engaged since November, and was that a messy ordeal, or what. Yamamoto had a strict policy when it came to dating, engagements and marriages among his workers, so of course, when his best informant asked for the opportunity to propose to his best whore, well…Yamamoto wasn't happy in the least.
Of course he agreed though, an unhappy whore meant an unhappy client, and that just meant less customers and in the end, less money. And if there was anything Yamamoto loved more then himself, it was money. So Uryu asked for Orihime's hand, she agreed, and now their wedding was scheduled for some time in October. Of course, Tatsuki was to be the maid of honor, and after much griping and begging, Ichigo finally agreed to be the best man. That reminds me, I still gotta go buy a tux. He thought sourly.
"Hey Ichigo." Ichigo looked up, pulled out of his thoughts to see Renji standing in front of him. Tatsuki had left, weaving her way through tables as she balanced the tray on her arm, trying to avoid the outstretched hands of some horny customers as she passed by.
"What do you want Renji?" Ichigo asked, momentarily annoyed.
"Don't look so annoyed, I just wanted to know if Hisagi had asked Yamamoto yet." Renji scratched the back of his head, fixing the strip of cloth he always had tied around it.
Ichigo blinked, what the hell was Renji talking about? "…What…?"
"Hisagi." Renji sighed, rolling his eyes at Ichigo's confusion. "Has he asked Yamamoto if he can propose to Kira yet?"
Ichigo grunted, readjusting his position on the wall. "No not yet. He's trying to wait until Yamamoto cools down I think."
Renji's eyes widened. "Is he still pissed 'bout Ishida and Inoue?"
"Last time I checked yeah. But you know Yamamoto, the old bastard gets anal 'bout everything these days." Ichigo shrugged, before casting a sidelong-glance at Renji. "What about you? Have you asked yet?"
Renji's blush matched his hair perfectly. "No…I haven't even asked Tatsuki yet."
"Why haven't you?" Chad asked quietly, pulling a case of aspirin out of his pocket and taking four out, giving Ikkaku and Grimmjow two each.
"She just broke up with Asano, I'm not gonna go hound her. Not to mention, I'm not her type anyway, she'd probably say no." He replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Afraid of rejection are we? Heh. Pussy." Grimmjow spat, getting to his feet, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "Then again, if she dated you, she'd be downgrading, now wouldn't she?"
Renji snarled, his hands curling into fists. "What do you know, you blue-haired freak? Last time I checked your woman was off fucking another man."
"Bastard!" Grimmjow roared as he pulled his fist back at the same time Renji did, but just before they could release, Kensei intervened, grabbing onto both of their wrists, stopping their punches midway.
"Knock it off." He growled, dropping their hands and retrieving his sake from the floor, just before Ikkaku wrapped his greedy fingers around it. "Don't touch my beer, bitch."
Ikkaku whined piteously, his fingers grasping the air feebly. Kensei stared down at him, his face portraying a mild look of disgust, before turning away and taking a sip of his sake. Grimmjow, who was just getting over the shock that someone was fast enough to stop his punch, looked up in irritation.
"What the fuck was that for, Muguruma?"
"What was what for?" Kensei yawned before turning to look at Grimmjow, his expression somewhere between tired and annoyed.
"Don't fuck around with me! Why are you always getting in the way?" Grimmjow barked, his pale face reddening in barely concealed rage.
Kensei stared at him for a couple moments, before shrugging. "Cause you're a dumbass. And I don't feel like getting suspended just 'cause you did something stupid...again."
"Why you little-!" Grimmjow snarled as he stepped forward, but stopped when Kenpachi stuck his arm out.
"That's enough outta you Jaegerjaquez." He drawled lazily, his bell hair jingling as he tilted his head up. "Muguruma's got a point. If you two don't knock it off, I'm going to get that crazy ass, pig-tailed lesbian over here, and I don't want to even see her today. So you two can either shut the fuck up and do your job or, if you're really itchin' for a fight, you can fight me. What do ya say?"
Grimmjow and Renji both visibly paled, which was amazing considering they were both already pretty pale to begin with. They shook their heads in unison and turned away from each other, they're mouths clamped shut.
