A/N: Chapter Two! Though, really it's chapter one. Man, I should have organized this better. I'm even confusing myself, at this point. If you are confused too, just message me and I'll try to explain things and answer questions. Onwards!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Ichigo followed the hollows spiritual pressure, trying to focus on where it was. He may not be the best as sensing reiatsu, but over the years he has improved. When he reached it, however, he was surprised to see not one, but two large hollows. One was holding something black, and when he got closer, he realized a shinigami was on the ground. In fact, the hollow was also grasping a shinigami. They both looked injured, which prompted Ichigo to quickly dispose of them before checking on the two fallen soul reapers. While the girl was unconscious, the boy seemed to be slightly aware of what had happened, so Ichigo decided to introduce himself.
"Substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. Are you alright?" He asked, knealing down on one knee.
"Ichigo...Kurosaki..?" Was all the boy said before finally passing out. Ichigo sweat dropped, not knowing what to do now.
'Well...I can't just leave them here. Damn...Grimm's not gonna like this.' Ichigo thought before lifting up the two shinigami and flash stepping back home.
"What. The FUCK. Is THIS?!" A very angry Grimmjow yelled, having apparently woken up right after Ichigo left. Said strawberry sighed and did his best to ignore his pissed off lover, carefully laying each soul reaper down on the spare hospital beds in their home. He then whipped out his phone, dialing Orihime's number.
"Don't you ignore me! What the hell is this shit?!"
"Oi, Inoue? I need a favor...yeah...can you come right now? Thanks, see you soon." Ichigo flipped his phone shut, walking over to unlock the front door. He then went back to observe the two he had rescued, noticing how they kind of looked the same. The boy had black hair, with three circular hair clips on one side and two on the other. He looked very fragile, and had some bad injuries. The girl also had dark hair, looking petite and kind of tomboy-ish. Her hair was short, and she wore a piece of black cloth in it.
"I'm serious, Ichigo! Explain, now!" Grimmjow yelled, flailing his arms like a mad man. Ichigo's patience finally snapped, and he roughly grabbed the ex espada's shoulders, giving them a firm shake.
"What was I suppose to do?! They were injured, and I can't just leave them there! Just let me take care of this, dammit!" He yelled, feeling a head ache coming on.
"You could have left them there! It's not your damn responsibility!" Grimmjow screamed back, shoving Ichigo away.
"It is my responsibility! I actually have a heart, unlike you!"
"Uhm...is this a bad time? Ichigo?" A timid voice asked from the door, making both men freeze. Orihime stood in the doorway, looking rather frightened at the sight before her. She thought Ichigo and Grimmjow were madly in love, so to see them fighting so viciously was shocking, to say the least.
"Oh..Orihime..n-no, it's fine. Come here." Ichigo said, backing away from the still fuming Grimmjow who proceeded to storm upstairs and slam the door shut. Orihime didn't miss the sad look in Ichigo's brown eyes, but decided not to ask about it. It wasn't her business, after all, and even if she asked it wasn't like Ichigo would tell her.
"What did you need me for, Ichigo?" She asked, following Ichigo to where the mini hospital part of their house was located.
"I need you to heal these two, okay? They were injured during a fight, and...I couldn't just leave them." Ichigo replied, sounding slightly frustrated at the end of his sentence. Orihime assumed it had something to do with the argument.
"Oh, of course! I'll get right on it!" She exclaimed, bringing out her orange healing barrier. Ichigo watched somberly, not daring to go check on Grimmjow. Honestly, he wasn't sure where they went wrong. At this point, he didn't even know if the blue haired man loved him, and he didn't want to ask.
"How have you been, by the way?" Ichigo asked, wanting to take his mind off Grimmjow.
"Oh, I've been just fine! It's so nice now that schools over, I've been able to relax and practice cooking! But...how have you been?" She asked hesitantly, not wanting to make him feel worse.
"I've been..great. Lifes gotten easier since graduation, hasn't it?" Ichigo said, smiling sadly. In all honesty, he did miss school a little bit. Since graduation, he hasn't seen his friends as much, and he had started feeling isolated.
"It sure has. I do kinda miss Mrs. Ochi and Tatsuki, and Keigo and Mizuiro, and just all of them! But relaxing sure is nice." Orihime said, as if reading Ichigo's mind. At least he wasn't the only one missing it. Grimmjow didn't miss anything, of course.
'There I go thinking about him again...' Ichigo mentally sighed.
"Yeah...it is.." He said, beginning to zone out. Orihime's barrier vanished, signaling that the healing process had finished.
"Well, that should do it! I'm not sure when they'll wake up, but it should be soon! Just tell me when they do, okay? I'm curious to see who they are." Orihime exclaimed, smiling happily.
"Yeah, sure, thanks Orihime." Ichigo said, still not really paying attention. Orihime's smile faltered, and she took a moment to notice how tired Ichigo looked.
"Well...I'll just be going then." She said, still trying to sound happy. Ichigo nodded, walking her to the door.
"Thanks again, Orihime. I really appreciate it." Ichigo said meaningfully, offering a smile. Orihime returned it, waving as she walked away. Ichigo reluctantly closed the door, knowing that now he had to talk to Grimmjow.
'And say what? I didn't do anything wrong...he's the one getting all mad for nothing. It's not like those two will be in the way. They'll wake up and leave, that's it. Why is it so bad that I care? I can't care about people? Ugh...' Ichigo groaned, rubbing his temples and flopping down onto the couch. His eyes burned, but he refused to let his angry tears fall out. He decided to just wait until Grimmjow calmed down and approached him instead.
A few hours later...
