Sanity and In Between

A/N: 3-30: Edited and Re-uploaded

Chapter Three

Show and Tell

Grimmjow yawned as he stepped out of the cab with Shawlong and Edrad. Di Roy was on his way, a day or two behind. He looked over the large house his sister owned. It had been a long time since he'd been to Japan, too long actually. And he forgot how small even her "large" house was. At least it was big enough that there was an actual second guest house that the guys could bunk in. He opened the gate and let the other two in and as expected, Nel was sitting in her swing reading, while Wonderweiss, the kid she'd adopted a few years ago, was snooping in the grass for creepy crawlies. He smiled and watched for a moment. Nel's dark green hair was pulled up in a tail behind her head and she was deep into whatever book she was reading, but Grimmjow knew that should the blond teenager puttering in the dirt even breathe funny, she would be aware in a second.

Nel was a gem, to be sure. She had adopted the kid about two years ago. She specialized in working with special needs children, and in her work she had come across the abused boy. When services removed him from the home, she had been lead on his case. They came to have such a great chemistry with each other, Nel decided to officially adopt the boy. He was highly intelligent, but had been diagnosed with autism and his parents hadn't known how to handle him. He'd been severely abused, and labeled with mental retardation. Turned out he was a victim of circumstance, and probably had a genius level IQ if one could actually test it. He just was a bit obsessed with his favorite things, and had a difficult time with anything remotely social. But Nel had been helping with that. Nel herself had been delayed developmentally due to being born with hydrocephalus. She'd grown up under constant bullying due to her speech impediment. Grimmjow and her two best friends that lived on their street had fought many fights for the young girl. These days, her speech problem was mostly gone. Sometimes, though, it showed up again, usually when she was very excited, or very angry.

"Yo, sis," he called. She waved and finished her page. Perhaps she'd been more aware of him than he thought. No, she was watching Wonderweiss, of course she knew he was there.

"Hey there," she said, standing and smiling when she closed the book, the red tattoos under her eyes nearly glowing in the light. "How was the flight?"

"Cramped…" Grimmjow muttered, hugging her tightly. "They don't make those seats for big guys like me. How's the kiddo?"

She glanced down and smiled. He was very absorbed in a group of earthworms he'd unearthed. "Doing very well, actually. We've had some good social steps recently. He's got a couple friends at school these days, all very sweet to him. They come over now and then, pair of twin girls, their dad is a doctor. Sweet as they can be and they adore Wonderweiss to bits. One of them has been helping with his physical skills by tons, she's into sports and incredibly patient. She says she's thinking of being an occupational therapist if professional sports don't work out."

Grimmjow smiled. "That's cool, how old is he now? I can't keep up."

Nel snickered. "He's turning fifteen later this year, baka. You should be able to tell by your own age. Go on in with your boys, I'll transition him back inside. The girls are coming by today in a while; they usually stop in on Saturdays."

A few minutes later, Nel came into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. Wonderweiss had been reluctant to leave, but he was more than happy to go in when he heard his friends were coming over. "So, you after a big one?" Nel asked. Just then the doorbell rang, though, and she hopped up, leaving Grimmjow to pour drinks for the other two bounty hunters.

Grimmjow followed her into the room as she opened the door to a girl with short dark hair and a sports jersey for a local team. "Where's your sister today?" Nel asked with a smile, letting her into the foyer.

"Ugh, clothes shopping with our brother. I swear, I always thought I was the boy, now that he's dressing like a girl, I realize, I am the boy," the dark haired girl said with a shake of her head and tossing a baseball between her hands thoughtfully. "But that's okay. Yuzu can do the shopping thing, I'll pass on it. Ugh, shoes and crap."

"Goodness, when did that happen?" Nel asked. "I mean, the whole, him dressing like a girl thing? Just a one off?"

"Oh, no, Ichi quit hiding the fact that he's a flaming diva. I mean, sheesh, I've known since I was like five that he wasn't like the other boys. I actually caught him when he was like ten trying to put on a skirt that we'd had given to us for Yuzu that was too big, but it was too small for him. So you know. Whatever he wants to do. He doesn't pick on me for dressing like this, so whatever. As long as he doesn't take me shopping. But, anyhow, we're actually going to watch him on stage tonight in full drag at the club he's working at."

