Title: Cutting Edge Charisma

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, I'm just a fan of it. Just like everyone else.

*Beta: xXKimochiWatariXx: Special thank you to the beta of this story. Thank you so much my friend.

Rating: Pg-13

Author note: (***) lines indicate time skip.

Night Time Watchmen: 00

Lately in the little town of Karakura, the newspapers had reported a sudden string of killings going on in the area. The police reported that eleven people at the age range from twenty to forty-five had all been found with their throats ripped out, violently and it had been speculated that the killer struck at their victims at night.

Even though danger was lurking around at every corner, it didn't stop Ichigo from walking home from his night shift from work. With his hands in his pockets, and a keen ear, the string of murders he had heard about didn't frighten him at all.

His boss had begged him to come into the bar that night to work the night shift, afraid that something bad would happen to Ichigo. But the stubborn boy refused, saying that he really wanted to get home to see his sisters, and yes, believe it or not, his crazy excuse of a dad as well.

Pulling his hands out his pockets, Ichigo pulled his jacket tighter around his body. It was cold that night, and he still had quite a ways to go before he reached his house.

"Jeez, tonight was a slow night." he said to himself as he walked.

A sudden burst of cold wind caused him to speed up the pace. He then tightened his grip on the book bag and decided to run the rest of the way because he didn't want to deal with the hassle of his sisters worrying over him if he caught a cold.

Now only a few blocks from his house, he was about to sprint extra fast when suddenly, he stopped.

Right there, in the dim glow of the porch light, was a stranger. Ichigo eyed the person suspiciously.

"Can I help you with something?" Ichigo asked, mentally kicking into defense mode just in case if the guy tries anything with him.

He looked over at the man, who was strikingly pale. "It's a dangerous time to be out so late, don't you think?" the man asked.

Ichigo's scowl deepened and he tightened his grip on the strap of the bag. "What are you getting at? Stop beating around the bush." The redhead was now getting angry with the intruder. "And get away from my house." He added afterward.

"I'm sorry," The man apologized and gave Ichigo a pleasant smile. "I just wanted to meet my new neighbor, we just moved in across the street, you see."

"It's a little too late for that don't you think?" The adrenaline that had been coursing through the twenty-three-year-old had started to slow its course, leaving only a sense of annoyance and exhaustion behind.

"I met with your sisters earlier but they said you would be home late, so I decided to wait here for you, that's all." He stepped off the young man's porch and walked toward him with his pale hand out. "I'm Ishida Uryuu, it's very nice to meet you."

Ichigo looked at the pale hand that was offered to him to shake. His brought his own hand up…and rudely pushed past Ishida.

"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo." he mumbled as he walked up the path to his house. And without another glance at the lone man on the street, Ichigo went into the welcoming building without another word.

Ishida watched with little sparks of amusement in his eyes as the redhead stomped his way to the house and slammed the door shut. "…It was nice meeting you." He whispered into the wind. "Very nice indeed…" With that said, Ishida Uryuu walked gracefully back to his new house.

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When Ichigo got back home, his family was already asleep just as he expected them to be, though he found it to be somewhat amusing since they even slept through the racket that the door caused on his way in.

Sighing, he took off his shoes at the entrance and threw his bag down onto the hardwood floor. He stretched his arms, working out all the kinks in his body from the long day, and headed towards the kitchen. Peeking into the fridge, he found his dinner all wrapped up neatly in a plate with foil on top. The redhead took the plate out, but saw a little note on top. It read:

Hope you enjoy dinner!

-Yuzu

He looked at the note and smiled; he could always count on Yuzu to make his day better with just a little cheerful note, or a smile, and sometimes, a hug. That's why he loved his little sister so much; she's such a sweet girl.

Don't get him wrong; Ichigo loves all of his family to death. And even if he found it a bit annoying that they constantly get overly worried about everything that went on in his life, he loved them with all his heart nonetheless. He then folded up the note, and put it into his pocket.

Unwrapping the foil, Ichigo placed the plate into the microwave with a paper towel on it and waited for the food to heat up. As he waited, Ichigo thought about that strange boy who was at his door a few moments ago.

Ishida told him he had moved in across the street, but he didn't remember anyone moving in that morning when he left for class.

"They must have moved in the evening then." he concluded, and as soon as he said that, the buzzer went off in the microwave. He took the hot plate out carefully, got a spoon from the kitchen drawer, and went straight up to his bedroom to eat.

Sitting at his desk with his plate on top of the wooden surface, he dug his spoon into the curry and rice and stuck the spoon in his mouth.

