Ichigo came upright in bed to see Ulqui standing in his doorway with his hands up. He stepped further in the room, movements slow, "Good morning, Aniki."
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, "Morning, Ulqui."
"Go take a shower and get dressed. I'll strip the bed for you and we can make it together when you get back."
It was a measure of the other's exhaustion that Ichigo didn't even argue it like he usually did, "Okay."
Ulquiorra watched sadly as the orange-haired teen slunk off to the bathroom. He tore the sheets and blankets off of the bed and tossed them into the hamper. By how ragged Ichigo had looked and his lack of fight, it must have been a particularly bad night. Ichigo had suffered from nightmares ever since he was eight. No, ever since Mom...
Ulquiorra shook his head as he got out the fresh linens, if only he and Grimm had been there. They were supposed to be there! Masaki had wanted a day out with her three boys, it didn't matter to her that she hadn't even birthed two of them, they were all her boys. Ichigo had saved them both and given them a home, a mother that loved them, a father that cared, little sisters that looked up to them, and they hadn't even been there on the worst day of his life.
Ulquiorra had just turned eight himself the week before. Of course the Kurosaki household, plus Grimmjow, had thrown a party for him. Masaki had baked a cake for him, Ichigo and Yuzu had helped, and it showed in the flour and frosting they were covered in. Karin and Grimmjow had helped Isshin hang decorations for him. All three of the boys had gotten high off the sugar rush and crashed a little later in the evening, Grimmjow on the floor, leaning against Masaki's legs, Ichigo curled up and snuggled into her side, and Ulquiorra laid out with his head on her lap. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and her one hand trailed through his hair while her other rested on Ichigo's head and her legs moving softly, almost rocking Grimmjow to sleep.
He looked up to find Ichigo leaned against the doorjamb, staring at him, "What?"
"What's wrong? You look like me."
He looked down at the sheets in his arms, "I was thinking about Mom..."
"Me too."
"I was remembering my last birthday party with her."
Ichigo chuckled, "Three layer cake, chocolate, vanilla, and devil's food, with blueberry, strawberry, and coconut frosting, in that order."
Ulquiorra chuckled along with him, "In hindsight, not the best choice of flavors."
"Hey, we ate it. There were no leftovers the next day."
Ulquiorra grabbed the sheet and put the rest of the blankets on Ichigo's desk chair while the orange-haired teen moved to the far side of the bed, "Come to think of it, that day may have been the start of your iron stomach for Orihime's cooking."
"Nah, had we had exchanged the frostings for guacamole and enchilada sauce, I'd consider it." Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the look on Ulqui's face.
The pale teen shook his head, "Eeh. That was a set of flavors I didn't ever need to even imagine mixing."
"Sorry."
He shook his head again, "Thanks for helping raise my spirits."
Ichigo smiled sadly, "It's what you always do for me."
Not often enough. Came the younger's thoughts. The rest of the bed-making process went quickly and quietly as they worked. Ulquiorra almost always helped Ichigo make his bed. To get the other to agree, he claimed it was practice since he didn't have his own to make. Their house was rather cramped with five people in it, so Karin and Yuzu shared a room, and Ichigo and Grimmjow both had their own. Isshin had the master bedroom and Ulquiorra got the couch. He'd actually chosen the couch in spite of an offer by Isshin to hire a contractor to build another bedroom.
Nearly every time he'd come over when he was little, he would at the very least catch a nap on the couch with Masaki and/or Ichigo running their fingers through his hair. Ichigo and her were the only ones to ever do that for him, the only ones to ever know how soothing and comforting he found it. Ichigo had done it first when he'd first found Ulquiorra crying in a side alley in the rain, saying that his mother used to do it for him to calm him when he'd had a nightmare. It had worked wonders, calming him down enough for him to stop sobbing and introduce himself.
It would, by far and away, not be the last time Ulquiorra ran away from home after an 'episode' as his parents called them. Ichigo had brought him home that evening and it was the start of something huge, more than a friendship; a brotherhood. At that point, Ulquiorra followed his orange-haired protector absolutely everywhere, though Ichigo didn't mind in the least. After he told Ichigo and his mother about his home life, if it could be called that, they said that their door was always open to him, and he took them at their word.
He kept all the things he didn't want to lose at the Kurosaki household and stayed there at least four nights a week, they'd even given him a key, at Ichigo's insistence, in case they were asleep or not there when he needed a place to stay. His junkies of parental figures barely noticed his absence, and there were far fewer bruises on his small form, all because of Ichigo. Masaki insisted that he call her Mom, and he was thrilled to do so.
Less than a month later, they met Grimmjow, who had his own problems and demons. He'd also been practically-adopted by the Kurosaki's like Ulquiorra, also because of Ichigo. And yet neither of them had been there when it mattered most. That day would forever be etched into all of their memories.
Both he and Grimmjow had shown up bruised and scraped on the doorstep that afternoon to find a frantic Isshin. It had been raining since early morning. He said that both Masaki and Ichigo had been gone since that morning. He asked them if they knew anywhere that they could be and they both told him about the walk by the river that she'd planned for the three of them with her. Isshin had called a family friend, Urahara, to watch 'the kids' and gotten his coat on to rush out the door.
They'd both run after him, not willing to sit there while their brother and mom were missing. After a brief but heated argument, he'd allowed them to go with him. What they'd found when they got to the river had permanently scarred them all, but none more so than Ichigo. Nearly dark at that point, working with the flashes of lightning to search, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had spotted them first, their screams alerting Isshin.
They'd felt frozen when they'd spotted the unmoving figures in a flash of light. They weren't stupid or naive, they knew full well what that puddle of red was that surrounded the two most important people in their lives.