Nel realized she was ignoring her brother who was standing behind her. She hated that the bastard was so damn quiet. "Oh, hey, Karin Kurosaki, this is my older brother, Grimmjow Jagerjaquez. He, however, does not wear girls' clothes like your brother."

Karin looked him over and nodded. "Yeah, can tell that, what's up, blue boy?"

Grimmjow nodded. "Nothing much, just got into town. You said your brother performs in a drag show?"

Karin nodded. "Yeah, Las Noches. He's part of a drag troupe, but they have a burlesque show too. The club is a cabaret or whatever that means. Anyway, I'm gonna go find Wonderweiss. I promised we'd work on tossing the baseball around today!"

Grimmjow looked up and nodded as Shawlong and Edrad came in. "Got a place to start. Drag show, prime targets for our targets."

Nel looked between the three of them. "It's them isn't it?"

Grimmjow nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."

Just then, Grimmjow's phone buzzed and he frowned as he read the message. "Dammit. They dumped a body today, that means they'll be scouting for the next vic. Nel, are there any other places that would be hangouts for young, attractive men?"

Nel frowned. "Well, there's Las Noches, that's the big one for gay and straight boys both, then there's a gay bar down a little further, and I think there's a mixed strip club a few streets over…quite a few, actually."

Grimmjow nodded and led the group back to the kitchen and pulled out a clipboard from his laptop bag and started making notes. It looked like the case was going to take off a lot faster than he anticipated. They always picked up a new victim within a week of their body drops, and they had approximately three weeks before they actually kidnapped the victim for the physical torture. Before then, there would be the distance torture and gaslighting.

Grimmjow thought for a moment as he looked down at what he'd written. "Okay, Shawlong, take the bar, Edrad, find the strip club. I'll hit this cabaret. I thought four would be enough, but we've still got less people than can canvas. We know they pick their next victim within days of dropping the body of the last. So we've got very little time to waste. They've got a habit of choosing them when they're in public. We've had victims picked from club scenes, strip shows, dances, and all of them are young, attractive males. And remember, there will be something odd about them, one thing that makes them stand out from everyone else. Look for that."

Shawlong nodded, running a hand over his dark hair. "Hey boss, I'll see if I can't get in to the scene photos of the body drop. And then I'll see if I can sweet talk the person at the morgue into letting me look at the remains. I know you aren't keen on looking them over."

Grimmjow nodded. "Sounds good, let's catch these bastards. I'm tired of chasing ghosts. We've never been in the same town they were when they picked their victim, so we're doing much better this time than ever before. We only have gotten onto their trail after the kidnappings for the most part. Edrad, you want to start canvasing the malls and shopping centers? See if you can get anyone matching their descriptions. I doubt it will help; they've never been easy to catch. Canvas the area around the dump site and question anyone in a business in the area. See if anyone has security footage from today they're willing to share. I'm going to contact the local police and inform them that we're in town and hope they aren't dicks."

Before long, the other two were gone, and Nel and Grimmjow were sitting alone in her kitchen with steaming cups of jasmine tea. Grimmjow had contacted the local authorities and found them surprisingly willing to accept his help when he explained the situation, some guy named Barragan was lead up on the case, and had already figured out just who had come to Japan. Grimmjow was rubbing his head.

"I've got to get them, Nel. I just have to. This has to end, and they should know why it has to end for me so badly. I'm sure Edrad knows there's more to it than just me wanting the money. I spend more money chasing them than I could ever make off of them, and they all know it."

Nel patted her older brother's hand gently. "I know, Grimmy, I know. He'd be proud, you know."

Grimmjow smiled and looked up at her. "Yeah, but he'd be prouder if I found these bastards that killed him," he said softly.

"It's been five years, Grimmy. Please say you've moved on at least," she said, squeezing his hand. "Please tell me you aren't forcing yourself to be lonely."

