My terrible sleep schedule decided that I have to revisit my first work. Let's see how long I can last without going insane.

If your new to this story, hey. Don't read the original because despite me probably changing the story at some point a lot of it is going to be the same. People who have read the original and actually bother to read v2 be respectful by not spoiling stuff.

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach then I wouldn't have lost the bet that caused me to write this story in the first place. Yeah. Me losing a bet is the story behind me becoming a fanfiction writer. Funny huh?

Chapter 1

It's been eight months since Renji convinced Ichigo to go on this obnoxious abroad program in America and it has been a long five months since it started. Five months since he left his family to spend a semester at a highly ranked school speaking practically nothing, but his second language. He didn't have enough money to travel which was a wash, but he didn't really have much of a desire to do it in the first place.

What he really came here for besides Renji dragging him were the credits that were being offered. The classes he took kept him busy even when he was out of class and he always found himself losing track of time which meant Renji to the rescue.

Get out of bed and meet us for dinner.

The smart phone next to Ichigo dinged displaying the message. Ichigo looked at the time displayed on the screen and groaned. He was working for four hours straight and hasn't even noticed it. He turned his head to his roommate who seemed to have not moved within the entire time Ichigo was working. He didn't know what he was doing on his laptop, but it didn't seem like work.

Yes, he had a roommate. He tried to get Renji as a roommate, but apparently there was some rule about not having people from the same college room together so that new people can meet. Yada, yada, rules and terms that Ichigo didn't bother to read.

Okay, I'll be there in a bit. Ichigo typed back, the phone responding with a whoosh as the message was sent.

He placed the book that was resting on his lap on the table next to him, swinging his feet to the floor and accidentally knocking one of the notebooks he had on his bed on top of his shoes. His roommate raised an eye at him as if noticing that he was there for the first time. "Are you leaving?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get dinner." Ichigo responded picking up the notebook that fell and placing it on top of the textbook.

"Can I borrow the room for a little bit? I'll text you when I'm done." His roommate asked, grabbing his phone next to him, probably already making plans before Ichigo even gave an answer.

"Sure, see you later Grimmjow." Ichigo said grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys before exiting.

It wasn't an odd request. All roommates ask for that kind of stuff when they need the room to themselves. It can be for when a roommate has friends over, or other friends that come over for other reasons then to play Super Smash Bros. Ichigo never bothered to ask since Grimmjow never seemed like the type to have shame…not that anyone should be ashamed of sex.

Often times Ichigo would text him while he was entering the dorm and he would see a girl he has never seen before walking down the stairs as he made his way back to his room. Then when he saw Grimmjow he would have this smug expression, more smug then his usual one, and look like he was at peace.

He knew better then to reject Grimmjow's time alone in the room. He tried before, but he made a joke about how he just wanted to watch and Ichigo knew that he probably wouldn't have minded if he actually did while they did…well, that.

Ichigo left the room and headed out to one of the dining halls on campus, for such a big campus there were only four places to eat. None of the dining options were very great such is living on a college campus. He and his friends did make a habit of visiting one of the more palatable places. He grabbed his burger and made his way to their usual table. It was routine. Same place, same table, same time, same friends. It was great. Comforting.

"Way to be late." Renji joked patting Ichigo's reserved seat right next to him.

Everyone at the table said their greetings as Ichigo settled down with his estimated 583 cheeseburger since entering the campus. Okay, it was an exaggeration, but it was one of the consistent things he could stomach.

"Did you lock yourself in your room again?" Izuru asked. His French accent slightly less obvious then when they first met. Rooming with Shuuhei who is from America must have made his accent fade quicker. The two of them must have been soul mates, best friends meant for each other. They never leave each other's side. If Ichigo didn't know they were straight he would have assumed that they were dating.

"Yup," Ichigo said plainly, biting into his burger. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he sat down.

"You should probably stop doing that." Orihime said, sounding actually genuinely concerned. "Renji has been reminding you to come get dinner for an entire week now."

Ichigo thought back to the large amount of work that has accumulated on his desk back in his room before shoving the thought away.