The next thing Ulquiorra remembered was standing and looking down into unseeing honey-colored eyes and thinking that Ichigo was dead as well. Grimmjow had had to shake him hard and point out that dead people didn't shiver in order for him to snap back to the situation. Isshin had appeared then and pulled Masaki off of Ichigo, and uncaring of the blood on him, both Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had flung themselves at him, unashamed of their tears.
It seemed that the two of them were just what Ichigo had needed. He'd finally started crying and hugged them like they were the only things holding him to the world. Isshin had called the paramedics and police and they'd stayed there shivering in the rain for another half-hour before the flashing lights alerted them to the authorities arriving. When the medics had attempted to separate the three boys they'd gotten a glimpse into hell with the fit they'd all thrown.
Another good friend of their father's, a lady named Unohana, had come in and personally taken care of them, allowing them to stay together. She'd come to the conclusion that Ichigo was fine, physically, but for a minor case of hypothermia, and that all of them were in shock, Ichigo the worst, of course, and that it was highly possible for all three of them to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sure enough, to the day, they suffered from horrible nightmares that only one of the others could soothe. For the next two months, none of them could be so much as out of sight or they'd have panic attacks. They slept together like a bundle of puppies looking for warmth.
They still hated to be without the others, and their bond was definitely closer than brothers; they needed each other. When they'd gone back to school they'd managed to make friends with others that were as different or hurt as them, though Ulquiorra and Grimmjow both knew it was due solely to Ichigo. Masaki had been the one to instill that need to protect in their brother, and neither of them was going to do a damn thing to discourage it in the least.
They'd always had an almost sixth sense when it came to the others' being in trouble since that day by the river. So when they both got a bad feeling during their freshmen year, they noticed immediately that they were missing a certain orange-haired teen. To say they were shocked to find Ichigo being accosted by someone they thought of as a friend would be an understatement. To say they were royally fucking pissed off would be an even bigger understatement.
Ichigo was no pushover, none of them were, even more so since they'd joined the underground, and yet the bastard had nearly succeeded in his attempt. To say that he was given the beating of a lifetime and strung up from the flagpole would be yet another understatement. He was also the reason that the trio tended to react so violently to Ichigo being called a strawberry.
What no one else knew, not even Isshin, was that said bastard had made a second attempt on their brother while he'd been visiting Masaki's grave. His pet name for Ichigo had been 'My little Strawberry'. After that, it had been open war. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had gone after every single person that hung around the people that knew that bastard.
"Earth to Ulqui." Ichigo tapped on his forehead with two knuckles.
He started and looked up, "Huh?"
Ichigo sighed and shook his head, "You going to get ready for the day, or do you intend to stare off into space for the rest of forever?"
"Sorry, guess I just spaced out for a minute there." he smiled sheepishly, "Everyone's allowed an Orihime-moment every now and then."
"True, now let's go." they walked out and Ichigo knocked on the door opposite his, "Ggio, time to get up."
Groans that they both, for the sake of their sanity, were going to assume were from a sleepy person waking up, came from the other side, " 'Kay, thanks, Ichi. Go on down to breakfast, I'll wake up Grimm." the last part of that had been said in a definite purr.
Ichigo wrinkled his nose, "T.M.I. Ggio. Top floor's all yours."
Ulquiorra shook his head as they descended the stairs, "At least they have someone to wash each other's backs."
Ichigo faux-gagged, "Uh, I'm scarred enough: I don't need to imagine Grimm's naked ass."
Ulquiorra bumped shoulders with him and they both laughed, "Oh? What about Ggio?"
Ichigo shook his head, "He's cute, I'll admit, but there are a few problems. One: taken. Two: not my type."
The pale teen couldn't help but smirk, "You mean because he's the uke?"
The orange-haired teen's expression of shock was priceless, "Ulqui!"
As soon as he saw the shock start to turn into hurt, he held up his hands, "I was kidding, Aniki. Forgive me, I know I shouldn't have said that."
The other shook his head and sighed, "No, it's not your fault. I have to get over it sometime." he bumped shoulders with his little brother, "And if I weren't such a prude, I would have laughed."
Ulquiorra stopped on the next step and his head snapped up, "Do you smell that?"
Ichigo froze, "Yuzu's making chocolate-chip waffles."
Both their gazes caught the other out of the corner of their eye, and simultaneous, "Race ya!" fell from their lips.
Ichigo sighed as he took his seat at lunch, thinking about his talk with Ulquiorra earlier. He had been right, and that's what bugged him. He knew that if time had somehow reversed and he and Ulqui had had the same conversation before the whole 'incident', he would have laughed his ass off. That's what bugged him, knowing what he should be, but being unable to be that. It wouldn't be misstating things to say that it drove him crazy.
He was the first one on the roof, or so he thought, "Hey, King."
He opened his eyes and looked around without seeing anything. He was confused until he heard a snicker and looked up to see white hidden in the green above him, "Shiro? What the hell are you doing up there?"
The albino shrugged, "I cut my last class and decided to hang around up here for everyone. Want t' join me?"
"Sure." the other looked surprised at the ease with which Ichigo squirreled up the tree, "What, didn't think I could climb?"
He was sure he saw a light blush dust those pale cheeks before Shiro looked away, "I didn' say that."
"You didn't have to: your surprise said it for you."
"Whatever. So, uh, how's your knee today?"
"Fine. I heal fast, plus with the high quality of medical products we get, I rarely show signs of a fight past several days."
Shiro tilted his head, "Medical products?"
"You don't know? My father runs the Kurosaki clinic. My brothers and I often help out, so we know all about fixing ourselves up."
"Oh."
Ichigo was about to speak when his phone started to ring. Shiro raised a pale brow as the orange thing blasting out 'Bad to the bone' and Ichigo smiled at him before flipping it open without looking at the screen, knowing full well who the ringtone belonged to, "Hey, Hiyori, what's up?"
"The tourney's saturday night." she said and hung up.
Ichigo pulled the phone away from his ear and glared down at the dark screen, "Why, yes, we'd love to come over, you evil little midget." he said sarcastically, knowing she couldn't hear him.