Grimmjow smiled at her. "I've dated a few times, sis, don't worry. Just, chasing these bastards all over the world doesn't make for a good relationship, you know. Last girl I dated blew a gasket when I told her what I did. And the guy before her was so enthused with my job that he nearly got himself killed when he followed me into the field after a bounty."

Five years. Five years since the boy he loved had been found mutilated beyond recognition after weeks of torment by stalkers that no one could find. They'd been kids, barely eighteen, but it's never easy when that first love is ripped away violently by a pair of sadistic serial killers. Granted, Grimmjow didn't know a lot of people that he shared that particular experience with. Five years since he'd been following their trail from that point, their first kill in Germany just outside Berlin in Bernau where he'd grown up with Nel. Only Nel knew why, though. None of his boys knew why. They knew he was obsessed with them, they knew that he wanted them caught, but they had no idea how personal it was. No, this was more than a bounty. This was justice, and if he ever actually got near them, this was going to be revenge.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was far more nervous than he'd ever been before. He'd been on stage alright, but this time, Karin, Yuzu, and his dad were out there. And he was about ready to die, he thought. Uryuu was primping him at the moment, and he couldn't stay still.

"Ouch!" he said as he was poked with a pin.

"Stay still," Uryuu said with a sigh as he stitched a spot where the hem had come loose.

"I'm sorry, I'm nervous!" Ichigo said, crossing his arms and trying desperately not to tap his feet.

"You look amazing, and you are in my favorite outfit tonight. Now, remember, the first number is a fashion show, this is entirely for me, remember, so don't screw up, please. My dad brought a fashion designer with him, and if he likes what he sees, I may have a shot at getting some real paying work, got it?" Uryuu said with a sigh.

"I know, I know!" Ichigo said with a sigh.

Uryuu stood back and nodded. To be honest, Ichigo was so well suited to dressing in drag, it was annoying. He looked phenomenal. He was wearing a knee length pinstripe skirt with a matching jacket that Uryuu had tailored specially for him. He wore a sleeveless black crop top underneath the jacket that left his stomach open and showed off the fact he had a toned set of abs. The jacket was modeled after a suit jacket, but it was modified a bit. A pair of tails came down from the waist in the back, with an ornate silver button at the small of the back. The front of the jacket was cut up at an angle, leaving it to end at the bottom of the top. The buttons were silver.

"Spin," he said and Ichigo obeyed, turning on the spot. "Good, now go find your stockings and shoes, and head off to makeup!"

Ichigo nodded and padded off to do just that. Uryuu sighed. "Szayel, you're next!"

"Ichi-kun!" came a voice that never failed to make Ichigo smile.

Charlotte Chuhlhourne was the oldest drag queen in the place; actually she was transgender, not just a stage drag queen. She took care of all of them. She came up and hugged Ichigo.

"Darling, look how beautiful you are!" she said, flipping her long purple curls over her shoulder.

Charlotte, though, was built like a male body builder. She stood flat footed at over six foot three, and probably weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds, and all muscle. She didn't wear falsies, and she didn't try and mask the fact that she had a male physique. In fact, she showed it off every chance she had. She actually didn't perform anymore, there had been an accident several years ago and hurt her back pretty badly, and now couldn't wear heels at all. That alone wouldn't keep her off the stage, but she also found that standing too much aggravated it, so she gave up the stage in favor of becoming the backstage mom for all the younger drag queens. Tonight she was wearing a long kimono and flat sandals.

"Charlotte, how are you?" Ichigo asked with a smile.

"Good, darling, good. I swear, Uryuu-chan gets better and better with these designs…" she said shaking her head. "He's going to make something of himself. Didn't you start school too, darling?"

Ichigo nodded as they headed to makeup and he sat down and let Charlotte go to work. Charlotte was perhaps the single best stage makeup artist the club had. Yumichika was good too, but Charlotte had a level of artistry that could simply not be beaten by anyone.

"Yeah, I'm going for architecture design, but I wish I could live somewhere else," he said with a sigh.

"No, darling, don't frown, you mustn't do that, you'll get ugly frown lines!" Charlotte said, brushing on the eye shadow. "Why do you want to live elsewhere?"

