This is my first multi-chapter fanfic, that's been sitting on my computer for almost two years. Incomplete, I wrote the entirety of what I have in two sittings over a weekend, the total adding up to some sixty-plus pages.

This is the most linear thing I've ever written, and I'm surprised I could do it, usually my mind jumps from one scene and time to another.

A romance, family, hurt/comfort story. Shiro (Dark Ichigo)/Ichi, AU with no powers. Certain (most) character's bios and/or affiliations have been changed.

Italics are thoughts when in the middle of regular text and usually stated within a sentence or two and only when in full sentences.

When in the middle of a regular text sentence, Italics are for emphasis!

Italics moved to a next line and followed by a "-" and name or letters are actual texts. Another note, the name/initials after the "-" are to indicate both who sent the text and who received it: the name/initials are the exact way they would appear on the recipient's phone, hinting at who is receiving the text if it isn't said outright.

Also, finally, there are pairings in this story that some might not approve of. That's just too bad for them. I don't tolerate bigots in any way shape or form. If you can't handle it, don't frickin' read it! But don't read it when you don't want to just to give yourself ammunition to flame me, it's a major waste of both of our times.

Thank you, and please enjoy!


Part one: Prologue


"Damn! I'm late!" An orange-haired teen cried out in dismay as he pushed through the doors to the high-school.

"Ichigo!" A petite raven-haired girl with enormous violet eyes called out.

He slowed to a walk next to her to catch his breath, "Morning, Rukia."

"Where are the others?"

"Stomach flu."

She winced, "Yech. Poor things."

"Tell me about it."

"But you ate the same things they did, why aren't you sick?"

He snorted, "Years of taste-testing Orihime's home-cooking has given me an iron stomach."

Rukia snickered lightly, "Oh! We're getting a new student some time this week."

Ichigo's already less-than-stellar mood took an abrupt dive, "Oh, yay." he said with as much sarcasm as he could. No one could blame him for his reaction, the entire school, sans his group of friends, hated him. This new student would likely be absorbed into the hate club within the day he arrived. He didn't used to be this sullen, but there was an incident with the last transfer student they'd had that Ichigo never got over. The bastard had actually been a damn sleeper agent; befriending them for two months before finding the opportunity to pull Ichigo into a supply closet alone.

Rukia sighed, "Not everyone is like him. You can't let one person destroy your trust for the entire populace, Ichigo. Not everyone's like him."

Ichigo snorted, "Rukia, this school has a thousand and three-hundred students, and our group numbers a full dozen without me included."

"That's not counting those that don't go to this school. And you're forgetting your other friends."

"I'm only counting the ones that eat up on the roof, not the whole gang, and I've been doing my best to keep Keigo, Mizuiro, and Tatsuki out of it from the beginning. And now our numbers are down by half for the day."

"You did warn them all about eating Orihime's cooking, even if it was to be polite."

He huffed and shook his head, smirk present on his face, "Not that they ever listen."

"Maybe this will teach them."

"One can only hope." he muttered.

"So, why were you running like the hounds of hell were on your heels?"

Ichigo's face morphed into it's usual scowl, "Why else? One of the assholes cornered me outside. I asked if he was really willing to piss me off this early in the morning without back-up and he eventually backed off. I just know I'm going to regret that later on, though. Once he decides that I've dealt too large an insult to his pride to suffer, he'll round up the others and look for somewhere to jump me."

She glanced up at him, "It's kind of scary how well you can predict what they'll do."

"I've had plenty of experience."

Their conversation was cut off as they entered their class and took their seats. Ichigo volunteered to take the homework to the others that were out sick at the end of class. Ochi-sensei was ecstatic that she hadn't had to forcefully assign anyone to the task.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as he was walking out of class and he pulled it out.

Im boooored~ -GJK.

He snorted and quickly replied.

Yes, I imagine that having your head in a bucket for hours on end isn't the most exciting thing in the world. Never fear, I've got homework for you, so you needn't be bored for too long~. -IK.

Ichigo put his phone back in his pocket and ignored it with a feral smile when it buzzed again. He had always written his texts out in full, steadfastly ignoring those that made fun of him for it.

As predicted, shortly before lunch he was pulled into an empty classroom and jumped by a group of twelve students. Were it not for his father's training, he would have gotten his ass handed to him. As it was, he got out with a plethora of bruises and scrapes, but he gave as good as he got.

