Sheriff Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez sat in the saloon, a wide grin on his face as he watched his favorite dancing boy do his show. He had to support him in his endeavor, after all. He sipped his Budweiser slowly, watching his little dancer do his thing.
After a dangerous looking cart wheel and split, Ichigo bowed, ignoring how the dress he had been challenged to wear for his show flopped over his head. He walked back stage, a grin as wide as the Cheshire cat's adorning his face.
"Rukia, Orihime! Ladies, you're up!" Shinji, the stage manager shouted, watching as both his favorite females raced on stage, giggling at Ichigo as they passed.
"Boss, you don' mind if I keep the dress on, d'ya?" Ichigo questioned, running a brush through his ruffled hair.
"Not at all, just bring it back when yer done and make sure ta keep it clean, Ichigo." Shinji said without looking away from the two women on stage.
Ichigo nodded, racing off stage still dressed in the borrowed outfit, taking his seat in the Sheriff's lap. "Hey, Sheriff. How'd ya like my show?"
"Ya know I loved it, but I'm all balled up as to why you're wearing a can can dress instead a the usual uniform I got ya."
"Rukia wanted me to dress like this, Sir. That girl is always barkin' at a knot backstage."
Grimmjow nodded, sipping his beer again. "Bend an elbow with me, why don't cha? Ya got some time to spare, yeah?"
"Can't stay for long, Sheriff. I gotta return this to the stage manager in good condition or he'll have my head."
Grimmjow scowled, a pout slowly forming on his face. "Blame him, then. That box herder of yers is a bad fellow, I tell ya."
Ichigo pecked him on the lips, drawing a smirk to his lovers face. "Don't worry about it, Grimmjow. But you catch that weasel Aizen yet?"
"Not yet, but I sent some of my men out along the dusty trail to look for him. Now, how's about you get yerself changed and I take ya out for some fixins', yeah?"
"Don't get your dander up, Sir, because I may just have to say I'm not one for dilly-dally."
"Then you had better make sure ta come outta tha' dressing room lookin' like an officer of the law, ya Greenhorn."
"Hey! I ain't no greenhorn, ya yellow bellied snake!"
Grimmjow growled as Ichigo went backstage to get changed, his eyes going wide at the sounds of gunfire and women's screams outside. "What in the blazes...?" He uttered, racing outside to see what was going on.
"Where is yer sheriff?! Y'all tell me where he is er heads are gonna roll!" Speak of the devil, there he was, the disgusting bastard.
"AIZEN! Ya blue belly! I thought I told ya ta stay outta Karakura, ya slink?"
Aizen, with his grossly curled mustache and a posse of men and women behind him smirked.
"You sold your saddle the moment you-"
"Stall your mug, Jeagerjaquez."
"Nevah. Not while I'm the sheriff of this town, Aizen."
Ichigo adjusted his vest, dressed to impress in his normal outfit. Where the dash was Grimmjow...?
"Grimmjow! Where the devil are you?!" Ichigo stepped out of the saloon, finding Grimmjow's hat among the growing rustle of townsfolk. He fought his way through the mob to stand beside his man, scowling deeply.
"Ichigo! What the blazes you doing here, you dunderhead?! Are you loco fer bein' out here?!"
"I'm lookin' fer ya, fiddle-footed Sheriff. Jeez, yer fixin' for a high-riding, ain't cha?" Ichigo said, cocking a hip to the side and frowning at Grimmjow. "Ya can' wait ta git me down to the hoosegow 'n-"
"HOBBLE YOUR LIP, ICHIGO! We go' biggah problems tha' us a' the momen'!" The blue haired man was panicking on the inside. What? The look in his eyes said that he was scared. Why would Grimmjow be scared of him?
"Ya hobble ya own lip, ya Great Seizer! How dare ya talk ta me like tha'!"
"What's this, then? Look at that, y'all! The great Sheriff Grimmjow's got himself a missy wit a mouth!" The posse behind the roughneck chuckled and smirked, Aizen grinning a dirty grin as soon as Ichigo came into view. Grimmjow's eyes went wide at Aizen's voice, having forgotten him when Ichigo left the saloon.