Everyone at the table except for Ichigo seemed to realize that she had a crush on him. It only made things awkward because the boy sitting right next to her, Uryu had a crush on her. They all knew it even though he was pretty good at hiding it.

"I don't blame him. Biology II can be a pain." Uryu said taking his glasses off, wiping the lenses with a cloth. He was the only one at the table that understood Ichigo's pain. The both of them were aiming to enter med school, the same med school back in Japan. If they take a lot of credits during this program it can help them get a scholarship. Uryu was ahead of him on credits though since he needed to be Mr. Perfect especially in front of Orihime. "I've been there. I would forget to eat too, not realizing the time until all the dining options on campus closed."

"That's why I made a point to get you from your room every day to eat." Orihime said with a big smile. Everyone momentarily had a sympathetic look towards Uryu before quickly hiding it. Everyone at the table was aware of Uryu's crush except for the bubbly, ditsy girl herself. The poor boy lived in the friend zone.

"Can you go back to your story about how you and Uryu met?" Shuuhei said restarting the conversation that started before Ichigo arrived.

"We were pen pals." She complied. The conversations differed every day. It was something to look forward to. Ichigo was someone who mostly kept to himself so Renji took it upon himself to get Ichigo some friends. "Back when I was in elementary school we were assigned a pen pal from a different school that was in a different part of Japan."

Everyone nodded beckoning her to tell more of the story with the exception of Uryu who was looking to his side shyly, or at least shy in Uryu terms; seemingly distracted by another table that was having their own conversation. Ichigo never got used to seeing this side of Uryu since he always acted so stern and cool in complete contrast to the bustling girl that was chattering away.

"Well Uryu was assigned to me and we really hit it off. We eventually exchanged emails so that we could continue messaging each other. Then he told me that he was attending this program and it turned out that I was taking the same one out of sheer coincidence!" She clapped her hands together in delight drawing unnecessary attention to her which only caused Uryu to sink into his chair, slowly losing composure.

"I emailed him the night I arrived and you wouldn't believe how surprised I was." She said leaning forward not doing anything to cover her breasts that were leaving less effort for the imagination. The entire table looked over to Uryu who was avoiding the conversation. It made it hard to not pay attention to Orihime's exposing V-neck. She wasn't that helpful to have around for his reputation of always being the calm and collected one. Orihime had the ability to knock off the balance of his level headedness, or at least make it more difficult to keep himself together.

"This was actually the first time we met in person. Five months ago, I mean. I remember when he told me which dorm he was in and how I hunted down his room to knock on his door. Now look at us, best of friends."

Immediately sympathy swarmed Ichigo's mind again as the word 'friend' sank in. He didn't like to call Uryu a friend since he acted like he had a stick shoved so far up his butt that he could taste it. He was actually here because Renji made friends with Orihime and she dragged him everywhere so that he could socialize and have a normal college life. Welp, that was one thing Ichigo and Uryu had in common. Still, no one deserved that. The friendzone was a dark and deep hole that was hard to climb out of. Seriously, that story belonged in a romance novel, or a shoujo manga, or something. Add a bit more story in it, some more pretty words and it would sell more than Nicholas Sparks. There was even significantly less cancer or any other terminal illness that was shamelessly meant to tug at the readers' heart strings.

In an effort to change the subject Izuru asked Renji how he and Ichigo met. Clearly it wasn't nearly as cute of a story. They were childhood friends. They met in kindergarten, they shared crayons, they walked home together, friendship established. It wasn't nearly as interesting a story as how Rukia joined their group, but she wasn't there and no one knew her besides the two of them so that story remained unsaid.

Ichigo has seen plenty of Renji his entire life yet he was still able to convince him to come along rather than pushing for Rukia to come along. All Renji needed to do to pull Ichigo along was complain that despite going to the same elementary, middle, high school, and eventually college that he doesn't see him enough.

Maybe it was because they picked different majors, Ichigo pursuing medical, while Renji was trying his hand in business, which didn't seem to fit him in Ichigo's opinion, not with Renji's tattoos, weird fashion sense, and of course, his amazing musical talent.