He was limping heavily by the time he made it to the fenced in roof. Rukia was the first to spot him, "Ichigo!"

The others turned to see him hobble over and flop down at the base of the tree that was on the far side of his circle of friends. He leaned back with a sigh, "Damn, that one hurt."

Tatsuki, who completely refused to be excluded from their group, even for her own good, stood up, "Let me get the medical kit." the spike-haired raven suggested and quickly made her way up the tree. The roof was their official meeting place, and if any of them had been cornered earlier during the day- not an infrequent occurrence that had resulted in a permanent medical kit being stashed in the tree, and several other spots- they could get fixed without dealing with the nurse.

She dropped out of the branches and tossed the box at him. Everyone gasped when he rolled up his pants leg to reveal that his right knee was the size of a softball and a very interesting shade of purple. He cracked a chemical icepack and threw it on his knee before tending to the rest of his injuries, which were mild in comparison.

Renji leaned in close, "Wow, you sure that's not more than bruised? It looks like hell."

"Heh, feels like it, too. But, no, it's just badly bruised and possibly sprained. You don't live with your father being a doctor for sixteen years without getting high first-aid drilled into your head."

The fiery red-head snorted, "Sometimes literally, knowing your dad."

Ichigo smirked, "True."

Szayel pushed his rectangle white rimmed glasses further up his nose, "It amazes me how you manage to maintain a three-point-eight grade-point-average with all the drama at your house."

"I'll have you know that fun is conducive to fast learning."

"Ah, yes, how silly of me." he muttered sarcastically.

The only ones of their group present were Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Szayel, Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo himself, and Tatsuki. Which reminded him, "Orihime."

"Yes?"

"As valuable a friend as I find you, we really can't afford to have our numbers decimated like this again. As much you like your own brand of cooking, you need to understand that it doesn't rest well with others."

Her face flushed a brilliant scarlet, "Oh! I didn't mean to! I guess maybe I should stop sharing so much, huh? You shouldn't feel obligated to taste it if it makes you sick! Please, don't worry about hurting my feelings. I bounce back quick, I promise!"

Renji let out a sigh, "Well that's a relief."

Everyone nodded their agreement. They all got up at the warning bell and Szayel nodded towards Ichigo, "Say hi to your sisters for me and tell your brothers that I wish them well."

"No problem." he replied, knowing that it was unlikely he'd get to see Szayel before he went home seeing as they shared none of the same afternoon classes.

Noting the much easier range of movement in his knee, Ichigo headed off towards his final classes of the day. Surprisingly, the rest of the day went by very smoothly with no commotion. He sighed in relief when he stepped out of the doors to the school. He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder and headed for home.

As soon as he stepped foot inside the door, a blur came flying toward him and he sidestepped, causing his father to go flying right out the front door. With a sadistic sort of glee that didn't show on his face, he kicked the door closed and locked it. A feminine laugh caught his attention before a second blur attacked him, this one green. Once again dodging out of the way, he turned to the girl, "Hi, Nel. What are you doing here?"

A deep baritone came from behind him, "I told you I was bored."

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder and stared into a pair of deeper-than-blue blue eyes. Nel answered him, "I came over to keep Grimmy company."

The orangette saw the tic pulsing at Grimmjow's temple at the nickname, "She actually ambushed me and let herself in. It was a sneak attack."

Ichigo snorted, "Whatever. I have your homework here. And I distributed the others to the rest of the group. Nel, since you're here, you can take Nnoi's and Tesla's home with you."

" 'Kay!"

At that moment, Yuzu's head peeked out of the kitchen, "Is that you, Ichi-nii? Welcome home!"

"Thanks, Yuzu." she nodded and ducked back in to continue cooking.

Ichigo looked back at Nel, "So, are you sticking around for dinner?"

"No, I just came to bug Grimmy until you came home. I should get going."

"If you're fine, why weren't you in school today?"

"Verde was sick and my mother asked me to come over to watch her. With Tesla already out of commission and being taken care of by Nnoi, I figured there was really no reason to go."

"And is she better now?"

"Yeah, you know my little sister, she bounces right back."

"Yeah, the little snot machine's a resilient one."

Nel grimaced as she put her shoes on, "Can't really disagree there. Oh! Give me Kitty Kat's homework as well, I can stop by and drop it off on my way home."

"That's helpful, thank you."