He looked up when it sounded like Shiro was suffering from an air-leak, "Do you...do that...to everyone...that annoys you?" he asked between bouts of laughter.
"Do what?"
"Call them names and insult them?"
"Mostly, but I never start it. I only ever strike back, it's the way I was raised. I do my best to never strike the first blow, physically or verbally."
Shiro nodded seriously, "Well you have a great come-back, on both, from what I can see."
"Uh, thanks." confused by the feeling going through his chest and the weird urge he had to invite Shiro over, he decided to go with his instincts, "Hey, Shiro."
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to come over tomorrow?"
"You're inviting me over on a weekend?"
"Unless through some odd turn of events that I missed that the week is now an extra day long, yes; I'm pretty sure that's what I was implying."
Shiro cackled at that and nodded, "Sure thing."
"Ichi? Hello? Ichigo?" Grimm's voice came from below them.
"Up here, stand back." he said and jumped from the tree to land in a perfect crouch. He glanced down at his phone when it buzzed.
Could ya have him turn around for a moment? If I'm going to fall out of a tree, I'd rather it be without witnesses. -Shiro.
Ichigo shook his head, "Hey, Grimm, go stall the others for a minute."
The blue-eyed male looked at him quizzically for a moment before shrugging, "Okay."
He watched his brother walk away before turning back to the tree. He pointed at his feet, "Just jump and aim for where I'm standing."
"Are you nuts? You want me to flatten you?"
"I don't know how long he'll be gone, you'd best hurry."
"Fine, but don't blame me if you get several new bruises."
He rolled his eyes, "Just jump."
"Banzai." he heard muttered before Shiro fell.
Shiro was a bit heavier than Ichigo was expecting and he staggered as the albino hit him. They teetered and it actually seemed it was going to work for a moment before they fell in a heap, "OOF!"
Shiro looked down at him for a minute before they both started laughing, "I...told ya...so!"
Ichigo reached up and rubbed his forehead from where they'd bumped heads in the plummet, "We definitely have to work on your landings."
"My, my, my. Shall I come back at a more convenient time?" a gruff voice said from their right.
Shiro quickly hopped off Ichigo and sat next to the tree, cheeks a bright pink, "Ah, no. Tha's not nece'sry."
Ichigo dusted himself off and sat next to Shiro, his cheeks just as pink, "Astounding timing as always, Grimm."
Grimmjow smirked and sat a full space away on Ichigo's other side. He pulled out his phone and fiddled with it for a moment.
Ichigo waited for his phone to buzz and was surprised when he heard 'Who let the dogs out?' coming from Shiro's pocket. Ichigo noted that it was the same phone that he and his brothers owned, though in white. Hoping it wouldn't offend, but too curious for his own good, he plopped his chin on Shiro's shoulder and read the text.
Hurt my brother and I'll castrate you. -Grimmjow.
Ichigo glared at his brother over Shiro's shoulder and pulled out his own phone.
I invited him to dinner tomorrow. -IK.
What?! -GJK.
Grimm's phone played an odd ringtone and he choked when he read whatever it was. Ichigo looked at Shiro when he felt a tug on his sleeve. The albino leaned back into Ichigo with a huge grin on his face and showed him the text he'd just sent.
Got a thing fer leather and blades, Grimm?~ -Shirosaki.
The two laughed together at the expression on Grimmjow's face. Ichigo looked down again when his phone buzzed in his hand.
Easy ta rile, ain't he, King?~ -Shiro.
Ichigo looked at Shiro and nodded. They were both smiling at one another when the others all arrived. When everyone was settled, Ulquiorra on his left with Grimmjow on Ulqui's other side and Ggio in his lap. Shiro was on his right with Szayel on his other side with Orihime, Tatsuki, Nel, Nnoi, Tesla, Rukia, Renji, Chad and Uryu in that order.
POV Switch
Shiro looked down when his phone started ringing obnoxiously loud, "God, will you silence that damn thing? It's annoying as hell! You're supposed to have your phone off during school hours."
He snorted and shook his head, ignoring the teal menace in favor of reading his text.
What Grimmjow is trying to say is that we aren't even supposed to have our phones on during school hours, and you may give us away. Also, knowing what your ringtone is for him, he asked me to add that having your volume on max sort of voids the point of talking in secret via text. -Ulquiorra.
Thanks fer the info. -Shiro.
That wasn't why I chose to text you. It's been a very long time since someone besides Grimmjow or myself managed to make him laugh, and you've managed to do it two days in a row. -Ulquiorra.
I like him, too. -Shiro.
Just be careful how deep you dig, you may not like what you uncover. -Ulquiorra.
Shiro looked up to see Ulquiorra putting his emerald green phone away. He caught the other's eye and nodded. Ulquiorra nodded once in return and threw his attention back into the conversation going on around them.
"It's tomorrow." Ichigo said, and Shiro had a moment of severe confusion.
Grimmjow's grin threatened to split his face, "So, Shirosaki, how are ya at fighting?"
Ichigo glanced up at him sharply, "Grimmjow." he said warningly.
" 's fine, King, let 'im ask. 'M good 'n a fight. Why?"
Rukia looked around, "Vote to bring up the underground?"
Grimmjow nodded, "I vote 'hell yeah'!"
No other vote, apparently, was needed once Ichigo decided, "Accepted."
"Wait," Renji started, "I think he should have the chance to choose, because most of us here didn't."
The strawberry-haired teen nodded, "That's fine."
Grimmjow sighed, "Really though, would any of us have chosen differently? Nel, what about you? You'd have the most to gain if you could unpick."
The aqua-haired girl shook her head, "No, I'd still have chosen the same."
Shiro looked around the circle, "Um, could someone tell me wha's goin' on?"
