A/N: First chapter! Hurray!

Warnings: Rated T for mild cursing. Yaoi. There will be many pairings, ByaIchi being the most obvious one. This sort of (kind of) follows the general plotline of Disney (TM)'s Cinderella but will be very different by the end.

Disclaimer: Do not own.

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"ICHIGO! GET YOUR LAZY ASS DOWN HERE AND MAKE BREAKFAST!" The annoying voice of Ichigo's step"mother", Charlotte Coolhorn-Kurosaki, grated on his ears.

Ichigo sighed as he buried his head deeper in the pillow. He knew it was a futile effort, but Ichigo tried to remain asleep.

"ICHIGO!" Charlotte's voice rang out.

"ALRIGHT! I'M UP!" Ichigo shouted as he sat up in bed. Wham! Ichigo sat up too fast and hit his head on the low-hanging ceiling. He muttered a curse as his fingers fumbled around for the latch of his window. Ichigo found it and opened the meager window.

The sunny morning cast light onto Ichigo's bedroom, but seeing the small room was more depressing than fumbling around in the dark. Hardly more than a closet, Ichigo's sparse lodgings consisted of a bed, a closet, and a door. Oh, and a crate of old junk under his bed. Everything of consequence Ichigo owned (not that that was much, anyway) was stored in the small dark closet in the corner of his small dark room.

Ichigo looked out his window as he got out of bed. It was a bright, cheery Monday morning in the kingdom of Seireitei. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining and the light breeze brought pleasant scents from the harbor. It was the kind of Monday Ichigo wanted to strangle and bang against the wall for existing.

He threw on his usual clothes (black leather vest, cream-colored crinkled shirt and black pants tucked into black leather boots) and left his room to make his step-family breakfast.

Ichigo's room had a really clever design. Originally intended as a hidden closet, the door blended so well into the wall you would miss it if you didn't know it was there. Indeed, sometimes you would miss it even if you knew it was there. All the better for the Kurosakis. They liked to pretend Ichigo didn't exist anyway. Ichigo preferred the mutual hate relationship as opposed to the forced 'family love' his co-worker/part-time friend Uryuu Ishida and his father, Ryuuken shared. Ryuuken and Uryuu could barely stand each other because they were so different. Uryuu, well, was a delinquent just like Ichigo and Ryuuken was a doctor in the royal palace. Needless to say, the 'family love' was a bit strained.

Ichigo's father was long dead and his mother even longer. Until he was 20 and old enough to inherit, he was stuck with the remaining Kurosakis. Ichigo had no intention of letting them stay in the house past his 20th birthday. (In fact, he was already making plans to kick them out.)

Ichigo ran down the stairs of his mansion to the well-stocked kitchen. Normally, Ichigo wouldn't do jack shit for Charlotte, Hisana, or Rukia but cooking was a passion of his and Ichigo knew exactly what spices would make them have 'bowel issues' later.

He quickly cooked some scrambled eggs and bacon and placed them on the dining room table in front of the waiting Hisana and Charlotte.

"Is this low-calorie?" Hisana whined.

"Depends on how powerful your imagination is," Ichigo shot back.

"You can eat in the kitchen," Charlotte informed him.

"Sure thing, stepfather!" Ichigo loathed when the Kurosakis treated him like a servant, so he insulted them as much as possible. It was only fair, really! Ichigo was a nice person. He just didn't act that way around people he hated! That's fair, right?

Charlotte screamed a curse at Ichigo and flung something at him which he (of course) evaded and ducked into the kitchen. After Masaki's death, Isshin had wanted a mother-figure for Ichigo but couldn't bring himself to marry another woman. So, Isshin compromised and married a transvestite who happened to be a total bitch/bastard. Ichigo was rather curious as to how Charlotte had two daughters who looked like him but claimed never to have sex with a woman. Life's little mysteries, he supposed.

He had finished scarfing his breakfast when Rukia came down. Rukia was fairly different from her mother/father and sister, meaning Ichigo couldn't discern any personality from her at all. She rarely spoke and when she did, she was practically inaudible. Once Ichigo had seen her feeding a starving bunny on the sly, but other than that small act of kindness, Ichigo had never seen Rukia express any emotion to any living being.

"Breakfast's in the dining room," Ichigo told Rukia. She mumbled a reply, hopefully a 'thanks' but Ichigo couldn't hear her at all.

Shrugging, Ichigo left the house as he went to work for the day.

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Ichigo ran down the street to the bar that was his base of operations. It was in the shadier part of the city, but Ichigo knew how to fight. If that wasn't enough, he carried concealed knives. If that wasn't enough, well, Ichigo deserved what he got. Ichigo paused in front of the bar before entering.

The Ice Dragon was a popular hangout for all types of unsavory characters. It was owned by a dangerous child, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and his voluptuous older sister, Rangiku Matsumoto. Toshiro handled the money and security while Rangiku took care of the actual bar stuff, like the alcohol. The two ran the bar by day and offered protection and an HQ for the many underworld operations who were based here, including Ichigo's own group of friends.

Ichigo entered the dilapidated building. It didn't look like much, but Ichigo knew the Ice Dragon could be a death trap to those who were unwelcome there. There was a reason the Ice Dragon was so popular with criminals (and it wasn't just the amazing sake).

