"She's right, you know," Shiro murmured after Ichigo left the café.

"About what?"

"You are a good friend." Shiro slung his arm around Ichigo's shoulders.

Ichigo tensed at Shiro's touch. He shrugged softly. "I guess. Renji is also seriously a dumbass. He needs someone to look after him."

Shiro snickered. "So, you have feelings for this 'Renji'?"

"Nah. He's dating Rukia and he's not my type."

"Oh~? Ichi has a type, does he?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Ichigo shoved Shiro's arm off his shoulders. "He's straight is what I meant. He's also a little homophobic, but I don't think he means to be. He tries to be supportive, he just doesn't understand. I don't blame him though. His dad's an asshole who conditioned Renji to be that way since birth." Ichigo smiled, "Rukia really helped him get out of there. She's the reason Renji isn't living with his dad anymore. They rent a place together downtown. She's also the reason Renji warmed up to me. He tries hard to understand me. It's nice, the amount of effort he makes. It can also get a little annoying though. I wish he'd just accept it and move on, instead of making a fuss. Being gay should be just as 'normal' as being straight."

Shiro felt his heart melt a little at Ichigo's smile but more so at Ichigo's voice. It conveyed the love and care he felt for his friends, but also the stubbornness and pride the man felt in the core of his heart. Shiro could listen to him speak forever.

"Sorry," Ichigo murmured. "I got a little off topic there."

Shiro chuckled. "No. It's nice to hear your thoughts. And it's good to know you trust me with them."

"Well, it was part of our deal, wasn't it? For me to be honest?" Ichigo glanced at Shiro. Joy filled Ichigo's chest at the look of absolute acceptance in Shiro's eyes. His smile felt natural and relaxed. He stopped walking and pointed to a grey building with four floors. "This is where they live. I-I'll only be a moment. . ."

"I'm not going anywhere," Shiro winked.

Ichigo approached the apartment. He slipped in through the front doors to where the buzzers were. He pressed the button for room 2-07 and waited.

After the fifth try, Ichigo took out his phone and dialed Renji's number. He left a voicemail, "Oi, Renji! Rukia's worried for ya. You gonna call her or what?"

There was a click. Then, "Is this Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo felt his heart jump. "Y-Yes… who is this?"

"My name is not important." Ichigo frowned. He knew he recognized that voice, but from where? "Listen to me very carefully Ichigo Kurosaki. I want you to go home, straight home. From your current location, it should take you about 15 minutes. If you are not home in that time, Renji will be killed."

The line went dead. Ichigo hung up his phone and shoved it in his pocket. He broke out into a run.

"Ichigo!?" Shiro called. "Oi! What's wrong?"

"He's in trouble!"


Ichigo opened his door with a wicked slam. He looked down at his phone and waited. The screen lit up with a call from an unknown number. Ichigo answered it. "Who is this!? I'm home now, what do you want!?"

"Go to your bathroom."

Ichigo gulped and followed the instructions.

He carefully approached his bathroom. The light was off and the door was open. He scowled and slowly reached inside, flicking on the light.

"TENSA!"

Ichigo dropped to his knees. There was red. Red everywhere. Ichigo felt tears spill over his cheeks and fall off his chin.

"What the fuck did you do this for, you bastard!?" Ichigo screeched into the phone.

Shiro flinched under Ichigo's harsh tone. He hadn't expected to ever see the young human so infuriated.

The voice on the end replied, "Consider this a warning. If you don't follow my orders, both Renji and Rukia shall perish like your cat."

"Fuck you!" Ichigo panted heavily, broken sobs escaping his lips. He felt Shiro's hand on his back and he flinched at the contact. Shiro removed his hand and just stared at the orangette, unable to think of something to say. Ichigo took a few deep breaths to steady himself before he barked into the phone, "What do you want?"

"You have something that belongs to me."

"Like what? I didn't steal anything from anyone."

"You have the Hogyoku."

Ichigo gulped. "How do you know about that?"