"It's not like it's out of my way." Ichigo rifled through his bag for the assignments and handed them over as Nel opened the door, causing Isshin to fall flat on his face from leaning on it. She completely ignored his father as she stepped over his prone form and waved, "Good bye!"

Ichigo turned around and saw Grimmjow collapse on the sofa, "Finally! Peace and quiet!"

He snorted and sat down in the armchair, throwing the teal-haired teen's work at him, "Here, that's yours."

"Oh boy, an early christmas gift for me." he said sarcastically.

"If you think that's a gift, wait 'till you hear this: we're getting a new student sometime this week."

Grimmjow sneered, "Oh joy, it's been quite awhile since I last had an excuse to beat the hell out of someone."

"Ha! I can fix that one for you, too!" he said and pulled up his pants leg.

Grimmjow's face became serious, "Names?"

Ichigo waved him off, "Forget it, I already dealt with them." he stood up and stretched, enjoying the satisfying crack his spine made, "I'm going to go change."

By the time he came back down, Ulquiorra was out from whatever hole he'd hid himself in from Nel. He was laying on the couch with his feet on Grimmjow's lap. He sat up when Ichigo entered the room and laid back down when the orange-haired teen had situated himself on the sofa with them, Ulquiorra's head on his lap. It wasn't an unusual position to find the trio in.

Ichigo ran his hand through the younger male's ink black locks, "So, how did you two fare, stuck here all day with just goat-face?"

Grimmjow scoffed, "Let's just say it's a good thing there weren't any sharp objects within arm's reach."

A simultaneous "Here, here." was heard from both other occupants of the couch, both having had moments like the one described.

Ichigo watched the closed eyes of the one whose head was in his lap as his fingers trailed through the silky hair, "Tired?"

A single nod was his answer. Karin's head poked out from the dining room, "Guys, dinner!"


Chapter one.


Shiro was anxious as he walked through the doors to the school. He was looking around and ran right into someone. A loud "Oof!" sounded at his feet and he looked down to see the girl he'd practically run over.

He held out his hand, "Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

The girl rubbed her head and took his hand, "No, it's okay. I've had worse. My name's Rukia, what's yours?"

Shiro stood there in awe for several moments, unable to speak. This tiny girl treated him like he was no different than anyone else she'd ever met, quite a feat considering just how different he was from everyone else. Finally finding his tongue, he answered her, "Hichigo Ogichi Shirosaki, but I prefer that people just call me Shiro."

"Nice to meet you, Shiro. I take it that you're the new student?"

"That would be me."

"Well if you'd like, feel free to come up to the roof for lunch and you can meet my friends."

"Uh, sure."

"Okay, then, I have to go or I'll be late for class."

"Me, too. Could you tell me where Math is before you go?"

She looked shocked as she gathered her fallen books, "That's my first class as well. I'll show you the way."


POV switch


It wasn't unusual for Ichigo to find Grimmjow waiting for him at the school entrance. To say the larger teen was impatient would be a massive understatement, and he'd rather stand still than keep his pace back to a walk. It often took Ichigo and Ulquiorra fifteen to twenty minutes to catch up with the older male because they chose to walk. The enormous grin that threatened to split his face, however, was a different story.

They stood before him and stared up at him with calculating looks on their faces, "Okay, what's with the face?" Ichigo finally asked.

"What face?" he asked innocently. Ichigo only stared at him until the silence grew to be too much for the older teen, "I had a run-in this morning." he stated.

Ichigo raised a brow, "What sort of run-in?"

Grimmjow interlaced his fingers behind his head and looked entirely too pleased with himself, "Antenor's face had a run-in with my fist."

Ichigo looked up at him incredulously, "How the hell did you figure out he was one of the ones that got me yesterday?"

"It was rather hard to miss the mark you left on him, Ichi."

"What mark?"

Grimmjow snorted and grabbed Ichigo's hand, he tapped the tribal mask ring on his finger, "This mark. Emblazoned in glorious purple on his left cheek."

Ichigo's face turned red and he looked down, "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

Ichigo wrenched his hand away, "Well, uh, thanks, I guess."

The teal-haired teen waved it off, "No problem, Otouto."

Ichigo swiveled around to make sure no one was in hearing distance, "Whatever." he started pushing Grimmjow along from behind, "Come on, Grimm, you're going to make us late. Hey, Ulqui, you coming?"

Knowing that Ichigo wouldn't have started so familiarly if there was a chance of being heard by those that would tease them, Ulquiorra nodded, "Coming, Aniki."