"You're late," a voice informed him. Ichigo let his eyes adjust to the dim light before replying. He was alone in the front room save one familiar face.

"Hey, Shinji," Ichigo said to the bartender who was wiping down the counter with a rag. Shinji Hirako worked as a part-time bartender when Rangiku and her friends were busy. Ichigo and Shinji were close friends but Ichigo didn't know exactly what Shinji did for a living. Ichigo assumed he was better off that way. The hot blonde made allusions to a gory line of employment and Ichigo didn't want to be framed as an accomplice if business turned sour.

"You're late," the blond repeated. "Ishida's pissed at you."

"When isn't he pissed at me?" Ichigo asked. "I'll have some sake, by the way."

"Good point. Here's your sake," Shinji said as he handed Ichigo a bottle. "Go ahead; they're in the usual room."

"Thanks, Shinji! See you later!" Ichigo called over his shoulder. He walked to a shady corner of the room and pushed open a well-concealed door. Inside, a group of people were already gathered around a circular table under the solitary light.

"You're late, Kurosaki," Uryuu said disapprovingly. He pushed up his wire-frame glasses with his middle finger, subtly telling Ichigo 'Screw you'. Ichigo glared Ishida appreciatively. Ichigo liked Ishida. Like, liked liked him. Oh yeah, Ichigo was gay. And if Ishida wasn't, well, he would be soon. Ichigo would ensure it.

"Sorry, boss!" Ichigo teased with a smirk. Uryuu was not amused.

"Sit down and shut up, Kurosaki. We have work to do." Uryuu gave Ichigo the glare of doom until Ichigo sat down quietly.

Ichigo looked around the table into the faces of his friends. Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, the break-in extraordinaire. He was the best at finding a way in to any building (or making a way in, if there was none) but lacked the true vision of a master thief. Rangiku Matsumoto was a shoo-in grifter for any high-level heist. She could sweet-talk any male (due to her voluptuous bosom) or female (due to her charming personality) into doing anything she wanted and was handy with all kinds of machinery. However, Rangiku seriously sucked at being quiet. Renji Abarai was the muscle of the operation. Sadly, he was just that: muscle. Not to say Renji was stupid; he didn't like having to think out a whole plan instead of just his part. And then of course, there was Ishida Uryuu who was the resident mastermind, genius and amazing archer.

Uryuu had assembled the usual team of thieves for an elevated-risk heist, so Ichigo guessed they were stealing something important, guarded by something fun to break into, like a castle. Or a morgue.

Not to be conceited or anything, but Ichigo knew he was a master thief, most likely one of the (if not the) best in the land. Ichigo couldn't stand being on the right side of the law. Why let a talent go to waste when you could get rich off of it? Ichigo and Uryuu shared the same aesthetic: only steal from people who can afford it or are total jerks. That's why they worked so well together despite their conflicting personalities.

"Now that we're all here," Uryuu paused to give a disapproving look to Ichigo. "This's what we're stealing." Uryuu presented a rough sketch of a some random king's face and shoulders.

"We're stealing some dude's face?" Renji asked skeptically.

"Obviously not. We're stealing a bronze bust of this guy's face. It's in the royal palace," Uryuu said.

"But why would we bother stealing something bronze?" Interjected Rangiku. She leaned forward in her seat and pointed out, "We can get something lighter, more valuable, and something less heavily guarded with less effort and risk."

"Your points are all valid and I would agree the risk is not worth a bronze statuette." Uryuu paused for dramatic effect. "If the statue was completely bronze, that is." He flipped the page on the sketchbook he was holding to show the outline of the statue filled with little squares. "It's filled with diamonds."

The affect was instantaneous. Renji broke out into a huge grin, Rangiku beamed and flipped her hair, Grimmjow smirked and Ichigo frowned. Uryuu alone remained emotionless.

"Where did you get this info from? It sounds highly improbable. Why would they leave the statue in a vulnerable position? In fact, why would the palace people fill a bronze statue with diamonds instead of putting them into a safe in the first place? This sounds like thieves' nirvana. Way too perfect," Ichigo said.

"Don't be such a downer, Ichigo!" Rangiku chastised.

"No, he's right," Uryuu said. "It does sound too perfect. That's why it is perfect!"

They all stared at Uryuu blankly.

He sighed and said, "Don't you get it? The palace people knew thieves would target safes and vaults, so they concealed their diamonds in a place no one would bother to check!"

"That's what they thought, anyway. They didn't count on our genius," Grimmjow smirked.

Ichigo remained unconvinced. "I still think this sounds too perfect. Where did you get this info?"

"I was talking to an off-duty palace guard. He was bitching about the new security in the Hall of the Arts and after a few drinks, I was able to get him to tell me why," Uryuu said plainly.

Ichigo snorted. "So we're taking the word of a drunk palace grunt who probably doesn't know a diamond from cheap cubic zirconium? That's sounds like a great idea!" He said sarcastically.

"Yes. It is a great idea! So shut up and let's go steal it!" Grimmjow said with a snarl.

"Fine, whatever. But if we die on this job, I totally blame you guys," Ichigo said.

Uryuu shrugged. "Fair enough."

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So yeah! Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and have a nice internet-using experience!