Seriously, despite music being a dangerous profession, music ran through Renji's blood. Any musical instrument Renji picked up he would manage to master even if they were all different from one another. He could never separate himself from it. It was seriously a shame that he wasn't pursuing his dreams. The guy even keeps a pair of drum sticks that was a gift from Rukia in his bag as a good luck charm.

He would drum off walls or tables in impatience if they were planning to meet up and Ichigo was late to arrive at the meeting spot. It managed to get him a lot of noise complaints, but he never seemed to have a problem whipping his guitar out to practice outside. He would even attract a crowd sometimes. He never showed off his skill nor the fact that he had the voice of an angel to anyone on campus.

Izuru fell back into his seat. "At least the two of you can take a bullet train or whatever travel methods Japan uses to get around. Shuuhei is on the other side of the globe for me." Ichigo thought it before, but the two of them would be amazing main characters of a cringey, cliché, fanfiction. Two roommates from different countries paired together by fate or some shit, falling in love, and finding a way to be together despite their obstacles. The only thing that was missing to make it even cringeier is some supernatural element.

"I'm glad Ichigo and I are only walking distances away from each other." Renji said. "Now we can take our unproclaimed love home with us." He said jokingly pecking Ichigo on the cheek.

Ichigo glared at Renji, unamused while everyone at the table laughed. Even Uryu cracked the rare smile. "You're the worst." Ichigo said plainly.

"Should I save it for the bedroom?" Renji asked pushing further.

"Please stop."

"You know I can't stay away from you, Daddy." Renji cooed.

"I'm drawing the line at 'Daddy'" Ichigo said, speaking up so that Renji can hear him over the roar of laughter that only got louder.

"Should we make a safe word?"

"This conversation is over." Ichigo stated.

Ichigo looked at his phone. All of them have long since finished eating. The dining hall was actually closing soon so they had to leave before the staff kicked them out again. Where was Grimmjow's text? As soon as the thought popped into his head the text came.

Done

Thank whoever is up there if there is someone. His mind kept on going back to the Bio II test he was preparing for before dinner. He kept trying to push the thoughts out of his head, but thoughts kept coming back like the same three songs that played on the radio constantly. Seriously, fuck Bio II. Not even in med school and he already wanted to die. Did he have any energy drinks left? Because it was time for an old-fashioned all-nighter.

He waved his goodbyes to his friends as they all walked in separate directions, all of them being from different dorms for the most part. Ichigo and Renji walked together for a while before Renji split off to go to his own dorm that was close to his.

Walk down the path that wasn't paved well, unlock door, walk up three flights because fuck the elevator, walk to room at the far end of the hallway. Routine. Simple. Seriously lovely.

The minute Ichigo swung open the door he was consumed by hot, humid air that sank heavily in the small space. It felt like there was no air getting in or out of the room as if the windows were closed on a particularly hot summer day. It felt like they just finished and she ran out the door. Shit, he really did last a long time didn't he? Ichigo thought to himself trying to adjust to the uncomfortable atmosphere. He expected the room to smell like sweat, but instead it smelled like iron. It took Grimmjow two hours to get things done, but the room still smelled unnatural.

It could be one of two things. She was on her period or there was a homicide. God he hoped it was the first one. Ichigo snuck a glance and realized that the sheets on Grimmjow's bed have been replaced. One point for period.

Rather than his old sheets being tossed into a laundry basket like they should be they were actually hiding in a box off to the side, semi hidden where Ichigo probably wasn't supposed to see it. The sheets that he could see were stained brown like it was oxidizing blood that was still red. One point for homicide.

God he never prayed that it was a random girl's time of the month so hard or that Grimmjow was a bit too aggressive and accidentally broke her hymen. Yeah…denial wasn't working.

Ichigo willed himself to look at Grimmjow who was sitting cross legged on his bed with a tense expression and bulging eyes. His face was sweaty and his baby blue hair was all over the place, even more than usual. He even looked like he was shaking like he was sick or cold. The teal tattoos under his eyes were covering the dark circles that he never noticed before. Despite looking like he came out of the shower his sweaty face, damp hair, scent, and posture told a different story. Okay, that's another point for homicide. Maybe he should consider calling Renji to see if he could sleep over his room, or Izuru and Shuuhei's, or Uryu's …or even Orihime's

Wait, was his roommate undergoing withdrawal or something? He never experienced what it looked like firsthand so he didn't make any claims, even if he did have the textbook image of what withdrawal looked like. Did Grimmjow do drugs? He doesn't seem like the type, but then again he barely knew anything about him nor did he even have a clue on how to approach this situation. Holy crap! What if he took drugs and they drove him to murder?

