Thank you again for all the reviews to Kids of Las Noches! I appreciate the love.

!Warnings!-(and some vague spoilers)

There is a lot going on in this sequel. Characters who were only talked about will be introduced, new people, Aizen and Gin will have appearances, there will be a Yumikaku interlude/flashback, and of course fluff. This is a dark!fluffy!angsty sequel (that will end on a different tone ;p) Please review!

Drug use, sex, suicide talk, self-destruction, dubcon, semi-spousal abuse, past pedophilia, held!captive, fights. etc.

(**)

Enjoy!

(**)format: flashback. happening now. Bleach unfortunately doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 1: Honey

Ichigo spluttered and coughed all over the place as he laughed. This whiskey wasn't agreeing with him, which is most likely why his drinking partner looked highly amused. Ulquiorra put a hand to his mouth, swallowed his shot, and closed his eyes to focus on calming his throat before anything unexpected came out.

"Be careful" Ichigo grinned, pouring himself another shot of whiskey.

"Stop before it gets on my carpet. There have been far too many spills in this room" Ulquiorra said with an inside smirk that the other teen didn't understand. He let out a laugh and let his mind wander to what that statement could mean.

Ichigo liked to see his friend like this, unlike regular days that passed, this Ulquiorra actually had emotions. He could hold a conversation that didn't comprise of staring at his victim, make jokes that had Ichigo rolling on the floor, and he even began to smile occasionally. This was something that Ichigo had never seen before.

"Why do you know that? You and Grimmy been making too much mud-honey lately?" he snickered and put the back of his neck against the headboard. Crying out, Ichigo clutched his shoulder in pain. He did his best impression of a glare but realized how silly it was to attempt when he had been drinking for so long.

Szayelaporro Grantz was officially at a loss for words. That seemed to happen a lot lately, in fact. He closed his eyes and shook his head, pulling his arms around himself as Ylfordt ran to him. He shoved the offending hands away and shrunk into himself. How could anything hurt this bad? It was as if his brother had shot him and his heart burned of fire and brimstone. His soul tore right out of his body, he knew, he could feel it go.

Walking away wasn't easy as Ylfordt did his best to hold him in place, but he didn't want to listen. He was so tired, he just wanted to go lie in bed and sleep forever. He couldn't understand what was going on; neither did he want to, so he didn't. Szayel had known it wasn't smart to stay happy for this long, he had known for months that something bad was going to happen and well, here it was. No one from Las Noches had been spared the pain of heart-break. It had been silly to think he was no exception.

(**)

Ulquiorra was taken back at the sight that welcomed him as he opened his door. "Szayel?" he asked and moved back to let the pink haired teen enter his dorm room. "What happened?"

Szayel let out a shaky breath and promptly broke down the moment the door closed. He turned from passive to a mess in less than a second. His fingers knit in his hair, tears streamed down his face like a waterfall, and he curled into himself. His teeth latched to his knuckles and he shook, keeping the sounds deep inside him.

Ulquiorra opened up his drawer and pulled out a handkerchief before walking over to Szayel and handing it to him. Szayel nodded thanks and put his hand up. "I'm fine" he swore, wiping the tears from his face. A concerned Ulquiorra sat beside his friend and did the best impression of Grimmjow he thought of. He put his arms around the other teen and held him close.

"Szayel" he whispered into his friend's ear. "It's alright" He moved his head as the pink haired teen dug his own into the nook of his neck.

"Ylfordt is- he-" he cried harder. Ulquiorra wouldn't admit it even on his most honest days but he felt a twinge at his heart. He hadn't seen Szayel in this state since..well, for a very long time. He gripped his friend tighter and rocked him as the shakes racked his frame.

"It's okay, we don't have to talk" he said lowly. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that Ulquiorra was no good at comforting someone else. His apathy was a personality trait that had never broken except in grief. These green tears weren't tattooed on his face for no reason after all. Aizen wanted him to remember, and he did.