Renji nodded, "Well, there's something that you don't know about the town. But this is something that leads to so much other stuff, and you can't ever unknow this if you decide you don't want anything to do with it. Would you still want to know?"
"I nev' run away from anythin'."
Rukia clapped her hands together, "Great! So, it's like this-"
"Rukia, no." Ichigo shook his head.
The petite girl cocked her head, "Ichigo?"
"It's not your responsibility anymore."
She looked confused for a moment before her eyes lit up, "You sure?"
He nodded and turned to Shiro, "I'll explain." Shiro noticed Grimmjow and Ulquiorra sharing a look that Ichigo didn't see.
"Start 'splainin' then, 'cause 'm confused as fuck."
"Our town, Karakura, is like this on the up-and-up. But on the underside, the side that only comes out at night, it's different. Illicit activities and things that aren't entirely legal. Everything from sword fights and cage fights to illegal paraphernalia. Mostly though, control of the streets." he ran a hand through his hair, "This is going to require a little history. See, Karakura used to be divided into three factions. There was the Quincy faction, the Hollow faction, and the Soul Reaper faction. Things were alot more violent back then, and the Soul Reapers went on a rampage against the entire Quincy faction. What resulted was nothing less than the extermination of every Quincy that they could find."
Uryu adjusted his glasses, "My grandfather was a Quincy, as was my father. I was trained in their ways and still carry my grandfather's cross."
Ichigo nodded and looked back to Shiro, "Like I said, it was alot more violent back then. The old man that was in charge of the Soul Reapers back then is gone now, in fact, Rukia's older brother, Byakuya, is the head captain now. Anyway, that was all about twenty years ago, give or take. Nowadays, it's different, and there are more factions. Today, there are five groups. There's the Soul Reapers, the Vizards, the Hollows, the Arrancar faction, and the Bounts."
Shiro noticed the almost affectionate way Ichigo introduced the groups up until the end, and the amount of tension in his voice when he said 'Bounts'. He was guessing that whoever the Bounts were, Ichigo really didn't like them. He resettled himself to listen to Ichigo's explanation.
"The Soul Reapers and Hollows are the oldest of the groups, and they've always had a strong rivalry." he smiled when Rukia snorted, "Okay, it was more like an open-ended war. They were complete opposites. The Hollows were very much a rag-tag sort of group, no hierarchy to speak of; more like a large gang of bullies with no real leader. But they had numbers, and they were ruthless, not afraid to take a battle to its ultimate conclusion, they had to be good fighters just to survive each other and the darker part of town they lived in.
"The Soul Reapers were very much an organized group, more like a small army than a gang. They had a certain structured order based on who was strongest. They divided into thirteen groups based off who was best at what, be it stealth or raw strength. In each squad there were ranks, sticking with the number, I guess, there were thirteen ranks, or seats as they call them. The final two ranks aren't called seats, and unlike the other ranks, can be held by only one person each; the two strongest in each squad. The person with the top spot is called a Captain, the one right under them in the ranks is their Lieutenant. The squads don't always work the best with each other, though, another reason they were always in a give-and-take relationship with the Hollows.
"Neither could effectively gain the upper-hand and it continued for quite a long time. Several people in the Soul Reapers didn't like how completely controlled everything was, and it was very strict indeed, and branched off on their own, disliking the complete chaos of the Hollows just as much. Those people became the Vizards. The Vizards carved out their own territory over in the warehouse district, and in fact, they even hold tournaments on their ground with the other factions. If you're looking for neutral, the Vizards are as close as you're going to come around here.
"That stood at a stand-still for several years as well, though the Soul Reapers were resentful of the Vizards for splitting off at first and even tried to eliminate them like they had to the Quincy faction. Once proven that the Vizards, one; were hard to get ahold of and, two; knew how to kick ass, they were pretty much left alone.
"Then some of the Hollows got sick and tired of the mess that their faction was proven to be, they followed the example left by the Vizards and split off from their group. They made their own, the Arrancar. While they still held the deep hatred for the Soul Reapers that was instilled in all Hollows, they wanted structure, some kind of ranking that would keep everyone in line. They came up with their own number system, and their own higher powers. The strongest of the Arrancar are called Espada, and are numbered zero through nine."
"Wait, why zero through nine? Why no' one through ten? Tha' makes more sense."
"Not if you think of it the way they do. It's not a showing of who's the best, it's more of a warning to their opponent. Like this, when they're numbered like that, if you meet the eighth Espada and see the number, it's a warning that there are eight Espada stronger than them."
"Oh, I get it. So even th' number one Espada still has someone higher 'n 'im."
"Exactly, and the Cero Espada, the zero, has no one in the group higher in power than them."
"So, 'r' th' rest of th' Arrancar numbered too?"
"Yes, all of them are numbered. They're alot fewer Arrancar than Hollows or Soul Reapers, but more than the Vizards. Right now, there are hundreds of Soul Reapers and Hollows respectively, and a couple dozen Vizards, while the Arrancar number somewhere in the high eighties. All Arrancar have their number rank somewhere on them, but it changes almost constantly with fights to go up in the ranks. The Espada vary rarely change, though, and they have a tattoo somewhere on their body that denotes their rank in the top ten."
"Mus' be a bitch when they lose their spot then. Heard it hur's like a bitch to get a tat removed."
"Sometimes, I suppose. I know of only one exception to this. The Tercera, the number three, spot is held by two people right now. Both appear to be the exact same strength and they were willing to share it. It's very unusual for one of the Arrancar to settle for anything, let alone two of them on the same thing and agreeing to share."
"Can we take 'im, Ichi? Please?" Grimmjow apparently wasn't above giving puppydog eyes to get his way.
Shiro spoke up, "As fun as all this history is, why did I need to know it?"
Ichigo sighed and glared up at his brother, "Because several of us here belong to afore mentioned groups."
Now that shocked Shiro, "What?! Who?"