"That information is none of your concern." The voice faded, as though the phone had been moved from the speaker's lips. Ichigo heard a scream. Rukia.

"Don't touch her!" Ichigo cried.

The phone rustled and clicked. It was placed back to the man's ear. "I won't have to if you stop asking meaningless questions and surrender the artifact. Go outside the back of your house. There is a drone there with a basket attached. There is also a piece of paper inside the basket. First, take the paper out, then, place the Hogyoku inside the basket. Tell me when you're done and await further instructions."

"Alright," Ichigo murmured. He climbed to his feet, the joints of his knees protesting. Ichigo could feel the weight of grief on his back.

He wandered to his dresser and pulled the Hogyoku out from his sock drawer. Shiro followed him with a sense of caution. He wasn't sure how Ichigo would react to anything he had to say.

Ichigo spotted the drone resting in the centre of his backyard. A basket was fastened to the bottom of the drone. It looked like something one of the neighbourhood kids crafted. Harmless. Ichigo scowled as he dropped onto his knees next to it.

"Ichi?"

Ichigo glanced at Shiro, a glare in his eyes. He spoke not, since the phone was still on.

Shiro frowned and turned his gaze away from the angered orangette.

Ichigo jerked his head back towards the basket. He took a paper out and lifted the phone back to his ear. "I'm placing it in the basket right now."

"Good," the other murmured.

Ichigo found the artifact unwilling to leave his hand. He sighed and looked over the paper now resting on the ground beside him. On it was an address. Ichigo asked, "What's the paper mean?"

"In 10 minutes, go to that address. This is where your friends are being kept. The Hogyoku should arrive long before you do. If it is in the basket, your friends will be alive when you find them. If the Hogyoku is not there, then your friends shall meet the same fate as your cat."

Ichigo grit his teeth. "Fuck you."

The man chuckled. "Pleasure doing business with you, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo heard a beep. He glanced at his phone. "Call Ended" appeared on his screen. He heard the drone begin to start up. Ichigo still hadn't let go of the Hogyoku.

"Listen to me Ichigo. You have to make a contract with me right now." Shiro murmured against Ichigo's ear. "All you have to do is say yes with that orb still in your hand. We can sort out the details later, but right now you must say yes."

Ichigo could feel his heart thudding in his ears. His eyes locked on the Hogyoku.


10 minutes later

Ichigo sat inside his house. His foot tapped against the ground at a frantic pace. The clock sat opposite of him on the table, mocking him with bright green numbers. Waiting ten minutes was excruciating.

RING!

Ichigo snatched his phone from the sofa. His ten-minute timer had officially gone off.

He followed the directions on Google Maps to the address he'd been given. With a grimace, he arrived at his destination: an old warehouse. He hadn't noticed in his impatient rage as he marched over but the sun was starting to go down. No matter, this only made the entrance more visible as a light flickered up above it.

Ichigo slowly entered the building. It seemed rusty but at least stable. There was no light switch in sight, nor any guarantee that the lights would work if there were any, so he took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

"Ugh," came Renji's groan.

Ichigo rushed towards him. He noticed a glint of something metallic: chains.

"Hang on Renji. Help is coming." Ichigo glanced around. "Where is Rukia?"

Renji turned his view towards what looked like an old office door. "There."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll try to find a key or something… these chains are locked on-"

"No," Renji interjected. "You go and make sure she's alright first, then worry about me."

Ichigo blinked in shock before Renji's words registered. He gave the man a smile. "O-Okay. You hang in there. I swear you're both gonna be fine."

Renji slumped back against the ground.

Ichigo sighed and moved towards the door. He slowly cracked it open, "Hello?"

"Ichigo!?"

"Rukia!" Ichigo pushed inside. "Hey, are you alright!?"

Bold studio lights blinded Ichigo as he entered. He carefully covered his eyes and shuffled around the room. Eventually he could see Rukia. She was tied to a wooden support beam.

"Thank god you're here," Rukia murmured.

"Thank god you're safe," Ichigo doubled.