"Oh, my roommate is a homophobic dick. Doesn't say anything, but he gives me that look now and then, and he avoids talking to me like the plague. Luckily, I usually get home after he's asleep and when I wake up he's gone. Still…bothers me…." Ichigo blinked rapidly after she put the lashes on him. That had taken some getting used to. He had good natural lashes, but they weren't stage lashes like these. These were heavy and studded with tiny gems.

"Darling, don't let it get to you," she said, turning him around and looking into the lighted mirror above his head. "Trust me, the people you need will show up. You, my darling are so beautiful inside and out, and those ugly inside will never taint your beauty."

Ichigo smiled at the mirror. "Yeah, thanks Charlotte. I know you're right, just I'm still getting used to it."

Charlotte nodded. "Darling, just be yourself. If anyone doesn't like it, tell them to come see me. I'll give them a lesson in dealing with drag queens."

Ichigo stood up and kissed Charlotte's cheek. "You always make me feel better, gotta go get my shoes now, though, see you later!"

He was running down to the change rooms and ran right into two people openly making out in the middle of the hallway. He looked up and saw that it was Findorr, one of the blond drag queens he'd met a couple times but didn't know too well, and his fiancée Emilou Apacci, one of the security of Las Noches, who sometimes dressed as one of the drag kings on stage.

"Oh, gosh, sorry, Ichi, honey," Findorr said, reaching down and helping him back up.

"Nah, my fault, my head was elsewhere," he said sheepishly.

"What's going on, love?" Emilou asked with a frown.

Ichigo shrugged. "Oh, my dad and my sisters are going to watch today. A bit nervous, he's never seen me in full drag," he said, fiddling with the hem of the jacket.

"Oh dear, don't fret," Findorr said with a smile. "Just relax. He's here for you, and that's what matters," he said, running a hand through his long blond hair. He looked at Emilou.

"Gotta get dressed, Charlotte will be on my ass if I don't get to the makeup chair soon," he said and kissed her gently.

"Break a leg," Emilou said with a smile and then smiled at Ichigo and wished him luck as well.

Ichigo was still nervous. He couldn't believe his sisters and dad would see him for the first time. Of course, the fashion show was the first skit of the night, then he'd go on with Arisawa to do a skit where she was playing the man who rescued him from his depression after being dumped by an inconsiderate boyfriend. It would be fun, no doubt.

He got back to the dressing room to find out where his shoes had gone. He swore he'd taken them to the front with him, but now they were gone… He shook his head as he saw them sitting where he had no doubt left them on the bench, and beside his heels, he found a box. It was wrapped like a gift. He smiled and wondered who it was for. He lifted the tag and to his surprise found it was labeled with his name. He lifted the card.

"Ichigo, in apology."

He opened the box and found the dress he'd been looking at earlier that day, the black and yellow plaid one. He looked up as Hiyori came in.

"Oh, someone loves you," she teased and came and looked at the dress. Although, Ichigo got the impression Hiyori would rather be caught dead than in a dress.

"Yeah, I guess, no signature, though. But it says in apology. I wonder if it was the shopkeeper. She was rude and refused to sell it to me because I was a guy…maybe she decided to feel bad about it?" he said, frowning and looking at the pigtailed woman.

Hiyori was short, like five foot even, but she was by far the scariest security person on staff. She had a temper to rival hell's own fury, and so far, she was the only one that Kenpachi actively avoided when she was on the warpath.

"Maybe, but shake that skirted tail, show's starting in a minute," Hiyori said with a shrug.

Ichigo grinned and put the box down and covered it again and grabbed his shoes. After he was gone, Hiyori paused a moment and looked at the box, wondering who had delivered it. She'd have to ask Kenpachi. Those who came and went in the back were strictly controlled and no one without security was allowed back there. Someone had to have delivered it up front, and one of the performers or staff had to have brought it back seeing it was for one of the drag troupe. She frowned a bit and tapped the top. It smelled strange, like it had been spritzed with perfume. She shook her head, and adjusted her blonde pig tails and went back out. A puzzle for later, no doubt, she thought for herself. After all, what harm could a dress do?