Rukia, Renji, Szayel, Nel, Nnoitora, Tesla, Ggio, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra all raised their hands. Ichigo sighed again, "I am as well, but let me explain."
"Yer gonna explain how ev'ryone bu' Chad, Uryu, Orihime, an' Tatsuki 'r' in some illegal gang? Oh, yes, please do."
"Renji and Rukia both got into it because of her older brother. When I met Rukia at the beginning of last year, through an odd series of events, I ended up becoming something of a substitute Soul Reaper, though it seems rather permanent if you ask me. Anyway, each faction has their own form of a membership I.D. The Soul Reapers have their Shihakusho and a necklace." Ichigo reached inside his uniform and pulled out a necklace with a small sword on it. He took it off and showed the small completely black blade to Shiro before putting it back on. Renji took his off and tossed it over, showing off the bone-like snake charm on it.
Ichigo held out his hand, showing Shiro the mask ring on his middle finger, "Each of the Vizards gets a mask. Each is different for each person and this is mine."
Shiro twisted Ichigo's hand this way and that to get a good look at the ring, "Cool."
"The Arrancar are different, though. Much more nebulous. They carry some kind of ivory or bone on them."
Shiro tilted his head, "Huh?"
Ggio caught his eye and tapped his helmet. Szayel gave a small wave and adjusted his white-rimmed glasses. The light went off over Shiro's head, white, the glasses' frames were made of ivory or some kind of bone. He saw Tesla touch the choker at his throat, and noted that it looked like the bottom of a jaw bone. Shiro couldn't help the the shiver that wracked his spine, "Okay, tha's sorta creepy."
Szayel smirked, "And that's only those of us that that don't care if people know what we are."
Shiro cocked his head, "Wha' dya mean?"
Nnoitora leaned over and whispered in Nel's ear. Nel looked at Ichigo questioningly and, receiving a nod, stood up and turned her back to the group. Nnoitora got up and stood in front of her, reaching around her back and lifting her uniform and shirt up to reveal a large gothic black '3' emblazoned on her back.
Shiro was having trouble dealing with his shock, "So, Nel's..."
"The Tercera Espada." Nnoitora finished.
"Wow. 'Ave I fallen over yet?"
Ichigo poked him in the shoulder, "Nope, still up-right."
The albino snickered before shaking his head, "Illicit activities or no', yer all still jus' people like ev'ryone, ain't ya?"
Ichigo scoffed, "I should hope so."
"So wha' was Grimm goin' on 'bout earlier?"
"Remember how I said that the Vizards have tournaments for the other factions on their ground?" at the nod he continued, "That call I got earlier was one of my friends from the Vizards telling me that there will be one tomorrow night. That's why Grimm wanted to know if you were good in a fight; it's been a while since we last sprang a surprise at a meet, and that was his subtle way of seeing if you could be our secret weapon."
Ulquiorra gave Shiro the biggest surprise of the day when he snorted derisively, "For Grimm, that is subtle."
Ichigo smiled at him and nodded before looking back at Shiro, "So, what do you say?"
Shiro interlaced his fingers behind his head, "Sounds like fun. I say 'hell yeah'!"
The albino was shocked to see Grimmjow and Ulquiorra exchange a fist bump and satisfied grins. Rukia was wiggling in excitement, "This will be so much fun!"
Uryu pushed his glasses farther up his nose, "I may just come and watch. I think I'll have to see this."
The others were chattering about much the same and Shiro moved closer to Ichigo and whispered, "Hey, King. You said there were five groups, but you only went into detail about four of them. What about that last group?" he asked, specifically avoiding saying the word that Ichigo seemed to hate.
The orange-haired teen's entire demeanor changed at the query. His every muscle seemed to tense up and Shiro regretted asking. He stared down at the ground and kept his voice low so that only Shiro could hear, "The Bounts. They came out of nowhere. They absolutely hate all Soul Reapers and those that associate with them. They aren't afraid to go after civilians and use them to hurt their quarry. They also have a personal vendetta against me and are currently in a war with the Vizards and Arrancar because of it."
"All because you're a substitute Soul Reaper?"
"No."
Shiro got the impression that he really didn't want to press farther, but his curiosity refused to allow him to control his mouth, "Then why?"
He saw how hard Ichigo clenched his hands and worried that he'd draw blood, "Remember what Grimmjow said yesterday?"
Shiro looked down and thought furiously over everything that the teal-haired teen had said the day before. His gold-on-black eyes widened, "About the last person you accepted into the group?"
That seemed to be Ichigo's last straw and Shiro saw red drip from his clenched hands, "Yeah."
Shiro shot up and headed for the far side of the roof's entrance, "Hey, King, c'mere a minute!" Ichigo appeared a moment later and Shiro forced him to sit down while he grabbed one of the medical kits Tatsuki had told him about, "Fuck, Ichi-King. If you don't want to talk, then just tell me to fuck off. You shouldn't have to do this." he said as he cleaned and dressed the wounds.
Ichigo seemed almost too compliant, "Sorry."
"Don't apologize to me!" he whispered furiously. He shook his head, "I don't know what he did or said to make you do this to yerself, but I assure you, I've got the bastard's number for this little episode."
It was hard to see with Ichigo hanging his head, but he could have sworn he saw a smile, "Sorry, Shiro."
The albino sighed as he finished his first aid, "Baka. I just said don't apologize to me." Ichigo went to open his mouth and Shiro held up his hand, "Forget it."
Yes, that was definitely a smile, "What I was going to say, that time, was 'thank you'."
Shiro smirked and shrugged, "I'd have answered the same."
POV Switch
Ichigo had a silly smile on his face as he stared out the window during his last class of the day and shook his head. This is crazy. I've only known him two days!
He looked down at the wrappings on his hands and almost snickered at the warmth that washed through him. He shook his head again. Dammit, I feel like a pre-teen girl!
He looked down when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
U ok? -GJK.