"That reminds me, Ichigo." Kenpachi's wicked grin instantly widened, and Ichigo swore he could feel his heart drop into his stomach. He shuddered visibly as the blood-crazed lunatic continued to look at him hungrily, practically see his own death in the other man's eyes. A death he was not looking forward to experiencing at all. Silently he swore, wishing that when he first joined two years ago, he hadn't agreed to battle the frightening boss. Ever since that fight, a fight where he barely escaped with his own life, let alone victory, Zaraki had been after him for another duel, ecstatic that there was a man out there who had the strength to fight him, live through it, and potentially beat him at the same time. "How bout after work, around the building, alley on the right. Whatd'ya say?"
Ichigo's eyes flickered around the room, as he tried to think of a good enough excuse. Just as he was about to resort to running into one of the back rooms, like last time, a loud, piercing noise echoed throughout the club. The group of men instantly covered their ears, wincing as the high-pitched sound amplified itself, worsening their already strenuous headaches. Suddenly the noise stopped, and Ichigo slowly lowered his hands from his ears to find that a gruff voice had replaced the ear-splitting sound.
"Sorry about that gentlemen. Thank you all for waiting, our next act will begin shortly."
Ichigo gestured to the now brightly lit stage, a barely concealed look of relief on his face. "Maybe later, it's gonna start soon." Later my ass. Zaraki looked like a deflated balloon, but just nodded sullenly before returning to his position against the wall. The others followed suit, there eyes resting on Hisagi.
Grimmjow suddenly chuckled. "Looks like the bastard's noticed us."
Ichigo shook his head slightly, he had been zoning out again. He glanced at Grimmjow questioningly, the blue-haired bitch only grinned before nodding his head in the direction of the bar. Ichigo looked over and chuckled himself; Hisagi was giving them one of the dirtiest looks he'd ever seen.
"He must know were betting." Renji snickered as Shuhei decided to flash them two very censored birdies. They each, save for Kenpachi, stuck up one in return. "Hey, I think Ganju wants you Ichigo."
Ichigo sighed; damn bastard was calling him again? What the hell? Straightening himself, he grabbed his gloves back from Chad, who was holding them out to him, along with two aspirins. Ichigo nodded his head in thanks before swallowing the pills and walking over to where Ganju and the other bartenders were.
"Wassup?" He asked once he reached the bar, tilting his head up in greeting. Ganju grinned at him, grabbing out a glass and mixing a couple of colorful fluids before passing it over to Ichigo, who couldn't help but take a small sip.
The bigger man leaned in towards Ichigo, his face splitting into an almost sadistic grin as he glanced sideways at Hisagi, who openly glared at the two. His smile widened considerably as he raised his hand to cover his mouth. "I take it you guys are betting again." Ganju mused, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that made Yumichika grunt in disgust.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It just makes you look uglier." He sniffed as he delicately poured a glass for a customer. Ganju rolled his eyes before turning back to look at Ichigo.
"I want in, what are the bets?" Ichigo recounted the bets and amounts while Ganju listened intently, his lips making a satisfying smack when Ichigo finished. "'Bout the same as last time. Alright, put me sixty for the one 'bout jerking off behind the bar."
Ichigo nodded, grabbing the three twenties off the counter before turning to walk back to the other bouncers, when a hand on his shoulder forced him to halt. "Hey. So I heard some interesting news earlier from my big bro and sis." Ichigo stiffened, silent as he waited for Ganju to continue. "Apparently were getting a new worker."
The orange-head's vague interest rose a couple levels. The news of a new worker wasn't something that was always talked about. An illegal whorehouse had to be careful with how it picked its employees; one wrong slip up could end them all in jail. It may not look like a dangerous job, but it was. The police were always at their necks, strip clubs were monitored daily, they had to be careful who they brought in; they didn't need a spy for the officials. Ganju's next words made Ichigo's eyes widen. "A new whore."
"Whore?" Ichigo echoed, turning his head back so he could look at Ganju, who smiled at him, glad to have caught his interest. "Name?"
"Rukia Kuchiki."
So did you like it? Let me know by reviewing. ^^
Also let me know if there's any mistakes. I'll gladly fix them.