Ulquiorra remembered how Grimmjow listened to him back in Las Noches. He was always so afraid that what happened to his family would happen to the numbers. Stroking Szayel's hair, Ulquiorra relaxed against the wall beside the door and offered some kind words in trying to calm the escalating cries.

The unintelligible explanation continued but he couldn't make out a word of it. He didn't mind that they were missing their next class or share time. Actually, he was quite surprised that Szayel had wanted to. He didn't think the pink haired teen had ever done something like this before. Ulquiorra made a mental note to kill Ylfordt painfully when he found him, whatever he did to Szayel was bad. He didn't understand, they were so happy. But then again..who didn't seem that way?

"I got off early" Szayel whispered sometime later. Ulquiorra blinked his eyes open and strengthened his grip on his friend. He hadn't even realized that the pink haired teen had stopped until he spoke. Ulquiorra figured he must have dozed off after some time of sitting here. "He was in our bed" he said, choking on his words and beginning to bawl again. "It was a girl! You know what he said to me? He said he wasn't gay, that he only wanted to be with me because he thought he had to. Like I'm nothing-"

"You're not nothing" Ulquiorra interrupted firmly. "Don't say that. Ylfordt is trash, he's a fool for doing this and he will regret it" Ulquiorra looked up as the door to his room opened.

Grimmjow froze as he came across the scene. Szayel looked like hell..something was very wrong here and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Hey" he said lightly and closed the door quietly. Grimmjow dropped his belongings on the ground and sat on the other side of Szayel. It wasn't a secret that Ulquiorra wasn't exactly people-friendly. He even looked uncomfortable holding his best friend in his arms. "Hey" he said again and put his arms around Szayel's waist.

"Did you know?" he asked petulantly and the bluenette looked at him with confusion.

"Did I know what? What's going on? Here, come here" He pulled his pink haired friend into his lap and pressed him to his chest. Ulquiorra, in a rare show of affection, thread his fingers through Szayel's and they relaxed. If there was one thing Grimmjow had taken from the more flamboyant boys of Las Noches it was that warmth was the key.

So often had those long white halls and big rooms felt cold, most of them couldn't stand it. They wanted to be smothered in heat, to feel surrounded, to not feel alone. He knew how to deal with it, but it was a concept that Ulquiorra saw as foreign. Well, at least he was trying. Grimmjow glanced up and noticed that the other bed had yet to be made up yet, which was strange. He wondered just how long the two had been in this room. Ulquiorra was a clean freak, he must not have even got to class.

"Ylfordt- he-" Szayel shifted and pressed his head into the broad chest.

"He slept with a girl" Ulquiorra finished, which enraged Grimmjow in an instant. Ylfordt? With some girl? Who would have made up some cruel joke like that? Ylfordt was a part of this group, he was the one last hope that they would all get back together. Szayel and Ylfordt were never supposed to break up, they couldn't. Was the world going to explode or something? No, he figured, it must have already.

Szayel clenched up and gasped in pain as Grimmjow's grip tightened. The blue haired teen took a deep breath and relaxed his body as the situation sunk in. Ulquiorra's eyes widened; this was comfort to other people? Well, he was glad he wasn't upset very often if that's what people do to each other.

"I'll kill him" he said simply before getting up, he cradled Szayel to his chest and walked over to the bed opposite his own. Dropping Szayel into the bed, he turned toward the door and cracked his knuckles as he walked out. "Don't move, I'll be right back"

"Grimmjow" Szayel tried and sat up in an attempt to follow him but got intercepted. "Stop- you barbarian! You can't just beat up everyone when they piss you off"

"Your right, I can't" Grimmjow said as he continued. Ulquiorra got up sat beside Szayel, watching the heated man leave quietly "I can kill him for making you cry" he stated before the door slammed and the angry man bolted to the room two floors down.

(**)

"I'm in deep shit" Ylfordt said as he paced back and forth in his room. He knew he was going to dig a hole in this carpet if he kept going but he just couldn't stop. Ylfordt had fucked up really bad this time.