'Mmm, Yuzu you're such a good cook! I just don't know what am I gonna do without you.' He thought excitedly as he spooned more food into his mouth. It didn't take him long to finish, and as soon as he did he ran downstairs to wash his plate. Then he got his book bag and ran back up to his room.

Despite it being past twelve o' clock, Ichigo had to get some homework done for a class he had tomorrow afternoon, but exhaustion got the best of him and he mentally promised himself that he will do it as soon as he get up in the morning.

Before he went to bed, Ichigo went to close his binds to his window. But not before taking a peak outside at the house across the street from his. Now, Ichigo wasn't the nosy type of person, he was far from it actually. But he just had to make sure that whatever that kid told him was true, instead of being some sick joke. Plus, he was worried for his family; what if that pale man was dangerous? What if he's a murderer?

Ichigo peered out of his window and was expecting to see lights, but the house was completely dark. 'Maybe they hadn't gotten their electricity on yet' He thought to himself. Feeling a little bolder, Ichigo rested his hands on the windowsill and stretched out a little further out of his window. He stared so hard at the house that he hadn't noticed Uryuu opening and closing the front door. He spotted Ichigo staring out his window at him and waved with a smile on his face.

Ichigo panicked and immediately shut his blinds, his heart pounding a mile a minute at being seen. He vaguely wondered what was that guy doing out so late in the first place, but his body was so tired that he decided that; no, he didn't really care anymore. So he went to bed, letting the sandman take him without much of a fight that night.

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"Morning." Yawned a sleepy red head as he came into the kitchen; still wearing the clothes he had on the night before. It was morning for heaven's sake, and he was too lazy to change.

"IIIICCCCHIIIGOOOO!" Came a loud war cry. And seconds later, a flamboyant man flew in, trying to take out his son with a roundhouse kick to the head.

Ichigo sidestepped the 'Jackie-chan wannabe' with ease, sending the man crashing into the couch with an 'oof!' He rolled his eyes at the unkempt sight that his father was now in. "Old man, you're getting too old for this, give up." He muttered.

"But daddy can't do that!" Cried the man as he scrambled up like a crab. Pointing a thumb dramatically to his chest as pink sparkles appeared in the background, he continued, "Daddy must help his son so that he can make it in a world full of hardships and troubles!"

"Goat-chin, I'm twenty-three for god's sake! I can take care of myself! I still don't know why you insisted on keeping me in this house when I can go to the dorms." Ichigo sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

Isshin pouted. "I thought you wanted to stay because you loved daddy! And plus," at this, he pointed his index finger up into the air, "family must stick together!" With that said, he started twirling like a ballerina from room to room, while singing some unrecognizable song at the top of his lungs. Ichigo snorted at his father's antics, chose to ignore it for his sanity, and made his way to the breakfast table.

But alas! Ichigo was careless enough to turn his back on his father.

"By the way, you were late last night!" His dad suddenly yelled, springing up behind Ichigo and hitting him on the head.

Wincing at the slight throb, Ichigo frowned, rubbed his head and sat down in the chair.

"What was that for? You knew that I had to work late!!" He yelled back, still rubbing his head.

"I don't care." Isshin scoffed in a childish manner. "Your sisters were worried sick about you." He then sat down next to Yuzu and got his chopsticks ready.

"Ichigo, you know there's a murderer on the loose." Karin said as she glanced at Ichigo from her rice bowl, drawling out her sentence.

Chewing on some rice, Ichigo simply shrugged.

"Ichi-nii, don't just shrug! Walking on the streets at night is dangerous nowadays!!" Yuzu complained and puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

"Karin, Yuzu, don't worry about me alright?" said the redhead to his two younger sisters, while patting Yuzu on the head. Ichigo then went to pat Karin on the head, but the black-haired twin growled as her brother's hand came closer. Ichigo chuckled, but patted her on the head anyways.

"Oh, Masaki-your son's becoming a hoodlum, what am I supposed to do?!" Isshin broke out crying at Ichigo's careless shrug and answer. He then ran from the table and knelt down beneath the poster his deceased wife, sobbing hysterically into his pink handkerchief.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo finished his breakfast and put his used utensils and dishes into the sink.

"Hey, what are those new neighbors like?" Ichigo asked, getting another glass of orange juice.

"They're…weird." Karin answered, now chewing on some toast.

"Karin! They're nice! The brother is so handsome, and Uryuu is too!" Yuzu blushed with her hands on her cheeks, looking very much like a fan-girl.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Brother?" He asked.

Yuzu nodded. "Yeah, Uryuu said his name is Byakuya. We didn't get properly introduced to him though, but we did see him!" she continued.