"Safe now, at least…" She sighed as she was untied. "Where's Renji?"

"Still in the other room," Ichigo answered. "You haven't seen a key, have you?"

Rukia lifted her arm. Tied around her wrist was a key. "He told me once you got here that we'd have to use this to free Renji."

Ichigo nodded and carefully shielded his vision from the studio lights. "Did you… see who it was?"

"No," Rukia said. "He kept his face hidden or he kept us blinded. And I didn't recognize his voice either. He planned this whole thing out."

There was suddenly a loud shattering noise. Ichigo flinched and Rukia took off towards the sound. Renji screamed, "Wh-Who the heck are you!?"

"Shut up. Geez, yer annoyin'!"

Rukia clenched her fists, prepared for a fight.

Ichigo sighed in relief, "D-Don't scare us like that, Shiro."

Shiro snickered and dropped the remaining shards of chain to the floor. "I can't help it if yer easy ta scare, Ichi."

Ichigo pouted. Rukia's jaw dropped and she smacked Ichigo over the back of his head. Shiro flinched too, and both boys rubbed the now sore spot.

"What was that for?" Ichigo whined.

"Why can we see him now? You sold your soul, didn't you?" Rukia questioned. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Ichigo!?"

Ichigo lowered his head. His voice broke down and betrayed his exhaustion. "I couldn't just let Shiro fall into the wrong hands, okay? So he has my soul now, at least that means that other guy can't use the Hogyoku for himself."

Rukia frowned, "But he got away with the Hogyoku, didn't he?"

Ichigo pushed his hair out of his face, his jaw clenched and muscles tensed. "I know that! But now I have Shiro with me and-"

"If that bastard returns, I'll fuckin' kill 'im." Shiro locked his arms around Ichigo's waist and Ichigo groaned in annoyance.

Renji stumbled to his feet. "So, can someone explain to me what exactly is going on here?"


"Then I sold my soul and I waited for the ten minutes I was supposed to. After that, I went to the address the guy gave me. The rest is as you know it," Ichigo finished explaining just as they approached Renji and Rukia's apartment.

Renji sighed, "That's. . . an insane story, man."

"It's true," Rukia muttered as she fished in her pocket for keys.

"I don't doubt that," Renji replied. "I'm just. . . still shocked is all. It seems so incredible and dangerous. You'd better watch yourself Ichigo."

Ichigo chuckled, "Don't worry about me! You should just take care of yourselves. I'm the one with a god watching me like a hawk. I'll be fine."

Rukia snorted and marched towards Shiro. "Oh yeah, that reminds me!" She grabbed him by the ear and pulled his face down to hers. "Listen, buddy! I don't give a shit about who or what you are. If you do anything to hurt Ichigo in any way, I'll tear you a new one!"

Shiro's chin dropped. Before he could say anything, Rukia continued, "And he's still an innocent little virgin who likes to live under a rock – so go easy on him!" She let go of Shiro's ear and started marching towards the door. She twirled her keys around her finger. "See ya Ichigo~ Take care~! Are you coming, Renji!?"

Renji flinched. "Y-Yes ma'am!" He rushed towards the door after Rukia.

Ichigo watched his friends disappear into their apartment before he turned to face Shiro. Ichigo's cheeks were a deep shade of red but Shiro didn't seem to notice. Even if he had, he didn't comment on it.

"So," Ichigo murmured and started walking home, "you own my soul now. What exactly does that mean?"

The other nodded. "I told you we still have to form a proper contract. We each get five 'terms and conditions'. These can either be something the other cannot do, or something the other must do. For example," Shiro grinned, "I could demand that you have to kiss me at least once a day!"

Ichigo scowled. "D-Don't do that!"

Shiro cackled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to." Ichigo growled when Shiro pat him on the head. Shiro chuckled, "Relax. You get to go first."

Ichigo stopped in his tracks. "H-Huh? Oh… Uh, I'm not sure."

Shiro watched as Ichigo placed his thumb on his lower lip in thought. He's too cute, Shiro thought.