They made it to math with only seconds to spare and the teacher shot them a dark look as they took their seats. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra sat in the middle of the last row, Ichigo was in the last seat on the right in the second to last row. Rukia was three seats to the left in the row ahead of him. He had to say that his morning had started off signifigantly better than the previous one.

Rukia got his attention and pointed to the front before he looked out the window, knowing it would be nearly impossible once he zoned out. She pointed to the front and the door, making motions from her eyes towards the entrance. He nodded, showing that he'd pay attention. His eyes widened as the teacher anounced that there was a new student and he looked back at Rukia, who smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. He watched as the new student came in.

He was rather surprised at what he saw. The teen was an albino; pure white skin and hair, but that was nothing compared to his eyes, gold irises surounded by black sclera. He was more surprised when the new student introduced himself, "My name is Hichigo Shirosaki, but I prefer to be called Shiro; and yes, if it wasn't glaringly obvious, I'm albino." Yes, he definitely had an blue tongue.

Rukia caught his eye again and gave him puppy-dog eyes with her fingers interlaced, begging him. He held his hand up flat and wavered it back and forth, showing her that it was a possibility. She gave a little happy dance in her seat and he rolled his eyes, turning his head towards the window.

"Okay, Shirosaki-kun, pick any seat that's free and get ready." Ochi-sensei said after the introduction.

There was the sound of movement and chatter before everything suddenly went quiet, "May I sit here?"

Ichigo looked over at the voice that came from next to him. He had to say that he liked the unique watery sound of the new kid's voice, it had a layered, ghostly quality to it. He shrugged and Shiro sat at the desk next to his.

The albino nodded at him, "I'm Shiro."

"Ichigo Kurosaki." he replied.

He saw the snicker and felt his mood plummet, "Like a strawberry?"

Ichigo felt a scowl twist his face as he snarled, "No, you demented fucking snowflake, not like a goddamned strawberry." he growled and turned away from the albino to look out the window, trying to suppress his anger. Just like everyone else, this new kid was no different. He steadfastly ignored everything as the hour passed, even the buzzing in his pocket, undoubtedly Grimmjow and Ulquiorra texting to ask if he was okay. He was most definitely not okay, but they'd know soon enough.

He was thrilled when the bell rang and gathered his books and was out the door faster than anyone else. As soon as Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and Rukia came out he started stalking off, "I vote 'no'."

Rukia looked both crushed and confused, "But why?"

Ichigo glared at the floor, "Because the bastard called me a strawberry."

Rukia put her hands together in front of her and looked up at him with begging eyes, "Please, Ichigo, he didn't know. Please? Just give him a chance. I beg you."

"He should've fucking known better from the damn start!" Grimmjow growled.

Ulquiorra nodded, "He should know how people would have been saying things like that all his life." came his ever-unemotional reply.

Ichigo sighed at the expression on the small girl's face, "Fine. Probation."

Rukia looked relieved and happy, "Thank you, Ichigo!"

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo's voice held a tone of defeat.

Rukia looked to the other two, "And you two?"

Grimmjow crossed his arms, "Tch, whatever."

"Probation." Ulquiorra confirmed, both of them predictably siding with Ichigo.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully and Ichigo praised the powers that be that he didn't share any other morning classes with the white bastard. He was the first one on the roof with Ulquiorra and Grimmjow right behind him, seeing as they all had the same classes.

Nel was the next one to come through the door, "Hi, guys!" she sat between Ichigo and Grimmjow. Noting the tense mood about the three, her exuberance faded, "What's wrong?"

"There is a new student. Rukia wants him for the group. He called Ichi-nii a strawberry. After begging by Rukia, he has three votes for probation." Ulquiorra summarized.

Nel bit her thumbnail and nodded, "Then that's gonna be my vote, too."

Ichigo bumped her with his knee and she looked over to see him give her a small smile of thanks. She smiled back and nodded before putting her lunch in front of her.


POV switch


Shiro followed Rukia up to the roof, "Okay, we aren't very popular; my friends and I; so please don't make fun of them, we get enough of that from everyone else. I'll explain everything you need to know about us."

"Got it." he replied shortly as she opened the door. He saw trees around in specific intervals and a group of people around one of them. The first person he saw when they approached was the spiky headed -not that he had any right to talk- orange-haired teen that had cussed him out earlier. Rukia's advice from moments before connected the dots in his head and he couldn't help his muttered, "Fuck."

