A/N: Hi guys, and welcome to Vocal Points! I'm in a bit of a writing mood, and hopefully I can make this into a chapter story. My goal is ten chapters with a minimum of 2,000 words a chapter. This is mostly because I don't have a chapter story up. I did, but I took it down because I had no intentions of finishing it, and I hate leaving up stories that aren't going to be finished. I say hate a lot, don't I? Oh well, shit happens then you die. I am going back to my whole "love and relationship" plots now. Cyberdreds and Fishnets was an adventure to me, one that I hope I do not have to make again soon. I had fun with it, but I don't think I achieved anything with it. Here comes the [H] word again: I hate not having a meaning behind a story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Bleach, written by Tite Kubo. Rated M for a reason. There are no sexual scenes now, and I will mention a scene at the beginning of a chapter. If under 18, please stay away. It's only a warning because the parental units have their ways of finding this shit out. Also, this is meant to be a Yaoi, not Shonen-ai. The difference being that one contains sex between men, and the other is just fluffy stuff.

…

My dream had always been to be a singer, to go on stage and sing my heart out with words that meant something. I had records of all kinds, my wall was covered with paper with song lyrics, and my violin sat in its case, clean and pristine. However…I can't speak. I lost the ability to do so with an infection as a young child. My mother and father were devastated, knowing that it was the only thing I had wanted.

Truthfully, I still want it.

The doctors say that I can get my voice back, surgery is the only way. They also say that I only have a twenty percent chance. One more thing, the doctor said, I wouldn't be able to sing. For twenty years, I've had this hanging over my head. Medicine has come a long way since then, but my chances have only increased five percent in that time.

I've stopped crying in that time, I've come to terms with it. I'm 25 years old, and instead of singing, I play violin. The sharp shrill and the low keening of the instrument remind me of a sad cry, one that I wish I could produce from my own mouth. I stand in the market place during shopping hours and play my sad music, closing my eyes and just feeling the notes leave my body. This is my voice now, this is how I feel.

…

I watch the man with the violin every day; his bittersweet melody stings my ears and reminds me of dreams vanquished. At times his music is uplifting, and I smile as I work. He has been here in this marketplace for a good five years now, never missing a day we are opened to the masses.

Today is a sad day for him, I can hear his pain and longing in his music. I touch the place where my right arm used to be, the stump tingling with my thoughts. I lost it ten years ago. I had been in a hit-and-run accident as a pedestrian. The driver ran over my arm at the elbow, completely flattening it. The doctors tried to reconstruct it, but it only caused me to lose feeling in my entire arm and contracted an infection which ate away at the muscles.

The doctors had to amputate my arm before the infection spread any further. How do you tell someone who just passed their piloting test and was hired by a big airline that they will never be able to fly a plane, a dream they were just about to complete?

I'm 34 years old, and I sell textiles and accessories with my cousin and her husband in the market place. I live with them as well, along with their young children. I'm 'Uncle Grimmy,' and I love every second of my life. I have my regrets, who doesn't?

…

"Grimmy! Can you take care of this customer so that I can get more stuff from the truck? Nnoitra is being lazy again," Neliel Tu Odelschwanck-Gilga shouted back to me, as I was sorting out boxes and setting up the back of the stall. Neliel would never let me carry a box, still trying to take care of me. I hated that, but she could be crazy scary when things didn't go her way. I made my way to the front of the stall, and spotted the man with the violin. His head was covered with a scarf and it wrapped around his neck as well. However a piece of orange bang stuck out against his forehead.

"Go ahead, Neliel, I've got it now. Tell your husband I'll kick his ass if he doesn't get to work," I said to the sea foam green haired woman, taking over the cash register up front.

She leaned over onto my shoulder and whispered into my ear, "Don't lose your patience. He's mute."

I looked to my cousin as she walked away, a bit dumbstruck. The man coughed, catching my attention, and pointed to the scarf around him. I realized it was one of the few that I had knitted on my specialized knitting board. It was orange and red fuzzy yarn with fringed edges and beads knotted on the ends. It was something the kids, Guatiche and Bristanne, helped pick out. The boys said the red was for passion and the orange reminded them of the violinist where mama and Uncle Grimmy worked. I didn't actually expect the one it was made in honor of to actually buy the piece.

"I'll give ya a discount because the boys like yer music," I started only to receive a scowl from the man, "What? They like it so much they made me make that scarf in yer honor. Five dollars and sixteen cents is the total."