Ichigo blinked slowly, trying to remember what happened. He was on the couch, and it was daylight outside, but now it was dark. Sitting up, he realized he must have fallen asleep. What he didn't remember, however, was getting a blanket and draping it over himself. That could only mean someone else had seen him sleeping and actually showed some kindness, meaning Grimmjow had indeed calmed down. Speaking of the blue haired devil, Grimmjow was at the kitchen table, waiting for Ichigo to wake up.
"Hey." Was all he said, making Ichigo mentally scoff. Knowing Grimmjow, he was probably about to give a half assed apology and then pretend like nothing happened.
"Hey." Ichigo said back, his voice lacking any trace of enthusiasm.
"Look, I just wanted to say sorry, okay? I guess I overreacted a little. I just wasn't expecting it, you know? So...yeah, sorry." He said, his face void of any emotion. Ichigo wanted to roll his eyes, but decided against it. It would ultimately end up starting another argument.
"Don't worry about it." Ichigo said, although he really wanted to say that it wasn't okay. There's a lot he wanted to say to Grimmjow, but it was better to keep it locked away. If Grimmjow could do that with his emotions, then Ichigo could do it with his thoughts.
"So, what's for dinner? Yuzu still isn't back yet...or Karin, or your Dad. You feel like cooking?" Grimmjow said, returning to his original self.
"I guess." Ichigo sighed, not really feeling like cooking at all. Since Grimmjow sure as hell wouldn't cook, it was up to Ichigo yet again, and if he wasn't hungry too, he would walk away right now.
"When are those two gonna get out?" Grimmjow asked, referring to the shinigami. Ichigo clenched his fist, but kept his temper in check.
"Orihime said they should wake up soon, but it might take a day or so. After that, they'll leave." Ichigo said, hoping Grimmjow would just drop it.
"A day? Che...whatever. As long as they get out of here I don't care." The former sexta grumbled, making Ichigo clench his fists more, digging his nails into the skin. He decided to just stay quiet, not trusting his voice at the moment. Grimmjow didn't necessarily hate soul reapers, not like he used to anyways. They did however make him feel on edge, and a little uncomfortable.
"Are you feeling okay, Ichi?" Grimmjow asked, noticing how tense his lover was. He didn't mean to piss him off, he was just being himself.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Ichigo said, finding his own statement an understatement. He was tired, but not from lack of sleep. He was tired of Grimmjow being so distant and reserved, never telling him anything, being a jerk, always wanting sex even if Ichigo wasn't up for it. He loved the guy, he truly did, but he felt like their once happy relationship was turning into an unhealthy one, one that lacked communication and trust and honesty.
"Ugh...where am I?" A voice suddenly asked, making Grimmjow and Ichigo jump. They looked over, and saw that the female shinigami had woken up.
"Oh, hello. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper, and you're in my house in Karakura Town. I brought you and your friend here after you got injured from fighting those hollows." Ichigo explained, noticing how Grimmjow glared at the girl.
"Ryunosuke?" She asked, looking over at her friend. She then walked over and proceeded to slap him, trying to wake him up.
"Oi, idiot! Wake up! We have to get back to Captain Ukitake!" She yelled, resorting to shaking her friend. She huffed angrily when he didn't wake up.
"You fool," She sighed, and then noticed Grimmjow glaring at her, "And you! What's with that look, huh? You got a problem!"
"Yeah, I do actually! I've got an annoying, flat chested shinigami here stinking up the place!" Grimmjow yelled, standing up and shaking a fist at her. Ichigo decided it was best to step in, but was hit squarely in the jaw, blacking out afterwards. The punch was meant for Grimmjow, but Ichigo had gotten in the way.
"Now look at what you made me do! And don't call me flat chested, you blue haired freak!" She yelled, not caring at all that Ichigo was unconscious. Grimmjow growled, picking up his lover and throwing him over his shoulder.
"Bitch, you better stay down here! If your friend isn't awake by tomorrow, I'm gonna kill you!" Grimmjow yelled, carrying Ichigo up the stairs and into his room. He couldn't care less about that woman, he just wanted to sleep.
"Che, what a jerk." The girl grumbled, climbing back into her bed. She could just take her friend and leave, but since it bothered Grimmjow so much, she decided to stay instead.
"Ichi, we're home!" A voice yelled, making the female sweat drop.
"Oh, look, two visitors." Another voice said, entering the front door behind her sister. Yuzu looked around, not seeing anyone, but Karin walked over to inspect the new faces.
"Who're you?" She asked, finding it a little odd that Ichigo wasn't around.
"My name is Shino, and I'm a soul reaper here to replace Zennosuke Kurumadani, protector of Karakura Town. This is my partner, Ryunosuke Yuki, although he's unconscious right now. That guy with the orange hair, Ichigo, brought us here to heal." Shino explained, finding it strange that these people are okay with strangers in their house.
"Oh, that makes sense. Where is Ichigo? And Grimmjow?" Karin asked.
"I believe that blue haired jerk and him went to sleep." Was her response.
"Ah, yeah, Grimmjow isn't fond of soul reapers. Don't take it personally. It's just his nature." Karin said, knowing full well that Grimmjow could be a real asshole. The two proceeded to talk, and Yuzu served the food Ichigo was making earlier.
All the while Ichigo lay unconscious in his lovers arms.
A/N: Ah, Grimmjow, you are indeed a jerk. I'm trying to follow the story line, or at least what Bleach wiki tells me, but damn it's annoying. Luckily, once I get to a certain point, I can be more creative. As you can see, Ichi and Grimm aren't doing so well. What, did you think they were a perfect couple? Sadly, that thing doesn't exist, and this couple isn't an exception. Well, I'm off to write the next chapter, so until then review!