* If, by chance, you dislike college AU's, please don't bother reading any further because yes, this is a college AU and I don't want any flames from you.

Should you be confused by anything, please don't be afraid to review or PM me.

In the fic, Ichigo has two brothers: Mugetsu and Takeshi. Mugetsu looks like Ichigo in the final Getsuga Tenshou form, and Takeshi looks like Ichigo's inner hollow, more often referred to as Shirosaki Hichigo. I just didn't want Ichigo's brother's name to be way too similar to his own, or have the meaning 'white' (Shiro). Takeshi means warrior, and I had other choices like Katsujiro (which is a name I made up by combining Katsu, meaning win/victory, and Jiro, meaning second son), but I decided on Takeshi with help and opinion from my sister. *

Title: Wound, Remedy, Lifeline

AU: modern college

Fandom: Bleach

Pairing: GrimmIchi – Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez & Ichigo Kurosaki

Rating: M – yaoi, sexual circumstances, lemon, violence, harsh language

Disclaimer: two words – Kubo Tite

I.K. – 8/31 Sun. - 1:48 pm

Exactly two months and sixteen days ago, Ichigo Kurosaki turned eighteen. Which meant college. At last.

Not that he had been particularly excited for the whole university thing, but he was at least looking forward to finally becoming even slightly more independent.

"Ichi, help take this in, would ya?" Takeshi called from the back of the truck, heaving two large cardboard boxes in his arms. His pale white hair already had drops of perspiration hanging from the strands, and he huffed as he wiped his forehead on his shoulder. Ichigo couldn't blame him though; he had stopped by his own dorm before this, delivering his own things to his room as well. Besides, Ichigo was sweating too. It was one of the hottest days of the season this year. Great day to move into campus. "Get the one on top."

"Coming, coming," Ichigo said loudly as he jogged out of the dormitory.

He took a box from Takeshi and led the way into his assigned dorm room, 211, where they set down the last of his things on the bed he had been left with. It seemed his unidentified roommate had already been there and gone, for supplies lay strewn across the other's bed and desk. Since he and Takeshi had only come to drop off Ichigo's things, they left almost immediately afterwards instead of lingering for a little longer. The room was fairly simple anyway (nothing to see, really): twin beds, twin desks, twin closets, and a window separating it in halves. The view wasn't even nice; the room was located at the back of the building, which meant it only faced a small road and another building outside.

"I had top floor freshman year," Takeshi muttered, shuddering at the memory. "In the summer? Hot as fuck, I'm tellin' ya."

"Watch the language, Take."

"Eh? Oh, ha. Funny, coming from ya."

Mugetsu strolled in, long black hair up in a ponytail because of the sweltering heat outside. His face looked slightly moist with sweat, both his hands occupied with three water bottles straight from the vending machine. Takeshi made a face at Mugetsu's choice of beverage.

"I told you I want soda."

"Water's better."

Takeshi rolled his eyes and took a bottle.

Ichigo glanced at the bed that wasn't his. He had hoped his roommate would be Renji Abarai, the only person he knew in probably the entire campus with the exception of Takeshi. They had gone to high school together, and while several others stayed behind in Karakura or left for some other country, Renji had been accepted into the same school as Ichigo's. But no, the redhead had texted him earlier, saying he was in Room 309.

"Wanna go eat now?" Mugetsu asked, pinching the front of his T-shirt and pulling back and forth to let some cooler air in. "Go out, or check out the dining hall?"

"Mm, eat out. I feel like McDonalds."

Soon, they were in Mugetsu's dark gray pickup truck, Takeshi out in the back (as a result of losing to Ichigo in a game of jan-ken-pon) and Ichigo inside next to Mugetsu, who drove. As the oldest of the siblings, Mugetsu was the only one with a license. Takeshi had tried, of course; he had done so countless times. And he could drive, except he did it in such a rough a manner that the academy refused to give him a license. As for Ichigo, he had never really tried, but perhaps it would come to be of use in his college life.