"What'd ya do?" Di Roy asked with the tilt of his head to the side.

"I'm fucked" he said with a heavy nod and looked around the room. "I have to get out of here. I'm gonna have to fight everyone!" he exclaimed with worry and fanned himself off. Pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, he closed his eyes and let out a huff. "Damn this gorgeous, flawless frame. This natural beauty is going to be the death of me one day" Di Roy snickered.

"What-? "They both flinched as a loud knocking sounded on the door. His worried expression turned to one of panic.

"Open up!" Grimmjow's angry voice bellowed and he kicked at the only thing standing in between him and the victim. Grimmjow saw red, he was going to walk into that room and rip the place apart, starting with neutering the blonde fool.

Grimmjow growled out and reached for the door knob, with a snort he pushed the thing open and smiled as his prize came into sight.

"Oh, door's open" he lept into the room to hop on the man. Unfortunately for Grimmjow, the man didn't put up much of a fight as he was promptly kicked in the face and sent flying back into the wall behind him. "Fucker!" he roared and braced his hands on the wall as he began to kick his fallen friend with all the strength he had in him.

Di Roy laughed out and watched the spectacular scene with interest. "Hey! I think you got him" Grimmjow looked down and saw that he was right about that. The blue haired teen planted one last kick to his head before turning around and walking out.

"Damnit" he said. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard at first" he continued on with himself and made his way back to his room.

"Trash" the green eyed teen spat and swatted him away as Ichigo reached over and punched at him.

Ichigo had sat on this floor for so long now he couldn't remember why he came in the first place. Lately, they figured out that they could only have fun together. Szayel wouldn't show it but he was depressed, he spent so much time in the science lab that even Ylfordt had a hard time seeing him. Ylfordt and Grimmjow were always in kendo fighting with Zaraki Kempachi so their whereabouts were always a mystery. Then, the last burning of their friendship was when Nnoitra and Shinji disappeared. It was funny how people would forget so easily how horrifying it was for people to just leave them. Both Ichigo and Ulquiorra now spent a majority of their time getting hammered, talking about the old days, and trying to get past their abandonment issues.

Ulquiorra knew Grimmjow was dealing with the divide of the group by getting away from it but it was hard for him. He felt so alone all the time and it seemed that the only person who actually cared was sitting beside him now. Loneliness surrounded them and they realized quickly that the only was to escape it was to see the bottom of the bottle.

"No!" Ulquiorra shouted and kicked Ichigo to fall down on his back. The orange haired teen tried to block the punch to his chest, but he was just too weak. Fortunately for him, Ulquiorra's kryptonite was being a drunken fool.

"Hey" he said dimly and grabbed the smaller teen's wrist. Ichigo pulled Ulquiorra and flipped him on his back, holding his arms beside his head he stated; "No fighting!" with the wag of his finger.

"You trash, you lummox-" he began to insult the man who towered over him but it had no effect as he was stared down at with a sloppy grin. Ichigo's face was so red it mirrored his hair, he had laughed all night. There was one thing Uliquiorra noticed from everyone's departure and it was that Ichigo never laughed anymore if he wasn't drunk.

In those first few months Ichigo and Nnoitra had just disappeared. No one knew what they were up to but they couldn't mention it either. Asking either of them for a pencil would result in a fight, anything past that would surely be death. Ulquiorra was just happy to see his friend lighten up, no matter how drunk he had to be to do it.

"-fool" Ulquiorra continued lightly as Ichigo collapsed on top of him with a laugh.

"I'm drunk" Ichigo stated in a moment of seriousness. He closed his eyes to cuddle into the nook of Ulquiorra's neck. Ichigo wondered how a boy who looked so cold could feel so warm. Even now, he looked composed though he should have looked sloppy after all those shots. The orange haired teen took in a deep breath..ah, and he even smelt wonderful. Memories blossomed in his mind instantaneously as Ichigo connected the scent to a simpler time. He sucked in as much of the beautiful scent as he could. Ulquiorra smelt like honey.