The fashion show went off without a hitch, at least, from what Ichigo could tell. Of course, with the way the lights hit the stage, he really couldn't see much when he went out. He hoped his dad thought he did a good job…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Obviously, he had chosen the most popular spot to show up at, Grimmjow thought as he stood waiting in line. At first he was annoyed at the people passing, but then he realized they were family of the performers, so he guessed that was okay. He was surprised when he felt someone punch him and a voice he recognized spoke beside him.

"Hey blueberry," said the girl he'd met earlier that day.

He glanced at her and smiled. "Karin, right?"

"Yup, good memory, you going in to watch? Come on, you can come with us," she said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along. Damn, the kid was as pushy as his own little sister.

Grimmjow started to protest, but he didn't have time as he was pulled into the lavishly decorated place. He gaped a bit at the sight as he was drug to a table near the front with the name Kurosaki on a placetag. It had four chairs, one already occupied by a man with short dark hair that looked a little uncomfortable. He was turned around talking to a man with white hair that sat at the next table.

"Oi, goatface," Karin said, and Grimmjow quirked a brow.

"Yes, my darling daughter?" the man said, turning around.

"This is my friend Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, told him he could sit with us. He's Nel's older brother, met him over there today when I went to see Wonderweiss," she said, flopping into her seat beside another girl her age with long brownish hair.

"Isshin Kurosaki, pleasure to meet you. My girls talk about your sister all the time! Amazing work she does with the special needs kids," he said, reaching over and shaking Grimmjow's hand in a firm grip.

"I'm Yuzu, the girly sister," the other girl said, reaching to shake his hand too.

"Well, someone has to be a boy in this family," Karin said, crossing her arms. "Sure isn't Ichigo!"

"Hush, now, Karin," Yuzu said with a frown. "I already jumped all over someone today for being mean to Ichi-nii, don't you start!"

"You jumped on someone?" Karin said, her face betraying her shock. "Like, more than just sighing at them?" Even Isshin looked surprised.

"She wouldn't sell to Ichi-nii because he was gay. And I told her off."

Isshin nodded. "That's my girl! Defend your precious brother!"

"Hey, you're Ichi's sis, aren't you?" said a voice familiar to Yuzu. She turned and saw the bald Ikkaku.

"Oh, dad, this is Ikkaku, his husband is on stage with Ichi-nii tonight!" Yuzu said. Ikkaku pulled a chair up beside them and nodded.

"Shh, the show's starting!" Karin said as the lights dimmed, and the full beauty of the room was finally revealed. There were oohs and aahs as always.

Uryuu came out on stage first. He wore a suit and tie and looked quite nice. "Welcome to Las Noches, my name is Uryuu Ishida, and I am the designer for Dangai, and I do some work for Kirikaze and the Heinekos as well. Tonight, we have a special skit, a fashion show of some of our best divas and our best clothes for you to enjoy. Don't worry, Shinji will come curse at you after my portion is done!"

Applause rang out and Uryuu stood to the side. The spotlight went to the left as the first performer strutted out, Findorr. He was wearing a silver and black evening dress, the front split unevenly up almost to the top of his thighs. The top was off the shoulders, with the sleeves cascading down almost to the floor in silvery falls. The shoes were tall stiletto heels that looked impossible to walk in. He had long blond hair that appeared to be natural instead of a wig.

"Findorr!" Uryuu announced.

Chiruzu, one of the faux queens, went out next in a plaid schoolgirl skirt and a ruffled shirt. Yumichika followed, wearing an exquisite looking dress that looked like it was painted onto his body in splashes of black, white, and peach. Szayel's outfit was perfect for him, a flirty skirt that resembled a tutu and a corset style top that showed off his fantastic arms by leaving them bare. Luppi was next, using his short stature to his advantage, he looked like a perfect lolli wearing a child-like outfit that looked like a gymnastics outfit with a longer skirt and skipping out onto the stage. Izuru always looked so unsure of himself, but Uryuu used that fact and dressed him in a conservative looking outfit that made him look like a school marm. Then Uryuu smiled at Karin's table.