The food was rather terrible, but that was the whole point of going to the fast food restaurant: to rant amongst themselves about how tasteless and unhealthy the food was. The three had never really liked fast food, anyway, always preferring plain ice water to Coke or Sprite. Except Takeshi. But he only liked sodas, so that didn't count. They finished half their burgers before they left the store, and instead filled their stomachs with a Jamba Juice each – not that that was much of a better diet.

When Ichigo got back to his room, it was evening and his roommate was still not there. Mugetsu had left since he had to get back to work tomorrow, and Takeshi had gone back to his own dormitory – one for juniors and seniors.

Nothing to do. Ichigo picked up his phone and texted Renji: "sup. on campus. u?"

He flopped down onto his bed, which squeaked loudly in protest. The upperclassmen probably got the better dorms; Takeshi had been rambling on and on about how much better his new dorm was than the old one.

Just as Ichigo got comfortable and closed his eyes, his phone vibrated on the desk. He leaned onto his side and grabbed it, reading the text.

"dude clarken right? what rm #?"

"211," Ichigo typed.

In less than a minute, there was a knock on Ichigo's door, and he stood up to get it. It was Renji on the other side, grinning widely in his plain white T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Where've you been, man? I was here since Saturday." Renji walked in as if he owned the place. Ichigo didn't point out that Saturday was only yesterday, and how it always sort of bothered him about how some people said the name of the day (Monday, Friday, etc.), and others said it time-wise (tomorrow, day before yesterday, etc.). Like, why couldn't people just decide on one thing?

"Who's your roommate?" Ichigo ignored Renji's previous question. The redhead didn't seem to notice.

"Ikkaku-somethin'. Beat the shit outta this guy right in front of our room. I saw it happen. Apparently the guy had called him bald." He shrugged. "Seems cool. You?"

"I haven't even seen mine yet," Ichigo said with a shrug. Honestly, he was curious, but what could he do? Even if his roommate didn't plan to show up at all throughout the entire year, he couldn't do much about it.

III

It was around two in the morning that the second owner of the shared room finally decided to show up. Just when Ichigo finally fell asleep in the unfamiliar environment. The orange-head heard the door open and close, which woke him, and shuffled around so that he was facing the room instead of the wall. It was near impossible to see past his desk, however, for the tiny sliver of moon outside only offered a very dim light for the place. He caught a glimpse of a large back, and he could tell the guy was tall – six feet at the least. The man took off a layer of clothing, and then sank into his own bed. Ichigo – sleepy as he was – turned around and closed his eyes.

III

The next morning, Ichigo was greeted by the alarm on his phone vibrating and ringing beside his head. He swiped the screen to shut it off, and then crushed his face into his pillow for a few moments, just enjoying the silence.

Ichigo suddenly jerked up from his position on the bed to check the time. 8:52. He could have sworn he only laid back down for, like, five seconds, but it had already been twenty-two minutes since the last time he woke up.

"Shit," he cursed quietly to himself, and shuffled out of bed. Grabbing the first shirt and pair of shorts he could find, he washed up in the shared bathroom and swung by the room to drop off his toiletries and pick up his backpack. His roommate still seemed to be asleep, completely buried under the blankets. The only sign he was actually there was the big lump under the sheets and a hand hanging off the side of the bed. Ichigo considered waking him, maybe even just to see if the guy was actually alive, but decided not to in case the man wanted to sleep in. Perhaps he had chosen afternoon and night classes; who knew?

"Yo, Ichigo," came Renji's voice from across the hallway. "You weren't at breakfast, so I came up looking for you – guess I was right in assuming you slept in?"

Bright red hair strands were tightly pulled up into a spiky ponytail as usual, unlike Mugetsu's, whose ponytails were always long and graceful, even when he tied it quickly and effortlessly. Ichigo guessed the spikes were sort of Renji's style, since he never bothered to tame them down or something. Renji also liked blue jeans, which he was wearing today as well, except they only came up to the knees instead of all the way down. That was probably because it was still so hot out.

"Yeah, I slept in," Ichigo confirmed with a light sigh. This was not the best way to start the first day of his first year in college.