Grimmjow awoke to something cold falling on his chest and he jerked up to sit on the bed. His eyes found four seemingly concerned people. Sighing, he lay back down and wedged himself back under the two head's that were just lying on his chest. Both Ulquiorra and Szayel ignored the men and cuddled back into Grimmjow's embrace.

"Hm" Grimmjow said lazily and seemed to purr as he fell back into a light sleep. Ulquiorra picked up the large wax candle that dropped in the middle of them and threw it on the ground.

"Boys-" Jyuushiro said worriedly and sat Grimmjow's bed beside the three nestling figures. "Let's all get up and talk about this"

"There's nothing to say" Ulquiorra defended and waved his hand.

"It's Ylfordt! You can't just kick the shit out of everyone that pisses you off Grimmjow. What happened to best buddies?" Ichigo said with his arms crossed beside the doorway. Grimmjow laughed and dug his chin into the top of Szayel's head.

"Funny you say that" snorted Grimmjow. Jyuushiro sighed and looked over at Shunsei. He would never admit this but he had begun to believe that these boys were never going to let themselves be helped. Every week it was another fight or an argument. Even Nnoitra and Shinji had left to escape the drama of regular day-to-day life.

"All three of you, up, up, up" Kisuke said, walking over and kicking at the side of the bed roughly. But Grimmjow just moaned out a loud yawn and tightened his grip.

"Jyuushi please" Szayel tried and held on tight to the other two teens in the bed. He didn't want to get up, he didn't want to move. He just wanted to sleep forever and it was irritating that they simply wouldn't allow him that luxury. Had they not known what was going on? Did no one tell them how awful it was for this to happen to him? "Can't we just go to sleep?"

"No" Jyuushiro said sternly.

"Maybe people should stop putting their hands on other people's property and we wouldn't have anything to talk about at all" Grimmjow snarled and opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling.

"This isn't about Ulquiorra" Ichigo said lightly, guilt rising in his chest as he now realized Grimmjow's anger at the situation.

"You don't get to decide what is or isn't" Grimmjow said, rising once again out of the two teens arms and glaring to the other side of the room at his orange haired friend.

"Ichigo" Shunsei growled and grabbed onto his students arm to walk him out of the room. "Ichigo-" he said as he faced the teen. "You're three to one, you really wanna test your luck?" Ichigo laughed and shoved his teacher away playfully. "Get out of here, have a good night with your friends. You really don't need to be involved in this-"

"They are my friends-" he defended with a frown and peaked back into the room where they all were having a heated argument.

"Is it really worth the trouble at this time Ichigo? Perhaps, it's time to get along with your life as they have done with theirs" Ichigo's eyes snapped down and he scowled, he was right. They weren't exactly his best friends anymore. These past couple years had been long and hard.

"OK" he stated simply and dug his hands in his pockets. "I get it"

"Do you? Because it seems to me that every time something happens you seem to pop up out of nowhere-"

"I know"

"You aren't their-"

"Father, yes I know" the teen pushed himself off the wall and made his move to leave but he was stopped by Shunsei's hand on his arm. The lazy man looked at him wearily but Ichigo couldn't stand to look in his eyes. He knew what was coming next, it was like a monotonous plea that they would never stop travelling to his ears. Ichigo wasn't complaining, they knew he needed to get better. Unfortunately for them, he didn't want to.

"Move on, Ichigo. You've been doing this far too long" Ichigo shrugged and walked out.

Ichigo blinked open his tired eyes and looked down at the body beneath his own. It was funny how in all this time he hadn't even bothered to look. Letting out a deep breath, he pushed forward again. Ulquiorra acted as if he wasn't even there. His head had been turned away, eyes closed, his body even seemed closed off. And this had been the whole time. Ichigo briefly wondered what he was doing. In this moment he felt himself instantly sobering as he pressed himself up on his hands and took a look at the body beneath him.