Sorry, my head was in the clouds. -IK.
Thts wat u get staring out windws all day evry day. -GJK.
Toeing the line, Grimm. Careful you don't step over it. -IK,
Both of you shut up and pay attention! -USK.
Sorry. -IK.
Srry. -GJK.
It was an impatient wait for final bell and Ichigo couldn't keep still in his seat, the heel of his foot tapping up and down obsessively. He felt he needed to do something! He still had his phone out and looked down at it.
Hey, Yuzu, I have a friend I invited over for tomorrow. Is that okay? -Ichi-nii.
Sounds great! Congratulations on making a new friend, I can't wait to meet them! Do they like vanilla? I can make more than one icecream. -Yuzu.
Ha! Someone gets to have "the talk" with goat-face when they get home~. -Karin.
How the hell did you find out? -Ichigo.
Yuzu talks to herself, and Dad talks to Mom's picture. -Karin.
(Sarcastically) Fantastic. -Ichigo.
Hey, Shiro, what do you think of vanilla icecream? -King.
Is that a joke or something? -Shiro.
No. How would that be a joke? -King.
Think about it fer a minute, it'll come to ya. -Shiro.
Ichigo tilted his head and thought for a moment, then felt his cheeks heat up when he got it.
Ahh! No! My sister is making vanilla icecream for dessert tomorrow. But she can make another if you don't like it. -King.
Oh, it's fine I suppose. No better or worse than any other kind I guess. -Shiro
If you stay over-night or come over early the next morning and taste it on her homemade chocolate-chip waffles, I guarantee it would change your mind. -King.
That actually does sound good. I'll check with my 'dad' and let ya know. -Shiro.
Give me a ring when you get underway so the place doesn't look too horrid when you get there. -King.
A bit early in the relationship for rings, ain't it? -Shiro.
Ichigo scowled down at his phone.
Oh, haha. Go ahead and make fun of me for it, everyone else has. -King.
Make fun of you for what? -Shiro.
You mean you don't know? -King.
Know what?! -Shiro.
Nothing. Nevermind. -King.
Che, I'll find out eventually. -Shiro.
That's what I'm afraid of. -King.
He put his phone in his pocket after that and looked up at the clock just as the bell rang. Gathering his things, he headed outside. Grimmjow burst out of the doors like the inside of the school had been lacking oxygen, "T.G.I.F!"
Ggio, Ichigo and Ulquiorra all nodded, "Hear, hear."
Grimm sighed and waved them off as he headed in the opposite direction from their house, "See you at home."
None of the others moved to go after him, they all knew that friday was Grimmjow's day to visit Masaki's grave. Ggio watched him go, "I have to head off, too. Can I come by later?"
"If you don't plan on being bodily pulled from your house otherwise." Ichigo said.
"Thanks guys."
"See you in a bit." Ichigo murmured as he and Ulqui headed for home.
Ichigo and Ulquiorra looked at one another and then at the door. The orange-haired teen sighed and reached for the door, as soon as it opened he was attacked, "ICHIGO, MY BEAUTIFUL SON! I HEARD YOU MADE A-OOFF!" his tirade was cut off as he flew face-first into Ichigo's fist.
"Cool it, goat-face. The last thing I need is you scaring Shiro away. I don't need your help or advice on my friends." he said to his father's still form on the floor. He sighed and shook his head, he really didn't want to deal with his father at the moment, "I'm going to go do inventory for the clinic."
As he walked through the connecting door, he tossed off his uniform and changed into the spare pair of clothes he kept in the clinic's closet just for situations like this one. Comfy in a black tee and blue jeans, he grabbed the clipboard and started taking inventory. He lost himself in the work and when next he looked up, an hour had passed. He heard the knock that came from the front door of the house and went to answer it.
Black bangs shadowed golden eyes, but failed to hide the newly purpling bruise on a tattooed cheek, "Ggio."
"H-hey, Ichi. S-sorry if I'm early."
"Baka." he saw the younger male flinch at the insult, "Get in here and let's get that treated. You better not have been out there longer than five minutes debating whether or not to come in."
Ggio smiled, then winced at the pain it caused, "Seven and a half, actually."
Ichigo shook his head and dragged the shorter teen over to the clinic and sat him on a bed. The first thing he did was hand him an icepack before looking around for a washrag. After finding one, he went to the cupboard and got out the bruise treatment, soaking the rag. It was high quality stuff; after using it on his knee the fist day he had been able to move without limping, and now it was just an interesting shade of greenish yellow. He held it out to Ggio, "Here. Put this on and lay back. Try to get a little sleep. I'll wake you up with a call when Grimm gets here."
The raven-haired boy nodded, "Thanks, Ichi."
"Ggio." he stopped and hesitated before plowing ahead, "You have family here, people that love you. I don't want you to feel pressured, but there's always room for one more. Just think about it, okay?"
Ggio looked shocked, "Are asking me to move in?"
Ichigo nodded, "You're thought of as more than just 'Grimmjow's boyfriend' here. We all care about you, Ggio. I haven't made this offer since Grimm and Ulqui, and I'm not making it because of your relationship with Grimmjow."
"Y-you really mean it?"
"I really mean it. You could stay in Grimm's room, or we can think of something else, but I've talked about this with my father and he agrees. Our door has always been open to you."
The tiger-teen looked away and Ichigo knew it was to hide the tears in his eyes, "Th-thank you. W-would sunday be okay?"
"Sunday will be fine. Do you need help moving?"
Ggio nodded and swallowed before his voice would work, "Help would...help would be nice."
Ichigo stepped forward, popping Ggio's personal space bubble and the golden-eyed teen looked up at him. Ichigo held his chin and tipped it down so he could kiss the tattooed teen's forehead, "Get some sleep," he smirked, "Otouto."
Ggio wiped his eyes and nodded when Ichigo backed away, "Okay. Thank you, Ichi-nii."