"Oh?" the older sibling commented, a little interested in the discussion now. "Did they say where they were from?"

"That's what makes them so weird." Karin chimed in. Yuzu pouted at Karin's comment, then smiled at Ichigo before she spoke. "They said they were from Iwo Jima."

"What?!" The redhead almost spat out his orange juice. "That place is an old battle ground, why were they living there?"

Yuzu shrugged, and continued to clean the table while Isshin flipped a page of his newspaper as he listened in. 'When did he came back to the table?' Ichigo thought to himself, but decided that he didn't want to know.

But Karin was right, that was a little strange. "I met that Ishida guy last night." He decided to say, finishing his glass of juice.

"How?" Isshin asked, not moving his face from the newspaper.

"He was standing at our doorstep." He replied.

Karin raised an eyebrow. "They're a bunch of weirdoes Ichi-nii, you better watch out for them." The black-haired girl gave Ichigo a knowing look.

"I…uh…kinda gave him the cold shoulder last night too." Ichigo revealed, laughing nervously. "Ichi-nii!!" Yuzu reprimanded.

"I'm going to do some homework now." He quickly cut in, avoiding any more confrontation as he raced to his room.

Ichigo ran upstairs to his room and closed the door. Before he got his books out, Ichigo opened the blinds to his room to let in the bright sunlight. As the rays hit his face, Ichigo felt so warm and comforted; the sun made him feel energized and ready to do anything. After he opened his window, Ichigo peeped at the house across the street, and saw the strangest thing.

The windows were now blocked off by wooden planks. Ichigo scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

He shook his head and turned away from his window, pretending to ignore what he saw. He then went right to doing what he came in his room to do: his homework.

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"Ah…Kurosaki-san, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this paper of yours!" The blond professor complemented Ichigo as he handed the five-page essay to the redhead.

"Thanks, Urahara-sensei." Ichigo took his paper, and with no surprise, he had gotten an 'A+' on it like he always did in his history class. Professor Urahara was his favorite teacher, and it showed in his work.

Time flew in class, and before he could wink, it had ended. Urahara had told them that he would give them an outline of their next paper assignment by next week. After the class let out, Ichigo had sprinted to the local café where he would meet up with his friends to eat lunch. When he got there, he had already spotted them. They were seated at the far end of the place.

"You guys!" he waved, making his way to their usual seat.

"It's about time you got here, jackass." Renji smirked.

"Nice to see you again too." Ichigo retorted sarcastically and sat down at the table.

Chad nodded to him, and Inoue smiled, giving a small wave back before returning to her food.

"How are classes?" Rukia asked, sipping on her vanilla mocha. The four had already ordered their coffee and sandwiches.

"Fine." Ichigo was curt and to the point.

"Yuzu called me and said you have new neighbors!" Orihime said happily.

For the past couple of years, his little sister and Orihime would call each other and exchange recipe ideas. They had been doing it for years.

"I see news gets out fast." Ichigo thought, giving a crooked smile. "They're from Iwo Jima…apparently." He said, crossing his arms. He wasn't very hungry, so he decided against ordering something for lunch.

"Bull shit…" The crimson-haired tattooed man mumbled.

"That's kinda cool!" Rukia exclaimed, and then returned to chugging down her mocha.

"One of them was standing at my doorstep when I got home from work last night." Ichigo added. Everyone raised an eyebrow, even Chad looked up from his long locks.

"What did he look like?" Renji asked, now intrigued with the direction of this conversation.

"Uh…he's really pale, white and he looks like your typical Japanese nerd. Black hair, navy blue eyes, and glasses." Ichigo explained.

"Funny, Yuzu said he was really handsome." Inoue said putting her finger under her chin, remembering what the girl said.

"That's beside the point, he's a real creeper." Ichigo scratched his head.

The five finished talking and then left their separate ways. Renji had said he'll meet him at his job tomorrow evening, something Ichigo whole-heartedly said that he was looking forward to.

Chad had offered to walk Ichigo home, but the stubborn redhead refused. Nighttime had fallen, and the large man was concerned about the other's safety. He had watched the news and knew that there was a killer out there waiting, and that made him paranoid to let any of his friends go home alone.

"Chad, I'll be fine, my house is close." the redhead reassured. "…Alright, but if you need anything, make sure to call." Chad looked down at the young man.

"Okay mother, can I go now?" Ichigo folded his arms, amusing shining in his eyes.

Chad blushed and waved his hand. "…Bye." He then took a few steps back and headed the opposite direction. After waving seeing his brown-haired friend off, Ichigo took a deep breath and walked as swiftly as he could home.