Renji laughed – a deep, throaty laugh, which Ichigo had always thought was a very pleasant noise. He jerked his chin toward the staircase. "Come on, let's get going. You're gonna be late to your first class of the year, you know? Takeshi-san was wondering where you'd gone as well."

"Take-nii? Where is he now?"

"I told him I'd get you to class, and he left."

"Oh. Well, you don't need to take me anywhere. I can manage on my own." Ichigo slung his backpack over both shoulders and hung onto the straps with his hands.

Renji rolled his eyes, having experienced his friend's obstinacy since grade school. He knew there was no stopping Ichigo once he set his mind to something. Even Takeshi and Mugetsu couldn't persuade the boy if he was determined enough.

"Your first class is Chemistry, right? Engineering's in the same building. I'll just come with you; how's that?"

Ichigo scowled, but decided to let it pass. Exhaling through his nose, he exited the building before Renji and began taking long strides to the Graces Building.

"Hey, hey," the redhead called as he jogged to catch up. "So, have you seen your roommate yet?"

"Nope. He came in at, like, two in the morning."

"Still? Do you at least know his name?"

Orange eyebrows furrowed, gathering in the middle of Ichigo's forehead. "No."

Again, with the rolling eyes. Renji was the champion for that trick. "You know, the name is on the papers you got from the office."

"Oh. Oops." What papers?

They split ways once they were inside the building, for their classes were located at opposite ends of the structure. Room 146, Professor Shihōin. The place was more of a small auditorium than a classroom, with rows of elevated seats and tables facing a whiteboard, a podium, a large desk, and a wheeled chair. The podium was pushed off to the side, though; maybe this professor didn't really like using it.

The teacher, or Professor Shihōin, was sitting on the chair, one leg perched on the other and a lollipop hanging from her mouth. Her hair was violet, and she wore it up in a way similar to how Mugetsu tied it up. She had extremely tan skin – rather beautiful, actually – and eyes the color of beach sand under the sun. She seemed completely indifferent toward the students as they filed into the room.

Only when the bell chimed did the professor finally sit up and examine the group of students she was supposed to teach for the rest of the year. She picked up a clipboard - spinning a pen in her other hand - and spoke.

"Ayasegawa, Yumichika."

A guy with black jaw-length hair glanced around with wide violet eyes. " . . . Yes?"

The professor looked completely nonchalant as she continued reading down her paper. "Cifer, Ulquiorra."

Oh. She was taking roll.

Her pronunciation was perfect. For the names Ichigo couldn't figure out how to spell just by hearing it being said, he wondered how she knew what they even sounded like. She continued flawlessly, never pausing even for a moment to figure out how to say something. At last, she was nearing Ichigo's name.

"Jaegerjaquez, Grimmjow."

The class went silent. Ichigo looked up from picking his cuticles and glanced around. No one seemed to know who this person was.

"No Jaegerjaquez?"

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open, alerting both the students and the professor. A tall someone with a black hood over his head stepped in, panting a little. He must have run all the way to class.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?"

The guy gave her a terse nod.

"Terrible start to the year, mind you," Professor Shihōin said, raising an eyebrow.

The guy muttered an apology and began walking to the seats.

"No hats of any sort in school buildings."

The newcomer glanced up at the professor for a second before pulling his hood down, revealing bright blue hair messy from bed. It was a rather striking color, really.

"Mm. Okay. Kurosaki, Ichigo."

Ichigo could tell just by glancing at her eyes that she expected a girl to answer. She was scanning all the faces of the girls in the class.

Ichigo sighed inwardly and said, "Present."

The professor's eyes snapped toward Ichigo, slight surprise filling them for only a short moment before they went back to being blank and indifferent. Several students snickered quietly, whispering, but stopped as soon as Shihōin glared at the lot of them.

"Professor Yoruichi Shihōin," the lady said once she finished taking attendance. She wrote her name on the board, then whipped back around at the class. "Welcome to Chemistry. Lectures and labs included. Dare slack off in my class, and you will wish you never stepped foot in this room today."

The tan woman got up from her chair and paced a little, speaking all the while.