Rukia gave him an odd look before sitting down and motioning to the empty space next to her, on her left. There was quiet chatter and he opened his mouth to speak, but Rukia shook her head and made a 'shush' sign. It was only a few moments more before the sound of the door opening reached his ears. He looked up to see a tall buff teen with teal hair and blue eyes stand up. A lightly tanned boy that was about an inch or two shorter than Shiro himself came over and waved, "Hi everyone." the boy had black hair, strangely light colored golden eyes and odd red stripe-like tattoos on his face. He also had a weird helmet that looked like the skull of a sabertoothed tiger.

The blue-haired teen wrapped an arm around the shorter male's shoulders and pulled him close, leaning down and kissing his cheek, "Hey, babe."

The tiger-like teen leaned into the other, "Morning, Grimm." he purred before returning the innocent kiss. They sat down next to a girl with aqua colored hair and an odd pink mark across the bridge of her nose.

Rukia cleared her throat, "This is Shiro." she said simply. Some of the others nodded and a few whispered a quiet 'hey'. Rukia started introductions.

The boy with the long, wild red hair and zigzagging tribal tattoos was Renji. Next to him was a boy with glasses and neatly cared-for midnight hair named Uryu. After him was a large male with deeply tanned skin and brown hair named Chad.

Next to Chad was the tiger-teen named Ggio, half sitting in the lap of his blue-haired boyfriend, Grimmjow. On the other side of those two was Grimmjow's cousin, Nelliel, and the bright pink mark on her nose was a birthmark. On her other side was Ichigo, and apparently he was Grimmjow's younger brother.

Next to Ichigo was a boy nearly as pale as Shiro who had green tear-trail tattoos and emerald green eyes with black hair, his name was Ulquiorra and he was younger brother to both Ichigo and Grimmjow. On his other side was a girl with pumpkin-orange hair and huge assets, she was apparently a bit of an air-head and her gray eyes often stared off at nothing, her name was Orihime. Kneeling next to her was her best friend, Tatsuki, her semi-short black hair seemed as untamable as Ichigo's and Shiro's own and her eyes were an interesting onyx color.

On her other side was a pink-haired boy with gold eyes and white framed rectangle glasses named Szayel. Next was a lanky and tall man with straight black hair down to his shoulderblades and an eyepatch, his name was Nnoitora. The final person, sitting between Nnoitora and Shiro, was a boy named Tesla, who had two aqua colored tattoos on his cheeks and light, almost blond, brown hair.

Rukia then started, as she explained it, giving dish; the interesting information. And it was interesting. Tesla was Ggio's cousin, and Nnoitora's boyfriend, he was also Nelliel's best friend. Nelliel was Nnoitora's girlfriend and Shiro was sure that he'd misheard her. But no, Tesla confirmed that Nnoitora was both his and Nel's -as he called her- boyfriend. He was told that she took turns sitting with them and with Grimmjow. Not only were they in some kind of freaky three-way relationship, but they all three lived together in their own house.

Nelliel had a little sister and a mother, but no father in the picture. He was told not to ask about Tesla's and Ggio's family. Ggio lived with someone, though Shiro couldn't figure out who it was, and the tiger-teen apparently didn't like it.

Nnoitora had been tossed out of his house by his good-for-nothing father and left to his own devices. Where he got the money he needed for things was shrouded in mystery.

Szayel lived alone with his older brother, Yylfordt, and the two were in a relationship that was completely hush-hush for obvious reasons.

Orihime's parents died in a car crash when she was young and her brother had died in a mugging only two years ago. Rukia lived with Orihime in the latter's apartment due to an arrangement with Rukia's brother.

Renji had a place to himself and his working background was as much of a mystery as Nnoitora's.

Uryu lived with his father, who'd run off on him after his mother had died when he was a child, because his grandfather who had cared for him in the interim had died.

Chad lived with his mom and he'd also had a really close relationship with his grandfather when he'd been alive.

Ichigo had a huge family, two brothers and two sisters, his father, and him. No mother in the picture, she had, apparently, died when he was only eight. Grimmjow was his older brother and had been held back a year, while Ulquiorra was some kind of genius and had skipped a grade. From what Shiro could tell, Ulquiorra was also an emotionless bastard while his eldest brother more than made up for it.