"And my newest model, Ichigo!"

Ichigo came out and made his turn and Isshin could not believe it was his son. He stared, mouth slightly agape. If it hadn't been for the blindingly orange hair, he would have never realized it was him. Even with his hair longer and pulled away from his face and styled, it was undeniably his son's head of hair. The way he moved, the look, it was all completely different than he was used to seeing on his son…

"Damn," Karin said. "I'm stunned. My brother makes a hotter chick than most the girls I go to school with."

Yuzu playfully slapped her sister. "Watch the show!"

There were several more that came out, but the Kurosaki table was not really paying attention to them. And Grimmjow's focus had been grabbed entirely by the bright orange hair. Out of all the young men that came across the stage, Ichigo was the one with the most distinguishing feature. Sure, the one had pink hair, but he obviously dyed his hair. He hoped he was wrong about that, though, and kept an eye out for anyone else that stood out like that.

Before long, Uryuu stepped back and was replaced by the leader of the drag troupe, Shinji Hirako. Shinji was wearing a bright red leather miniskirt and a black peasant blouse.

"Good evening, Las Noches!" he called. "How the fuck are you?"

There was laughter all around. "Now, on with my show, dammit! Got it stolen but now I got it back. First up, the lovely Ichigo and Arisawa, in their skit, Lost Love!"

Ichigo came out in a different outfit, wandering across the stage slowly. He was wearing a long tiered skirt and a plain peasant style shirt similar to the one Shinji had been wearing. He looked up toward the fake moon. Arisawa came out behind him, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a plaid shirt. She was donning a bushy beard. The skit was funny, and went for a little while, and then they went back stage. A few more skits were done, and a couple lip syncs, and one actual voice performance by the incredibly talented Ilfort, Szayel's brother.

Backstage as the final act where they all went out and bowed, Ichigo was debating the dress he'd found. Szayel found him and leaned over. "What's that?"

"I found it, someone delivered it. I was thinking of wearing it out on the last act, I mean, it's in a dry cleaning bag so it should be clean, right?" he said.

Szayel nodded. "Sure, let's put you in it!"

Quickly as that, he was changed and they were all headed out onto the stage to bow in a line for the crowd. All of them had changed, because it was an unspoken rule that they never went out on stage in the same outfit twice. The lights were bright, and Ichigo still couldn't see very well, but he thought he caught the shape of his sisters and then as he started to sweat under the heat of the lights as various members of the troupe stepped forward to thank their friends and family that had come to see them perform. For some reason, Ichigo felt itchy. Maybe he should have had the dress cleaned after all… Well, it was almost to him, and then he could go take the blasted thing off and wash it. Obviously, he was somewhat allergic to something used at the cleaners. He was new to wearing dry cleaned clothes, so he really didn't know what was supposed to happen when one had a sensitivity to some of the chemicals in the cleaner. But as more time passed, under the lamps, he began to get more uncomfortable. Luppi was standing beside him and elbowed him.

"What's up?" he said softly as Szayel talked about Uryuu and his fashion talent.

"Don't know, I'm…itchy…" he said, shifting his shoulders and then realized that his shoulders were starting to burn. That was weird. But still, it could just be the chemical in the dry cleaning. That had to be it. What else could it be?

"New clothes? Maybe something in it?" Luppi said.

Ichigo nodded and shook his head. He'd started to wobble on his feet, and his brain seemed to be skipping time because now the person beside him was speaking, who was it again? He blinked at the bright lights that seemed to be moving. Well that was weird, wasn't it? He might have realized something was really wrong if he was able to think straight. He didn't seem to notice that his chest and back weren't just itching but were burning, and the more he sweat, the worse it got, trailing down his sides and around his neck. His head was floaty feeling thought, and it was somewhat nice, that odd feeling.