"Ya banter's with me, Aizen! Ya leave the townsfolk outta this!"
"And why would I wanna? Ya got yerself some nice calico righ' there 'n I wanna invest in her."
"CALICO!?" Ichigo screamed from beside Rukia, who had taken her spot beside Grimmjow with a few weapons of her own after hearing the commotion from inside. "I ain't no calico! I'll have ya know 'm between hay and grass righ' now!"
"ICHIGO, Ya flannel mouthed dunderhead!" Rukia screeched at him, whacking him in the back of the legs with a willow switch. He howled in pain and cussed the saloon girl out as he held his leg.
"RUKIA!" Ichigo was ready to continue ranting and raving at the raven haired female, but was cut off by a gunshot near his feet.
"Y'all bettah shut up fer Deadeye Aizen." A man with an eye patch snapped after he fired his weapon, Grimmjow's icy eyes settled on the one eyed man, glaring hard as he drew his own pistol.
"Y'all get the heck outta dodge and leave Karakura. We don' want you er ya kind here."
"Bully for y'all." Aizen muttered. "Take hostages 'n let's roll out!" Screams pierced the air and those willing to fight quickly ran back inside once they saw Aizen and his men trample further in.
Grimmjow cursed and dragged Rukia out of the way, as much as he hated the damn Missy. "Stay inside!" He snapped as he shoved her into the stables a few buildings away.
Ichigo stood his ground, the gun Grimmjow managed to drop in hand and held before him even though he didn't know how to shoot. "Get! Ya scum!"
None of them stopped, unfortunately. Grimmjow fumbled for the small six shot pistol he kept on him if he lost his main weapon, shooting one of their horses in the thigh as they stampeded past. "Son of a-" Grimmjow swore, eyes wide as there was a vaguely male scream.
"GRIIIIIIIMMMMJOOOOOOOW!"
With eyes as frightened as a newborn calves, Grimmjow ran on foot after them, watching as Ichigo was swept off his feet by that lanky rider and set behind him.
"NO!"
One of the riders broke off, a female by the looks of it and blocked Grimmjow's path. "If ya wanna see 'im 'live, don' follow." Grimmjow knew who the young rider meant.
If Ichigo were to live to see the light of day, he had to wait until he was sure Aizen would strike to make his move in rescuing his boy.
"Damn Aizen, damn his band of misfits, 'n damn that snake!" Grimmjow pulled out his cigarette pack, lighting one and slowly puffing away on the stick, then proceeded to pull his Barlow knife from its holster and threw it into one of Aizen's wanted posters, watching as the blade stuck into the wall of the jail and the straight through the snake's ugly mug.
It was a day after the actual invasion and everyone was on edge, including the family that belonged to his young lover. Poor Doctor Isshin came to him more than once asking him if anything new had come in, but he had nothing other than false leads being thrown around by those damn lackeys of Aizen! He'd give them all the California Collar when he had the damn chance...
"Sheriff?"
"WHAT!?" His rage was strong and it showed as poor Di Roy Rinker reeled back and stepped out of his office.
"Ahhh... Letter was jus' sent inta town... 's still wit' the postmaster 'n 's addressed ta ya."
Grimmjow yanked that knife from the wall and passed Di Roy, hat in hand and boots clunking loudly on the floor. "Round up a group 'n fast, Di Roy. We got us an outlaw ta catch."
Di Roy nodded and ran off, planning on rounding up several people, including the little spit fire that was Ichigo's sister, Karin. That girl could throw a punch...
Grimmjow made it to the post building, entering loudly and marching to the front desk. "Letter fer me?"
"Ya. I'll get it, Sheriff." Ishida, the postmaster said, finding the envelope.
"Left it the way it came, Sir. Already opened 'n kept it outta the hands of the others, as requested."
"Good." He set a handful of coins on the counter and took the letter, pulling out a thin sheet of paper and reading the message.
'Sheriff Jaegerjaquez
If ya evah wanna see ya calico alive again, bring a thousand dollars ta them old railroad tracks by th' outskirts of town-'
Here, Grimmjow stopped reading and cussed up a storm, snarling and growling in rage. "I ain't payin' 'em tha' much!"