Ichigo's mind was running. He didn't know what to deal with first, question his roommate's state or ask about the damn bloody sheets and the possibility that something very illegal took place in the room where he was supposed to sleep and study for the night.

As soon as Ichigo moved towards his bed he realized how Grimmjow's eyes followed him as if he couldn't rip them off of him. Grimmjow's blue eyes never seemed as dark as they were when Ichigo walked past him. They even looked like they dilated when he walked a little bit closer to him. It was like how he imagined a panther to act it couldn't find anything to eat in days, but then found a white-tailed deer taking a calm drink by the river completely unaware that he was about to be dinner.

He tried to ignore him, and relax in his bed, but it didn't work with Grimmjow's eyes not moving its focus on him. He tried to convince himself that he was just staring off into space in his general direction, but he knew better. No one looked off into space with that much focus. He really didn't want to make assumptions or get involved in his roommate's business in the least, but this was college after all.

He couldn't stand being stared at though and allowing his mind to continue running. "Grimmjow, are you okay?" He found himself asking, slowly and carefully making sure to keep judgment out of his voice. The more his mind wandered the more he found himself genuinely becoming concerned for his roommate. "You know you have class tomorrow, right? Are you going to be okay? Do you need to talk? Or do you need me to get you any help?" He didn't know what to do or what to ask. All he knew was that he wished that he could have a normal, night where his only stress was preparing for the inevitable, impossible test he will receive first thing in the morning.

"Huh? Yeah, it's just that…never mind" Grimmjow said seeming to cut himself off from his own thoughts. He acted like he was in a daze, but Ichigo knew better and he couldn't help getting more distracted and more curious. He seriously was a bit out of it, but Ichigo was sure that his roommate's focus on him didn't waver. It was almost like he was grasping for reality…or sizing him up. Whatever it was, he couldn't help but feel intimidated by the larger and more muscular roommate whose eyes kept following him.

Ichigo wasn't a stranger to fights and he wasn't sure if Grimmjow was familiar with them, but based on size and muscle difference Ichigo knew that he didn't have the best chance against him nor was he sure if Grimmjow was in the right frame of mind for reason. He needed to get out, but make it look natural just to give Grimmjow some time to clear his mind.

"Right… I'm gonna take a shower and you think about what you were planning to tell me."

Ichigo bounced off the bed and walked a little too forcefully past him to grab his shower stuff so that he could use the communal shower that was shared by the entire floor. He threw his towel over his shoulder and grabbed the door handle. Immediately he pulled his hand away, repulsed. It was sticky, not sticky from sweat or anything natural like that, but it was really gross and sticky. Ichigo hesitantly lifted his hand and turned it over to see that it was stained red.

He didn't know whether that was a point for period or homicide, it was definitely leaning a bit more to homicide though. Wouldn't the girl have enough courtesy to wipe her hands off before handling the door? She already ruined the sheets so wiping more blood on them wouldn't have done much.

All he knew was that it was definitely blood on his hand. Blood that wasn't his own. Blood in a setting where there should be significantly less blood. Staring at the brownish red substance made his tan skin turn ghostly white.

Ichigo turned to his roommate, looking for some kind of explanation that could put his mind at ease for the first time since stepping into the room. Before he was even able to articulate a question his roommate was towering over him and holding Ichigo's wrist in a strong grasp. He led Ichigo's hand in front of his face so that he could examine it. He didn't even hear him get up off his bed and it was a really bad time to realize that this was the most his roommate has ever made physical contact with him.

"Shit." He huffed out slowly. "I thought I did a better job on cleaning."

Yup that was another point for homicide. Definitely another point for homicide. How many points did homicide have now? Too many. Time to get the fuck out.