"Ichigo?" he heard and he blinked and realized Shinji was in front of him with the mic. He frowned and looked at it for a second. Shinji snapped his fingers in front of him and Ichigo tried to focus on them but they kept moving…

At first Shinji thought Ichigo was stage struck. With his family present, surely that was all that was wrong. But when he stared instead of responding to his name, he'd walked down to see what was going on with his newest diva. Ichigo, if nothing else, had never experienced a lick of stage fright, and had good stage presence, so to have him freeze was strange. When he got there he spoke and Ichigo seemed to look past him. When he couldn't focus, Shinji decided something had to be wrong. And then he realized his lips were turning blue, just barely discernable under the lipstick he was wearing, but he could see at the edges of his lips. He was breathing far too fast and Shinji saw his skin was far too red where it peeked out from under the edges of his clothes. What in the hell was going on?

"Ah fuck!" Shinji exclaimed, dropping the mic just as he collapsed forward.

Luppi yelped, and jumped out of the way as Shinji caught him easily enough. Everyone else started to come forward, but a very large Kenpachi scattered them to the back. Shinji looked up at Kenpachi.

"He's in shock…" Shinji breathed and looked around. His father, his father was a doctor. "Doctor Kurosaki, Keni, go get Ichigo's father, quickly…what…Luppi!"

Luppi came and dropped. "Did he say anything?"

"He said he was itchy, and I asked him if it was a new outfit and he said yes, then he kinda spaced out…" Luppi said frowning at him just as the dark haired doctor was being led onto the stage from the floor.

"Oh no…what…" he said, dropping down to feel his son's pulse. Behind him, his two sisters were coming up on stage with a blue haired bloke and Ikkaku, who Yumichika ran and stood by, eyes wide.

"He's in shock, but from what…" the doctor muttered, and then saw the redness around his neck. He reached and pulled the collar down.

"These are chemical burns," he said softly, then began to rip open the front of the dress.

"Fuck!" Shinji said, eyes widening. "Yumi, go turn on the shower in the back, quickly!"

Isshin ripped the dress open and the smell of chlorine wafted upward immediately. His brain tried to explain why but he was more concerned with the red burns that were covering his son's torso. Everywhere the dress had touched bare skin was bright red and some spots were blistering already. He pulled him upward and shoved the rest of it off and found his back in worse state especially along his shoulder blades. Shinji snapped open the bra and the rig fell off as they shucked the rest of the dress off.

"It's on his legs a bit," Shinji noted. Ichigo hadn't been wearing stockings, but just socks with a pair of Mary Jane shoes. "I've got a shower in the back, come on, Keni!"

Kenpachi nodded and picked up the nearly nude boy, and headed to the back with Shinji and Isshin hot on his heels. Isshin stripped off his own shirt and shoes and Shinji was also down to his underpants in a moment and both stepped into the pouring water, holding him up and stripping the rest of his clothes off quickly. The water seemed to wake Ichigo back up and he gasped and started to fight them.

"Ichigo!" Isshin said, holding onto his arms. He really didn't need anything broken, and he knew all too well how capable of that his son was. "Be still, please, you're covered in chlorine for some reason, but we have to get it off to stop it from burning you, you've already got some second degree burns from it son, maybe worse, I can't tell yet…it's just me and Shinji."

Ichigo focused on his dad and nodded. "It burns, pop…"

"Yeah, I know, come on, we'll figure it out in a minute, right now we got to flush your skin, okay? You're a bit shocky, so we have to be careful here, okay?"

A voice outside spoke that Isshin or Shinji didn't know. "Medics are on the way. Should be here in less than ten."

Ichigo realized he couldn't stand on his own so he just let his dad hold him up while Shinji directed the sprayer over his upper back and the front of his shoulders. Where the bra camisole had been, he'd been somewhat protected, but even through the thin material, he'd gotten some redness against his stomach and lower back. Shinji turned off the spray and grabbed a robe from outside and wrapped him up in it quickly just as the paramedics came through the back, led by a worried looking Yumichika.

Once he was gone with his sisters and dad, Shinji stood and stared blankly at the door, dripping wet until someone put a robe around him. He looked up to see Ikkaku and the blue haired man. Yumichika came up and wrapped arm around him.

"What…what the flying fuck just happened?" Shinji asked finally.