A few passing mothers were glaring at him and covered their children's ears.
Oops. Looks like he had to deal with that once the young Kurosaki boy was rescued. Hopefully, Ichigo could help settle this whole thing with the towns women. They all like him, after all!
'-bring a thousand dollars ta them old railroad tracks by th' outskirts of town, 'n tha' horse a yers.'
Blue eyes narrowed in a glare. "Like hell they gettin' my Pantera." Grimmjow left the building and headed into the stables next, saddling up his beautiful mare.
"Girl, we gonna save Ichigo."
The horse blinked at him and neighed in response, allowing her rider to hop up as Karin came in, dressed in her brother's to small clothing. Ichigo was proud of her, oddly, even though her place should be in the kitchen with her sister. "'m comin' witcha."
"Like hell ya are. Go back home 'n be a good little missy, yah? This is the work fer the big boys, sweetheart." Grimmjow rode his steed into the town, all eyes on him as he moved. He only stopped once and that was before doctor Kurosaki.
"Tha' scum Aizen sent a ransome note, Sir."
"For how much? I'll try to help cover it..."
"Don' worry 'bout it. 'm goin' wit my men 'n we're rescuing yer boy."
"But Sheriff-!"
"No more. Aizen will be done in fer tanight. He'll be given a Collar 'n hang there 'til he's bones. Y'all can rest peacefully tanight." Di Roy came over on his own horse, a filly from Pantera when she was bred with a black sire by the name of Zangetsu.
"Sheriff, I got us a posse. Ya ready ta ride out?"
"Di, ya 'n the others can come, but ya gotta stay a fair distance. Aizen will be wantin' me 'lone fer this. 'n he gave a ransom ta us." He handed the paper to the pale blond haired male, who read it and passed it to the other members of their group.
"Thousand's pretty steep, Sir." Yylfordt Granz pointed out, running a hand through his hair.
"I agree." Another, Shawlong, murmured.
"Then git about a third of it from my account. We ain't troubling the townsfolk with this."
"On it, Sheriff." Di Roy said, going to the Wells-Fargo. Grimmjow rooted through his war bags and found a little extra in them, Ichigo always making sure he was prepared for long trips.
"Sheriff Jaegerjaquez, we have the rest of the money." Shawlong said once he and Di Roy returned.
"Good. Let's ride out, men and save that winsome boy."
"Ya know Grimmjow won' let ya git away with this, ya snake." Ichigo said, completely at ease physically compared to his internal mental panicking. He swallowed thickly and winced as Aizen tied the rope tighter around his figure.
"Ya 'Great Seizer' ain't comin' lil' calico. Ya town 'n ya are gonna end up as part of mah empire 'n I'll make ya mine."
"Ya tyin' me ta some rail tracks, ya know. Sorta hard ta make me "yers" if 'm gonna be used as bait."
Aizen just glared at him and twirled his mustache. He'd get that damn Seizer, that town, and the oil it was sitting on top of no matter what!
Grimmjow and his boys sat off out of view of Aizen, who was alone at the rail road.
"Wha's tha' bilk doin'?"
"Sir, your boy is there on the tracks. And a rattler's gonna be rolling up, soon." Shawlong muttered, meaning a freight train was coming into the station near by. Grimmjow knew what that meant as well.
"Shaw, you 'n the boys head down ta the flats past the tracks, I'll meet y'all down there with the kid, got it?" There was a chorus of 'Yes, sirs,' then the party was out, headed to the flats for a long wait.
"So, wha' made ya take up a life of crime, anyway?" Ichigo asked, Aizen scanning the area behind them as if expecting Grimmjow and a posse to be riding up that way.
"None ya..." Aizen snapped, not in the mood. "Ya soiled dove." He added as an afterthought, Ichigo being rubbed the wrong way by all the insults. "So ya just put a-"
"AIZEN!"
"SHERIFF!" The Kurosaki boy shouted, tracks rattling slowly under him. A train was on it's way and it wasn't going to be pretty if the sheriff didn't do anything soon!