"Right. Um you know what? I'll skip the shower." Ichigo said trying his best not to stutter. "In fact you seem like you need some extra time alone. I can sleep over at a friend's tonight."

Every instinct in his body told him to get out. That he was unsafe. That Grimmjow shouldn't be able to move so fast. That his eyes were way wilder then his usual smug expression that he always wore.

Before Ichigo even thought to pull his hand away Grimmjow guided his hand to his mouth and licked a long strip across his palm wetting the dry blood. Ichigo's body froze from the warm wet contact that was the last thing he expected. What the fuck?

Actually he didn't mind saying that out loud. "What the fuck?"

Ichigo finally made an effort to pull his wrist away. Instead Grimmjow's grip became tighter, making him feel like he was losing circulation in his hand. Rather than pulling himself free he was shoved almost aggressively against the wall with his arm above his head, causing him to briefly see stars. Grimmjow's other hand held him in place by his hip his mouth inches away from his roommate's neck.

Grimmjow hovered over Ichigo's neck almost trancelike with his slightly parted lips nearly ghosting over his soft, sensitive skin. Ichigo's breath was quick as his overwhelming instinct to panic took over. He felt his heart pounding through his shirt and his eyes frantically darted everywhere in the room to look for some way to escape.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo called out lightly to try to shake his roommate out of his trance and hopefully get an explanation for what the hell was going on. It's been a long time since he was genuinely scared and it wasn't exactly a welcome emotion. This was seriously too out of character for him.

"Sorry, I'm still hungry." Grimmjow grunted before his lips opened wider and allowed his teeth to sink into Ichigo's exposed neck, breaking skin and making blood trickle down his neck as well as run down his own chin.

Ichigo gasped at the sudden pain, his caddy that he was bringing to the shower slipped from his hand that opened from shock, causing it to clatter against the floor with his shampoo and body wash rolling across the floor to the other side of the room near the box of bloody sheets.

He wanted to yell out, but his voice couldn't make it out of his mouth as if Grimmjow's teeth formed a wall that wouldn't allow his screams to escape. He wanted to get away, but he sensed that if he tried to pull away he'll risk getting his jugular torn out. All he could do was clench his teeth as he felt his body grow cold and start to lose feelings in his hands and feet while Grimmjow drank desperately before Ichigo was drastically pulled away.

Ichigo nearly hung limply from the arm that Grimmjow was holding above his head. Grimmjow swapped from holding him by his wrist to holding him up from his shoulder to prevent him from kneeling over and collapsing. Ichigo's head rolled forward, dropping down heavily to face the floor. His tan skin was a few shades paler, his eyes were half lidded, and he was breathing deeply taking in large amounts of air and exhaling heated breaths.

"Holy shit, Ichi," He rasped as blood tricked from the side of his mouth. "I took too much, fuck me." He cursed.

He picked up the smaller figure bridal style and carried him over to his bed. Ichigo was fighting with a burning fever that surfaced way too quickly in an effort to hold his consciousness. He looked at his roommate with eyes that he could barely open. He was shocked and his eyes would have been way wider if he wasn't so tired so he decided to make do with what he had as long as he didn't pass out.

"What the hell?" He asked shakily. "Are you some kind of vampire?" He said it sort of as a joke, but as soon as he said it he knew that he was more serious than he thought he was.

"Yeah, I can explain that later, but for now I need you to stay awake." Grimmjow quickly rushed over to his roommate's mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and Ichigo's washcloth from the tipped over caddy on the floor.

He unscrewed the cap off the bottle urgently and poured the contents on the washcloth. He dabbed his roommate's neck and forehead, alternating between the two, and Ichigo barely even processed the cold water making contact with his burning skin.

Grimmjow rinsed off the remaining blood that didn't even belong to him off of his hand before making his arm rest at his side. He got up to fish around his closet for a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide and dumped some of the contents on the dry section of the washcloth that was untouched by water.

He dabbed Ichigo's neck with the chemical that caused him to pull away from the stinging liquid instinctively. He settled back down when stars began to dance in his vision again, allowing Grimmjow an opportunity to continue cleaning the open cuts on his neck.