"You're welcome." he whispered back as he closed the door behind him.
Ulquiorra was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed and a smile playing on his face, "It's about time. Finally, I'm not the youngest male anymore."
Ichigo chuckled, "Maybe not, but you're still my Otouto. So, how do you feel about sharing that title?"
"I'm surprisingly okay with it. I thought that I'd feel jealous, but surprisingly all I feel is... content."
"Protective?"
"That too. It was hard to treat his injuries every week and not start to feel something, you know?"
"All too well. Also, as you said, you're no longer the youngest: now you get an otouto of your very own."
Ulquiorra laughed softly so as not to disturb the one sleeping in the other room, "Yes, there's that, too. I must say, that's probably the biggest reason for my liking this."
Ichigo motioned ahead of him, "Come on, let's go inform the girls that the pterodactyl made a drop-off and got them a new brother."
Ulquiorra laughed again, like he only did at home, nodded, and followed him. They got to the kitchen and saw Karin 'helping' Yuzu cook: watching and occasionally stealing a bite of something that looked particularly tasty. Ulquiorra leaned on the counter with his elbows, out of the way, "Guess what."
"We're getting a new dog. A cat. A gopher. A ferret. They just anounced that school's canceled forever. Am I anywhere close?" Karin threw suggestions left and right.
"You were closer towards the beginning." Ulqui hinted with glee, always willing to torment the elder of the twins.
The raven-haired girl turned to her genetic brother, "Ichigo, what's going on?"
"The pterodactyl just dropped off your new brother."
Yuzu tilted her head, "Pterodactyl?"
"You don't think any stork would be strong enough to lift Ggio, do you?"
Yuzu clapped her hands together, completely oblivious to the sauce-covered wooden spoon in her hand and the spatter she created, "Ggio-kun's moving in? This is wonderful! Isn't this great, Karin?"
"Wonderful, another person to fight for the bathroom with." the elder of the girls replied, ever the cynic.
Ulquiorra scoffed, "Right, because it wasn't like he was living here already, and obviously that's going to be a huge change."
Karin glared at him, "Do you have any other flavor besides sarcastic?"
"Karin!" Yuzu admonished, afraid her beloved brother would take it the wrong way and go into one his emotionless modes.
Ulquiorra smiled and waved it off, "It's okay, Yuzu. I know she doesn't mean it, this is just her way of working off her excitement without seeming like she's actually excited."
Karin glared and flipped him off, "Whatever."
"Just be careful you don't say the wrong thing around my Otouto, Karin. You know how fragile a time this is."
The young soccer star looked away guiltily, "Okay, I might, possibly feel just a little excited about having a new brother, but if you bring it up, I swear I'll deny it."
Ulquiorra smirked victoriously and held up his phone, "That's fine, I recorded it."
Karin looked shell-shocked, "You didn't!"
Ulquiorra hit a button and the younger raven-haired youth's voice echoed through the room, repeating her never-to-be-repeated statement. He smiled, "Wanna bet?"
Karin's face turned red in anger, "Bastard! Give me that damn phone!" she said and attacked him, jumping in an attempt the get the device he held above her head.
Ulquiorra raised it each time she jumped, "Come on, work for it."
Yuzu was admirably ignoring her siblings' squabble. She turned to Ichigo, "Ichi-nii, you never answered me back about your friend."
Ichigo first had to tear his attention away from the very amusing spectacle of Karin jumping for Ulquiorra's phone while said pale teen held it just out of reach with an evil smirk on his face to try and remember what Yuzu was talking about. Then he remembered, "Oh! He said that vanilla is fine, he doesn't really have any preferences for icecream. I invited him to spend the night so he could have some of your famous dessert breakfast waffles sunday morning."
"That's fine. Where will he stay?"
"We haven't really talked about it yet. He has to talk to his guardian to see if he can, then he'll let me know. I figured I could pull something together, like bringing in one or two of the pallets from the clinic and camping out on the floor of my room."
"You came up with all that just now, didn't you? It's amazing how you do that."
He shrugged, "I'm the creativity of our group. Also the compassion."
Karin glared up at her tormentor, "Ulquiorra's definitely the sadism of the three of you."
Ulqui continued to smirk at her, "Did you ever consider asking nicely?"
"I did. Then I realized it was you and discarded the idea."
"I promise not to go showing it around, but you aren't going to delete it."
"I really hate you."
"Liar."
"Torturer."
"Shrimp."
"Snow demon."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Children, please." They both looked at him and stuck out their tongues. Ichigo smiled and quickly brought up his phone, snapping the picture before they realized what happened, "Oh, very mature. And look, I now have proof of it." he said and sent the pic.
Two ringtones played, one from the livingroom, the other from the phone in Ulquiorra's hand. The raven-haired teen looked at his screen and paled further, if possible, "Karin, you're going to want to answer that."
She rushed off to the livingroom and a screech sounded, "Ichigo!"
He ignored the shout and showed his phone to his youngest sibling, "What do you think, Yuzu?"
"It's so cute, Ichi-nii! Can I have it for my background?"
"Sure." he said and sent it off again.
Yuzu pulled her cell from her pocket and jumped up and down, "Thank you!"
Karin came back in and slumped down at the counter, "You'll pay for that one. Both of you."
"Hey guys!"
"Welcome home, Grimm-nii!" Yuzu shouted.
Ichigo got up, "I'll be right back." he said and headed for the clinic.
He knocked on the door to the room Ggio had been sleeping in, "Yeah?"
"Ggio, Grimm's home, and dinner's almost ready."
"Thanks, Ichi-nii." Ggio said as he opened the door and looked up at him, "You know, I like the sound of that: the way it rolls off my tongue."
"Well, come on, then. Let's go introduce you to the rest of the family. I'll tell you now, because he won't, that Ulquiorra is really looking forward to having someone call him Aniki. The girls usually stick with Niisan and he's happy that he finally has an otouto of his very own."