Ulquiorra tilted his head and dreamily looked up in his post orgasmic bliss. He didn't understand, he could feel Ichigo's hardness and the pulse of a man who was close to the edge. Pressing a hand to his friend's face he dare open his eyes and was met with sorrow. The orange head shakily pulled out of his drinking partner and worked to even out his breath.

"I- I'm sorry" The orange haired teen whispered as he looked down and saw green staring up at him. Ulquiorra looked up at the ceiling as Ichigo hurriedly escaped from his arms and began to pull on his clothes at a speed Ulquiorra didn't think he was capable of. That hollow ache at the base of his throat began again and all he wanted to do was die. He wanted to be the way he felt.

"For what?" Ulquiorra's defeated voice hushed out, the clear crack that escaped in his words was inevitable.

There were a million thoughts coursing through Ichigo's mind. He willed his world not to crumble to pieces but nothing could pull him together this time.

"I'm so sorry" he said once more before running out of the door and not turning back.

Ulquiorra sniffled and turned onto his side to curl up into a fetal position. He pulled the covers over himself and the reality of the situation sunk in slowly. It didn't take very long for the tears to start flowing freely.

Ichigo looked down nervously at his hands and wondered how he had come this far. Did he even want to sit here now? Renji was a good guy but he didn't deserve a train wreck like him. Over the past few years they had grown closer but nothing had ever blossomed into an actual relationship. Maybe there really was something wrong with them both.

The orange head pursed his lips and decided that it hadn't been so bad. No..not bad at all.

"Sorry" the red head grumbled and stood from the bed to walk away.

"No!" Ichigo said quickly and grabbed his hand to pull him back. "It was nice" he said quietly. Renji let out a snort and shrugged. After a few moments pause Renji looked over at Ichigo and felt his throat go raw. He knew he had to just say it, then he would go.

"I know it's been hard, strawberry. You know that I'll be there even if we're not-" he gestured between them.

"Yeah..I know" Ichigo smiled. Renji couldn't help but notice how genuine it was, something that he hadn't seen in so long it was actually shocking. Ichigo lifted his hand and thread his fingers through the red hair presented to him. It wasn't often that Renji had his hair out but he loved it, that's probably why he kept it out when they were alone. It was bold and bright, just like he was. "I'm glad you left it long"

Renji laughed. "Are you kidding me? Mr.I like short ha-" The kiss planted on his lips made him gasp with surprise. Pressing lightly into Ichigo's mouth, Renji felt his heart warm as the kiss deepened.

When they separated the air in the room seemed to have changed. Ichigo thought it must have gotten humid in here..all these clothes being in the way was so frustrating. He resumed the kiss and pushed Renji back on the bed with ease. Moving to kiss his cheeks before latching onto the neck presented to him.

"Ichigo- wait-" Renji managed to get out breathlessly, putting his hands on the other teens chest to push him back. Groaning, Ichigo looked down with confusion. "Are you sure? I mean..if you're not ready-"

"Renji" he stopped him. For how fast his heart was beating in his head Ichigo noticed his inability to think straight. But at the moment he didn't care. This was a new chapter in his life and he was finally ready. "Yeah-" He smiled and moaned against the mouth that had firmly attached itself to his lips instantly.

Ichigo let himself be flipped on his back, he placed his hands on Renji's hips and balanced on his elbows to watch the red-head lift his shirt above his head. "That's all I need to hear"

"Ichigo" Jyuushiro said lowly and knocked once more on the door.

"He won't answer" Chad stated worriedly, walking in the room and looking at Shunsei and Jyuushiro. "It's not like him. Even when he falls asleep in the tub, he still answers after a while"

"He's been in this room since yesterday?" Jyuushiro shook his head and looked at his closest friend. "Shunsei, open this door. Something isn't right" Shunsei couldn't find the key fast enough for Chad who ended up kicking it down. "No-" Jyuushiro breathed out shakily.