The orange-haired boy sat up from where he'd been leaning earlier with his back against the tree with his eyes closed. His arms were crossed and he opened eyes the color of deep warm honey, or richly aged whisky, "Now that we're all here, first things first; what the hell happened yesterday?"

"I was out with food poisoning." Tesla answered.

Grimmjow winced, "Same for me and Ulqui."

Ggio copied his lover, "Me as well."

"My little sister was sick and my mother asked me to watch over her for the day." Nel said.

"I wasn't going to leave Tesla alone to suffer. I may be a bastard, but I'm not that bad." Nnoitora replied.

Orihime bowed with her head to the ground from her kneeling position, "I'm so sorry everyone! I promise I won't make you eat my cooking anymore."

There was a muttered, 'amen' from nearly everyone present.

Shiro looked over and found himself staring directly into honey-brown eyes, "So, Shiro, what's your story?"

Everyone quieted and looked at him, waiting. He cleared his throat, "Well, I just moved here with my guardian for his new job."

Rukia tilted her head, "Guardian?"

"Yeah, no parents."

"That must be hard."

"Nah. He's great." he said.

Everyone started chatting and opened their lunches to eat. Figuring that in front of his friends would be the best way to apologize, Shiro took a deep breath and looked up at closed brown eyes, "Hey, Ichigo."

The orange-head looked over at him, "Yeah?"

" 'M sorry 'bout earlier. I didn' mean t' offend you."

Those brown eyes turned suspicious and seemed to stare at him forever, searching for something. Then they warmed and he shrugged, "It's fine. Everyone does it."

Shiro flinched at that, knowing how much it hurt when everyone made fun of him for his looks, "Yeah, still, sorry."

"Eh, I didn't exactly take the higher ground, though, did I?"

Shiro snickered at that, "True, but ya had reason t' sling mud as much as I did."

The others looked between the two, "Would someone tell us what's going on?"

"Earl'er, in class, I sort of called Ichigo a strawberry."

Ichigo snickered, "At which point I called Shiro a fucking snowflake."

"C'rrection: A demented fucking snowflake." the two of them stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

Several of the others looked angry, others stunned. Renji was one of the stunned ones, "It's been a long time since someone called Ichigo a strawberry and didn't get the hell beat out of them for it."

Rukia cleared her throat, "I'd like to welcome Shiro to the group."

Shiro noticed almost all of the others tense around them. Ichigo leaned back against the tree with his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. He seemed the only one relaxed besides Szayel and Ulquiorra. He nodded towards Shiro, "Probation. But I'm leaning heavily towards 'yes'."

"I vote 'yes'." Rukia said.

"Probation." Grimmjow said, his face showed that he didn't forgive Shiro's slip as easily as Ichigo did.

"Probation." Ulquiorra said in an emotionless voice.

"Yes!" Orihime gushed.

Tatsuki shrugged, "I'm fine with it."

Szayel flipped his hair back, "It doesn't really matter to me: I abstain."

"I say probation." Ggio remarked.

"I'll trust Ichigo on this and say probation." Uryu said as he adjusted his glasses. Chad nodded beside him.

"I'm with them on this." Nel said, nodding to those she was sandwiched between.

"I vote 'no'." that came, surprisingly, from Tesla.

"Then I vote 'yes'." Nnoitora said with a smirk.

Shiro looked around the circle, "What's with the votes?"

Rukia looked at him, "We're voting on if you should be allowed in the group or not."

"I get th' yes 'r no, but wha's with this probation stuff?"

Szayel smiled, "It means we're giving you enough rope to either pull yourself up or hang yourself with." he said cheerily.

"Why?"

Everyone immediately found either the sky, ground, or tree vastly fascinating. Grimmjow snarled, "Because the last bastard that we let in and trusted waited for a chance and then tried to rape Ichigo. Buff bastard almost managed it, too."

"Grimmjow!" the furious voice of a pissed off strawberry-haired teen shouted.

He winced, "Sorry, Ichi, but that scared the hell out of me."

The silence was deafening and the tension thick enough to cut with a plastic butter knife. Rukia coughed, "So, Ichigo, how's your knee today?"

He shrugged and looked away, " 's Fine. Dad took care of it last night."

Nel looked at him in surprise, "What happened to your knee, Ichi?"

"Luppi and his friends."

Ggio spoke up, "I saw him this morning. What happened to Luppi?"

Ichigo got a feral smirk, "That would be myself and Grimm."