Ggio smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."
Ichigo nodded towards his cheek, "That doesn't look too bad now."
"Yeah, they never do when you take care of them. You've got some good stuff for such a small clinic."
"All thanks to Dad's connections. He's got a friend that runs the Karakura general hospital; Restu Unohana. She's a personal friend."
The tiger-teen shook his head, "You and your father and your connections."
"On the bright side, there just about nothing we can't get."
"Or get into."
"That too."
Karin waved them over when they got inside, "Hey guys, dinner's finished. Take a seat."
Everyone got settled and dinner was quiet for the first half, while everyone was too hungry to talk. When the quiet chatter of family started around him Ichigo crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, "You know, I'm not so sure about this anymore."
Ggio had a look of apprehension on his face, but Ulquiorra just glanced at him, "How so?"
"I never really thought about how weird it would be to have two of my brothers dating each other."
Ggio choked on his soda and Karin had to pound on his back to calm him down. Grimm didn't get it for a minute before a huge grin split his face, "Really, Ggio? Awesome!"
Ggio finished his coughing fit, "Yep. Ichi offered this afternoon and we decided sunday would be the best time."
Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, so we'll go this sunday and help G move all his things over here. Yuzu can supervise and Karin can delegate where it all goes."
Isshin clapped his hands, "The more the merrier!"
Ggio stood up, "Come on, girls, I'll help you clean up dinner."
"Thank you, Ggio-nii!" Yuzu enthused.
He chuckled and ruffled her hair, "No problem. It's nice to have a little sister to help. Wow, this morning I was an only child, now I'm like a member of the Japanese Brady Bunch."
Ulquiorra shook his head, "Not quite, but we're working on it. We're like the union: always looking for new members."
The others left Isshin as they went to do their homework: Grimmjow in his room, Ichigo in his, and Ulquiorra in the quiet of the clinic office where he usually did the accounting. Ichigo finished first and snuck down the stairs so he wouldn't disturb anyone. Karin and Yuzu were working on their homework in the diningroom, Ggio leaned over and helping them.
Seeing he wasn't needed, Ichigo snuck over to the entrance of the livingroom and saw his father kneeling before the picture of his mother, talking to her, surprisingly serious, "Isn't this great, Masaki? I know how much you always wanted a big family, and look, now we have another son. Ggio's going to do just fine, I know. I'm sure our other boys will protect him, and Yuzu and Karin will give him something to protect for himself, someone to take care of. You were right, you know, you always were, a little love and an open heart goes so far."
Ichigo snuck out, not wanting to intrude on his father's personal time, knowing how much it meant to him when he spoke to Masaki at her grave. He was going to finish the inventory he'd started earlier when knocking came from the front door. He looked over his shoulder, "I've got it!" he wasn't very surprised when he saw a girl with semi-long dark hair that had a hinted tint of purple held up with a red ribbon, "Hi, Senna."
The lightly tanned girl looked up at him, still in her school's brown outfit, "Hi, Ichigo."
"Ulqui's back in his office, probably doing his homework or the accounting."
"Thanks, I'll go see if I can help him."
They walked to the clinic together before she went off to find her boyfriend and he went to finish the stock. Ichigo willed his mind to lose itself in the job, though he found it harder to do than before. He couldn't help but look up at the clock, which of course only seemed to make the time drag more. His body knew it was friday night and was getting antsy. After what seemed to be forever, he had a complete accounting of all the stock and a list of what they needed to order, and it was almost midnight.
Quiet as he could be, he exited the clinic and went in the house. As expected, all the lights were off and everyone was in bed. Ulquiorra and Senna were passed out on the couch, fitting perfectly in Senna's favorite position; half on top of the pale teen with his arm around her and her head on his chest.
Up the stairs in Ichigo's room, the orange-haired teen unlocked the bottom drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small bag. Careful to be as silent as possible, he once again crept past the sleeping couple on the couch and over to the entryway. Slipping on his shoes and making sure he had everything he needed, he slunk out into the night, locking the door behind him as he went.
The night was cool on the skin from the coming fall on the horizon, but not cold enough to need a jacket. And the run to the river was enough to keep Ichigo warm. Standing far from the bank in the shadow of a tree, where he could see clear to the other side of the river, he leaned against the tree and opened the bag he'd brought. Bringing out a rectangle pack, he plucked a cigarette from the pack and tapped it to settle the tobacco. He pulled out a lighter and breathed in the poisonous smoke as he lit it up.
Tilting his head up, he released the smoke in rings, watching them dissipate in the dim moonlight. This place always brought back the memories, thus the need for some form of relaxant lest his PTSD act up. Hours he'd lain there under the cooling body of his mother, her blood seeping through his clothes to be partially washed away in the rain.
He shook his head and noticed his cigarette was almost gone. He reached over to his left wrist and the wide leather wristband that was there and undid the buckle. It was hidden under his school uniform usually, hidden under the hidden. The leather fell away to reveal a wrist heavily scarred with tiny circles, so much that they were nearly indistinguishable from one another and the whole. Tapping the last of the ash from the butt, he harshly mashed the end to his skin among the other marks, hissing and savoring the burn on his flesh like he had the burn in his lungs from the smoke.
Crouching down, he opened a can and threw the extinguished butt inside before closing it and pulling out a small first aid kit. Carefully treating the burn so it wouldn't get infected, he then slathered it with antibiotic ointment and stuck a small patch of gauze over it. When he was done, Ichigo once again donned his wristband, closed the bag, and headed home, like every weekend.
x
That's it for chapter two. Until next time!
Oh, for those who were confused about Ulquiorra's seemingly random text, there was one not shown (because it was Shiro's POV) that went between him and Grimmjow about Shiro's phone volume (remember that our blue haired friend heard it before the others came out).