Reaching the familiar and welcoming building, he breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone was making him so nervous to even walk down the street nowadays; it was starting to get to him. Ichigo ruffled his hair slightly with his hand, and then twisted the knob to open the door.

But it was locked. Ichigo frowned; that's strange, they never locked their doors before. Then it dawned on him; ah yes, Yuzu probably locked the door for safety reasons, since there is a murderer on the loose.

The redhead scowled. First his friends are acting extra cautious and jumpy these few days, and now his family is locking the doors and bolting shut the windows. What next?

Ichigo sighed and pounded on the door, not bothering to be polite. Muffled footsteps sounded a few seconds later, and then the door swung open.

"Welcome home, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu chirped, stepping aside to let her brother in.

Ichigo grunted as a sign of greeting, but as soon as he was about to pull off his shoes, a…pie blocked his vision.

The redhead sighed tiredly. "What is it?" he asked, feeling a little annoyed.

" I made this pie for our new neighbors! Can you take this to them?" Yuzu asked, holding the sweet smelling dessert.

"Do I have to? I just got in the house." He moaned, not feeling like talking to the strange, new neighbors.

"Please Ichi-nii!" The little girl pouted. "And plus, you were rude to Uryuu-san yesterday, so you take it over!" With that said, Yuzu plopped the pie onto her brother's hands.

"Fine, fine. I'll go over and give it to them." Ichigo took the pie, dropped his backpack on the floor, and then shut the door.

Ichigo walked to the strange house with a slight slouch. In one hand, the redhead held the pie, while the other hand was tucked into his pant's pocket.

"And here I thought that this day wasn't already long enough." He walked across the street and nervously arrived at the foreign door. He didn't know why, but the stomach butterflies had decided to come out and play today.

Ichigo raised his hand to knock, but lowered it instead. Why was he so nervous? He shook his head, raised his hand again, but before he even had the chance to knock, the door swung open, revealing Ishida Uryuu at the doorway.

"Oh…h-hello." The pale teen looked at him, confusion written all over his face.

Blushing a little in embarrassment, Ichigo held the pie out. "My sister…um…wanted me to give this to you." He mumbled, not making eye contact with Ishida, and then shoved the pie into the pale man's hands.

Ishida looked at the pie, then at Ichigo. "Thank you…very much, Kurosaki-san." He smiled.

"I also came here to…apologize." The twenty-three-year-old paused before saying the word 'apologize'. It felt awkward saying it, since he rarely says sorry to people.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, trying very hard to not look at the other in the eyes.

"It's alright. If I were you I wouldn't warm up to a stranger these days either." Ishida chuckled.

The redhead laughed back nervously, offering a little grin. The two stood there smiling, all awkwardness gone, and then Uryuu walked into the house.

"Please, come in." He said, and stood aside to let Ichigo into the room. "My…brother isn't here right now. He's out."

"Uh…maybe I shouldn't…" The redhead started, looking skeptical and suspicious at once. Uryuu had been right; Ichigo didn't trust people easily.

"Please, I insist." Ishida's voice was cool and calm, almost hypnotizing to the brash man. Suddenly, Ichigo felt as if he was battling a war in his mind, and his face turned tense, his eyebrows furrowed. Ishida seemed to sense that he was hesitant and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I won't bite." He joked.

A few minutes later, Ichigo found himself sitting comfortably on the couch, talking, laughing, and chatting about nonsensical stuff with his new neighbor. He felt strangely calm with the presence of Ishida beside him, and would occasionally blush whenever the pale man made skin contact with him. Whether it's a light brush of fingers or a slight bump on the shoulder, Ichigo would always find his face heating up and his stomach churning. But he didn't think too much of it. After all, it could just be the heating system in the house, or something he ate today that wasn't really cooperating with his tummy.

"What made you move?" Ichigo decided to ask, drinking a glass of water that was given to him.

"The people back where we lived weren't really nice to us." Ishida was now looking at him with intense eyes, which caused the redhead to stir, fidget, and feel a little nervous.

He suddenly wanted to ask about the wooden boards nailed to the windows, but his moral conscience told him to leave it alone. There was a chance that it's a sensitive subject, after all.

"You know…you're quite cute." Ishida commented after awhile, propping his chin up with his hand, leaning on the table.

"Uh…thanks? My sisters said that you are very handsome, …they're actually not wrong in that aspect." Ichigo commented, not really thinking about what he was saying. When his mind finally processed what he just said, Ichigo slapped a hand to his mouth, face turning as red as a beet. He hadn't meant for his thoughts to be spoken out loud.