"This room, however, will only be used for lectures, which will take place two times a week for an hour and a half. Labs will be on Wednesdays and Fridays for two hours each. There will be around two exams per semester; decide not to study, and you will fail miserably. The only day we will not be meeting on is Tuesday." Pause. She looked up. "Any questions?"

III

"Ah, Berry-tan!"

Ichigo glanced back, unconsciously scowling out of habit.

"No need to look so angry…" a short girl with lime green hair pouted. She had on some kind of goggles/sunglasses (Ichigo wasn't sure which) on her head, wore an orange scarf, boots, gloves, and a tight white bodysuit. He wondered if she wasn't getting warm in that outfit.

"Sorry, I didn't realize…"

Instantly, her eyes widened, sticking her lips out a bit, and began walking toward Ichigo. He instinctively took a step back but she didn't seem to notice – only staring at him curiously until she finally was close enough to reach out to him…

And pinched his cheek.

"I was kidding! Cute name, by the way. Berry-tan? I'm Mashiro!"

Just as Ichigo opened his mouth to answer and correct her in the meaning of his name, another girl with the same height as the first caught up to her friend. This one had dirty blond hair and wore a white collared shirt, and white gloves. A black-haired girl followed behind her, wearing a bun held up by a piece of cloth and a black knee-length skirt below a white V-neck. The blonde spoke.

"Mashi-chan, don't go running off like that on your own!" She looked up, spotting Ichigo. "Oh… You're the strawberry! I heard from Momo-chan. Are you a freshman? I haven't seen you around. Kiyone Kotetsu, by the way. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, which Ichigo shook. "This is Mashiro Kuna" – a huff – "and this is Momo Hinamori" – a smile – "and we're all juniors. Sorry if Mashiro bothered you… she's just really… friendly, I guess."

"Wasn't bothering him. Right, Berry-tan!" Mashiro interjected, naturally linking arms with Ichigo. He nearly yanked his arm away from her, but caught himself before he made a scene.

"It's Ichigo. Kurosaki."

"When's your last class end, Berry-tan?"

"…" Sheesh. I give up. "One-ish…"

"Great!" Kiyone said suddenly, earning a glare from Mashiro. It seemed she had taken her friend's line. "There's a party down at a friend's house tonight. You should come!"

"Actually…" Ichigo had just been about to reject the offer when Mashiro interrupted. Man, she was good at doing that.

"Yay! Okay, then we'll pick Berry-tan up at five!"

Ichigo was left standing alone, the three girls having sped away after Ichigo told them which room number he had. Maybe he shouldn't have told them. He was dazed for a brief moment before getting himself together, readjusting the backpack on his shoulder, and striding off toward the dining hall. Now the only problem was whether he was going the right way. Perhaps he would be able to find the right building before his hour-long break ended.

G.J. – 9/1 Mon. - 9:33 am

"Shit," Grimmjow muttered as he rushed out of bed, still wearing the clothes he wore the night before. His watch read 9:33 – late for his first class.

He didn't even brush his teeth – only wiped them a few times with water and fingers – before snatching his bag and dashing out of the dormitory. He couldn't even gel his hair up properly, hence leaving it a huge mess. He ran all the way to what he thought was the right building, realized it was actually where his second class took place, and had to race all the way back to the right one. By the time he stood in front of Graces 302, it was 9:42 and he was panting heavily with his hands on his thighs. Once he regained a little more of his composure, he turned the doorknob and entered.

Instinctively, Grimmjow scanned the rows of chairs… well, more like, he scanned the heads of the people sitting on them. Brown. Brown. Super dark. Is that called black? Hazel. Chestnut. Brown. Oh, hey, slightly lighter brown. Very dark. Even darker. Neon orange. Dark brown. Black…

Wait.

Cyan eyes snapped toward the neon orange tufts of hair. Man, that's bright. He squinted to see better (for he had forgotten his contacts in the chaos of his morning schedule), and yes, the guy's eyebrows were the same bright shade of orange. It seemed that, in this class, he and the carrot-top were the only ones with eccentric hair color.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?"

Oh, the professor. Her hair was a dark violet. But not very bright. So that didn't count. He nodded.