Quite a few of the others laughed at that. Rukia stopped and looked up at Shiro, "Oh! Shiro-kun, here, give me your cellphone number."

Shiro pulled out his phone and showed it to the petite girl. She did something on her phone and about a dozen different ringtones were heard. Shiro watched as Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Nel, Ggio, Uryu, Renji, Chad, Tatsuki and Orihime all looked at their phones. A moment later, everyone else did the same. Shiro looked down again as he heard his own text tone and saw Rukia fiddling with it. She then handed it back to him, "There you go. Now we all have your number and you have all of ours."

"Uh, thanks."

Shiro looked up when an odd ringtone played. He glanced up at Grimmjow when he pulled open his phone, "What's that ringtone?"

Teal eyes were glued to the screen, " 'Holiday' by Greenday." he answered. He typed a reply to the text and closed his phone.

Shiro looked around and waited for the ring, but none came. He noticed though that Ichigo still had his phone out and was looking at it. He closed it after a moment and put it in his back pocket. Shiro figured that he must have had it on silent, and wondered what Grimmjow and Ichigo had said.


POV switch


Ggio stretched up like Ichigo had taught him and felt the satisfying crack of his spine before he glanced at his companions, "So, am I invited over tonight?"

Ichigo looked up at his brother and raised a brow, "Invited, kidnapped..."

Grimm smiled and pulled Ggio close, "After not seeing you all of yesterday, you think I'm going to let you out of my sights now?"

Ggio looked up at his teal-haired lover and purred, "I'd hope not."

Ichigo nodded before taking the front, Ggio and Grimm ten feet back in the middle, with Ulqui trailing behind. It gave each of them their space, but allowed for ease of mind that they could see one another. Ichigo had his eyes trained on his phone, texting.

G's coming over to spend the night. That okay? -IK.

I always make plenty! We'll have enough for everyone and then some! ^-^ -Yuzu.

Good to know. See you soon. -IK.

Later, Ichi-nii! -Yuzu.

The rest of the walk home was uneventful, until they reached the door. Ggio stood back while the others looked at one another, no one wanting to be the first one through the door. They had all agreed that guests were exempt from the whirlwind that was Isshin, so Ggio was safe, but that didn't help decide who would open the door. Personally, Ggio found this all absolutely hilarious and had to hold back his snickers.

Ichigo held his fist out, the others copying him, "One, two, three, shoot!" he grinned when he and Ulqui both came up rock to Grimm's scissors. He faced Ulqui and they did a second round in silence, Ichigo coming out with scissors to Ulquiorra's paper. He stepped back to Ggio with a grin on his face, "Ah, sweet success."

Ichigo pulled Ggio to the right three steps by his sleeve as Grimmjow reached for the doorknob. There was a single moment of silence as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stood just inside before the blur that was Isshin attacked, "GRIMMJOW AND ULQUIORRA, MY LONG LOST CHILDREN!" With a smooth motion from Ulquiorra, Isshin went flying right past them to land on his face, in the exact spot Ichigo and Ggio had been standing in just moments before.

Stepping over the prone form of his father, Ichigo motioned their guest in, "Come on in."

Karin was waiting in the armchair in the livingroom, "Hey guys. Hi, Ggio."

"Hey, sis."

"Hi, Karin."

Yuzu's head poked around the corner, "Niisan! Ggio-kun! Welcome home!"

There was a unanimous, "Hi, Yuzu." as the boys made themselves comfortable in the livingroom. They split into two groups, Grimm with Ggio, Ulquiorra with Ichigo, to do homework until dinner.

Ichigo looked up when he felt a buzz and grabbed his phone.

Im kinda glad we aren't rly rltd to tht crzy idiot. -GJK.

Blood doesn't equal family, Aniki. -IK.

Too true, Otouto. -GJK.

Grimmjow looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen, "Hey, Yuzu."

The kind chocolate eyes and light brown hair popped out around the corner, "Yes, Niisan?"

"Do you think maybe you could make some of your home-made vanilla icecream for dessert the day after tomorrow? You know, since we'll all be together again?"

She nodded, "Sure! That sounds really good, actually. Okay, then!"

He looked down when his phone buzzed.

They'll really enjoy that. -IK.

I hope so. -GJK.

Karin got up when Yuzu called her name, "Head's up, guys; dinner in ten." she said as she went to set the table.

x

And that's chapter one. Until next time!