"'s the Great Seizer! At last, welcome!"
Grimmjow threw something to the ground, a cloud of dirt and dust rising up as Aizen walked over to check the thrown object. "You gonna let the kid go?"
The brown haired male gave Grimmjow a look, one that the blue haired man didn't really like.
"Not 'til that rattler's past." Then, the brown haired villain grabbed the satchel the Sheriff tossed on the ground and ran like a coward to a waiting member of his rag-tag group.
"AIZEN!"
"SHERIFF!" Ichigo screamed over the sound of a train drawing closer, Aizen gone with the lanky rider.
Blue eyes went wide and then a horse was spurred into action, hooves thumping along the ground and a sense of urgency flowing in the air around horse and rider, Grimmjow racing towards the tracks.
The train continued on its way, engineer unaware of the near desperate attempt at life saving going on during his route.
That dangerous metal contraption inched closer along the metal and wood tracks, Ichigo wiggling furiously as Grimmjow started to move. Time was running short, that train getting closer by the second with each lope and gallop.
Just a little further...
Grimmjow leaned to the left, hat flying off as he reached towards the rope binding his lover together, racing against the clock. He had to make it!
A few more seconds and then...
There was a scream, then a whinny, a choked sob and soft curse.
"My hat got ruined." Grimmjow grunted, watching the train roll over it, Ichigo safe behind him and trying to calm down after the most frightening event in his entire life. Pantera was fast, yes, but not fast enough against a speeding train, but luckily, rider and steed weren't very far from the tracks to make the running leap it required to save Ichigo and beat the freight locomotive.
"Sheriff... C'n ya untie me already?" The orange haired male got out, Grimmjow finally remembering who was with him after lamenting the loss of his hat.
"Ya got it." And Ichigo was freed after a several minutes of cutting with his knife, the young man hugging his rescuer tightly.
"Thanks, ya Great Seizer." Grimmjow smirked, returning the hug and looking down at Ichigo, kissing him quickly.
"Ya owe me a new hat, ya hear?"
"I hear ya, Sheriff."
"Good." There was silence then a loud shout from behind them, making both males jump.
"Sheriff! The snake got away!" Di Roy said, finally halting his horse with a tug to the reins as he drew up to his idol.
"I know, Di." He grunted, pissed at himself for letting the bastard get away, but also proud he saved his calico.
"Sir, shall we hit the trail?" Shawlong asked, his horse's hooves stamping the ground down out of anxiousness.
"Le's get home." The blue haired sheriff said, lightly tapping his heels against the mare's sides, spurring her into a canter.
"Grimmjow? C'n I spend the nigh' wit ya?" Ichigo asked, tired and drained from the capture and day away from home. Aizen wan't a very nice captor, that's for sure. Making him sleep on a hay pile was disgusting.
"Yah, ya c'n stay wit me tanigh'." Grimmjow answered, feeling Ichigo nuzzle his cheek again his back, settling down to sleep away the time it took to get home.
With Ichigo rescued, the Sheriff vowed to protect him better now that he got him back, slowly urging his Pantera into a trot.
It was a good day for the small town of Karakura, at least. Ichigo was rescued he may have lost a bit of sleep over this, but he was alive and well.
Grimmjow scowled once the thought of Aizen running free came to mind, a thousand of his own cash in the hands of that crook. He'd shove the Aizen Incident away for now, planning on storing it in the back of his file cabinet once they got back.
They continued home, sun setting in a gloriously beautiful burst of light with reds, oranges, and pinks.
It was a perfect ending to the most stressful day.
A/N: This was one of those moments where I wonder: "I'm writing this." And: "Holy god, I wish I had coffee to keep working right now..." since I worked on this whenever I had the chance. And I swear, I'm really proud of myself for all the research I put into this. Dialogue, beer, the Offenbach Can-can music, the bank used most commonly back then. Doesn't hurt Grimmjow would make a sexy cowboy! Oops, lack of coffee here. Anyone else hate all the damn red spell check errors, when clearly, they aren't errors?