"You have to protect my friends," Ichigo said. "I don't want them to ever get hurt like that again."

"Really?" Shiro questioned. "You're going to waste your first condition on your friends?"

Ichigo frowned, "I'm not wasting anything! They're important to me and deserve a break after everything that's happened to them."

Shiro nodded. "I see. In that case, I will protect them. However, you are my top priority always. If it means leaving them behind to secure your safety, then I shall."

Ichigo shook his head, "No! You can't do tha-"

"I'm afraid this one is unnegotiable." Shiro locked eyes with Ichigo.

It was then that Ichigo noticed a golden glow emanating from Shiro's arm. He looked down at saw that words had appeared on his skin. They were glowing at first, then they darkened to a black ink.

"What is this?" Ichigo questioned.

"Our bond." Shiro smiled. "Our contract is engraved on our very souls, mine is even carved onto my body. It is part of the spell Ra cast upon me millennia ago. This is so that I can never break a contract. I can never be free."

Ichigo touched the words on Shiro's arm. He recognized the symbols as ancient Egyptian. He then noticed that different words had appeared on his arm. "What do these say?"

"It says, 'Stay safe'." Shiro smiled and waved his hand over the glowing words. They faded. The words on Shiro's arms stopped glowing as well, but they remained tattooed to his body.

Ichigo turned his gaze to Shiro's eyes. "I don't suppose this is like Aladdin where I could just wish you free?"

"Aladdin?" Shiro searched through Ichigo's memories until knowledge of the movie appeared. "Ah. No. It doesn't work that way. As I've said before, Ra intended for me to never be freed."

"Darn," Ichigo chuckled.

Shiro brushed Ichigo's hair behind his ear. "I could imagine far worse people to be bound to for all eternity."

The orangette blushed and flinched away.

Shiro smiled. "You also possess the ability to summon me at any time from any place. All you must do is touch your forearm like this…" Shiro extended his right arm then used his left to grab his forearm. "Then open your palm and say my name. I will appear in front of you right away."

Ichigo slowly nodded. He started walking towards his house once again, Shiro right beside him.

"I know this is a lot to take in. One term each is good enough for tonight," Shiro murmured, keeping close to Ichigo. "I want you to rest and be in a relaxed state of mind before we come up with the remaining four."

Ichigo sighed into the night, his breath coming out in a small cloud in front of him. "Okay."

He got home and immediately felt his energy leave him. He went to the bathroom but turned away at the sight of Tensa. Shiro heard Ichigo's small scream and he rushed to his aide.

"Oh dear," Shiro murmured. "Ichigo, close your eyes…"

Shiro's eyes widened when Ichigo suddenly hugged him. He sobbed against Shiro's shoulder. "Wh…Why…? He was such a good kitten… still just a baby…"

Ichigo flinched when he felt something sharp on his shoulder. A weight was added. He then felt something soft and fuzzy against his neck. Ichigo turned his head to the side and locked his brown eyes on curious blue ones.

"Tensa!" Ichigo grabbed the kitten from Shiro's hold and hugged him tight. Tears gathered in Ichigo's eyes.

Shiro smiled, "I can't bring humans back to life, but… since he's just a kitten and he's been dead for less than 24 hours-"

Ichigo kissed Shiro's cheek. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Shiro felt his cheeks grow warm. Am I… blushing? Certainly not… "You're welcome, Ichigo."

Ichigo laughed happily and hugged Tensa close. "Thank goodness you're okay, my sweet kitten. Oh, I thought you were gone forever." Ichigo carried Tensa into the kitchen and grabbed his food. Shiro sighed happily and followed them.


"I'm going to update every-" Midnight stops, deciding that's too cruel an April Fools joke.

"Never mind," she sighs. "I'm updating as frequently as I can! And, as you can see, I'm still updating stories twice a month! So, if you could all be patient with me while I juggle college, fanfiction, life, work, etc., that would be great. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review!"

Midnight shuts her laptop and goes back to studying for a test she has on Monday. (Wish me luck? x.x)