Sprinting across the bathroom, Jyuushiro ignored the red staining his white robes and lifted his student from the overflowing tub.

"Fuck-" he heard Shunsei swear before the hard pounding of footsteps running from the room.

"Chad- get some towels" Jyuushiro couldn't stop the shaking of his hands as he was handed them in an instant. "Help me- we have to get him out of this water" Jyuushiro ignored the teen's hesitance to reach into the blood stained water and they lifted him to place him on the floor of the bathroom. "His head wasn't in the water was it? Did it-" he took a deep breath. Reaching down, he picked up the unconscious teen's arm and wrapped a towel around it. He pressed an ear to the teens chest and thanked kami that he could hear a heart beat. Sighing in relief, he inspected the other arm before wrapping it up just as he had done before.

Jyuushiro's mind was racing. Where was Shunsei or Retsu? Time was too fast, his body was antsy and wouldn't calm him naturally. But he knew he had to relax or his heart might explode. Jyuushiro pressed his hands into Ichigo's wrists to make sure the bleeding would stop but there was so much. There was blood all over the floor, a towel shoved underneath the door to stop the water from coming out into the room, and..pictures. There was crumpled up pictures littered all over the floor. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Jyuushiro didn't have to guess what those pictures were of.

"Ichigo..you fool" the white haired man looked up and saw Shunsei shaking his head solemnly. Retsu practically dove to the ground and began to patch up the wounds. He was told that an ambulance was on the way.

Jyuushiro wished he had seen it coming. But then again, who wouldn't have expected something like this eventually? He thought he had just been lucky.

"Shit!" the brunette screamed and swerved in the other direction. The cop car was following them at a close distance, nearly on par with his superior escaping skills. This wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to be.

"Speeding!?" his rather coked up passenger merrily laughed, throwing something from the back out of the sky roof. The car following them curved to avoid the object and lost a few meters between them. "Ha! Piggys! Watch em scatter!"

The younger of the two chuckled and in his haze didn't see the wide intersection that they approached. "Oh shit" he said in the last second before pivoting his body, and the wheel, to the left side of the car to make the hard turn. Only narrowly missing the tractor trailer that would certainly have crushed this tiny sports car.

It was like slow motion. The stolen car flipped on its side and went straight for oncoming traffic. He could hear himself screaming as he tried to push the adrenaline out of him from his gut. But thankfully the middle of the road brought them to a screeching halt as the fin on the back of the car got stuck on a sewage drain and slowed them down considerably. They skidded to a stop and he breathed out roughly, clutching his hand to his rapidly beating heart.

Looking up at his passenger, he growled. He had no escape, the car had effectively trapped him as it landed on his side. Blinking, he felt blood running off his head to the road and the blood from his friend dripping down to cover him in it. How ugly, he thought with disdain. Though he did have to commend the cops, they were certainly quick with tracking them down after he had hotwired the car and they took off.

"Ikkaku" he said weakly as he heard police cars surround the vehicle.

"Yeah, Yumichika?" the man said from above him, his voice sounding as if he had just fought fifty men and was ready to pass out. Yumichika was thankful for whatever voice in Ikkaku's head that convinced them both to put on their seatbelts. His mind flashed back to twenty minutes ago when the high-speed chase began. The man had put half his body out the door, pointed at the police, and yelled 'Safety first!' before buckling both of them in. Yumichika knew what song he would be hearing when the bald man realized he had saved both their lives. Lucky!

"Argh" he growled out and pushed his foot on the ignition. "I think the jigs up Bonnie!" he exclaimed like a true Clyde impersonator would. The car began to spin around slowly, the engine roaring in obvious protest.

A moment later, they both broke out into uproarious laughter that didn't stop until they were cuffed to each other locked in a cell.

Please review..they feed the muse and make the writer happy. Thanks for reading. Plenty more to come!

-cole