Grimmjow grabbed two Band-Aids from his drawer and tore them open, delicately applying them over the holes that he left on Ichigo's neck with his sharp canines that grew out like cat claws the moment his hunger took over.

"Before I forget, I guess I should say that I'm sorry. The bitch didn't supply what I paid for. Once she got scared she cut me off. I barely even took a cup." Grimmjow said in an effort to justify his actions.

"Are you talking about the girl you were sleeping with? Was she supposed to be the one feeding you?" Ichigo asked. What the fuck was he asking? Did he seriously accept that his roommate was a vampire so easily? He was too tired to be logical and the blood loss was really getting to him. He has already accepted the very likely possibility of him passing out. Fuck. He could die, but he was too tired to panic.

Grimmjow pulled the chair in front of his desk closer to his roommate's bed so he could watch over his nearly unconscious roommate. "We weren't sleeping together she was a blood supplier or a blood whore, whatever the fuck you wanna call her."

There was a pause.

"Okay. I've slept with some of them, but only if they are hot and come onto me."

There was another pause.

"I also use protection."

"Glad you cleared that up, asshole." Ichigo said sarcastically. "Just a very important detail for me to know. I'm so glad you're safe."

Grimmjow smiled. "The fact that you are being a smartass is a good sign."

He held the water bottle to Ichigo, nonverbally telling him to drink. Ichigo weakly took the bottle from his hands and tried to drink without spilling water all over himself and his sheets. Grimmjow motioned to help him, but Ichigo gestured for him to stop and that he didn't need his assistance. Heck Ichigo honestly wanted him to back up to give him more space. The dude nearly killed him.

"She was probably new to the job because she didn't feed me enough." Grimmjow grumbled leaning forward further so he could continue dabbing Ichigo's forehead to try to bring down Ichigo's fever at least slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around this." Ichigo stuttered. His mind was still so foggy. He was only conscious enough to understand slightly what was going on. He was going to say more, but before he could he cringed and started to shake like a leaf.

Grimmjow immediately shot up from his seat when Ichigo held his hand up in front of him and started to cough up blood. Grimmjow reached around him and quickly turned him on his side so he wouldn't end up choking on it.

"Hey, stay with me, Ichi. Don't pass out. Keep talking through it." Since when has his roommate taken to calling him Ichi? Why did he find it oddly comforting?

"Is it okay if I vomit?" Ichigo asked once his shaking calmed down a bit.

"You better not fucking puke." Grimmjow growled. "It's enough to take care of you. I don't want to clean up after you too. Blood is easier to take care of then puke and significantly less gross."

"And whose fault is this?" Ichigo asked despite feeling out of it. It wasn't enough to keep him from being a smart mouth. He wasn't sure if him being an ass meant he was doing better. It might have been that he was being a dick because the nature of the situation.

Grimmjow growled. It was clear that he was the kind of person that didn't like to be reminded of his mistakes or have it pointed out to him that he is in the wrong.

"Stop being a hard ass, it's not like you are going to remember any of this anyway." Grimmjow grumbled as a response.

"What? You've gotta be kidding me." Ichigo's color was coming back and his breath was evening out. It didn't make sense that his recovery was faster than possible, but at the moment he didn't even notice.

"I'm glad that you recovered so fast because goddamn I just want to get this over with." Grimmjow complained. "Sorry Ichi, maybe we can talk about this another time, but I'm not exactly ready yet."

Ichigo sat up, resting on his forearm as he lifted himself slightly off the bed. "Hell no, we are talking about this right now." Ichigo complained ready to get into a verbal argument with his roommate who was supposedly a freaking mythical monster that should not exist in the real world.

"Nope, you're stabilized. Good night." Grimmjow said sweetly before touching Ichigo's forehead and muttering a single word in German that Ichigo did not understand. "Schalf."

Ichigo's head fell back against his pillow with his eyelids closed heavily and his lips slightly parted to let out even, relaxed breaths as his mind went completely blank.

A/N: Hi. I'm a millennial (not actually a millennial) that runs to platforms like this to seek strangers approval. Please give me some love so I can get through my day feeling less empty. Review, favorite, follow.