He didn't pay attention throughout class – just doodled and stared at the orange head in front of him. Ichigo Kurosaki, the professor had said? It didn't seem like that guy was paying much attention either since all he really did was draw something on his notebook or stare off into space when he lost inspiration.

Okay, next class: Calculus. It was terribly boring, and he could tell already how impossibly difficult it would be to stay awake enough to actually listen in class throughout the following year or two. All the people in this class had dark hair, except for one blonde and he could tell she had dyed it just by looking at her dark eyebrows. Grimmjow was the only one with vibrant hair color. It reminded him of the time back when he was younger – much younger – when he attended schools in which kids didn't have hair color as bright as his own. He was picked on a lot for that – he remembered. Well, at least he could fight now, thanks to that.

Much too lazy to reach back and put his backpack on properly so that both straps securely rested on his shoulders. He noticed a busty girl with sea green hair approaching and waving, and watched her and nodded as she walked close enough to be heard.

"Don't forget about the party tonight, okay? And dress up, Grimmy!"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. And don't call me that. Please." She laughed.

Nelliel was his older sister – a senior this year. She was bubbly and friendly: the complete opposite of Grimmjow. She had had seven boyfriends just the year before (according to what he had heard), when he had only been in his freshman year, and much, much more in the not-so-distant past. She was the type to easily fall in and out of love; well, Grimmjow was too – perhaps it sort of ran in the family. As far as he knew, however, she wasn't with anybody right now.

"Then I'll pick Grimmy up at, um… eight, maybe? No, actually, I told Ran-chan I'd help prepare, so I'll pick you up at around seven-thirty in front of Clarken, yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." Grimmjow nodded, giving Nel an acknowledging glance when she waved goodbye before walking off himself. He stopped by his room to drop off his things and wash up a little, then changed into work clothes, which really just meant a combination of black – a black button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans, complete with a plain black belt. Yanking on his sneakers, he headed out again, only his phone and wallet stuffed in the back pockets of his jeans. Grimmjow saw the orange-haired kid on the way – the one from his first class. The guy was staring at his phone, thumbs dancing over the screen in lightning speed as he walked, but he never bumped into anything. Man, Grimmjow wished he could multitask like that.

He strolled along the sidewalk, hands in pockets, like he always did on the way to work. Except today, he was taking a different path since it was his first time going to work from school. It was closer this way, and he arrived six minutes earlier than usual. The familiar restaurant crawled into sight, next to a Crazy Shirts shop and a Menchies'. Dangai looked small from the front; it looked the same size as the two shops on either side of it, but it stretched out inside, all the way back. The whole place added up to roughly eighteen hundred square feet, complete with a kitchen, a bar, eighteen tables, and restrooms (slightly crowded, maybe, but good enough for the customers). Dangai was popular, to say the least. College kids and residential people stopped by all throughout the day for a meal, or even just dessert. The place had great dessert – cakes and crepes and tarts and meringues and puddings, it had everything.

Grimmjow entered through the back door, like he would on any typical day, and checked in before going out to the floor.

"Oh, you're early today, Jaegerjaquez-san," Izuru Kira greeted with a surprised look, then a smile as he glanced up from where he was chatting with Shuuhei Hisagi and Isane Kotetsu. His blond hair fell over his left eye as usual, and his shirt was buttoned up all the way. Hisagi was a cook, the only one other than the boss herself. Yasutora Sado, a huge Mexican guy who worked part-time some days, also cooked, but it seemed he wasn't here today. They were all speaking while working, relaxed because there weren't too many customers at the moment.

"Only by ten minutes." He had told the blonde to just call him Grimmjow countless times, but Kira always managed to slip back to Jaegerjaquez-san. He didn't even bother anymore. Well, maybe it was fair since he called the blonde by his surname as well, but at least he didn't add the –san. "That short guy… Tarou? Hanako? Anyhow, he left already?"

"It's Ha-na-ta-ro," Kira said with clear enunciation. "Please at least memorize the names of those you work with. Well, apparently Yamada-san was a little busy today and had to run over for something. I'm not sure what, though. Oh, by the way, Unagiya-san said there was a newbie coming in. Have you heard?"