The oranget dropped the scowl and blushed, fingering an edge. He handed me a ten and I gave him four dollars and eighty-four cents as his change. Our hands brushed, and his face became violently red.

…

That blasted blue haired menace was watching me the entire day. I could feel his gaze on me even when my eyes were closed. I could safely say he was attractive, that maybe he would be a good fuck, and I realized how brash I was being. I liked guys, yeah, but I wasn't emotionally stable enough to even think about interacting outside of family and close friends.

His name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he was Neliel's cousin. I knew Neliel from our mutual friend, Orihime Inuoe. It was Orihime who suggested I do street preforming at this market place near Neliel's stall. That woman said that her friend would enjoy the music, and it would attract more customers.

I had always admired their merchandise, from afar of course. I didn't know how to handle making an exchange without saying something. I clearly couldn't speak.

I wore the scarf, it kept me warm on this early March day, and my music filled the market fully. It was a happier tune, showing how much I appreciated the piece around my head. When I had turned to look back at the stall, Grimmjow was again watching. I liked that gaze.

The blue haired man looked away, having been caught looking at me, and I think I spotted a bit of red on his cheeks.

It was late in the day, and the temperature was dropping quickly. The days were still short, and a light snow was beginning to fall. I replaced my violin in its case, snapping the silver clamps after gently setting the instrument down. Glancing at my wrist watch, the time read 5:56 pm. I had to get home to Yuzu and Karin, my little sisters. They were in high school now, close to graduation come May. I had never had a conversation with them, I never got to sing them a lullaby, and I never got to whisper words of praise for all they have done. I was six when they were born, and I was so happy to be a big brother. My mother let me hold them a few times, even showed me how to help feed them.

They were three when our mother died. I was just learning how to play the violin at that time, since my mother also played. This violin isn't just my voice, but also a connection to my mother. Goodness, I sound like such a Gary-Stu.

…

"Nel, what's that kid's name," I asked, noticing he was getting ready to leave like we were. Most of the customers were long gone, the snow having driven them out. That boy was looking a bit too sad now, not something I should have cared about. He was a stranger to me.

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki-san. You know Orihime-chan, right? Well, I met him through her," Nel explained to me. I liked that name. Ichigo. I let it roll around my head a few times before answering Nel.

"Strawberry, eh? Matches him pretty well. Neliel," I stopped for a moment to reconsider what I was about to ask my cousin, and decided I wasn't one to actually have restraint, "Could you introduce me to Ichigo?"

My cousin stood up straight, holding a box she had been packing in her arms. She looked at me with a knowing look on her face. I'd only seen this look a few other times when Nel thought, or rather did know, when I was attracted to someone. "I can, but you have to be nice to him. I know how you get aggressive and flirty with people. Ichigo-san is a strong person, but I don't want you two fighting."

A feral grin took over my face, one that would make the boys shit their pants. With a snap of her wrist, the woman slapped my cheek and successfully got the grin off my face.

"Damn Nel, no need to get feisty with Grimmjow," Nnoitra sidled up to stand beside his wife and took the box from her. The long-haired bastard had a perverted leer directed at Nel, and leant over to kiss her, "You should introduce the kitty to Ichigo, maybe then we could have the house to ourselves for a night."

Neliel blushed, kissing the man back and then turned to me. She brushed past me, knocking my stub against her shoulder. Oddly it hurt. I hissed at Nel, and turned to follow her to the man packing up his instrument.

"Ichigo-san! Wait please," my cousin shouted as she exited the booth and skipped towards the oranget. I stayed further behind at a safer pace since the ground was slippery and made it to the two before Nel could forget what we wondered over for. "Ichigo-san, this is my cousin, Grimmjow. He wanted to meet you before you went home."

…

I was blushing, I knew I was. He was handsome, and he seemed interested in me. I extended my hand to shake his larger hand. It was slightly rough in mine, and I relished the feel of it. I swallowed thickly as his cerulean eyes bore into mine. Grimmjow's hair was odd, the way it stood up in a sort of fauxhawk. A few strands brushed against his forehead, right between his eyes.

I didn't know if the grin that took over the blunet's face was feral or maniacal. The look on Neliel's face said it all. I was still blushing when I slid my hand out of his and started to walk away.

"Wait, Ichigo-san," Grimmjow's thick voice said, "Would you like to go get some coffee?"