However, Ishida just laughed and sat back in his seat. The silence returned, but it wasn't awkward. It was rather comforting, and the redhead was relieved that the pale man didn't tease or pursue him about what he had commented about man. The two then flinched at the same time when they heard a rustling noise at the door. The 'brother' had returned.

All of the sudden, the mood in the house changed, and Ichigo didn't think it was possible but the young man sitting next to him got even paler when the door swung open. An elder man glided into the room, and upon shutting the door, looked right at the redheaded boy sitting on his couch in his house.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" Ichigo stood up, his knees slightly shaking. He had to admit; Ishida's 'brother' was a bit intimidating. The man looked stern, had long, jet-black hair with strange white clips as ornaments, and a pale face. But he was taller and his eyes were even more intense than Uryuu's.

"Uhm…t-this is Kurosaki Ichigo, he's the neighbor across the street." Uryuu hesitatingly introduced his new friend to his brother, but pushed Ichigo back and stepped in front of front of him in the process, as if protecting him.

The elder man, who goes by the name Byakuya, frowned. He narrowed his cold, dark eyes and glared at the man behind his brother. "I could care less about that lowly creature. I'm warning you, Ishida, do not ever bring in anybody without my consent. And as for you, stranger," Byakuya said coldly, "get out of my house this instant!"

Ichigo was shocked. Never in his life had he met anyone as rude as this poor excuse of a man in front of him. Well…he would occasionally run into thugs, but they weren't worthy to be called men, they were dirt. Real men don't hide in alleyways and pick on those who are weaker than them.

The redhead snapped out of his thoughts and made a beeline for the door. He was about to make a mad dash but Uryuu gently grabbed his hand before he could. The gesture calmed him down a little, but once he saw the expression on Byakuya face, Ichigo's nervousness returned ten-fold.

"Tell your sister I said thank you." He whispered, smiling as if to say goodbye forever and released his hand.

Ichigo made a slight nod, and without another word, escaped out the door. Running out of the house, a great guilt suddenly came crashing down on him; Ichigo just hoped that Ishida didn't get into trouble with that man because of him. If he did, then Ichigo just hoped that the pale boy wouldn't blame him for it. He didn't mean for that to happen, after all.

When he got home, Ichigo avoided his father's usual routine of kung fu fighting and his sisters' greetings. He went right upstairs and shut the door to his room. Ichigo wordlessly jumped onto his bed and spread himself out on top of the mattress. Turning his head sideways, the curious redhead looked out the bedroom window, and cursed the wooden boards that were nailed on the windows of Ishida's house.

Thinking back to his unfortunate encounter with the hostile neighbor, Ichigo mentally shuddered. His brother was so frightening. He looked like one of those villains that popped out of horror stories…or…a bloodthirsty vampire that longs for raw human flesh and crimson blood. Not to mention, the man got eyes that looked like as if he can kill you right then and there by just looking at you. Ichigo frowned; indeed, this Byakuya person is a scary man.

Yuzu may be right; yes, he was handsome, gorgeous even. But he wouldn't want to be stuck in a house with that type of person on a rainy day; Ichigo would rather kill himself.

A knock at the door made the brash man almost fly out the window. He eyed the door annoyingly, as if telling it to 'shut up', but the knock came again. Ichigo sighed. Karma just wasn't on his side today, he decided.

The knock continued, this time with a voice behind it. It was Karin.

"Ichigo? Did you give Ishida-san that pie Yuzu made?" she asked, and rolled her eyes as Yuzu and Isshin plastered themselves to the door, glass cups to their right ear, trying to detect any commotion in the young man's room.

"Yes, he said thanks." He answered back, closing the blinds to his window and plopped down on his bed. A light scratching noise from beyond the door made its way to Ichigo's ear. The redhead groaned. Will those two ever grow up? But on second thought, Yuzu can be dismissed; she is young after all. But that crazy man however, is not an exception.

"Oi, Yuzu, Goat face. Can you guys stop snooping around?" He accused. Upon hearing their names being called, Yuzu and Isshin both jolted up in surprise and ran downstairs while blushing in mild embarrassment at getting caught. Karin however, had long ago retreated to her room, taking no interest in stalking or eavesdropping on her brother. The stubborn strawberry can take care of himself; he is twenty-three after all.

Soon the house was silent, and Ichigo had got his wish, and he was left alone like he asked.

Tsuara: 'ello bloods, how are ya? This story here has been swimming around in my head for about 3 years, and I've never got around to writing it~ now I have the chance since my other story is nearly done. I'm so excited about it, oh my goodness ladies and gentlemen!!!

Well, until next time, later!