"For real?"

"Yeah," Hisagi answered this time. He was a pretty cool guy, with spiky black hair and a "69" tattoo on his right cheek, and the only one Kira actually called by his first name. Apparently, they'd known each other for ages now. "Working Mondays through Fridays, and same time range as yours, Jaegerjaquez. Except he's starting from tomorrow, so he won't be coming today."

"Eh? What's his name?"

"Umm… I remember it being an interesting name… I thought it was a girl at first, until Unagiya-san told me it was actually a guy." Kotetsu rubbed the top of her nose, but not before glancing at the other two to see if they remembered. She was a tall girl – slightly taller than even Grimmjow.

A cute, girly name… He knew one. "Was it Ichigo?"

"Oh, yeah! It was. How'd you know?" Kotetsu inquired after a small clap of recollection.

"Never mind that. He's working here form tomorrow onward?"

"Yep. From four to ten. Dinner shift. Same as you."

"Mm… Well, I needa leave a little early today; my sister's friend needs help with something… or something. Would you tell the boss that I'll work extra sometime next week? I'm leavin' at seven-ish."

"Unagiya-san was kind of upset the last time you ran off early… she threatened to fire you, remember?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, leaning on the wall once she finished wiping a table. Grimmjow only shrugged in reply. True, the boss could be real scary, but she never really fired anyone.

A quiet beeping resounded from Kira, and he glanced down at his watch to shut the alarm off.

"Gotta run," he muttered. "I need to stop by the hospital…"

"Everyone's leaving early today. See, Kira's skipping the dinner shift. Jeez." Kotetsu laughed a little, returning the rag to where all the others were kept. "How's your sister, by the way? Will she be discharged anytime soon?" she asked, speaking of Kira's family that had just recently gotten into a car accident. It had been a pretty big deal, actually.

Kira shook his head. "She's still got a week or two to go. Mother is already out, but it seems Izumi isn't ready yet. Just recovered from her concussion, actually."

"Poor kid. At least we all know she's alive, yeah?" Kotetsu said hopefully, and Kira nodded with a smile.

"Yeah… Well, see you tomorrow, everyone," Kira said as he took off his apron. Grimmjow never wore his; he didn't see the point since he didn't even cook.

Almost as soon as Kira left, knuckles shot into the back of Grimmjow's head. Wow, that actually really hurt.

"Moron, are you kidding me? You're leaving early again?"

He whipped around, confirming his fleeting suspicions that it was in fact his boss who had hit him. She wore contacts today, her raven bangs falling to the left of her face instead of all over her eyes. Rubbing his sore head, Grimmjow straightened up.

"Sorry, sorry, Ikumi-san," he smoothly managed an apology. "Nel needs help again… I promise I'll make up to it sometime this week or next, yeah?"

The owner of the little restaurant rolled her eyes and bonked Grimmjow's head once more just for good measure. "Fine. Arrange a day this week. But you definitely stay full-time all through next week, and the next. Got it?"

"Oh, Unagiya-san," Kotetsu spoke up, glancing at Grimmjow with a soft giggle. "Jaegerjaquez knows the newbie, he says. He goes to the college here, did you know?"

"Ah. Then why don't you help him out through the week, Grimmjow? It'll help you make up for the times you missed last week and today. Yeah?" The boss snatched her apron, putting it over her head and tying it around her waist. Food stains decorated the front from all the years she cooked. This one was one of the older ones, since the woman never threw away any of her aprons.

"Does that mean I don't have to work extra anytime soon?"

"Dream big, boy. No way in hell you're getting away with missing so much of your shifts. You do what I tell you because I tell you to, yeah?"

"…Yeah."

I'm going to see the reaction to this first chapter… and then maybe I'll decide what to do with it. Hope you enjoyed, though.

By the way, would anyone beta possible future chapters? That would be fabulous. And do you like the longer-chapters-less-frequent-updates policy (4-5k words) or the shorter-chapters-more-frequent-updates policy (2-3k)?

Thank you, minna!

[ Jou ]